Over 500 IT professionals from enterprise organizations across West Africa will convene in Lagos on February 21, 2020 for MainOne’s 5th annual gathering of its flagship event, Nerds Unite, themed: “Enabling the Digital Economy”. 

This year’s event will showcase the launch of its Managed Cloud Services in partnership with Microsoft and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Operated by Selectium. The event will feature presentations and panel discussions on Cloud adoption, Cloud migration and all things Cloud with MainOne and its global partners. 

Featuring over 10 speakers from global tech companies and West African Corporate organizations, #NerdsUnite2020 is designed to facilitate discussions on trending developments in the IT sector to help professionals deliver increased value to their organizations. The event’s keynote addresses will be given by Ernest Sales, CEO Hewlett Packard Enterprises Operated by Selectium and Wale Olokodana, Microsoft Business Group Director. 

Speaking on expectations for this year’s event, Tayo Ashiru, Head of Marketing MainOne says, “For the past 4 years, Nerds Unite has delivered powerful technology insights and networking opportunities for organizations and tech enthusiasts alike. This year we expect that with our panel of dynamic speakers, partners and launch of our Managed Cloud Services, the energy around Nerds Unite 2020 will be electrifying. These developments will help accelerate the digital transformation across all sectors and the ICT ecosystem in West Africa, supported by technological innovation and world-class partners.”

With over 3,000 participants since inception, Nerds Unite has showcased leading technology solutions available locally and globally and has hosted major players in the international and local IT industry. This year’s edition is set to further empower the tech ecosystem with the industry’s latest developments, centering on unique perspectives on Cloud Computing targeted at C-Level executives and IT professionals of blue-chip organizations across West Africa.

Barely one year after the ‘Ziing App’ investment App was launched by Investment One Financial Services Limited, a leading player in the Nigerian financial services industry; it has spurred the appetite of investors in both the capital and fixed income markets.

Investment One Financial Services, formerly GTB Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, launched the investment application in Lagos, January last year.

Ziing is an app powered by Investment One to ease savings, investments and reduce financial friction. The App was launched to the public about a year ago with about three features which are zSave, zPlan and Fixed Income. 

Measuring the performance and impact of Ziing in Nigeria’s investment space, one year after its launch, Francis Ebuehi, Group Executive Sales and Marketing, Investment One Financial Services Limited, said the App has helped thousands of Nigerians (home and abroad) save and become more investment savvy. 

‘’Within one year of launch, Ziing has had over 10,000 downloads on Android and IOS devices. Our plan for Ziing is to provide more investment opportunities and make the platform truly ‘amazing’ for users’, he said.

Ebuehi added: ‘’Today on Ziing, users can create target savings, make a fixed-income investment, trade Nigerian stocks, buy airtime and pay bills. Ziing is doing this by partnering with third parties to facilitate seamless experience on the platform. To commemorate this anniversary, we have re-launched the Ziing app with a new design interface for quick and easy navigation”.

The Ziing App, according to Ebuehi, is a complete solution package for all classes of investors available on the mobile app, USSD and web platforms

“Ziing is an App on your phone that essentially enables you to take control of your finances. It is your money buddy. It is an App that provides the user an array of financial services ranging from timely investment information to identifying available investment opportunities,” Ebuehi explained.

A major difference between Ziing and other Apps so far introduced into the Nigerian financial space is its ability to address other financial needs apart from payment.

Ziing can be downloaded on an Android device here or here for an iOS devices. The web app version can be accessed via  www.ziingit.com

Investment One Financial Services Limited, a one-stop-shop for investors, offers services in asset management, pension fund management, stockbroking, and trust services among other financial services.

There’s a new player in the Property Technology (PropTech) space. CutStruct Technology Limited, led by Co-Founder and CEO John Oamen, is disrupting the industry with precision innovation. John Oamen, one of Nigeria’s leading real estate experts with over a decade of cognate experience in the field, is leading a young team to create unique and specialized process improvement apps for construction and real estate in Nigeria. He and his team recently launched Nigeria’s first real estate and construction materials price discovery platform, LiveVend.com. 

LiveVend provides the intelligence and data required for better project planning and market entry. LiveVend.com launched with the promise of providing real-time and curated market trend reports to enable investors, commercial and DIY builders with the most accurate construction information to help them make best-outcome decisions. 

LiveVend is enabling a data-transparent, data-reliant and data-driven construction sector. Going by the reviews and critical acclaim by stakeholders in the construction industry since its launch in December 2019, LiveVend has all it takes to become a groundbreaking innovation that will help a lot of people in their quest to get a better understanding of real estate issues. 

John Oamen is enthusiastic about how this innovation intends to create real-time solutions to the construction needs of Nigerians. “Innovation is upon us and we must keep working to ensure that we are rewriting the African story with every single code and app,” he said. 

“We have assembled a stellar team to bring a fresh experience to finding current prices and what price changes are occurring which can be tracked for better project deliveries. We believe we are key to potential builders, and those in the diaspora seeking to invest locally; building with confidence and assurance because for the first time, they have a set of tools and a reliable partner to plan with”. He further added

LiveVend is continuously working in line with technology and building stakeholders’ demand to ensure that they grow and have access to business improvement tools and latest updates and prices. Oamen also believes that LiveVend is best placed to help Nigeria solve the housing deficit conundrum. Their mission is to “unlock the next million homes!” 

