The Nation Newspaper

Category: e-Business

  • Uber eyes one million female driver-partners

    Uber eyes one million female driver-partners

    Major operator in the e-hailing sector, Uber, has said its global vision is to economically empower one million women across the world by 2020.

    Speaking when it hosted a selection of female driver-partners, professionals and entrepreneurs in Lagos at an event it tagged: Uber For Her, the General Manager Uber West Africa, Lola Kassim, said: “We have a global vision of upskilling and economically empowering 1 million women across the world by 2020. We know Nigerian women to be very industrious, focused and entrepreneurial, and luckily for us at Uber, we have a good number of them partnering with us as driver-partners. This event is essentially to allow other female attendees see the sort of economic opportunities they can benefit from if they use the Uber app.”

    Also speaking, Head of Policy West Africa for Uber, Jackie Omotalade, said: “Uber is committed to promoting diversity and inclusiveness for the amazing women of West Africa. This event is an opportunity for us to continue to empower women and to show them the many ways they can thrive economically and be successful as individuals. If we are going to further develop the African continent, then it is imperative that we seriously focus on the task of upskilling our Nigerian women.”

    The Uber For Her event had sessions facilitated by female Uber driver-partners, customer service and finance experts, and Tayo Oyegunle; Operations Manager, Uber Nigeria. Blessing Manuel Smallvoice, one of the female Uber driver-partners who facilitated a session on Winning The Customer Service Game: ‘’  Women can achieve anything they set their minds to achieve, they should never look down on themselves because of their gender. Partnering with a global brand like Uber helps me to understand how to build my own business better and ensure that I always provide my passengers with excellent customer experience.”

    The event, held in conjunction with She Leads Africa (SLA), had over 100 women in attendance and showcased the myriad of opportunities available for women within the Uber ecosystem. SLA is an organisation run by African women (for African women) dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and their journey towards professional success through online content and offline programmes.

  • NCC: we’re committed to promoting overall growth

    NCC: we’re committed to promoting overall growth

    The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Garba Dambatta, at the weekend in Lagos, said the telecoms regulator is committed to the overall development of the nation.

    Speaking during the grand finale of this year’s NCC Tennis Cup League at Lagos Lawn Tennis   Club, Onikan, he said the tournament’s impact in the Nigerian tennis circuit has given the NCC a lot of satisfaction and fulfilment, adding that the agency is proud to have used the opportunity to engage a number of youths in very fruitful and engaging enterprise with a bright future outlook.

    He said: “The major objective in promoting this competition is to contribute to the overall development of our nation through sports and particularly, through tennis which has the potential to engage, motivate, entertain and keep our youth physically fit and mentally focused. Above all, create opportunities for the players to earn a decent living and chance to be famous

    “We are even prouder to have taken quality tennis to different locations in the country and to see the players improving by the day due to the regular competitions the league offers.

    “It is really gratifying to note that some young Nigerians, who were part of this project, had scholarships abroad and sponsorships to tennis academies abroad where they will further their studies and their professional tennis careers.

    “The NCC Tennis Cup is a  competition open to all, including the very best male and female tennis players in Nigeria. I am glad that the cream of the best and promising Nigerian female and male players are all participating in the league and that a good number of them are now ranked on the ATP Tour. These are some of our expectations and we hope that the players will take full advantage of this NCC Tennis League Cup to excel.”

    At the end of the finals, Team Civil Defence from Abuja defeated Muller to take home the N7million prize while Muller got N5million cash prize. Third place went to Offikwu which got N3million and fourth place to Ndoma Egba which smiled home with N2million.

     

  • SAP, AYECI renovate school with N7m

    A technology firm, Systems Application Products (SAP) Nigeria and AYECI Africa, a not-for profit (NGO) have collaborated to renovate Tolu Primary School Ajegunle, one of the numerous schools in Tolu School Complex, Temidire Street, Ajegunle in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Goevrnment Area of Lagos State

    In 2015, over 300 pupils of the school were displaced after a storm blew off the roof of the entire block of classrooms housing the school. All the school’s infrastructure, including furniture, teaching and learning materials were destroyed forcing the pupils to take lessons in the open and under trees.  The outcome drastically affected the quality of teaching and learning as it exposed the pupils and their teachers to environmental hazards.

