The Nation Newspaper

Category: e-Business

  • SystemSpecs seeks special fund to drive financial inclusion

    Indigenous tech firm, SystemSpecs Limited, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to establish a special fund to deepen its financial inclusion goals.

    Its Executive Director, Deremi Atanda, who spoke on the sidelines of Digital Pay Expo in Lagos at the weekend, said there are many issues around the push for financial inclusion, adding that literacy is one of them.

    He stressed the imperative for a special fund to drive financial inclusion, adding that the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) is an example of the intervention the Federal Government could make to ease the drive on the lenders.

    “I think the banks are committed to financial literacy but it won’t happen in one year. It is a commitment for 2020, which didn’t start yesterday. I have been part of the commitment since 2007. We need to evaluate where we are, so we don’t get derailed, and where we want to be. These are the kind of things we must do. When those targets were set, we have the financial implication of what it will cost, which is not the same now. So, who is going to plug that gap for 2020 dream to be realised? Along the way, there have been many disruptions they didn’t factor in, both the economic aspect and technology.

    “The honest truth is that the pervasiveness of technology is going to make the realisation of these things a lot easier, faster but someone needs to be committed to facilitating it. USPF for example (in the telecoms sector), is there (to ensure that the unserved and underserved rural communities are reached through service subsidy). There is need for a commitment in terms of funding to make sure financial inclusion happen. It might interest you that majority of people investing in that are foreign institutions such as the Bill Melinda Foundation and you ask yourself where the counterpart funding is coming from local institutions. The bank has just committed itself to SINEF, which is rolling out about 500, 000 agents, which CBN is also part of.

    “But don’t forget that the interface of business with the realisation of national policy, money will go after money. If the agents are just to work to achieve a national policy that will not be economically beneficiary to them, somebody must incentive it so that national objection is realise. It is just a matter of time, when that business is worthwhile and there is a plug in from the right agencies of the government, sooner than you think that will happen,” he said.

  • Tackle skilled manpower challenge, NCS urges Fed Govt

    Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) President, Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, has urged the Federal Government to raise modern manpower that could  drive the economy.

    He lamented that nearly 90 per cent of technologies used in the country is imported despite the huge knowledge infrastructure of 162 legally recognised universities, 125 polytechnics and over 500 agencies.

    “It is sad that after 58 years of independence, Nigeria has failed to come up with neither a globally recognised company nor product originating from Nigerian indigenous technology because the national economy had not been technology-driven,” he said.

    Giving a keynote address at the first International Conference on ICT for National Development and its sustainability organised by the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Ilorin, to mark its 10th anniversary, Aderounmu urged the Federal Government to develop the ICT sector through the establishment of research centres, technology parks and incubation centres across the country.

    He added that the provision of reliable and affordable infrastructure and provision of fiscal incentives for indigenous software developers would also spur the development of the sector.

    Speaking on: “Leveraging ICT for National development and its sustainability”, Aderoumu, a Professor of Computer Science at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), IIe-Ife, lamented that the  economy has not fully embraced technology as its driving force.

    He suggested that the government could develop the sector through the creation of a special fund to assist start-ups as well as grow developers, enactment of a law that mandates MDAs to patronise indigenous software while mandating the immediate implementation of the approved scheme of service for IT professionals.

    While recommending that priority should be given to registered IT professional in the award of IT contracts, Aderounmu urged the academia to promote productive collaborations both internal and external and create learning opportunities for the students.

    He don said: “The system of mentoring, apprenticeship and tutelage, which existed in the past should be re-introduced and strengthened. Split-site arrangements should be encouraged to enable young researchers to be acquainted with new trends, globally. Spend a considerable portion of its yearly budget on global promotion activities.”

  • NCC seeks NAE’s partnership to tackle multiple taxation, others

    The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, has sought the partnership of the Nigeria Academy of Engineers (NAE) to tackle the non-technical issues affecting quality of service (QoS) in the telecoms sector.

    He said the NCC would continue with the culture of support and cooperation with the academy.

    He spoke when the  academy’s Vice President, Prof Fola Lasisi,  led other professors on a courtesy call on him to convey the readiness of the group to induct him as Fellow of the elite engineering body, at NCC Headquarters, Abuja.

