Techline Communications, an indigenous information technology (IT) firm based in Surulere Lagos has added an innovative solution that will help corporate organisations in the area of customer relations and engagement. Known as LLM Powered Chatbot Building Service powered by ChatGPT. This solution is harnessing the potential of machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence, this solution empowers businesses to unlock the full potential of their data and revolutionize their operations. The solution has been lauded by the industry watchers
Speaking to the media Bamidele Gbekele Iyanu, the head, Media and Corporate Communications of Techline Communications said “Are you seeking a solution to enhance your company’s decision-making processes? Look no further than our LLM Powered Chatbot Building Service.With our expertise in language processing and machine learning, we offer a comprehensive solution that enables your organization to build custom Large Language Models (LLMs) powered chatbot tailored to your specific needs. Our LLM Powered Chatbots can transform your business and drive its success”
He added that ” Our software eliminates the time-consuming onboarding processes for new employees. Our LLM Powered Chatbot Building Service allows you to create an intelligent chatbot that seamlessly integrates with your intranet portal. This virtual assistant provides instant access to vital information about your products, services, and policies, empowering new hires to become productive team members from day one.”
“With exceptional customer service which is paramount to any successful business. Our LLM Powered Chatbot Building Service enables you to develop a robust language model that understands and responds to customer inquiries promptly and accurately. By leveraging your company’s unique data, the language model becomes well-versed in your offerings, allowing your customer support team to address queries swiftly and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. “
“There are various key Benefits of LLM Chatbot Building Services such as Tailored Solutions;Every business is unique, and our LLM Powered Chatbot is designed with that in mind. We offer a highly tailor-made solution that allows you to train the language model using your specific industry, domain, and company data. This ensures that the generated responses are accurate,relevant, and aligned with your business objectives.”
In the area of Data-Driven Insights, the news LLM Powered Chatbots provides valuable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends. These insights empower organisations to make data-driven decisions, refine their business strategies, and identify growth opportunities. There is also the aspect of scalability and flexibility; the solution Powered Chatbots are built to scale effortlessly as any business grows from a small startup or a multinational corporation, our solution can accommodate your needs. Companies can easily expand the capabilities of their language model as new data becomes available or as their business requirements evolve.
Techline Communications has deployed a robust expert Support system, Bamidele Gbekele Iyanu talked about this when he opined that “At Techline Communications, we pride ourselves on our industry expertise and exceptional customer service. Our team of experienced professionals will guide you through the entire process,from data preparation to model training and deployment. We are committed to ensuring that you derive maximum value from our LLM Powered Chatbots…Unleash the power of Large Language Models and stay one step ahead of the competition. It’s time to embrace the future of data-driven decision-making with
Coure has always been an IT firm for years. How has the journey been?
COURE Software & Systems Limited (“COURE”) is a Platform Services Provider with a focus on the provision of accurate, secure and relevant data to improve its clients’ business processes and operations. We started out in the US in 1998 at a time when the internet and modern technology, as we know it, were taking off. At that time, we were focused on networking and physical systems integration. Over the years, the shifts in technology and the need to be scalable beyond billing for individual man hours caused us to migrate our technology services first to web and application development, then to what we currently provide today, which are platforms that leverage standardized and aggregated data to enable and enhance the operational efficiency of our clients.
It has been an exciting 25-year journey of change and transformation! Our flagship solutions, ANQ and HUB, have been enabling the telecom, fintech, banking and various other sectors to increase their value and service provision to their customers. Our development teams consist of analysts, UI/UX experts, programmers, product managers and network engineers all of whom have many years of experience in the design, development and support of clean, functional and aesthetically appealing applications and solutions.
Do you think that the Nigerian IT space is evolving in terms of digitization?
The IT space is constantly evolving with the advancement of digital technology such as cloud computing, AI, IoT, blockchain, etc. Nigeria has not been left out of this. The trend towards digital transformation, automation and artificial intelligence is accelerating, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, there were a lot of manual processes in business, and while automation was being implemented via IT, the pace was average. The pandemic accelerated digitization in Nigeria and across the world as businesses and people had to survive without close contact. Many businesses were forced to shut down. For those that were better prepared, their adoption of digital technology and new ways of working became an advantage, and customers embraced online and digital service delivery. The IT industry continues to develop innovative solutions to make life easier for people and to help businesses harness the power of digital technology to improve operations, products, services, and customer reach.
Can you consider yourself as a fintech firm?
COURE is a platform services provider with key partners in the telco, financial, and technology space. Through our platforms, we are able to aggregate various types of data, analyze the data, and create services that provide value to these organizations and generate revenue for them. This makes us an enabler of fintech firms as opposed to being one ourselves.
Tell us more about your ANQ Platform?
Our ANQ (All Number Query) is a lookup platform that provides quick and easy access to information which enables our clients support their customers in areas such as Fraud prevention, Routing and KYC (Know Your Customer) using various number and data sources. Our partnership with data owners and access to large volumes of diversified data along with our processing capacity and intelligent algorithms enables us apply real-time analytics to data that is being searched against and provide information to businesses to aid their decision-making.