According to him, “With LiveVend, we’re encouraging houses and estates to spring up in every part of the country, allowing even the most naive builder to take on that project with the certainty of outcome. LiveVend is more than a web app; it is a platform that supports the entire value chain in the property sector.” “It is simply one price index for all your construction and real estate project needs.” John Oamen explained. 

Visit the web application at https://www.livevend.com/ for free to get daily price updates on real estate products. 

…Record impressive achievements, with over $500,000 raised in committed investments and grants 

Startups participating in the second season of the Facebook Accelerator Programme have recorded significant achievements, including raising over $500,000 in committed investments and grants in just three months (halfway through the program). Within the same period, they also made significant product pivots, sealed key partnerships and made progress towards creating unique products with world-class business processes.

These results were recently revealed by Facebook and CcHUB, following its 2019 programs and training which took place to support and empower students and entrepreneurs, to build locally relevant solutions using advanced technologies at NG_Hub, Facebook’s flagship Community Hub space in partnership with CcHUB.

As part of the program, the startups were introduced to multiple venture capitalists and corporate executives and also matched with advisors within the CcHUB Global Advisory network, namely c-suite executives and experts from companies like Dell, Oracle, IHS Towers, Stanbic IBTC, Cellulant, Old Mutual, Axa Mansard, among others.

Below are the highlights of the six startups that contributed to the $500,000 total raised so far:

• Chekkit, the only African company to be accepted into a global accelerator, cementing a key partnership for their organization. They also sealed a partnership with the Fantom foundation for their blockchain product and received a grant from Umdasch Challenge at World Summit Awards 2020.
• Haulr emerged second place in the recently concluded Zenith Bank’s hackathon securing N6 million
• Simbi interactives sealed key partnerships and have so far received $35,000+ in investments and grants
• Student team, Vinsighte has completed its prototype that reads books to the visually impaired using computer vision
• AirSynq, completed its balloon satellite prototype and has enterprise clients on the waiting list for its product launch in February
• Gradely launched the beta version of its product, and received its first set of customers, whilst increasing the number of schools they are present in by 200%

These startups and many more will be showcasing their products and solutions during the annual Facebook Accelerator Programme Innovation Showcase week in February 2020. 

Speaking on the development, Adaora Ikenze, Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa at Facebook said: “The numbers speak for themselves, and further reinforces that the work and investments we are undertaking here in Nigeria are having a real impact. At Facebook, we are passionate about helping developers and entrepreneurs to grow. We believe in empowering small businesses through our platforms to help more people launch and grow their businesses, which translates to real impact for their communities and local economies.”

Also speaking, Bosun Tijani, Chief Executive Officer, CcHUB said: “This is yet another extremely brilliant cohort of startups from the Facebook acceleration program which we are deeply proud of. This goes to further highlight the readiness of innovators across Africa to leapfrog development on the continent with technological innovation. We are delighted to be part of this journey with Facebook in its desire to inspire African entrepreneurs to be among the best in the world.”

With three months remaining, the cohort of season two of the Facebook Accelerator Programme will be undertaking workshop sessions, faculty one-on-ones, growth planning, Industry Advisor Sessions and mock pitches, rounded off with a demo day in April, the end of the program.

For more information on the Facebook Accelerator Programme Innovation Showcase, visit www.bit.ly/isw-2020 

Lagos, Nigeria. January 31, 2019. It was a night of glitz and glamour as Nigeria’s emerging power solutions company – Bhojsons Powerhub, a subsidiary of the Bhojsons Group launched ‘Amaze’ Power Backup solution into the Nigerian market at an exclusive event attended by its key dealers and celebrities alike.

The new Power Backup solutions were unveiled amidst lots of fun and entertainment featuring Big Brother star – Tobi Bakre and Host of the day, PencilComedian who celebrated the dealers and created excitements with comedy, dance performances, and competitions. The revolutionary Amaze (Inverters and Batteries) from in India, is one of the best-in-class Power Backup solutions in its segment with a pedigree of over 30 years of manufacturing excellence and category experience.

Introducing the brand, Vishant Dalamal, Group Managing Director, Bhojsons Group Plc explained that the Amaze brand offers customers access to the best quality power solution manufactured with cutting edge technology in a complete package that guarantees maximum performance.

“Amaze Power products are designed for young achievers who demand more in their lives. Amaze delivers more performance, more reliability, more attractive designs with consistent power, and the assurance of the quality of global manufacturing standards and 24×7 after-sales service across Nigeria. The brand also has one of the most interesting aesthetic designs from France with smoothly sophisticated architecture and refined edges,” he said.

Earlier in his welcome address at the Dealers Meet, Dalamal expressed profound gratitude and appreciation to the dealers for their immense support and contributions, which has seen the company grow over the years despite the difficult operating environment and challenges of the Nigerian economy as a whole. 

He described the dealers as partners and strong pillars to the continued growth of the company. “We are really excited to see and celebrate you, our esteemed business partners for your support in growing our business to where it is today. Without you all, it won’t have been possible to get to where we are,” he added. 

Also speaking at the event, the Business Unit Head Bhojsons Powerhub, Rajneesh Gupta stated that Amaze offers a technologically advanced Power Back-Up solution that meets the yearnings and Power Back up needs of Nigerians. 

“Customers in Nigeria truly deserve a comforting experience, with Amaze, a lot of money will be saved on diesel & petrol, generator repairs and other agonies that often come with the regular power outage experienced in Nigeria. The Amaze brand is more resilient, performs much better and delivers more durability,” Gupta said.

“Amaze power back up products are designed to reduce electrical losses, thereby improving power savings and efficiency. They are very safe, protecting appliances by delivering safe power output even under fluctuating input conditions,” Gupta added.  