    Dambatta urged the Academy to also lend its voice on the issues of Right of Way (RoW), multiple taxations, and regulations to ensure that all the non-technical factors that affect the QoS are tackled.

    He said: “We will leverage the experience of the Fellows of the Academy and bring this to bear in improving QoS. QoS is normally measured, using four key performance indicators, and we believe that more additional indicators can be brought in to improve the QoS further,” he explained.

    Earlier, Lasis, said the addition of the NCC chief to the body is a testimony to the quality of his leadership at the NCC.

    Danbatta will be inducted as a fellow of the Academy on June 21, just some 48 hours before he receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Jos.

    Lasisi said: “We want to show that NCC has always had very brilliant people at the top. Ernest Ndukwe was also one of us and became a fellow when he was here. Prof Danbatta continues in the same way, so we want to congratulate him and tell him that we appreciate his becoming a Fellow.”

    Danbatta lauded what he described as the tradition of excellence in the NCC, adding that his induction as a fellow of the academy will be a big honour to the regulatory agency.

    “We acknowledge this recognition as a great honour to the NCC. I, therefore, pledge to continue to impact in a way and manner that will lead to the transformation of the industry, its stability, resilience and general contribution to the economy,” he said.

  • World Cup: Spectranet Begins Data Bonanza for Nigeria’s Supporters

    Spectranet 4GLTE on Monday said its new consumer promotion, Connect & Win Big World Cup Bonanza is to show support for the Super Eagles at the FIFA mundial in Russia.

    The Internet Service Provider company also said the promotion was to participate in the happy moments of its customers, new and existing, and multiply their joy by offering incredible price deals on data renewals and device purchase.

    Speaking on the timing of the promo, Head of Marketing, Mike Ogor explained  that, “The Win Big World Cup Bonanza was coined and structured to make customers enjoy more of our affordable and smart internet experience, purchase devices at amazing prices and renew data plans. It is coming at a time we decided to show our solidarity to the national team’s participation at the 2018 World Cup.”

    “We’ve got a prize for everyone. We want to make our customers happy, thus we are propelling the promotion with major open market activations in our coverage areas- Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan. Winners will be picked via monthly draws.

    New customers can participate in the promotion by purchasing any of Spectranet MiFi s  at N20,000 with 40GB and 50% data bonus on six renewals within 210 days from activation as added benefits or Freedom MiFi at N16,000 with 25GB free data and 50% data bonus on six renewals within 210days from activation as added benefits.

    Top on the list of prizes in the promotion is a trip to Dubai for 2 winners. The second prize is one year unlimited data for 10 winners while 40 Inch TV Sets will be given to 20 customers.

    Consolation prizes include: 7GB data for 200 customers and Bluetooth Speaker for 200 customers respectively.

    Existing subscribers are not left out of the world cup exciting offers. All existing customers who renew their Spectranet accounts before Nigeria matches in June and July, 2018, will be awarded 1GB data bonus for every goal scored by Nigeria during the World Cup and 5GB data bonus for every win.

    Customers can log on to www.spectranet.com.ng or visit Spectranet  Shops, Express service Outlets  and Dealer shops to participate in the promotion.

    Spectranet Limited was the first Internet Service Provider (ISP) to launch 4G LTE internet service in Nigeria. The brand is known for providing an affordable, faster and more reliable internet broadband to Nigerian homes and offices. Its internet service is currently available across Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt. Its state of the art network ensures high speed internet connectivity for the customers.

    Spectranet 4G LTE is a recipient of multiple awards for Best Internet Service and 4G LTE Provider in Nigeria in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

  • CIAN honours i-Naira, inducts founder as fellow

    For maintaining industry standard and professionalism over the years, Certified Institute of Auctioneers of Nigeria (CIAN) has given i-Naira Integrated Resources Limited an award. i-Naira is an online auction company.

    Its founder and Chief Executive Officer Hillary Nwaukor received the company’s award at a recent function that has Hon. Justice Samuel Ilori, former Chief Judge of Lagos State and Olayinka Oladunjoye, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, the State Government among other top dignitaries in attendance.

    the first online auction company was bestowed the award after being  adjudged as transparent by the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

    Elated Nwaukor, after receiving the award said, I-Naira’s strength is derived from the innovative use of technology and internet.

    He explained that, “I feel honoured owing to the fact that an idea to build an auction solution for the Organised Private Sector (OPS) five years ago has become a reality; “not only has it become a reality, we have equally become a force to reckon with after three years of operations.

