Multi-links, a CDMA telecom company operating in Nigeria has been acquired 100% from its previous owners Telkom South Africa by Helios Investment Partners (HIP).

The Chairman, Multi- Links Telecoms Ltd, Martin Dirk made this announcement during a press conference, saying the long transition leading up to HIP’s acquisition of Multi- Links caused uncertainty about the brand that impacted Multi- Link’s brand.

He disclosed that the company majorly runs two telecommunications services business units which include, a mobile business utilizing CDMA technology with more than one million subscribers and a fiber optic network offering national data transmission capacity and limited metro and last mile connectivity, saying significant investment in excess of $1 billion had been made into this network, increasing the footprint more than six fold over the past four years.

He maintained that Multi- Links is still in Nigerian market and currently refocusing on serving in the 22 service areas such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Onisha, akwa, Enugu, Makurdi, Abuja Jos, Bauchi, Kastina, Kano, Kaduna, Ilorin, Ibadan, Oshogbo, Benin amongst. He added that Multi- Links has the best and lowest tariff at 10k/second or 6 naira with free on net calls between 10 p.m – 6a.m daily, and with international call tariffs as low as 10 naira per minute.

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/helios-investment-acquires-multi-links-telecom/

Skoola.com, an innovative educational networking and information sharing startup for Nigerian students of various levels is ready to launch fully in 2012.

The site which has been in beta test with over 5,000 members will be going fully active with new features which are going to be added to enhance user experience.

The startup features a wide range of classes where discussions with questions and answers sessions can be held. According to the founders Skoola will improve its real time class chat feature that will enable members to discuss specific topics under any class real time. In addition they hope to get the free online exercises section going fully so users can quickly take tests/exercises on various subjects or classes to test their knowledge of the subject matter.

The E-library feature is expected to follow later to provide easier access to academic materials and information for students.

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/skoola-nigerias-first-educational-networking-and-information-sharing-startup-to-launch-fully-in-the-new-year/

Recent indications show that more and more Nigerians join various social networking and media sites on a daily basis faster than their counterparts in other African countries. Just recently Facebook boasted four million Nigerians and counting. Even more are joining social and networking sites like Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn as we write. And the future points to the fact that substantially more Nigerians may be online and active in social media by 2015.

What does this trend signify for business people and especially people involved in the entertainment business? In our humble opinion Nigeria’s entertainment business has the best opportunity to tap into the opportunities for brand building and promotion presented by social media. And how can they succeed?

Dbanj and Mohits Crew recently showed that with some bit of creativity that just about any entrepreneur or entertainment practioner can leverage the gains of social media to boost image and publicity which invariably will push revenue.

Dbanj’s recent single hit track “Oliver Twist” created a wave of publicity. This was not due to airplays or anything like that but is attributed to his crew’s creative use of social media. They created a dance competition where basically people are encouraged to make a video of themselves dancing to a beats only version of the single and upload the video to Youtube as well as submit to a specified email address. The best five entries were to win prizes as $2,500 for 1st place, $2,000 for second best, $1,500 for third, $1,000 for fourth and $500 for fifth.

Within 24 hours The Oliver Twist video got 16,000 views on Youtube. Entries were sent ,

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/social-media-marketing-lessons-from-dbanj-and-mohits-how-dbanjs-oliver-twist-single-got-viral/

Nigerian online payment processor OnlineNaira is to stop processing and accepting paypal payments for Nigerians with effect from Dec 1, 2011 according to a statement from them. The reasons for suspending the one aspect of their operations which has helped several Nigerians overcome challenges associated with accepting Paypal payments online are not yet clear.

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/onlinenaira-to-stop-paypal-payment-processing/

Pastor Chris, as he is fondly called by thousands of his followers did not become popular merely by the power of his ability to heal unlike some of his counterparts like Pastor T.B Joshua. Amongst the five richest pastors we profiled there is something unique about Pasto Chris.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is unarguably the most media savvy and conscious minister and preacher among Nigeria’s esteemed preachers of the Word.

As a business person or entrepreneur there are publicity lessons to be learnt from the founder of Christ Embassy.The man is a master in the art of self promotion and massive publicity generation and every entrepreneur has something or two to learn from this man on the Art of Publicity;

1. Get Active on Social Media: About a year ago (precisely October 2010) Pastor Chris crossed 2 million followers on Twitter. How was he able to do that? He certainly beat every pastor in the country when it comes to using the power of new media. Though his follower-ship has gone down considerably his ability to reach the million mark created quite a buzz of free and far reaching publicity for the minister as various media caught onto the news and spread it. He made the list of 50 most followed twitter users in the world and number most follwed twitter user in Africa according to Twitaholic.

