Unlike the others in the market that is loaded with preservatives and artificially sweetness, this is coming with Honey! You know what honey means and it’s health benefits. Can you imagine a Yoghurt made with Honey and no preservatives? To me that is heavenly and health consious folks paradise!
The City of Awka and it’s environs will be having an exclusive opportunity of enjoying home made yoghurt that is devoid of factory settings. Jewel Yoghurts would be filling the void in the city where quality dairy products such yoghurt is not there or easily available. Designed for health conscious individuals,Jewel Yogurts hopes to bring respite to those desirous of quality dairy products.
With emphasis in hygiene and particularly having an eye on the global best practices of how yogurts are made traditionally. Jewel Yoghurts has been described as a game changer in the dairy market .
Speaking on the need to get quality Yoghurts to the citizens,Chioma Jewel, the founder of Jewel Yoghurts said ” it is a known fact that can be very healthy if well prepared especially the traditional ones with less preservatives. Yogurts can be high in protein, calcium, vitamins, and live culture, or probiotics, which can enhance the gut microbiota. These can offer protection for bones and teeth and help prevent digestive problems. Low-fat yogurt can be a useful source of protein on a weight-loss diet. Probiotics may boost the immune system.”
She added,that though the product is just few months into these highly competitive market that she is confident that their “go to market approach” is apt and on point. ” I know that people are used to big brands and name, our products aren’t designed or fashioned like them. We focused or are focusing on health conscious section of the market, what other people might call niche market. We believe that with time we would scale.”
Many other benefits of Yoghurts are many. In a nutshell,It’s Rich in Important Nutrients. Yogurt contains some of nearly every nutrient that your body needs. It’s High in Protein.Some Varieties May Benefit Digestive Health.It May Strengthen Your Immune System. Yoghurts May Protect Against Osteoporosis.It May Benefit Heart Health.It May Promote Weight Management.
Asked on how people can plaacw their others,she said that there are many channels that consumers would place orders, either via email, calls and WhatsApp number 08126634065.
In today’s world, the most vulnerable of the the society are the children and the aged. An NGO has birthed”berthed” in Anambra state, specifically the capital city of Awka to cather for the children especially those that are abused. With the high rate of child abuse and maltreatment which has seen the good people of the state cry out, this has prompted the good people of the state to cry out. The. Coming of the NGO has been described as a welcomed development in an environment where harsh measures are meted out to househelps,in some few cases.
Speaking on the event,the president of the NGO and conveyner, the president said that shouting about children being abused in our society today does not change anything about the menace. Waiting for the right time for you to participate and contribute to the fight, the time may never come.
One of the key officials, Chioma said “Save And Secure The Child Initiative is building the largest community of volunteers in Nigeria to raise a strong voice for the Nigeria child. “
“Don’t belong to the class that be at the background shouting, swearing or praying for solution, this is the time for action! There is something little you can do to stop child abuse in Nigeria.Join the Campaign Against Child Abuse In Nigeria”, she added.
Save And Secure The Child Initiative (SASCI), Campaign Against Child Abuse In Nigeria, a CAC registered NGO, is a group of men and women that have decided to say a deafening NO to Child Abuse in Nigeria, volunteering to contribute their resources towards raising a bulwark of defense and defiance against the abused Nigerian child, with every audacity it needs. We have presence in the 21 states of the federation so far, including Abuja.
The official inauguration in Anambra State which will be holding on the 26th of September 2020 at ABS Awka.
In today’s highly connected world, the process of managing contact information for businesses and organisations can be quite fragmented. While business owners and managers understand the need to always have well-coordinated presence and visibility, the quest gets complicated by all the information available out there. And while directories and information portals provide listing services to connect businesses and customers, things still get difficult due to other challenges including ‘volatile’ street naming systems, non-availability of ‘functional’ ZIP or Postcode systems, relocating/expanding business presence amidst many other issues
To accurately connect with businesses and services calls for extensive disambiguation both for the businesses and their customers, an indigenous IT firm, DigitalRig is unveiling a seamless Business and Information Directory called Beekeys. The service brings a number intuitive tools together to help improve the visibility and access by customers to businesses in a friendly, efficient way. The main feature is centred around the dynamic linking of a search friendly and more memorable, unique 3-12 alphanumeric characters tag called a BEEKEY (Business Key) and chosen by business owners/managers. The information linked to the beekey can then be securely managed by the authorised users using simple menus and triggers.
