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Tag: delivery

  • Supermart.ng : delivery in three hours across Lagos

    Raphael Afaedor is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Supermart.ng. He was also co-founder and Managing Director of jumia.com.ng for Lagos Nigeria from March 2012 toJanuary 2014. In this interview with TONIA ‘DIYAN, he speaks on his online business journey so far, some challenges the business is facing. Excerpts:

    Share your journey so far in online business.

    Actually, it’s been quite some years of adventure. I began my career at Monster.com where I rose to become Senior Manager in charge of Software Product Development for 18 Western European countries. I later worked at Goldman Sachs and Notore Chemical Industries before co-founding Jumia Nigeria in 2012.

    In 2014, we saw a need to solve more every day problem of households in Nigeria especially Lagos, so we started Supermart.ng, Nigeria’s leading grocery delivery service.  We have observed the stress that people go through in order to shop for groceries. Most time they move from one shop to another before going to local market to buy local ingredients. This is due to the unstructured nature of the traditional retail and wholesale system.

    Supermart.ng, however through its partnership with leading supermarkets and local markets has developed the largest one stop online market for customers to shop from over 60,000 items and have it delivered to them in as early as three hours across Lagos.

    What was the initial response from customers?

    Nigerians have come a long way in terms of accepting the e-commerce solution. At first they were actually reluctant but over time they have come to trust the system. From what it used to be when it started a few years ago, there has been significant progress. For instance earlier in 2012 ecommerce sites were recording 2,000 orders per day. Between 2012 and now we have had an exponential growth to the tune of 50,000 orders per day. At Supermart.ng, for instance, we currently record 30 per cent growth month-on-month. The major thing is to put in place a structure that customers can trust.In our own case, supermart.ng has put a system in place that customers can trust to deliver their groceries to them in as early as three hours without any hitch.

    What are the challenges?

    There are several challenges in the course of this business I must tell you but more importantly we have been able to surmount all of them.

    First, the market itself is not organised. By the market I mean the traditional wholesale and retail system. This is quite visible in the fact that it is quite hard for someone to get everything he or she wants in just one supermarket.Sowhat Supermart.ng, has done is to partner with leading supermarkets and local markets in Lagos. This ensures that Nigeria customers can now buy their groceries and everyday essentials (local and imported brand products) at one address online and have it delivered to their homes and offices across Lagos in as early as three hours. Customers can now select from over 60,000 items on Supermart.ng,website– the largest assortment of groceries and everyday essentials in Nigeria across physical and online Supermarkets. With just a click you can access everything you need from the comfort of your home without having to move from one market to another.

    Another challenge is that of logistics. Especially in Lagos, there is the fear of the unpredictable traffic situation. The traffic situation is a challenge both to the customers and to the ecommerce companies. For the customers it’s a discouraging factor from going to the stores. For the ecommerce companies, it accounts for their delay in delivery. Traditionally, it takes two to 10 days for orders to be delivered to customer’s doorstep. However, this approach cannot be used for groceries considering that most of the orders are needed the same day. In view of that, what Supermart.ng, has done is to embark on adequate city research to understand the flow of traffic so that we are able to deliver groceries in as early as three hours against all odds. In fact, during the last fuel scarcity period when telecoms companies and banks were shutting down, we still delivered and our three hours delivery promise did not fail. Essentially, those challenges are always there but when there is a will, there is always a way.

    Compare online business with other types of businesses?

      Honestly, I just feel the best way to think about this is that almost the same set of principles applies to both online and offline businesses. A typical successful business sets out to solve people’s problem and it is rewarded for doing that. The hallmark is solution and reward.

    For instance, Supermart.ng, saw the stress that people go through on daily basis from one market to another in order to purchase their groceries, we decided to assemble all the products into one market place where people can order for everything at the exact market price and have it delivered to their door step in three hours. Currently we have partnership with leading supermarkets and local markets, allow customers shop from over 60,000 items and have it delivered to them in as early as three hours, seven days a week. It is all about commitment to bringing solution.

     

  • Boosting global competitiveness through service delivery culture

    Boosting global competitiveness through service delivery culture

    Despite Nigeria’s huge customer base, leveraging on quality service delivery culture to build brand equity remains a herculean task for most businesses. But The Workplace Centre Limited (TWPC), a human resource and information technology consultancy firm, is set to reverse the trend. TWPC is  to host business managers, chief executives and social entrepreneurs to its customer service training. The aim is to provide insights into consistent service delivery strategies that will revolutionise customer service culture. Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.