    Hope, however, came when founder and president of AYECI Africa, Mrs. Ifeoma Adibe-Chukwuka, visited the school and saw the ruins. She then intervened through a collaboration with SAP Nigeria, which led to the renovation a block of eight-classrooms with offices, toilets, library, 120 desks and sinking of a bole hole in the school.

    The gesture, which costs N7million, was in line with the group’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme started in October 2017 completed in less than three months.

    Every October, SAP embarks on its signature global CRS initiative tagged: “Month of Service”, through which it came to the rescue of Tolu Primary School and other schools.

    In a keynote address, the marketing manager – SAP West Africa, Mrs. Juliet Omorodion, who came in company of the office manager, Mrs. Dumebi Okeleke, said the SAP Nigeria Month of Service intervention was facilitated by AYECI Africa.

    She said: “Out of the feelings we have for the pupils in this school, we intervened, we are poised to intervening in such hopeless situations in order to give hope to the hopeless pupils and for a brighter future.”

    Inaugurating the project, SUBEB Chairman, Dr. Ganiyu Oluremi Sopeyin, represented by the Director, Curricular Department, Mrs. Bunmi Oteju, commended SAP Nigeria and AYECI Africa for their remarkable interventions in the state.  She said it is a worth-while venture.

    Mrs. Oteju promised to make available more desks to complement the 120 desks donated by SAP and AYECI Africa, advising the school management to properly take care of the infrastructure.  She added that the Governor  Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State encourages and welcomes private and corporate partnership in infrastructural development in the state. She then called on other corporate bodies and NGOs to emulate SAP Nigeria and AYECI Africa.  “We are most grateful and we appreciate you for your milk of human kindness in this and other gestures in the state,” she said.

     

  • Firm introduces ‘free digital’ initiative

    A leading digital agency in Nigeria, ADE Digital Media, has introduced ‘Free Digital’ services with the mission of democratising the use of digital technology tools and resources to improve human development outcomes across Africa.

    Its co-Founder/CEO, Michael Ebia who spoke in Lagos at a forum to mark the third anniversary of the firm, said the initiative is designed to promote an understanding of the possibilities digital provides in improving the socio-economic possibilities of Africans, provide a platform for Africa’s digizens (digital citizens) to experiment and create innovative solutions that are commercially viable and improve human development outcomes and influence policy actions to incentivise investment in, development and adoption of digital tools for improved human outcomes.

    “We have a bold and ambitious vision to create frameworks and partnerships that can further accelerate broad-based adoption of digital technology as a utility, encouraging Africans to intuitively use digital tools and resources to live and work.

    ‘’Africa has made a lot of progress in digital technology adoption, but for us to fully harness the potential of digital technology in improving human outcomes on the continent, we need to expand the current demographic scope for digital. ‘‘Free Digital’” seeks to among other things, accelerate the digital inclusion that is required to achieve the continent’s human development outcomes,” ,” Ebia said.

    Digital technology development in Africa still trails the rest of the world, a situation that prevents the continent from taking advantage of technology as a growth enabler in a huge number of industries. The ‘Free Digital’ initiative seeks to build a network of partners that can work together across the digital space to upend this narrative.

    On the strategy to achieve the objectives of this initiative, Ebia explained: “The ‘Free Digital’ initiative will educate demand and supply-side stakeholders on the various opportunities digital technology provides in improving human development outcomes across various verticals like education, healthcare, citizenship, commerce, job creation, to mention a few, ensuring that there is a commercially sustainable context to approaching digital opportunities.”

    “The initiative will also empower these stakeholders to take advantage of these opportunities by initiating technology development projects and developing technology hubs across the continent. We also know the role of policy in driving change and will continuously advocate for development-friendly policies to drive a more broad-based digital adoption in Africa.”

