In an effort to ease the pressure that its students face in China’s notoriously rigid exam-based education system, a school in one of the country’s towns, Nanjing, has created a “grade bank” that lets students “borrow” marks so that they can pass exams, and then repay them in subsequent tests.
The innovative bank allows students to loan marks to make up for a failing grade in any exam. But just like regular banks, it requires “clients” to pay back the loan on time, with interest. Thus, students have to make up for the loan by scoring extra points in future exams. Some teachers also allow the students to repay the bank by conducting lab experiments or giving public speeches. Pupils who default on their loans are blacklisted by the bank, just like in real life.
Mei Hong, physics teacher at Nanjing No 1 High School said that the grade bank is designed to offer pupils a second chance.
“59 points and 60 points are actually not that different,” she told the Yangtze Evening Post. “But because the former means failing the exam while the latter means passing, the difference weighs heavily on students’ psyches.”
So instead of failing the exam, the student can just borrow that 1 point required to pass, just as long as they agree to pay it back, with interest.
“I was sick before the mid-term exams and missed several geography classes,” one pupil named Zhu said. “I failed the exam, so I am glad the “grades bank” gave me a chance to fix that.”
The grade bank is a pilot system introduced in November 2016 and currently only available to the school’s 10th grade Advanced Placement class. Out of the 49 students in the class, 13 have already borrowed marks from the bank.
Kan Huang, a director at the school, told reporters that they decided to introduce the grade bank as a way of placing more emphasis on students’ growth, rather than their performance in grueling exams.
He further complained that the current exam-focused education system in China has created a situation where a pupil’s future could be determined by a single major exam. “Examinations should be more about improving the learning process, instead of a tool which is used to give students a hard time,” Huang told the Yangtze Evening Post.
While the intriguing grade bank has been hailed as a positive change, at least on social media, not everyone approves of the system. Education expert XiongBingqi, for example, believes that the loan system is “improper” for exam marks, but admits that it takes pressure off students, who now know that they can just do better on their next test.
Others think that such a system just causes pupils to be less diligent in their studies.
The regulator of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme; Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA), has unveiled plan to extend the service to the heavily congested Oshodi-Iyana Ipaja-Abule-Egba route.
To facilitate smooth operation of the scheme on the route, LAMATA is awarding a contract to redesign the road with two BRT lanes to run in the middle, starting from Abule-Egba towards Oshodi. The service lanes of the expressway are also to be repaired and made more motorable.
This, according Abiodun Dabiri, managing director of LAMATA, would be accomplished within the next 20 months and would reduce travel time along the route by at least 40 percent.
Dabiri, who addressed stakeholders at a sensitisation meeting, last week, said the work would entail an uninterrupted median BRT service, 11 pedestrian bridges, one bus depot and two bus terminals to be located at Iyana Ipaja and Abule-Egba.
According to him, the BRT system is being extended to that axis to facilitate easy access of persons and businesses to the Central Business Districts (CBDs) in Ikeja, Marina, Ikoyi and Victoria Island and to drastically reduce the travel time along that corridor from about one hour-thirty minutes to a maximum of 45 minutes.
Speaking further on why the BRT service was being introduced on the route, Dabiri said “the Oshodi-Abule Egba corridor is one of the busiest bus corridors in West Africa, with over 5,500 buses moving passengers per day. It is a critical link for millions of people living in Alimosho, Egbeda, Iyana-Ipaja, Ijaiye, up to Tollgate into Sango Ota in Ogun State.”
He noted that the route was also strategic because Oshodi, with the proposed transport interchange project, was emerging the transport hub in Lagos. The LAMATA MD appealed for the cooperation of property owners, traders, transporters, traffic managers, residents and security agencies, all of whom he said were critical in actualising the plan.
Olarenjawu Elegushi, the Lagos State acting commissioner for transport, explained the vision of the government with respect to public transportation, saying it was to create convenience for the people. “What we are doing along the Abule Egba axis is in line with the overall plan of the government to change the face of public transportation system in Lagos,” said Elegushi.
MOTUNRAYO JOEL writes that more women now participate in betting which was once considered a predominantly male game
Every day, Mrs. Kafiyat Oba, a mother of five, leaves her shade where she sells engine oil and sneaks into a green shanty structure on Agric Road, Lagos State, to play the popular sports lottery known as Baba Ijebu.
Premier Lotto Limited, commonly known as Baba Ijebu, is one of the most popular sports betting companies in the country.
Sports betting, which involves predicting the outcome of matches with correct bets rewarded with winnings, started gaining grounds in Nigeria, a football-loving country in 2007.
Oba, who is in her late 40s noted that she plays the lottery to augment the meagre money she makes from her oil sales.
“There is a lot of money in Baba Ijebu especially when one wins. I don’t think I am too old to play the game; no one is too old to make money. Everybody is in Lagos to make a living; we have to survive,” she said, adding that she has been playing the game for over seven years.
The engine oil seller crams her gaming numbers easily. It took her less than five seconds to spill out the numbers to the young, nursing mother manning the structure.
Daily she saves the sum of N50 or N100 to play the game. In a month, she spends an average sum of N2000 on betting.
“I like numbers 36 and 27; they are my lucky numbers; I once won N30, 000 with the numbers. Sometimes, I run into young men in the shop (lottery kiosk) who look at me strangely. I’ve made more than I’ve invested in betting.
“I always laugh in my mind when men look at us, women’ eyes have been open to the rewards in betting; there is enough money for everyone to win,” she said with a smile.
Even though she’s not intimidated by the men she meets at the betting kiosk, she fears the repercussion of her husband finding out that she is an active better.
She stated, “I didn’t tell my husband how I made the N30,000 I won last time. I’m afraid of his reaction.”
No longer a game for the men
Oba is one of the women who participate actively in the sports which used to be heavily male dominated. Speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH, operators of betting agencies said there has been a tremendous increase in the number of women who engage in betting.
The operators said the proportion of female to male bettors is now about 40 per cent for women and 60 per cent for men.
The Technical Director, Bet 365, Mr. Sebastian Ebonhor, told our correspondent that more women now see betting as a game for both sexes.
He said, “It didn’t use to be this way. In the past, it would be really surprising to see two women out of 10 people betting. Now, a lot of women are into betting.
“Between 2014 to 2016, I can safely say there has been a 70 per cent increase in female participation. Women are now about 40 per cent of our customers. ”
Similarly, a worker at Lovingbet, an online sports betting site, who identified himself only as Mr. Jumi, said he has witnessed an increase in the number of women betting.
“Between 2015 and 2016, there has been a major increase in the number of women betting and they include teenagers, housewives and the working class. Majority are however housewives.
“Women used to be ashamed of being seen in betting centres but not anymore. Betting has become a normal thing for females,” he said.
