The Nation Newspaper

Tag: platform

  • NUPENG condemns attack on Chevron platform

    NUPENG condemns attack on Chevron platform

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has condemned the blowing up of Chevron Valve Platform in Abiteye in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.

    The union said the attack by militants was not in good taste.

    In a statement by the NUPENG General Secretary, Comrade Igwe Achese, the union appealed to the militants to sheath their swords and stop the destruction of oil installations and pipelines.

    Achese said the blow-up would cost the joint venture partners billions of naira as it will affect crude oil supplies and gas distribution to thermal stations.

    He called on the militants to desist from the act as it draws the economy back and affects the climate and lives of the citizens of the host community.

    “We urge the militants to stop the dastardly act as it affects the ecosystem through the destruction of aquaculture, farmlands, water, and river pollution arising from the spillage,” he said.

    It added that the Federal Government should intensify effort to set up the proposed pipelines protection agency as indicated by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, who said the agency will be equipped with modern day technology to stem the tide of vandalism.

    The union reiterated that the security agencies must re-double their efforts 24/7 with equipment installed with night visions to put a stop to such surprise attacks on oil installations and pipelines.

  • Lagos launches website for state laws

    The Lagos State Government on Sunday announced the launch of an online platform where lawyers, investors and the public can have access to all the laws of the State.

    The State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, in a statement on Sunday, said the digital platform which can be accessed via www.laws.lagosstate.gov.ng, was the first of its kind in the country.

    He said the online platform was in fulfillment of the obligation of the State Government to create easy access to the State laws thereby promoting accountability and responsibility, and enabling investors to make informed decisions about their investments in the state.

    He said: “This project is geared towards the commitment of the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to drive governance and administration of justice in the state through innovation and information technology.”

    While noting the effectiveness of the digital platform, the Commissioner encouraged lawyers and the entire public to visit the site to view the laws and make their purchases.

    He added that the online platform would enable people to search, view and download the laws of the state anywhere in the world by just the click of a button.

    Other features available on the site, according to Kazeem, is that online users will not need to upload all the 233 (Two Hundred and Thirty-Three) Laws, but would be able to purchase and download only the Laws relevant to them.

  • Real estate gets digital platform

    Real estate gets digital platform

    A premier online market place, Lands.ng, has been launched to lead  a digital revolution on the real estate industry.

    With over 1.4 million plots uploaded, more than 250 registered and certified agents, multiple enquiries from over 12 states, the platform is set to revolutionise the sector.

    Its founder/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Godwin Ani, said the e-commerce platform would create a secure and conducive online destination and ecosystem for buyers, sellers, land owners and realtors to connect, make informed decisions and connect with ease.

    He said the decision to create the premier platform was aimed at “removing the barriers to land ownership and starts with providing Nigerians the right information and a secured platform for interactions among land owners, agents and buyers.

    ”At Lands.ng, we are using technology to revolutionise the way Nigerians think about real estate – land value chain in particular, and thus providing a long term solution to the home ownership challenges and the living standard of our society,” he said.

    With increased penetration of digital technology, and new owners and investors coming into the land market, he said there is – more than ever – a need for a more robust offering for connecting investors, buyers and sellers, which is what Lands.ng has been addressed with its introduction of advanced technology and security features, a product of its strategic involvement with Ade Digital Media, a leading Digital Marketing Agency in Lagos, Nigeria.

    Also, the Co-Founder/CEO, Ade Digitial Media, Mr. Michael Ebia, said the new platform’s success would rely on technology.

  • Brandmykeke as new advertising platform

    Brandmykeke as new advertising platform

    As traditional media practitioners continue to devise means of surmounting competition from emerging media, exploring digital and social media platforms, the media keeps experiencing more challenges from new platforms at a time when advertising budget is shrinking.

    The latest challenge is coming from a new platform, “BrandMyKeke”, an Out-Of-Home  platform popularly called Keke Marwa (Tricycle), which offers viable exposure for brands.