Speaking on the importance of Beekeys, Dipe Adedeji, the Chief Executive of DigitalRig Limited opined that the Beekeys is a platform that greatly improves the way business contact information is managed, shared and used by businesses and their customers especially in comparatively poorly chartered towns or cities. ‘With Beekeys’ a number of issues that come with the dynamism of owning or managing your contact information and brand are solved in a very simple and effective manner. This will be very useful for Startups and Micro-Small sized enterprises located in the more rural setting. It will also prove very effective in managing location information for large organisations and/or brands with presence in multiple locations.
And it is not just about businesses. The portal provides a location sensitive listing for public utilities and critical formations such as medical emergency, fire and security as are available in different locations. This feature will give users of the directory quick and easy access to the formations for Fire, Police, Emergency Medical services and more within their immediate location. Search users stand to gain a lot by registering as well because of certain features that will allow them to communicate seamlessly with listed businesses.
The platform is mobile and user friendly. The company announced that registration and listing of businesses and organisations (including beekeys) on the platform is free. There are however, several premium tools available to be taken advantage of such as multi-location listing, customer relationship management, brand promotion and more.
According to the firm, a lot of work is being done toward a December 2020 launch. Businesses owners in the meanwhile can register and list their businesses (or do a time limited beekey reservation) on the beta version of the portal at www.beekeys.com/nigeria. Beekeys are available on a first come first served basis with a few simple guidelines:
Must be greater than but less than 3 alphanumeric characters
Unique (trademarked names will be rescinded on valid dispute)
The need to have data hosted severally has been encouraged by the government and stakeholders, known as data sovereignty. CLOUDWAFER, a Lagos based hosting company talks about the challenges and prospects of hosting in Nigeria. Olawole Olayinka, Head of Marketing at Cloudwafer in an exclusive interview chat with Anthony Nwosu
Cloudwafer is an ICT Firm, can we know specifically the area of ICT you are?
We offer simple, fast and reliable Cloud VPS hosting for business applications. Cloudwafer is an African Cloud hosting company, established with the vision of providing highly available, scalable, and performance-based cloud hosting solutions, with a team that boasts over a decade of hosting and infrastructure experience supporting large-scale customers. We realized that cloud computing is the way to go and also economically viable for most organizations so we are in the business of bring cloud and making it affordable to Nigerians. In a nutshell, Cloudwafer is an African Cloud hosting company, established with the vision of providing highly available, scalable, and performance-based web hosting solutions.
Cloud Hosting is one of your cores, can we know a bit about this?
A cloud server is a virtual server that runs in a cloud computing environment. It is built and delivered in a cloud environment via the internet to the end user. Our cloud hosting service also known as Virtual Private Servers (VPS) offers highly available enterprise-grade cloud technology to businesses with the advantage of flexibility, expert support and extreme security. Our cloud services are powered by Tier III Datacenter and premium upstream networks. Cloudwafer delivers custom cloud hosting with huge room for expansion so that we can cater for small and large scale operations instantly and without disruptions.
What prompted you to go into this line of service delivery?
It is very common for businesses in Nigeria to rely on foreign hosting platforms to cater for their cloud hosting needs. Our decision to start a cloud hosting platform was made out of the need to bridge this gap in the Nigerian market. We studied the market and identified the reasons why people preferred to host outside the country instead of locally. Some of these reasons include downtimes, poor customer support and a few others. This helped us know the weak points and strengthen them. We brought a hosting platform that delivers and cancels the need to seek hosting companies outside Nigeria. One unique thing about our hosting service is that our data is hosted in a Tier III data centre here in Lagos, thus reducing latency for anyone using our hosting service here in Nigeria. A lot of people do not realize that the closer your data is housed to you, the faster it is to communicate with your data remotely. Latency reduction was a major reason why we decided to deliver cloud hosting services here in Nigeria.