    “Thus, indeed, I am happy and thankful to the registrar Mr. Adeleke Hassan, the chairman of Lagos state CIAN chapter, Dr. Jogunola Onabanjo and the governing council of Certified Institute of Auctioneers for the recognition.

     He continued, “i-naira.com auction system is a stable software that is designed with transparency as the organisation’s watchword, therefore, our customers and clients alike are happy with bid outcomes whenever we run an auction event online.”

    i-Naira.com was recently engaged in April/May 2018 to dispose of the assets of Mobilising for Development (M4D) – a DFID sponsored project in Kano, Jigawa, and Kaduna.

    He stated, “emphatically, there can’t be any more assurance or validation required to evidently demonstrate the strategic importance of i-Naira.com auction solution in closing the transparency gaps in auction processes in Nigeria while giving corporate entities the opportunity to earn more from assets they consider fully depreciated in their accounting books”.

    Earlier, Hon. Justice Samuel Ilori, former Chief Judge of Lagos State, said that the auction profession is witnessing a great leap and bound in Nigeria, however a new baby in the public and private sector.

    Justice Ilori said the profession is constituted by the finest professionals in the country with the wealth of experience in their respective professions.

     According to Olayinka Oladunjoye, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, the State Government will not relent in its efforts in designing and implementing innovative policies that would strengthen auctioning practice.

    The Commissioner disclosed that the government is at the forefront of creating a conducive business environment to make auctioneering practice more operational and attractive in Lagos state.

    The state government has written agencies of government (state and federal), manufacturing companies, insurance companies as well as financial institutions within the state on the implication of auctioning their assets without working with a recognised and licensed auction company in Lagos, Oladunjoye further explained.

  • MTN: we’re building bright future for kids

    MTN has assured kids of its unwavering commitment to building a bright future for where they could realise their dreams and live a good life.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, who gave the assurance when he led some workers of the telco to the premises of St. George’s Primary School, Ikoyi, Lagos, as part of activities to mark this year’s Children’s Day said: “When we think of Children’s Day, we think of one key word – Bright. Bright describes the future that we are trying to build together and it also describes your future. We believe that your future is bright and because of that, I say to you – stay confident, stay focused and always believe in yourself,” Moolman told the excited kids.

    Accompanied by MTN executives and workers, Mr Moolman spent time speaking with the teachers and pupils, distributing gifts. He also asked that teacher’s efforts be applauded for their indispensable role in shaping our future leaders.

    MTN Human Resource Executive, Esther Akinnukawe, who also spoke at the event, explained: “Beyond our gathering here today, across our service centres and office locations, we are also celebrating Children’s Day and sharing the same message that we are sharing with you today – you are the future and we believe in you.”

    Showing their appreciation, St. George’s Primary School administrators and teachers were full of praise for MTN and commended the company for the outreach.

    With the holiday that fell on weekend, the ICT firm took the opportunity to spend time with their younger neighbours.

    Children’s Day celebrates the welfare and inherent potential of children, who are vital in achieving the success of any country.

  • Tackle skilled manpower challenge, NCS urges Fed Govt

    Nigeria Computer Society (NCS)President, Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, has urged the Federal Government to raise modern manpower that could sustainably drive the nation’s economy.

    He lamented that nearly 90 per cent of technologies used in the country are imported despite the huge knowledge infrastructure of 162 legally recognised universities, 125 polytechnics and more than 500 agencies.

    “It is sad that after 58 years of independence, Nigeria had failed to come up with neither a globally recognised company nor product originating from Nigerian indigenous technology because the national economy had not been technology-driven,” he said.

    Giving a Keynote Address at the first International Conference on ICT for National Development and its Sustainability organised by the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Ilorin, to mark its 10th anniversary, Aderounmu urged the Federal Government to develop the ICT sector through the establishment of research centres, technology parks and incubation centres across the country. He added that the provision of reliable and affordable infrastructure and provision of fiscal incentives for indigenous software developers would also spur the development of the sector.

    Speaking on: “Leveraging ICT for National Development and its Sustainability”, Aderoumu, who is a Professor of Computer Science at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife, Nigeria, lamented that the country’s economy has not fully embraced technology as its driving force.

