An online marketplace which specialises in developing digital platform for smooth business transactions, Dillivry, has reiterated its readiness to reposition logistics services in the country with the deployment of modern technology.

The Chief Executive and Technology Officer (CE/TO) of Datamellon and promoter of Dillivry, Mr. Wale Adedeji, said: “When we started building the platform, we set out to achieve few things: make it super easy for individuals and businesses to request delivery with a few clicks and get their items delivered at the best price without having to chase after any rider or driver; make the platform a central hub for all delivery needs in the country where logistics providers can quote for jobs, do more business and never travel empty on either leg of their journey; and charge the smallest fee and allow providers to set their rates and earn.”

Adedeji said with the democratisation of the delivery business, Dillivry has succeeded in providing opportunities for individuals with means of transportation to earn extra income by making deliveries; it also provides more jobs and Return on Investments (RoI) for logistics companies across the nation.

He said since it started operation, the platform has successfully on-boarded well over 10, 000 transporters who now use the platform to enhance their logistics business across the country, stating further that Dillivry being a major indigenous player in logistics marketplace offers better options where senders request for delivery and verified providers compete to get the job done with their quoted prices.

“We are the number one delivery app where the senders have a real choice of who carries out their delivery request. Transporters submit no obligation quotes which are visible to every registered and verified provider on the platform. The only logistics app where the transporters determine their prices and cash-out instantly as soon as the sender makes payment, and all security codes processed by the provider.

“When a sender requests a delivery, he or she can specify same-day service or schedule for a future date.  If a job is to be done same-day, we advise the sender to review and accept quotes on time as they are being submitted by the logistics providers. We have a robust dispute resolution mechanism to deal with missing item claims. However, what we have seen on the platform so far, are dedicated, trustworthy and hard-working providers who have been handling customers’ items with care and zero case of missing items reported so far from thousands of successfully completed deliveries we have recorded,” Adedeji said, adding that smart technology has provided the leeway for people to do their businesses with convenience.

According to its promoter, it is an online platform where riders, drivers, transporters and logistics companies compete to deliver their respective goods and other services from anywhere to anywhere in Nigeria. The platform, as such, is currently 100per cent Bootstrap by Datamellon with no external funding.

The firm provides a simple process of moving items at the most competitive price by listing the client’s delivery request and letting the registered and verified transporters and logistics providers compete to carry out the job.

The app is available for download on Google Play Store, App Store or via the web at https://dillivry.com

Oracle Academy and Wificombat Train have partnered to train over 100 students and teachers across Nigeria on how to use the Oracle Apex software to build data apps for the realisation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN).

The two organisations held a three-week bootcamp tagged: The Oracle Codeweek Nigeria, to teach students and information communication technology (ICT) teachers across the country on how to use the Oracle Apex data application software.

Oracle Apex is a cloud-based application used by developers around the world for building database driven applications.

The unique feature of the software is that it is a low code application. This means that developers get to write little or no SQL code which makes database developers build applications really fast.

At the start of the programme, founder of Wificombat Academy, Mrs Dele Tejuoso, re-introduced the Oracle Academy programme to students and teachers in attendance. She also explained the benefits of schools being a member of the Oracle Academy, which is enjoying training such as the Oracle Apex Training.

She introduced Mr Kolade and the assistant facilitator Titilayo Hamzat as the facilitators who were very instrumental in the delivery of the training and students attested to the ease of onboarding with the Oracle Apex software.

Last year, teachers attended the oracle Apex training solely and got exposed to the Oracle Apex software but this year, the teachers selected some students from their schools to attend the Oracle Apex training to learn how to use the software

This bootcamp ran from April 12 to 28. It was held in three batches where students and teachers from private and public secondary schools attended. The bootcamp saw in attendance a total of 107 students who attended and 17 schools; 14 schools from Lagos, two schools from Ogun State and 1 school from Osun State.

Of the 17 schools that attended, the schools that stood out during the program were Whitesands School, Julliard Academy, Grange School, Supreme Education Foundation, Childville School, Halifield Schools, and Surulere Junior Secondary School. The students learnt how to use the Oracle Apex software; Understand the Oracle Apex interface, Understanding the four major workspace interfaces in Oracle APEX, use the Oracle Builder, Oracle gallery and Oracle SQL.

The students were able to create various data applications such as; a football application calendar, a schedule application for Travelling and creating a file from a spreadsheet.

The students also shared their experiences for the three-day trainings done in three batches.  They expressed gratitude on learning how to build a data application system that requires little code, one student said: “This program has ignited my interest in programming and database.’’ Another student said: ‘’I believe it was very educational and served as a nice introduction to the usage of the oracle Apex platform. The organizational structure was decent and could possibly be improved upon. This program has strengthened my dream of becoming a data scientist, so I am thankful.’’