Hosting is one thing that you have demonstrated capacity in, can you say that Nigerians are coming to terms in hosting locally?
While we would love to say that most Nigerians host their cloud locally, we cannot. The terrain has improved a lot but it is not where it should be. Most people do not realize that the distance data has to travel between user and server affects the speed. The number of ‘hops’ from router to router slows down delivery of data to the user. Another major factor is that most Nigerian hosting companies are resellers who resell hosting plans for foreign companies. Effectively, when you think you are hosting locally, you may just find out that your host is a reseller for a foreign host and that your server is in faraway Europe or America.
They say that hosting in Nigeria is a bit risky and expensive, what is your take?
Any venture becomes risky when you patronize unreliable vendors. Expensive is relative too. If you are getting your money’s worth, you cannot say a service is too expensive. It is when you pay and do not get good service that the service becomes expensive. We can confidently say that hosting with Cloudwafer is not risky nor is it expensive. In the last five years we have powered several businesses, small and big, with average uptime of 99.9%.
You operate in a Tier III data center; does it have any effect on your services?
There are several advantages to operating in a Tier III DATA center. One of them is uptime. Our data center boasts of 100% availability since launch. The Data Centre facility and business is certified to ISO 27001, the global information security quality standard which is ideal for financial service providers looking for maximum security.
What are the challenges that you encounter in running this business?
Like we mentioned earlier, a lot of Nigerians still patronize foreign hosting companies when they can get better services from a local company. We are faced with the challenge of convincing them to come on board. Their reluctance is understandable considering what bad experience they have had in the past with local hosts. Another major challenge is the cost of running a business in Nigeria, which we suppose is a general challenge to all entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Cloud hosting and dedicated server are the services that you offer, can we know how they have been accepted in Nigeria?
Both Cloud hosting and dedicated server have been accepted in Nigeria. A lot of businesses in Nigeria, ranging from small businesses to huge corporations use Cloud hosting hosting services for their websites and other internet platforms. Also, several companies with unique data hosting needs use dedicated servers in Nigeria. So, yes, acceptance in Nigeria is picking up too.
Data Centre and digital transformation work hand in hand, but there is a gap in addressing the green market why is it like this?
The simple answer is that energy sources in Nigeria are not eco-friendly. You have to power with diesel generators most of the time. Using environment-friendly energy sources is not a viable option in Nigeria because of availability. Addressing the green market is going to require a lot of transformation in public policy and the improvement of infrastructure so that businesses can easily switch to eco-friendly energy sources.
“…a lot of Nigerians still patronize foreign hosting companies when they can get better services from a local company. We are faced with the challenge of convincing them to come on board. Their reluctance is understandable considering what bad experience they have had in the past with local hosts. Another major challenge is the cost of running a business in Nigeria, which we suppose is a general challenge to all entrepreneurs in Nigeria”
Why is the hosting cost still high in Nigeria?
Like we said earlier, the cost of doing business is high. However, it is not entirely true that the cost of hosting is high in Nigeria. Compared to what is offered by hosting companies outside Nigeria and factoring in foreign exchange, Cloudwafer offers competitive prices for all our hosting services.
NIRA has encouraged registrars like you to push the .ng and .com.ng domain names, but it seems Nigerians are still stuck with ,com , how can this be changed?
You would agree that the .com domains were quite common already before .ng and .com.ng were introduced. They have gained wide acceptance among internet users and the first impulse of any web browser is to add the .com extension to any name they are given. However, NIRA has been proactive in their campaign for the use of .com.ng and .ng so we can see improvements already. The .ng awards by NIRA are a really nice initiative to drive this. We at Cloudwafer also do our bit; you can get a .com.ng domain on Cloudwafer for as low as 450 naira.
