The Nation Newspaper

Tag: penetration

  • How we attained 30% broadband penetration, by NCC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at the weekend insisted that the country has attained the 30 per cent broadband penetration target set in the National Broadband Plan of the Federal Government.

    It said the doubt expressed by some people on the target was borne out of ignorance about the method of calculating the milestones achieved in the industry.

    In a statement at the weekend,  NCC said as the statutory repository of data on the telecoms industry, it could hardly be faulted because of its diligence in handling stattistics.

    “Even the International Telecoms Union (ITU), whose Broadband Commission publishes an annual broadband league table uses data supplied by the NCC to reach its conclusions. Similarly, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) works with the NCC to provide the country with data pertaining to the communications industry. So, we must of necessity rely on data supplied by the NCC for this analysis.

    “The good thing is that the NCC publishes regular monthy data updates on its website, which is open to all interested members of the public.

    “According to NCC data, there were a total of 168,729,005 mobile “GSM” mobile subscribers in Nigeria as at November 2018. Of these, 108,457,051 were subscribed to internet access services provided by the major operators. In terms of Broadband services, a total of  58,965,478 connected to the internet through 3G and 4G networks (including those provided by the LTE-only service providers such as Smile and nTel).

    This distinction is critical because Nigerians predominantly rely on mobile networks to access the internet, including Broadband networks since the fixed broadband access which was to have been led by the erstwhile State incumbent – NITEL – is now literally non-existing.

    “Now, broadband penetration is typically measured by the percentage of total population with access to Broadband networks out of each hundred. So, if we take the total active Broadband subscription figure of  58,965,478 and  divide by the population figure of 190,886,311 (using the  UN’s projection as at December 2017), we come to a penetration percentage of 30.9.

    “Issues can of course, be raised about using the UN figure as baseline – one supposes that the NCC used that figure for consistency since that appears to be the baseline used by the ITU in earlier studies.

    “However, the reader is invited to use other population baselines and come with the above resolute. For instance, if we use the Nigerian Population Commission’s 2006 figure of 140million, we come to a Broadband penetration rate of 42.1 per cent. Most would agree that this would be rather unrealistic, as is the population estimate of 140million,” NCC said.

    Also, looking through the ITU Broadband Commission’s September 2018 Report, the country’s broadband penetration rate was set at an abysmal 19.9 per cent. This, it said,  couldn’t be true since the report was based on industry statistics of December 2017, which is clearly outdated as at September 2018 when the report was published.

    The statement read: “Clearly therefore, the NCC’s assertion that Nigeria has attained 30.9 per cent broadband penetration is logical and supported by available data in the Commission’s custody.

    “There are lessons to be learnt from the needless controversy on this matter. To its credit, the NCC has been rather transparent with industry data. Its website is updated on a monthly basis with data with the subscription, tariff and other industry performance data which enable stakeholders to see a fair picture of overall industry performance.

    “One would encourage serious industry players to regularly access the NCC website for available data and insights on industry performance, rather than take incorrect and pessimistic positions such as those ignorantly expressed in some dailies.

    “The NCC itself would need to engage with the ITU to update its 2018 Broadband report. As noted above, the ITU report relied on data from December 2017 which, as we have seen, is now outdated.”

  • CIIN holds seminar on insurance penetration

    The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) is advocating penetration through value creation at its upcoming education seminar billed for November 7 to November 9, at the Premier Hotel Ibadan, Oyo State.

    The seminar, with the theme: “Increasing Insurance Penetration through value creation”,  is slated to have as guest speaker, Rector, College of Insurance and Financial Management, Dr Yeside Oyetayo. There is a sterling line up of discussants, such as Dr. Rufus Olubunmi Olumide of NEM Insurance PLC; Mr. Joseph Oladokun of Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc; Mr. Lekan Oguntunde of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc and a representative of NAICOM to do justice to the theme paper.

    The seminar is also scheduled to have Commissioner for Insurance Mohammed Kari, the Olubadan of Ibadanland; His Imperial Majesty, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji and notable government functionaries and top industrialists.

