The Nation Newspaper

Category: Shopping

  • Carmudi.com strengthens partnership with UBADA

    Carmudi.com strengthens partnership with UBADA

    •Renovates Africa’s largest auto market in Lagos

    Carmudi, Nigeria’s fastest growing online car classified, has renovated Africa’s largest automobile market, beautifying it with the aim of creating a neater and more welcoming environment for the automobile dealers and customers.

    In his speech, Christian Keller, Managing Director, Carmudi Nigeria, said: “We have listened to the concerns and needs of the dealers which is why we are here today to paint Berger market.”

    Carmudi Nigeria staff and several car dealers, armed with brooms, paint brushes and carpentry tools, took part in the event. The renovation consisted of cleaning the market and surrounding areas, repairing of depleted exteriors, and painting the structures in the Carmudi blue and white.

    He also honoured the deal with Berger market. He said: “We are thrilled to partner with the United Berger Market Association. At Carmudi, we aim to create the absolute best experience for our customers, and creating a more welcoming environment through this renovation is just the beginning.”

    Last month, Carmudi Nigeria held a dealers forum at Metche Park United Berger Automobile Market, Lagos where a formal partnership between Carmudi and United Berger Market Association was announced. The market, which is located along the Oshodi Apapa Expressway, is the largest used automobile market in Africa and caters to over 500 car dealerships.

    The United Berger Market renovation was the latest in the partnerships created by Carmudi Nigeria. Carmudi Nigeria previously partnered with TEDX Unilag, 9ineteen say no to child abuse, Young and Cerebral essay competition and the Eurobodo Home visit. Carmudi plans to hold a customer awareness and appreciation event in Lagos after the general elections.

  • Staple food prices go up

    The prices of staple food items have either increased or remained at their exorbitant rates. A bag of Aroso rice cost N9, 000, Agric rice, N8, 500, a bowl of garri is N300 and N400; these prices haven’t changed since December.

    Beans is N15,500 per bag; a carton of frozen turkey is N7,000, a frozen foods retailer at Ayobo, a Lagos surburb, Mrs. Ifomma Eze, said.

    It costs between N 7,600 and N8,000 for a carton of chicken; earlier, it was between  N4,500 and N6,000 for the small and big cartons.

    A tomato seller at Mile 12 market, Miss Joy Kalu, said a basket of the item that used to be N5,000 is now N8,000, attributing the increase to high cost of transporting the item and the insecurity the North.

    It is not a different scenario at Agege market. A bag of 25kg-Mama Gold rice is N6,000 and N11,000 for 50kg bag; a bag of tomatoes rice costs N 9,000, Royal Cow rice bag goes for N10,500, Special Rice bag, which used to sell for  N10,000, now costs N11,000. And for beans, the price goes for between N15, 500 and  N16,000. Also at the Agege market, a basket of tomatoes, which was sold for N4,500 before, sells for N8,500 now. At Mile 12 market in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos, a bag of onions was N6,200, now it costs  N8,000.

    Traders said the hike in the price of this staple item as well as others is as a result of the elections and  insecurity in the North.

    A bag of Chili pepper, popularly known as dried pepper,  cost N25,000, now it is N27,000. This is attributed to scarcity of pepper at the Arewa market where it is transported from.

    “The price of red oil remains the same; it sells for N6,000 and N6,200.  A 25-litre of Vegetable oil is N6,200, a five-litre goes for N1,300.

    At Oshodi Market, a carton of tin tomatoes goes for N1,800 and N1, 700.

    A bag of rice, which use to be N9,500 or N10,000 is now between N11,200 and N11,500. The increase, it was learnt, was as a result of import duties and exchange rate.

     

  • Easter celebration: Shoppers defy election fever

    Easter celebration: Shoppers defy election fever

    Despite the political tension that enveloped Lagos State before and after the presidential election that kept people out of the streets, shoppers trooped out to the Ikeja Mall for Easter shopping, reports Tonia ‘DIYAN.