In the area of data sovereignty, do you think Nigeria is doing enough to have majority of our data hosted locally?
There have been discussions on the issue of local data residency in Nigeria and with the availability of data centres in Nigeria; it does not seem an impossible task. However, we still see that a lot of Nigerian data is hosted outside the country. The government and the relevant agencies would need to improve enforcement of data sovereignty policies. Hopefully, this position will change and we will start to see a massive movement of Nigerian data to Nigerian data centres as is the practice in Europe and America.
We are giving out one month free Cloud VPS to readers of IT EDGE Magazine. Use the promo code FREEMONTH.
“Our decision to start a cloud hosting platform was made out of the need to bridge this gap in the Nigerian market. We studied the market and identified the reasons why people preferred to host outside the country instead of locally. Some of these reasons include downtimes, poor customer support and a few others. This helped us know the weak points and strengthen them.”
Nigerian based maker of smartphones and tablet computer Ordinary Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) AFRIONE talks about the Nigerian IT market and the need for the country to be a producer of technology.In this interview, Lekan Akinjide, Manager Director for Strategy & Government Coordination, Afrione talks about AFRIONE’s relationship with the public sectors and MDAs in Nigeria. Anthony Nwosu captured it all in this interview.
What is Afrione Known for in the IT market in Nigeria?
We say Afrione is for everyone. Afrifone Limited, incorporated in 2016 and a stand-alone subsidiary company of the Contec Global Group plans to penetrate the Nigerian mobile technology market, and subsequently the African mobile assembly market by establishing a manufacturing plant in Lagos. The first factory has been established in Oshodi, Lagos. Our aim is to align with the “Made in Nigeria’’ initiative of the present Government and generate employment opportunities for the Nigerian youth. Afrione takes pride to be one of the few mobile, tablet, laptop and consumer electronics manufacturers in Nigeria. We would want to add our own quota to the information technology revolution, not only in Nigeria, but Africa.
AfriOne as an OEM in Nigeria, how has been business been?
We are a local assembler of mobile phones and tablet computers. We are expanding our market to reach other areas of mobile telecommunication devices and supporting accessories. We are positioned to provide affordable devices by bringing down the prices of these mobile devices in the country. We are looking at expanding to other countries in the future. We have a tablet in the market that is called the We have a tablet in the market that is called the Two in One “Transformer”, we have been working with N Power, a federal government interventionist scheme slated to empower and equip the young Nigerians. Our capacity is about one hundred and eighty thousand to two hundred thousand a month; but at the moment we’re focused on batch production.
Why are you not looking at the export market?
The Lagos state Government has been very to us in the areas of support. But, we have to hit the critical mass in this country before we start to export. Even if you look at the export market, Nigeria is the equivalent of about seventy percent of our potential export market .It doesn’t make business sense when you haven’t addressed the local demand and you are looking at export market. But, we would always look to exports, especially the sub Saharan Africa in future.
Congratulations on the great facility you guys have here, you are making awesome strides in the IT space, but what is your “go to market” plan?
Nigeria market is a bit fragmented, though the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) are trying to streamline the regulatory process. We have looked at market entry and we looked at certain benchmarks like’ capital, capacity and capability and this is one thing that is going for us. We have met with the regulators and met with some of these benchmarks such as type approval (NCC).
What is your support system and after sales solution. With a lot of devices in the market, aftersales are important?
We have a growing aftersales structure, we have presence in almost every state and also we have multiple presences in bigger states like Lagos. We strongly believe in after sales. We do a minimum of one year warranty and it covers the devices.
The issues of updates are important; most OEMs find it a bit hard to push updates in time. What is your position on this?
In the area of software updates, we try as much as possible to push them, some we do monthly while others we do quarterly. We send updates when it is necessary. Updates is what we do not joke with, our engineers ensure that when it is necessary for our customers to receive updates, we do that.
As an OEM in Nigeria, what are the few challenges that you face in Nigeria?
The clearing process can be slow and convoluted. We also have to contend with other issues like scarcity and dearth of essential skill set, to source good and quality labour in Nigeria can be a challenging task. In order to mitigate this, we’ve signed an MOU with Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH.)