Another betting agent, who identified himself as Mr. Bolaji, agreed with Jumi.
Bolaji, who did not tell our correspondent his surname said, “When I began to work as an agent, women hardly came to bet. Now, things have changed, I get nothing less five women come to my shop to play Baba Ijebu daily. During weekends, the number increases.”
We bet to help our husbands — Women
A former Head, Department of Economics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Abayomi Adebayo, linked the increase in female bettors to the current economic situation.
The economic recession began to take its toll on Nigerians from the last quarter of 2015 till date. Since then, life has been hard for the average Nigerian.
The recession has adversely affected manufacturing firms, industries and banks. Last year, many banks and industries sacked thousands of workers in a bid to beat the recession.
At the parallel market, the prolonged scarcity of foreign exchange also forced the naira to an all-time-low of 420 against the United States dollar.
The situation has also affected food prices, which have increased by over 100 per cent, making them beyond the reach of the poor.
In the last one year, employers have been struggling to survive the economic recession. This has caused severe hardship for many families.
“Let us be honest with ourselves, the state of our economy is not favourable. Many people are turning to different ways to survive. When there is economic hardship, what one would not ordinarily do on a normal day, the person would then be forced to do it just to survive.
“Years ago, it was unusual to find women betting, but things have changed. This clearly shows that economic hardship is getting stronger. ”
Adebayo also linked the phenomenon to the inability of some men to meet their responsibilities at home.
“Why are women betting? It is because more men are not fulfilling their economic responsibilities. These women gamble to take care of their children. We all know that the cost of food items and prices of commodities have skyrocketed,” he said.
Similarly, an economist and former Vice-Chancellor, Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun state, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the current recession had forced more responsibilities on women.
“More women are looking for ways to get an extra income. They have a lot of responsibilities; some of these women have husbands who may have lost their jobs. It is really tough on them, they want quick money but despite the economic crunch, there are other ways to make an extra income,” he said.
The Country Manager, 360bet.ng, Mr. Ikenna Vincent, told our correspondent that a major reason why there are more female bettors is because more women are becoming bread winners of their families.
“To put a percentage to the number of women who now engage in betting compared to some years back, I would say there is a 60 per cent increase. A lot of them now bet to add to the income of their families,” he said.
Mrs. Toyin Ore, a mother of one, falls in the category of women who gamble to take care of their families.
Dressed in an off-white top with blue jeans outside her shop in the Abule-Egba area of Lagos, Ore, who held her 10-months baby girl in arms, said the need for extra income led her to gambling.
“I am in my late 30s; my husband does not make a lot of money. I need to support my husband; he can’t shoulder the burden alone. This (gambling) is a quick way to make money; I always advise my friends to play Baba Ijebu. I put in about N2,000 monthly and I once won N12,000; ever since then I told myself I won’t stop playing the game.
“How else can I make quick money? I have a husband. I can neither go into prostitution nor steal. With this game, there is nothing to lose; the highest amount I have lost is N120,” she said.
Another female bettor, Ms. Ireti Oluwande, said she was looking forward to winning N1m on Bet9ja. Oluwande, who is in her late 30s, recently won N16,000.
“I’m barely two months in the game. So far, I am enjoying myself. Apart from the N16,000 I won, I also won N11,000 recently. I usually play 10 games at a stretch which requires me to part with N1,000. So far I’ve spent N10,000 but I’ve made profit. On Wednesday, I played five games but I’m yet to check the results. I play the game almost every day, I want to speed up my chances of winning a million naira,” she said.
When asked what she does with her winnings, she disclosed that she gives a part of it to people who give her number codes while she spends the rest on her son.
Oluwande, who lives in Agege, said, “I have people who give me numbers; they are like my prophets. Whenever they give me a number and I win, I give them some part of the money. It is a way to say thank you to them. I then use the remaining money to buy things for my son. Imagine winning N15,000 without sweating and burning one’s energy; anyone would be happy and the most I spend monthly to bet is N1,500. ”
She added that she took to betting when she couldn’t get a job
She said, “There is a lot of money to win when playing Bet9ja. Last week, I almost won N3m; two games spoilt my chances. I was so sad; I can only imagine where I would have been by now if I had won the money. I do not have a job; I need to find a way to make money. Betting is the only sure way I can make quick money.”
Mrs. Bewaji Yusuf, is another woman who said she bets to earn more income for her family.
Yusuf said, “The highest amount I have won is N5,000. My husband is not financially buoyant to carry all the family responsibilities so I keep trying my luck hoping that I can win something big to support him.
“There is a lot of money to be won in the game. Patience is a key factor in this game. That you lost the first time you played doesn’t mean you would lose again. It is a game of luck; nothing good comes easy. However, one must be careful – play wisely. Most gaming agents are greedy.”
Addiction and greedy agents
Betting is indeed an addictive game and many have become paupers in their bid to get rich quick. Some betting agents told our correspondent that the more addictive the customer is to betting, the more lucrative the business is for them.
An agent for Baba Ijebu, Mr. Adeola, branded betting as a safe way of making quick money and advised people not to get greedy.
“People must play wisely; there are agents who don’t care about their customers. When I notice that someone has been playing consecutively and has not won any game, I advise the person to take a break. I must say that agents like players who are addicts,” he said.
A Nairabet agent, Mr. Michael Olabode, who said he receives more than 20 women every week at his centre, said he carefully monitors the progress of his customers.
“Being an agent is a full-time job; it involves a lot of hard work. I would not deny the fact that some agents are crooks, they derive joy in making their customers addicted to gambling. It is now left for the customer to use his head. If one becomes an addict, the person would end up spending his life savings. I tell my customers that betting is a fun game that comes with risks,” he said.
But Mrs. Lawal Kehinde, is one who doesn’t allow any agent talk her into excessive betting. According to her, she bets only when she is wants to do so.
“Every time a gambler or bettor wins an amount of money, the agent collects a percentage of the money. This is the reason why agents like those who are addicted to betting,” she said.
Dealing with addiction
A psychologist, Mr. Fagbongbe Oni, said apart from addiction, women’s love for betting may have a negative impact on their families.
Oni said, “Betting has a way of making people addicted even though the money earned from it is used to sustain some homes. Addiction is a big problem. For women, even when their husbands give them money to take care of the family, their mind is fixed on betting and they spend the money on the game.’’
He added that bettors often borrow money from friends and relatives to play because of the false belief that the betting they would soon hit jackpot.
To get out of betting addiction, Oni advised that one must not be in denial. He added that overcoming addiction would require the intervention of experts. He described it as a strong habit that cannot be overcome only with self-will.
“Many are in denial about their addiction to betting. One way to know that you are addicted to betting is when you feel like your life is incomplete with it. You give it attention even when there are indications that it won’t work.
