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40 THISDAY • MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 NEWS US-Africa Trade to Promote AGOA Holds in September Emma Okonji Motivated by the need to help Nigerians stay in touch with new opportunities through the internet, MTN Nigeria, is offering its over 61 million customers with full month of free downloads for all Nigerian apps under the auspices of a movement, tagged APPtitude. Its intention is to help Nigerians embrace mobile applications as a shortcut to navigating the internet in an easy, faster and more efficient manner. The APPtitude campaign, which runs from May 1 - 30, 2015, offers Nigerians the chance to download their favourite apps for free by texting APP to 131. According to MTN, “The world is changing faster than we ever imagined some decades ago. The increased penetration of technology NaviGroup Incorporated, a provider of international trade networking has said the second United States Export-Import Opportunities for African Consumable Products 2015 Trade Show, which has been scheduled to hold from September 8 to 9, 2015, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The event is designed to promote business between Africa and the Americas through the AGOA, U.S. Department of Commerce policies and to attract foreign direct investors through Bureau of the African Affairs policy. During the 2013, U.S. Export-Import Opportunities for African Consumable Products Trade Show organised by NaviGroup Incorporated in Baltimore, the Maryland Governor, Martin O’Malley, maintained that doing business with Nigeria and entire Africa was very important to the United States-Africa community and the United States-Africa trade, which he said had grown to $21 billion in the last decade. “Therefore we want to keep up the pace of that by providing a platform for small and medium scale businesses, government trade agencies and important Small Medium Enterprises to participate in the 2nd U.S. Export-Import Opportunities for African Consumable Products 2015 event,” said Event Specialist, NaviGroup, Ayotunde Adebayo. According to him, “the event will provide you with up-to-date market intelligence and assist you to develop international trading practice strategies for exporting your products and services into across the globe especially through mobile phone has changed the way we live and work. Like never before the adoption of mobile phones has enhanced in many ways, economic and social activity on the continent of Africa and Nigeria in particular. It is for this reasons that MTN introduced the ‘APPtitude’ initiative, as a recent study shows that 90 per cent of access to the internet in Nigeria is done via mobile devices.” As part of the benefits of the movement, an APPtitude portal has been created on the MTN website, which curates a host of local apps in the market under different categories that include sports, entertainment, lifestyle, health/fitness, business as well as religion. The apps can be downloaded by everyone, free of charge for 30 days. Announcing the initiative, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN new markets around the globe. You will also have the opportunity to meeting directly with buyers and sellers from Central America, Canada, South America, Europe and the Middle East.” The event will feature international business leaders from private sectors, African countries commercial services diplomats posted at their embassies in the United States and high ranking government officials from both continents. Professional and wellexperienced trade finance, banks, African Union member countries, trade promotion organisations, buyers and sellers, equipment manufacturers, customs, agricultural and food products processors, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, agricultural and products. Quality assurance Nigeria, Bayo Adekanmbi said many Nigeria-centric websites are complex with hard-toremember web addresses, also known as URLs. He added that apps provide a better, and alternative way of engaging users, irrespective of social class as their functionality is defined by the user’s ability to interact with icons and images. “This movement is a continuation of the BetterMe journey and its core aim is to democratize access to the internet. The APPtitude movement is borne out of the need to educate our customers on the value which can be derived from making use of mobile application in their everyday business. We are also driven by the vision to build an ecosystem that allows people to pursue their different passions and interests by leveraging on the simplicity which mobile apps provide,” Adekanmbi said. organisations are expected to inform participants about the latest and future developments that will impact where-and how-to develop new business opportunities and export strategies abroad. This event will also provide unlimited opportunities to network with industry experts in international business, government officials and other international buyers and sellers. Adebayo noted: “By bringing on international investors who have forged successful partnerships in NaviGroup and showcasing their personal experiences and accomplishments, we are confident and able to offer attendees excellent and thorough understanding of the opportunities available to develop their business in the global marketplace.” RENDERING ACCOUNT L-R; Chairman, Custodian and Allied Plc, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo; Directors, Mr. Wole Oshin; and Mr Toni Ogunbor, during the 20th annual general meeting of the company in Lagos.. recently MTN Provides Free Downloads of all Nigerian Apps to Customers In addition, MTN promises to support app developers, associations