About Bhojsons Group

Bhojsons Group is a Nigerian conglomerate with a 150-year history of serving Nigeria with world-class products and services. The group has interests in varied Key economic sectors of Nigeria spanning Automobiles, Fast-moving consumer goods, Consumer Durable goods, Power solutions, Packaging solutions, Polymers, Agricultural machinery, Domestic machinery and infrastructural needs for the telecom industry.

About Bhojsons PowerHub

Bhojsons Powerhub is an emerging power solutions division of the Bhojsons Group. The division is a one-stop Power shop that specializes in the provision of the complete spectrum of power solutions, from Domestic to Industrial Generators, Inverters, Batteries, amongst other energy solutions.

It’s new and a central hub for all things payments

Paga is unveiling new updates to its Android and iOS Apps. Version one of the Paga mobile app was released in 2017 with two major functionalities – send money and request money. These are key features any mobile wallet should have and Paga had these functionalities perfectly done in its app. However, users are insatiable with the need to do more. 

So working with the interesting feedback received from users, Paga spent the past few months working to improve the app and make it a better platform for everyone. Version 2 of the Paga app has been unveiled with even more functionalities – users can now pay bills, deposit to any bank and more. 

All That’s New About the Paga App

• Contacts —  Users can now add friends, family, colleagues, anyone from their phonebook to their Paga account. This allows you to save bank account details and biller information (Electricity, internet or cable TV) and of course, this saves you time when performing transactions related to them. 
• Shortcuts — Set up shortcuts for easy access to your most frequent transactions. Perform any transaction in one click. 
• An improved dashboard —  Paga made improvements to the dashboard so you can see everything at a glance. You can now fund your account, see your 10 digit NUBAN number, access shortcuts, see exciting promos, all on your dashboard!
• Send Money — Money transfers to all bank accounts is now possible. You are now able to send money to anybody, wherever they prefer to store their money. You can still send money to any email address or phone number which is completely free and always works. 100%!
• Request Money — This is quite important because awkward conversations can be a hassle. You can send a money request to anyone in your contacts or you can share your unique JustPagaMe link. This link is shareable anywhere — WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Text Messages, Instagram, anywhere. Whoever clicks on your link can send you money can use their Paga account, debit card or direct bank debit! 
• Bill Payments —You can now pay all your bills from one place; Cable TV, Internet, Electricity, etc. sidenote: Recurring payments are coming very soon to the app but you can still set it up on the desktop or mobile web 😉👍

Paga is knowledgeable about the importance of mobile apps for payments especially for person to person. As the competition in the payment space heats up, version 2 of the Paga app is a smart move that puts Paga ahead of the game. Paga says the new app is available on both the Android and IOS store. You can download it here to enjoy all that it offers.

Contract farming is all about contracting a farmer to farm for you and deliver a specified quantity of farm produce to a specified location on a specified date.
Crowd farming is pooling together funds to sponsor a farming project and sharing the profit with all the people that participated in the fundraising.
Many agritech startups in Nigeria are practicing crowd farming. Farm4Me stands out in offering contract farming in Nigeria.
Farm4me is the first in Nigeria to pioneer contract farming. Potential Clients sign up on their website. Receive cost total breakdown and projected yield and profit document. Make a decision on the crop and number of hectares and notify Farm4Me.
The service agreement is sent to the potential client to study carefully, sign and send back. Farm4Me signs their part of the service agreement and send the final copy to the potential Client. Once the contract has been activated, the invoice will be generated and sent to the potential Client. He makes payment and notifies Farm4Me.
Then work begins immediately on the farming project. The Client is updated on the progress of the farm.
The most outstanding part of what this startup offers is the fact that all their farms are insured by Leadway Assurance to reduce the risk of farm disaster and other losses. Should there be a low yield below the invested capital, Farm4Me undertakes to refund the client’s capital. So the client is shielded from the risk associated with farming.
The startup also undertakes with the permission of the Client to sell the farm produce at the prevailing market price and credit the client’s bank account. Or ship the farm produce to the client’s specified address on a specified date.
Asked what the cost of production entails, the CEO, Adama J. Adama said: “it covers land leasing, land clearing, land tilling, buying of seeds, planting of seeds, weeding, fertilizer and pesticide application, harvest, packaging, and transportation”.
We asked about the patronage of the contract farming service, Mr. Adama said: “we receive on the average 15 sign-ups every day”.
The most interesting part of this innovative agribusiness is the fact that it creates jobs for landowners, tractor operators, vulnerable women and youths who engage in the farm labor and farm input suppliers.
Since they started nine months ago, they have given direct and indirect jobs to over 20, 000 people.
The Founder and CEO said their vision is to build a multibillion-dollar agribusiness company in Nigeria with tangible social impact.
We asked how Farm4Me is able to convince Clients to part with hard-earned money. The CEO said “I go the extra mile to build trust and address the fears and doubts of the potential clients. It takes days and weeks of questions and answers. Sharing of my sensitive data like my National Identity card, Police Character Certificate, CAC Certificate, and Leadway Assurance Insurance Certificate. Some go as far as contacting Leadway to find out if we actually insure our farms with them. Some visit our office to interact with us face to face before making payment. We are brutally honest with them. In the end, they pay us to farm for them. We have a good number of clients that have paid us to farm for them.”
What is the future of agribusiness in Nigeria?
The future is having rich data of all the agribusiness value chain players and make them accessible to the public to build great products off it. The future is so bright. We are excited about feeding Nigeria, putting smiles on the smallholder farmers and creating jobs for vulnerable women and youths.