    Shopping malls seem to be insulated from the elections heat that has affected many businesses.

    Lagos malls are preparing people for Easter despite the election fever.

    The malls continue to thrive daily and it is getting huge patronage from residents living in the areas where it is situated across the state.

    Alongside the usual get-to-together, merry-making, and social networking, most people find shopping malls interesting places to visit and ease up the political tension in the air. A cross-section of tenants, shoppers and other business owners at the Ikeja City Mall told The Nation that there has been an upsurge of social and economic activities in and around the malls.

    These days, because of the Easter celebration shopping malls seem to be a significant part of the lives of many people. On the outside of the Mall,  cars are parked on the vast parking lots. It’s very noisy with different kinds of music and promotional  jingles going on in each of the shops. At the top of the building, the volume of sound changes, people chatter while kids scream, most of them are heading to the Cinemas upstairs using either the elevator or the escalator. The pitter patter of feet on the tile floor echo through the mall. Aroma from the mixed at restaurants positioned strategically inside the mall; decorations to remind people of the season and people walking, talking, and laughing everywhere are common sight at the mall.

    Most families with kids went to the kids clothing stores like Kidz Country and Play Zone, with nice piece of music renting the air immediately their doors open. Cashiers at the various store greets people as they walk in; there are bright colours and sales tags everywhere. Inside the clothing stores, racks are organised by stylish and high quality clothes and are arranged by designs and colours. While parents do the shopping, kids mess the malls too as they play around.

    Adults are seen using the mall for their dating place, couples walked hand in hand. The mall lounge became a hangout for teenagers with most of them watching movie with their dates. Some of them walk around a large enclosed space to  exercise. At the beauty salon section were teenagers and middle age women doing their manicure and pedicure, some others are busy with their hair styled. On the whole, people were seen enjoying, relaxing, exercising and having fun at the mall.

    Common sight at both the inside and around the shopping malls were cab operators, otherwise known as taxi drivers. They positioned themselves strategically hunting for passengers, particularly those who came without their personal cars. As shoppers strolled in and out of the mall, they beckoned to them  for patronage  echoing words like ‘very cheap, affordable taxi for you’ or ‘AC taxi  for you, I will take you wherever you are going’. These taxi drivers are both male and female.  They usually arrive the mall at 10am and will not leave until late hours like 12am. This is because they would like to attend to those patronising the bar and hangout sections of the mall where young people are allowed to remain till the next morning.

    A female cab driver at Ikeja City Mall,  Mrs. Ngozi Abu, a graduate with first class honours from Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Edo State, joined her male colleagues at the mall two years ago when she saw how lucrative the business is.

    She told The Nation Shopping that she closes earlier than the men because she has to attend to her 6-month old baby. “I am doing this taxi business here because I couldn’t get a job after my University degree. I have interest in this trade, particularly in an environment like this where there is no discrimination and segregation,” she said.

    She said the job comes with challenges such as getting regular passes from men, who are interested in going out with her. “Some men asked me to go out with them. I tell them that as a married woman I can’t do such a thing, I have come across many, who will still tell me they don’t mind. It is a major challenge in this trade, but apart from that I am fulfilled doing what I am doing,” she said

    Similarly, another taxi driver, Mr Deji Awolu, a graduate of Yaba College of Technology said he had worked as a Manager with PC corner, a restaurant at The Palms Mall in Lekki- Lagos, before retiring to join the taxi business at Ikeja City Mall.

    Awolu said he bought his taxi with the money he got from his pension. For him, the mall is closer to his home and this enables him to return home without a hitch after a day’s job.  According to him, he takes home about  N5, 000 daily, after buying fuel and paying his daily dues to the malls management, which charges N22, 000 monthly and N50, 000 registration fees from cab operator, who  stay inside the mall to canvass for passengers. “The cab business here is a lucrative one. It is a good location for my kind of business. Though tedious because it has to do with driving, sometimes long distance. To economise fuel, I do not put on the Air conditioner except on demand and that will attract extra charges of N1000 per trip.”

