₦airaland Forum

Despite slow economic growth in the country in 2016 as a result of recession marked by falling crude oil prices and unstable local currency, the naira, eTranzact International PLC, an indigenous electronic payment firm in Lagos has announced a profit before tax of 865.1 million naira and revenue of 10.40 billion naira for the year ended December 2016.

An impressive performance that defied the odds to make eTranzact’s balance sheet an inspiring testimony for investors watching on the sidelines. The news has also triggered hope among the industry stakeholders.

Meanwhile, eTranzact has entered a strategic partnership with the Nigerian military to launch a military pension product which allows over 100,000 retired members of the army, navy and air force to access a biometric military pension card with a 4-in-1 value proposition: identification, verification, rewards, including receiving and making payments, thus, easing their payment.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/13/etranzact-declares-n865-1m-profits-partners-military-on-pension-payments/

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Matters eRising – The African startup ecosystem and why Yaba, Lagos matters
By ITEdgeNews -April 14, 2017027
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Tijani and team point out Yabacon to Zuckerberg atop CcHub, Yaba
By Segun Oruame

The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2017 puts Lagos ahead of other cities as Africa’s most valuable startup ecosystem. Surprise? You shouldn’t be. Lagos has always been a promising city for entrepreneurs and a hub for ambitious innovators.

The new report by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) did not even mentioned Nairobi, famously held as a thriving city for technology innovation on the continent.

The section on Africa in the report features just three cities as the major flag bearers for the African Startup Ecosystem. They are Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Lagos.

While the metrics used include average salaries for software engineers, ecosystem value, and early-stage funding, the authors particularly lay emphasis on which ecosystem could best allow startups have an early run into global reckoning. The answer is Lagos, followed by Johannesburg and Cape Town.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/14/matters-erising-the-african-startup-ecosystem-and-why-yaba-lagos-matters/

Commission’s Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, Mr. Sunday Dare who represented the Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta stated this at a meeting held recently at the NCC Headquarters with the stakeholders in the international data access and interconnect exchange services.

Mr. Dare said the meeting was convened by the Commission to find best, concrete solutions to the issues affecting the business of international data access, and interconnect exchange services in Nigeria from the regulatory standpoint as stipulated by Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003. The forum was a clear response to the series of complaints the Commission has received from both sides of the divide.

Ms. Funlola Akiode, Director Licensing and Authorization, whose department is driving the initiative also recalled: “We understand that there are counter accusations on where the faults lie. As a regulator, it is our responsibility to hear all sides, and follow painstaking consultations, develop modalities, processes, policies and improved rules to govern all segments of the industry. We are therefore assured that the outcome of this meeting will not be business as usual, but will lead to clear improvements in the telecoms operating environment and business as a whole.”

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/15/ncc-moves-to-address-interconnect-challenges/

The Global Digital Foundation (GDF) has appointed Emmanuel Amos as its Director for Africa.

The GDF is a think tank that offers policymakers and stakeholders a forum to create and share understanding about the challenges of policy in a digital world. It comprises a secretariat based in Brussels, Washington D.C, Canberra and Lagos, and a global network of scholars and public administration experts.

The GDF supports a programme of policy analysis, direct bilateral interaction with governments and stakeholders, and a programme of multilateral dialogue between policymakers, businesses, trades unions and NGOs.

Emmanuel Amos is Chairman and Chief Software Architect for Programos Software Group, a software solutions provider based in Lagos, Nigeria, and has played a leading role in the provision of capital markets equity, debt instrument real-time investment trading terminal technologies for stock market institutions in Nigeria and other markets.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/17/emmanuel-amos-programos-boss-joins-global-digital-foundation/

Like a job seeker, 7 -year – old Chloe spoke about her own qualifications (“I like computers too), and her own knowledge of gadgets (“and I have a tablet I play games on”) to explain why she believes she would be a good fit for the company. She even provides references: “My teachers tell my mum and dad that I am very good in class and am good at my spelling, reading, and my sums.”

The letter got the attention of Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai, who wrote back with encouragement: “I think if you keep working hard and following your dreams, you can accomplish everything you set your mind to — from working at Google to swimming in the Olympics.

“I look forward to receiving your job application when you are finished with school!