Tell us more about your fraud prevention solutions?
Our fraud prevention solution adopts strategies, technologies, and processes to protect individuals, businesses, and organizations from fraudulent activities such as payment fraud, account takeover, and identity theft. Using intelligent algorithms, we check and flag fraudulent transactions before approval. Our algorithm takes into consideration numerous data points and provides a risk level rating for the transaction, thus minimizing losses, optimizing efficiencies, and protecting customers from fraud. This service helps achieve a faster and more effective fraud detection process leading to reduced financial loss, increased customer retention, protection of brand and reputation.
CEO , Coure Technologies Limited, Lagos
Are they only for banks and fintechs?
Our solutions cater to a cross-section of organizations that provide services to end customers. This includes banks, fintechs, lenders, payment services companies, telco service providers, retailers and value-added service providers. Fraud can affect any organization that deals with sensitive data or valuable assets. Many businesses outside of the financial sector invest in fraud prevention solutions to protect themselves against financial losses, maintain customer trust, and avoid legal and financial penalties. The same applies to KYC, Routing and Communication. These are all services that are relevant for organizations that provide services to end consumers.
Your Hub Platform is one of a kind. Do you think that SMEs can deploy it? If yes, how?
Our HUB platform is what is called a CPaaS – Communication Platform as a Service. It enables Aggregators and VAS providers in the telecom industry integrate with the Telcos, then safely and accurately deliver messages between the applications through the Telcos and onward to the end customer and back. Message types include Bulk SMS, USSD, Whatsapp and RCS (Rich Communication Services). It also addresses a number of industry issues and concerns such as the management of Sender ID’s and Short codes.
HUB is a ready-to-use platform for SMEs to create and manage their services, content, and subscriptions. The platform allows for hosting, management, and delivery of VAS services to Aggregators or Operators on behalf of the Service Provider. HUB was specifically built to address some of our local and African peculiarities. It is easy to use for SME’s as there is no local installation required, and for most of the services, the client can login via our web interface to enable management and delivery of their services. In the event the client already has a local system that they want to integrate into HUB, we have API’s which they can leverage to be up and running in a short time. HUB enables them to integrate once and have access to all the Telcos and multiple aggregators based on their preference thus simplifying their onboarding process. HUB’s messaging capabilities such as Whatsapp and RCS, help SMEs build better relationships with their customers, improve customer experience, reduce customer support calls, and improve communication security. They can also benefit greatly from using bulk SMS and USSD services as part of their marketing and communication strategies. These services offer a cost-effective and efficient way to engage with customers, provide information, and increase sales.
What are the challenges you face in Nigeria?
Given the insecurity challenges and the economic hardship in the country, we have witnessed the loss of talent across many sectors of the economy including the technology sector. This has made it paramount that we adopt an aggressive recruitment and talent retention strategy in a bid to forestall the negative impacts of this trend affecting our business.
“HUB was specifically built to address some of our local and African peculiarities. HUB is very easy to use for SME’s as there is no local installation required and for most of the services, the clients can login via our web interface to enable management and delivery of their services.”
Do you have a presence in other ECOWAS countries?
Our routing service is present in most African countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Côte D’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. Our 2023 roll-out plan includes expansion to key regions within the continent with a focus on Ghana, Uganda and South Africa.
How do you do your Data Monetization?
COURE partners with data owners in the telco, banking and payment service sectors to aggregate and centralize data that can be analyzed to extract intelligent insights, and in an automated and real-time manner, provide those insights to service providers for decision-making. This offers data owners the opportunity to monetize their data which would otherwise sit idle. It also enables users to gain secure access to their data across different service providers, making it easier for them to use third-party applications which require these data. This presents a mutually beneficial business relationship between COURE, a proven platform provider, data owners, and end customers. In providing these analytics, COURE is careful to adhere to global data privacy laws and security standards, being an NDPR-certified organization.
How can the Public Sector leverage your solutions?
COURE’s services and solutions are relevant for public sector use. The HUB CPaaS (Communication Platform as a Service) offers an opportunity for such organizations to improve communication with citizens, enhance security, streamline billing, provide real-time transaction notifications, and gain valuable insights through data analytics. The service is currently used by a number of public sector entities including the CBN. Our fraud prevention solutions can also help public sector entities protect against fraud and cyber threats. This is especially important when handling sensitive information, such as personal data or financial information.
What do we expect from you this 2023?
This year 2023, COURE will be commemorating its 25th year of existence. This is a remarkable milestone for us and represents a pivotal point in our journey. We will also be expanding our services to other countries on the continent as well as adding a 3rd platform to our suite, the OpenBanking platform. The OpenBanking platform offers financial data owners the opportunity to monetize their data by making it available to third-party financial services securely and efficiently via APIs, and in alignment with the CBN’s Open Banking Initiative. We have already partnered with some banks to pilot the solution and are excited about the ease and convenience that customers will enjoy when they use applications that leverage these APIs. Needless to say, we expect great times ahead!
“Given the insecurity challenges and the economic hardship in the country, we have witnessed the loss of talent across many sectors of the economy including the technology sector. This has made it paramount that we adopt an aggressive recruitment and talent retention strategy in a bid to forestall the negative impacts of this trend affecting our business.”