    He added: “Life as a cab man at the mall is profitable and I do not have regrets whatsoever it is my car and I am enjoying using it to work at this kind of location where I am sure to take something home for my family every day. I cannot afford to stay inside because of the charges involved. But my colleagues who are inside are making more money than we are making.”

    The gate of the mall has not only been taken over by Taxi drivers, but by recharge card and bottle water sellers. Mrs. Rita Okafor is a recharge card seller, who said she sits at the gate to sell cards to people as they go in and out of the mall, said: “Patronage here is higher than staying in my area to sell. Sales move here faster and sometimes I get tips from some people who will ask me to keep the change. I face the challenge of attending to many customers at the same time, but, I am happy about that.”

    Mr. David Uche is a security man at the mall. For him, the turn up for Easter is just as massive as it has ever been regardless of the elections season that is posing fear in the minds of Nigerians. “The crowd here this season is normal and it is always like this during festivity. I am trained to manage the crowd here and that is why I am employed. I and my colleagues know what to do when we have challenges,” he said.

    He said he joined the mall seven months ago and has been coping with the challenge of standing for hours. “It is a shift job, but sometimes it can be challenging when I have to stand all morning till another colleague comes to relief me in the evening,” he added.

    Tenants at the mall are had mix feelings. Some said they are making sales others said they are not making as much as they should. There were others, who said the mall is known to always push sales with promotions and freebies’ they make available to shopper at speculated times.

    At the Accessories2die4 store where ladies accessories and costumes for occasions are sold, the sales representative who gave her name as Cynthia told The Nation Shopping that business is thriving as usual and it is not distrusted by election. “Business is hitch free, elections or no elections, but the grocery stores stocking food items tend to have more customers than we do. Some events were put on hold last Saturday and those are the kind of people that patronise us. However, that has not hindered sales for us because of our locations, we are situated in all the malls in Lagos and we are happy that we have been making sales and for this Easter, the best is yet to come for us,” she said

    To regular shoppers to the mall, prices of items this Easter is fair. A shopper, Mr Ola Parr, who  owns an advertising agency called Midea Mix,  said items he bought from clothing store inside the mall is N5, 000 cheaper than its usual price. “Prices of items here are fair and encouraging. I bought three shirts for N20, 000. Before now each of the shirts was N10, 000. Promotional offers during festivities are real, let people take advantage of offers as they come,” he said.

    Mrs. Olivia Benson, who was at the mall to window shop  said she was not a regular shopper at the mall as she was just returning from a journey and needed a place to sightsee and wait for her hubby who would pick her home. “I went round some of the shops and noticed ridiculous price slashes; I will visit the mall on Easter Sunday to make my picks. There is also a promo box outside the mall to encourage people to shop and win prize, this is very encouraging, “she said.

    Operators say Easter has begun at the mall. Mr Eniola Ositelu, its Marketing Manager,  said: “Aside the election and post election days, foot traffic at the mall has been normal as expected. Business activities seem very fine here. Foot traffic hasn’t reduced, it has stayed the same.”

    He added that the mall is safe. “Security isn’t taken lightly in Ikeja City Mall. The management has and will always put in place adequate security measures to ensure the centre is safe. The mall and its stores always have something special for shoppers this season,” he said.

  • Mr. Chef showers car gifts on distributors

    Mr. Chef showers car gifts on distributors

    Mr. Chef, Nigeria’s leading food seasoning brand, has enhanced the life of three of its key distributors in the Northcentral Zone by rewarding them with brand new cars for the loyalty they have shown towards building the Mr. Chef seasoning cubes business.

    Two distributors, Alhaji Surajo Mai Yahi and Alhaji Abubakar Mahali from Suleja, and Minna, both won a Hyundai Accent saloon car each while Alhaji Idris Saleh based in Gwagwalada, took home a Hyundai i10 car.

