The Nation Newspaper

Tag: advancement

  • Technical advancement to drive online business to $4.9b

    The rising penetration of the internet has unified the regular trading world with boundless e-commerce potential. The increasing interest of consumers in online retail stores is a result of the ease of shopping provided by these platforms.

    Nowadays, smartphone users can also access various online retail stores through several apps and shop on the go, thanks to the advancement of technologies, which is leading to an immense transformation in the retail world.

    According to a market study published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), a market research and intelligence firm, the global retail digital transformation market had reached a value of $982.8billion in 2013. Analysts at TMR expect this market to rise at an exceptional compound aggregate growth rate (CAGR) of 23.70 per cent during the period from 2014 to 2020 and reach $4,919.9billion by the end of 2020.

    The snapshot of how the retail digital transformation market is progressing in the digital space showed that the market for electronics and consumer appliances dominates the global retail digital transformation market, accounting for a share of 37 per cent in the digital space occupied by the retail industry.

    It also showed that extensive growth of the market for electronics and consumer appliances is imminent as the number of participants is likely to rise, attracting intense competition and resulting in product innovation as well as modernisation.

    The market for grocery, food, and beverages has occupied the second largest space in the digital retail market while the Nature’s Basket, Bigbasket.com, and onlinefoodgrocery.com are some of the major participants in this market segment. “Several food chains have also been trying their hand at digital services by introducing their own online product ordering services, where one can order food and beverages online and pay through cards or net-banking. Cash-on-delivery is also often an option for payment nowadays, where the payment is made in cash at the time of delivery,” TMR noted.

    According to the report, North America leads the global retail digital transformation market, accounting for a 29 per cent share while Latin America is projected to report the fastest growth among all the regional market in the coming years. The trend of rising online shopping in this region has fueled the Latin America retail digital transformation market, it added.

    “The retail digital transformation market in Asia Pacific is likely to post a CAGR of 30.20 per cent between 2014 and 2020. This high growth rate is attributed to the increasing number of online portals, triggered by the rising base of Internet users in this region.

    “The footwear and apparel industries have their biggest digital markets in Asia Pacific. The high discounts that online retailers offer to consumers in this region is the key reason for growth of the Asia Pacific market,” it added.

    eBay, Wal-Mart, Chroma Retail, Snapdeal, Rakuten, Alibaba, Reliance Digital, Flipkart, Tesco, Otto, MercadoLibre, and Amazon are the leading online shopping portals in the global arena. These portals offer a wide range of products for shopping and are known for their on-time delivery and impressive aftersales services, which have enhanced the online shopping experience of consumers.

    TMR is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Its experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyse information.

  • Expanding the frontiers of educational advancement in Nigeria

    Annually, well over 1.6million Nigerian applicants vie for limited admission slots in the nation’s tertiary institutions. At the time President Goodluck Jonathan took over the reins of governance, the carrying capacity of the tertiary institutions was below 500,000. This has been increased to about one million slots.

    Despite the improvement, Nigeria still has the challenge of access to quality tertiary education for her qualified candidates. The federal government has been working hard to resolve this challenge through expansion of learning facilities in schools and training of academic and non academic staff.

    To further ensure that Nigerians who seek tertiary education abroad are not short-changed, the federal government has opened up direct linkages with key new foreign destinations of Nigerian students to ensure they are of standard and meet the security requirements.

    One of such destinations is Hungary where the Minister of State for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike on July 21 and 22 concluded negotiations for the award of 50 post graduate and undergraduate scholarships to deserving Nigerian students under the sponsorship of the Hungarian government. The process which was initiated by the minister, and Nigerian Ambassador to Hungary, Chief Eddy Onuoha, started months ago.

    The highpoint of the process was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Nigerian and Hungarian governments on the promotion of educational cooperation between both nations.

    Wike signed the memorandum of understanding (M.O.U.) on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, while Dr Lazlo Palkovics, Hungarian Minister of State for Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resources, signed on behalf of the Hungarian Government.

    The Memorandum of Understanding is between the Nigerian Federal of Education and the Hungarian Ministry of Human Resources on Educational Cooperation for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

    Speaking at the M.O.U. signing ceremony, Wike declared that the bilateral relationship on the sponsorship of 50 Nigerian students in Hungarian universities is an indication of the progress the Jonathan administration has attained as regards the sustained development of education, which foreign governments are now appreciating.

    He said that the Jonathan administration is happy with the new scholarship window provided by the Hungarian government for Nigerian students, stressing that the administration would ensure that only students who are academically sound are short listed for the Hungarian Scholarship Scheme.

    The Minister informed the Hungarian government that President Jonathan has made access to quality education from basic to the tertiary education level as the cornerstone of his educational development policy, hence the new scholarship from Hungary is a welcome development.