    Most successful global brands are built on a track record of excellent service delivery culture. But this is not the case in Nigeria where, despite an intimidating customer base of about 170 million, most companies and businesses have not been able to make their products and services irresistible.

    The verdict by brand analysts and managers is that Nigerian entrepreneurs, despite being acknowledged globally for their tenacity and ‘can do spirit,’ have not been able to ride on the platform of a robust service delivery culture to build brand equity.

    This much was confirmed by a recent ‘Africa’s Top 50 Companies’ published by African Business Report, in which only seven Nigerian companies made the list. The survey, which jolted not a few business owners, brand experts and stakeholders, added that many local brands failed in according their customers the required excellent service delivery. The belief is that when compared to some businesses that invest immensely in excellent customer service strategies, Nigerian businesses still have a long way to go. The ‘care-free’ attitude of most brand managers and chief executives is said to be largely responsible for the poor level of patronage of local brands.

    But the situation appears set for a reversal. The Workplace Centre Limited (TWPC), a human resource and information technology consultancy firm, has concluded arrangements to engage managers, supervisors and client interfacing executives on how to make strategic decisions to transform their organisations’ customer relationship management and to emotionally connect and add value to every interaction. Specifically, the firm is set to host business managers, chief executives and social entrepreneurs to its customer service training scheduled for the 24th of this month, in Lagos.

    The training is aimed at providing insights into consistent service delivery strategies that will revolutionise customer service culture in Nigeria.

    The forum, tagged: “The Customer Amazement Revolution Master Class” will, according to its organisers, expose participants to current trends in customer service relations, drawing from the wealth of experience of speakers, including Shep Hyken, a customer service expert and the award winning author of books, such as The Amazement Revolution; Benjamin  Ola Akande, the 21st president of Westminster College, Missouri, United States; and the immediate past Dean, George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology, Webster University, among others.

    To meet the increasing demand for quality customer service, co-founder and Managing Partner, TWPC, Mrs. Bola Adeniyi-Taiwo, urged business owners, managers and social entrepreneurs to join hands with her company, which offers unparalleled quality services in its areas of expertise, to promote the much-needed amazement revolution in customer service delivery.

    She expressed optimism that if stakeholders in Nigeria heed the call for a consistent amazing customer service, more consumers of goods and services within and outside the country would increase their demand for products, which would in turn reduce  unemploymen in the country. This, she noted, will help the nation gain global competitive advantage.

    Adeniyi-Taiwo, who emphasised that TWPC is guided by strong values and high ethical standards, said the company’s mission is to provide innovative solutions and excellent services that maximise client’s return on investment. According to her, the best way to do that is not to view customer service as a cost, but as an investment in building future and long lasting relationships that would create customer evangelists.

    Quoting Shep Hyken, she said: ‘Hitherto, one unhappy customer would tell 12 people about his experience. Now, one customer may have 500 Twitter followers to spread the message to.”

    For Tobi Oni, a stakeholder, the theme of the forum is “apt and timely.” According to him, there is no better time for such a thought-provoking event that is designed to change the face of service delivery in Nigeria and Africa at large. He noted that apart from several economic challenges, thousands of Nigerian businesses have collapsed due to the inability of their owners to manage stardom by adopting amazing customer service culture that can give their customers reasons to come back. “I expect owners of dead and living companies to attend the TWPC training and specifically learn from the masters (Hyken and Akande among others). We should start looking forward to practicing the much needed consistent service delivery system,” he told The Nation.

    Mr. Oni is right. Not a few industry experts and stakeholders agree that the importance of quality customer service training cannot be overemphasized for businesses regardless of their sizes, services or market focus. As Adeniyi-Taiwo pointed out, for instance, “The most successful companies take customer-service farther by applying it directly to their employees. When a service or sales team regards and treats one another with the same consideration and respect that they would offer the customer, amazing team spirit is created and the overall work dynamic of the establishment is improved.”

    She, however, added that there are certain skills, tools and priorities that are essential to the growth and development of amazing customer service. “We must have the technical knowledge, financial and material resources as well as the required infrastructure and up to date technology to attend proactively to our customer’s needs. The benefits that excellent customer care skills provide to every business are endless,” she noted, adding that not only can it make the difference between an immediate sale or lack, thereof, it can also make or break a potential long term client relationship.