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has reiterated the need regional collaboration in accelerating digital transformation across Africa, provide opportunities that can propel the continent into a digital era of innovation and inclusive development.
GITEX Africa inaugural edition of technology exhibitions in the region, brings together industry leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to discuss and showcase advancements in technology.
The event provides an ideal platform for organisations to promote dialogue, showcase innovative solutions, and forge partnerships to harness the potential of the digital age. NITDA’s participation focuses on fostering collaborations, sharing best practices, and addressing the challenges hindering Africa’s digital growth.
Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy, participated at the two Panel Sessions themed: “Accelerating Digital Transformation in Africa: Strategies, Challenges and Opportunities” and “Fast Tracking to an Integrated and Inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure.”
In his presentations, Dr. Onumo discussed the role of technology in driving economic growth, job creation, and digital economy development on the continent. He highlighted the need for African countries to invest in digital infrastructure, skills development, and policy reforms in order to reap the full benefits of digital transformation.
Dr. Onumo also stressed the importance of collaboration between governments, academia, industry, venture capitalist, and the tech community in order to accelerate digital transformation in Africa. He called on African countries to work together to develop common standards and regulations for the digital economy, and to promote the adoption of digital technologies across all sectors of the economy.
He further alluded to the progress made through African Free trade Agreement and African Smart Alliance and called for a sustained effort toward a common digital identity for
He also highlighted the challenges that Africa faces in terms of digital transformation, noting that one of the biggest challenges is the lack of adequate infrastructure, digital skills as well as digital inclusion, and pointed out that there is a need for more investment in human capital development.
Despite the challenges, Dr. Onumo said that Africa as a continent has the potential to become a major player in the global digital economy. He called on all stakeholders to work together to overcome the challenges and to seize the opportunities that digital transformation presents.
Dr. Onumo’s shared NITDA’s insights and expertise on digital transformation, especially the development of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), and NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2021-2024).
He stated that, “Technology is a key driver of economic growth and job creation in Africa. We need to invest in digital infrastructure and develop our own digital strategies in order to fully reap the benefits of the digital revolution.”
“Public-private partnerships are essential for driving digital transformation in Africa. We need to work together to create a more inclusive and sustainable digital future for the continent,” he added.
He reiterated that NITDA is committed to supporting the digital transformation of Nigeria and Africa, adding that, the agency is working with governments, private sector, and the tech community to develop and implement policies, programmes, and initiatives that will accelerate digital transformation on the continent.
“An example of such collaboration is in the development of the Nigeria Startup Act which the ecosystem regards as the game changer that will further catalyse the industry and make Nigeria a global startup destination”, he further stated.
The panel sessions were made up of experts and representatives from governments, businesses, and the tech community from across Africa. The discussions were lively and productive, and there was a clear consensus among the participants that digital transformation is essential for Africa’s economic development.
MENXTT Technologies, an IT and digital solutions provider, is proud to announce the launch of its groundbreaking digital marketing solutions specifically designed to empower Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. With a commitment to revolutionizing the marketing landscape, MENXTT Technologies aims to help SMEs effectively navigate the digital realm and achieve significant growth and success.
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, a strong online presence is vital for SMEs to thrive and stay competitive. Recognizing the unique challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria, MENXTT Technologies has developed a suite of innovative digital marketing solutions tailored to their specific needs. These solutions leverage cutting-edge technologies and industry best practices to deliver outstanding results for businesses of all sizes.
MENXTT Technologies’ digital marketing solutions encompass a wide range of services, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, content marketing, email marketing, and website design and development. Through a comprehensive and integrated approach, SMEs can now maximize their online visibility, engage with their target audience, generate quality leads, and ultimately drive business growth.
“We are thrilled to introduce our innovative digital marketing solutions to SMEs in Nigeria,” said Anthony Nwosu, Media consultant of MENXTT Technologies. “We understand the challenges faced by these businesses in a highly competitive digital landscape, and our goal is to empower them with the tools and expertise necessary to succeed online. By leveraging the power of digital marketing, SMEs can expand their reach, build brand credibility, and increase their revenue.”
In addition to its cutting-edge solutions, MENXTT Technologies prides itself on its team of highly skilled and experienced digital marketing professionals. With a deep understanding of the Nigerian market, they possess the knowledge and expertise to craft customized strategies that align with each SME’s unique goals and requirements. Through collaborative partnerships, MENXTT Technologies ensures that its clients receive personalized attention and achieve optimal results.
To celebrate the launch of their innovative digital marketing solutions, MENXTT Technologies is offering exclusive promotional packages for SMEs in Nigeria. These packages are designed to provide affordable access to their comprehensive suite of services, making digital marketing accessible to businesses of all sizes.
About MENXTT Technologies:
MENXTT Technologies is a leading digital solutions provider specializing in innovative digital marketing solutions for SMEs. With a commitment to helping businesses thrive in the digital realm, MENXTT Technologies offers a comprehensive range of services, including SEO, social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, content marketing, email marketing, and website design and development. Through cutting-edge strategies and a customer-centric approach, MENXTT Technologies empowers SMEs to reach their full potential and achieve substantial growth.
