The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Trends

  • OMONI OBOLI lashes social media trolls

    WHILE it is not really clear who Omoni Oboli is hitting at, it is obvious the toe of the mother of three boys has been stepped on.

    On Wednesday, the actress and movie producer lashed from her Instagram.

    “If all you do with social media is troll people and spread bitterness, you are of all men, the most miserable,” she wrote.

    “People are busy making money.”

    Read Also: AY, Omoni Oboli star in Hollywood Xmas film

    Known for her entrepreneurial drive, Omoni who tagged 2019 as ‘The Money year’ revealed that she is excited to partner popular beauty outfit Tara, to help empower a lucky fan.

    “But I’m super excited tonight because I’m partnering with my @houseoftara_intl family to empower someone who wants to become a beauty entrepreneur. I will pick one lucky person to get a beauty rep starter pack worth 50 thousand naira! Yes!!! It’s still the season of love. I’m a boss babe! I’m all about empowering my circle of influence…actively seeking and creating opportunities for them to make money.”

  • Trends that will dominate SMEs’ sector

    This year is certainly going to be eventful for small businesses and tech entrepreneurs, with the ever-changing political landscape introducing a host of new challenges and opportunities, DANIELESSIET reports.

    By last December,  the startups and Tech entrepreneurship  sector was expected to have surpassed N50 billion in value, going by increasing funding  from donors, venture capitalists and other investors.

    Also, technologies for prediction, and other flourishing technologies were introduced into the nation’s  business landscape from agriculture to healthcare and commerce.

    According to analysts, young business leaders and visionaries this year, are  going to usher in innovative  technology firms that  will transform industries and make life better for Nigerians. One of those who see the industry exploding is Founder of Tech Circle, Oo Nwoye, who sees innovative startups providing solutions in fintech, digital health, blockchain, logistics and other tech-related sectors.

    Specifically, Lagos, the nation’s startup capital, Nwoye noted, is vibrant, and will make an ideal city for new businesses.  In addition, the thriving tech scene, according to Nwoye, has a great pool of talented persons, diversity of experts and connections that make the city a good base for growth internationally.

    However, there is still room for improvement in the access to capital and funding options available for startups.

    In line with the wider aspirations of the Federal Government to promote economic growth and prosperity across Nigeria, Nwoye noted that the tech sector will realise its huge potential.

    He said the impact of tech startups is being felt across the country as they have  created employment and generated new opportunities for investors.

    According to him, the government and the private sector are working to create tech hubs and business incubation centres and connect the most ambitious tech entrepreneurs across the  country.

    While Lagos’tech sector success is enjoying international recognition,  Nwoye said other states tech ecosystems have a vital role to play in driving the country’s international connections and ensuring that Nigeria  cements its position as a business destination in Africa.

    His organisation is bringing businesses together, catalysing a national network of ambitious entrepreneurs, and helping the nation’s tech economy to thrive.

    With the tech entrepreneurship sector growing, Nwoye maintained that it was clear that technology is a critical component of the nation’s growth, both now and for the future.

    Partner, Ventures Platform, Kola Aina noted that the  success story of local tech ecosystems across Nigeria   provided a positive narrative last year.

    According to him, the economy has generated millions of dollars’ worth of deals, reflecting innovation partnerships for the benefit of tech startups and international funders.

    He said this has transformed the perception of Nigeria as a globally attractive place for business, investment, tech and innovation.

    According to him, what makes the sector unique is its driving spirit of collaboration.

    This year, Aina envisaged a huge impact of digital disruption across all industries, seeing technology become an enabling force in sectors such as health, agriculture and finance.

    According to him, there is a growing government and private sector efforts  to help fill the huge funding gaps, and make more people believe in their dreams and launch their ventures, run and grow them on a global scale.

     

    Lagos Smart City Project

    If Lagos State can sustain its smart city projects, stakeholders expect it to rub-off on the economy.

    According to the state, the purpose of a smart city is to provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality life to its citizens.