In attendance at the bootcamp was Programs Manager, sub-Sahara Africa, Oracle Academy, Bekere Amassoma who addressed the students and teachers in attendance. She shared how important it was for students to be future ready for the 21stcentury workforce and spoke about how students’ projects should be tailored towards developing applications for SDGs.

She encouraged students to come up with a solution to any of the sustainable development goals and to build an app with the Oracle apex data application.

In lieu of this, the students will be having a semi demo day this June 25th, 2022. On this day students from the various schools that participated in the Oracle Apex Training would be presenting their applications built with the Oracle Apex.

The application would be based on providing solutions to any of the SDGs

Philanthropist and businessman Abig Nwankwo has stated that the economy needs rescue from total collapse for the sake of all.

He stated this in a business summit in Anambra State where he shared his thoughts on the dwindling economy.

Nwankwo said being conscious and consistent in a business setting helps foster a diverse means of propelling solutions to crisis when they arise.

According to him, one can freely say a business owner is the director of his managerial work and plays according to the ethics of his business.

There are billions and tons of businesses springing out from different places of the country, one which ought to be recognized is the business of leveraging on the technological platforms to push our business ideologies.

Describing Nwankwo as an avid entrepreneur and politician whose skillful nature will further deepen democratic dividends to the people of his State, a community leader, Pascal Onyeka said, the people are grateful to him for bettering heir lives.

“The economy of the country as a journey of a thousand which needs joint efforts to make it different from usual, as many of the old skills and approaches to boosting the economy and country had become redundant. Which would literally send the country centuries back,” he said.

He further advised Anambra youths to create a setting where their businesses can continue to thrive, in spite of any poor economy they find themselves.

According to reports, the digital economy is expected to contribute up to $300 billion to Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2025 and the working age population across the continent is expected to grow by 450 million people. LUCAS AJANAKU writes on the role of Metaverse in deepening the digital ecosystem.

Since the start of the 21st century, technology has been at the heart of enhancing communication and human contact. The internet has not only enabled people to communicate with family and friends all over the world in real time, but powered businesses and creativity across the globe.

According to the Director of Public Policy, Africa, Meta, Balkissa Ide Siddo, each passing day, more technologies are built to improve our quality of life and shared experiences. We are hearing more and more about the Metaverse, not only in the tech community but also among friends and family, she said.

What is Metaverse?

Siddo said the Metaverse will be a set of virtual spaces, including immersive 3D experiences that are  interconnected, so you can easily move between them. It will let you do things you couldn’t do in the physical world with people you can’t physically be with. In the  Metaverse, you’ll be able to hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, and more.

Metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative, social and economic opportunities, and Africans can be involved in shaping it right from the start.

Metaverse and Africa’s role

Siddo said no one really owns the Metaverse. Several tech companies like Meta (Facebook) are already starting to think about the future and ways to make the metaverse a reality. It isn’t a single product one company can build or own alone, and if it is to succeed, it will need to be open and interoperable.

Bringing this to life will take collaboration and cooperation across companies, developers, creators and policymakers. It will be built gradually, as many of the products and infrastructure will only be fully realised in the next decade or so. This means great opportunities for Africa, as our booming Internet economy will enable Africans to play a part in this collaborative future.

Africa is Metaverse ready

The evolution of the metaverse will support amazing creativity and open up new horizons for brands and businesses, and the community as a whole. Now the question is, how can we ensure Africa is metaverse ready?

Africa has a large consumer market, and, crucially, top-quality talent. The digital economy is expected to contribute up to $300 billion to Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025 (10per cent growth per year), and the working age population across the continent is expected to grow by 450 million people, or close to 70 per cent, by 2035.

Thriving tech start-up ecosystems in Africa are already driving job creation and economic growth. Looking ahead they will help to shape and create the technology that will change how we live and work and shape our shared digital future.

In fact, Africa is already alive to the possibilities of the Metaverse. Nigeria’s Thrill Digital, founded by Delz Erinle and artist Niyi Okeowo, is using artificial intelligence (AR) and virtual reality (VR), crypto and gaming, to create a fashion Metaverse. Thrill Digital won a $40,000 grant from Epic Games, a United States video game and software developer investing in Metaverse development, to start Astra, a play-to-earn crypto game where players try to amass as many tokens as they can within an allotted time to win real-life luxury fashion items.