    The TWPC Managing Partner further stated that all things being equal, almost everyone will choose the company that recognises and meets their needs consistently over the one that does not. She said when dealing with quality customer service, the most immediate and important factor is establishing an orientation of respect, which is one element that is immediately felt by the consumer. “This alone can lead a hesitant customer to make an instant purchase or cause them to walk right out of the door. After the respectful attitude is established, then it is vital to anticipate and very importantly focus on the customers’ needs. This is when active listening skills are essential,” she admonished.

    Indeed, such admonishment could not be timelier. At the moment, Nigeria is largely perceived as a nation where businesses/factories are commissioned daily, without adequate plans to relate the sustainability of the business to customer relationship management. Nigeria and Africa consume mostly imported products and always rate their service delivery higher. This, according to customer service experts, hinders Africa’s quest for cultivating unparalleled quality of its service delivery.

    “We are basically a consuming nation; we applaud service delivery of foreign brands and multinationals because we have failed in ours. We praise others for doing what we can do to protect and secure the future of our brands. I believe several local brands can compete internationally if only the correct measures are put in place,” Gbenga Osho, a former manager with one of the defunct local fast food outfit, said.

    Interestingly, these are issues that will engage the minds of participants and resource persons at the training.  Already, world’s number one customer service guru, Shep Hyken, has given his words that ‘The Customer Amazement Revolution Masterclass’ would engender more competition among businesses within the same segment leading to positive change in the perception of service delivery in Nigeria.

    Founded in February 2013, TWPC is a state-of-the-art skills development centre that provides employability and entrepreneurial skills develop-ment as well as human resources and ICT services to its clients.

  • ‘Skill, expertise vital to grassroots’ service delivery’

    The Director General, Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC), Mrs Olubunmi Fabanmwo, has identified quality skill and expertise as critical to the discharge of people-oriented services at the third tier of government.

    She spoke at the end of a capacity building programme organised for Council Managers (CM) and Treasurers of the 20 local government areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) at the centre.

    She said as management officers, the CMs and Treasurers represent the critical interface between the government and the people at the grassroots, adding that the discharge of quality policies at such level would be determined by the amount of skill and expertise available to them in the discharge of their responsibilities.

    Mrs Fabanmwo said the two modules, Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development and Public Financial Management Law would enrich the performance of the council administrators.

    She, therefore, charged all the council administrators to commit to leading the required change in their various local governments and LCDAs, adding that this was imperative if the third tier of government would be fully integrated into the vision and development plan of the state government.

    The training was among a series of capacity building programmes put together to empower local government administrators to contribute effectively to sustainable development at the grassroots.

    Participants said the training has further gone to underscore the commitment of the government to effective governance at the grassroots, adding that the effort would create the required symbiotic interface between the civil service and the local governments in the state.

    They appreciated the drive of government to harmonise public service activities throughout the state in line with the roles and specific contributions of all sectors to development and urged that the development planning adopted by the state be allowed to trickle down to the local governments and LCDAs, so as to provide uniform direction at the two critical levels of governance.

    They admitted that the Knowledge Management Workshop has empowered them with skills and techniques required to effectively manage the knowledge and skills acquired by local government staff with a view to maximising capacity building investment, while the Financial Management Law Workshop has provided new vista into Public Service financial authorities and the application of the International Public.

  • Evron Food launches ‘fastest delivery’ online food store

    Evron Food launches ‘fastest delivery’ online food store

    Set to reinvent the online food shopping experience for Nigerians, Evron Food Store has launched its online food store called www.evronfoodstore.com. The online store guarantees deliveries of goods within three hours of order placement and checkout. Customers who do not get their orders delivered to them three hours after placing an order automatically gets compensated with a 10 percent discount.

    The online food market offers a wide variety of food products and farm crops using a highly interactive and innovative platform that allows customers to shop for almost any food item they can think of in the food store. A customer can simply click on the ‘Afang Soup Bundle’ and all the ingredients for Afang soup will be selected, packaged and dispatched immediately upon checkout.

    According to the owners of the store, shopping via Evron Food Store guarantees that valuable time that could be spent bonding with family members, or simply resting after a hectic week, is duly enjoyed. No more need to endure the rigours of navigating dozens of stores at the conventional open market, or after hours of traffic.

    As part of its launch, Evron Food Store has also announced its #MyFirstOrder Campaign where customers can simply take a picture of their delivered food items, share, mention and follow@evronfoodstore on twitter, Instagram and Facebook. They can use the #My1stOrder #MarketCameHomefor a chance to win a free shopping voucher. Evron Food Store also has a physical walk-in store/office which is open to customers situated in Chevron Drive, Lekki Lagos.