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/02/16/a-7-year-old-applied-for-a-job-at-google-read-the-ceos-response/

The problem with NITDA is vested interest

Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, professor of Computer Information System, current director general (DG) of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) often speaks of himself as a man on a burdensome mission to sanitize the NITDA and get it re-focused.

Like many government agencies in Nigeria, NITDA is often deemed to be a nest of corruption – its immediate director general, Mr. Peter Jack was sacked for graft. The agency has remained under investigative lens for a period covering no less than 10 years with anti-graft agencies sniffing for larcenies.

But Pantami is no less bother with the agency’s problem of graft than he is with the challenge of getting NITDA focused on its mandate. For many critical stakeholders, NITDA had lost focus ever since it was created or ever since its enabling law as a regulatory body was instituted by an Act of Parliament.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2016/12/15/pantami-nitda/

One of Nigeria’s leading Startup/Innovation Centres, nHub is receiving entries for the nHub Fellowship 2017. The 10-month Fellowship is free and open to budding software developers itching to build a career in the global ICT industry.

Jos based nHub is a major definer of the startup movement in Nigeria, particularly in northern Nigeria where nHub provides a complete incubation facility, startup acceleration programs, mentor-ship, and training (academy).

The nHub Fellowship is designed to make nHub Fellows world class reputable software engineers with access to live projects using world best tools. nHub Fellows will be able to build professional and technical skills required to be a globally competent software developers.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/08/nhub-fellowship-2017-opens-to-create-best-of-breed-software-engineers/

Tech companies happened to be the cheapest and easiest to startup these days or perceived to be. A lot of folks around with CCNA certifications or any IT certification out there are flying around business cards as CEO’s of some tech companies. I had also fallen victim of this movement of IT CEOs some years ago after learning some lines of code and read some articles online closer to “Any kid around the world in his or her father’s garage with idea can start up a company”.

Mine was incident on some few freelance jobs that landed me some millions of Naira that got my curiosity of becoming a CEO nourished. Without any job experience and how organization ethics and ethos works I had jump-started a tech company employing about 6 developers. It was really beautiful at first 5 months before I began to encounter problems. With a nice office situated at a very good location within Jos and Staff who appear happy working in an indigenous IT firm, the company was already in debt.


https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/12/scaling-beyond-the-volatility/

Lagos State is leading other states in Nigeria as the state with the highest number of social media engagement with 115, 000 followers on Twitter and 244, 624 on Facebook.

Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states trail other states to sit at the bottom of the table with 0% engagement and reach on the social media platforms.

LAGOS HAS THE HIGHEST ONLINE/SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTIONS TO LIVE UP TO ITS STATUS AS NIGERIA’S MOST COSMOPOLITAN CITY AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL CAPITAL WITH OVER 15 MILLION PEOPLE.

The facts were unveiled in a new report by Instinct Wave, an indigenous media, consulting and event firm.

The report, titled Nigeria Public Sector, Social Media Report, which was put out recently by Instinct Wave on the performance of Nigerian government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) documents online and social media engagements of citizens by MDAs from October 2016 to February 2017.

THE REPORT ALSO DOCUMENTS HOW STATES ARE USING ONLINE PLATFORMS AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO ENGAGE CITIZENS AS WELL AS PROVIDE INSIGHTS ON GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC PLANS FOR LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE.

read more onhttps://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/08/lagos-leads-nigeria-social-media-engagements-yobe-sokoto-zamfara-have-lowest-online-presence/

And the winner is… Efe!

That was the announcement made over the weekend on Big Brother Naija, watched by millions of viewers, globally. Behind the backdrop of this announcement, PayPorte logo and insignia stands boldly and proudly. Don’t just get it twisted, PayPorte is a Nigerian firm. The reality show Big Brother Naija (#BBNaija) has come and gone and the winner has been announced, but, it wasn’t a smooth sailing adventure for the organisers and sponsor.

In a country that is highly ‘moralistic’ and religious, criticisms had trailed the BBN show ranging from moral bankruptcy to regulators ineptitude, wastage of money and man hours. One thing that these critics didn’t see is that, Nigerian firms like Heritage Bank, Legend beer and online firm, PayPorte came to the rescue! How would it look like, if the show was shown from South Africa, due to the high cost of operating expenditure in Nigeria as the organisers argued?