    Wike expressed satisfaction that the new relationship between Hungary and Nigeria has led to the reopening of the Hungarian Embassy in Nigeria, which will benefit Nigerian students seeking visa to further their education.

    He said: “The Federal Ministry of Education is happy for the scholarship which your government has extended to Nigeria and we commend you. For us as Nigerians, we pledge our commitment to the implementation of this M.O.U”.

    The Hungarian Minister of State for Higher Education, Dr Lazlo Palkovics, declared that the Hungarian government extended the scholarships to Nigeria as a platform for the promotion for positive educational bilateral relations.

    He said that with the signing of the MOU, both countries would advance their educational cooperation to higher levels that would benefit their citizens.

    Dr Palkovics urged more Nigerians to take advantage of the high quality Hungarian educational programme to empower themselves professionally.

    With more Nigerian students expected to train in different professional areas in Hungary, the minister of state for education held a bilateral meeting with officials of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to facilitate the security of Nigerian students and get concessionary fees for students on private sponsorship.

    The Hungarian team was led by the Hungarian State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Laszlo Szabo. The deliberations were fruitful and touched on key areas of access to quality education.

    The minister at the meeting requested for the protection of Nigerian students who reside off campus in view of the fact that over 800 Nigerian students are already studying in Hungary, most of them on private sponsorship and residing off their respective campuses.

    He also called on the Hungarian government to formally consider promoting concessionary fees for prospective Nigerian students who intend to seek higher education in Hungary.

    He said: “Because of the number of Nigerian students already studying in Hungary and those who intend to study in the country, we are asking that you implement concessionary fees for our students. We are also reiterate our commitment to fully implementing all the aspects of the memorandum of understanding signed with your Ministry of Human Resources on the award of free scholarship to our students.

    “We are pleased with the re-opening of the Hungarian Embassy in Abuja to ensure that prospective students get their visas in Abuja rather than moving over to Kenya or Egypt. This relationship will develop on all fronts and our Ambassador has assured that all applicants for business visa from your country will get favourable response. We believe this bilateral relationship will lead to investments in other key areas of the Nigerian economy.”

    Speaking at the meeting, Mr Laszlo Szabo, State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, declared that the country was desirous of furthering the cooperation with the Nigeria in the areas of higher education and economic development.

    Advancing the frontiers of quality education has been one of the cornerstones of the Jonathan administration. This is another clear example that no stakeholder of the nation’s education sector would be left without due attention.

    The administration has incrementally achieved the goal of access to quality basic and tertiary education on all fronts. The fundamental objective being to use education as a tool for the empowerment of less privileged Nigerians.

     

    By Simeon Nwakaudu

    Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of State for Education

  • Advancement Board inaugurated

    Advancement Board inaugurated

    The EKSU Governing Council has inaugurated members of the newly-established Advancement Centre.

    Speaking at the inauguration, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Emeritus Professor Akinjide Osuntokun, said the board members are to generate philanthropic support for EKSU by strengthening and deepening engagement with stakeholdeholders to realise the university’s strategic vision and mission.

    Osuntokun added that the members will operate independently and with freedom to harness their own resources and enlist others to attract financial and material support to the university’s various development projects.

    The EKSU Vice Chancellor, Prof Patrick Oladipo Aina expressed confidence in the board’s ability to change the fortunes of the university.

  • Governors call for educational advancement

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, his Ekiti and Anambra State counterparts, Kayode Fayemi and Peter Obi and former Vice President of World Bank Mrs Oby Ezekwesili have urged Niger Delta states and the Federal Government to give priority to educational advancement.

    They spoke at the Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta (BRACED) states Education Summit yesterday at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

    Amaechi said: “If we don’t give priority to education, our country will be doomed.

    “I believe that is why we have gathered here today because education is first. It is the future of our children and if we don’t do that, our children and future will be doomed.

    “What we have in the Nigerian educational system is appalling, with the infrastructure dilapidating.

    “ In Rivers State, with many well-equipped model primary and secondary schools, students are now leaving private schools for public schools.

    “The administration has given priority to ICT, education, agricultural and oil economy, and we have contracted Germans to handle vocational education in fashion designing, hair dressing, welding, building technology, ICT and others.”

    Fayemi said: “We have crisis in the education sector. We must tell ourselves the home truth. One laptop per secondary school student in Ekiti state will amount to nothing, without quality teachers. What BRACED commission is doing is commendable.

    “The first thing we should do is to declare a state of emergency on the state of education in the country.”

    “I think the BRACED Commission should come out with modalities to improve our educational sector.

    The crisis we are witnessing in the North is not a religious or political crisis, but an economic crisis.”

    Obi said: “The future of the children is very important. Let us make things good and work in Nigeria.”

    Mrs Ezekwesili urged Nigerians should embrace change and that early childcare should be a regional priority.

    The former education minister added that emphasis must also be placed on basic and secondary education in order to move forward.