    Speaking at the formal launch of the store, the Marketing Manager, Ijeoma Olujekun noted: “At Evron Food Store, we are committed to creating a vibrant, convenient way for people to buy food produce online and increasingly turn this into delightful and more satisfying for the customers. We understand the need for Nigerians to purchase food quickly, conveniently and have sought to simplify the process of buying food, making it just a click away”.

    In her address, the Managing Director, Funmi Farotimi noted that in seeking to ensure high quality standards for items sold at the store, Evron Food Store wishes to know and influence how the food seed are grown.

    Her words, “We are passionate about great tasting food in its purest state. That is why quality standards for food prohibit leafy vegetables grown with chemical fertilizers. We base our decisions not just on food chemistry, but also on ideology, philosophy, proper labelling and critical evaluation of the promise we’ve made to our customers, which is freshness, always. We take our responsibility seriously, knowing that our standards not only determine what goes on our shelves, but they also influence the way that food is grown and processed”.

    “Evron food store is making life easier for the everyday shopper without looting or exploiting them. Our intention is that our prices must never be higher than what can be obtained from any of the local market around.”

  • PSSDC harps on quality service delivery by public workers

    PSSDC harps on quality service delivery by public workers

    For Lagos State to realise its vision of becoming Africa’s model megacity, its workers must continually deliver quality service residents, who daily transact business in the state or require its services.

    The Director-General of the state’s Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC), Mrs Olubunmi Fabamwo, said this at the celebration of the Service Charter Day, and the unveiling of the centre’s service charter document.

    At the event, which held at the centre’s library in Magodo, Mrs Fabamwo said as a capacity building institution and one of the 14 pilot Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), for the charter, PSSDC will continue to train manpower that would be change agents in running government business.

    Describing service as critical to government, Fabamwo said workers must key into delivering cutting edge services, and that was why PSSDC as the training arm of government keyed into the charter to build a sustainable platform for the state to continue getting things right.

    Noting that no leader can be effective if he cannot serve, Mrs Fabamwo said the best leaders are good servants. “Leadership is service and service is leadership,” Mrs Fabamwo noted.

    She added that PSSDC is committed to the vision of Governor Babatunde Fashola who, while launching the charter in 2012, looked forward to building a state with a strong cultural identity that would not only drive the nation’s social and political trends, but become one of the top 10 megacities of the world in terms of urban living indices.

    She said the service charter is meant to inculcate in all public workers the fact that they are employed to give quality, fast and reliable service to the over 20 million residents of Lagos, who would need their services everyday. She said a well trained worker, who internalised this ethos would go ahead and with others to build strong and virile institutions that would sustain an enduring legacy  for coming generations.

  • Expectant mother flees after delivery

    A traditional birth attendant Oladele Bello has run into trouble for delivering an expectant mother of her baby.

    An hour after she gave birth, the woman pretended as if she wanted to buy air time and disappeared, leaving her baby behind.

    Bello was later accused by the police of killing the woman and detained.

    His lawyer and brother paid N50, 000 for his bail.

    Speaking with The Nation, Bello described the incident as frustrating.

    He said: “The middle-aged expectant woman walked into my maternity home at Orile-Iganmu in Lagos writhing in pain. I couldn’t overlook her because her condition was pitiful. Although, she wasn’t my patient; I successfully helped her to deliver her child. One hour after, she went along the street, I thought she went to buy airtime to inform her family. We expect her to come back but after waiting for hours and looking for her for days with no trace of her, I took the baby to Orile-Iganmu Police Station to report and I was given a police officer to accompany me to a motherless home at Lekki where we dropped the baby. But, on getting back to the police station, I was detained. I was shocked to have been accused of killing the baby’s mother.”

    Bello said it took the intervention of some of his patients who protested his arrest before the police granted him bail.

    He was release on bail to his brother, Oyeniyi and lawyer after paying N50, 000 naira.

    Oyeniyi, said his brother has been a professional traditional practitioner for 25 years.

    He said: “We paid N50, 000 with the assistance of a lawyer to bail him if not; the police was ready to put the blame on him. He has been helping pregnant women during child delivery and those with complications during child birth.

    One of his patients, who identified herself as Mrs Chukwuma said: “Since I have been visiting this place, I have never experienced any ill attitude from Mr Bello. We come here for antenatal, traditional treatment and delivery.”

    A police man, who recognised Bello at the station, said he once helped his wife when she had complications during the birth of their child.

    The Lagos state police command spokesman, Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) said they are making efforts to locate the mother of the baby.

    Nwosu confirmed that the baby is now at government mother less baby home, Lekki phase 1 Lagos.

