New Naira notes racketeering lands Oando Accountant in ICPC net - ITREALMS

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested an accountant of Oando Filling Station, Dutse Alhaji, Abuja, over alleged racketeering of the new Naira notes, reports ITREALMS.

Confirming this to ITREALMS, the spokesperson to ICPC, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua said that this latest arrest followed the continued onslaught by the Commission on some elements who have taken advantage of the scarcity of the new Naira notes to swindle unsuspecting Nigerians.

TEXUB lands in Nigeria to boost online IT trade - ITREALMS

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Dubia-based smart Business-To-Business (B2B) solution provider, Texub, has landed into the Nigeria's electronic commerce industry with its market place platform, reports ITREALMS.

Disclosing this in a chat with ITREALMS in Lagos on Tuesday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Texub, Mr. Suchit Kumar, said that the company's presence in Nigeria makes it the fifth footprint since formal launch some five months ago.

RoboRave lands in Lagos, hosts 200 students - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The United States (U.S.)-based robotics education academy, RoboRave International, has unveiled a robotics workshop for 200 primary and secondary school students, reports ITREALMS.

The 200 students, ITREALMS gathered were from 21 schools across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, and Edo States including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and were hosted in collaboration the Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate General Lagos, at the weekend.

ITREALMS reports that the workshop gave boost to technology education in Nigeria by engaging the participating students in hands-on robotics activities to stimulate their interest in math and science as well as careers in the STEM fields.

United States Consulate Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Russell Brooks who declared the workshop open and give welcome remarks, commending the RoboRave organisers on what they are doing to underscore the importance of STEM education.

The workshop, which held at Zone Tech Park, Gbagada-Lagos, was facilitated by an international faculty, including RoboRAVE International Director of Global Programs Russ Fisher-Ives, and RoboRAVE North America Director Brian Montoya.

Some of the participating schools include Deeper Life High School, Lagos Campus, saw the Team Alpha showcased its Aqua-Jet which could be applied in security, educational research, oceanic engineering, underwater event coverage and entertainment.

The school also presented under its CePhMo Bots the Omni Lock, which is ultra-modern security systems.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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TechCrunch lands in Lagos with African startup battlefield - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield in partnership with Facebook, lands in Lagos in 2018, featuring panels and keynotes with high-powered industry leaders, reports ITREALMS.

This, ITREALMS gathered, comes in the wake of success of last year’s Startup Battlefield Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, the 2018 competition will unfold in Lagos, Nigeria.

The hottest startups from across the Sub-Saharan Africa region will be competing to be crowned the continent’s best startup on 11 December, following in the footsteps of 2017 overall winner, Lori Systems hailing from Kenya, who have built a logistics platform that is revolutionising the cargo-transport value chain in Africa.

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield is looking to identify Sub-Saharan Africa’s best innovators, makers and technical entrepreneurs. Last year the competition highlighted how technology is optimising supply chains, increasing access to education, strengthening farmers’ revenues and so much more.

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa will take place in front of a live audience and top judges, and the show will be covered on the TechCrunch platforms. The judges will have to select a winner to be dubbed; “Sub-Saharan Africa’s Most Promising Startup.” The winning startup’s founders will be awarded $25,000 in cash plus a trip for two to compete in Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch’s flagship event, disrupt in 2019.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Metropolitan Networks lands in Lagos, pledges cutting-edge IT solutions

ITREALMS:

The United Kingdom-based Information and Technology firm, Metropolitan Networks, has landed in Lagos-Nigeria with a pledge to offer cutting edge solutions, reports ITRealms.

Founded in 2003 in London, to provide quality customer-centred network support, and later security and managed service, the Managing Director, Ashok Thomas, in an interaction with journalists in Lagos, said the firm has the experience and capacity to meet the needs of organisations both large and small in the country.

Thomas said the advantage of Metropolitan Networks’ vast experience in the IT Industry will help improve the connectivity, efficiency and security of businesses.

  

According to him, the firm would offer advanced IT security services, managed services, hosting, infrastructure, and server connections for businesses in Nigeria.

  

He said each business sector has specific requirements, which the firm is equipped to support, stressing that the vast resources both human and material in Nigeria are potential to be developed and explored.

According to him, the country has what it takes to rule Africa and impact the world greatly, especially with the right and adequate policies from government at all levels.

Thomas added that Metropolitan Networks plans to grow and develop further with Nigeria, saying it has made impact through projects done in Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobaggo, and a host of others.