“Addiction to betting can be compared to smoking; such habits cannot be easily overcome. When a habit has gotten to the level of addiction, the intervention of experts is required. Variables that instigated the behaviour in the first place would be dealt with by the experts, ” he said.
This afternoon, Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State visited Yaba tech cluster and made a stop at the iDEA Hub and then talked to entrepreneurs at CcHub both on Herbert Macaulay way. In the tech hubs, he met with startup founders and tech entrepreneurs in general. We were led to believe the governor did not drop any hint of his visit so his visit was impromptu. Governor Akinwumi Ambode is not the first government functionary to visit Yaba, last year the tech community hosted the Minister of Communications.
At the iDEA Hub the governor hinted at a government operated tech hub.
Speaking to the entrepreneurs, Akinwumi Ambode reiterated his supportive stand on innovative startups and businesses. During introductions and discourse, Femi Longe of CcHub raised the issue of electric power being the biggest challenge startups in Lagos face.
One of the first things we did was to map out innovation clusters, and create a map connecting the dots on the Lagos Innovation Hotspots website.
He further implored the governor to put the entrepreneurs in his future plans.
The governor commended the entrepreneurs greatly. He expressed appreciation for the work they are currently doing. In his own words, “You people are the future of Nigeria”.
He also proceeded in thanks to Omobola Johnson, former Minister of Communication Technology for bringing his attention to the good work with respect to tech entrepreneurship going on in Yaba.
Expatiating on the tech hub that he hinted on at the iDEA Hub, Governor Ambode;
We were considering building incubators and tech hubs, but I am really satisfied with what I see here. I feel we do not need to capitalize and build government operated tech hubs, we can support the existing ones by providing infrastructure.
He talked about building a value chain with the youths where entrepreneurial skills gained are passed on. The Governor also spoke on how the government has not been forthcoming on seeing tech as an instrument to grow the economy.
I strongly believe technology is one of the most efficient tools to move Nigeria forward and we will work vigorously towards that goal with every support we can offer.
On the issue of power that Femi Longe raised, Governor Akinwumi Ambode sympathized with the entrepreneurs seated and shocked them further; he promised to add all the clusters to the Mainland Power. Being that the Mainland Power serves electricity to public utilities, the governor promised that all the tech startups and businesses in Yaba will be henceforth classified as public utility.
On complimenting the already existing efforts, the governor also promised a grant from the ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment for startups in the area.
To round off, the governor said his presence in Yaba is one prime indicator that the work being done by tech entrepreneurs in the state is having visible positive impact.
Sex with robots is “just around the corner”, an expert told a global conference in London this week featuring interactive intimacy gadgets and discussions on the ethics of relationships with humanoids.
Sex with robots is “just around the corner”, an expert told a global conference in London this week featuring interactive intimacy gadgets and discussions on the ethics of relationships with humanoids.
“Sexbots” are a staple of science fiction — the idea of robots as sex partners is explored, for instance, in recent films and television series like “Ex-Machina” and “Westworld.”
But some specialists believe the first animated lovers made of metal, rubber and plastic, programmed to provide sexual bliss, will take a step into reality just months from now.
“Sex with robots is just around the corner, with the first sexbots coming… sometime next year,” artificial intelligence expert David Levy told the International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots at Goldsmiths, University of London.
US California-based company Abyss Creations next year will start marketing sex robots that are billed as life-like, with the ability to talk and move like humans.
Ultimately, Levy said, people should entertain the thought of marriage with robots as early as 2050.
The conference in London showcased some of the latest developments in robotic intimacy gadgets, such as gadgets which allow couples to kiss, no matter how far apart they are.
The “Kissenger”, which attaches to your mobile phone, contains sensors to detect the pressure of a kiss and transmit it to your partner’s device in real time. It has been under development for several years.
Now students at Tokyo’s Keio University are developing the “Teletongue”, aimed at providing “remote oral interaction” and designed to be “kinky”, according to co-creator Dolhathai Kaewsermwong.
It allows couples to send licking sounds and sensations through cyberspace using a “lollipop”, creating an “immersive experience”, she explained.
– ‘Moral panic’ – Lynne Hall, of the University of Sunderland’s school of computer science, in northeast England, said that robots could create “a fantastic sexual experience”.
“There are lots of benefits to sex with robots… it’s safe, you never catch any disease, you can control it,” she told the conference.
She rejected the idea that robots would replace or threaten sex with humans, however.
“We are somehow fed by moral panic… ‘It’s disgusting… nobody will ever have sex with a human again’,” Hall told the conference.
“But people are regularly watching porn… and they are still having sex with humans,” she said.
Levy, the author of “Love and Sex with Robots”, from which the annual conference takes its title, said marriage to robots would be the next logical step.
“As sex with robots becomes more and more commonplace… we shall come face to face with the very real possibility of marriage to robots,” the former international chess master said.
And why not?
Robots of the future will be “patient, kind, protective, loving”, never “jealous, boastful, arrogant, rude,” Levy said — “unless of course, you want them to be”.
“All of the following qualities and many more are likely to be achievable in software within a few decades,” he added.
Levy is convinced that rapid changes in attitudes to sex and marriage in recent years point to a world where “more and more people come to accept sex and love with robots”.
– ‘Robot personhood’ – In his vision, robot parents could become a social norm, with laws to acknowledge “robot personhood” and make marriage and parenting by humanoids more than just a fantasy.
“The time is fast approaching when the theoretical debate must evolve into laws, and the consequences of those laws will be staggering,” he said.
For now, however, sexual relations with humanoids are a step too far for many.
Emma Yann Zhang, a PhD student at London’s City University who worked on the Kissenger prototype, believes there is still a long way to go before people will accept the idea.
In a pilot study conducted by the Imagineering Institute in Malaysia, partnered with City University, participants were asked about their perceptions of sex robots, including the potential for intimacy and attraction.
Although many were open to the possibility that humans could be attracted to robots, “when asked ‘would you have a robot as a lover?’, most of them said ‘no’,” said Zhang.
Hall agrees that the “paradigmatic change” suggested by Levy is “not going to happen for a very long time”.
In the meantime, AI enthusiasts will be watching closely to see how quickly the new generation of sexbots fly off the shelves next year.
Forbes list billionaire, Otunba Mike Adenuga has gone berserk and is threatening to arrest the leadership of the Banana Island Property Owners/Residents’ Association, for not allowing him to change the name of the street, where he lives. Our checks reveal that Mr. Adenuga, who owns an N8bn home on Banana Island, had approached the authorities of Ikoyi Local Government Area to change the name of his street to “Mike Adenuga Street.”