How is your distributorship like?
We try to maintain as much control on distributorship as possible; we have to ensure that we get it right, though in some places like the Northern Nigeria, we have to work with distributors that have local monopoly. Our distribution is great; we are still going to open other outlets.
In Nigeria, people have issues with accepting local products like yours, what are you doing to gain market acceptability?
Well, you are right in your statement, but we must try to understand that every product has evolutionary cycle. Even the well-known brands suffered reject at a certain point in their life, we aren’t selling based on sentiment, we aren’t appealing to emotions because as a Nigerian firm, we expect Nigerians to buy our products, we don’t have that mindset, though it is a good one. We are looking at giving quality products to Nigerians. We want to offer quality IT devices in the Nigerian marketplace, we want Nigerians to be proud of being associated with our products. We must be realistic about this and also our country can’t continue importing technology as. It is not sustainable and we want Nigerians to also understand that no country grows by importation, this is a fact. We must start producing and assembling and that is why we are here.
What should Nigerians expect from AFRIONE in this last quarter?
We have a couple of products that we intend to launch before the end of the last quarter and we are working towards that. We need Nigerians to know that AFRIONE produces proudly made in Nigeria devices which are in line with global best practice and our standards are high. Our products range from tablets and mobile phones, with a price targeted to the mass market. We want people to have access to quality smartphones at affordable prices, this is our mission.
Public Sector and MDAs like NITDA, NCC and others, what are the level of support you have gotten from them?
We have a great relationship with these organizations and we believe that we can still work hand in hand with them. We have support from Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment and the Ministry of Communications Technology. As I said before, the Lagos State has been great of support to us and they want us to succeed. They have rendered all forms of support from creating an enabling environment.
“Even the well-known brands suffered reject at a certain point in their life, we aren’t selling based on sentiment, and we aren’t appealing to emotions because as a Nigerian firm, we expect Nigerians to buy our products, we don’t have that mindset, though it is a good one”
Lately, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has been nominated and distinguished to be honoured as the recipient of MOST PROMISING MINISTER of the Year at the upcoming Democracy Heroes Award 2020. This didn’t come as a suprise,most of the industry watchers saw this coming.
This recognition is coming at a time that the nation is desirous to change her economic narrative from oil to non oil sector , ICT inclusive. This has seen the Pantami hitting the ground running. Well,it is expected of him,having known the ICT ecosystem,been there and done that. Pantami ensured that Nigeria has what it takes to move the country to the new realities known as 4th industrial revolution. An era that would be power by the likes of cloud comouting, internet of things(IoT) Big data and all what not.
He is seasoned and has been tested especially during his tenure as the Director General of National information technology Agency (NITDA).This is an agency categorised as the technology clearing house of the country and Isa Pantami demonstrated sagacity and capacity to pilot such an affair, so it didn’t come as a surprise seeing him being appointed as a minister and he has been recognised over time for his innovation.
Now as a Minister,what some folks can call senior minister,under him ,the regulatory framework of Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) and a whole lot fall under and this has seen Pantami collaborate, synergize and work together with the critical stakeholders such as ATCON, ALTON ,VAS group etc. This has seen some Level of creating an enabling environment for the ecosystem to thrive.
As youthful as he is ,he has shown promise over the years , making tremendous impact such as hubs and capacity building. He is said to be a square peg in a square hole!
Arrangements have been finalised for takeoff of an Onitsha Economic Empowerment Programme.
The programme, which was recently announced by Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha, is part of a strategy for medium to long term sustainable interventions in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
A statement released from Ime Obi, Onitsha noted that the Implementation would be under the auspices of the Onitsha Advancement Foundation (OnAF), an incorporated entity promoted by the Onitsha Traditional Council.
“The OnAF has been restructured with an expanded Board of Directors, made up of part-time members, all highly experienced, hardworking and dedicated Onitsha indigenes.’’