Call 08038187914 or write menxtt.ng@gmail.com for inquiries
COURE Software & Systems Limited (“COURE”), an indigenous information technology (IT) firm located in Lagos, will be marking 25 years of existence, 15 of which have been spent deploying IT solutions and services in Nigeria and other African countries. From telecoms to financial to the public sector, the company has made tremendous strides in various sectors of the economy.
Speaking to the media, COURE’s CEO, Uche Onwudiwe described the company as, “a platform services provider with a focus on the provision of accurate, secure and relevant data to improve its clients’ business processes and operations.” He reflected on the journey so far, noting that the company “started out in the US in 1998 at a time when the internet and modern technology, as we know it, were taking off. At that time, we were focused on networking and physical systems integration.”
COURE’s CEO, Uche Onwudiwe
“Over the years, the shifts in technology and the need to be scalable beyond billing for individual man hours caused us to migrate our technology services first to web and application development, then to what we currently provide today, which are platforms that leverage standardized and aggregated data to enable and enhance the operational efficiency of our clients. It has been an exciting 25-year journey of change and transformation! Our flagship solutions, ANQ and HUB, have been enabling the telecom, fintech, banking and various other sectors to increase their value to their customers. Our development teams consist of analysts, UI/UX experts, programmers, product managers and network engineers all of whom have many years of experience in the design, development and support of clean, functional and aesthetically appealing applications and solutions.”
On their strides in many critical sectors, COURE Chief Executive Officer added that “COURE has established key partnerships in the telco, banking, fintech, payments and public sector spaces. Through our platforms, we are able to aggregate various types of data, analyze the data, and create services that provide value to these organizations and generate revenue for them. This makes us an enabler of fintech firms as opposed to being one ourselves.”CC
“Our ANQ (All Number Query) is a lookup platform that provides quick and easy access to information which enables our clients support their customers in areas such as Fraud prevention, Routing and KYC (Know Your Customer) using various number and data sources. Our partnership with data owners and access to large volumes of diversified data along with our processing capacity and intelligent algorithms enables us apply real-time analytics to data that is being searched against and provide information to businesses to aid their decision-making.”
“Our HUB platform is what is called a CPaaS – Communication Platform as a Service. It enables Aggregators and Value-Added Service (VAS) providers in the telecom industry to integrate with the Telcos, then safely and accurately deliver messages between the applications through the Telcos and onward to the end customer and back. Message types include Bulk SMS, USSD, Whatsapp and RCS (Rich Communication Services). It also addresses a number of industry issues and concerns such as the management of Sender IDs and Short codes. HUB is a ready-to-use platform for SMEs to create and manage their services, content, and subscriptions. It is convenient and requires no local installation.”
Throughout the years, the IT organization has faced various challenges. Onwudiwe commented on some of these challenges, citing as an example, the loss of talented IT resources across the sector. He stated that due to the insecurity and economic hardships in the country, the technology sector has experienced a loss of talent, many of whom have fled the country in search of supposedly greener pastures. This has made it crucial for COURE to implement a proactive recruitment and talent retention strategy to prevent the negative effects of this trend from affecting its business.
The organization has grown in leaps and bounds, having extended its partnership reach to many African countries. Onwudiwe noted that, “Our routing services are present in most African countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Côte D’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. Our 2023 roll-out plan includes expansion to key regions within the continent with a focus on Ghana, Uganda and South Africa. ”
In addition to its expansion plans, COURE will be adding a 3rd platform to its suite, the OpenBanking platform, in alignment with the CBN’s Open Banking Initiative. The OpenBanking platform offers financial data owners the opportunity to monetize their data by making it available to third-party financial services securely and efficiently via APIs. He noted that they have already partnered with some banks to pilot the solution and are excited about the ease and convenience that customers will enjoy when they use applications that leverage these services. He expressed optimism about the future, noting that they expect great times ahead!
“Our HUB platform is what is called a CPaaS – Communication Platform as a Service. It enables Aggregators and Value-Added Service (VAS) providers in the telecom industry to integrate with the Telcos, then safely and accurately deliver messages between the applications through the Telcos and onward to the end customer and back. Message types include Bulk SMS, USSD, Whatsapp and RCS (Rich Communication Services). It also addresses a number of industry issues and concerns such as the management of Sender IDs and Short codes. HUB is a ready-to-use platform for SMEs to create and manage their services, content, and subscriptions. It is convenient and requires no local installation.”
Debut of Africa’s largest tech and start-up show to welcome 900 companies to explore, discover, and connect to real opportunities in world’s rising digital economy
H.E Dr Ghita Mezzour: “We’re witnessing a historic event, the largest tech networking and business event in the African continent”
Morocco will centre the global tech community’s attention on Africa’s united commitment to advancing the digital economy next week, converging the best minds from governments, businesses, big tech, start-ups, investors and youths to accelerate and catalyse the continent’s ambitious digital transformation journey.