    Managing Director, Bayswater Industries Ltd, Mr. Piyush Nair, who presented the cars to the winners at the Central Market, Suleja, Niger State, said: “We are happy that these distributors have demonstrated commitment to the growth of Mr. Chef seasoning cubes in their regions. The car gifts affirm that every relationship with Mr. Chef is valuable because we believe in partnerships that are mutually rewarding.”

    Alhaji Mai Yahi, who spoke on behalf of the winners, said: “We are happy to have won, we appreciate the gifts and we are encouraged that Mr. Chef has always fulfilled its promises to distributors and consumers.”

    Nair praised the distributors for their contributions to the success of the on-going Mr. Chef Awuf Now, Now sales promo.

    The promo offers high value gifts that include Kia Rio cars, trips to Dubai, generators, LED TVs, and refrigerators, which are contained in scratch cards in cartons of Mr. Chef Beef and chicken seasoning cubes. Besides, there are also instant prizes such as mobile phones, radios, cutlery sets, t-rays, T-shirts, Face caps, Towels, Aprons, exercise books and biros to all customers who purchase a case of Mr. Chef beef and chicken-flavour seasoning cubes.

    So far, over 50 winners have won gifts that include Kia Rio cars, trips to Dubai, generators, LED TVs and refrigerators.

    Mr. Chef is an indispensable kitchen companion that gives value for money through a combination of quality; quantity and pricing that make customers happy all the time. Consumers all over Nigeria still have opportunity to spice up their cooking and, in the process, win big, big; again and again because the Mr. Chef Awuf Now, Now promo continues until March 31.

  • Meat sellers groan as sales slump

    Meat sellers groan as sales slump

    Meat sellers at abattoirs across the Lagos metropolis would be counting their losses today. This is because of the general elections scheduled for tomorrow, TONIA ‘DIYAN reports.

    Ideally, Saturday is supposed to be the peak of their weekly sales due to the fact that it is about the only day in the week that most families have the time to stock their deep freezers with meat, for meat sellers across the country, this may not be so.

    This is because of tomorrow’s general elections. Already, most meat sellers and butchers are gnashing their teeth because tomorrow will not fetch them any dime.

    There are fears that there will likely be scarcity of meat as well as a hike in the prices of food items across Lagos markets this weekend. According to Lagos abattoirs, the northerners that  transport cows from the north to Lagos  have registered for the elections  in their various states and as such, will want to stay back to perform their civic responsibilities in their states.

    At the Oko Oba abattoir in Agege area of Lagos,  Chairman, United Butchers Association, Alhaji Umar Adams, lamented that beyond the fear that the presidential elections for tomorrow will obstruct business activities for them at the abattoir, they have been experiencing scarcity of cows since the announcement of the elections for tomorrow and April 11.

    Adams who is popularly called Galadima Yama told The Nation Shopping that Oko Oba abattoir slaughters between 600 and 1000 cows in the week, adding that Saturdays are the days more cows are slaughtered. According to him, between 1000 and 1500 cows are slaughtered. “Tomorrow’s election will affect our business, we slaughter more cows today and tomorrow, but we won’t be able to do so tomorrow. This means no work and no income,” he said

    To meet up with the demands of the crowd who would be buying meat today, meat sellers  in Lagos have said they will slaughter more cows than they have ever done on any Friday before. This is because there would not be cow slaughtering tomorrow evening after the elections. The abattoirs will be empty tomorrow as meat sellers would also be at the polling booths to carry out their civic responsibilities.

    One of the workers in the abbatoir, Kamurudeen Ayodele said: “The election is a day and it is most important to all Nigerians. Therefore, we will go out and vote tomorrow. Our business will wait,” he said.

    Adams said these abattoirs are equipped with cold rooms to preserve unsold meat. This takes care of the fear that unsold meat would get bad before the following day. The case will not be different by tomorrow when these abattoirs will be closed, Unsold meat today will be preserved and sold on Sunday.