VerifyMe Nigeria, an ID verification and KYC technology company, announced today it has secured a Series A financing for an undisclosed amount from Consonance Investment Managers. 

The funds will be used to expand strategic partnerships and bring new digital ID verification products to the market.

“We are delighted to partner with Consonance Investment Managers in our mission to build Africa’s KYC infrastructure. Digital services are a key catalyst for Africa’s economic growth and financial inclusion but they can only be unlocked if there’s a mechanism to verify identity at scale. We strive to transform the digital landscape by providing businesses with KYC-as-a-service tools to verify their client identities,” said Esigie Aguele, VerifyMe Co-founder/CEO. 

“Authenticated identity is a critical foundation of digital commerce and financial services; it’s the cornerstone of trust which is essential for collaboration in economies. We believe that Tunji, Esigie and the VerifyMe team are doing work that is pivotal to meeting Nigeria’s financial inclusion goals. We are proud to support their vision and journey,” said Mobolaji Adeoye, Managing Partner at Consonance Investment Managers.

VerifyMe plans to expand adoption across Nigeria and grow revenue twenty-fold over the next three years. A company with a social mission, VerifyMe will help unlock financial inclusion and intervention services in rural communities. 

About VerifyMe NG (www.verifyme.ng)

VerifyMe Nigeria is a technology company offering trusted Know Your Customer (KYC) data via API and portal to industries, and the Nigerian retail market. With KYC reports that comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directives and CBN Tier III compliant verifications, VerifyMe products enable business growth across sectors by delivering KYC as a service.

Since 2017, VerifyMe has built a KYC infrastructure layer to enable the interoperability of KYC data across industries and employers. This gives decision-makers the tools to assess customer suitability for financial and other services. VerifyMe partners with major banks and government agencies in Nigeria to provide  KYC as a service. With over 10,000 domestic employers and 1,000 corporate employers using VerifyMe products today to verify identities, VerifyMe has emerged as a leading technology company pioneering innovative, secure and realistic ID solutions in the African market. 

VerifyMe’s ID Validation (IDV) verification capabilities include Nigerian Identity Management Corporation (NIMC), Bank Verification Number (BVN) and Drivers License verification. 

About Consonance Investment Managers (www.consonanceinvest.com)

Consonance Investment Managers invest in early-stage and growing businesses across sub-Saharan Africa. Consonance backs entrepreneurs who are building large and profitable enterprises that create systems to enable national wealth creation. It focuses on the following sectors and themes: Access to wealth creation, financial and capital markets infrastructure, access to essential services (education, health & power), culture and media, logistics and mobility, retail at scale, food and its distribution systems and technology infrastructure services.

Commitment comes as part of an ambitious £320m UK aid package for strengthening Africa’s financial markets, to boost economic growth and reduce poverty at scale.

20 January 2020, London:  EFInA today welcomes an additional funding commitment from UK Aid, part of a £320m package that will initiate an ambitious new phase of financial sector development across the continent. Announced ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit London, the package includes additional funding for 9 existing Financial Sector Deepening Programmes (FSDs) and to set up and scale new FSDs in high-priority markets, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and the West African Monetary Union.

The new commitment, announced by Secretary of State Alok Sharma, represents the start of an important new approach to financial sector development in sub-Saharan Africa. The package from UK Aid recognizes that a comprehensive, integrated approach to financial market development in Africa is required to realize the continent’s potential and help meet the United Nation’s global goals. The £320m commitment provides funding for ambitious programs that create financing solutions for the opportunities and challenges faced across Africa’s economies, from individual households and micro-enterprises to business and infrastructure investment.  This means addressing the entire system of finance from savings groups to capital market development and operating more closely to the interface between finance and the real world. 

UK International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said: “Africa’s substantial investment potential is clear, with many African countries outstripping global economic growth in recent decades. The UK is already the top financial exchange for Africa’s businesses and we want investors to seize the exciting opportunities that Africa offers. These new initiatives, announced ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit, will make it easier, greener and more secure to invest in Africa, mobilizing billions of pounds of sustainable investment to help end poverty.”

The Chairman of EFInA’s Board, Segun Akerele, said, “EFInA’s catalytic and strategic collaboration with financial service regulators, operators and providers has contributed to 28 million additional Nigerians accessing formal financial services since EFInA was established in late 2007 thereby reducing financial exclusion from 52.5% in 2008 to 36.8% as of 2018. Through research, advocacy, capacity building, and promoting innovation, EFInA has provided the critical support required to expand access to affordable, relevant financial services to all Nigerians, including under-served groups such as women and Northern Nigerians.”

In the wake of this new commitment, Ashley Immanuel (Head of Programmes, EFInA), says EFInA will build on its foundational work promoting financial inclusion and identify linkages with other sectors, such as agriculture, health, and education, that can drive progress toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria.

The £320m package also marks an important step forward for the FSD Network. After nearly twenty years of operation and UK aid support, the FSD Network today comprises 9 active FSD programs, with a strong track record of impact, unparalleled local insight with applied research, and a powerful network of relationships with local regulators, policymakers, industry bodies, and low-income households.  The new FSDs will join the Network, enabling them to benefit from, and contribute to, continent-wide knowledge sharing and cross-border collaboration. 