    With its competence in digital marketing, the company has over the last three years, been able to deliver on its promise of marketing campaign efficiency, to multinational and domestic corporations and organisations like Peugeot, 9mobile, Interswitch, Access Bank, Oando Plc, Verve, EMC, Konga, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Continental Basketball League (CBL), Skye Bank, to mention a few.

  • Ojobo wins NIPR presidential award

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Public Affairs Director, Mr. Tony Ojobo, has won the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Presidential Award.

    The conferment of the prestigious award was communicated to Ojobo by NIPR’s President and Chairman of Council, Dr. Rotimi Oladele.

    Oladele  specifically said: “The prestigious award is given in recognition of your sterling leadership qualities, outstanding contributions towards the development of the public relations practice and support for industry advancement.”

    The award ceremony will climax the yearly Presidential Dinner billed for Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Ojobo has brought finesse and vitality to professionalism in his day to day handling of issues in Nigeria’s fastest growing sector, the information communication technology (ICT) sector, commenting and communicating in everyday language in the public as matters arise.

    Only recently, Ojobo was honoured by the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), his alma mater, with an award of Excellence at a ceremony tagged: “Alumni Home coming and 32nd Anniversary” celebration of the Faculty of Management of the University.

     

    The board in its notification to Ojobo wrote: “We proudly took the decision to bestow the award on you in cognizance of your remarkable achievements in life, especially in your chosen career as a renowned technocrat and public servant, hence the award of excellence.”

     

  • Vodacom: technology’ll drive efficiency, productivity

    The Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Lanre Kolade, has advised entrepreneurs in Nigeria to adopt new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data Analytics currently disrupting the business world, to drive productivity, efficiency and remain competitive.

    Kolade who spoke at the Business Day CEO Forum Nigeria 2017, an annual thought leadership initiative in collaboration with McKinsey & Co, he said: “Technology such as IoT enables growth across business sectors. Today, many organisations are using this technology to cut costs, reduce risk, increase revenue and efficiency.”

    According to him African businesses are gradually adopting IoT, with Nigeria being one of the leading markets on the continent. This adoption is driven by the increasing availability of affordable smart devices, coupled with the need for enterprises to deliver shareholder value. According to the Vodafone’s Global IoT barometer report 2017, the adoption of IoT has grown significantly from 12 per cent in 2013 to 29 per cent in 2017 and 49 per cent of these adopters use IoT in conjunction with analytics to improve business decision-making.

    In Africa, disruptive technologies such as IoT holds significant potential and opportunities are found in different sectors ranging from finance, insurance to manufacturing and agriculture, including the education sector. Organisations of all sizes now use IoT to optimise processes, automate production and monitor the supply chain.

    Kolade said: “We can use technology to disrupt education, with broadband penetration, digitisation becomes possible and education contents will be more accessible to all in Nigeria.”

    Vodacom is using technology to address challenges in, education, healthcare and agriculture in Africa. Vodacom recently deployed IoT solution for education and healthcare in Kaduna State using a mobile school management solution which provides real-time visibility of all administrative activities at over 4000 schools. The healthcare solution monitors stock level and distribution of essential medicines in over 250 medicine dispensary facilities in the state.

  • Group to Buhari: declare emergency in ICT sector

    A group, Broadband 2018 Coalition, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently declare a state of emergency in the information communication technology (ICT) over Nigeria’s poor ranking on the ICT Development Index (IDI).

    Titled: “Measuring the Information Society Report (MISR)”, and published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the report rated Nigeria 143 on the global scene.

    It lamented that it is a significant downward shift from the 137 position it was last year. On the African index, Nigeria also placed 15 behind countries such as Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Gabon, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Cote d’Ivoire.