    He further suggested that the government could develop the sector through the creation of a special fund to assist start-ups as well as grow existing developers, enactment of a law that mandates MDAs to patronise indigenous software while mandating the immediate implementation of the approved scheme of service for IT professionals.

    While recommending that priority should be given to registered IT professional in the award of IT contracts in the country, Aderounmu equally tasked the academia to promote productive collaborations and partnerships both internal and external and create learning opportunities for the students.

    He said: “The system of mentoring, apprenticeship and tutelage, which existed in the past should be re-introduced and strengthened. Split-site arrangements should be encouraged to enable young researchers to be acquainted with new trends, globally. Spend a considerable portion of its yearly budget on global promotion activities”

    Speaking earlier, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Prof. Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, assured participants that the university would do everything possible to ensure that conferences are successfully held in the institution.

    He submitted that conferences are crucial to the students’ development and growth as it gives them exposure and cross-fertilisation of ideas, adding that students should be invited in large numbers to attend conferences.

  • NCC seeks Academy’s partnership to tackle multiple taxation, others

    The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, has sought the partnership of Nigeria Academy of Engineers to tackle the non-technical issues affecting quality of service (QoS) in the telecoms sector.

    He said the NCC would continue with the culture of support and cooperation with the Academy.

    He spoke when the Vice President of the Academy, Prof Fola Lasisi,  led other distinguished professors on a courtesy call on him to convey the readiness of the group to induct him as Fellow of the elite engineering body, at NCC Headquarters, Abuja.

    Dambatta urged the Academy to also lend its voice on the issues of Right of Way (RoW), multiple taxations, and multiple regulations to ensure that all the non-technical factors that affect the QoS are tackled.

    He said: “We will leverage the experience of the Fellows of the Academy and bring this to bear in improving QoS. QoS is normally measured, using four key performance indicators, and we believe that more additional indicators can be brought in to improve the QoS further,” he explained.

    Speaking earlier, Prof Lasis said the addition of the NCC chief to the body is a testimony to the quality of his leadership at the NCC.

    Danbatta will be inducted as a fellow of the Academy on June 21, 2018, just some 48 hours before he receives an honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of Jos.

    Prof Lasis said: “We want to show that NCC has always had very brilliant people at the top. Engr. Ernest Ndukuwe was also one of us and became a fellow when he was here. Prof Danbatta continues in the same way, so we want to congratulate him and tell him that we appreciate his becoming a Fellow.”

    Danbatta  lauded what he described as the tradition of excellence in the NCC, adding that his induction as a fellow of the Academy will be a big honour to the regulatory agency.

    “We acknowledge this recognition as a great honour to the NCC. I, therefore, pledge to continue to impact in a way and manner that will lead to the transformation of the industry, its stability, resilience and general contribution to the economy,” he said.

  • LCCI: infrastructure, delayed approvals stall ICT sector’s growth

    Dearth of infrastructure and delayed approvals by governments, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are some of the many factors inhibiting the growth of the information communication technology (ICT) sector in the country, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has said.

    Speaking on the sideline of the media launch of 2018 ICTEL Expo, organised by the Chamber at Commerce House, Victoria Island, Lagos, at the weekend, its President,  Mr. Babatunde Ruwase,  said though ICT had continued to drive the growth of the economy, the sector would have done more were basic infrastructure such as constant electricity supply, in place.

    He lamented that some operators in the industry have had to wait for more than four years to get approval to put in place the infrastructure that would enable it deploy services to its clients without success.

    Ruwase urged the three tiers of government to provide the requisite environment for private businesses to thrive and growth the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    According to him, the single major catalyst that industry, commerce, medicine, engineering and the entire anatomy of human existence have enjoyed in the last half a century is the breakthrough in ICT. He said the breakthrough has been so significant to the extent that the degree of success of nearly everything now depends on the extent of the technology applied.

    Speaking on the Expo with Developing Efficiency and Competitiveness in the Digital Age as its theme, the fourth edition and billed for between July 25 and 26 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Ruwase said it would give maximum exposure and provide an opportunity to build and reinforce the strategic relationship within the entire ICT ecosystem.

    He said topics for conference session will include Strategic Data Management in a Digital World; the Role of Technology in Education, Youth Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation; Digital Economy and the Financial Sector: The Real Issues; Emerging Technologies and Healthcare Management; Technology and Developments in Human Race; Security Management in the Cyberspace; Technology and Future of Elections; and E-commerce in an Emerging Economy.