However, the Banana Island Property Owners/Residents’ Association resisted his request, because it was against public interest and not in conformity with the rules of the Association. Irked by this development, Chief Adenuga in cahoots with officials of Ikoyi Local Government Area have continued to harass and threatened to arrest Chudi Ubosi led Residents Association. Asked, about this development, a resident, who spoke to our correspondent on phone,, said, “This is wickedness: this man moved into this Island which had street names and house numbers, now he wants to force a change of street name without regards to other residents, many of whom, were here before he came?” Mike Adenuga is ranked 103 in Forbes list of World Billionaires, he is worth $6.5bn.
Per Forbes, “Banana Island is Nigeria’s most extravagant and expensive neighborhood – on par with the Seventh Arrondissement in Paris, La Jolla in San Diego, California and Tokyo’s Shibuya or Roppongi neighborhoods.” “The exclusive playground of Nigeria’s obscenely wealthy, Banana Island is an artificial island built on reclaimed land in Ikoyi-Lagos. From an aerial view, the island is actually shaped like a banana, hence its name. Sitting on 1.6 million square meters, the sumptuous island is divided into about 535 plots ranging in size from 1,000 square meters and 3,000 square meters.” “Banana Island is a place of unrivalled opulence and grandeur. It’s an entirely different world from other parts of the country. It’s a gated community, and its inhabitants enjoy such luxuries as underground electrical systems and water supply networks, 24 hour-electricity supply (the only other place such privileged is the Nigerian President’s residence), extremely tight security, good road layout, a central sewage system and treatment plant and the well-cherished company of fellow wealthy folks.”
“The island is the most expensive place in Nigeria and one of the most expensive in Africa to own a house. Property on Banana Island is dollar-denominated. The average cost of buying a three bedroom apartment is $2 million. However, if you’re just looking to hang around the island for some time, and not to buy property, you can rent the same apartment for about $150,000 per annum. But there’s a clause: you must pay for an initial minimum term of 2 years – in advance. And there are no refunds. Ever! Also, the tenant is also mandated to pay a ‘service charge’ of $17,000 per annum.” “A typical plot of land on the island usually goes for between $4 million and $6 million, and the cheapest building on the island costs upward of $8 million. But because of the ridiculous prices of property on the island, about 60% of the completed buildings are currently unoccupied.”
As the Nigerian e-commerce ecosystem keep on gaining traction, one of the growing concerns that still impedes progress in the system is trust when it comes to paying and delivering goods and services.
Of lately, an option to pay only on delivery has been rocking the Nigerian e-commerce ecosystem because buyers feel more comfortable throwing open their wallet only when the goods they ordered for are delivered right to their door step and then inspected properly to confirm it’s what they ordered for before paying. While most merchants (especially the upcoming ones) sees this option as a way of making turn over and faster sales, it in most cases lands them in fraud or financial troubles.
Imagine living in PortHarcourt and placing an order for a product from a merchant that’s based in Lagos without any form of monetary commitment and then the merchant risks her product and bears all the burden of shipping and delivering to your address on the said day and you were not available for pick up! Or worst case scenario, the merchant takes your order and ships it out and then all of a sudden something happens and you boom cancel the order or change your mind all because no commit was made from your end. Who do you think bears the loss? Of course the seller. This commitment bridge between the buyer and the seller is what LockMyCash tends to solve!
As it claims on its official website, LockMyCash provides an online escrow service that protects buyers and sellers from fraud during transactions by acting as a trusted third party that collects and holds payments from a buyer and release this payment to the seller when the buyer is satisfied or based on agreements.
Breaking this down for you, as a buyer, when you make payment for goods online, LockMyCash receives payment from you, and then notifies the seller that you have paid and asks seller to deliver the item(s) so you can inspect them (based on agreement), if the item(s) delivered by the seller is exactly what you paid for and you’re satisfied LockMyCash will then go ahead and pay the seller, but if you’re not satisfied with the item(s) LockMyCash will refund your money!
Now like I earlier mentioned above, buyers alone won’t be getting the fair treatment, LockMyCash also carters for the sellers! As a seller, when a buyer makes payment of goods to LockMyCash, they will we notify you and ask you to deliver the item(s), again the buyer inspects the item(s), if he is satisfied, LockMyCash will pay you for your goods and if buyer is not, he returns the item(s) and LockMyCash refunds the buyer.
Startups from southern Nigeria have been offered the chance to pitch for at least NGN5 million (US$16,000) in funding at the Owerri Impact Day event organised by investment network South Seven.
The South Seven investment network is a group of angel investors committed to nurturing and backing startups in the southeastern region of Nigeria through early-stage funding.
The group has now opened applications for its first pitch event, the Owerri Impact Day, which is aimed at attracting investors from the region to invest in innovative local startups. It takes place in partnership with Arise and DevEast.
Interested startups have until November 13 to apply for the event, with five companies to be selected to pitch for a minimum of NGN5 million (US$16,000) in equity investment.
Just under two years ago, Sheriff Shittu started Showroom.ng after stints at Lokoso, Konga (as a business analyst) and Zima Fashion (as COO). His big plan was to make millionaires of up to 100,000 Nigerian carpenters, and try he did. He’s just announced that he’s shutting down the business at the end of the month, and in the same vein, he wrote a post on his Medium page titled 12 years a hustler, time to go home.
For me, it’s a reminder that it’s terribly difficult to build a business, and better men than I am have failed at it. I’ve reproduced the post below, and I wish him godspeed in his next venture. Over to you, Sheriff.
I’m exhausted, it’s been roller coaster for the past 12 years having started my first startup then and ever since, it’s been from one to the other.
I really felt I could succeed, I have read the right books, the right blogs but in execution, draft right business plan and I have fallen short. Maybe it’s time to change things a little, something is quite wrong I think.
The height of it was las year end, business was doing fairly well then everything started crashing. Somehow I survived the robbery at gun point in the middle and rally round to try to make things work, but getting worse and every now and then the thought will always come around, what if it all ends here? What if I just have an accident right now (while driving home at 11pm on third mainland bridge)? Maybe it was law of attraction but somehow I had an accident but in the daytime when I didn’t think about it.
I launched showroom.ng almost 2yrs now and within months with all the permutation (maybe strategy) we were on a super roll, the dream roll. I think personally I wasn’t introspective enough as I was just riding with the tide. That’s super wrong for a CEO, “you don’t just work in your company you work on it”, so they say. I only read it, I didn’t live it.
I personally won’t attribute the failure to wrong market, or wrong product. It was a wrong execution.
Maybe this will help
Weak domain expertise: we don’t have that in our team, inasmuch as I tried to learn on the fly, this will fucking take years of learning, practice before charging people. I had personally underwrote mistakes from partner or staff 100%, just so you could make customers happy, but resources are limiteuch and our products are heavy items.
Speed: the edge a startup has over bigger company is suppose to be speed, yeah for a couple of our products we were fast but for so many we were terribly late. Building features, making user experience superb is not my strength, I’m ninja but in the team we didn’t have stay either or could afford one.