    Retailers who won’t be able to buy fresh meat to resell tomorrow when sale of this staple food item will highly be driven, will have to wait till Monday to buy fresh meat from the abattoirs.  Findings have it that cow slaughtering business is a profitable one depending on the type and size of the cow.

    A member of Lagos State Butchers Association, Itire Branch, Mr Ogun Omomeji  said 150 cows are slaughtered on Saturdays alone, adding that during the week, about 100 are done. But  tomorrow’s case will be different as the abattoir will be shut and every butcher will be at their various polling booths to cast their votes.

    He said: “Since election date was announced, we began to reduce the quantity of cows we buy on a daily basis to avoid waste of meat at any point in time. Some of us slaughter three cows daily depending on how financially buoyant we are and we make over N500, 000 particularly on Saturdays.

    “Election will affect the price of meat today and the quantity we sell normally for N2000 will cost N3000 and more.“

    He added also that the price of meat has been affected because of the fall in the value of the naira to the dollar.

    Alhaji Idowu Iwa Akinbola blames the increment in the prices of meat and other stapple items on the devaluation of naira. He said, he nolonger makes profit on the sale of  cows like he used to do, lamenting that he loses between N5000 and N10, 000 daily.

    Chairman, Lagos States Butchers Association, Itire Branch, Alhaji Sulaimon Yusuf, however, said shoppers have been patronising the abbatoir despite the distractions the country is facing.

    He said cow has been very expensive with the small size costing as much as between N100,000 and  N160, 000, a medium size cow costs N250,000. He  also lamented that tomorrow’s election has affected the prices of cows because those who bring them into Lagos from Niger Republic, Chad and other neighbouring countries are avoiding coming to Lagos now because of insecurity.

    He advise that it is better for the cow transporters to stay back at their places as election period is a time to protect onesself.

  • Mr. Chef showers car gifts on distributors

    Mr. Chef showers car gifts on distributors

    Mr. Chef, Nigeria’s leading food seasoning brand, has enhanced the life of three of its key distributors in the Northcentral Zone by rewarding them with brand new cars for the loyalty they have shown towards building the Mr. Chef seasoning cubes business.

    Two distributors, Alhaji Surajo Mai Yahi and Alhaji Abubakar Mahali from Suleja, and Minna, both won a Hyundai Accent saloon car each while Alhaji Idris Saleh based in Gwagwalada, took home a Hyundai i10 car.

    Managing Director, Bayswater Industries Ltd, Mr. Piyush Nair, who presented the cars to the winners at the Central Market, Suleja, Niger State, said: “We are happy that these distributors have demonstrated commitment to the growth of Mr. Chef seasoning cubes in their regions. The car gifts affirm that every relationship with Mr. Chef is valuable because we believe in partnerships that are mutually rewarding.”

    Alhaji Mai Yahi, who spoke on behalf of the winners, said: “We are happy to have won, we appreciate the gifts and we are encouraged that Mr. Chef has always fulfilled its promises to distributors and consumers.”

    Nair praised the distributors for their contributions to the success of the on-going Mr. Chef Awuf Now, Now sales promo.

    The promo offers high value gifts that include Kia Rio cars, trips to Dubai, generators, LED TVs, and refrigerators, which are contained in scratch cards in cartons of Mr. Chef Beef and chicken seasoning cubes. Besides, there are also instant prizes such as mobile phones, radios, cutlery sets, t-rays, T-shirts, Face caps, Towels, Aprons, exercise books and biros to all customers who purchase a case of Mr. Chef beef and chicken-flavour seasoning cubes.

    So far, over 50 winners have won gifts that include Kia Rio cars, trips to Dubai, generators, LED TVs and refrigerators.