Africarare—referred to as “the first South African metaverse”—launched in October 2021. It represents a digital land, Ubuntuland, and offers immersive VR experiences including a marketplace for art. Africarare featured the premiere NFT art collection from the well-known South African artist Norman Catherine. Africarare users can purchase land via $UBU Coin, create avatars, and engage in social, gaming or art experiences, and new Africarare NFT collections will continue to be featured.

Africa’s largest mobile network operator, MTN Group, also announced in February 2022 that it had purchased 144 plots of virtual land in Ubuntuland. MTN is the first African company to invest in the Metaverse. These are exciting times for the African tech ecosystem and this is just the beginning!

Opportunities

According to Meta, metaverse will also provide a significant opportunity for African brands to advertise themselves and tell unique stories in truly engaging ways. As Africa’s population becomes the largest workforce in the world by 2035, many tech analysts are convinced that the metaverse will open up economic opportunities in Africa, pointing to its relevance to the evolving post-pandemic world of work.

More interestingly, a report which estimates the impact of the metaverse 10 years after adoption, indicates that the metaverse will contribute about 1.8 per cent GDP growth to the sub-Saharan African economy, representing a $40 billion growth.

Meta’s commitment to Africa

“Meta’s recent opening of its second office in Africa – in Lagos, Nigeria – is testament to our commitment to Africa’s role in the metaverse. The office is the first office in Africa to have a team of engineers to support the sub-Saharan region,” said Siddo, adding that Meta has also launched a two-year $50million XR Programs and Research fund to build the metaverse, which includes funding for a “Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds” programme. The programme will see the company partner with Africa No Filter, Electric South and Imisi3D to support creators amplifying African voices and pushing the boundaries of digital storytelling. The program provides grants, mentorship, and supports VR storytellers to develop new and compelling content about Africa, showcasing innovative storytelling that shifts negative stereotypes about Africa.

By using immersive technology such as 360 video, VR, AR and mixed reality, creators can receive funding of up to $30,000 and mentoring from Meta to grow their skills. Together we can be sure Africa is truly metaverse ready.

Expectations are high shoppers anticipate price crashes  across product categories, including Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), home and kitchen appliances, electronics, computing, mobile phones, wine and spirits, and fashion as well as highly discounted flight tickets to any part of the world from Konga Travel and more as Konga partners major manufacturers to save money for shoppers.

This innovative mid-year promo, the first of its kind in Nigeria, is holding next month, with the management of Konga, describing the Mid-Year Shopping Festival as a yearly event to celebrate Konga’s anniversary, Father’s Day and Democracy Day, among others.

Co-Chief Executive Officer, Konga Group, Nick Imudia said: ‘‘It is a month Nigerians must celebrate annually to appreciate the Almighty’s love. At Konga, we celebrate June with special smiles, both in our heart and pocket.’’

Scheduled to run from June 1 to 30, this year, Konga Mid-Year Shopping Festival is generating excitement among bargain-hungry shoppers.

The 30-day maiden promo will offer shoppers a chance to take advantage of massive discount rollouts from various arms of the Konga Group. In addition to other offers, KongaPay users will enjoy special discounts and bonuses on data, airtime and other transaction charges while corporate organisations, business owners, cooperatives, educational institutions and other heavy shoppers can take advantage of huge deals on their bulk purchases via Konga Bulk.

Also bound to excite shoppers is the opportunity of enjoying a further 10 per cent discount off purchases made with Access Bank debit cards or OPay virtual cards.

Throughout the duration of the month-long shopping extravaganza, shoppers on the Konga platform will also enjoy treasure hunts, flash sales, freebies and other incentives on a regular basis, while the management of the company has also assured of swift delivery of orders to prospective shoppers wherever they may be across Nigeria.

Konga retail stores, located across Nigeria’s vast landscape, will expectedly play host to significantly increased visits from interested shoppers during the period.

Konga Mid-Year Shopping Festival goes live next Wednesday and will run till June 30, 2022.

Original equipment manufacturer, Ericsson’s strategy is to focus on innovation and 5G portfolio development to stay ahead of the curve and provide customers with the solutions they need for building the future networks.

Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks, Ericsson, Fredrik Jejdling, who was reacting to the company being ranked as the leader in the Frost Radar: 5G Network Infrastructure Market 2021 report, said: “The Frost Radar report recognises Ericsson’s investments in technology leadership for customers’ benefit. By focusing on constant innovation and 5G portfolio development, we aim to stay ahead of the curve and provide our customers with the solutions they need for building the future networks.”

The ranking showed the company’s ability to scale its innovations and growth in the field from 2G, 3G and 4G to 5G.

By ranking the highest in the latest Frost Radar Report, Ericsson confirms its status as the leader in terms of innovation and growth in the 5G network infrastructure market, which, according to business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, spans 5G radio access networks (RAN), transport networks, and core networks.