Team setup; success of any endeavor have a lot of tie to the people behind it. Looking back, I’d selected those with; domain expertise, better work ethic (than myself) and complimentary strength.
Raise enough money, don’t raise at all or don’t start. I personally think or being conditioned over the years that startups need to raise fund. It’s not so. I worked with a couple partners that didn’t raise a dime for their companies and they are doing pretty fine(offline). Sells a piece here and there. When we started doing fine, I somehow felt entitled to be funded.Somewhere along the line I asked myself, why really must this guys give me money? Did I work the money in their pockets? I felt really bad and awkward sometimes with the process.
You don’t know everything. F*ck it, I have read all the article, the manifestos, I have worked with a team that built massive stuff. Looking bad, I think…our strength are magnified when we work in a strong team, and diminished when we work alone or in a weaker team. Listening to advise, following your instincts are all as good as knowing what to do right per time. If at a particular you take a wrong decision and another and another, the damage may be bigger than you can reverse.
Be true to your core values even at tough times. I believe, customers reign supreme in every business and as such whenever we fall short, I felt personally responsible for them. And at many occasions avoided facing the customer. Cause I thought, if I was in their shoes, I had done worse. I really think as at this time, it’s harder to keep to the ethos, it’s better I just pause, see what’s wrong and find a way out.
On a personal level, my journey so far as been onerous. It’s either tech or nothing. I don’t have any community I belong to other than tech. I just felt every other thing is time wasting. If not for my wife that drags me to church every now and then, I’d be okay just watching online. When the time became really tough, maybe church community could have been of great help had I been fully integrated like I was 8yrs ago.
Somehow I felt sorry when people mock those who committed suicide; its not every pain or failure one can withstand. As someone who have been pushed to that limit at many times, it’s just a thing line between life and death. Like receiving a call just before the act or your car refusing to start. ☹
I don’t know maybe I shouldn’t write this, maybe I should go get a job. Maybe I should go look for help, but the only family I have is the tech. Maybe I’ll think this through more. But writing this could be the salvation I need to do better next time.
By month end I’m shutting down showroom.ng. I’ll probably just take a month off. Not doing nothing. I have not stopped working on one idea or another since January 2004. When I decided, I want do startup, build a site like Google for Nigeria.
I feel responsible for upcoming tech entrepreneur that if they have more of what we didn’t have then their failure wou then their failure would be our responsibility. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself as I really haven’t succeeded.
Did I get support, absolutely. From those who’d chat me up at night to connect me with customers, to those who invited me for a chat just to help straighten out a strategy and review products. I have been luckiest person in this community.
I was talking with my mechanic about how much my car could be worth, he gave me a low figure. I was like, Bleep it…i want to sell this stuff , pay all our outstanding debt and start on a clean slate. If possible.
I have cried, even in the presence of those who think I got all figured out. I felt embarrassed but I couldn’t help it. I don’t know what may come out of this, but being alive and scorned is better than being dead and hopeless.
With a killer figure, which was accentuated with her figure-hugging red mini dress and six-inches high black slippers, which made her tower above virtually everybody around her, it would be hard not to give her a second look as she paced down the walkway of a popular mall in the Ikeja area of Lagos on a Saturday evening in February 2014. It was a day after the Valentine’s Day.
Holding a brown leather purse in her left hand and a rose gold-coloured smartphone in her right hand, the cologne she was wearing seemed to make her garner the attention of everyone around her. She must have learned somehow that wearing a scented deodorant could help boost body image and self-assurance.
Her hair could not be easily ignored as well. That the artificial hair extension is expensive is not in doubt; she equally knew it could attract attention, thus the reason she must have let it loose as it flowed all the way down her back, almost to her bottom. Of course, a subtle flip and flick of the hair there and then added to the sexiness she exuded and made more people gaze at her alluringly and adoringly.
After some minutes of ‘feigned’ window-shopping at some of the fashion stores in the mall, she entered one of the eateries, her shoulders kept back and her chin slightly up. She ordered for a glass of fruit juice and fried chips. Then she sat, hoping for her expectation to come true.
Would her magic work? It finally did that day.
A young man donning a brown polo shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers and a pair of nerd-looking glasses — who had been sitting alone across her — walked up to her to give her some compliments. It was what she had been waiting for in the past two years.
Fast forward to a year later, Busayo, now 33, got married to the man she met at the mall — a software developer in an Information Technology firm at Lekki, Lagos. Both now have a child.
“It was like a dream, though it was one I had been anticipating,” Busayo, who was not shy to share her experience, told our correspondent during the week.
She definitely was one lady who was not afraid to do whatever it took to get a man to marry after some years of what seemed to be an endless search.
An Economics graduate and an employee of a bank on Lagos Island, she said she had spent years praying for a husband, but that despite her prayers, no “serious” man came her way.
She said, “I started a relationship with a guy when I was in 300 Level at the University of Ibadan. The relationship was on till 2010 when we both graduated. He promised he was going to marry me and almost everyone in my family had known him, but when we went for the National Youth Service Corps programme in 2011, everything changed. I was posted to Kaduna State and he was posted to Rivers State. The change started manifesting when I would call him and he wouldn’t pick my calls. I would send chats to him on Facebook but he wouldn’t respond. It was unusual of him. Initially, I thought maybe it was because he was very busy at his place of primary assignment.
“Two weeks on, he didn’t return my calls, he didn’t respond to my chats. When I couldn’t bear it anymore, I sent a nasty text message to him to demand why he was hurting me. It was then he called me and said he was seriously considering our relationship. At that point, I knew he was going to leave me. I was not a child. So we broke up. Few weeks later, I started seeing him use a lady as his display picture on BlackBerry Messenger. They got married. Since then, I had got no interest from men.
“Thank God I got a banking job in 2013, so it kept me busy to the extent that some times when it crossed my mind that I had yet to marry, I didn’t allow the thoughts to stay. But about three years ago when I clocked 30, I figured out my life was not going to be all about job. No man was coming my way. I had to wake up. It was actually from a book on relationship that I learned that sometimes you have to go for something if you really want it. To be sincere, each time I went to the church, the wedding ceremonies of my friends and other events, I used to anticipate meeting a man that would say he would marry me. And I learned that the way a lady carries herself determines whether men would approach her or not.”
Apparently, Busayo’s anticipation got her her goal and her story is one which revolves around a popular saying, “If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain.”
However, in her search for a marital partner, did her method not translate to desperation?
She argued, “I don’t think so. I didn’t propose to any man. It’s something I could never have done. I was not desperate. I was only conscious of how I looked at every point in time to get some attention, at least. I presented myself for proposal and I thank God the man who finally came to me is a God-fearing man. I don’t know whether I would have married if I had stayed indoors or had just been praying for my man to come without taking any step.”