    Education Committee Chairman and CIIN Council member Sir M. O Oyegunle said the choice of the theme was borne out of the need to intensify the clamour for insurance practitioners to use value as the focal point of their service offerings.

    He said: “Insurance companies have to revamp their value proposition and hinge implementation on promoting excellent customer experience. This will greatly improve market penetration and equally increase the number of persons who embrace insurance and have positive assertions.

    “In this age where market saturation is prevalent, offering customers the right value proposition is the difference between just surviving or thriving in the Insurance Industry.”

    He urged Insurance practitioners to ensure attendance and participation in order to obtain the full benefits of the seminar.

    “The education seminar is one of the annual education programmes organised by the CIIN, the body established by statute to determine the standard of skill and knowledge required for the professional and ethical practice of the business of insurance in Nigeria,” he added.

  • Brands leverage on Valentine celebrations to deepen market penetration

    Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 in most parts of the world. It is a day when friends and lovers express their love for each other by exchanging cards, flowers, candies and confectionary. In the spirit of the valentine celebrations, various brands unveiled special valentine promotions for their esteemed customers and by extension used the opportunity to further penetrate the markets.

    One of the brands that key into this is one of the leading broadband and internet services providers, Spectranet 4GLTE which launched a limited edition, EVO MiFi, with unheard of bundled Data benefits for carefree communication to celebrate Valentine’s Day with its numerous subscribers. The EVO MiFi will enable the company’s subscribers to connect with their loved ones as well as foster love and affection which is the essence of the celebration.

    Artistically designed for younger people, EVO MiFi comes in bundled with two different data plans at #20,000 with 40GB Data and at #25,000 with Unlimited Data respectively.  In addition, customers will enjoy 50% data bonus in their next 6 renewals within 210 days of activation. With limited edition, Spectranet encourages all Nigerians especially women, to walk into any of the Spectranet exclusive shops or Dealers and purchase one for their loved ones. The offer is till the stocks lasts.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Spectranet, Mr. Ajay Awasthi, said the launch of EVO MiFi is aimed at fostering love and bonding among the young-at –heart this Valentine season, adding that EVO MiFi comes with innovative offer as it encourages Nigerians to express their love freely with affordable, high quality, high speed 4G data connectivity. He added “EVO MiFi is specifically designed as a perfect gift for women. As a mark of tribute to the entrepreneurship of Nigerian women, Spectranet plans to launch two “women only “stores in Lagos before Valentine’s day.  By extending the high speed broadband connectivity to the Nigerian women, EVO MiFi  will help achieve the  30% broadband penetration target set by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

    Also, Dana Air, took the advantage of the love sharing period to package a special valentine promo for its esteemed guests. Started from 9th February, 2018, Dana Air guests travelling with their spouse or partner will only need to book a return ticket to get another free. The airline also partnered Divine Eagle Ministry, a non-governmental organization to put smiles in the faces of children from four orphanages – Ijamido orphanage, St Monica orphanage, Light for the lost orphanage and David orphanage with a facility tour at the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2, before treating the kids to good food and gifts.

    The Communications Manager of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa, said: ‘‘Dana Air is committed to giving back to the society and in spending time with our families and loved ones this valentine, we felt the need to also remember and show love to the less privileged in our society.’’ Speaking further on the Valentine promo Kingsley said: “Dana Air is enthusiastic about any initiative that unites the family or encourages love in the family and society. And the Valentine season provides the opportunity to further renew the bond of love in the family and between couples.’’

    ‘‘With our special valentine promo, we want to encourage our guests to fly with their loved ones to any of our existing destinations, and for them to avail the free ticket, they are expected to book a return ticket at any of our outlets in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo or Owerri..

    Not to be left out is Avon Healthcare Limited, one of the Nigeria’s leading Health Management Organisations (HMO). Avon came out with #Avonwiththelove Valentine promo. The promo, which aims at empowering couples to love more and live healthier, fuller lives, will run throughout the month of February.