and SMEs in converting their websites to mobile applications while bearing the cost of maintaining and hosting the apps. As such local app developers are encouraged to submit their apps on the APPtitude portal even as MTN is committed to promoting these apps by providing them with visibility and reach to its 61 million subscribers. App developers who want to upload their apps on the portal should visit, http://cp.nexva.com/r/mtn and follow the steps. MTN’s commitment to providing solutions through the development of mobile apps is well chronicled. In 2013, it launched the NextApps store to boost the aggregation of local content and later organised an app developer challenge to support app development in the country. Pazino ECC Promises to Transform Real Estate Sector Lagos-based Real Estate and Engineering Firm, Pazino Engineering & Construction Company Limited has said it is on a mission to transform Nigeria’s real estate sector to world class standard by adding new styles and dimension to what is currently in existence in the sector. Managing Director of Pazino ECC Ltd, Mr. Patrick Agbaza, who dropped the hint in Lagos, said Pazino ECC is set to bring awareness and transform life in the areas of construction and engineering in the real estate sector by adding facilities like Aviaries, Play areas, Parks for both children and adults, Manicured gardens, Lawns and landscape areas with sheltered seating areas. According to Agbaza, the practice of real estate business has transformed tremendously from what it used to be and there is need to take advantage of developments on the global stage. “At Pazino ECC, we intend to take real estate from what it used to be to the next level in terms of construction and building type. For instance we have a lot of estates scheme we are developing along the Lekki Epe Express Way which we prefer to call “Garden Schemes”. We call them gardens because our plan is to build homes surrounded by greeneries, which we believe guarantees longevity of the life span of people living in this kind of environment. BlackBerry Limited, a global leader in mobile communications, and T-Mobile US Incorporated, America’s fastest growing wireless company, have announced a joint plan to bring the BlackBerry Classic to the Un-carrier’s Data Strong network and its approximately 57 million individual and business customers. The initiative, which has been applauded by industry analysts, shows that the two companies are in the business of listening to their customers, through the new partnership. This new partnership begins by bringing to get her the productivity and security of the BlackBerry Classic and T-Mobile’s industry-rattling Un-carrier for Business initiative. Now, whether you are downloading tomorrow’s big presentation or video conferencing with colleagues on Skype, only the Un-carrier serves up the BlackBerry Classic on America’s fastest nationwide 4G LTE network—giving US business customers and today’s data-hungry mobile professionals the wireless experience they have been asking for. President and CEO of T-Mobile, John Legere, said: “People who love BlackBerry Our garden schemes will also feature perimeter fencing, drainages among other things. All these features we’ve added will make more people embrace living in estates” he said. He said Pazino is determined to make people understand why they should invest in real estate because there are huge potential for better return on investment in real estate. He said: “Other than real estate, what will you want to invest in? We want people to come and invest in real estate. Some years ago it used to be shares and all of that, but with the collapse of shares, the momentum has swung back to real estate. “As a matter of fact, since 2009/2010, the Nigerian real estate sector has witnessed resurgence particularly in the southern part of the country. According to a report by Augusto & Co, “real estate activities in Lagos accounts for at least 40% of the sum total of Nigeria’s real estate market”. Therefore, it pays to know that the Lekki Peninsula corridor where we have our Garden Schemes is the fastest rising real estate in Africa,” He lamented that government has not created the enabling environment for the real estate business to thrive. According to him, government only pays lip service to the development of the sector. He also added that the banks have not really helped the sector too. BlackBerry, T-Mobile Team Up to Bring BlackBerry Classic smart phones and want to use one on America’s fastest nationwide 4G LTE network now have that choice. Bringing BlackBerry into our device lineup now also stokes Un-carrier 9.0, which is all about bringing the Un-carrier revolution to business.” BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO, John Chen, said: “BlackBerry is proud to partner T-Mobile once again to offer the world’s most secure and reliable mobile products and services that encourage productivity−whether they are individual users making the most of their day with the BlackBerry Classic, or an enterprise seeking to manage thousands of devices.” According to him, “Together with T-Mobile, we hope to deliver highly differentiated solutions that appeal to our mutual users: the power professionals who depend on their smart phones to get things done and make things happen.” The BlackBerry Classic is built to meet the needs of productive people who appreciate the speed and accuracy that can be found with a physical QWERTY keyboard and features such as a fast browser and up to 22 hours of battery power.
