The Nation Newspaper

Category: e-Business

  • Telcos eye 90mfringe users

    Nigeria’s global system for mobile communication (GSM) operators, Glo, 9Mobile, Airtel, MTN Nigeria, and Ntel, are planning to leverage their assets to deliver access to financial services to 90 million Nigerians over the next 30 months.

    They plan to achieve this feat through a combined mobile base station, integrated identity systems, and distribution network.

    According to the telcos umbrella body, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), the move will give fillip to efforts to get more Nigerians into the financial system.

    To achieve this ambitious target, the group has inaugurated the Telecommunications Financial Inclusion Committee and laid out the roadmap for deepening financial inclusion and financial literacy across the country.

    This is coming on the heels of the meeting held earlier where the operators met to articulate their commitment to deepening financial inclusion and providing Nigerians with access to a range of affordable financial services.

    During the inauguration, the committee, which will operate within ALTON, laid out its mandate which include driving an awareness programme that will deepen financial literacy across the country within the next three months, work in collaboration with other stakeholders and engage proactively with the government to ensure that telecommunication sector contributes its quota to the national goal of attaining 80 per cent financial inclusion and 70 per cent formal financial inclusion by 2020.

    In the short-term, the committee aims to deliver financial services to up to 35 million Nigerians and increase financial literacy and awareness within 12 months. The longer term goal of giving access to 90 million people across 773 local government areas by 2020, will be achieved through the conversion of it’s over one million airtime agents to mobile money agents.

    ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, said: “The inauguration of this committee is a positive and necessary first step to achieving our goals of improving inclusion and literacy. We are focused on delivering sustainable solutions to achieve long-term results. The potential of our sector’s participation in these efforts is enormous. The telecommunications’ subscribers database is the most comprehensive, our coverage is vast and this speaks to the potential that we have as a group to truly contribute to solving some of the challenges that have been faced so far.”

    The purpose of the inauguration was defined as a formal introduction to the start of the journey, and more importantly, to reaffirm their commitments, and begin the process of defining the next steps in this initiative.

    The committee also spent some time to discuss the recent publication of exposure guidelines for the licensing and regulation of Payment Service Banks in Nigeria, articulating necessary next steps and direction.

    “We commend the Federal Government and the CBN for the recently released exposure guidelines for Payment Services Bank (PSB) License; a welcome development that will play a critical role in accelerating financial inclusion,” Adebayo added.

    Also speaking on the development, the Committee’s Secretary, Johnson Oyewo, said: “Our job is to ensure that our industry contributes effectively to financial inclusion and literacy in Nigeria. This committee is being inaugurated at an opportune time with the recent announcement by the CBN, allowing for an inclusive model that encourages all players to contribute towards driving financial inclusion in the country.”

    The committee will meet fortnightly over the coming months to deliver on its mandate. The members include: Engr. Gbenga Adebayo (ALTON), Oladokun Oye (Airtel), Samuel Akinsola (Ntel), Chinedu Anochirionye (Ntel), Ismaila Suhailu (Ntel), Oluwaseun Omotosho (EMTS/9mobile), Chidozie Arinze (EMTS/9mobile), Johnson Oyewo (MTN Nigeria), Jane Amadi (MTN Nigeria), Esaie Diei (Globacom), Oluwatosin Cole (Globacom), Gbolahan Awonuga (ALTON Secretariat )

  • Intermarc Consulting gets new MD

    Intermarc Consulting Limited Board of Directors  has announced the company’s strategic repositioning, which is expected to launch the organisation into its next phase of growth and expansion. The firm, in almost two decades, has focused on electronic business with emphasis on e-banking and e-payment intermediation in Nigeria and across Africa by providing cutting-edge solutions through consultancy services.

    According to a release by the company in continuation of the fulfilment of its vision of consistently providing world class skill acquisition, advisory and strategic solutions, the firm has repositioned to focus on Digital Financial Services (DFS) through consulting, specialised research, training and workshops, conferences as well as project management.

    This is in line with the company’s partnership with Microsave – the global leader in DFS consulting.

    Jacqueline Jumah, a renowned Digital Financial Services Specialist, has joined the board and management of the company to lead the implementation of the company’s business strategy as the Managing Director.

    Jacqueline will bring to the table her years of experience in the DFS space, most recent of which is her role at Microsave as a senior management staff of the company.