Betty Wilkinson, Chair of the FSD Network Council, commented on the commitment: ‘On behalf of the nine existing members of the FSD Network and those new FSDs in formation, our sincere gratitude to the UK Government for this generous, constructive, and thoughtful five-year commitment. We pledge to broaden and deepen our innovative work across Africa to make money work for low-income families, women, youth, the excluded, and those who need financial services the most. This new package will enable us to apply finance – in all its forms – to the challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals. The FSD Network will enhance livelihoods for poor people; improve access to basic human services where finance is a barrier; and enable a sustainable future, particularly addressing the financial aspects of climate change and illicit capital flows’.

Comms contact details 

Temi Otumara

09087491837

So how does access to N500m loan @9% sound?

 Usually, heading into a new year is the most overwhelming experience and feeling ever. After much reflection on the past, you begin to mentally create plans for a better year. New year’s resolutions! I believe it’s called.

During this period, people resolve to right wrongs, live healthily, save up and so on. Anyway, If you are an entrepreneur, and your plan for the new year involves giving your business a major boost or you just want to want to keep it running smoothly or perhaps are geared towards setting up a new one, then you definitely need more than mental resolutions.

Resolutions wouldn’t take on the huge responsibilities that come with taking your business a hundred steps further. Only resources would, and UBA can help! With access to N500 million from the UBA creative finance loans, your business is poised to be the next big thing in and from Africa.

You read right! United Bank for Africa now has a loan scheme called the UBA creative finance loans, especially for entrepreneurs with businesses rooted in the creative sector. 

So if you bank with UBA, and are a fashion designer, movie producer/director, music director or an artist looking to up your game in the new year. Get up to N500 million loan for 10 years at a 9% interest rate yearly.

Businesses grow with megabucks, not resolutions!

To apply, visit the nearest UBA branch or send a mail to msmebanking@ubagroup.com

Meet Wizkid’s new best friend and personal assistant LEO

Heading to the counter at the airport, was about to catch a flight to London when the video came on. Waawu! This is wonderful, I thought to myself. When did Starboy and Leo team up? I watched as Wizkid hit Leo up to recharge his phone, send money and pay bills. All which Leo responded to instantly. Omo! It seems like Wizkid just got a new personal assistant. Incredible Leo is making life stress free henceforth for Starboy.

Do you know who would never leave your message hanging for hours or even days? He is right there in your friends’ list, 24/7 and always ready to help with whatever you need, much like a companion. He is Africa’s first-ever artificial intelligence chat banker – ‘Leo’.

This is how I want to avoid problems in 2020 just like superstar Wizkid, with the help of Leo. Indeed I’ve heard a lot about UBA Leo, but I did not believe he could do such incredible things. However, now with the superstar’s confirmation, I really need to open a UBA account; and, Leo can even do that for me. 

Imagine running out of airtime while closing a deal over the phone with a top client, or you ran late on the NEPA bill and your line is about to be disconnected. Say you booked a flight and need to be updated on any changes. These and many more are Leo’s areas of specialties. He gets your problems sorted instantly, and without stress.

There are several other things UBA’s Leo can assist with. He has been programmed to deal with major banking services which include sending statements to embassies, freezing your accounts, stopping cheques, linking and funding of Prepaid cards. Leo also tells the weather, shows football highlights and goes as far as tracking your flight status when you need him to. His personality is much like a friend, as he is very reliable and easily accessible (whether in the country or across the globe). 

You could just chat with him on WhatsApp  +2349030002455 or on Facebook messenger and on apple business chat. 

Last month, MTN Nigeria hosted the elite of Nigeria’s academia and Information Technology stakeholders to the inaugural edition of its Academic Research Development and Innovation Challenge (ARDIC) at the Nile University, Abuja.

The ‘geeks’ did not only rock, they ruled supreme! One of the definitions of the word ‘geek’ in the Cambridge Dictionary is “someone who is keen about a particular subject and equally knowledgeable about it”. Others may say that the word is for the ‘unpopular’ version in all of us.

ARDIC was created to help young motivated researchers in Nigerian Universities to build and develop their research ideas into sustainable products and initiatives within six months.

Here are the six research ideas that won this year’s competition:

1.Jonhalmarktech Solutions – Media Optimization and Attribution Modeling of media advertising  spend

Researcher – Itoro Akpan

Research: With the findings from this research, it is possible to accommodate more network  subscribers by increasing the network carrying capacity with the already existing network  infrastructures without installing new network equipment. By installing the software mechanism, it will improve the quality of service to network subscribers and also help the  network service providers to save the cost of installing new network infrastructures.

2.LogTech – Customer Complaints modeling using new media data and NLP

Researcher – Taiwo Amoo

Research: This research gives leverage to help reduce customer complaints by anticipating  equipment failures before final breakdown of devices in order to give ample repair time to technicians before it hampers customers’ services ultimately increasing satisfaction and effective service delivery to customers of telecommunication networks/ISPs. This work can potentially save cost of transporting to customer premises to understand the concerns of customers and reduce cost of repair of equipment.

3.Etechtra – Bayesian networks to predict the creditworthiness of an individual

Researcher – Zainab Musa

Research: Using bayesian networks to predict the creditworthiness of an individual using mobile call detail records, demographics, SMS patterns and recharge card purchases. In Africa, because of the lack of a formal credit system, continued access to a mobile phone network, by a consumer, is enabled by ‘top-ups’ through the use of pre-paid cards. I would like to explore whether in the absence of formal financial records or assets whether an accurate prediction of an individual’s creditworthiness could be made using alternative data.