Mr. Bassey Eyo, CEO, PayPorte Global Systems, explains his company’s sponsorship thus: “As a brand, PayPorte believes in bringing out the creativity and talents that abound in Nigerians, so, the Big Brother Nigeria platform is an opportunity for these talented Nigerians to harness their talents and make it a reality”. As a Nigerian owned company, part of our Corporate Social Responsibility is to enhance people’s lives and give them reasons to believe in themselves”.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/11/big-brother-naija-how-payporte-ported-into-global-reckoning/

Leaders from Africa’s biggest telecom investment companies including MTN, Orange, Helios Towers, American Tower, Eaton Towers, Google, Microsoft, Liquid Telecom and SEACOM are meeting with investment bankers, investors and advisers in London on May 24 to discuss accelerating new investment opportunities in digital communications and infrastructure.

Telecom and tech companies are increasing investment across Africa as the rapidly improving digital infrastructure and services, and the take up of smartphones, provide huge opportunities for business and revenue growth.

“Telecom and tech companies are ramping up their investment plans for digital infrastructure and services across Africa as reach of service and demand is soaring,” commented an investment banker focused on Africa. “On the infrastructure side, operators are investing in spectrum, especially in the 700MHz band, as well as on strengthening their networks by migrating from 3G to 4G LTE-based services. Mobile tower operators are also investing heavily while submarine and terrestrial cable providers have been increasing the available backbone infrastructure.”

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/11/africa-telecom-and-finance-leaders-assess-accelerating-digital-investment-opportunities/

The amount of businesses embracing an online strategy is driving an urgent review of legacy infrastructure according to Michele McCann, business development manager, Teraco. Following her panel discussion at this year’s WAN Summit in New York City, McCann says that the enterprise sector is being driven to consolidate their infrastructure into a colocation centre to benefit from a highly connected environment.

Teraco was founded in 2008, Teraco Data Environments is the first provider of resilient, carrier, cloud and vendor neutral data environments in South Africa. It is also the biggest data centre in Africa.

“Interconnection colocation facilities globally have seen massive growth due to virtualisation of infrastructure, which requires an always powered up facility and access to multiple network operators to service many countries or regions through a single deployment,” says McCann. “These key changes have also been driven by investment from global content and cloud operators as users are now able to get online and consume whatever content they like, when they like, which was not possible five years ago.”

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/11/africa-is-playing-infrastructure-catch-up-why-the-cloud-is-not-the-only-answer/

The United Nations has urged African governments to deepen broadband penetration in their various countries as a way of bringing about development towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Already, Nigeria’s broadband penetration is put at 20 percent while the government is working towards achieving 30% broadband penetration by 2018.

This was made known during the 2017 Spring Meeting in Hong Kong, China, where the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, a body under the United Nations , stressed that currently, about five billion people are without mobile broadband access, a number which represent the majority of people in the rural communities.

The Co-Chair of the Broadband Commission, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, while speaking highlighted that ICT being a catalyst for making economies and societies better is a motivating force to the commission in wanting to have the global community connected .

https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/11/un-urges-african-governments-to-focus-on-deepening-broadband-penetration/

Facebook’s “Safety Check” tool, which lets users mark themselves as safe after a disaster or crisis, has been updated.

Safety Check was originally created to facilitate an existing user behavior on the social network. Facebook saw users turn to the social network to tell family and friends they were safe after disasters, such as the 2011 Japan tsunami, and created Safety Check in 2014. Facebook added the Community Help tool after observing the immense effort NGOs, communities and other organizations invested into sorting Facebook posts after a crisis to match people who could help one another and track people’s needs. Facebook saw that organizations often used Groups or documents to organize posts from the social network, but that the process was timely and redundant. To design the tool, Facebook did research interviews with people who had experienced a crisis to understand at which points they needed help in the wake of a disaster and what type of help they needed.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/02/22/get-help-on-facebook-during-a-disaster/

MainData Nigeria (MDXi) and the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) have announced a partnership aimed at expanding the peering of Internet Transit traffic within Nigeria. The partnership seeks to take advantage of the numerous networks and content providers already connected to MainOne (www.MainOne.net) to grow traffic in the Nigerian Internet Exchange.