The Frost Radar evaluates companies with a significant influence on the market in a particular industry. As highlighted in the Frost Radar methodology, the Innovation and Growth scores are used to rate a company’s focus on continuous innovation and ability to translate the innovations into consistent growth.

The report plots top industry participants, standing out among companies positioned as the market leaders, leaders in a market segment, or thought leaders in certain segments.

Commenting on Ericsson’s top result by the Growth Index, Industry Principal, Frost & Sullivan’s Information & Communication Technology group, and the author of the report, Troy Morley, said: “Ericsson has spent the last few years adjusting its overall strategy to focus on profitability. The company has indicated that its strategy has been successful, even with the challenges brought by the pandemic. As a leader in the 4G infrastructure market, Ericsson enters the 5G market with a large customer base. The company has done an excellent job keeping its customers and adding new customers.”

On top of the 5G commercial agreements, Ericsson still maintains a significant pipeline of customers who are expected to move to 5G over the coming years.

About Ericsson’s top positioning, the report highlights the company’s ability to scale its innovations on the global level across generations of mobile technologies – from 2G to 5G.

The **108 live 5G networks powered by Ericsson’s products and solutions in 48 countries, the highest level that Frost & Sullivan has reported, comes as credible proof to the Frost Radar  assessment.

“Ericsson invests significant amounts in R&D, which is essential in a market where technology is always evolving. Having CSP market as the primary focus, Ericsson’s 5G portfolio includes all areas of 5G network infrastructure, previous generations of network infrastructure, as well as private networks,” Morley said.

Ericsson’s 5G network infrastructure portfolio comprises 5G RAN, dual-mode 5G Core, and 5G Transport that address all aspects of 5G deployment – from providing low latency and higher bandwidth, ensuring instant response times for users and the future readiness of the network for CSPs. Ericsson’s 5G network offering also includes Ericsson Radio System, 5G Carrier Aggregation, Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, network slicing, service automation and 5G monetization. CSPs are empowered with 5G solutions that enable the modular approach when switching to the cloud-native 5G network or expanding their network for new business opportunities.

To encourage and simplify vehicle ownership for personal use by millions of Nigerians, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is offering auto loans of up to N30 million at a reduced interest rate.

The FCMB auto loan supports acquiring brand new and pre-owned vehicles (popularly known as “Tokunbo”) with N500,000 as the minimum loan amount that a customer can access for a repayment duration of up to 5 years.

This affirms FCMB’s commitment to improving the social well-being of individuals and enhancing access to credit for higher standard of living for families.

Commenting on the unique value proposition, Divisional Head, Personal Banking of the Bank, Mr Shamsideen Fashola, said: “Vehicle ownership is one of the most exciting moments in a person’s life. Yet, many people struggle to save up for a long time to make this dream come true.

“To bridge this gap, we created a value proposition that is flexible, convenient and empowers individuals, families and businesses to achieve the dream of vehicle ownership.

“Nigerians can now finance their dream vehicle with an auto loan from FCMB at a low-interest rate with monthly or yearly payment options depending on their income.

“We, therefore, urge the populace, including, but not limited to salaried individuals, to take advantage of this opportunity to fulfil their vehicle ownership dream”.

FCMB Auto Loan empowers qualified Nigerians to part-finance the purchase of brand-new and pre-owned vehicles while spreading the repayment between one and five years.

The loan, which is dependent on the type of vehicle to be purchased, is open to salaried individuals and self-employed Nigerians.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the number of registered vehicles in Nigeria is 13 million.

However, vehicle ownership in the country has been declining because of increased prices.

This is due to foreign exchange and importation challenges, leading to a drastic reduction in purchasing power and sales decline in the auto industry.

The intervention of FCMB in the automobile sector aligns with Goals 3 and 10 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which focus on well-being and reduced inequalities.

Last week, two leading telecom service providers, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, started their Payment Service Banks (PSBs). According to Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA’s) 2020 report, while 45 per cent of adults have bank accounts, 36 per cent are still financially excluded. It is hoped the PSBs will bridge the gap in banking services, LUCAS AJANAKu reports.

MTN’s Mobile Money (MoMo) payment service bank (PSB) has begun operations in Nigeria. The operator with the largest subscriber base notified shareholders of the development, saying the opening of the bank followed a successful pilot initiated on May 16.

MTN said this is a key milestone in delivering the company’s Ambition 2025 strategic priorities, and the bank is poised to enable millions of unbanked and underserved Nigerians to access a wide range of financial service products.