    Core infrastructure is expected to include adequate water, uninterrupted electricity, efficient mobility, good governance, health and education.

    The   flagship initiative of Governor Akinwumi Ambode, Nwoye said, is transforming the state into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

    Lagos State entrepreneurship programme is backed by Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Googleand Microsoft.

    Promising tech ecosystem

    Nigeria is home to no less than 24 incubators, co-working spaces or other types of tech hubs with more than half located in Lagos alone.

    Alongside tech hubs and investors, tech giants and banks  are also playing an increasing role in growing the nation’s tech entrepreneurship ecosystem.

    Big plans are in the offing for the incubation arena in Lagos and other states of the country.  New facilities are geared to provide start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses with appropriate infrastructure and services. Organisations such as Fate Foundation incubator is definitely a positive step forward in the nation’s incubation movement.

     

    Effective entrepreneurship support from universities

    Covenant University is Nigeria’s foremost startup university. Its Centre for Entrepreneurial Developmental Studies is dedicated to driving the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation by equipping individuals and organisations through relevant and strategic training, research and startup incubation and development. The university delivers efficient support for startups with its Entrepreneurship Center.

    Other universities arrange regular competitions, networking events, workshops and coaching sessions.

     

    ECOWAS business

    incubator centres

    for women entrepreneurs

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in collaboration with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the Spanish Fund, kicked off the first phase of its business incubator programme to support women in rural communities in the West Africa.The project seeks to address some of the major challenges faced by women involved in small and medium-scaled enterprises in agriculture sectors by providing business support services, developing women’s entrepreneurial skills, access to market and finance as well as awareness of women empowerment and gender equality. Last year, a  pilot business incubator center for agricultural entrepreneurship opened in Tenkodogo, Burkina Faso. Stakeholders expect the regional body  to replicate in other countries in West Africa and in other Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa this year.

     

    Challenges

    The sector is going to enjoy a healthy influx of new startups. One of the greatest obstacles facing the sector is sourcing the right talent. Stakeholders said there is a shortage of skilled workers  and  it is difficult to lure talent away from larger companies. Small business owners will face challenges of low income and high overheads. There are plenty of headwinds in the coming months. Uncertainty is already causing businesses to delay investment, hiring decisions and product launches.

    Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN) President, Prince Saviour Iche said small businesses and startups are having a hard time getting funding despite reported efforts to promote entrepreneurship.

    According to him, innovative  small  scale  producers  have limited access to financial means to materialise their ideas. Iche urged the banks to ease the funding process for startups.

     

     

    For most startups, bureaucratic bottle-necks, lack of access to capital as well as high and multiple taxes pose serious challenges.  Nigerian an startups have faced legal, administrative, and investment challenges, which hindered them from achieving full growth. .Startups are not permitted to raise money through crowdfunding, where they solicit for fund, particularly online.

     

     

     

  • Ecobank research shows emerging trends for Africa

    Ecobank research shows emerging trends for Africa

    The 2017 version of Ecobank Research’s Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC) Guidebook, which provides expert knowledge and analysis on African markets for investors and businesses, was launched yesterday at AfricaFICC. Indicating a positive outlook for the continent, three key trends are forecast to take hold during the next 12 months.

    The first indicates an economic rebound in sub-Saharan Africa, driven by a recovery in the region’s economic heavyweights, Nigeria and South Africa, and ongoing growth in the top performers, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire and (more recently) Ghana.

    Growth will be driven by a rise in oil production (notably in Ghana, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Angola), strengthening infrastructure investment across West and East Africa, and improved weather conditions which bode well for crops.

    Strengthening economic activity, plus a moderate improvement in oil and mineral prices, will help narrow the current account deficit, but pressure on SSA currencies will remain. The second emerging trend points to West Africa’s gas sector becoming a hive of activity in 2018, from Senegal to Angola, with the development of gas pipelines, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platforms and major gas field projects.

    Governments in the Gulf of Guinea and across West Africa have ramped up efforts to secure gas supply in order to boost domestic power generation and diversify their revenues away from crude oil.