     

     

  • Service delivery via social media

    Service delivery via social media

    Social Media operators across Africa converged on Lagos last weekend for the annual Social Media Awards Africa (SMAA), an initiative sponsored by Sterling Bank Plc.  The Executive Director, Finance & Strategy of the Bank, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman and other stakeholders speak on why banks should invest in the social media space and other developments in the thriving subsector, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

    The social media have and will continue to transform into what was never anticipated. Most operators of social networks are surprised with the diverse and astounding ways users have been able to engage and utilise their platforms.

    In Nigeria, the internet is highlighting the transformative nature and capacity of these networks to ensure that desired result is achieved.

    Sterling Bank is one of the lenders that has utilised the beauty of invention within social media- capacity and infinite opportunities therein to serve its customers better.

    The Executive Director, Finance & Strategy, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, admitted that many organisations are playing big in the social media space and the competition on the various platforms is being intensified and that the bank cannot be left behind.

    The bank executive director, who spoke following the Bank’s successful sponsorship of the annual Social Media Awards Africa in Lagos, said Facebook and Twitter alone reportedly serve an estimated 1.5 billion users globally.

    For him, that is more than enough attraction. “The followership is huge and cannot be ignored by any forward looking organisation. Then you have other platforms that are patronised by millions of people worldwide on a daily basis including Nigeria, where it has assumed a new dimension. For us at Sterling Bank, it is a response to the needs of our customers, who are fully engaged in the social media space and in line with our objective of being a customer-friendly financial institution,” he said.

    Speaking on the bank’s product development on social media, Suleiman said the bank took the use of the social media platform to another level last year when it introduced the social lender (Quick Cash Scheme).

    The scheme, he said, is designed to provide quick cash to members of the on-line community.

    “My submission is that social media allows your business to extend well beyond the immediate geographic area. With social media you can cut cross country, state, and even national barriers. Besides, if you look at our population, you will see that the youth constitutes a reasonable percentage. To reach out to them, you must use a platform where they access information, where they spend most of their time on a daily basis and it is definitely in the social media space,” he insisted.

    Suleiman said Sterling Bank identifies with Generation Y, (also known as the millennials), and will sustain its position as an organisation that understands the needs of its customers.

    The lender also leverages relevant platforms to proffer innovative solutions, which in turn enriches the lives of its customers. It will equally continue to focus on providing timely and convenient solutions to support its online customers through the social media platforms.

     

    Why support the initiative

     

    Suleiman said for the bank, it is not about what it wanted to gain from supporting the awards.

    “It’s all about recognising excellence and rewarding same. The Social Media Awards Africa is a premier continental initiative designed to recognise and celebrate excellence, creativity and enterprise in the use of social media by individuals and organisations across Africa. Sterling Bank is happy to associate with this because it is committed to advancing human and social development across Africa with a focus on the growing relevance of social media around the world and Africa in particular.

    “Apart from providing a platform for the bank to further consolidate its position as a leading light in the Social Media space, the lender has taken this project as a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative,” he said.

    The bank, he said, is always delighted to be associated with initiatives that will impact the lives of our people not only in Nigeria, but globally.

    This, he added, has seen the lender going into partnerships with institutions, especially in the areas of the environment, entertainment and education.

    The bank is in partnership with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and provided kits for its over 30,000 highway managers. It has also done same for some other states in the country.

     

    How the winners emerged

     

    The process leading to the emergence of the winners, he said, was handled by an independent organisation different from Sterling Bank. He praised the organisation’s professionalism in conducting the entire process.

    “We have absolute confidence in them. From the members of the Advisory Board to the Jury, you would see that people with rich background in Social Media were involved.I was particularly fascinated by the voting pattern and the level of transparency in the process. It must have generated a lot of palpitation for the contestants, who eventually emerged tops,” he said.

    The event, he explained, brought together social media influencers, experts, enthusiasts and policy makers to explore and forge new developmental paths for Africa.

    “The SMAA seeks to recognise and reward creativity and excellence among users of social media across Africa. The voting phase, which was part of the process led to the emergence of 43 finalists for the four categories. A total of 923 nominations were received during the nomination period as follows: Personality Based got 468 nominations; Platform Specific got 266 nominations; Institutional received 115 nominations while indigenous got 74 nominations.

    “Also, during the window period, over 5.5 million connections, at least 821,886 retweets and 29 million accounts were reached through all 22 social media platforms where the messages were promoted. The 15 winners of the award have received the sum of $15,000 as prize money from the bank. The prize money was handed over to the winners at the SMAA presentations with each of the winners going home with $1,000 each,” he said.