4. Nature Cares Resource Centre – AgriTech with emphasis on the use of technology for agricultural  yield optimization, storage, and preservation

        Researcher – Toyin Oshaniwa

Research: Soil Organic Carbon Management: Organic Waste to Compost. Compost improves the soil structure through stable humus aggregates. Likewise, it reduces the risk of erosion,  regulates soil moisture and increases the microbial and faunistic diversity of soils. All these  effects help to preserve SOC in the soil. (Source: FAO, 2015). Composting can also be used in incentivizing mechanisms. Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems, and people.

5.Mobile Capital – Machine Learning, Bayesian models for Fintech

Researcher – Angela Ebirim

Research: Risk assessment using smart data such as call detail records, from a person’s mobile  calling history, demographic data, and recharge card purchases to predict a credit score. In  Nigeria, formal credit scoring systems do not exist but mobile phone penetration is predicted to exceed 80% in 2020. This is a region where demand for credit far exceeds supply especially amongst economically active lower-income families which do not meet the stringent requirements for loans from traditional financial institutions such as banks.

6.D.I.C. – The Development of a Fuzzy-Weighted Socio-Transactional Churn Predictive System  for Customer Behavioural Management

Researcher – Ibitoye Ayodeji

Research: Churn prediction is the process of identifying the propensity of a customer to switch from a service provider to another. This process has become important especially in the  telecommunications sector due to strong competitiveness among service providers. Therefore,  this study was aimed at developing a fuzzy-weighted socio-transactional churn predictive system for customer behavioral management.

 A pan-African technology company, Cellulant Corporation, has affirmed its commitment to helping fix Nigeria’s broken agriculture value-chain with innovative solutions.

Agriculture is a crucial economic sector accounting for about 23 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but the value chain is highly underdeveloped.

Speaking at Cellulant’s inaugural partners’ summit themed ‘Technology for Transformation: Connecting Everyone to Nigeria’s $50bn Agribusiness Opportunity & Creating Jobs for Africa’s Youth’ held in Lagos on Wednesday, December 18, co-founder and CEO, Cellulant Corporation, Bolaji Akinboro, said the company would not relent in helping to improve the Agric value chain.

In his presentation entitled ‘From Farm to Fork: Transforming the Agribusiness in Nigeria Through Technology-What does the Future Hold’, Akinboro explained that the country’s Agric-value chain needed to be fixed to enjoy the immense riches in the sector.

He disclosed that consumption of food, the end product of most agricultural activities in the country is worth about $100million daily and between$36 billion to $50 billion annually, hence the need to improve the value chain.  

He also highlighted Cellulant’s strides in improving the agriculture value chain with its payment platform, Tingg, and Agrikore, an innovative platform built on blockchain technology.

Akinboro said: “We are not just a fintech company; we have the technology and operations via Agrikore. When you combine technology and operations, you can change the world. We are providing technology that makes life better for everyone; Nigerians and Africans. We are the ones that can bring in the change. 

“At Cellulant, we remain committed to providing innovative-led solutions to grow the agricultural sector and empower Nigerian farmers. We pioneered Agritech innovation that powers the livelihoods of more than 17 million farmers and allows all players to connect to solutions that transform how they do business.” 

Akinboro added that “technology is a critical enabler to solve many of the challenges experienced in the Agric sector. In the last 15 years, Cellulant has actively contributed to connecting all key stakeholders in the value chain, who in the past never interacted with each other. Today, the business has built a marketplace and payments platform that provides access to markets, digital financial services, and opens opportunities for all stakeholders to collaborate better and capture the $50b market opportunity.”

Also speaking at the occasion attended by critical stakeholders in the agribusiness ecosystem including farmers, aggregators, and retailers, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank, Adebisi Adebise, reiterated the importance of cooperation between every player in the Agric value chain.

Adebise identified problems of the Agric sector to include a low level of budgetary allocation, low financial literacy, a large percentage of unbanked population and the limited capacity of financial institutions to understand the value-chain, assured that Wema Bank would continue to partner Cellulant to improve agriculture.

The summit, which continues today (Thursday) had in attendance development partners including African Development Bank, Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility (SANEF) and DFID. 

                                                                    =Ends=

The Industry Innovation Sandbox will connect innovators to regulators in order to responsibly bring new financial services solutions to the market.

Lagos, Nigeria – December 9, 2019 – The Financial Services Innovators (FSI), a community of Fintech enthusiasts passionate about driving innovation in the financial services industry, announced today the launch of the Nigerian Industry Innovation Sandbox, at the sidelines of EFInA’s Financial Inclusion Conference in Lagos. The effort, which is supported by over N250 million naira in multi-year grants from Flourish and EFInA is intended to lower the barriers to innovation within the financial services ecosystem. 

 “The time to change the narrative of the financial services landscape in Nigeria is here and I am excited to lead this charge at FSI, where we aim to build an inclusive ecosystem of Fintech innovators”, said Aituazobe Omoareloje Kola-Oladejo, former head of research and development at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), who was appointed as the first FSI Executive Director. “I am especially excited for the Fintech Industry Innovation Sandbox, which will lower the barriers for early-stage innovators building and scaling global Fintech innovation from Nigeria.”

“Like people, countries must evolve. We must create an environment that enables our people, young and old, as well as the country, take control of our tech future”, said Ade Shonubi, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

To participate in the industry innovation sandbox, innovators need to register as members of the Financial Services Innovators at www.fsi.ng and access a sandbox environment where they can build and test Fintech products on technical infrastructure from the NIBSS.