THISDAY • MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 41 BUSINESSWORLD NEWS ‘Digital Training key to Active Participation of Girls in ICT’ Emma Okonji Phase3 Telecom, an independent fibre optic infrastructure and telecommunications services provider across West Africa, is advocating for early education and consistent technology training for the girl child in order to sustain them and make them active in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) space. As part of the process to achieve this, Phase3 said it is collaborating with eBusiness Life Communications to mark the 2015 edition of the globally celebrated International Girls in ICT Day. The Girls in ICT initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), is a global effort to raise awareness on empowering and encouraging girls and young women to consider studies and careers in ICTs. To date over 111,000 girls and young women have taken a part in more than 3,500 events held in 140 countries around the world. In commemoration of the 2015 Girls in ICT, themed “Expanding Horizons and Changing Attitudes”, the Chief Executive Officer of Phase3 Telecom, Mr. Stanley Jegede said early education, digitalized training as well as developing technology skills for women and harnessing those skills promptly, are critical to Africa’s rapid socioeconomic development and sustainability. According to him, “One of the key elements of addressing poverty is the empowerment of women and there is no better way of doing that than ensuring the sustained representation of women in the world of technology to aid rapid socio-economic development in Africa”. He said building a crop of young African girls to actively participate and compete in the evolving as well as innovative global ICT space, is the basis for Phase3 Telecom’s commitment to continue to support the International Girls in ICT day initiative. Jegede said he is optimistic that this global evolution will gain greater influence in Africa as more and more institutions and agencies advocate ICT skills for women on the continent. He believes that “young African girls must be encouraged early to see the advantages and dividends of the dynamic and fast-evolving-sector”. He commends eBusiness Life commitment to the initiative year-on-year to mentor and support girls who have keen interest in walking the ICT career path whether in engineering, design, operations or research. It is notable that in West Africa, women are significantly under-represented across the board in ICT sector, from education and training programs right through to high level careers both in the academia or industry. Managing Director of eBusiness Life Communication, Mrs. Ufuoma Emuophedaro, said: “The need to sensitize young girls is premised on the fact that society has unconsciously promoted the stereotypical ideals that technical discipline especially ICT based careers are best suited for the male gender.” Glo Bounce Rate Excites Youths There are strong indications that Nigerian youths and student communities are excited with Globacom’s repackaged special tariff plan for youths, called the Glo Bounce. They are currently latching on to the offer, which allows subscribers to make calls at a very affordable rate of 11 kobo per second. In addition to the low call rate of 11 kobo per second, Glo Bounce has other interesting features including “Campus Zone”, which enables subscribers to call other lines also at the rate of 11 kobo per second once activated. Subscribers on the platform also get 15MB of data free for every recharge of N200 and above, as well as unlimited, free SMS. Globacom’s Regional Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Ashok Israni, said the features have already endeared Glo Bounce to the hearts of trend-setting young individuals in schools and those in formal or informal employment. To get on the Bounce platform, Israni explained that subscribers would be required to dial *170*4#. To opt for Campus Zone, they are to dial *170*9#. Hafsat Adejumo, a 200 level student of University of Ibadan, said although she has another line, she uses the Glo line more these days. “Since the re-launch of Glo Bounce last month, I have used my Glo line nearly exclusively because of the affordable rate. My twin sister and younger brother are all in this school and we are all on Glo Bounce, making it possible for us to communicate with each other at the cool rate of 11 kobo per second,” she said. Similarly, Haruna Ismail, a 400-level student of Bayero University, Kano, commended Globacom for introducing the special tariff package for Nigerian youths. “My fiancée and I have used Glo lines for many years now, but I didn’t know about Glo Bounce until she convinced me to sign up for it so we could communicate in a more costeffective manner. I did and I must say it has been a wise move. Beside my fiancé, there are other friends who are also on the platform. So effectively, I have been able to reduce my phone bill. On his part, Brimo Jack, a 25-year-old, Port Harcourtbased teacher said he loves the Generation G component of the initiative. “Since I joined the Generation G, I have enjoyed 200 percent bonus airtime on every recharge of N500 and above. Whenever I load N200, I get 100 percent bonus; and 50 percent bonus when I load N100. The icing on the cake is that I can use the bonus to call any network. This is one initiative that has helped me to rein in my phone expenditure. Kudos to Globacom,” he said. Also in the same vein, Chinwe Okechukwu, a final year Law undergraduate student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka described Glo Bounce as a well conceived initiative that is helping to reduce the phone cost of young Nigerians in tertiary institutions. “I appreciate the free 15MB of data that Glo gives free of charge for every recharge of N200 and above once you are on the Bounce platform. It’s enough for me to keep in touch with my people on