GITEX Africa 2023, now the largest tech and start-up show in the African continent, will make its highly anticipated debut from 31 May-2 June, with the final preparations underway across ten halls and 45,000sqm of exhibition space in a purpose-built super venue at Place Bab Jdid, Bd Al Yarmouk in the Red City of Marrakech. It will welcome 900 big tech companies, government entities, start-ups and participants from more than 100 countries, while attracting tens of thousands of attendees from all over the world.
GITEX Africa is the largest business event launch of any industry in the Middle East and Africa in recent years, and is affiliated with GITEX Global in Dubai, the world’s largest tech and start-up show, rated by global tech executives as the world’s best global tech event.
Held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, GITEX Africa is hosted by the Digital Development Agency (ADD), under the authority of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform.
Addressing media at the show’s official preview press conference today was H.E Dr Ghita Mezzour, Minister of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform; Sidi Mohammed Drissi Melyani, the General Director of ADD; and Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International, GITEX Africa’s organiser.
In attendance were GITEX Africa’s official institutional partners the ANRT (Moroccan National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency), AMDIE (Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency), ONMT (Moroccan National Tourist Office), ONDA (National Airports Office), Royal Air Maroc, and ONCF (Moroccan National Railway Office).
“The Kingdom of Morocco is proud to host GITEX Africa under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him,” said H.E. Dr Mezzour. “We’re witnessing a historic event, the first ever edition of GITEX Africa, and the largest tech networking and learning business event in the African continent.
“GITEX Africa will be an opportunity for Moroccan and African start-ups owners and young programmers to get in touch with regional and global investors and business incubators. An opportunity as well to networking with actors in both public and private sectors.”
Mr. Sidi Mohammed Drissi Melyani, the General Director of ADD, added that hosting GITEX Africa underlines Morocco’s commitment to work alongside the private and public sector to accelerate Africa’s digital infrastructure development while promoting cross-continental e-governance policies that improve digital transparency, openness and process integration: “The Kingdom of Morocco as well as the whole African continent is so honoured to host the first edition of GITEX Africa Morocco, which will take place in Marrakech from May 31st to June 2nd, 2023,” said Mr. Melyani.
“This big event, organised under the high patronage of his Majesty the King Mohammed VI, is an important opportunity to value the efforts deployed by all the Moroccan stakeholders in the field of digital development. It is also a platform of networking between exhibitors, investors, researchers and tech operators around innovative solutions and digital transformation. This first edition will definitely contribute to enhance digital transition in Africa as a future innovation hub, led by its young talents and competitive start-ups.”
Magnifying Africa’s collective digital innovation ambitions and achievements
GITEX Africa’s impressive scale in its debut edition reflects the ambitions of Africa’s digital movement, with cross-continental initiatives such as Smart Africa’s vision to create a single digital market in Africa by 2030 propelling the continent to the forefront of the global digital economy.
“For too long, the world’s second largest continent has been under-stated and overlooked for its profound digital opportunities and aspirations,” commented Ms. LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International.
“At GITEX Africa, our mission is to curate an event that will serve the purpose of the African community in accessing business development, investment and learning opportunities. We focus on empowering the new generation of tech and creative talents to augment the culture of entrepreneurship and provide a single occasion that shall bring together the public and private sector leaderships to build tangible meaningful outcomes.”
That GITEX Africa hoisted the sold-out sign fuelling further expansion months before its grand opening is testament to the world’s confidence and optimism in the African digital opportunity, amplified by figures that underline the aspirations of African countries in their quest for digital excellence.
Africa’s vibrant start-up ecosystem also continues to grab headlines with the creation of seven unicorns over the last few years while according to analysts Briter Bridges, African start-ups raised a total of US$5.4 billion across 900-plus deals in 2022.
The influx of global interest will see GITEX Africa 2023 host more than 400 disruptive start-ups from 30 countries, including 200 international award-winning start-ups and 11 unicorns eager to share their achievements and access the promising African innovation hub.
All will have the opportunity to connect with 250 investors from 34 countries with US$200 billion worth of assets under management. As the ultimate start-up incubator and magnet for flourishing VC funds, GITEX Africa will deliver a structured and carefully curated scouting platform for these investors, of which 70 percent are coming from outside of Africa.
Added Ms. LohMirmand: “GITEX integrates Africa strategically into the hyper-connected tech ecosystem across 100 countries. It now firmly plugs Africa into the global entrepreneurial innovation economy boasting of resources imperative for the region to dynamize its digital transformation mission.”
Accelerating the Moroccan digital development strategy
GITEX Africa 2023 will also accentuate the progress of Morocco’s digital development strategy, strengthening its position among the top three African countries with the best ICT infrastructure, and underlining its status as having one of the continent’s most advanced telecommunications markets.
According to analysts IDC, Morocco’s IT market, comprising hardware, software and IT services, is expected to reach a value of US$1.7 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 4.3 percent to reach US$1.9 billion in 2026. In 2023, growth is expected to be driven by enterprise and service provider spending in the North African country as organisations increasingly look to adopt hybrid cloud as a step towards their digital transformation initiatives.