    Mr. Chef is an indispensable kitchen companion that gives value for money through a combination of quality; quantity and pricing that make customers happy all the time. Consumers all over Nigeria still have opportunity to spice up their cooking and, in the process, win big, big; again and again because the Mr. Chef Awuf Now, Now promo continues until March 31.

  • Staple food prices go up

    The prices of staple food items have either increased or remained at their exhorbitant rates. A bag of Aroso rice cost N9, 000, Agric rice, N8, 500, a bowl of garri is N300 and N400; these prices haven’t changed since December.

    Beans is N15,500 per bag; a carton of frozen turkey is N7,000, a frozen foods retailer at Ayobo, a Lagos surburb, Mrs. Ifomma Eze, said.

    It costs between N 7,600 and N8,000 for a carton of chicken; earlier, it was between  N4,500 and N6,000 for the small and big cartons.

    A tomato seller at Mile 12 market, Miss Joy Kalu, said a basket of the item that used to be N5,000 is now N8,000, attributing the increase to high cost of transporting the item and the insecurity the North.

    It is not a different scenario at Agege market. A bag of 25kg-Mama Gold rice is N6,000 and N11,000 for 50kg bag; a bag of tomatoes rice costs N 9,000, Royal Cow rice bag goes for N10,500, Special Rice bag, which used to sell for  N10,000, now costs N11,000. And for beans, the price goes for between N15, 500 and  N16,000. Also at the Agege market, a basket of tomatoes, which was sold for N4,500 before, sells for N8,500 now. At Mile 12 market in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos, a bag of onions was N6,200, now it costs  N8,000.

    Traders said the hike in the price of this staple item as well as others is as a result of the elections and  insecurity in the North.

    A bag of Chili pepper, popularly known as dried pepper,  cost N25,000, now it is N27,000. This is attributed to scarcity of pepper at the Arewa market where it is transported from.

    “The price of red oil remains the same; it sells for N6,000 and N6,200.  A 25-litre of Vegetable oil is N6,200, a five-litre goes for N1,300.

    At Oshodi Market, a carton of tin tomatoes goes for N1,800 and N1, 700.

    A bag of rice, which use to be N9,500 or N10,000 is now between N11,200 and N11,500. The increase, it was learnt, was as a result of import duties and exchange rate.

  • Carmudi unveils internship opportunities at TEDxUnilag

    Carmudi unveils internship opportunities at TEDxUnilag

    Carmudi.com.ng, Nigeria’s online vehicle market place which offers buyers, sellers and car dealers the ideal platform to find their choice cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles, online, has unveiled internship opportunities.

    Founded two years ago, the firm is in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Zambia.

    It recently partnered with the TEDxUnilag team bringing the renowned TED event to the University of Lagos while also offering internship opportunities to the students. This partnership is in conjunction with other AIG ventures Jovago and Kaymu.

    The TEDxUnilag, which had event has theme: Breaking Through the Box, had over one hundred undergraduates in attendance as well as speakers who had distinguished themselves in areas such as Technology, music, drama, spoken words, finance and management.  The event took place at the Julius Berger Hall of the University of Lagos.

    Christian Keller, Managing Director Carmudi Nigeria announced the internship opportunities in Carmudi, Jovago and Kaymu. He said: ‘’This partnership with the TEDxUnilag event and the internship offer is part of Carmudi’s efforts to create a well balanced team of talented, dynamic and  highly motivated leaders. This internship will provide the interns the opportunity to learn firsthand what it’s like to work with an online company startup company.”

    Oluwatosin Adeshokan, TEDxUnilag founder and Organising Committee member, said: “We put together this event to offer the Unilag community an opportunity to share its passion and ideas with communities in Lagos and the world.”

    The independently produced event, operated under a license from TED, was organised by community volunteers and is aimed at creating dialogue as well as giving people a forum to share their passions, ideas and experiences.

    The event is sponsored by Jovago, Carmudi, and Kaymu, among others.