    With approval of outdoor advertising regulators, the Tricycle, it is believed, has the power to reduce the market share of traditional 46-sheet billboards and its modern form, Digital LED billboards, which are stationed at specific locations, mostly traffic areas. Its ability to move from place to place gives the platform a vintage position.

    Recently, an innovative mobile out-of-home advert company, Brandmycar.com.ng, announced the entry of the mobile advertising platform into the market for brands seeking visibility in their markets of choice.

    Brandmycar.com Chief Executive Officer Ms. Amaka Okolo said the Brandmykeke platform is deployed on the hoods and back panels of tricycles or three-wheelers  (also KekeNapep).

    “It is a made-to-measure advertising solution ideal for mass market products. Prior to the introduction of the ‘Brandmykeke’ platform, producers and brand and marketing  communications managers of mass market products had a seemingly horrid time getting their products across to  their target audiences, especially, within close-knit communities, such as the Ajegunles and Idumotas of this world. The ‘Brandmykeke platform is fresh, unique and first-of-its-kind in advertising media in Nigeria,” said Okolo.

    She said the company designed the platform for brands because of the unique use of tricycles as a means of mass transportation in most Lagos neighborhoods.

    “We realise that the advertisers want exposure. Because tricycles operate in areas of large population, we are certain that the platform will give a lot more value to advertisers. We also noted the slow movement of the tricycles and believe that interaction between brands on these platforms and the market will be a lot stronger, thereby deepening brand penetration,” she continued.

    She also said her company also introduced another first from Brandmycar called Brandmybike, which will ensure brands have deeper penetration into targeted markets in inner streets and hitherto unreachable neighbourhoods.

    She said the company, which has fully patented its Brandmykeke design will also have trackers installed on each tricycle giving brands the option of tracking the tricycles so branded to ensure maximisation of value.

    “We will give them the choice of picking tricycles with trackers installed to monitor their campaigns. We are also taking addition care to train all riders before each campaign to instill in them the brand values of the brand owners and ensure full compliance,” she said.

    With over 5,000 cars, private cabs comprising airport and hotel cabs, she said before such money is paid to owners of the platform, the advertisers would verify their compliance through vehicle tracking reports to prevent falsehood by car owners.

    When engaged by advertisers, she noted that the tracking report would show how many miles the car has covered within the agreed period of time the advert is supposed to run, this way, advertisers will know how far the advert has travelled.

    Okolo further said advertisers could either pick the cars they want online or can allow the company pick for them and then do the vetting.

  • ‘People use our platform as a yardstick to invest in the music industry’

    ‘People use our platform as a yardstick to invest in the music industry’

    The 2015 edition of Top Naija Music Awards has unveiled the new kings and queens of the Nigerian music industry at an event held  last Saturday.

    Speaking on the motivation behind the awards, the CEO, Paul Oghogherie, said it is to encourage talented music artistes in the music industry. “When I meet artistes and they tell me the challenges and the requirements of the industry, I feel obliged to encourage them.

    “I feel like engaging them in something so that they can shun vices. So the awards are just an avenue at which artistes will be pushed to work, if they believe they have a place in the industry they tend to belong.”

    According to Oghoghorie, the awards have been able to enhance artistes’ career in securing recording deal.”  I could recall a particular story of someone, who the label had an eye on. They talked to him when he was nominated, but were not aware if he was winning the category was nominated in. And the next I heard was that he’s going to UK to sign a recording deal.

    “This implies that people are using our platforms as a yardstick to invest in artistes, and  are taking them seriously.”

    Oritsetimeyin Arueyingho who won the Stardom category describes the award as being a feather in the cap of her brand as an artiste. “Getting this nomination is like setting a pace for me in the industry. I believe it’s going to take me far beyond imaginations.”

  • ‘Unionism is not a platform for destruction’

    ‘Unionism is not a platform for destruction’

    The Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) has held a press conference to mark the 40th anniversary and 31st convocation of the university. During the event, the union president, Idris Alao, unveiled a maze statue built for the parliamentary arm.