Before FSI, innovators who needed to access the right technical infrastructure to test the viability of their products were typically required to get a CBN license and spend months in meetings with banks, Fintech players, and NIBSS to get pilots off the ground. With the new industry innovation sandbox, registered members of the FSI can leverage the APIs to build a solution within the sandbox environment before seeking regulatory approval from the CBN or partnering with an existing financial services provider licensed by the CBN to take their product to launch.

“When regulators and startups engage in meaningful dialogue and mutual support, it is possible to balance innovation with stability and consumer protection,” said Ameya Upadhyay, principal at Flourish, a venture of The Omidyar Group. “Through initiatives such as the industry sandbox, FSI will help accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s Fintech ecosystem and bring about innovative services that will help improve Nigerians’ financial health.”

FSI was ideated during an innovator’s breakfast organized by the NIBSS and CBN in 2017 convening representatives from Nigerian Fintechs and local tech hubs. The organization is set up as a nonprofit and governed by a board of trustees comprised of representatives from the CBN, the NIBSS, and chaired by an elected member representing the country’s Fintech community. The first innovator to join FSI’s Board of Trustees is Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, who co-founded Andela and Flutterwave, one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing Fintech companies, backed by global investors such as Mastercard, Greycroft, and Y Combinator Continuity Fund, among others.                                                     

“Nigeria has a unique opportunity to transform our challenges in the areas of financial health and inclusion into an opportunity to become a global leader in financial services innovation for emerging markets,” said Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, FSI Chair of the Board of Trustees. “This industry sandbox will be the first step on that adventurous path.” 

Furthermore, the FSI executive director is advised by an Executive Committee comprised of representative innovators, including Adegbola Abudu, CEO of Capricorn Digital Limited, Mosh Adetoro, CEO of Qrios, Wole Odetayo, CEO of Wennovation Hub, and Wale Obadare, CEO of Digital Encode.

FSI welcomes early-stage and established innovators, creators, and developers in financial services to register to access the industry sandbox by visiting www.fsi.ng/join.  For more information on FSI, please email info@fsi.ng. 

About FSI

The Financial Services Innovators (FSI) is a Nigerian community of Fintech entrepreneurs, regulators, companies, incubators, and developers who are passionate about driving innovation in the financial services industry. FSI aims to support and grow a collaborative and innovative ecosystem of players in the financial services space. Please visit www.fsi.ng for more information.

Media contacts:
FSI

Aituaz Kola-Oladejo, FSI, aituaz@fsi.ng, +2348033080471

Ebunoluwa Owagbemi, FSI, ebun@fsi.ng, +234 909 694 1964

Flourish

Claudia Parazzoli, Flourish, claudia@flourishventures.com, +1 (650) 482-2504

Clare O’Donovan, FleishmanHilard, clare.odonovan@fleishman.co.za, +27 (11) 548-2024

Lagos, Nigeria-  On Saturday 23rd of November 2019, at the Wings complex in Victoria Island Pan-African Marketplace BookingsAfrica.Com hosted a fabulous official launch party to announce the release of it’s new app.

The event was themed “Express your creativity” in order to celebrate the endless creativity of talents across Africa.

The launch party was well attended by notable celebrities such as; Gbemi O, Kaylah Oniwno, Inidima Okojie, Bolanle Olakunni, Waje, Anto Lecky, Tania Omotayo, Amaechi Okobi and many more who gathered to celebrate with Fade Ogunro, Founder BookingsAfrica.Com.

The evening commenced with an opening toast by BookingsAfrica Founder Fade Ogunro formally announced BookingsAfrica.Com Partnerships with Universal Music Group, Access Bank, House of Tara and NG Careers.

“For the past year, the BookingsAfrica.Com website has innovatively leveraged technology to economically empower millions of people in the continent, giving creatives the chance to unlock and monetize their passion and talents as they become freelance entrepreneurs.” Fade Ogunro expressed.

BookingsAfrica’s mission is to unlock the earning potential of young entrepreneurial Africans and monetize their latent skill set. Through the app, users can search for a variety of talent, compare their prices with transparency, book online, pay securely and provide ratings and reviews for services across Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya.

The highlight of the party was the makeup stations provided by House Of Tara for guests to touch up their glam looks and free massages provided by Zakaa Luxury. The evening ended with great food, drinks provided by Coca-Cola, XXIV Karat, Luxuria Spirits, and Drinks NG.

The BookingsAfrica launch party was hosted by Bollyomo and was supported by Coca-Cola, Dell, Access Bank, Luxeria Spirits, Unicorn Group, Platform Capital, Zakaa Luxury, Drinks NG and XXIV Karats.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOKINGS AFRICA APP TODAY!
Visit our website on www.bookingsafrica.com
Social Media pages:

Twitter: @BookingsAfrica
Facebook: @bookingsafrica
Instagram: @bookingsafrica

National Personal Asset Acquisition Scheme (NAPAAS) has concluded the automation of its asset acquisition scheme specifically designed for the Nigerian Legion, an association of all ex-servicemen and women in Nigeria.

Among the provisions made to ensure smooth operation and management of the scheme for all stakeholders was NAPAAS’ partnership with Chams Plc as its technology solution provider
Resulting from this partnership, NAPAAS has been able to deploy a robust, integrated, secure and multi-channeled asset acquisition platform available online and via mobile app, to automate and manage key processes and transactions end-to-end, with minimal human intervention.

The platform, has, therefore, simplified and automated the registration, asset discovery, application, approval, collections, monitoring, and reporting of activities.
The Mobile App is a simple and flexible application imbued with artificial intelligence features including liveness detection and face matching.