    Deregulating the gas market and allowing market-driven gas prices will be key to unlocking further gas infrastructure investment across the region.

    The third trend suggests Fintech innovation in Africa picking up speed in 2018, buoyed by a new generation of Africans who are ‘digital natives’.

    The proliferation of tech hubs across. Africa (notably in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire) will nurture the next wave of African start-ups and help connect them with investors. Digital innovation in SSA is being driven by the explosion in mobile phone usage, enabling African consumers to leapfrog existing business models and technologies.

    African Fintech firms are increasingly driving this innovation, deploying digital tools to build credit profiles for the previously ‘unbankable’, providing electricity to rural households that were previously off the grid, even using artificial intelligence to diagnose health problems remotely.

  • Experts discuss trends in cyber security

    The need for the public and private sectors  to work and build a strategy to tackle the risk  of cyber crime will be the primary  focus at the 2017 Securex West African Cyber Security Summit (WACSS), the organisers have said .

    According to a statement from the organisers of the summit, Afrocet Montgomery, “one way this can be accomplished is through knowledge sharing and it is for this reason that the summit  is being organised.

    “Cyberspace has ushered in new opportunities with its security challenges and this will be a new platform and the first of its size and scale in West Africa which will bring together industry experts from both the private and public sector to discuss the challenges, opportunities and trends in cyber security. Throughout the day, delegates will hear from both international and national cyber experts from organisations such KPMG, Ernst & Young, the EFCC and G3. Whilst expert opinions will also be shared from the country’s leading associations such as Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria; the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN); and CSCSS.”

    Highlighting the topics that will be covered during the summit, the organisers said: “ it will cover corporate security, training the next generation, financial crime and governance. The day will also witness a live hackathon run by Upgraded Era where visitors across the Exhibition, whether novice or trained, can try their hand at hacking.

    The launch of WACSS will fill a much needed space in Nigeria for experts to congregate and discuss pertinent issues; sharing knowledge and expertise. This will become an annual event which will reflect the trends; patterns; challenges and opportunities in Nigeria’s cyberspace.”

  • Jewelry trends to look forward to

    Jewelry trends to look forward to

    After last year’s nineties and antique style tsunami, a wind of fresh innovation blew through the ranks of jewelry designers for 2017, with cuffs and bracelets over sleeves, strings of pearls, single earrings, layering and safety pins all hitting the runway!

    The jewelries trends we are looking forward to for 2017.

    In 2017 jewelry trends bracelets with crystals, chains, thinned-thread bracelets with beads in pandora style and handmade bracelets will be very fashionable.

    On a more classic note, 2017 is also marked for the return of the vintage Victorian look, geometric shapes and well as a focus of the natural and tribal look of a variety of cultures. One of the great inspirations for 2017 is the antique look, and after few runway shows I noticed that the Victorian era has been one of the most popular among many high end designers.

    Furthermore, headbands with flowers, fabric rims, ribbons  and various chains are the most fashionable boho jewelry in 2017.

    Fashion rings 2017 are also varied. Gold rings with pearls or stones and crystals will also be relevant as well as cheap. The main focus is on big and unusual geometric forms.

    Just like bracelets, vintage and retro styles rings will be very popular.

  • Jewelry trends to look forward to

    Jewelry trends to look forward to

    After last year’s nineties and antique style tsunami, a wind of fresh innovation blew through the ranks of jewelry designers for 2017, with cuffs and bracelets over sleeves, strings of pearls, single earrings, layering and safety pins all hitting the runway!

    The jewelries trends we are looking forward to for 2017.

    In 2017 jewelry trends bracelets with crystals, chains, thinned-thread bracelets with beads in pandora style and handmade bracelets will be very fashionable.

    On a more classic note, 2017 is also marked for the return of the vintage Victorian look, geometric shapes and well as a focus of the natural and tribal look of a variety of cultures. One of the great inspirations for 2017 is the antique look, and after few runway shows I noticed that the Victorian era has been one of the most popular among many high end designers.