    Addressing reporters, Idris said members of the union had distinguished themselves on platform both within and outside the campus. He said his colleagues had emerged winners of essay contests to make the university proud.

    He said the press conference titled: State of the union would unveil the union programmes in the 2015/2016 session. He said youths had been marginalised in national politics, saying the constraint was supported by legal framework and political parties’ rules.

    The union recommended age reduction in political participation to allow youths play roles in democratic process.

    The Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic, Prof Nahimat Ijaiya, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali, said gone were the days when Students’ Unions leaders fought and led destructive protest against the authorities.

    She said: “There is now a different unionism, which is gradually changing face of campus politics. There is a breakaway from unnecessary protests and destruction to property.”

    The DVC pointed out that the past leaders of the union showed good sense of leadership, she said contributed to the popularity of the university and made it choice of admission seekers.

    Prof Ijaiya said the peace on the campus had led to the improvement in the academic rating of the school. She urged the students’ leaders to show good example to their colleagues by taking their studies serious and reject urge to engage in unlawful action.

    The Sub-dean, Student Affairs Unit, Dr. A. Yusuf, said the readiness of the students’ leaders to embrace dialogue was evident. He hailed the students’ leadership for its dynamism and forthrightness.

    Others at the press conference included the Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, Speaker of the union parliament, Mashood Abdulsalam, and members of the legislative arm.

     

  • Online travellers’ platform makes debut

    Quantum Travels Limited, a travel management company, has unveiled a new online travel platform, ajala.ng.

    Its Head, Brand Marketing and Projects, Ms. Omolua Oyakhire, described platform as a one-stop online travel management platform delivering unique offerings that allows customers take control of their travel plan and optimise opportunities at the lowest cost possible.

    “Our number one aim is to provide travel paths and plans that won’t break the bank, whilst meeting our customers’ need.We provide a holistic approach to our travel service offerings thereby granting control to the traveler to create a travel experience that exceeds their expectations” she said.

    Oyakhire explained further that the new online platform would help improve the ease of acquiring travel information and support customers who desire to travel but do not have adequate resources by providing them with the option of spreading payment over a specific period of time and still meeting their travelling desires with a relatively low cost.

    Its Head, Customer Relationship Management, Mrs. Bukola Isaac-Oluwasanmi, said the new travel platform is convenient, fast and user-friendly in comparison to what is currently obtainable in the industry, providing unique browsing experience for the customers.

    “By utilising a combination of automated tools and manual processes, we are able to deliver to our customers the lowest available airfare real-time at any given time. Every booking made would go through a rigorous lowest logical fare check to ensure the best fare is available for the traveler” she said.

    She enjoined the firm’s customers to take advantage of its unique services to get a stress-free travelling experience both local and international.

    “You are guaranteed the best of travel management services through our strong affiliations with Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and low cost travel providers across the globe. This platform offers this unique service which is not obtainable from any other travel booking website as other platforms provide only international flight services for domestic travel routes” she said.

     

  • Mamalette launches online parenting platform

    Mamalette launches online parenting platform

    Mamalette , a  parenting website was recently launched in Lagos. Speaking to mothers who attended the  lauch,the  Chief Executive  Officer,   Mrs Anike Lawal, said that Mamalette provides tools and resources that help Nigerian mothers and mothers-to-be connect with others going through similar experiences. She added that   Mamalette was established in late 2013 as  the community for Nigerian mothers and the premier strategic marketing partner to brands that want to reach mothers in a rapidly changing digital environment. According to her, Mamalette reaches more than 40,000 unique visitors per month on Mamalette.com and 150,000+ unique visitors per month on the Mamalette Facebook Page with 250,000+ weekly post clicks and 15,000+ weekly comments.

    The launch of the new platforms is part of Mamalette’s larger strategic initiative to provide quality content and tools that improve mums’ lives.  Mamalette is dedicated to improving mums’ lives by helping them make better decisions, form genuine connections, and take a well-deserved break.