    Partners include Young and Cerebral, College to Communities, lArtsandAfrica, and Stand to End Rape and to apply for the Internship positions, people are advice to send a mail to careers-ng@africainternetgroup.com

  • ‘No awareness on Mothers’Day’

    ‘No awareness on Mothers’Day’

    Last Sunday, Mothers’ Day was commemorated in some parts of the world and Nigeria joined in the celebration.

    The event, aimed at honouring mothers and presenting gifts to show them love, saw shoppers visiting shopping places to buy what they called ‘the best gift’ for their mothers.

    However, some people, particularly retailers, complained that they didn’t get enough awareness to help them stock their shops with needed items and make huge sales  as usual. Some shoppers who didn’t know before Sunday had the opportunity of walking into gift shops to buy something for their mothers.

    Miss Fatimah Suleiman, a shopper said, she didn’t remember  Sun- day was Mothers’ Day until she saw people sending greetings to their mothers using the social media network.“I was reminded  late; however, I have been able to buy my loving mother a beautiful jewlery box and I know she will love it.”

    Another shopper Nkem Agu, shopped for her  mother online. “ I thought it was wise to surprise my mum with a beautiful gift, but I didn’t want to do it myself. So, I asked Jumia to do it for me. My mum just called to say she received my gift and I am happy.”

    She added that the process of buying, presenting and accepting gifts to celebrate mothers was fun and memorable.

    A sales representative with Justrite Stores at Abule-Egba, a Lagos surburb, Mr Ahmed Tijani,  confirmed that sales on Mothers’ Day unlike every other Sunday was on high. “At Justrite, sales skyrocketed for us  from 40per cent on a normal sunday to 80 per cent because people bought more gift items to woo their mothers, this is very unusal with sunday sales.”

    A retailer, Mrs Faith Nwanchukwu,  sells gifts items; also, she complained that the awareness for Mothers’ Day is not like that of the Valentine’s Day held last month.

    “I would have stocked up new and trendy gifts for today if i had this information early enough. Maybe it is because it is not a celebration that we take seriously in this part of the world. For instance, the Valentine’s Day sale was booming and I was able to record huge sales.”

    Mrs. Kelechi Ngwu sells kitchen utensils at Iyana Ipaja market where she owns a shop. She lamented that she looked forward to festivities to make huge sales, but the Mothers’ Day is an exception.

    Her words: “I didn’t know that Nigerians were used to celebrating with the western world. I would have taken sales for the Mothers’ Day seriously. Some of my customers told me about it when they came to buy some utensils to present to their mothers, some even sent gift items to their mothers in the village.”

  • Illuminating Nigeria through solar power

    Illuminating Nigeria through solar power

    Nigeria, because of its tropical location, is believed to hold a huge market potential for renewable energy sources, such as solar power, which could be generated, transmitted and distributed off-grid. The solar lantern is one step towards the embrace of the solar alternative, which experts showcased during an exhibition and public enlightenment in Lagos. This was at the launch of Lighting Nigeria Programme. TONIA ‘DIYAN, who attended the event, reports.

    The market for solar lighting products has evolved tremendously over the past two years in Nigeria, no thanks to the epileptic power supply from the generating companies (GenCos) and distribution companies (DisCos).

    The joint efforts of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank towards encouraging the country to explore this alternative energy source have started yielding results.

    Solar consumer products are introduced into the country with the aim of increasing access to affordable, clean and safer energy for both rural and urban population. Some retailers that witnessed the exhibition of solar-solution products at the launch of the Lighting Nigeria Programme in Lagos and Aba are Barefoot Power, Futura Sun, Little Sun, Total Nigeria Plc, Philips, Niwa, Schneider-Electric among others. They expressed satisfaction with the response of consumers, as people turned out in their multitude to purchase and place orders for solar products.

    Ti el Attar is the Executive Director of Niwa, an industry leader in innovation and design of solar consumer products. The company empowers families and small businesses in more than 30 countries to grow step-by-step into energy independence. It is a German-Cantonese Hong Kong based company with more than 20years experience in engineering, product designs and mass production of consumer products.