Commenting on the new partnership initiative, Gavin Young, the Group Managing Director of Chams PLC said, “Military pensioners are the ultimate beneficiaries of the platform, ensuring they can acquire goods and services at affordable rates, linked to a structured and automated repayment plan. As the technology partner to NAPAAS and its esteemed members, our aim is to assist with fulfilling the vision of the scheme, which enables military service pensioners to acquire personal basic assets with ease through the NAPAAS customer technology platform, designed with NAPAAS and developed by Chams Plc.

“The platform is easy-to-use, ensuring a great user experience. Ex-servicemen and women can safely apply for goods and services directly from their mobile phones. Chams Plc is proud to be associated with an initiative that supports Nigeria’s veterans in a way that improves their lives through access to goods and services at discounted rates and facilitating easy repayment terms. Members could then use the various assets to generate business and related income.

“With technology playing an important role in the success of the initiative for NAPAAS and its customers, Chams Plc is privileged to have been selected as the technology solution provider. We expect to soon add additional services to the platform; such as micro-insurance and other beneficial solutions”

NAPAAS is an initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari, for Ex-Servicemen, enabling them to access economic empowerment through public-private partnership initiatives.
The NAPAAS’ plan is consistent with the Federal Government’s palliative action to alleviate poverty, create jobs and eliminate insecurity. The scheme is also designed to provide basic needs items at affordable discounted rates linked to a structured and flexible repayment plan for the benefit of interested veterans nationwide. It has the capacity to provide access to health and other insurance, mortgage plans, personal loans, and much more.

About Chams Plc ;
Chams PLC is a leading provider of Innovative and Intelligent Business Solutions in Nigeria with over 34 years’ experience in providing cutting-edge technology solutions. Chams have built robust, secure and adaptable customer-centric platforms that drive identity management, payment and verification for both public and private sector initiatives and businesses.

VAR is a sports technology that is supposed to help referees make almost precise decisions in-game incidents that are too fast for the referee to consider an objective test. The team observing the VAR using a wireless headset must inform the referee that any incident that changes the game changes. VAR is supposed to help referees only in four areas: goals, penalties, red cards, and false identities. However, since the use of this technology, many reactions have followed the use of the VAR on whether its use may be subjective to the arbitrator when it should be objective.

Watford coach Quique Sánchez Flores is a good example. He says he loses his confidence in VAR as a strike force. It was after two decisive decisions against his team in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, leaving them still without a win this season.

The visitors started to fly when Abdoulaye Doucoure scored in the sixth minute and could have received a penalty shot when Jan Vertonghen fell on Gerard Deulofeu. Dele Alli denied Watford his first win in nine games with a late strike that was initially ruled out for handball.

It was then awarded after a VAR exam, although Harry Kane appeared to be putting pressure on defender Christian Kabasele during the set-up. The moment was also confused when the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium screens said for the first time “no goal”, before correcting themselves to show that the goal had been granted.

“I thought VAR was something objective, but I’m starting to think it’s very subjective, I think it’s a lack of Kane in Kabasele, he pushed it with his hands, I think we let’s lose something, it’s very odd, you think VAR is helping football, but that’s not the case, “Sánchez Flores told a news conference.

Hawk-Eye Innovations, the company that provides VAR technology, has promised to work with officials and the Premier League to avoid more problems. Yuri Tielemans crowned an individual performance inspired by an excellent second-half winner when Leicester City defeated Burnley 2-1 at King Power Stadium.

However, the visiting team had a late equalizer that VAR had controversially rejected.

Former Leicester forward Chris Wood, who qualified for Burnley in 26 minutes, scored for the second time in 80 minutes. But VAR technology intervened to declare that it had made a mistake against Jonny Evans during the accumulation. Burnley’s manager, Sean Dyche, was furious because his team was gone with nothing of a game marked by much emotion.

It was the first anniversary of the death of former Leicester President Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others in a helicopter crash. Jamie Vardy tied Wood’s first game with a great head just before the break.

He rose high to face Harvey Barnes’ center from seven yards for his sixth goal of the season. Demarai Gray, substitute, strove not to let the offside before making a revealing contribution in 74 minutes.

It was at this point that he focused on Harvey Barnes to pick Tielemans, who hit the ball home at the last post. The win propelled Leicester into second place, before the final kickoff of Manchester City against Crystal Palace, with 17 points, while Burnley is eighth with 12 points.

“I think we deserved the three points because, in the end, we did not give very clear opportunities.” It’s difficult to come here and control the game. All we could do was defend and limit the opponent and that’s what we did. “ Some NetBet fans agree with him.

“Hawk-Eye apologizes to the Spurs and Watford fans for the confusion caused, we are working with the Office of Professional Gaming Officials and the Premier League to understand the root cause of this problem and propose a series measures so that it does not happen again, “he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Sanchez Flores was also questioned about Deulofeu’s call for a criminal hit. It’s a shame, I have no idea (why it was not given), “he said. The Spaniard regretted that his team, which remains at the bottom of the table, could not take all points after an exhibition .. matures against the UEFA Champions League finalists last season.

Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino said the mistake on the VAR screen had nothing to do with his club and that it was a Premier League problem. He also said that the way his team managed to save a point could help them get back on track after a rotten race. That includes a 7-2 defeat by Bayern Munich and a 3-0 defeat by Brighton and Hove Albion.

“After Bayern, our confidence was in the apartment. The way we explained the problem, in the end, was so important that we continued to fight. I hope this is the first step to strengthen our confidence, “said Pochettino.