Pastor Chris started a contest and prize incentive for people to follow him on twitter. Next he also opened a website aimed solely at pushing his twitter followership base, FollowPastorChris.com. The site was regularly updated with posts and prayers for his twitter followers.

He got 1.2 million followers in 5 months during the height of that promotion and hype,

Full Article:

It's clear that there will always be a different top 5 ads for every body based on differences in perception. Still the thought provocation is worth it

For sometime now the signs have been coming.
First the site, once the most visited Nigerian site, was displaced by Vanguard according to Alexa rankings in July 2011. The site gradually moved down to become number six most visited site in Nigeria. Now Nairaland has dropped from the top ten list of most visited sites in Nigeria for the first time in several years. Nairaland as at the time of writing this article is number eleven most visited site in Nigeria after being displaced by LinkedIn.(according to Alexa).

While Alexa rankings may not have total consideration of all factors and therefore not one hundred percent reliable it still points out ,

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/nairaland-now-officially-out-of-top-10-most-visited-sites-in-nigeria/

@ muskeeto thanks for the videos, @Funkymallam, No much difference between your list and ours. agreed the fanta ad was good but we profiled only 5

@ 2dmax are you in the advertising industry?

making a good commercial is never easy

The Freedom of Information Act 2011 is now available as mobile applications for Blackberry and Java enabled mobile phones.

The app was developed by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Hopefully this app will increase awareness on the Freedom of Information Act and help Nigerians take more advantage of the provisions of the act.

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/freedom-of-information-act-2011-now-in-mobile-app/

First you look for places (sites) that have the kind of audience who may be interested in your product. That is the key to getting appreciable return. then of course the content of your ad has to make people click.

If you are targetting business owners, managers, business people and professionals I'll advise you check out http://nairabrains.com or contact them thru email: info@nairabrains.com. The site gets thousands of visitors weekly.

Good luck

@ 2dmax, that juice ad certainly needed to be redone. I never hooked to it and have yet to see any one who loved the concept. And to add it was too cartoonic!!

Apture is a website that provides instantaneous access to information with its award-winning in-page search technology. Its products let readers immediately find and browse the best content from across the web – in one window. By transforming flat web pages into connected multimedia experiences, readers can fluidly dive into related information so they can see, hear, and truly experience the ideas on the page. Apture’s in-page search window keeps readers engaged on the site, increasing revenue opportunities for publishers. Apture’s customers include the New York Times, Inc., Financial Times, Reader’s Digest and many more.

Here is the official Statement from Apture website:

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/google-acquires-apture/

As year 2012 approaches many Nigerians will definitely review their business activities for 2011. For those who are not satisfied with the return on investment of their current business they will want to veer off into more lucrative businesses.

One of the rules to starting a successful business is identifying challenges and everyday problems encountered by the people, or communities around you.

If you need to start a business that you can grow to become successful and profitable the Laundry and Dry Cleaning business can be a good option. However before you consider starting a dry cleaning business you have to put into serious considerations the following factors;

a) Location: Your area of coverage matters a lot. If you start a dry cleaning business in a poor neighbourhood where 90% of the population prefer to do their laundry themselves due to lack of funds you may be climbing a steep hill and success will be far tougher to achieve. You will have a better chance at success if you identify an area, neighbourhood or even a residential estate where the standard of living is average and above average. You can then be sure that if you do the right things you will achieve relative success.

b) Level of Competition: Dry cleaning and Laundry services may be lucrative but not when you are entering into a ground already occupied by several laundry services. You will have to do extra creative and ingenious work to turn your business into a success. So before you launch into any town or area do your business diligence and find out the level of competition if any.

c) Finance: The amount of capital at your disposal will determine things like if you start with two staff or only yourself, if you introduce mechanised laundry or make do with the manual process of laundry. Depending on the area you are and the level of competition available these things may matter.

These are some of the factors to consider. Now how exactly do you go about ensuring that you start and run a successful laundry business.

In writing this article we assume you have either registered your company/business or you should know the Steps involved in incorporating or registering your business. So we go straight into the framework of what you need to do to start a successful laundry and dry cleaning business,

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/how-to-start-and-run-a-profitable-dry-cleaning-and-laundry-business/

As year 2012 approaches many Nigerians will definitely review their business activities for 2011. For those who are not satisfied with the return on investment of their current business they will want to veer off into more lucrative businesses.