    The investors, manufacturer and  retailers of solar lantern is aware that over 70 per cent of Nigerians live in rural areas and may not have access to electricity in the next 25 years because of their long distance from the grid according to the IFC and World Bank report. He was at the Lighting Nigeria Africa launch at Sheraton Hotel in Lagos and Aba where he discovered that in many parts of Nigeria, people enjoy between eight and nine hours of sunlight than even Germany, his country which is also the highest user of solar power solutions.

    He saw the need for investors such as himself to tap into the huge potential solar market called Nigeria. Attar amongst other players in the industry, believe that for Nigeria to get rid of the epileptic power situation  faced by the citizens, power must no longer be seen as charity, but a commodity that consumers will have to pay for.

    Hauwa Usman, a consumer, is optimistic. She told The Nation Shopping at the Barefoot Power stand during the exhibition that she lives in the rural area, somewhere in the north, where residents are used to relying on dangerous sources of lighting such as kerosene lamps, candles, battery-powered touches and other fuel-based lighting considered as generally of low quality and expensive, impeding learning and economic productivity.

    She said: “The traditional lighting sources in rural areas are kerosene lamps, candle, which is inefficient, costly and dangerous to health but with this great innovation and the involvement of the International Finance Corporation and World Bank aimed at lightening up the country with cleaner, smoother, more economic light system to provide quality assurance, I am hopeful that this will help my children study better while the public places where I stay would remain bolder for longer time. This will ensure better safety in the dark, particularly on our footpaths to our homes, markets and the farm”

    Barefoot Power is an Australian Energy company dedicated to providing solar lighting and home systems to a wide range of customers in urban and rural settings. By manufacturing and selling their lights through a diverse network of distributors and retailers, the retailer provides families and communities with a safe and environmentally friendly alternative to kerosene and diesel powered generators.

    The sales person at the stand during the exhibition said; “As leaders in our field, we are noted globally for our quality products as well as our strong warranty system which is for two years.”

    The Lighting Nigeria Programme has succeeded in mobilising local and global manufacturers of solar-powered lighting equipment to the country. The programme has carefully designed interventions and in collaboration with key stakeholders, created new channels through local distribution companies that will help build robust supply chains for off-grid lighting products in the country.

    The programme’s Project Manager, Itotia Njagi said solar power is more reliable than every other source as it is cleaner and more environment-friendly.

    Njagi said:  ”This is different from the inverters, because inverters still rely on the grid. The primary technology that this one uses is solar. And before now, the perception people had about solar is that it is an expensive technology. People had the perception that solar is beyond their reach. But from what we are seeing, we have discovered that people spend an average of between N800 and N1, 000 on kerosene or for charging the grid connected lanterns. Looking at this for a year, that is a huge amount of money, that is sufficient to get a good solar solution. So, for us we are saying if you are off-grid there is a lot of energy solution available for you at affordable rates.”

    People who are off-grid buy kerosene and batteries on a daily basis. But when the cost is summed up yearly, it is more expensive than solar solutions. Therefore, the question of how to provide financing for people living in rural areas comes up. Investors say they have primarily identified two solutions; one is financing through micro finance institutions because they believe the micro finance institutions that have a great role to play in providing people in the rural communities the medium to buy these products.

    The second is very innovative and it is the emergence of a technology called pay as you go. This technology rides on the mobile platform and also on the mobile phone. Subsequently, what is attainable is a solar product that is activated any time a person pays a certain amount. This system is designed to match the expenses a person spends every day for other forms of power. This technology, according to the Lighting Nigeria Programme would become a reality in the next six months from now.

    The initiators of this programme have said a very critical factor that stimulates bad news rather than the good one would prompt them to put measures and strategies in place to ensure that there are quality products in the market, such that will promote quality products and differentiate the good quality solar brands from the not too good ones, to enable the consumer make informed decision.