The Advisory Board comprised members of the Onitsha Traditional Council and constituent groups; and Workgroups of Onitsha professionals focused on implementing specific aspects of the Economic Empowerment Programme.
It notes that Igwe Achebe acknowledges the efforts made in conceptualising the programme stating: “this exercise has called for substantial hard work as we progress from the Onitsha Community COVID-19 Response Programme (OCCRT), which focuses on education and enlightenment.
The statement notes, the exercise includes the distribution of palliatives, face masks and sanitisers, to the Economic Empowerment Study Panel (EESP).
It also addresses the medium to long term economic and social consequences of COVID-19 on the community, and now the Onitsha foundation’s interventions, which we are embarking upon to implement the outcomes of the EESP.
The statement adds: “there is more hard work ahead, and I plead that we do not relent since we can now clearly see the great possibilities that lie ahead as we work toward lifting the poor in Onitsha out of poverty.
“Three initiatives spanning business learning, technological skills acquisition, and financial intermediation will serve as the arrowhead of the Economic Empowerment Programme.
“These are the Onitsha Leadership and Entrepreneurship Centre (OLEC); (Onicha) Ado Business Incubation Centre (ABIC), and a Microfinance Institution/Microfinance Bank (MFI/MFB).
According to the statement, OLEC will focus on creating passion for learning about businesses, and how to create and grow small businesses.
“The OLEC workgroup is led by Prof Alex Ike Ikeme, teacher, coach, facilitator and mentor with not less than three decades of experience in entrepreneurship development studies and practice.
“ABIC will serve as a catalyst tool to help new technology start-ups to grow and develop, including helping to accelerate and make optimum use of incubator resources.’’
The statement added that Mr Charles Uchenna Emembolu, an information technology architecture expert would lead for the ABIC workgroup.
“The MFI/MFB will offer financial resources to low/medium income populations, in addition to targeting financial services at self-employed, micro and small businesses generally overlooked in the society.’’
The statement also said that Mr Nnamdi Anammah, a financial expert with a track record covering commercial banking, corporate finance and stock broking would lead the MFI/MFB workgroup.
“It is also planned to establish a health and well-being workgroup that will determine the modalities for a community’s basic healthcare programme.’’
It then added that a values reorientation campaign would be set up as a critical enabler for the Economic Empowerment Programme.
“The campaign is designed to drive a new work/study/life ethic for Onitsha indigenes, which is in tune with the times and able to power a rebirth of thrift, industry, achievement and pride on a global scale.
“The campaign will also prepare a significant number of persons from the community with vital foundational principles to key into and avail themselves of other elements of the Economic Empowerment Programme.
“This initiative will be led by Mr Nn’emeka Maduegbuna, a Communications Consultant, who brings three decades plus of experience in strategic communications planning, corporate positioning and reputation management.’’
According to the statement it has been conceptualised by a panel of Onitsha experts, who have been charged by Igwe Achebe, to map out strategies to support the struggling and budding entrepreneurs in our domain in weathering the COVID-19 storm.
The Economic Empowerment Programme builds on a broad-based 2017 project with the theme: “Take Onicha Ado N’Idu to the Next Level’’, which explores developmental and repositioning needs of the ancient kingdom. (MOI)
…As NCC rewards winners of Covid-19 Virtual Hackathon
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has advocated the need for all stakeholders to join hands with the Ministry and its agencies in their quest to promote the development of indigenous digital solutions in Nigeria.
Pantami made the call during the presentation of N3 million prize money to each of the three promising startups that emerged winners in the COVID-19 Virtual Hackathon organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.
The Virtual Hackathon was initiated by NCC to ignite the Nigerian youths to develop adaptable and innovative digital solutions that can address some of the challenges that have come about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The start-ups who made it to the top three are Elizade University Team, Primed E-Health Solutions and Cyberfleet. The Elizade University Team’s tech solution is an Automated Temperature Scanner (ATS), a device designed to conduct automatic temperature screening and contact tracing of persons with body temperature above the normal level for human beings.