One of the rules to starting a successful business is identifying challenges and everyday problems encountered by the people, or communities around you.

If you need to start a business that you can grow to become successful and profitable the Laundry and Dry Cleaning business can be a good option. However before you consider starting a dry cleaning business you have to put into serious considerations the following factors;

a) Location: Your area of coverage matters a lot. If you start a dry cleaning business in a poor neighbourhood where 90% of the population prefer to do their laundry themselves due to lack of funds you may be climbing a steep hill and success will be far tougher to achieve. You will have a better chance at success if you identify an area, neighbourhood or even a residential estate where the standard of living is average and above average. You can then be sure that if you do the right things you will achieve relative success.

b) Level of Competition: Dry cleaning and Laundry services may be lucrative but not when you are entering into a ground already occupied by several laundry services. You will have to do extra creative and ingenious work to turn your business into a success. So before you launch into any town or area do your business diligence and find out the level of competition if any.

c) Finance: The amount of capital at your disposal will determine things like if you start with two staff or only yourself, if you introduce mechanised laundry or make do with the manual process of laundry. Depending on the area you are and the level of competition available these things may matter,

Continued: http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/how-to-start-and-run-a-profitable-dry-cleaning-and-laundry-business/

The year 2011 has witnessed its own fair share of television adverts in Nigerian TV stations. We bring to you the top 5 adverts that have made the most impact especially in creating awareness and brand building for the particular product or service it seeks to promote.

In choosing this list of most successful ads on TV we have taken into account the following criteria;

- Relevance of Message Idea: A Television ad has to draw attention to the product/service it promotes. Using a combination of tools and ideas the ad has to portray actions or messages relevant and in line with the product/ service intended image.

- Fun and Remembrance: It has been proven that an ad need not be serious to get attention. In fact the funnier an ad (with relevance of course) the better it is remembered and thus the more impression it makes on the viewers.

- Call to Action: According to one of the early masters of advertising David Ogilvy advertising should be regarded as a salesman and thus judged in terms of its return on investment. An effective ad shouldn’t seek only to create awareness. It also has to spur the viewer to want to make purchases or actually take advantage of the advertised product or service.

- Creativity: enough said.

We used the above criteria to keep our selection simple and straight to the point. Now, the top 5 most influential TV ads in Nigeria for 2011.

1. Indomie Noodles “Mama Do Good O”: Indomie, with this advert showed why it may not be stepping down as the undisputed leader in the noodles market anytime soon. The creativity that has come to be associated with their advertising campaigns shone through in this particular ad.

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/top-5-most-influential-and-effective-tv-adverts-in-nigeria-for-2011/

@ OP Good thin most of the replies have been advising you against the cyber business. Cyber business is fraught with challenges and in such an environment many I bet will afford laptops and modems but many may not want to do their washing themselves.

See why Cyber cafe may not be the right option for you, http://nairabrains.com/2011/09/three-3-dangers-of-starting-a-cyber-cafe-business-why-you-should-consider-other-business-options/

Try and incorporate Pick up and Delivery since you are targeting an estate. If you can have a system of picking up clients' laundry and dropping them back washed, dried and packed neatly I bet you may of them will sign you up for their laundry needs.

Goodluck to you.

The year 2011 has witnessed its own fair share of television adverts in Nigerian TV stations. We bring to you the top 5 adverts that have made the most impact especially in creating awareness and brand building for the particular product or service it seeks to promote.

In choosing this list of most successful ads on TV we have taken into account the following criteria;

- Relevance of Message Idea: A Television ad has to draw attention to the product/service it promotes. Using a combination of tools and ideas the ad has to portray actions or messages relevant and in line with the product/ service intended image.
- Fun and Remembrance: It has been proven that an ad need not be serious to get attention. In fact the funnier an ad (with relevance of course) the better it is remembered and thus the more impression it makes on the viewers.
- Call to Action: According to one of the early masters of advertising David Ogilvy advertising should be regarded as a salesman and thus judged in terms of its return on investment. An effective ad shouldn’t seek only to create awareness. It also has to spur the viewer to want to make purchases or actually take advantage of the advertised product or service.
- Creativity: enough said.

We used the above criteria to keep our selection simple and straight to the point. Now, the top 5 most influential TV ads in Nigeria for 2011,

http://nairabrains.com/2011/11/top-5-most-influential-and-effective-tv-adverts-in-nigeria-for-2011/