    Speaking on #Avonwiththelove, Chimaobi Eluigwe, Head, Marketing at Avon HMO, stated that the promo was conceived to create a memorable experience for couples during the Valentine season as well as encourage them to take their health seriously while planning towards a happy and fruitful union in the future. He said: “We are excited to announce the #Avonwiththelove promo because it not only ties into our key focus of empowering people to live healthier, fuller lives but it is also a great way for us to connect with lovers across the country. Valentine is a season of love and Avon HMO is joining in the excitement of the season by enhancing the experience for lovers.”

    Explaining how the promo works, Eluigwe stated that all subscriptions to the Avon HMO Couples’ Plan via both the online portal and offline channels throughout February will attract a discount of 10 percent instantly. In addition, subscribers also stand a chance of winning the grand prize of an all-expense paid weekend to Zanzibar for two. Other Special Love Packages to be won during the period include 12 bouquets of red roses, 24 boxes of chocolates, 48 red velvet cakes which will be given out every other day.

  • Gunmen dispossess policeman of rifle, phone

    Gunmen dispossess policeman of rifle, phone

    Three men, who allegedly robbed a policeman of his phone and AK 47 rifle at gunpoint, were yesterday remanded in prison by an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.

    Kazeem Oladipo, 30, Rasaq Owolabi, 26, and Segun Alabi, 32,  are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, armed robbery and possession of illegal weapons.

    Chief Magistrate T.O. Shomade ordered that they be remanded in Kirikiri Prisons until January 24.

    Prosecuting Inspector Raji Akeem told the court that the offence was committed on July 17 on Victory Road, Meiran.

    Akeem said the accused waylaid Corporal Aladejare Adedeji at midnight when he was about to enter his apartment.

    “The accused robbed the policeman of his mobile phone valued at N40, 000,  his AK 47 and 30 rounds of live ammunition, belonging to the police,” he said.

    Akeem said the accused also shot the complainant on his left leg after dispossessing him of his service gun. The complainant was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was treated.

    “During investigation, the stolen mobile phone was tracked and someone in Abeokuta was found using it. The police traced the phone to the location and made some arrests,’’ he said.

  • Africa to increase insurance penetration, financial inclusion

    Insurance operators and regulators at the just-concluded General Assembly of the 44th African Insurance Organisation Conference, have passed a resolution to work on six common goals to advance the US$64 billion market.

    In the resolution, the stakeholders agreed to invest in partnerships that are wider, including non-insurance actors, and deepen within the industry areas that are critical to the agenda of increasing insurance penetration and realisation of financial inclusion.

    The resolution was read by Chief Executive Officer, Uganda Insurers Association, Ms Miriam Miriam Magala. Other resolutions at the conference include adoption of a range of technologies to collect data, design and deliver insurance products, provide educational information to the public, and manage the threats of cybercrimes.

    They also agreed to invest in capacity building across the entire industry including insurance companies, regulators, associations, and institutes; pursue the financial inclusion agenda through development of insurance value chains that cut across several stakeholders/actors within and outside the traditional insurance sector.

    Others are adoption of appropriate laws and regulation that allow for innovation and minimal compliance costs; and pursuit of a diversified strategy for consumer education that embraces the various strands of building capabilities of consumers to make the right decisions with full knowledge of the benefits and obligations and access.

    They also unanimously agreed that to reach the bottom of the income pyramid, products have to be delivered effectively and at an affordable price, which calls for leveraging capacities that exist within and outside the industry.

    They observed that as is the case with the industry, which enters into upward partnerships through re-insurance to deal with big risks, insurance actors have to do downward partnerships to better manage diversified small risks at the bottom of the income pyramid.

    The conference noted that increasing penetration of the smallholder farmers requires a lot of data to design and evaluate products, as well as make decisions regarding responses to emerging risk positing that technology will help to provide products and information as well as enable premium collections and claims payments.

    A specialised pool of knowledge for research, product development and regulatory reviews is required in a centralised place that serves the entire industry, such as , training institutes/associations.