    She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Statistics and a Master of Science Degree in Finance and Banking, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Her professional skills include strategic operations in agent distribution network deployment and scale-up, DFS Business Strategy Development, DFS Product Development, Market Research and Risk management gathered over years of work in banks and in the financial services sector, and across several countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Malawi, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, among others.

    Jacqueline is a certified trainer in DFS Product Innovation and Development, Agent Network Management and Behavioural Science and Design Thinking. She is also a Certified Product Innovation and DFS Curriculum Developer.

  • Airtel Nigeria marks customer service week

    Airtel Nigeria has commemorated the October 1st International Customer Service Week with carefully planned activities in honour of its customers.

    It used the annual event to demonstrate its passion to service excellence as the week featured lectures, seminars, a 4km walk, and various reward initiatives targeted at its customers.

    During the week, the leading telco reaffirmed that it will continue to extra mile in providing excellent customer service across its touch points to its customers, noting that happy and satisfied customers are key to the success of any organisation.

    A major highlight of the week was the 4km 4G Walk, an exercise to create awareness for the telco’s wide 4G coverage in Nigeria.

    Its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Segun Ogunsanya, said the telco is currently building the largest and most reliable 4G network in the country

    Ogunsanya, who spoke during a courtesy call on Rivers’ Governor, Nyesom Wike, last month, said Airtel was rolling out its 4G technology in major cities and towns across Nigeria, making it the largest 4G network in the country.

    The Customer Service Week was an annual event to celebrate the important role customer service plays in every organisation’s success. It also had the objective of celebrating internal and external customers as well as customer service professionals.

  • Vodacom: collaboration key to efficiency, profitability

    Collaboration to enable large and small businesses with specific problem solving solutions will create efficiency to ultimately increase profitability, Vodacom Business Nigeria, has said.

    Speaking at this year’s Nigeria Technology Innovation and Telecoms Awards in Lagos at the weekend, where the firm won four awards, its Managing Director, Lanre Kolade, said the firm is taking the lead in the telecoms industry by providing tailor-made solutions that maximise productivity regardless of location.

    He said: “We are honored to accept the awards. Opportunities such as these remind us of the importance to go beyond just providing a service to clients. We aim to collaborate and enable large and small businesses with specific problem solving solutions that make the lives and businesses of our customers more efficient and ultimately more profitable. Our gratitude goes to these customers whose businesses are at the epicenter of the development of the Nigerian economy and look forward to exploring opportunities in future.

    “As the world progresses further into the digital age, with people and services expanding across borders, the need for a reliable end to end managed network service becomes invaluable. Our managed services provide the same high level of comfort for global businesses with reach across different territories as it does for new startup businesses with partners and stakeholders on different continents.”

    The industry celebration, organised by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), aims to recognise organisations and individuals at the fore front of technological advancement and innovation in the Telecoms industry.

    Vodacom Business Nigeria was recognised as Enterprise Solution Provider of the year, Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions Provider of the year for the second consecutive year and as Managed Service Provider of the year. For the company’s stellar performance in providing optimum services for its customers, both locally and internationally, it also received the coveted Telecom Business of the Year award.

    These recognitions followed a long standing track record that Vodacom Business Nigeria has developed in the market over time, delivering superior enterprise-grade Connectivity Solutions, Cloud and Hosted Services, Enterprise Voice Solution and Internet of Things to business in Nigeria.

  • Firm unveils Ekojara online raffle draw platform

    Ekojara game, an online consumer sales promotion platform, owned by Koborise App Technologies Ltd, has been launched.

    To play the game, a player will have to download the application on iTunes iOS store and Android version from Ekojara.com.

    Also, the Lagos State Lotteries Board (LSLB) has approved the operations of Koborise App Technologies Ltd., to commence Ekojara gaming activities.

    Speaking at the media launch, Co-Founder/CEO of Ekojara, Mr. Hillary Nwaukor, an auctioneer, disclosed that the game is the company’s means to add value to millions of Nigerians.

    According to Nwaukor, Ekojara is a unique platform that gives users an opportunity to win big value items and cash with minimum risk of 0.20per cent of the published value; this is a predetermined amount of money that user pays for each ticket they buy.

    “For instance, if we publish a cash game of N10,000, each user, who wants to bid to win the prize will be required to play with 0.20 per cent of N10,000 which is equal to N20 per chance.

    “After downloading the app, the user is required to sign-up, then top-up their wallets with minimum of N500 naira before taking a chance to play the advertised games,” he explained.