   

“We have a lot of experience with service providers in the U.K., the Caribbean. As an IT Integrator, we bring operational efficiency and innovation to business organisations. The intention is to replicate that in Nigeria and the plan is already mapped out to achieve this,” he said.

Equally, Thomas said they were in the country for a long term, noting that Metropolitan would want to play huge roles in Lagos smartcity projects.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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ZTE: Airtel’s 4G lands in Ibadan to drive economic growth

ITREALMS:

Global telecommunications equipment, networks and mobile devices company, ZTE Corporation, has partnered with leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, to roll-out 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) in Ibadan, Oyo State, reports ITRealms.

Speaking an event in Ibadan, recently, the Chief Executive Officer of ZTE Nigeria Limited, Danny Zhang, said ZTE ensured a best in class deployment of 4G in Ibadan in line with its global best practices and assured that residents of Ibadan will enjoy a seamless and joyous mobile Internet experience courtesy of Airtel and ZTE.

He further noted that Airtel’s 4G deployment in Ibadan will help drive economic growth in the Pacesetter State.

Segun Ogunsanya, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, commented: “Airtel 4G will help drive growth, spread prosperity and empower the highly enterprising people of Ibadan to fulfill their potentials and realize their dreams.

“Our commitment is to deliver 4G Service that works to Nigerians as we will dramatically improve mobile Internet experience for telecoms consumers across the country.”

The event, which held at the Ibadan Civic Centre featured cultural performances, performance poetry sessions and well-choreographed dance styles that highlighted thematic preoccupations bordering on Technology, Culture and Economic Development.

The roll-out was attended by several dignitaries and key opinion leaders including the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Chief Moses Adeyemo and Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye.

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Pix: L-R: Senator Ademola Adeleke, Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications; Segun Ogunsanya, MD & CEO, Airtel Nigeria and Danny Zhang, CEO of ZTE Nigeria Limited at the launch of Airtel 4G in Ibadan, recently.

Digital Switch-Over lands in coal city

ITREALMS:

The Federal Government has launched the Digital Switch-Over in the Enugu, the coal city capital of Enugu State, reports ITRealms.

The Enugu launch, ITRealms gathered, mark the third state the launch took place within the last two months.

According to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Enugu follows the recent rollout in Kwara and Kaduna.

He also said that there is no better evidence of our commitment to rapidly spread the massive benefits of digital television to the people of Nigeria, Mohammed commended and congratulated all the stakeholders who are working round the clock to ensure the success of the transition from analogue to digital television across the country.

“The National Broadcasting Commission, the Digiteam, Signal Distributors, Content Aggregators, Set Top Box Manufacturers, Channel Owners and all others,” he said.

Further, he said the nation’s DSO is now at the cruise level of the journey started in Jos, Plateau State, in April 2016, as the DSO train has now transversed Abuja, Ilorin, Kaduna, to arrive Enugu, which is the latest stop.

“From here, the DSO train will proceed to Osun State, as we continue our rapid rollout of digital television across the country,” he said.

Mohammed, noted the need to support DSO sustainability for Signal Distributors, Channel owners, TV content producers and Advertisers.

“This is the issue of Audience Measurement. I have said it before and I will like to repeat it here: Without it, we will not see the growth in our television and the value creation in the creative industry that the economy and people of Nigeria so need. The current Diary Audience Measurement system is no longer ideal for the critical transitional phase before full DTT Migration,” he said.

The Enugu State governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi later launched the DSO with a cutting a tape.

Ozo Nweke Ozo in Enugu/ GEE

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TD Mobile lands in Ghana, partners Nokia

ITREALMS:

The acclaimed sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest mobile devices distributor, TD Mobile has landed in the city of Accra, capital of Ghana, just as it partners Nokia to boost penetration, reports ITRealms.

This, ITRealms gathered, commenced with the official launch of its operations in Ghana, even as TD Mobile was appointed exclusive distributors of Nokia mobile phones in the West African country.

The event held at the Villa Monticello Boutique Hotel, Airport Residential Area, Accra on Friday October 27^th 2017, ITRealms also gathered, witnessed who is who across the representatives of key government functionaries from the Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Business Development, Ministry of Trade and Industry, captains of industries; major telecoms companies and stakeholders in the smartphone reseller and consumer space.

Equally present was the Chairman, Zinox Group, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, the Lithuanian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Joseph Syme; Managing Director/CEO, United Bank for Africa (Ghana) Ltd., Abiola Bawuah; CEO, Ghana Free Zone Board, Michael Bafi and a host of celebrities from the movie and entertainment industries.