Primed E-Health developed a mobile and web solution called SmartClinic, which can link a patient-based mobile health app with a hospital-based information management system while ‘KlassConnect’ by Cyberfleet is an online platform that can be deployed by schools to continue with teaching and learning activities regardless of any health challenges that may prevent face-to-face physical interactions.
Speaking at the event, Pantami commended the leadership of the Commission for embarking on the tech contest. He said the initiative is not only in tandem with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) but also aligns with the implementation of the Executive Order 003, which aims to promote indigenous content development and patronage in Nigeria.
“No country will develop without taking deliberate decisions to promote its indigenous solutions to solve national problems. Through this contest, the NCC has demonstrated its resolve to drive the Ministry’s efforts in leveraging indigenous digital solutions to address challenges thrown up by COVID-19 pandemic and beyond,” the Minister said.
The COVID-19 Virtual Hackathon is a follow-up to the first hackathon by the Commission, which culminated in the hosting of an ‘ICT Innovation, Competition/Exhibition Forum’ at the Lagos Campus of Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in December, 2019. At the end of the maiden edition, three (3) Startups namely, Quataloog, Wicrypt and Phaheem Nigeria Limited emerged winners.
The annual Hackathon is part of the strategic initiatives of the Commission to promote ICT innovation and investment in the Nigerian telecommunications sector and improve the nation’s competitiveness in the global digital economy.
Speaking earlier at the prize-giving ceremony, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC. Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the hackathon is expected to throw up innovative and adaptable solutions in five thematic areas namely health, community, productivity, economy and education.
Danbatta stated that the Commission is committed to encourage innovation and has regularly sponsored Nigerian youths with innovative ideas to various competitions organised by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and other international bodies.
“The NCC, has in the past two years, facilitated similar ICT-based innovations and research competitions among tertiary institutions in the country” he said, while reiterating the NCC’s commitment to driving indigenous digital innovations to address national challenges.
Director, Research and Development, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, stated that the Commission received 282 proposals and shortlisted 56 from which three promising startups emerged winners. He said the NCC will track the development of their ideas into full-blown products that can be deployed on a commercial basis.
NCC is committed to enabling home-grown digital innovative solutions that improve the quality of lives of the citizenry, create wealth and achieve the overall goals and objectives of the new digital economy agenda of the Federal Government.
Managing contact information for businesses and organisations in today’s highly connected world can be quite fragmented. While business owners and managers understand the need to always have well-coordinated presence and visibility, the quest gets complicated by all the information available out there. To accurately connect with businesses and services calls for extensive disambiguation both for the businesses and their customers. An indigenous IT firm, DigitalRig has unveiled a seamless Business Directory platform called Beekeys.
Online directories and information portals provide listing services and tools to create connections between businesses and customers but things still get difficult due to other challenges including ‘volatile’ street naming systems, non-availability of ‘functional’ ZIP or Postcode systems, relocating/expanding business presence and many other issues. Bridging this gap, Beekeys (business keys), is a platform built to address these different challenges and more for businesses and their customers. Business visibility has totally departed from the conventional putting signages in the premises or online websites and banner placement.
The new Beekeys business directory brings all conventional branding to one platform and simplifying it with just three alphabets making customers and clients to locate businesses easily online. This is by integrating webpages, zip codes and branch networks with top notch search engine optimisation (SEO). This platform becomes an indispensable tool for business owners and founders today due to the growing numbers of Nigerian internet users placed around tens of millions and added with the high level of mobile internet usage and adoption in the country.
Speaking on the importance of Beekeys, Dipe Adedeji, the Chief Executive of DigitalRig Limited opined that” the Beekeys is a platform that allows firms to be visible using simple and unique names that their customers would easily remember such as three letter words or acronyms. We realised during our research that many Nigerians don’t know either their zip codes or post codes, with Beekeys, the platforms allow people to remember a simplified name that is uniquely allotted to a company. With a click the whole information about the organisation is up.”
“With Beekeys’ address and mapping system, the change of address by many organisations would be sorted out. This is unlike the usual solutions that they find it hard to implement this on their various websites. The platform addresses these challenges.”, he added.