    The ICT Development Index is a composite measure, which combines 11 indicators into one benchmark index to monitor and compare ICT developments among 176 countries across the world. The three-dimension frameworks used to measure the IDI are Access (level of ICT readiness, which includes five infrastructure and access indicators: fixed-telephone subscriptions, mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions, international Internet bandwidth per Internet user, households with a computer, and households with Internet access); use (level of ICT intensity which includes three intensity and usage indicators: individuals using the Internet, fixed broadband subscriptions, and mobile-broadband subscriptions) and skills (capabilities or skills which are important for ICTs and include three proxy indicators: years of schooling, gross secondary enrolment and gross tertiary enrolment).

    Coalition convener and technology expert, Danjuma Yusuf, lamented that Nigeria’s technology landscape needed urgent intervention, given its sharp stagnation and decline in recent years. He urged the Federal and state governments, and other relevant regulatory agencies to quickly focus on strategies that would increase the country’s global competitiveness in ICT.

    According to Yusuf, Nigeria has become an object of ridicule on global ICT rankings after being beaten by countries with much lower Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    He said with direct connections to five submarine cables that cost $7billion of Africa’s $20billion submarine cable investments, Nigeria has no excuse for not leading the African index ahead of South Africa (with four submarine cables), Zimbabwe and Gabon with two cables each, and urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Nigeria’s ICT sector.

    Yusuf cited Kenya as an example of a country that also launched its Broadband policy in 2013, but is currently leading Africa in internet penetration with over 30 million people having (67 per cent) internet access, according to the Jumia Business Intelligence and GSMA ‘White Paper 2017: “Trends from the Kenyan Smartphone and eCommerce Industry”.

    He said the country was able to achieve the feat because of the proactive regulation and a government-funded National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) project, which rolled out hundreds of thousands kilometers of fiber optic cables across Kenya’s 47 counties.

    According to him, Kenya’s leadership initiatives have ensured that the country remains one of Africa’s leading recipients of foreign direct investment and the fastest advancing country in ICT on the continent.

    Mr. Yusuf urged speedy implementation of the five-year Broadband Plan stating broadband has played an outsized role in transforming societies and economic opportunities across the world, facilitating education and knowledge dissemination, enabling trade and commerce and contributing to growing entrepreneurship across the world.

  • IT project clearance saves govt N3b

    The Federal Government has saved N3 billion which would have been wasted by one of its ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has said.

    It said the N3billion was saved on a single information technology (IT) Project of the agency because it was cleared by it in furtherance of Federal Government’s anti-graft war.

    Its Director-General, Dr. Isa Pantami, said agency will ensure that there is transparency, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness in the process of obtaining clearance from the agency, adding that it was targeted at extracting maximum value from MDAs’ investments on IT projects.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had called for strict compliance to the IT Project’s clearance  directive by all government establishments to ensure that governments ICT procurements are transparent, align with government’s IT  shared  vision and policy, save costs through promotion of shared services, avoid duplication, ensure interoperability of IT systems and improve efficiency across government.

    He added that it will also lead the enforcement of the patronage of indigenous companies where capacity exist thus fostering digital economy through effective regulation and local content development as well as uphold the highest standards for service delivery.

    He spoke during this year’s e-Nigeria International Conference and Exhibition in Abuja. He also used the event to commend the agency’s efforts at enforcing Federal Government’s directive on ensuring that all ICT projects are cleared before they are implemented.

    NITDA is an agency under the Federal Ministry of Communications. The agency was created in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and coordinate general IT development and regulation in the country.

  •  Spectranet 4G LTE Appoints New CEO

     Spectranet 4G LTE Appoints New CEO

    Nigeria’s leading 4G LTE and broadband Internet services provider, Spectranet is intensifying efforts to connect its customers to innovative internet solutions with the appointment of Mr. Ajay Awasthi as its new Chief Executive Officer.

    Ajay takes over from David Venn, who has been at the forefront of building Spectranet into a leading broadband Internet service provider in Nigeria, offering faster, afforrdable and reliable internet solutions to Nigerian homes and offices.

    With over 17 years’ experience working in top positions in India’s telecommunication’s industry, Ajay looks forward to leverage Spectranet’s commitment to its customers and stakeholders and make its high quality, high speed broadband services widely available to more internet users.