Shopping for lovers
Busayo is certainly not the only lady who took the bull by the horn, damned the consequences and devised new techniques to get a husband.
Findings have shown that one of the ways some ladies looking for marital partners have devised is to visit places where men usually are and try as much as possible to create scenes to get the men’s attention.
A 26-year-old female teacher, who lives in Ketu, Lagos, simply named Toyin, told our correspondent what three of her friends looking for husbands usually do in order to see if their dreams would come to pass.
She said, “I have a man I’m in a relationship with right now and we’re planning to get married next year. He is an engineer and my friends know him. But I have three close friends who are also looking for husbands. They had been in relationships in the past, but now they are stranded. They are under pressure to marry, I really don’t know why they are allowing themselves to be pressurised. In their desperation, every Saturday or Sunday, they go to the Ikeja City Mall or any other mall or eatery where there are men. They try as much as possible to look very good when going out. They sometimes go the extra length of buying new clothes and shoes to wear.
“You would think they are at the mall to shop for things, but no, they are ‘shopping’ for men. They would move around the mall, especially where they notice there are men who are without female company and they would try to make the men notice them. If it’s an eatery, they would buy drinks and sit separately and strategically. They said they were not going to sit at home and wait for men to come to them.
“I thought they had lost their minds when they told me this themselves, but it has actually worked for one of them. She met the guy last month at an eatery at Maryland (Lagos). They exchanged contacts and since then, the guy has been calling her. I just pray for her it ends in a good relationship which would lead to marriage.”
Asked whether her friends were really looking for husbands at malls or just boyfriends, Toyin said, “No, they want husbands; they are looking for who would marry them. They are really serious about getting into serious relationships.”
The Digital Strategy and Engagement Unit of the Nigerian Presidency, run by Tolu Ogunlesi just tweeted that “The Presidency has a new address”. They’ve gone and opened an account on what we know as Nigeria’s most visited (local) site, and what’s certainly its biggest forum, Nairaland.
I like it. It makes a lot of sense for a government who desperately needs to prove it’s not tone-deaf to start engaging directly, actively with many of the people at the bottom of the pyramid. And it appears it’s already working – Nigerian Twitter users have generally positive reactions to the news. Between their active Twitter account (which is curiously named We ASOcial), Facebook and their newsletter, I daresay that Tolu and the rest of the media team appear to be doing a swell job.
But here’s the thing. The Nairaland community has a reputation for being the most hostile collection of people on the Nigerian interwebs – even more so, than Linda Ikeji’s comments section. Seriously.
Mike Tertsea wanted to study and play basketball in America. And he found the John Carroll School in Bel Air, so he left his mom and family in Nigeria to study abroad.
This week is Mike's graduation from John Carroll.
And guess who came to see him? His mom.
Mike’s senior class raised money for her plane ticket and visa so that she could see her son walk across the stage with a high school degree.
She is so thankful and says her son, which she hasn’t seen in four years, "is big, bigger, too big…I didn’t recognize him he was so big and he put on weight”.
But when the senior class came up a few hundred dollars short, Mike's teachers and coaches raised the money within an hour.
Mom didn’t think she’d see this day. Mike never thought he’d look out and see mom in the audience. But John Carroll takes care of their own.
A private school in Osun State, Kunike International School, Osogbo, has offered to give full scholarship to the first two Chibok girls rescued from the captivity of the Boko Haram sect.
Amina Alli, rescued with her four-month-old baby, and Serah Luka were rescued last week from Sambisa Forest which is the hideout of the dreaded terror group.
The Director of Kunike International School, Mr. Amos Adekunle, announced the offer in a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo on Saturday.
He said the girls needed to be encouraged to fulfil their dreams of getting quality education which was temporarily stopped by the terrorists who invaded their schools on April 14, 2014 and abducted over 200 girls.
The statement read, “The management of Kunike International Schools, Osogbo in conjunction with the management of Delta Schools District, in Vancouver, Canada is extending full scholarships (all tuitions and boarding) to the first two Chibok girls – Amina Alli and Serah Luka that were recently rescued from captivity.” https://d1phczbdxyh8yo.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/19000620/Amina1.jpg Adekunle said the two girls who were recently rescued should be encouraged to continue with their education in order to allow them to contribute their quota to the development of the country.
A celebratory parade to mark Cameroon’s 44th National Day quickly turned into an embarrassing situation for President Paul Biya on Friday when his official car broke down.
Following a rendition of the national anthem, 83-year-old Biya, who was said to have made a grand entrance onto the ceremonial ground guarded by numerous fierce-looking presidential guards, was about to embark on a motorised review the troops when the incident occurred.
The open-top luxury vehicle, which only minutes earlier had reportedly conveyed the president to the venue, refused to move.
All efforts to restart the car were said to have failed. Amid the embarrassment, the president was then forced to alight to board another limousine.
A 10-second YouTube video and several photographs online, shot by spectators at the event in Yaoundé, the nation’s capital, showed several security operatives sprinting to the black vintage car, which bore the Cameroonian flags, before pushing the car off the parade ground.
Our correspondent observed spectators looking on amusedly as the voice of a military operative continued calling out orders to members of the armed forces who were on parade.
The Cameroon Journal reports that the incident was the second National Day embarrassment Biya had suffered.
According to the online medium, during a state banquet at the Unity Palace on May 20, 1994, while descending the steps leading to the main banquet hall, Biya’s wife, Chantal, in company with the president, missed her steps and crumbled before the attendees and live cameras.
Chantal was making her first public appearance after becoming the First Lady the previous month.
Under a new law, Indonesia will plant microchips on all its convicted child rapists so that they can be monitored at all times. It will also impose chemical castration for convicted pedophiles and child rapists.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo gave his consent for a new law which will deter people from committing sex crimes against children. The draft law includes measures such as implanting chips in rapists’ ankles, chemical castration and heavier jail terms for child rapists. The move comes after the brutal murder and gang rape of a 14-year-old girl in Sumatra in April. The case led activists to call for harsher punishments for sex attackers and sparked nationwide protests. Asrorun Niam Sholeh, Head of child rights group the National Commission for Child Protection who is actively involved in drafting the new law said: The microchip will be fitted before the criminals are released from prison, and is needed to monitor and locate them after they are freed.The decree could be signed in the coming days. Chemical castration and heavier jail terms for child rapists are also among new measures that could be introduced. The existing Child Protection Law in Indonesia has a maximum 15-year term of imprisonment for rapists. However, several rights activists voiced concern over the measures to be introduced under the new law. Lathiefah Widuri Retyaningtyas, an activist from the Perempuan Mahardhika group said: Even in countries where chemical castration has been implemented, questions have been raised about whether or not it works as a deterrent. Castration is not a solution. We believe that it will extend the chain of sexual abuse because it is also a form of sexual torture.