    Ekojara Co-Founder, Olayemi Agbe-Davies, further explained the game categories ranging from Household Electronics, Smartphones, Recharge Cards, Data Plan, Automobiles and Cash.

    “You may notice that we have real estate and automobile listed among the categories. Yes, we are a forward thinking organisation and believe that very soon ‘players’ can win houses as rewards likewise automobiles.

    “Players will enter their dream numbers and submit within the odds of 01-99 into 5 unique boxes provided for a given Dream-bid category. Each submitted set of lucky numbers, generate a unique ticket entry. Numbers played can be generated by the players or by the system depending on the option the player wants.c

  • Value added services providers reject NCC’s auto-renewal ban

    Value Added Service (VAS) providers licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have rejected the ban imposed by the regulator on auto-renewal of their services.

    According to them, hardline regulatory stance would do nothing but hurt the inflow of investment into the country. They also said the ban has left their accounts with zero balance, a situation that has also led many of them to close shops and axe workers.

    But the NCC has insisted that the ban is not open to negotiation because it is the icing on the cake of forced subscription. It added that most of the VAS providers were crooks, who reaped from where they did not sow.

    Speaking in Lagos at the first Annual Nigeria Value Added Service Stakeholders forum, CEO Mobility Arts, George Ager, said forced subscription of subscribers remained a major challenge in the industry, adding that, however, that crooks involved in the practice are well known. He, however, said taking away auto-renewal would kill the sector which is already in pains.

    Also speaking, Funmobile CEO, Yahaya Maibe, said auto-renewal is a legitimate business, which and should be allowed to stand. He cited over the top (OTT) service providers that are not regulated yet rake a huge chunk of revenue from the country. Maibe said instead of taking further steps that would stifle the industry, the regulator should implement a bail-out package for the service providers.

    Another contributor who identified himself simply as Richard, said autocratic regulation stifles business growth. He likened the NCC decision of closing down the Third Mainland bridge because some unscrupulous elements were going to transport contraband to the city through the bridge.

    Responding, Head, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Mr Efosa Idehen, said forced subscription and auto renewal are two different things, arguing that the latter precipitates and lubricates the former.

    He stressed the need for ettical growth of the VAS industry stressing that it is critical for optimising the enormous potential of the telecoms sector. He accused some operators in the industry of embarking on outright pilfering of subscribers cash, adding that the protection of the consumers remained one of the pillars upon which the regulator established.

    A chieftain of the umbrella body of VAS, Association of Value Added Services Providers of Nigeria (WAPAN), Samuel Aderinola, blamed the operators for the prevalence of rogue value added services on the network.

    According to him, the telcos are supposed to provide the infrastructure that would effectively weed out  all rogue messages in the system.

    There was, however, a general consensus that there was need for self-regulation among the members of WASPAN. They agreed that there were bad elements within the VAS segment of the industry.

  • Lagos hosts Africa Fintech confab

    Africa’s premier Fintech event, the Africa Fintech Summit, will be held for the first time in Lagos,  between November 8 and 9, 2018. This event comes on the heels of the earlier edition in Washington D.C., which featured leading policy makers, c-suite business executives, start-ups, and investors.

    The summit, organised by Dedalus Global, gathers innovators, investors, policy makers and other key stakeholders in the Fintech sector to discuss technologies transforming finance on the continent, debate regulatory policies, compare best practices, and forge new ventures.

    Speaking on the decision to bring the Summit to Lagos, Chairman of the Summit, Leland Rice, said: “Lagos is an ideal host city; it’s an epicenter of Africa’s Fintech revolution and the driving force behind the continent’s entrepreneurial spirit. The successes of companies such as Paga, Flutterwave, Mines.io, and Paystack have strategically positioned Lagos as the destination of choice for investors.

    “The first edition of the Summit in D.C. was a launch pad for several milestone Fintech deals struck among its delegates in the months after the event. We plan to build on these successes in Lagos, with a focus on bringing innovators and policy makers together to move the needle on Fintech regulation and bringing founders and investors together to facilitate further capital raises.”

    The two-day event will feature investor missions from the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and United Arab Emirate (UAE), an Alpha Expo, featuring the most exciting startups and entrepreneurs in Nigeria, a half-day blockchain masterclass, and an awards ceremony.