  • Nigeria needs data classification policy, says Microsoft

    Digital technology is redefining the way people live, destroying real and imagined fetters. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), internet of things (IoT) and others in information communication, comes the era of big data. Microsoft Nigeria General Manager Mr. Akin Banuso says there is need for Nigeria to have a data classification policy. He spoke with LUCAS AJANAKU on the sideline at the inauguration of Tek Experts office in Lagos.

    How is Microsoft partnering the Federal Government to realise its goals in the information communication technology (ICT) space?

    We have a number of initiatives. We are talking not just with the Federal Government, but also the state government. But your question is specific about the Federal Government. In terms of the Federal Government, we signed an MoU back in December with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) the IT development agency. One of the things we are looking at is that we should have as a nation, data classification policies, we should have a cloud policy, which is very clear and helps us determine how we stop, use, disseminate and protect data.

    Data is critical but it needs to be accessible, otherwise it is useless. Data is powerful and useful, so there lot of the things that we are doing. We are working with various agencies of government to look at how we can do digital transformation. So, you can imagine in education or in ministries where if you went somewhere you wanted to search for records. In record management, we should be able to digitally search for records, we should be able to reference things that we need. Data is the new currency, knowledge is also the new currency, but without data, knowledge is not possible. So, we are doing a lot of the things now; you will see that we are announcing a lot of training, a lot of educational programmes and basic education up to tertiary level. We are supporting the Federal Government in its hopes for  advancing the digital space.

    How is Microsoft Nigeria involved with Tek Expert?

    Tech Expert is a global partner; it is a global services and support organisation. So, the global services and support organisation is the team that sort of empowers and helps us to empower our customers whenever they run into a technical issue or they need help. They sort of help in getting the best value out of our products; so it’s an after sales support. We have a global partnership with Tek Experts and when our global team decided that they wanted to expand the capacity, we already have 27,000 people providing this support globally. When we decided that we wanted to expand this support, one of the things that we looked at was in accordance to our mission.

    Our mission statement at Microsoft is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more, as part of its objectives and mission. We should expand the reach of our support services into other locations where we don’t currently have people so we have people in India, we have people in the United States, we have people in South America so we thought we should  also give the opportunity to Africa. We spoke with Tek Experts and told them that we want to expand, we want to look at new locations and jointly we started to evaluate Africa. We looked at couple of locations and in the end through the process, it was agreed that the first location that we will do in Africa will be Nigeria, purely because Nigeria has this wonderful depth of talented resources that are very dynamic and forward looking.

    Tek Expert said its model is that it provides support from multinational companies. We in effect, are what you will call their anchor tenants for coming into Nigeria. You could look at it that way. We are working together to come and explore, open up the Nigeria market, which we believe very strongly is right for this kind of service.

    In specific terms, how will this deepen the IT ecosystem in Nigeria?

    This is phenomenal in that it is revolutionary in terms of how it will deepen the ecosystem. The fact that we are putting this world class facility in place is significant. The internet protocol (IP), the training Microsoft brings and  the skill development that Tek Expert are going to provide for this young people is phenomenal. I mean that when they come out of this environment and we’ve seen this everywhere else, we’ve gone into it with Tek Expert, the entire ecosystem grows. This is because now you will have a number of skilled people, who are used to supporting our customers globally; who can come out and set up their own companies because they have the talent. This same people can go into other companies in Nigeria and leverage our new technology.

    So, as they become skilled in the new skills that are relevant for the knowledge age, they are able to provide better solutions. They would form their own status based on the knowledge that they have to solve the problems that we’re facing in Nigeria. So, you can imagine someone that has been supporting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the United States Navy in solving deep problems when they come out of this environment and they face our local problems. They already have the feel and then the experience to be able to now apply that knowledge and say: we could do it this way.  So, this would have a multiplier effect for our economy and then the normal things.

    Just between January and now when they started, they said they have hired 300 people and this is only for Microsoft. And for other people coming, there will even be much deeper skills and then you imagine what that does to the economy. Each person hired,  the multiplier effect and then as they go on and grow, they add more people. We have even more people joining the work force and then more competent people coming out into the society to help us grow.