    Mamalette research shows that approximately 45 percent of Nigerian mothers with access to the internet spend time browsing the internet on a daily basis with 25 percent  browsing the internet for more than 3 hours a day.

    “The new website aligns perfectly with our commitment to improving mums’ lives,” explains Mamalette CEO, Anike Lawal.  “We are excited to share our new platform with our audience to give them useful information and a place to connect on the topic of parenting.”

    With the support of the Co-creation Hub, Mamalette is enhancing the new site to make it even more helpful to users. The first major product improvement is creating a forum to allow mothers and mothers to get instant answers to their most pressing questions and making the site’s premium content easy to access. The site has also been optimised for mobile devices.

    Mamalette has also created products that will allow leading brands to join the consumer conversation, add value to mothers’ lives, and get members talking about sponsor brands in an authentic and viral way.

    “We are thrilled to have Mamalette in our start-up portfolio and look forward to us working together to continue to make Mamalette great,” says ‘Bosun Tijani, CEO of the Co-creation Hub. “We are certain that mothers that already know and rely on Mamalette will be equally thrilled with what lies ahead as we team with this strong Nigerian brand. With Mamalette’s impressive growth and dedication to building an authentic community and engaging content for mothers, we couldn’t imagine a better home for a community for mothers to grow and flourish.”

    “Mamalette is uniquely positioned to deliver this opportunity as an authority on mothers. I’m confident that we can create something that will add real value to the lives of millions of Nigerian mums.”

     

     

  • New online platform berths

    An online social enterprise that provides various products for people for free has berthed in Lagos. It is called lofelofe.com.

    From a fairly used sewing machine that will help an amateur seamstress hone skills and make a living to giving interview candidates outfits that will give them the look and confidence to get that new job, lofelofe.com is said to be the place to channel items that people no longer need to those who need them.

    It said in a statement that it was driven by the famous saying ‘the thing you take for granted, someone else is praying for’.

    Its founder, Funmi Odushola said:  “The goal for lofelofe.com is not to offer handouts but give a hand to the needy, things that encourage people have better their lifestyle and inspire them to work harder.”

    She said in this part of the world, it is important to form initiatives that values humanity and preserves our innate community spirit, adding that the reason is that there are not enough support systems in these parts and the government cannot solve every problem. “Think of the 81.5 per cent of Africans who are considered working poor; these are hard working individuals who work yet struggle to make ends meet. Think of over 90 million Nigerians, families who live on N300 per day or less. With the economic downturn, it seems more people are getting into poverty than getting out and this is evident in our various neighborhood. As such, citizen-led initiatives like this can help ease the difficulty and foster a safer environment than any government can. A helping hand can be the difference from a street child being a robber and a respectable citizen,” she said.

    The platform works with partners tagged ‘Givers’ and ‘Receivers’. Each has a significant role to play and are equally important and interchangeable.

    Lofelofe is said to have been derived from ‘lofe’ which means “free”. The organisation is encouraging everyone to give for free and receive for free.

    “Every year, many families in Nigeria perform their benevolence “duty” by giving away various items at Christmas, Ramadan, Easter. Lofelofe.com will like to make this happen everyday as the lives of people in need cannot wait until these festivities.

    “There is a void between people who receive benevolence and the people who need them. We have found orphanages that have excess clothes but what they needed is books, shoes and medical supplies. We take the excess and balance the need; society can continue to give whatever they have to give but we will make sure that it reaches the right people,” Odushola said.

    lofelofe.com is unique from the usual NGOs or nonprofit in that, it partners with existing NGOs and social organisation and does not depend on donations to continue its operations in the long term.  It promotes its partners and works with them in their niche areas to have an even bigger impact. By 2017, the platform hopes to have reached 200+ million disadvantaged Africans mostly achieved by physical presence on ground in the grassroots and through partnerships since the online space has its limitations. In addition to this, lofelofe.com runs an annual food kitchen event targeted specifically towards the destitute and people on the streets.