     

    Feedback from social media fol     lowers

     

    Suleiman said the bank is excited about the interest the award is generating barely few days after the awards.

    “I must say that already, the award is generating interest among institutions across the continent as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), African Media Initiative based in Kenya has indicated interest and confirmed training for all the finalists. The Chief Executive of the organisation, Mr. Eric Chije, who was at the event, also commended the Bank for appreciating excellence and contributing to the continued growth of social media both in Nigeria and on the African continent,” he said.

    Suleiman insisted that the level of interest and participation has been very heart-warming, adding that the bank would continue to provide the required support to aid the achievement of the objectives of subsequent awards, which would be bigger and better.

    “Since its launch last year September, the Award has expanded both within and outside Africa. It has also trended globally and become the second most talked about subject on Twitter in Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US),” he said.

    Member, Advisory Board, Social Media Africa Awards, Ini Onuk said with four major categories and 15 awards, the SMAA is a genuine, timely intervention for promoting distinctive creativity, peerless innovation and pervasive developments on the African continent through the best use of social media platforms and the rest of the social web.

    “Social media has reconfigured the way in which all businesses and public entities now communicate. Open-sourced and inherently radical, it has created a space adverse to the tight image controls that brands once successfully exercised,” she said.

    She said before now, it was almost impossible to reach certain brands, persons and products, but with social media, marginalised dissenters can now make mince meat of the mightiest multinational brands, thanks to an explosion of public platforms that have created unlimited venues for sharing facts, spreading rumours and propagating aggressive calls to action.

    Social Media Influencer, Rich Simmonds, said social media platforms, e-commerce providers, and mobile money services, technology payment firms have brought new twists to how banking is done. He said Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, are helping banks reach out to the youth population.

    He said the SMAA was designed to recognise and celebrate excellence, creativity and enterprise in the use of social media – through its tools and platforms – by individuals and organisations across Africa. He commended Sterling Bank for making this year’s event a success.

    Simmonds said the event was an opportunity for participants to showcase the very best in Social Media on the African continent and reward individuals and institutions that have added value to the continent through the unique use of the platform.

    He said stakeholders should not overlook the importance of social media in today’s society and the increasing role it plays in the lives of people on a daily basis.

    Besides, Nigeria has over 63 million internet data subscribers; 11 million Facebook users and fourth fastest growing number of users worldwide. On Twitter, the country has 1.6 million profiles while 1.03 million business profiles and an unconfirmed number of professionals are hooked to LinkedIn.

    Analysts insist that with 25 banks and a network of 5,500 branches nationwide; 25 million banking customers against 127 million active mobile connections and 25 million users of smartphone, there is no doubt that a fertile market for digital play exists.

  • Navy takes delivery of another warship

    Navy takes delivery of another warship

    •Nigeria records $18.1b trade volume from China 

    In line with its fleet recapitalisation efforts, the Nigerian Navy (NN) took delivery at the weekend of a newly-built Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) from China.

    The vessel, NNS CENTENARY came barely a month after the Navy received a refurbished Cutter class warship, NNS OKPABANA from the United States.

    Tailor made for Nigeria by the China Ship Building Company Limited, NNS CENTENARY is one of two newly-built vessels for the Navy aimed at improving its war against oil theft.

    With a capacity of 1800 metric tons; 3000 nautical miles range, 95 metres long and 12.2metres wide, NNS CENTENARY is the first NN ship with the ability to recover spilled oil as well as combat inferno in oil rigs.

    The ship, which sailed for two months from China before arriving in Nigeria, marked the first time in 32 years the country has bought  a brand new and tailor made vessel designed to meet peculiar Nigeria challenges, it was learnt.

    Receiving the vessel at the Naval Dockyard, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin said the vessel will enhance the NN’s capacity towards executing her constitutional duties as well as open new vistas in the relationship between Nigeria and China.

    He praised President Goodluck Jonathan for recognising the importance of effective maritime security to the nation’s economic wellbeing and giving “unprecedented support to the fleet recapitalisation pillar of the NN’s transformation plan.

    “The arrival of NNS CENTENARY on Nigeria bears testimony to the commitment and resolve of the President to emplacement a strong and virile Navy capable of protecting Nigeria’s maritime interests against all forms of threats.

    “This ship is one of two OPVs acquired from China for the NN. The second one is expected to arrive in Nigeria later in the year and a substantial part of its finishing and fittings will be done here in Nigeria. This is to enhance Nigeria’s indigenous shipbuilding capacity and create job for our unemployed youths,” he said.