    “We have resolved to work with government, regulators, insurance and re-insurance companies, local/regional/global associations and development agencies, such as the World Bank. He urged the Insurance Initiative, International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to invest in developing the required capacities.

    In the case of agricultural insurance, the actors include farmers, agro-dealers, financial institutions, agents and insurers, among others. All the stakeholders  must be duly prepared for their roles as they are part of the chain in a world where “insurance is not bought but sold’’.

    “Regulation should be responsive to the African context, albeit within a framework that allows for appropriate harmonisation-based on best international practices, industry involvement and regional fora.

    ‘’Regulations should reflect local needs and conditions, while the strands should essentially address business and financial management, among others,  to reduce business risks.”

  • Nigeria has lowest insurance penetration rate worldwide

    Nigeria has lowest insurance penetration rate worldwide

    Nigeria is said to have the lowest insurance penetration rate globally as a very insignificant one per cent of the over 170million population take insurance policy.

    Making this submission at the weekend was Mr. Anselem Chidi Igbo, Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Brokers.

    He spoke at a media parley to formally announce the commencement of its operations.

    According to him, one of the major reasons Nigerians are not favourably disposed to buying insurance policies is usually because of the matters arising from making claims, amongst others.

    These challenges, he stressed, remain a major drawback to building a virile insurance sector in the country.

    He was however quick to admit that insurance companies are partly to blame for some of these problems.

    Thankfully, Igbo said it was its quest to address some of these teething problems that informed its entrant into the sector.

    While announcing commencement of full operations sequel to the granting of a license by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in January 2016, thus paving the way for the firm to offer the full spectrum of insurance brokerage, Igbo said he was optimistic that its operations will raise the bar in the sector.

    “Although we’re the newest baby in the stable of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC., our projection is that in the next 10 years we will be among the top five insurance brokage firms in the country,” he assured.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Ibiyemi Mezu, Head, Business Development also acknowledge the fact that at the centre of crisis of identity assailing the sector is the issue of ignorance and lack of education.

    Justifying the need for setting up shop, Mezu said Stanbic IBTC Insurance Brokers is set to provide bespoke risk management and insurance services across the country.

    While enumerating the unique selling proposition of the brokeage firm, Mezu said it has got very strong corporate governance structure, good pedigree and an experience management team. “The role of the broker is to help you better appreciate insurance offerings. We can help to negotiate premiums, risk assessment. We want to set the pace in this sector using a clear-cut strategy that would ride on the back of technology, social media platforms, among others.”

  • ‘Nigeria lacks adequate brokers to drive insurance penetration’

    Mr Kayode Okunoren,  the President,  Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), has said the country lacked adequate brokers to facilitate insurance penetration needed for the growth of the industry.

    Okunoren told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the sideline of the ongoing e-Insurance conference in Lagos at the weekend.

    NAN reports that the conference was organised by Pinets Informatics Ltd with the theme: “Driving Insurance Penetration with ICT.’’

    Okunoren said the number of brokers in the country was not enough to drive insurance penetration to every part of the country.

    According to him, if one broker is allocated to one local government, the country will still not be covered.

    “We have 774 local governments, assuming a broker is allocated to one local government, it will not still be enough because we have just 500 brokers in the country.

    “The question now is that, is a broker enough to cover a local government?

    “And if we are to deepen insurance penetration we need more brokers,” he said.

    He urged the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to grant operating licences to more brokers for optimal productivity.

  • NAICOM, NCC to deepen insurance penetration

    NAICOM, NCC to deepen insurance penetration

    The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday vowed to reinstate the sales of insurance through platforms of telecommunications firms.

    Head, Corporate Affairs NAICOM, Rasaaq Salami said the move will enable the Commission license telcos and ensure effective distribution channels for sale of insurance products.

    According to him, the agreement was reached yesterday when the Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari, led the management of NAICOM to the Headquarters of the NCC in Abuja.

    He said NAICOM team was received by the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, noting that the NCC at the meeting, endorsed the collaboration between insurance firms and telcos in the sale of insurance products.