With its open access submarine cable system, Tier III data centre and IP transit network already connected to the Lagos, Accra, London and Amsterdam Internet Exchanges, MDXi will bring to the Exchange the capacity to connect directly with the greatest number of IP transit and Content Delivery networks in West Africa.

Speaking during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, Chief Executive Officer of the IXPN, Muhammed Rudman highlighted efforts of the Exchange to deepen local content via partnerships focused on the creation and hosting of content in-country.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/02/24/nigerian-internet-exchange-goes-live-at-mainones-mdxi-to-peer-local-internet-traffic/

Nairobi will play host to the first African developers, startups roundtable in April as the continent seeks to thicken the value of its growing startup ecosystem and increasing number of tech entrepreneurs.

The roundtable is designed as a series of technical and investment dialogues pooling together startups, developers, angel investors, policy makers, and other industry experts from across the continent chiefly Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana with the support of development organisations.

The Nairobi gathering holds April 8, 2017 and is being promoted by Mettā, a global entrepreneurs’ club, Nigerian based nHub, which provides complete incubation facility, startup acceleration programs, and mentorship in central to north of Nigeria; and Qitech Technologies Limited, a tech-company and a market aggregator.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/02/27/nairobi-hosts-african-developers-startups-roundtable/

Concerned about the prevalence of online hate speech in Nigeria, Bethphage LLC is convening an event during Social Media Week Lagos 2017 to examine the manifestations of hate speech online in Nigeria and proffer solutions to help stem its spread.

The event is tagged “Online Hate Speech: Can Social Media Reduce its Spread?” It takes place on the 28th of February 2017 at Ibis Hotel, 23 Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos.It commences at 10am prompt and will have as panellists the likes of cybersecurity expert Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola, APC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, and thought leaders in the field of communications such as Ngozi Ife Anene and Obianuju Ndaguba.

The event is open to the general public but will be of prime relevance and benefit to civil society groups, policy makers, the diplomatic community, bloggers and online journalists, telecommunications companies and internet service providers, victims and targets of cyber bullying and other forms of hate speech, millennials and indeed anyone who has a social media account.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/02/27/the-ticking-time-bomb-of-online-hate-speech/

The Director of the National Information Development Agency (NITDA), Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has said the incessant importation of IT goods into the country not only deplete the country’s foreign reserve as well as kills the growth and adoption of local content; but it also offers a leeway for public sector officials to inflate IT contracts and procurements.

Pantami said the best way to checkmate corruption in the country’s public sector is to look inward as most government agencies divert and siphon funds on IT procurement through a complex web of channels built round imported IT goods and services.

He said virtually all ministries, departments; agencies (MDAs) use IT procurement to siphon public funds under the guise of importing critical IT goods and services even when such goods and services were locally available.

“I realised this is the best way to fight corruption in Nigeria. Most of the MDAs insert IT projects in their budgets not because they need it, but because it is the easiest way to circumvent the questions on such items during budgetary defense at the Senate or House of Representatives”, he said.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/03/local-content-policy-will-help-fight-corruption-says-pantami-nitdas-boss/

AS PART OF EFFORTS TO EDUCATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSUMERS ON THEIR RIGHTS TO QUALITY TELECOMS SERVICES, THE NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (NCC) SAYS SUBSCRIBERS COULD STOP UNSOLICITED TEXT MESSAGES IF THEY SEND “STOP” TO “2442”.

This is part of the ongoing campaign to enlighten consumers on their rights to better services.

In declaring 2017 as the year of Nigerian Telecom Consumer recently, Executive Vice Chairman (EVC of NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta said the year of the Consumer will focus on two key areas viz improving the Quality of Service; Protecting and educating the Consumer.

“To address the unsolicited calls received by consumers, the NCC has introduced the Do Not Disturb (DND) facility where consumers are urged to activate the service by dialing “2442”

THE EVC ALSO SAID THAT CONSUMERS SHOULD ACCESS THE CUSTOMER TOLL FREE LINE BY DIALING 622 TO REGISTER THEIR COMPLAINTS IF THEY DO NOT GET SUCH COMPLAINTS ADDRESSED BY THE NETWORK OPERATOR.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/04/03/ncc-tasks-consumers-to-take-advantage-of-2442-to-stop-unsolicited-sms/

ARE YOU STILL RECEIVING UNSOLICITED TEXTS? DO YOU FEEL CHEATED BY YOUR SERVICE PROVIDER? YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC OR GENERAL ENQUIRIES TO MAKE REGARDING CONSUMER’S ISSUES? CONTACT THE NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (NCC). HERE’S A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO DO IT: DIAL THE NCC’S 622 CONTACT CENTRE NUMBER. THE COMMISSION HAS A VERY ROBUST SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE. IF ON FACEBOOK, TRY: @nigerian.communications.commission.