Whatsapp,” she said. IRWA CONFERENCE L-R : New Chapter President, International Right of Way Association (IRWA), Mr Eze Odigbo; First Vice President, Mr Charles Ebiai; and New Secretary, Mrs Akobundu Ken,at the association’s Educational Conference and installatan of new officers in Abuja...recently Magic Mirror, a New Outdoor Platform Debuts A new vista has been opened in the Nigerian out-of-home advertising industry with the introduction of Magic Mirror advertising option by Soundz&Meknitz Limited. The magic mirror, one of the world’s latest OOH advertising technologies, is believed to be a unique innovation in the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. Classed under the emerging media and below the line/indoor advertising category, it works by interfacing a specially designed mirror with an inbuilt LCD video and audio programme that also doubles as a viewing mirror. The TVC is seen playing on the mirror, with an inbuilt sensor that squeezes the advert message to a corner on approach of a user to present a full mirror and returns after use. Speaking on the new innovation, Managing Director of Soundz&Meknitz Limited, Mr Felix Ugbechie said already his company has been granted exclusive permit to install the next generation advertising technology in all the rest rooms on all the airport lounges in Nigeria, a factor he is sure will give maximum value to Nigerian advertisers. Ugbechie said the advertising medium is unique because it offers the advertiser the opportunity to have something close to personal conversations with individuals who come in contact with it. “The mirror, as simple as it is, is a very important tool for managing personal relationships. We must always go to the mirror to appreciate ourselves and determine if we are looking good enough for that all important meeting. It is a personal tool that enables us to have a conversation with ourselves before we go out to meet other people. What we are doing is take this conversation even further by enabling brands to talk to their targets in their most intimate periods. This is a period when conversations are best appreciated and ensure long lasting retention,” he stated. Ugbechie explained that the Magic Mirror advertising has the distinguishing capability to pass the message to the personally and without interruptions and also overcomes the challenges of no tune out, trashing or flipping pages that have been the disadvantages of electronic and print media advertising in recent time. “The Magic Mirror is like a welcome companion to the often disconcerting privacy of the rest rooms. That is why we say it holds personal conversations because advertisers have the privilege of talking to individuals in this secluded privacy and be able to arrest their attention throughout their stay. This is an advantage no other form and medium of advertising can offer. And it can offer access to a specific gender pin downs of messaging with 100% accuracy. For instance, female toilets can be loaded with messages speaking to the female market and vice versa thereby giving accurate traffic and exposure measurement.” He added that the new medium is capable of also offers high brand visibility, with an estimated average 5,000,000 to 5,500,000 views per month, a coverage no other medium can match at same cost. “The Magic Mirror is the best channel to help you reach your marketing priority areas or audience.It offers a high definition video and audio resonance in a casual and relaxed atmosphere. It offers a welcome alternative to looking at a blank wall. Advertisers are also afforded the opportunity to put their advert in desired marketing priority areas at high traffic time at any of the locations especially in Public Private Places. Mouka’s ‘Mattress Swap’ Campaign Intensifies Foam manufacturers, Mouka Limited, has re-introduced the ‘Mattress swap’ campaign to enable its numerous esteemed customers and patrons of other brands alike to exchange their old mattress for a new Mouka mattress at an incredible discount. The campaign offer, which kicked off last week and is expected to run for a period of one month would be available to customers in key states across the country. According to the National Business Manager, Mouka Limited, Mr. Olufemi Asa, the initiative, which was first introduced in 2013 was designed to further entrench the brands affinity with both customers and non-customers by helping them to renew sleep and comfort. He said: “As the category thought leader in the foam industry in Nigeria and West Africa as a whole, we started the initiative to encourage customers to replace their old mattress by bringing their old mattress to get a new one thereby helping them to renew the unparalleled comfort offering of Mouka.” Fapohunda explained that there is the need for customers to change their mattress after every 4 year which is the Average life span of a mattress but many customers are constrained with the burden of how to dispose the old mattresses hence, the Mouka offer. He stated further that the initiative gives the customers the opportunity to own a new and comfortable mattress at a discounted price while also contributing to the environment by helping customers to dispose their old mattress which will be recycled. Also speaking on the campaign, the Marketing Manager of the company, Mr. Olusegun Ajala noted that the offer is not limited to brand only as customers can trade in any brand of mattress for a new super comfort Mouka Mattress of their choice. He explained that the old mattress would be weighed to ascertain the value and the customers will be given the discount, which would be deducted from the value of any Mouka products of choice.
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