    Reacting to the decision to host the Summit in Lagos, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technology, Lanre Osibona said: “This reflects the progress Nigeria is making in the areas of technology and financial services. The event is very important as it comes on the heels of the Vice President Osinbajo’s trip to Silicon Valley to promote Nigeria’s tech sector.”

  • ‘Digital transformation key to economic development’

    To the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, for the country to take its rightful place, digital transformation should play a key role. In this interview with LUCAS AJANAKU, he speaks about Nigeria’s participation at the ITU Telecom World conference in South Africa, and strategies to drive investment in the country.

    The Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) has been at the forefront of wooing foreign investors, especially in the telecoms sector. What is government doing to attract these investors through tax incentives?

    The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) document of the Federal Government clearly shows government’s willingness to create an enabling business environment for investors to thrive in Nigeria. For example, in the ERGP document, there is a pioneer status given to investors, who are coming in to invest in any sector of the economy, including the telecoms sector. The pioneer status incentive is 30 per cent, which means a reduction of Company Income Tax by as much as 30 per cent. This is in addition to other incentives like the relaxation of monetary policy of the government, access to foreign exchange, fiscal policy, reduction and waivers on custom duties, among others like the Executive Orders 5 and 6 of the ease of doing business.

    All these are measures put in place by the government to make business in Nigeria very easy and profitable for willing investors, and we at the NCC will continue to encourage investors to come to Nigeria and invest in the telecoms sector, and our efforts are beginning to yield good results. The telecoms space is big enough to accommodate more investors and we will continue to encourage Foreign Direct investments (FDI) in Nigeria.

    Last year, the NCC gave an update on telecoms investment in Nigeria, which was put at $70 billion. What is the contribution of the telecoms sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?

    I must make it clear that we get statistics about telecoms contribution to GDP from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).  The figure we gave last year about telecoms investment in the country was $70 billion, and the figure was what the NBS released as at last year. Although the bureau has not released statistics for this year, I can confidently say that the total telecoms investment in Nigeria has surpassed $70 billion. This is true, based on reliable information we have that telecoms investments, which include FDI and portfolio investment, has currently reached 10.5 per cent, up from 9.15 per cent in the previous year. The NBS quarterly report puts the contribution of telecoms to GDP at $5 billion per quarter, which is 2 per cent rise per quarter. This, of course, is a steady quarterly growth and when you calculate the four quarters in the last one year after the $70 billion figure was released, it becomes clear that telecoms contribution to GDP has surpassed $70 billion in the last one year, and this is a significant contribution to the Nigerian economy.

    In the last one year, Nigeria recorded a steady growth in voice and data services offering, including broadband penetration and all these put together in monetary terms, clearly shows the immense contribution of the telecoms sector to the Nigerian economy.

    What are some of the opportunities for additional foreign investors that may be interested in the nation’s telecoms sector?

    There are lots of opportunities for investors in the county’s digital transmission system including microwave, satellite and optic fibre, such as submarine cable communications, as well as digital exchanges for both wired and wireless lines. We also have investment opportunities in our billing systems and data communications networks, broadband and integrated service digital network (ISDN).

    Nigeria needed 120,000km metropolitan optic fibre coverage for ubiquitous network connections nationwide, but the country has only 38,000km coverage now, which I see as an investment opportunity beckoning on both foreign and local investors to take advantage of, and invest in the country.

    The NCC is intensely focused on bringing efficient, qualitative and affordable ICT platforms within the reach of individuals and corporate bodies through the implementation of our 8-point agenda, the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the ICT Roadmap to drive synergies, which would expand opportunities for disruptive technology innovation and global competitiveness in Nigeria.

    What are some of the regulatory measures taken by the NCC to deepen broadband penetration in the country?

    Several regulatory measures have been put in place by the NCC to further grow broadband penetration in the country. The Commission had earlier assigned 2.3GHz licence to Bitflux Consortium and six of the 14 slots available on 2.6GHz to MTN Nigeria and two slots to Openskys, and six slots are still available for assignment.