This March 2017, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) officially flagged off the ‘Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer’ campaign.

The official launch date of the ‘Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer’ campaign March 15, 2017 coincided with the 2017 World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) with the theme “Building a Digital World Consumers can trust”.
Why do all these matter to the NCC?

Because the NCC cares! The Consumer is at the heart of the Commission’s goal to have good quality of service. This is how the Commission sees you as a Consumer: “The Consumer is deemed to be a major Stakeholder in the Telecoms Industry and define such as any Individual, Corporation, Community or Institution who subscribes to the services of Telecoms Operators.”

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/03/30/why-consumers-matter-to-the-nigerian-communications-commission/

Nigeria’s fourth largest operator Etisalat got a reprieve at the weekend from its creditor banks following the intervention of two Nigerian regulators in the financial and telecom sectors to avert a major crisis in the country.

With over 20 million subscribers and a huge non-serviced loan from a consortium of banks threatening to take over the operator, industry stakeholders feared a takeover could spike further investments in a national economy in recession.

Etisalat got a breather on Friday following a meeting convened by financial regulator, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and telecom regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to find a quick resolution to the loan default crisis facing the company.

Despite its loan problems, Etisalat said it was expanding its Nigerian operations with a greater focus on data which it foresees will define the market in the months ahead. CEO of Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher, said the company would be expanding its investment portfolio to drive mobile internet.
An official statement by the NCC states “Friday’s meeting succeeded in halting the attempt by Etisalat’s creditors at bringing it under any form of takeover. Receivership was completely taken off the table in a meeting that was very productive and constructive.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/03/11/etisalat-gets-reprieve-from-creditor-banks-as-ncc-cbn-broker-talks-on-new-repayment-terms/

According to reports, Microsoft had plans to replace Skype Wi-Fi with Microsoft Wi-Fi. In June 2015, Microsoft officials confirmed the company was working to roll out an updated and rebranded version of Skype Wi-Fi that was called Microsoft Wi-Fi.

When asked if the company was still planning to roll out Microsoft Wi-Fi or if it was getting out of the Wi-Fi hotspot access business completely, no response was given, reports zdnet.com. As of now, the Microsoft Wi-Fi website, that once had “coming soon” message, is now down.

Microsoft was planning to make Microsoft Wi-Fi a service for both consumers and business customers (in the latter’s case, through Office 365 plans). Reference to Skype or Microsoft Wi-Fi has not been noted on the company’s Office 365 plan pages
Skype is one of the Microsoft business units which experienced job cuts last fall, with Microsoft officials characterizing the move as a “consolidation.”

Skype Wi-Fi allows users to get online using Skype Credit via more than two million Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/03/16/microsoft-to-terminate-skype-wi-fi-as-of-march-31/

Nimbuzz, initially released in May 2008 is a powerful cross-platform mobile calling and messaging app. The app can be installed on computers, mobile phones, smartphones, and tablets. Nimbuzz offers its users the ability to make voice and video calls, enable chat and file sharing worldwide. The app has over 200 million users and is available for Android, iPhone, and Symbian, MIDP, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and PC & MAC clients.

Anubhav Nagar, CEO of Mara Social Media said “We see a strong momentum for consumer messaging apps, which are set to overtake social media apps globally. According to reports and current trends it is clear that social media apps are likely be eclipsed by messaging apps in the next two years. This is the opportunity, which we identified with Nimbuzz.”

As part of this acquisition, Mara gains access to Nimbuzz’s & Holaa’s unified platform as well as their international assets, IP & Database. The acquisition provides a strong foundation for our future growth in emerging markets. Nimbuzz Instant messenger & Holaa has a user base of 200 million registered users spread across India and the Middle East.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/03/24/mara-social-media-acquires-nimbuzz-assets/

Do local software applications for the financial sector stand a chance against offshore solutions as virtually all Nigerian banks rely on foreign software?