    The Consul General of China, Liu Kan, who represented the Asian country’s Ambassador said the OPVs was the biggest military corporation both countries have entered into, just as he disclosed that the bilateral relationship of the two countries have increased greatly.

    Kan said that the trade volume from China to Nigeria rose by 33 per cent last year with the total figure amounting to $18.1 billion.

    In an interview with reporters, the Managing Director of the ship company, Dapo Oguntayo described the vessel as a plus to the navy, noting that the NN has not bought any new vessel since 1983.

  • Chidoka advises airport managers on service delivery

    Chidoka advises airport managers on service delivery

    The  Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka has urged managers of airport to improve on service delivery in line with the transformation in the aviation sector.

    Special Assistant to the Minister on Performance Monitoring, Chidi Nkwonta stated this at the opening of the Ministerial Performance Management System Orientation for Regional and Airport managers in Lagos.

    He stated that the training was a follow up to the meeting held by the Minister of Aviation with Airport Managers where key performance indicators were introduced.

    Earlier, the Managing Director of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN),  Saleh Dunoma commended the initiative and charged airport managers to improve on service delivery and performance.

    He also challenged them to remain faithful to the vision and  mission of the authority.

    He said:, “We must pursue our mission

    “To develop and profitably manage customer centric airport facilities for safe, secure and efficient carriage of passengers and goods at world class standards.”

    He said measures had been put into place to assess the performance of airport managers through their services to customers.

    “Users of our airports must be given priority in service delivery,” he said.

    FAAN’s Director of Airports Operations, Capt. Henry Omeogu said improved performance by airport managers was key to the actualisation of the Authority’s vision of being among the best airport groups.

    The Director of a Human Resources, Hajia Salamatu Umar-Eluma pledged the commitment of the workers to the success of the initiative.

  • Mobile health delivery blues

    Mobile health delivery blues

    The liberalisation of the telecoms sector over 10 years ago made access to phone easy. Today, Nigerians use their phones for various things, especially business. The revolution is also opening a new vista for poor rural and urban dwellers to access health care services. How far can this go? LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    Forty-three-year-old Blessing Adewumi lives in Egbeda, a Lagos suburb. A petty trader and mother of four, she lost her husband about four years ago.

    Since then, life has been difficult for her, because she sponsors the education of her  children.

    Recently, she took ill. Instead of going to the hospital, she asked Tina, her eldest daughter, 18, to call Mama Kazeem, a popular drug hawker in the neighbourhood.

    She said:  “I don’t have money to go to the hospital. Iya Kazeem will ‘count’ malaria drugs for me and I will be well. She is our family doctor. By the time I give her N200, she will ‘select’ drugs for me and in no time, I will be back on my feet. Going to the hospital is expensive. I have to pay house rent, school fees and feed my four children without any support. Aside God, there is no supporter, so I always pray to God not to allow my children to fall sick.”

    Another housewife, who simply identified herself as Mama Glory, also has a sad tale to tell. She was not feeling fine, so she visited one of the private hospitals where tests were run on her. When the result came out, it showed that she had typhoid fever. She was billed N10,000 and was told she would be on admisison  for three days.

    She never went back. Reason: She does not have enough money. “If I have N10,000, I will start a ‘pure’ water business immediately. Instead, I will go to the market and get Iya alagbo (herbs seller) to arrange agbo for me. It will flush it out of my body system,” she said.

    Mrs Adewumi and Mama Glory are few of the many poor Nigerians not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) because they are not engaged in the formal sectors of the economy.

    Their stories are common, especially among rural dwellers. They cannot pay for their treatment. Many of them toil all day long, trying to eke out a living.

    Minister of Communications Technology Dr  Omobola Johnson lamented that the ability of many sub-Saharan African countries to improve their rating and ranking on the Human Development Index (HDI), especially those that relate to health, is constrained by several socio-economic and infrastructural factors.

    She said: “For example, Nigeria’s per capita spending on health is $161, comparing unfavorably with the $ 948 calculated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the recommended total global spending on health per person per year. Inherent in this low per capita spend on health is an acute shortage of healthcare workers.

    “Africa faces a severe shortage of trained medical personnel–we have approximately three per cent of the world’s health workers despite having 11 per cent of the world’s population, a statistic that is indeed worsened by the fact that many healthcare professionals opt to work abroad after their training because of better remuneration, better facilities and better opportunities for career growth and aspirations.”