World’s best minds gather at Africa’s most impactful leadership conference agenda
Africa’s most impactful leadership conference programme will meanwhile gather 250-plus speakers from 50 countries to share valuable exchanges and insights with a curious business audience motivated to draw on international experience applied to an African-centric context.
The GITEX Africa Digital Summit will lead ten conference tracks comprising 140-plus hours of mind-stretching content exploring the most pertinent transformational topics advancing Africa’s digital agenda, from generative AI and digital cities, or Fintech and agritech, to healthcare, energy, innovation, sustainable development goals, and a spotlight on the world’s most exciting start-up ecosystem.
GITEX Africa 2023 is open from 11:30am to 6:00pm on 31st May, and from 10:00am to 6:00pm on the 1st and 2nd June. Admission is for trade professionals only with a special invitation for students aged 16 years and older on day three.
Centre, James Christoff, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, with Director General NIMC, Tukur Lawal, the Managing Director NigComSat, Kashifu Inuwa, Director General NITDA and a host of others at the event
Nigeria Communications Satellite Ltd (NigComSat) in partnership with Ethnomet, a Canadian leading firm in healthcare technology recently launched ‘NigComHealth’, a telemedicine platform that will allow millions of Nigerians to have access to quality healthcare. ‘NigComHealth’ will transform the way patients and healthcare providers connect will transform the way patients and healthcare providers connect country by providing convenient and accessible medical consultations by licensed healthcare professionals anytime, anywhere via mobile app.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami unveiled NigComHealth in Abuja this week. The Minister, who was represented by his Chief of staff, Professor Sahalu Junaidu, said the platform would promote a “more efficient and effective healthcare system that could be accessible to all Nigerians.”
The minister also added that the current situation is worsening, with “each physician attending to more than 5,000 patients. This represents a stark contrast with WHO’s recommendation of 1 doctor to 600 patients. And with 218 million people to cater for, he said that Nigeria requires at least 363,000 additional doctors to meet this target,” which he believes NigComHealth will help achieve.
The new telemedicine platform combines innovative technology with advanced medical tools and pre-vetted licensed healthcare practitioners, enabling virtual medical visits that are secure, efficient, and personalized. The Federal Government and Ethnomet have partnered with indigenous tech implementation company Sawtrax to implement the platform across Nigeria. This will make it possible for Nigerians in any part of the country, including rural and remote areas, to book and attend appointments with qualified and specialized doctors.
‘NigComHealth’ Multi-tenant Virtual Healthcare Service Platform is designed for all hospitals to be able to integrate their healthcare professionals and offer digital health services to the Nigerian population.
The Honourable Minister continued, ‘To bridge the gap, there is urgent need to leverage on the disruptive technology to improve access to healthcare services and quality medical practitioners available within Nigeria and across the globe. Therefore, NigComHealth Platform is a timely solution that could ensure that quality healthcare services are available to all Nigerians, irrespective of their locations.” He further encouraged “stakeholders in the health sector, both public and private to onboard into the initiative.”
Mr. James Christoff, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria said the platform will be a game changer in improving health outcomes especially in underserved and remote areas.
“The technology has been developed with the vision and strategic objective of having over 80 Federal and State-owned Government hospitals coexist on the platform. The platform is also meant to provide digital health services to 1.7 million public sector workers and their families in Nigeria,” he said.
He applauded both the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy and the Federal Ministry for Health, for their vision, and unparalleled commitment to the promotion, technology and health innovation in Nigeria.
Engineer Tukur Lawal, the Managing Director of NigComSat Ltd said that the platform will reduce the massive capital flight spent by Nigerians on medical tourism annually.
He opined that the platform will provide Nigerians with the opportunity to access affordable and world-class services from professionals regardless of their geographic location, without the need to travel to urban areas.
Ethnomet CEO, Ms. Garnette Weber, who joined the event virtually, described the digital health solution as a demonstration of the Nigeria Government’s commitment to leveraging innovative technologies to provide quality and accessible healthcare for Nigerians in all regions.
Weber said that “Telehealth has proven to be very effective in addressing these healthcare challenges as indicated in the Commonwealth Fund’s International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians. In 2022, General Practitioners from 10 different countries reported that 52% of encounters would have been clinically appropriate through video interactions with patients. Telehealth services improve health resource utilization and access to care. ”
Mike Amanyi, Product Director for Ethnomet, presented and demonstrated the technology’s capabilities. In addition to booking and attending appointments with doctors and specialists, the opportunity also exists for community virtual health centers, and integrating health data from smartwatches and other wearable devices. NigComSat and Ethnomet have scheduled training for industry stakeholder leaders in days to come”
In a constantly digitizing world with a lot of breaches and security risks, online protections become imminent and imperative, this has necessitated many organizations to invest heavily on antivirus software, these types of software counter these security breaches. In Nigeria today, almost all the antivirus in the market are foreign with no indigenous antivirus in the market, having seen the level of foreign exchange lost and capital flight on these antivirus software with runs in millions, an indigenous information technology (IT) firm located in Lekki – Ajah axis of Lagos known as TSCO-TJTEK SOFTWARE COMPANY has build the first indigenous software in the country and set to unveil it this month of May. These moves have been lauded by industry watchers and stakeholders as the right move in proper direction.