Nnamdi has been dating Amaka for about three years now and pressure is mounting on for them to take the relationship to the next level. Nnamdi is approaching his mid-thirties and Amaka is also not getting any younger making time not exactly their friend. Their respective parents are also mounting pressure and do not understand why their children would not just get married soon enough.
Unknown to either parents, Nnamdi and Amaka have a major stumbling block. Apart from being career focused individuals they also believe more importantly that their combined salary is not enough for them to build a home and at the same time pursue their career objectives.
Many of us fall into this trap at some point in our life and if not handled carefully can lead to serious emotional and financial distress. How does one get married without enough money? I will attempt to respond by addressing some of the common excuses we give.
I can’t afford wedding “ceremoney” – The thought of preparing for a wedding ceremony is one that scares many off early marriages. Most people consider it a very special event and believe the only way to live a lasting memory is to splurge on it. Having a memorable wedding is important for everyone however, not everyone can afford an expensive and memorable wedding. With proper planning you can have a cheap and memorable wedding as well.
Wedding ceremony shouldn’t be seen as a do or die affair as all you have to do is spend what you can afford. What you should realise is that at the end of the day it’s about you and your spouse being happily married thereafter and not about the drinks, food and the pageantry that comes with the ceremony. There will be many, many more opportunities to be merry with friends and family.
Where will we live after we get married? –My friend, Victor once told me he got married to his wife when he was still living in a one bedroom flat. After the wedding, they came back home to their one room apartment happier than they could ever imagine. I asked him why and he said the thought of them spending the night together forever was all they wished for and could as well have lived in the car if that’s what it will take. The point here is that you need not live in a three bedroom or four bedroom apartment to get married. You could even have just married and still living in your parent’s apartment provided you are both focused on the goal.
Just have it at the back of your mind that this is only temporary as experience has shown that finances do improve more frequently after marriage. If you both work hard and remain steadfast you will soon move to an apartment befitting of your status.
I haven’t bought a car yet? – A younger friend once told me he could never get married before buying a car. He just did not see him and his wife walking together to the bus stop to take a bus ride to work. I could understand his point of view and only hoped that it was more of a challenge for him than a principle. If I were him, owning a car will probably be tops on my priority also.
However, while owning a car is very important in a marriage there are no rules barring one from buying it after marriage. A car and married to the person you love are both mutually exclusive and because you do not have the funds to buy the car yet, does not mean you won’t have it soon after your wedding. It really boils down to your priorities and how they align to your goals. If your goal is to settle down then owning a car can’t be prioritized over marriage.
We can’t afford to raise a baby – Having babies soon after marriage is a blessing every newlywed seeks. What other way to fortify the union that you both have. However, there is also no rule saying you must have children immediately after marriage. If you and your spouse believe you are not ready financially to take care of children then you can as well abstain from doing so too in marriage. You just have to prioritise like I mentioned early. With careful financial planning and the help of God nothing stops you from having children and being able to care for them as you wish.
I can’t pay the bills – First thing you have to realise is that marriage these days is as much a spiritual union as it is a financial union. I don’t believe the modern marriage works any longer with one breadwinner as you and your spouse both have a role to play financially.
This is no more important than when it comes to sharing bills which ironically becomes even easier in marriage. You no longer need to pay for separate light bills, internet bills, water bills, rent etc. So, this in fact is a plus in marriage than it is outside marriage.
Finally, while money is important to living a happily married life, it need not come before marriage. First, find the right partner, get married and focus on working hard so the money and blessings keeps coming. After all, a man who finds a good wife finds a good thing.
From dropping out of school so her younger siblings could continue their education, to hawking bread in Lagos in 2011, to starting her own hairdressing salon which later failed, to sleeping in the bakery (she was sleeping in a "breadroom" and not a "bedroom")in Lagos with her daughter and about 40 other women, to waking up at 5am everyday to pray.
Perhaps, instead of sitting in our bedroom and wishing we were Olajumoke or had her kind of luck, some of us need to be encouraged, don't give up, keep working hard and smart, leave your comfort zone and one day your story will change.
#ABlessedNewWeekToUsAll
Here is her story;
Flashing a warm grin as she exchanged pleasantries with guest after guest as they made their way into the modest hotel in Yaba, an ever bubbling suburb in the heart of Nigeria’s commercial powerhouse – Lagos – last Wednesday evening, her bright complexion and lanky frame still stood her out even from the slightly dark corner where she and her 16-month-old daughter, Precious, were seated. Donning a black tank top, a pair of fitted denim jeans on top of a black pimsole sneaker to match, you would be forgiven if you thought her smashing looks that evening was always the norm.
But shockingly, it has not always been this good for 27-year-old Jumoke Orisaguna. About one week earlier, she was hawking freshly-baked bread across the streets of Sabo, Yaba and environs in almost tattered dresses and worn-out slippers. Every day since she made the long journey from her native Ire, an agrarian community in Osun State, to Lagos with her little daughter in January 2016 in search of a new life, she had worked at least nine hours a day, many times under the ferocious and scotching afternoon sun that sweeps across the city, to earn a decent living.
The second child in a family of four children born to a poor farmer and a mother who sold vegetables to provide extra income barely enough to sustain the home, Jumoke knew the meaning of hardship even as a little girl. The loss of her elder brother, the first child of the family, meant that she had to provide direction for her three remaining siblings and also play a significant role in helping to bring food to the table. While many her age savoured the experiences of early puberty, Jumoke, by virtue of her humble background, had to grow up fast – and into an adult, too. For her, there was almost no childhood.
“While the other girls would run around to play in the stream and engage in all sorts of games, I was either selling vegetables for my mother or helping my father on his farm because it was from these two areas that our daily bread came,” the young mother of two recalls with nostalgia during a rare encounter with our correspondent earlier in the week. “The opportunity for running around like the other girls wasn’t just there,” she added.
With two wives and four children to feed, it became increasingly tough for the poor farmer to support the education of his children. As a result, Jumoke had to drop out of school after completing her primary education. Even though she knew if she must realise her childhood dream of becoming a renowned lawyer in the future she had to study further, the love for her younger siblings meant she had to sign up to a hairdressing training for them to also have a chance of becoming something big through education.
“I had to choose between me continuing my education and my other siblings sitting back at home,” the 27-year-old revealed. “It was a huge sacrifice I had to make for them to also have a chance of becoming great in life through education. I always feel sad each time I see my childhood friends who are educated and have become successful professionals today. If I had someone to sponsor me, of course I wouldn’t have ended up as a hairdresser or even ever had to hawk bread. I still nurse the pains till this moment.