With the official launch of TD Mobile in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, expectations are rife of an astronomical rise in smartphone penetration which currently hovers around 21 per cent in Ghana. Hopes are also high for improved access to genuine quality mobile devices at the right prices for the majority of Ghanaians.

Further fueling the sense of excitement is TD Mobile’s signing of a major partnership agreement with HMD Global as sole distributors of Nokia mobile devices including the much-anticipated Nokia 8 and the re-born version of the iconic Nokia 3310, among other eye-catching models recently unveiled by the brand.

A subsidiary of ICT distribution power-house Technology Distributions Ltd., TD Mobile will add the Nokia brand to a growing list of premium Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) represented in line with its status as the biggest mobile devices distributor in the West African sub-region. Some of the major brands represented in the TD Mobile stable include Infinix, Samsung, Tecno, Lenovo, InnJoo and Transcend, among many others.

“We are extremely delighted to extend our operations to Ghana which remains one of the most prominent markets in the West African sub-region. We are also excited with our appointment as exclusive distributors of Nokia mobile phones in the country,” Managing Director, TD Mobile, Mrs. Gozy Ijogun enthused. 

“With a predominantly youthful population, stable political system and an admirably aspirational mindset among its people, there is so much potential in Ghana.  We are optimistic that, with the launch of TD Mobile and the unveiling of new lines of products and partnerships here, the rate of technology diffusion and smartphone penetration will reach unprecedented levels. The positive effects of these on the economy and the standard of living in the country are huge and we are so excited to be a part of it,” she concluded.

Also speaking at the event, HMD Global’s General Manager, West, East and Central Africa, Mr. Joseph Umunnakwe, expressed delight with the company’s partnership with TD Mobile which in his opinion, will provide more options and real value for resellers and consumers in Ghana’s mobile devices market space.

Established with a keen eye on the future of smart technologies and as a timely response to the dynamic and changing face of the industry and end-user requirements; TD Mobile has quickly acquired a reputation as the biggest distributor of smart mobile devices in the West African sub-region.

With its wide reach and presence in major cities and other West African capitals, TD Mobile possesses the latent capacity to take every brand on its stable to every nook and cranny in the hinterlands and to every action station in any metropolis.

In addition to pioneering the use of online serial number confirmations which allows user authentication of all mobile devices, TD Mobile has also carried on the legacy of its parent company by distributing only genuine products sourced directly from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Riding on its renowned reputation as an undisputed source of genuine mobile devices, TD Mobile has grown rapidly from a position of strength to become a by-word for reliability in the West African mobile devices market.  

Ogochukwu Nebenanya/GEE

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Pix: TD MOBILE launches in Ghana: R-L: Managing Director, TD Mobile, Mrs. Gozy Ijogun; HMD Global’s General Manager, West, East and Central Africa, Mr. Joseph Umunnakwe; Board Chairman, Volta River Authority, Mr. Kweku Awotwi; Managing Director/CEO, United Bank for Africa (Ghana) Ltd., Abiola Bawuah; Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh; Managing Director, Alliance Marketing, Mrs. Hanannah Ibrahim; Managing Director, Atlantic Phones, Kwesi Nitri and representative of the Minister of Trade/Industry and Head, Communication and Public Affairs in the Ministry, Mr. Boakye-Boateng Prince during the official launch of TD Mobile and unveiling as exclusive distributors of NOKIA mobile phones in Ghana at the Villa Monticello Boutique Hotel, Airport Residential Area, Accra on last Friday.

Facebook CEO, Zuberberg lands in Nairobi, visits Kenyan iHub

ITRealms:

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Facebook, Mr Mark Zuckerberg left Nigerian Wednesday for Kenya to visit the iHub technology hub in Nairobi, the nation’s capital, reports ITRealms.

He is also expected to meet with developers and partners, and explore how the country’s pioneering mobile money ecosystem is evolving.

Zuckerberg visit to Kenya forms part of the second leg of his first-ever African visit which commenced with Nigeria early this week.

He looked forward to learn more about what mobile entrepreneurs are doing with the latest technologies, and find out how Facebook could better support small businesses, developers and content creators across growing markets.

The CEO, ITRealms gathered, was particularly excited to see how mobile money and social media are driving commerce in the region and creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and communities.

One of Zuckerberg’s first stops on the trip was iHub, an Innovation hub and hacker space started in March 2010 by TED fellow and entrepreneur, Eric Hersman.

Nenye Dom/GEE 

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Pix: Zuckerberg in Kenya