Speaking on the antivirus solution, Tom Jones, the Chief Executive officer of TSCO-TJTEK SOFTWARE said that “We have been on the Anti-Virus Software development for about 7 years now, and now we have formally incorporated a Company for it TJTEK ANTI VIRUS SOFTWARE MAKERS to separate its affairs and development from our usual software development business. The Nigerian antivirus software market is dominated wholly by foreign products. Ours is to find ways to start changing the narrative and bringing our indigenous solutions to the fore. We have also observed the capital flight that occurs as a result of buying this software, we want to make the desired impact in the market.”
Jones also said that apart from the antivirus solution that TSCO-TJTEK SOFTWARE has made tremendous impact in the education sector of the country by building solutions that will aid many subjects such as law, accounting and others. The company recently partnered with Nigerian Law School management to unbundle legal studies in a simple software and also with Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) to bring accounting, book keeping and other forms of record keeping subjects to speed by making them available in a software. Jones also talked about their deployment in one of the Nigerian foremost universities, University of Lagos to aid students with their lectures.
Jones opined that “We visited UniLag and introduced our Proprietary software for Law Students and it was given an LPO for large supply. We basically want to make learning easier for Nigerian law students that was why we developed such a solution for them and what we have seen the acceptance is encouraging. It has shown that the students are very open to new ways of doing things. The law solutions for students made it easier for students to learn, research their legal reports, case studies etc.”https://tavism.com.ng/
He added on the issue of making accounting easier that “Organizations and Tertiary institutions including Polytechnics down to secondary schools have widely accepted it, as we have the best solutions to easiest way to pass ICAN Exams. We as an IT firm is constantly asking critical questions on how we can improve the lots of the society especially the Nigerian students. the ICAN solution looked at accounting, accountancy and booking keeping as a subject. We made learning these courses easier for students from secondary school where these courses are offered all the way to tertiary institution be it Universities or Polytechnics, we all covered all the areas of accounting to professional level which is ICAN (Institute of Charted Accountants of Nigeria) and the professional body is impressed with this software.”
On Nigerian Law School solution, Jones quipped that “Nigerian Law School CBT Software is a software for those that practice of Law School and Call to Bar Exams in Nigeria. This product is best for Law school students aspiring to pass the Bar part 1 AND THE Bar part 2 exams It is also great for university students studying and preparing to pass the Bar final exams. It is designed to make learning easier for future lawyers.”
The company highlighted other of their solutions from banking software to card solutions. Jones concluded that “Our Banking Software Built for Banks and other financial Institutions are great deal for our clients benefiting from the source as it helps the workflow of their various Organization, records and manages the transactions made by the banks’ customers to their accounts and many other flexible, virtual and secured benefits. Just like our school management software which Save Cost, Saves time of teachers and administrators, Bridge Communication Gap, Human Resource Management, Student life-cycle data, Timetable management, Fee collection, Reports and decision making including Exams Management”
“We have recently registered a new Company TJTEK DIGITAL CARDS SOLUTIONS for Virtual Credit Cards creation to use as private cards for online payments and transactions and
TAP-TO-PAY cards for Supermarkets as Loyalty Cards and Transit Cards for Transportation services. This will impact so much in the eCommerce space and those that make use of the malls. The virtual cards will come very handy for them.”
The Director-General National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, has expressed readiness to collaborate with Emerging Tech Africa, led by Atayero of Aramoko Kingdom in Ekiti State and Chairman of Emerging Tech Africa Communication Limited, HRH, Oba (Dr). Olusegun Aderemi Idowu (JP), on critical areas of the Digital Economy.
Inuwa stated this while receiving the Chairman, Emerging Tech Africa Communication Limited; Lead Team of JKL CAPITAL, Mr. J. Shi and Ms. Nidaa Sabbagh on courtesy visit where issues of mutual understanding and benefits in the areas of digital economy, job and wealth creation were discussed.
While emphasising importance of the agency’s National Digital Skills Strategy, which aims to achieve 95% digital literacy among Nigerians by 2030, as well as the adoption of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence to tap into the $13 trillion global market by 2030, the DG outlined NITDA’s achievements and discussed the prospects and challenges of Nigeria’s IT ecosystem.
“We have some flagship initiatives and projects which we believe can help us capture value; one of such is building and hatching talents because according to research, by 2030, there is going to be 85million talent deficit globally, making talent a huge industry itself”.
“So, we are working towards positioning Nigeria as the world’s talent factory, exporting our brains, providing talented workforce to render services for your establishments, Nigeria, the continent and the world”, the DG expounded.
Inuwa reiterated the need for continuous collaborations for higher productivity, according to him “no one can whistle a symphony; it takes a whole orchestra to play it. We believe in teamwork and we know there are things we can do as a government that you cannot do as a private sector and vice versa, but together, nothing is impossible. That’s why we are always willing to forge a common front of working together to co-create the ecosystem and prosperity for all”.
The DG also took his guests through other key focus areas of the Agency, including the implementation of NITDA Start-up Act, completion of the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, National Data Strategy Implementation, Adoption of Blockchain Technology, Implementation of the National Digital Skills Strategy amongst others.