    He said: “I’m delighted with my appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of Spectranet. We shall continue to introduce innovative solutions that will boost our service offerings as a leading Nigerian brand and endear us to individuals, families and businesses.

    It’s our endeavour at Spectranet to offer faster, affordable and reliable high speed broadband connectivity to our customers. We will continue to sustain our commitment to provide high quality broadband services and help bridge the digital divide by reaching across to many more Nigerian families and businesses”

    Ajay, who comes from a Sales & Marketing background, has a rich experience creating demand through marketing innovations, setting up multi-channel distribution network and running optimized business operations.

    An alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Ajay is a strong believer in the power of distribution and customer service in building a sustainable customer franchise through superior levels of service quality.

    Speaking at the official handing over ceremony, David Venn commended the shareholders, management and staff of Spectranet for the opportunity to serve the company. According to him, Spectranet is now well positioned to transform the quality and availability of Internet service offerings across Nigeria.

    Spectranet 4G LTE is a recipient of multiple awards for Best Internet Service and 4G LTE Provider in Nigeria. Established in 2009, Spectranet is one of the major controllers of Nigeria’s enterprise internet service market with strong presence in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt.

    Spectranet 4G LTE offers seamless internet connectivity to individuals, small scale businesses, and corporate =rms. Spectranet is the recipient of Nigeria Technology award for 4G LTE Internet Service Provider of the year 2017.

  • Ericsson sees one billion 5G subscriptions

    Ericsson sees one billion 5G subscriptions

    Ericsson has said there will be one billion 5G subscriptions for enhanced mobile broadband by 2023. This prediction is among the key statistics presented in the November edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report.

    Expected to be deployed first in dense urban areas, 5G will cover over 20 per cent of the world’s population by the end of 2023. The first commercial networks based on 5G New Radio (NR) are expected to go live in 2019, with major deployments from 2020. Early 5G deployments are foreseen in several markets, including the United States (U.S), South Korea, Japan and China.

    Global mobile data traffic to surpass 100 Exabytes per month in 2023

    Mobile data traffic is expected to surge by eight times during the forecast period, reaching 110 Exabytes per month by 2023. This corresponds to 5.5 million years of HD video streaming.

    All regions maintain mobile data traffic growth, with North America showing the highest average usage per smartphone, exceeding 7GB per month by the end of 2017.

    Video consumption continues to fuel mobile broadband traffic growth. The driving force behind video’s uptrend are the young millennials – those in the 15 to 24 age bracket – who stream 2.5X more than those over 45 years of age.

    Streaming video in higher resolutions and an emerging trend of increased streaming of immersive video formats, such as 360-degree video, will have an impact on data traffic consumption volumes. For example, a YouTube 360-degree video uses 4 to 5 times as much bandwidth as a normal YouTube video of the same perceived quality.

    By the end of this year, LTE will be the dominant mobile access technology. It is estimated to reach 5.5 billion subscriptions and cover more than 85 per cent of the world’s population by the end of 2023.

    Voice over LTE (VoLTE) has been launched in more than 125 networks in over 60 countries across all regions. VoLTE subscriptions are projected to reach 5.5 billion by the end of 2023, accounting for more than 80 per cent of the combined LTE and 5G subscriptions.

    Smartwatches are one of the latest devices to use VoLTE. Users are able to make voice calls directly on their smartwatch, without having a smartphone nearby (multi-SIM). Calls can also be transferred between a user’s smartphone and watch.

    Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Technology and Emerging Business, Ericsson, Niklas Heuveldop, said: “The latest report highlights trends in mobile subscription and data traffic growth, as well as the industry’s effort to tackle the increasing demands on mobile networks globally. In addition, the report examines the emergence of new use cases as network capabilities evolve – smartwatches, IoT alarms, and augmented reality-assisted maintenance and repair, to name a few. As we prepare for 5G, these trends will continue to set the agenda for the mobile industry going forward.”