    Nigeria had a mere five per cent broadband penetration in 2012, but now we have attained 22 per cent and hope to hit the 30 per cent recommended by National Broadband Plan by December 2018, through various initiatives, including granting subsidies to Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) licencees, and for spectrum trading. In line with our initiatives to encourage investment for InfraCos’ roll out, the Commission created subsidy provisions in its 2017 and 2018 budgets for the InfraCos, which is expected to be disbursed by piecemeal to the InfraCos as the deployment of their infrastructure progresses. We have, however, assured all the licencees that the subsidy is based on the implementation and milestones of their rollout obligations

    As part of the flexible approach to regulatory management and constant stakeholders’ engagement, the Commission introduced spectrum trading only a few months ago. This is to enable holders of such spectrum that is not in use to transfer, lease or share such spectrum with those who may have a need for it.  We see this as a cutting edge regulatory initiative to safeguard the use of this scarce national resource. The NCC undertook these regulatory steps in line with the National Broadband Plan (NBP) of 2013-2018, where it is anticipated that 30 per cent broadband penetration will be attained by the end of 2018.

    At the opening ceremony of the ITU Telecom World 2018, the  South African President, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, highlighted three pillars on which his country is driving digital transformation. What are the strategies for Nigeria in driving its digital transformation?

    Yes, I heard clearly, the South African president’s speech at the opening ceremony of ITU Telecom World 2018 conference, when he listed the three pillars on which his country is driving digital transformation, to include Women, Youths and SMEs. The truth is that every county has its own strategy and I subscribe to the position of his Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa on the country’s drive in digital transformation for a digital economy. The Nigerian strategy is similar to the South African strategy as enumerated by their president, but we have additional strategies beyond that of South Africa.

    In Nigeria, we have identified about five strategies of the digital ecosystem, but to successfully achieve these strategies in Nigeria, we need government enabling polices and the right institutions that will enhance digital transformation in Nigeria, because digital transformation is key to Nigeria’s development. As part of the Nigerian strategy for digital transformation, we have considered the youths, women and SMEs in our policy. In all of these, the role of the NCC in the digital transformation of the country is key and the NCC is currently giving access to telecommunication services in the underserved and unserved areas of the country, more so in a situation where only 50 per cent of Nigerian households have access to telecommunication services. Again, we are building the critical mass adoption and use of telecommunications services in order to achieve the right broadband internet penetration. We have a National Broadband Plan which the NCC is at the forefront of pushing it to ensure that we have a deeper broadband penetration for Nigeria. We have currently achieved 22 per cent broadband penetration in the country, which is above the minimum target of achieving 30 per cent broadband penetration, with plans to achieve the maximum target by the end of this year. So, the NCC is also targeting massive capacity building in schools and colleges, including tertiary institutions and communities outside the schools. The other aspect of the digital transformation for Nigeria is in the area of telecoms infrastructure. In order to boost the rollout of telecoms infrastructure across the country, we decided to zone the country into seven zones and licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) in all the seven zones. The role of the InfraCos is to provide broadband infrastructure that will facilitate faster rollout of broadband service across the country. All these initiatives are targeted at enhancing digital transformation in the country.

    Are there incentives that will motivate the InfraCos to roll out broadband infrastructure much faster?

    To ensure rapid rollout of broadband infrastructure across the country, the NCC provided some palliatives in the form of incentives for all InfraCos that are willing to roll out in rural communities, including underserved and unserved communities. Aside the incentives, the InfraCos licence was made very cheap to encourage InfraCos. The NCC is not interested in making money out of InfraCos, but to encourage them to roll out broadband infrastructure in all nooks and crannies of the country. Beyond women, youths and SMEs, we also have plans for the physically challenged persons and we give them opportunities to belong to the country’s digital transformation process.

    What is your view about government’s position on MTN, where the telecoms company was asked to return money it repatriated from the country between 2007 and 2015 and to pay tax arrears within the same period, totaling $10.134b?

    Government is an institution whose actions are guided by law. For example, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is a government institution which regulates the financial sector of the economy, while the Federal Inland Revenue Services is another government institution that regulates the tax sector of the economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) regulates the telecoms sector of the Nigerian economy. What is happening between MTN and the Nigerian government is based of regulatory issues in their different sectors. Although the issue is currently centred on financial and tax regulation, but there are public fears and outcry that the action taken so far by the government could cause ripple effect on other sectors of the economy because telecommunications as it were, which is the core business of MTN, cuts across all sectors of the Nigerian economy. As telecoms regulator, we are aware that there is no sector of the Nigerian economy that does not enjoy the services of telecoms sector, and we are concerned about the current MTN issue with the government because MTN Nigeria is a licensed operator under the supervision of the NCC. But I will like to say that although the alleged breach is purely on financials and taxes, but the NCC as a regulator of the telecoms sector, is doing everything possible to ensure quick and amicable resolution of the matter. We are already intervening, just the same way we intervened in the previous matters concerning MTN Nigeria. As a regulator with human face, we will always provide guidance to all our licensed operators, both big and small, during crisis of any sort. MTN has been in touch with us over the recent matter and we have mapped out strategies to address the issue, which I will not like to divulge to the media at the moment.