In addition, the company said, MoMo wallets in the future will enable Nigerians in the diaspora to send money to any phone number in the country, “an important feature given Nigeria’s ranking as the destination for the highest remittance inflow in sub-Saharan Africa”.

Airtel Africa, leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, also announced that its subsidiary SmartCash Payment Service Bank Limited (SmartCash PSB), has commenced operations in Nigeria.

MTN Group first announced its steps in the process towards final approval of the licence last November, saying this was subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions as stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

With the payment services bank licence, MTN Nigeria will offer a wider range of mobile financial services beyond the traditional person-to-person mobile money transfers, such as lending and bill payments.

The commencement of bank operations is a positive step in the telco’s fintech drive and comes as the MTN Group is on track to spin-off its lucrative fintech business.

The telco has set the second quarter of the 2022 financial year as the deadline to spin-off its financial services unit.

CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said: “We are grateful to the CBN for their support and guidance through the process. This is an important milestone for MTN Nigeria in our mission to support the government’s drive towards financial inclusion in Nigeria. Nor just for those in urban centres and markets, but also people in the rural and remote areas of the country who remain excluded from the financial system.”

For MTN Nigeria, the MoMo bank will bolster its already flourishing fintech business, which is growing rapidly into its most rewarding market.

Airtel said services will initially be available at selected retail touch points, and operations will be expanded gradually across the country over the next few months.

Reacting to the development, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, Segun Ogunsanya, said: “I am very excited to announce our commencement of operations for financial services in Nigeria through SmartCash PSB. This is the beginning of our journey to revolutionise the financial services landscape in the country. To help further digitise the economy, and most importantly to help bank the unbanked by reaching the millions of Nigerians who do not currently have access to financial services by delivering current and savings accounts, payment and remittance services, debit and prepayment cards and more sophisticated services.”

In the current reporting for the first quarter of 2022, MTN Nigeria’s fintech revenue rose by 46.7per cent on the back of the growing adoption of fintech services and an expanded user base.

MTN’s MoMo agent network continued to widen, with more than 800 000 registered agents and over 166 000 active agents.

MoMo PSB CEO Usoro Usoro comments: “Providing easy to use, accessible and affordable financial services to all Nigerians is essential to executing the CBN’s financial inclusion strategy and the digital inclusion agenda of the minister of communications and digital economy.

“We look forward to playing our part and are excited about the opportunities to partner with relevant institutions across various sectors to co-create and expand access nationwide.”

Despite the huge uptake of technology in the country, awareness about the availability of various security technology solutions is still low, a technology firm, Virdi Nigeria, has said.

Speaking with The Nation on the sidelines of the Securex West Africa Exhibition in Lagos, the Regional Sales Director, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Virdi Middle East, Dubai, Mr. Manzoor Fatmi, said the market for technology is huge but added that awareness around the knowledge of security solutions remained low.

“What we understand is that Nigeria is a huge potential market. I will not say due the security concerns or whatever, because this market is still, I will say, as far as technology is concerned, is not tapped by the major vendors at present; the demand is very high which I have noticed. Besides this, not only the demand, but the awareness about security technology the people are not really up to the level with other regions. But the people are really interested to know. This is the best point I found here,” he said in response to how the company’s solution could be deployed to tackle Nigeria’s homeland insecurity.

He said the company is certified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States and manufactures biometric devices based on 100 per cent fake fingerprint and face detection technology.

“This is one of the very unique points. The sensor is approved from FBI in the US. That is the reason we claim that our product is based on hundred per cent fake fingerprint detection technology,” he said.

He said the ability of Virdi biometric devices to detect fake and live fingerprints remains one of the company’s strongest points.

Virdi Nigeria is the West African arm of Union Community, a global leader in security software and contactless multimodal biometric solutions and biometric devices along with face recognition, access control, time and attendance management, visitor and meal management solutions.

He urged both the private public sectors to ensure that the security products they use in routine operations are also secure. According to him, if a company uses a security product to secure some of its areas, the company should be sure that the product is also secure.

He said: “People don’t think about this point. This is one of the challenges that I saw. Users don’t realise this. You are paying a huge amount for a nice, beautiful device and at the end of the day, the device is not secure. What is the use of the amount which you are spending, actually?”

Mr. Fatmi, who also spoke about the face recognition technology solution provided by Virdi Nigeria, said: “We have a very good facial recognition model which is purely touchles, just show your face within a distance of fifteen centimetres and it recognises the face. Presently, we also have a model that can detect up to four faces simultaneously at a distance of three metres.”

He further explained that the company’s time and attendance solution, vTime, addresses the issue of manipulation in time and attendance management and helps organisations, especially manufacturing companies to save cost, maximise operational efficiency and enhance user convenience.