The answer to that question is a yes. Whether local or foreign, what you are looking for in any software is a solution to a problem. The resilience or how good a software is being determined by functionality. And you have to ask what determines the capability or capacity of functionality? I always say it’s a game of intellect; it’s a game of knowledge and that of discipline, end of story. So asking if the Nigerian software can be compared with their global counterpart is not needed because over time, Nigerians have shown and demonstrated that they’re intelligent or even more intelligent compared to their counterparts in the West. There is a proven data for this, but the challenges we have is in the area of discipline. How disciplined are we as a people? Nigerians do not believe in the system and do not have faith in the system. People are too short termed in nature. What is required of us to do is to break this cycle of lack of faith in the system? For instance, my company has thrown out much foreign software and we have had applications running for the past 23 years supporting banks in this country especially in the mission critical areas. So, if PFS can do it, any other company can do it.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/03/29/future-of-fintech-yele-okeremi/

Some of the awards up for grabs include; The Lifetime Achievements Award, Outstanding State Government Healthcare Programme of the Year, Outstanding CSR Health Project of the Year, Healthcare Media Excellence (print & electronic), Private Healthcare Provider of the Year, Public Healthcare Provider of the Year, Laboratory service provider of the Year, and Radiology Service Provider of the Year. Others are; Biomedical Engineering Service Company of the Year, IVF Service Provider of the Year, Dialysis Service Provider of the Year, Eyecare Service Provider of the Year, Laboratory Equipment Marketing Company of the Year, Nursing & Midwifery Excellence Award of the Year, etc.

According to Moses Braimah, NHEA Director of Strategy, Marketing & Communication, “The Oscar of the Nigeria healthcare will once again roll the red carpet to celebrate and honour the most outstanding and deserving individuals and organisations who contributed immensely and brought excellence to the Nigerian healthcare sector in 2016.”

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/03/22/nominations-opens-for-4th-nigerian-healthcare-excellence-awards/

The two-day meeting will bring together experts including government and inter-governmental organization officials, business and educational leaders from throughout the continent to discuss how Africa can use the Internet to advance education, innovation and job creation.

The event aims at gathering various organizations working on Internet and development across the region to identify synergies and create opportunities for coordination and collaboration.

“One of the key topics of discussion will be what needs to be done for Africa to benefit from the transformational opportunities of the Internet for the benefit of the African economy and education,” explains Dawit Bekele, Regional Bureau Director for Africa at the Internet Society. “While there are many challenges, we know it can be done. Countries such as Kenya and Rwanda have created policy environments that enable innovation and they are now seeing the benefits of the Internet economy. Universities throughout the continent are also using e-learning opportunities to increase their reach as well as to give flexibility for their students.”

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/03/24/internet-society-announces-first-ever-africa-regional-internet-and-development-dialogue/

JP Morgan is the preferred employer of finance professionals globally, taking first place in the eFinancialCareers Ideal Employer rankings for 2017. Goldman Sachs, Google, Morgan Stanley and Citi complete the eFinancialCareers Ideal Employer Global top five.

eFinancialCareers® surveyed 5,983 finance professionals globally during Q4 2016 and received a total of 17,622 votes for 2,663 different companies (respondents were asked to name three ideal employers). The study explored the professional, demographic and attitudinal nuances that determine a person’s ‘Ideal Employer’.

JP Morgan took the number one spot from last year’s winner, Goldman Sachs, which dropped to second place. Google held its third place ranking this year, and remains a desirable employer for many financial services professionals. Morgan Stanley also remained unchanged from last year in fourth position and Citi jumped two places into fifth, edging BlackRock out of the top five.

read more on https://itedgenews.ng/2017/03/28/jp-morgan-goldman-sachs-google-morgan-stanley-citi-are-top-5-in-efinancialcareers-rankings-2017/

Social media platform Snapchat has started the sales of its first camera equipped sunglasses online to anyone in the US for over $130 (about N44, 000) for a pair.

The spectacle can record just 10 seconds video which connects to the Snapchat app. Snapchat hopes to be positioned among camera companies with this new feat.

The new product from Snapchat is not available yet in Nigeria but it should be here anytime soon to make amateur detectives of its users in a country where social media is increasingly becoming the window to expose offenses by public officials including the police, soldiers and traffic wardens.