“But instead of idling away at home or just selling vegetables for my mother and helping my father on his farm, I decided to learn hairdressing and make a meaning out of my life,” she said.
And for the next three years, Jumoke horned her skills in one of the best hairdressing salons in the community, hoping to hit it big by the time she would become her own boss. By 2013 she had successfully completed the rigorous training and had rented and equipped a shop with the help of family members and the little amount she had managed to save during her first stint in Lagos hawking bread in 2011 for six months. But every hope of instant success soon fizzled into frustration and utmost disappointment. The reality on ground was a distant contrast to the result she had long envisaged.
“Things became tougher after I opened the salon,” she cuts in. “You know since Ire is a town whose economic activities largely depend on the presence of the students of the Federal Polytechnic in the community, sales get very bad when they are not on campus.
“So, money wasn’t coming at such and even to feed or send our eldest daughter to school became a big problem for me and my husband. That was why I decided to come back to Lagos to give bread hawking a trial again in January this year. I felt it was the best option for now rather than just sit and idle away in Ire,” she said.
Luckily for the young woman, that decision has today turned out to be the wisest step she ever took. On the evening of February 2 while hawking her bread as usual, she crashed into something big – something that would change her life forever and write her name in gold. Celebrity photographer – TY Bello – was conducting a street shoot for Nigerian-born British singer, Tinie Tempah, on one of the streets dotting Yaba that evening when suddenly, from nowhere, Jumoke, with the heavy ‘baggage’ on her head, harmlessly sauntered into the scene. For her, it was another evening to service her many clients in the area especially at a nearby mechanic workshop where a handful of customers were already waiting for her.
“I only wanted to walk through the scene to take bread to my customers at the mechanic workshop around the place the shoot was taking place. I never had the intention of appearing in the photograph. It was while I made my way that the camera captured me,” she revealed.
Africa’s first billion-dollar tech IPO on a major exchange may be imminent. Nigerian digital payments company Interswitch will likely go public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2016, sources confirm.
The Lagos based fintech firm, majority owned by private equity group Helios Investment Partners, provides much of Nigeria’s digital finance infrastructure. Founded in 2002, Interswitch’s product platforms process the bulk of the country’s growing volume in electronic bank, government, and corporate financial transactions. In personal finance, 32 million consumers use the company’s Verve chip and PIN cards, while its Quickteller digital payment app processed $2.4 billion in transactions.
On a pending IPO, Interswitch CEO and founder Mitchell Elegbe confirmed, “a dual-listing on the London and Lagos stock exchange is an option on the table. But “It’s not the only one,” he explained, “to facilitate potential exits” by the company’s private equity investors. “We are also looking at a possible trade sale,” Elegbe said on a telephone call from Lagos.
Though Interswitch’s CEO would not confirm a 2016 IPO, two sources said the company’s listing is imminent.
“They’ve already selected the ibankers and will likely go public sometime between Q2 to Q4 at (or close to) a $1 billion dollar valuation–roughly two times revenues,” said Eghosa Omoigui, Managing Partner of EchoVC, a Silicon Valley fund investing in African startups.
“This is similar to what I’ve heard,” said a another Nigerian startup head who asked not to be named, but whose company is also backed by one of Interswitch’s investors. “Look for them to launch on the LSE in 2016, just north of $1 billion,” the source confirmed.
Any billion dollar liquidity event, whether an IPO or trade sale, would mark a milestone for African tech, which to date has produced only a handful of exits and no major public listing.
Africa’s first billion-dollar tech IPO on a major exchange may be imminent. Nigerian digital payments company Interswitch will likely go public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2016, sources confirm.
The Lagos based fintech firm, majority owned by private equity group Helios Investment Partners, provides much of Nigeria’s digital finance infrastructure. Founded in 2002, Interswitch’s product platforms process the bulk of the country’s growing volume in electronic bank, government, and corporate financial transactions. In personal finance, 32 million consumers use the company’s Verve chip and PIN cards, while its Quickteller digital payment app processed $2.4 billion in transactions.
On a pending IPO, Interswitch CEO and founder Mitchell Elegbe confirmed, “a dual-listing on the London and Lagos stock exchange is an option on the table. But “It’s not the only one,” he explained, “to facilitate potential exits” by the company’s private equity investors. “We are also looking at a possible trade sale,” Elegbe said on a telephone call from Lagos.
Though Interswitch’s CEO would not confirm a 2016 IPO, two sources said the company’s listing is imminent.
“They’ve already selected the ibankers and will likely go public sometime between Q2 to Q4 at (or close to) a $1 billion dollar valuation–roughly two times revenues,” said Eghosa Omoigui, Managing Partner of EchoVC, a Silicon Valley fund investing in African startups.
“This is similar to what I’ve heard,” said a another Nigerian startup head who asked not to be named, but whose company is also backed by one of Interswitch’s investors. “Look for them to launch on the LSE in 2016, just north of $1 billion,” the source confirmed.
Any billion dollar liquidity event, whether an IPO or trade sale, would mark a milestone for African tech, which to date has produced only a handful of exits and no major public listing.
Africa’s first billion-dollar tech IPO on a major exchange may be imminent. Nigerian digital payments company Interswitch will likely go public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2016, sources confirm.
The Lagos based fintech firm, majority owned by private equity group Helios Investment Partners, provides much of Nigeria’s digital finance infrastructure. Founded in 2002, Interswitch’s product platforms process the bulk of the country’s growing volume in electronic bank, government, and corporate financial transactions. In personal finance, 32 million consumers use the company’s Verve chip and PIN cards, while its Quickteller digital payment app processed $2.4 billion in transactions.
On a pending IPO, Interswitch CEO and founder Mitchell Elegbe confirmed, “a dual-listing on the London and Lagos stock exchange is an option on the table. But “It’s not the only one,” he explained, “to facilitate potential exits” by the company’s private equity investors. “We are also looking at a possible trade sale,” Elegbe said on a telephone call from Lagos.
Though Interswitch’s CEO would not confirm a 2016 IPO, two sources said the company’s listing is imminent.
“They’ve already selected the ibankers and will likely go public sometime between Q2 to Q4 at (or close to) a $1 billion dollar valuation–roughly two times revenues,” said Eghosa Omoigui, Managing Partner of EchoVC, a Silicon Valley fund investing in African startups.
“This is similar to what I’ve heard,” said a another Nigerian startup head who asked not to be named, but whose company is also backed by one of Interswitch’s investors. “Look for them to launch on the LSE in 2016, just north of $1 billion,” the source confirmed.
Any billion dollar liquidity event, whether an IPO or trade sale, would mark a milestone for African tech, which to date has produced only a handful of exits and no major public listing.
Education › Chinese School Allows Students Borrow Grades To Pass Exams by Axsetup(op): 8:16am On Feb 07, 2017