  • NCC orders telcos to give 14-day window to customers

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has notified telecom service providers on users’ experiences regarding quality of service, poor reception, automatic data roll over, wrong billings and deductions, among other issues.

    According to NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, sanctions would be meted out to service providers who continue to fail in delivering improve services to the telecom consumers at the appropriate time.

    Prof Danbatta, who made the remarks during the “NCC Day” at the on-going 13th Edition of Abuja International Trade Fair, said the Commission has directed all service providers to give 14-day window to subscribers to enable them roll over their unused data even if they do not renew.

    Represented by Head of Public Relations, Mr Reuben Muoka, the NCC Boss also said “statistics continue to show positive movement in the provision of services to the citizenry with Internet penetration standing at over 126 million subscribers in August 2018, while phone subscription stands at over 160 million at the same period.

    “With broadband penetration of 21 per cent, Nigeria’s social media space has continued to thrive and our citizens are enjoying access to modern ways of interactions in the cyberspace”.

    ” On the quality of service issue, including poor reception, wrong billings and deductions, automatic data roll over among other issues, we have put the service providers on special notice about our current monitoring of user experience and will call them to account in due course.

    “Where the service provider continues to fail to improve services to the detriment of the consumers, the Commission will apply appropriate regulatory actions and sanctions against such service provider,” Danbatta said.

    He continued: “On this issue of data roll over, the Commission has directed all the service providers to give 14-day window to the subscribers to enable them roll over their unused data, even if they do not renew on the expiration data.

    “In other words, this will stop the current practice where subscriber lose their entire unused data if they fail to renew on the date of the expiration of the current subscription.

    “We are currently addressing the issue of Call Masking and SIM Boxing, where international calls are made to bear local numbers, thereby bringing confusion to bear on the subscribers. We have already issued sanctions to some erring operators.

    “Pre-registered SIM card has continued to attract attention as our enforcement unit has intensified efforts aimed at arresting perpetrators of this crime across the country. We call on all consumers of telecom services to be wary of the negative consequences of this phenomenon and report anybody found to be involved in distribution and sales of pre-registered SIM Cards.

    “We have continued to use the mass media to create awareness about these consumer centric solutions, and also enlighten consumers that telecommunications mast and towers do not cause any health hazards as a lot of people think.”

  • Avon HMO, Piggybank deploy technology to health

    Piggybank.ng and Avon Healthcare Limited (Avon HMO) said they have entered into a strategic partnership which will enhance more insurance coverage using technology. This partnership will provide health insurance plans to users with flexible monthly payments. The companies collaborated to create a unique health care plan called AvonFlex, which is focused on affordability and flexibility for Piggybank.NG users.

    Nigeria is home to over 67 million youth, with deeply limited understanding of the importance of health insurance and equally limited healthcare coverage. While Avon HMO has used its platform to advocate for health education in part by pioneering the sale of healthcare plans online and launching straight to consumer retail plans, it is pushing the boundaries further by leveraging on ‘fin-tech’ to improve healthcare access.

    With Piggybank.NG widely trusted by millennials as Nigeria’s fastest growing digital savings platform, both companies believe that the gap between access and affordability by can be further bridged with AvonFlex.

    Speaking on the partnership, the Chief Executive Officer of Avon HMO, Adesimbo Ukiri, said: “After awareness of healthcare plans and their impact, affordability is the second greatest impediment to more widespread healthcare coverage among Nigerians.  AvonFlex is a healthcare plan that allows Piggybank.NG users pay for comprehensive health coverage in instalments, instead of a yearly lump sum. With some plans starting as low as N60/daily, AvonFlex offers value, flexibility and yet another viable option to access healthcare.”

    Head of Business Development, Piggybank.NG, Terry Kanu, said: “Partnering with Avon HMO to democratise access to and payment for healthcare plans was a no-brainer for us.  Avon HMO is a market leader, and exactly the type of innovative partners we like to work with. We are constantly looking for new ways to better serve and bring millennials into these financial services.”