    Furthermore, headbands with flowers, fabric rims, ribbons  and various chains are the most fashionable boho jewelry in 2017.

    Fashion rings 2017 are also varied. Gold rings with pearls or stones and crystals will also be relevant as well as cheap. The main focus is on big and unusual geometric forms.

    Just like bracelets, vintage and retro styles rings will be very popular.

  • Jewellery trends

    Jewellery trends

    IN 2017, bracelets with crystals, chains, thinned-thread bracelets with beads in pandora style and handmade bracelets will be very fashionable.

    On a more classic note, 2017 is also marked for the return of the vintage Victorian look, geometric shapes and a focus of the natural and tribal look of a variety of cultures. One of the great inspirations for 2017 is the antique look and after few runway shows I noticed that the Victorian era has been one of the most popular among many high end designers.

    Furthermore, headbands with flowers, fabric rims, ribbons  and various chains are the most fashionable boho jewellery in 2017.

    Fashion rings are also varied. Gold rings with pearls or stones and crystals will also be relevant as well as cheap. The main focus is on big and unusual geometric forms.

    Just like bracelets, vintage and retro style rings will be very popular.

  • Jewelry trends for 2015

    Jewelry trends for 2015

    JEWELRY has forever been an essential part of a woman’s get-up.this year, many designers will take a lot of elements from nature like it happened last year and they will also incorporate something new. Design jewelry with animal and plant pattern will be extremely popular. And the hottest jewelry trends for 2015 will include opulent gemstones, fragile accesssories in texture, shape and designs. Mix and match jewelry pieces will remain popular, there will be no rules when it comes to jewelry designs and trends.

    Huge bracelets, brooches inspired by floral(floristic motifs have been on top of the game since 2010) shapes and beautifully coloured pearls in big sizes are also some of the trends for this year.  Fashion designers used flowers shape and pattern everywhere last year in all forms and sizes.

    Earrings and bracelets will get bigger and sexier, they will dominate 2015 to the extent that necklace may not be necessary like it happened last year. And lastly it will be another eventful year for beads and pearls jewelry

  • New trends in higher education

    In October, I attended the centenary celebration of the Association of Commonwealth Universities in London, England and for four-days we were engaged in discussing current and future trends as well as problems of higher education. Everybody seemed to have agreed that a universal problem confronting higher education was adequate funding. If this is true of developed countries, one can imagine the problems in developing countries. It is common knowledge that the British and the American governments have been cutting back on funding of higher education in an attempt to balance their budget or reduce their deficits as the case may be. But most universities in the western world are almost self-financing without relying solely on government. In Great Britain, the grants committee still largely funds universities, but substantial amount of funding is derived from school fees and recently, from expensive tuition fees charged on foreign students.

    In the largely market driven economies of the United States and Canada, states’ intervention in funding even though substantial is not proportionately on the scale of that of Great Britain. Famous universities in the U.S like Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, Cornell and the Californian University system, particularly, UCLA and Berkeley charge as much as $45,000-$60, 000 a year. Most famous universities in the Western world like Oxford, Cambridge and the American counterparts gets generous donations from Corporations, successful alumni and bequests from public-spirited capitalists. But in spite of these, many poor people still find it difficult sending their children to universities without bankrupting themselves and sometimes, young graduates have to spend years in payment of debts accumulated during their undergraduate days. In these days of global unemployment, this has become a serious challenge to young people as well as a cause for frustration. This led the Governors of Florida and Texas on two separate occasions to call on their university communities to reduce the cost of higher education to not more than $10,000 a year per student and they went ahead to suggest the way this can be done was by making many of the courses available on-line and that where necessary, students can then go in to write exams or do practicals at minimal cost at existing colleges. There is no doubt in my mind that the future of higher education lies in e-learning and the Americans are already showing the way for all others to follow. The challenge for us in the developing world would of course be infrastructure. We would need electricity and ICT infrastructure to do e-learning.