“As we look forward to our collaboration and the possible future, NITDA remains committed to sustaining the momentum, leveraging emerging technologies, developing policies and strategies that promote digital transformation, and creating an enabling environment for our startups and entrepreneurs to thrive”, the DG affirmed
The leader of the delegation, Atayero of Aramoko Kingdom, Ekiti State and Chairman, Emerging Tech Africa Communication Limited, HRH, Oba (Dr). Olusegun Aderemi Idowu (JP) who was in company of his team members; Lead Team of JKL CAPITAL, Mr. J. Shi and Ms. Nidaa Sabbagh said the courtesy visit was to seek possible partnerships and discuss issues of mutual understanding and benefits in areas of digital economy, job and wealth creation.
“We are an indigenous company doing excellently in the area of information technology, digital economy, job and wealth creation. Our partners, JKL CAPITAL in London are in Nigeria to partner with our company ETECHA COMMUNICATION LIMITED to do business, and we wish your Ministry could be part of government agencies that will warehouse some of the business interest to attract mutual interest and benefits for Nigeria”, Dr Idowu said.
While enumerating some of the areas of interest in Nigeria the company wishes to invest in include Blockchain Technology, Gaming business opportunities, TV broadcasting resources, and Payment Solution Service, Dr Idowu was hopeful that the collaboration will be beneficial to all parties involved.
Peter, a multi-award winner practicing ICT Journalist was elected at the 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) cum election held in Lagos on Friday at The Zone, Lagos where Mr. Adesola Akinsanya and Mr. Murtala Abdullahi emerged the new President and the Vice President respectively.
They took over from Mr. Mohammed Rudman and Mr. Toba Obaniyi in that order. Other members elected into NIRA Executive Board of Directors (EBoD) at the meeting are; Mr. Ebenezer Dare of Hostlag Limited, and Seun Kehinde of QServers Networks Limited.
Meanwhile, five members have been elected to the Board of Trustees of NiRA. They are; Mrs Ibukun Odusote; Publisher of ITRealms, Mr. Remmy Nweke; former Financial Secretary of NiRA, Mr. Biyi Oladipo; former NIRA president, Mrs. Mary Uduma and Executive Director Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Mr. Yunusa Zakari Ya’u.
Peter Oluka has been a .ng Domain Name Brand Ambassador since 2015). He actually started his mainstream journalism in 2010 working with the Nigerian NewsDirect Newspaper. His penchant for newsworthy events and stunts registered NewsDirect’s presence in the league of Property & Environment and Labour pious media outfits.
He also Co-founded GrassRoots.ng, a news platform rooted in Speaking for the Global Citizen.
Peter also Co-founded Njalo.ng; an online marketplace for ‘Easy sell & Easy Buy’ or new and used products.
Prior to that, he worked at the Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, as a Senior Reporter; a medium with fad in ICT reportage. Peter’s articles have attracted interests from both international and indigenous ICT/Technology giants.
Peter’s quest for journalism, PR and media practices is exceptional. For many years, he contributed to ‘Communications’ pullout in the Guardian Newspapers.
Peter Oluka is among the pioneer Fellows of the MTN Nigeria Media Innovation Programme (MTN MIP-1) curated by the School of Media and Communications (SMC) Pan Atlantic University (PAU).
He is an Associate Member of the Institute of Information Management (IIM-Africa) and was awarded the Records and Information Management Best ICT Reporter of the Year by the Institute of Information Management-Africa (IIM-Africa) in year 2014.
He received Special Recognition Award at the 2017 Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) National Information Technology Merit Awards (NITMA) for Excellence in IT reporting.
He also won Nigerian Women in Information Technology (NIWIIT) Best IT Editor of the Year 2018.
Peter is a certified Customer Relations Management Personnel by the Nesburg School of Business and Management (NESBG-Nigeria), Africa’s foremost Persuasion School of Business based in South Africa (2015).
He obtained PGD (Mass Communications) from NOUN in 2015; HND (Mass Communication) from the Institute of Management and Technology, IMT, Enugu in 2008.
‘Multimedia, Mobile and Social Media Journalism Programme Facilitated by renowned new media experts Dan Mason Media (2017)’ hosted by Journalism Clinic, Lagos, Nigeria, among other trainings and achievements.
Peter’s media practice cuts across Speech Writing, Public Relations, Advertising, other Communications interests.
Commenting on his election, Peter said: “I am deeply committed to the massive adoption of .ng buttressed by the fact that I have been a .NG (Dot NG) domain name Brand Ambassador since 2015!
“Yes, I have leveraged different platforms and fora to publicize the Nigerian Domain Name (DNS) Industry, amongst other accomplishments, training, awards and certifications.
“I strongly believe there is a need for the injection of fresh ideas to further expand our identity in cyberspace, and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve”.
NiRA was founded on 23 March 2005 to oversee Nigeria’s country code top-level domain, .ng. However, the registration of domain names are handled by NiRA certified registrars, under its Registry–Registrar–Registrant model in operating and managing the top-level domain.