    The organisation is planning a food kitchen event in August 29 where communities will be given free medical screening, hot meals, drinks and love to about 3000 people in need, particularly people from the Alimosho – Agege – Ikeja axis.

    The food kitchen event inspired by similar programmes in other parts of the world brings people from different spectrum to one location. It is laudable and beautiful to see Nigerians come together like this.

    Everything for the event has been put together by benevolent citizens; from the event location (given by the Ministry of Youth & Sports) to the food, drinks and medical supplies. In addition, all the medical team, caterers, entertainers are all volunteering to give a helping hand.  Organisations will be giving their products and services for free, WeClean, a cleaning company will  clean the location at no charge. While Halogen securities will give its professional services in crowd control and event securities, SixthLab will donate medical test kits.

  • New advert platform to reach 5.5m viewers monthly

    • For airport restrooms, lounges

    A new Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising medium, Magic Mirror advertising channel, has been introduced into the outdoor advertising industry to reach over five million viewers monthly.

    Introduced by Soundz & Meknitz Limited, the magic mirror is said to be one of the world’s latest OOH advertising technologies.

    Described as an innovation in the  Sub-Saharan Africa, the new platform is classified under the emerging media and below the line/indoor advertising category.

    The new media works is interfaced by a specially designed mirror with an inbuilt LCD video and audio programme that also doubles as a viewing mirror. A Television Commercial (TVC) is seen playing on the mirror, with an inbuilt sensor that squeezes the advert message to a corner on approach of a user to present a full mirror and returns after use.

    Managing Director, Soundz & Meknitz Limited, Mr Felix Ugbechie said his company has been granted exclusive permit to install the next generation advertising technology in all the rest rooms on all the airport lounges in Nigeria, a factor he is sure will give maximum value to advertisers.

    He said the advertising medium is unique because it offers the advertiser the opportunity to have something close to personal conversations with individuals who come in contact with it.

    “The mirror, as simple as it is, is a very important tool for managing personal relationships. We must always go to the mirror to appreciate ourselves and determine if we are looking good enough for that all important meeting. It is a personal tool that enables us to have a conversation with ourselves before we go out to meet other people. What we are doing is take this conversation even further by enabling brands to talk to their targets in their most intimate periods. This is a period when conversations are best appreciated and ensure long lasting retention,” he said.

    Ugbechie explained that the Magic Mirror advertising has the distinguishing capability to pass the message to the personality and without interruptions and also overcomes the challenges of no tune out, trashing or flipping pages that have been the disadvantages of electronic  and print media advertising in recent time.

    “The Magic Mirror is like a welcome companion to the often disconcerting privacy of the rest rooms. That is why we say it holds personal conversations because advertisers have the privilege of talking to individuals in this secluded privacy and be able to arrest their attention throughout their stay. This is an advantage no other form and medium of advertising can offer. And it can offer access to a specific gender pin downs of messaging with 100 per cent accuracy. For instance, female toilets can be loaded with messages speaking to the female market and vice versa thereby giving accurate traffic and exposure measurement.”

    He added that the new medium is capable of also offers high brand visibility, with an estimated average 5,000,000 to 5,500,000 views per month, a coverage no other medium can match at same cost.

    “The Magic Mirror is the best channel to help you reach your marketing priority areas or audience.  It offers a high definition video and audio resonance in a casual and relaxed atmosphere. It offers a welcome alternative to looking at a blank wall. Advertisers are also afforded the opportunity to put their advert in desired marketing priority areas at high traffic time at any of the locations, especially in public-private places.

    On whether his company has plans to extend the values beyond airports, Ugbechie said the company was working to have the Magic Mirrors installed in major hotels, shopping malls, high end clubs, eatries and even venues across the country.

    “We want to offer advertisers the best platform to reach their targets and achieve maximum exposure, interaction and retention rate thereby giving them the best value in ad spend,’ he added.