    This then takes me back to the conference in London where there was a presentation on this particular issue and we were told that within the next decade, there would only be a few mega-universities with famous brands from which most people in the world would want their degrees. It is obvious that most of these universities may be American universities and that present campuses of other universities all over the world may be turned into examination halls and laboratories for practical training necessary to earn the degrees of these mega-universities. We were told that most young people in the world if they have the opportunity would want to have the degrees of Harvard, Yale, Cambridge or Oxford. This does not seem so far-fetched because after all, up till 1963, students at the University College, Ibadan were earning London degrees with their papers being partly marked in Nigeria and London. If this were to happen, would this lead to a drastic reduction in the cost of higher education? Of course the answer is yes because many of the current overheads would be radically reduced, but I have a feeling, that if this were to happen, it would first happen in the developed world and it would take a few decades before it happens in Nigeria.

    One of the most startling revelations that I want to share with my reading public was what the former Minister of Higher Education in Pakistan told the Conference. He said that when President Pervez Musharraf invited him to his cabinet to take care of higher education, he asked him pointedly whether the President would give him a free hand, he said, the President said he has his word of honour to revolutionize higher education in Pakistan. He said the first thing he did was to look at the salary structure and recommended to the president that the salary of a professor should be five times the salary of a cabinet minister and the President agreed. With this kind of comfortable salary, he said the contribution of Pakistanis to higher education rose by geometric proportion and that the world this through recognises through the scientific publications and innovations of Pakistani academics.

    Those of us who are old enough know that what our colleague from Pakistan was saying was not unheard of even in Nigeria. At the time of my youth, Professors at the University of Ibadan were earning the same salary as federal ministers, which means that they were earning more money than regional ministers. Vice-Chancellors were in a different world and were administering Nigerian universities here at home and whenever they went on heir statutory three-month vacation in England, they had offices in London from where they administered Nigerian universities. Lecturers, even junior lecturers had opportunity to spend, apart from sabbatical leaves abroad, short study-leaves as well, all paid for by their universities. Those were the days. One cannot be too nostalgic about the past because the past is gone, but the present should be an improvement on the past. If conditions in Nigerian universities are bad today, we should ask ourselves why they should be so bad as to lead to the closure of Nigerian universities for five months. The reason for the bad situation may be connected to the attitude of our staff and students who want to cut corners and have money without working hard. It could also be due to the fact that there are too many universities and governments, both federal and states are not helping by the indiscriminate establishment of universities. Universities are now established as part of dividends of democracies and centres for development rather than need and national affordability.

    Perhaps in agreement with our London conference, we should be thinking of mega-universities in Nigeria offering courses online while the mushroom universities recently established become mere centres of examinations and laboratory practices. The time may have come for a summit on higher education in Nigeria in tandem with what is going on in many other parts of the world.

     

  • This Season’s biggest trends

    This Season’s biggest trends

    Pastel/Neutral

    Don’t shy away from sleeveless tops or shirts, thoughlayer them or pair with black tights now. Later, they’ll fit into your warm weather wardrobe easily.

     

    Little lace dress

    In this season of hotter temperatures, here comes a new fashion trend to boost your look: it is the little lace dress, always makes you look beautiful in whatever way you choose to wear them.

     

    Little black dress (LBD)

    LBD is the easiest and safest of colours, and this season we have a lot of styles to experiment with, such as peplum.

     

    Tie-neck blouses

    The tie-neck blouses are the hottest fashion item; they are turning up everywhere, from classic and chic bow-tie necked blouses and even shirt-dresses, in every imaginary colours, pattern, design, style and texture, from twinkling sheer fabrics to thick prints.

     

    Vivid floral prints

    Beautiful and stylish floral prints are in vogue. They are remarkably apparent this season and add a subtle and sexy appeal to one’s look.

     

    High/broad waist skirt & trousers

    If you have been following the fashion trend, you would have noticed that gorgeous broad/wide waistband skirt and trousers are now the king among skirts and pants and despite the hot weather, it is getting hotter by the day.

     

    Jeans: not just a casual

    The big fashion statement this season is jeans. They are everywhere and vibrant in different hues: from striking and vital black, cream and white, to alluring blue.