The platform has a great landing page that is mobile and user friendly. This feature enables those that one to register on the go use their mobile sites in simple and precise steps. Integrating critical things like Corporate Affairs Commission’s business number, which are verified by Beekeys. This singular feature sets the platform aside from tons of listing sites. Integrating video and pictures, an organisation can register as much as many branches using one singular account. No post code, no problem, with this platform, you do not need to remember post codes of all the branches, all an organisation just has to do is follow the easy steps for business registration and upload. The company announced that business registration on the Beekeys platform is free especially for business headquarters unless that there are multiple locations that would make the business pay annually for a token fee of about hundred Naira for a location.
In today’s ever-changing banking landscape, risk managers in most banks have come to understand the need to deploy appropriate financial tools for risk management. With arrays of software in the market, getting a bespoke risk management software that is designed to meet the peculiar needs of banks and financial institutions becomes a challenge. Having this in mind, FinTrak Software Limited, a financial technology (FinTech) firm with Pan-African outlook has enhanced its Credit Risk 360 Software, an end to end loan underwriting and management system designed for financial risk managers in the country and beyond.
FinTrak Credit Risk 360 solution has demonstrated robust performance and high level of encryption and strengthened with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies to drive end to end digital lending activities for small ticket loans and also support loan granting decisions on mid ticket transactions whilst providing robust loan monitoring system.
Speaking on the need for banks to have a tailor-made software to suit their distinctiveness, Bimbo Abioye, the Group Managing Director of Fintrak Software said, the Credit Risk 360 software has been built in line with the global best practice for the financial services sector and also for public sector intervention funds management. The software also has Mobile application which can be used on the go to drive quick transaction turn-around time and enhance operational efficiency.
“FinTrak Credit Risk 360 was designed to help banks meet the need to identify, measure, monitor and control credit risk as well as to assist FIs to ensure they hold adequate capital against these risks and that they are adequately compensated for the risks incurred. The Credit Risk 360 Solutions is a web-based platform that can be easily accessed from all branches of the bank and also via web browsers anywhere in the world via it’s highly secured mobile application”, Bimbo added.
Credit Risk 360 is integrated to two of the three credit bureaus in the country and the third are in the process of integration. This makes feedback from credit bureaus on obligors being underwriting instantaneous and seem less on Credit Risk 360. The platform is also integrated with Central Bank’s CRMS platform for seemly acquisition of loan booking codes and seem less reporting. With the software, banks are made to comply with the Central Bank of Nigeria credit policies and more importantly regulatory reporting requirements. Bad loans and risk of frauds via automation are significantly mitigated with the software.
Fully conceptualized and developed in Nigeria, Credit 360 Software comes with a dashboard that shows the classification of related data, alert messaging that push emails to concerned officers, credit risk origination, credit documentation, collateral management and collateral realization, loan restructuring, loan work out and loan write off and loan sales. Industry stakeholders have lauded FinTrak’s efforts in making risk management practice in the country seamless.
“We took into consideration the various challenges that the risk managers face in the country while building this software. Over time, we realized that most financial institutions buy over the shelf foreign software with little or no support system in place. We tried as much as possible to address these issues with this software. We ensured that we built a software that over time made Credit risk management practice error free”, said Christopher Sualeze, Head, Credit Risk 360 Implementation, Fintrak.
FinTrak Software is a global Financial Technology organization providing innovative technology and business solutions to financial institutions in the financial services sector and enterprises across continents. As a global company, with business head office in Nigeria with presence in Ghana and Gambia. Fintrak is equipped with and army of software engineers and professionals with competencies across banking, finance, audit, consulting and software development.
Anthony Emeka Nwosu
“We took into consideration the various challenges that the risk managers face in the country while building this software. Over time, we realized that most financial institutions buy over the shelf foreign software with little or no support system in place. We tried as much as possible to address these issues with this software. We ensured that we built a software that over time made Credit risk management practice error free”