It takes little efforts to notice the sunglasses have a spy camera that could be recording you live for a global audience – a frightening scenario for compromised law enforcers.

At first glance, the spectacles look like normal sunglasses. But the yellow circles near the lens are a giveaway. They light up when you hit the record button on top of the frames.

So next time someone is talking to you in sunglasses, take a hard look to ensure you are not being recorded.

Although the product is yet to generate significant revenue, Snapchat will broaden the distribution of its spectacles.

read more on itedgenews.ng

GITEX STARTUP MOVEMENT to present over 400 companies to more than 146,000 investors, visitors and 22,000 C-suite executives from around the world

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

GITEX Technology Week will launch and host GITEX STARTUP MOVEMENT, one of the most global startupgatherings in the world with over 30 countries represented, as it brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, mentors and buyers for the first time in Dubai.



The GITEX STARTUP MOVEMENT will convene over 400 startups and more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors and mentors from theglobal startup ecosystem.The exclusive set-up will highlight the most innovative startups around the world and provide them a platform to sell, form partnerships and attract investors. Participants will also be able to pitch for prizes, attend an interactive conference to address challenges faced by entrepreneurs and meetleading industry figures.The initiative has already garnered tremendous interest and momentum from supporters across the globe including Business France, Cross Trade agency in Singapore, Digi Robotics in the UAE, Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), Japan’s Jetro agency, Marco Trade Export in Morocco, Star Systems agency in Iran and STC from KSA.



AmjadShacker, Corporate Communication GM at STC, commented: “InspireU is an STC initiative to promote, support and develop digital startups and nurture and consolidate the startup ecosystem in the MENA region and create sustainable value. We believe that “to inspire is to empower” and we do that by providing the directions and tools to budding entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams. STC strongly supports the launch of the GITEX Startup Movement and is proud to co-present the top tier prize of the event to the best global startup.”



“The need for local and regional startup ecosystem consolidation, learning from global best practices, and exposure to global investment network, is imminently evident. STC considers GITEX Startup Movement addressing this need; it will help regional players to learn and mature as well as expose them to the global buyers and investors. STC will showcase the achievements of InspireU by showcasing its incubatees, connect them to the broader network, attract future deal flow and share the roadmap for the future. STC is participating in the Global Startup Movement to inspire and be inspired,” said Shacker.



Eric Morand, Director of Tech & Innovative Services Division at Business France, said: “Business France, as a loyal exhibitor of the GITEX Technology Week, is very happy to be part of the GITEX Startup Movement. We are certain that this new movement will gather regional startup ecosystem as well as well as the global startupecosystem. This will be therefore, the perfect platform to introduce the French Tech initiative, which proved to be a success in events such as CES, Web summit, 4YFN, etc.”



The Arab world has a burgeoning youth demographic. More than 60 per cent of the 350 million population is under the age of 25. Young millennial Arabs are online, mobile, using technology and becoming entrepreneurs with the strong support of government initiatives. The UAE leads the way in the region on revolutionary smart cities transformation and diversification of economies.Across Middle East & Africa, entrepreneurs are at the heart of the digital revolution as ICT spending increases across the region.



“Startups from all over the globe, women, youth and Arab entrepreneurs are a very real force of change that is making a positive impact in our society. They need supportive ecosystems to nurture and enable their growth and success. GITEX Technology Week has a strong legacy as one of the leading international tech events and is uniquely positioned to turn the spotlight onstartups. With a force of 146,000 technology professionals and 22,000 C-suite executives at GITEX, Startups gain immediate access to a powerful industry network and massive technology marketplace, entry into growth markets in Middle East &Africa,and canfuture-proof their business plans, products and services.” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice-President, Exhibitions and Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre.



“The Tesla Foundation is proud to be a part of the GITEX Startup Movement. The foundation is focused on building the bridge between private and public organizations to create new technologies and companies and the Middle East & Africa presents a unique opportunity. We have been graced with the strength of government support and the burgeoning entrepreneur scene that is in the region. As a science and technology Foundation focused on robotics and automation, “Cyber-Physical Systems,” GITEX enables us to expand our network by connecting with innovators, entrepreneurs, and companies to include in the Tesla STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Farm System,” said Keith Kaplan, CEO Tesla Foundation.

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