    It is in view of this grim picture that the  partnership among NHIS and information communication technology (ICT) firm, MTN and Salt & Einstein MTS, to launch a health insurance programme, which will afford its customers who cannot access quality health care, the opportunity to do so through MTN Y’ello Health Cover is instructive.

    Airtel Nigeria also launched an initiative in this direction to deepen health insurance scheme and bring health at affordable costs to its subscribers.

    The MTN Y’ello Health Cover is an all-inclusive mobile health insurance programme, which will afford Nigerians the opportunity to access good, affordable and quality healthcare service wherever, whenever the need arises.

    Through the programme, the NHIS is working with all the leading Health Management Organisations (HMOs) to enabled mobile subscribers to opt into a micro healthcare insurance cover where, they can access a range of pre-defined medical treatments for which affordable premium can also be remitted through the subscribers’ mobile phone.

    According to the telco, this will enable subscribers under this programme have access to unlimited number of visits to the hospital with as low as a daily or weekly airtime deduction of N35 and N250 to access effective health care as many times as treatment is needed annually. It also gives access to a combination of over 7000 hospitals and primary healthcare providers nationwide currently registered under the NHIS scheme from which subscribers can choose.

    The main objective of the programme is to ensure the removal of financial barriers, which means, poor people can have unfettered access to good and effective healthcare without the usual “out-of-pocket expenses”. It is not always that one has substantial amount of money in the pocket, particularly when one is facing health challenges.

    Health insurance is a type of coverage that ensures the cost of an insured individual’s medical and surgical expenses are paid by the scheme on the behalf of the insured. It is being provided through this programme to save the masses from self medication, or from shying away from receiving treatment because of cost or other competing needs or considerations.

    Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, NHIS, Dr. Femi Thomas, said MTN will leverage on its huge subscribers to take healthcare to the nooks and crannies of the country.  He said: “MTN is a big player in the Nigerian economy, having a good number of registered Nigerians on its database. To be able to reach out to Nigerians, we at NHIS decided to partner with Salt & Einstein MTS and MTN Nigeria on this new initiative to achieve “Universal Health Coverage” for Nigerians nationwide.

    “The time has come for us to extend health insurance to Nigerians from all walks of life. With Nigeria’s population in mind, NHIS in partnership with MTN Nigeria and Salt & Einstein MTS is bent on providing more efficient health care services to those who indeed cannot afford them. This will help pool risk and share healthcare costs equitably across the population.”

    Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki, said the focus market for the Y’ello health insurance cover are Nigerians who have no health insurance cover principally because they cannot afford the regular health insurance services in the market.

    “These individuals like everyone else, need medical care. However, without access to insurance, they probably would be having occasional challenges paying for medical treatment, because such expenses would usually be without or at short notice. It is to take away this burden of impromptu medical expenses that we are partnering to introduce this product,” he said.

    He added that the importance of education and sensitisation of the populace about healthcare and commended the NHIS for its drive to provide universal healthcare to Nigerians.

    The Executive Chairman, Salt & Einstein MTS, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, said bringing his vast experience in mobile technology and telecommunication industry in Nigeria to the table, identified the need to leverage the market penetration and unmatched reach of mobile telecoms in Nigeria. The former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said statistics reveal that mobile telecoms subscription in Nigeria is over 129 million. This creates adequate grounds for direct health insurance provision to Nigerians who, without this, would have no access to the NHIS.

    Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Salt & Einstein MTS, the 0obile insurance services aggregator, said findings have shown that Nigeria still has less than four per cent of its population covered by basic health care services at this time in our nation’s history. “There is no disputing the fact that, one of the best things to do at this time is to come together, working with NHIS and of course, starting off with Nigeria’s leading telecommunications operator, MTN, to bring this health insurance cover to Nigerians who, hitherto, have been excluded  from access to good health care service. MTN has demonstrated that they are interested in the social good and welfare of Nigerians. We hope to create more products that benefit Nigerians across the country,” he said.

    The MTN Y’ello insurance cover is one of the many ways Africa’s leading telecommunications network is adding value to the lives of it subscribers. The next leg of the launch will take place in Abuja at a yet-to-be-announced date.

    To make health care accessible and affordable to all, the WHO, the World Bank and other experts recommend among other things: mandatory and publicly subsidised health insurance scheme.

    Experts say while the initiative is commendable, more will still need to be done in the area of enlightenment.

    The partners in the project would need to do plenty of work in getting the message about the product across to the rural poor that are largely illiterate. This, they said, could be achieved by running the messages in the major indigenous languages on the operators’ network as well as in both print and electronic media.