  • Mobile phone penetration ‘ll deepen marketing research

    Mobile phone penetration ‘ll deepen marketing research

    The Client Service Director, TNS ARMS in Nigeria, Damiem Arrouas, has said  with the growing use of mobile phones in Nigeria, about 95 per cent of households will have access to mobile devices by 2020.

    He added that smartphone use  would also increase to about 55 per cent within the same period.

    Arrouas, who spoke in Lagos, said this was good news to researchers using the  platform to gather market intelligence for brand owners to grow their consumer market.

    He noted that mobile phones use has changed research methods, giving researchers opportunities to reach more people faster than other methods because of the quicker and cost effective advantage it has over traditional research.

    “Through mobile, we want research to reach more people, especially people in the rural areas. Just imagine a researcher going to the northern parts of Nigeria to interview people physically. Logistically, the challenges are massive, whereas with mobile phone, you can reach far more people and with less stress,” he said.

    Arrouas said the use of mobile phones in research has also eliminated writing long questionnaires giving researchers opportunity to develop smarter and fewer questionnaires.

    He said this was important to the marketing research community because they can now find answers to everything clients want to know about the brand, creating choices for clients and researcher.

    “But we want to know how the brand is applying the research to increase market share; how does the research inspire and provoke the brand owner to take action? “Once the result is known, it is expected that the brand owner should take a transformative action to translate the research insights into results to increase profit. That is the goal of market research,” he said.

    On the challenge of research in the country, he said the size of the market is an issue.

    “Research is exciting and challenging in Nigeria in the sense that the consumer market is relatively big and challenging to reach. That is why I believe mobile is the way to go. “Here, we will migrate much faster in this market from traditional research into mobile research and our ambition is to move 50 per cent of our entire research business into mobile by 2020,” he said.

  • Insurance penetration ‘ll grow, says NAICOM chief

    Insurance penetration ‘ll grow, says NAICOM chief

    The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) expects to deepen insurance penetration in the country within the next 12 weeks, Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari has said.

    Speaking with reporters in Ogun State, he said the Commission intends to achieve this by working in a different way to enforce compulsory insurance products especially the Buildings under Construction Insurance law.

    According to him, there are six insurance products made compulsory by law by the Insurance Act 2003 and other sister legislations which the Commission has been working to enforce.

    He said: “They are Group life Insurance in line with the PenCom Act 2004, Employers liability in line with the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1987, Buildings under Construction-section 64 of the Insurance Act 2003, Occupiers Liability Insurance –section 65 of the Insurance Act 2003, Motor Third party Insurance –section 68of the Insurance Act 2003, Health Care Professional Indemnity Insurance-under section 45 of the NHIS Act 1999

    “NAICOM set up enforcement teams in all the 36 states of the federation to monitor compliance with the compulsory insurances. The teams would comprise of the Police, Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), Federal Road Safety commission (FRSC), Fire Service, planning authorities, Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) among others.”

    He noted that the teams were constituted but the Commission has since been working to keep the law enforcement agencies on board.

    He said they have however, identified how to ensure successful enforcement of compulsory insurance products, which will in turn deepen insurance penetration.

    To this end, he said the Commission is now working with the Federal and State Government to ensure proper enforcement.

    He pointed out that despite the fact that Lagos State had implemented the Buildings under Construction Insurance law, the implementation has been faulty.

    “Buildings under Construction is one of the compulsory insurances. The Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun agreed with us that it has been an issue in the state but he promised us that they will abide by this law going forward.

    “We have a law In Lagos that compels every business to insure. The implementation has also been faulty. The implementation of that is not a NAICOM responsibility like most of the implementation of the sections of the law but we are now working with state and Federal Government to see how we can ensure enforcement of this compulsory insurance policy.

    “We are working on how to resolve this issue and very soon there will be a clear difference in enforcement of insurance in Nigeria. I promise you the game will totally change. And as we go from state to state to sensitize governments and to show them how insurance can help their economy, create employment and how we can together with them enforce insurance. I assure you we expect a huge deepening of penetration of insurance within the next 12 weeks,” he said.