Porter Novelli unveils ‘borderless’ network model - ITREALMS

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Porter Novelli, one of the biggest PR consultancies in the world, has introduced a new global network model in response to evolving client needs – The Connected Core.

The model enables the agency to cherry pick talent across the world, creating a centre of excellence for each of their clients into which they can plug in additional expertise when relevant and as required.

Kuda's N6bn loss: Need to reinvent the model - ITREALMS

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Universal access to financial services is today widely regarded as a fundamental human right. Firms helping to drive access to financial services are highly regarded as enablers of financial inclusion.

“Financial inclusion," according to the World Bank, "means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance – delivered responsibly and sustainably.” It is viewed as a key enabler in reducing poverty and boosting prosperity.

Chevron Nigeria: A model for other multinationals - ITREALMS

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Since I departed Nigeria over 17 years ago for further studies and subsequently settled in the United States of America, one irony that has never ceased to amaze me is the failure of the government in Nigeria to match its public statements with action, especially in local content promotion, patronage and development.

Here in the United States, one cannot help but admire how the US government fights for and protects the interests of its own local brands, notably in the face of competing foreign brands.

2019: There’s plan to replicate New Jersey model campaign in Nigeria – Chief Charles Eke

PersonalityInterview@ITREALMS:

Leading light of the four Nigerians of Igbo extraction recently appointed into the transition team by the New Jersey-elected governor, Mr. Phil Murphy, is Honourable Chief CharlesUgochukwu Eke, who is a Computer Engineer by profession, having graduated from both the Clarion University of Pennsylvania and New Jersey City University. Eke who is the founder/Chief Executive Officer, Infotech Systems, and founder of Ngor-Okpala Progressive Organization (NOPO) for the Tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), told award-winning Editor, ITRealms Online, REMMY NWEKE, of plans to replicate New Jersey model campaign in 2019 general elections in Nigeria.

Excerpts:

ITRealms: Give us your background for the benefit of our readers?

CUE: I am a high Chief Ochiri and Ogbuhuru Uzo and member of Knight of Columbus. I am an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) practitioner and politician, resident in United States. I started my career at EDS and later IBM. With the many years in the industry, I began my own firm, as the founder and Chief Executive Officer, Infotech Systems, which was founded in the city of Plainfield in 1995; we began providing communications, networking, and hardware, and software solutions to businesses.

As a result of the success, I was named delegate of the Commonwealth Business Forum in Abuja Nigeria and was inducted by the Who's who in Information Technology, New York, New York, since 1997. I was also an elected member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), as a Business Professional which also earned me much recognition in 1998, climaxing in the most prominent award which was the United States Congressional Order of Merit.

I have been a leading member in many organizations and for the outstanding community service to the public, I founded the International Students Association (ISA), located in New Jersey City University as an undergraduate; founded the Ngor-Okpala Progressive Organization (NOPO) for the Tri-state area.

I was named into the Board of Trustees of Zik Foundational Society USA (in honor of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Founding Father of Independent Nigeria) and have contributed as member and citizen of Plainfield, in various offices through the City of Plainfield, including the Plainfield Municipal Utility Authority, Councilman-at-Large, Committee Member Heritage/Cultural Commission, City Planning Board of Commissioners, African Caribbean Commission, Obama Organizing Fellow/Deputy Field Organizer in 2008.

ITRealms: Congratulations on your recent appointment by Governor-elect of New Jersey, Mr. Phil Murphy. Can you share some insights with us on that development?

I became a member of Team Murphy for Governor campaign through Rev Derrick Green who hired me and with Phil Murphy who supported my vision to start Africans for Phil Murphy which today played a great roll in mobilizing Africans and Caribbean that contributed greatly in victory of the governor elect.

I gave my best to the campaign for 18-month none pay crisscrossing New Jersey, organizing and campaigning for the candidate Murphy. I became a family member welcomed by him and that ushered in the four appointments and more to come.

ITRealms: I understand there were some other Nigerians also appointed by Gov. Murphy alongside your humble self. Who are those and what's your relationship with them?

CU Eke: Dr. Obilor Iwuozo is a medical doctor and was with me and contributed greatly. Always there whenever I need him; Dr. Francis Owoh is environmental engineer who answered my call for help when the candidate was not popular last year and he stayed with me till this day.

For, Chief Sir Polly Ubah, when I approached him, he provided his daycare business for a policy study and public outreach. He and his wife went to all rallies and canvassed with us. He brings education to early childhood to the public.

So in all, there are “Chief Sir Polly Ubah to serve in Education, Access and Opportunity; Chief Charles Ugo Eke in Government, Technology and Innovation; Chief Dr. Francis Owoh to serve in Environment and Energy; and Chief Dr. Iwuozo Obilor to serve in Health.”

ITRealms: How do you describe your relationship with residence of New Jersey in the United States to merit such appointment?

CU Eke: There are other African countries that made up Africans for Phil Murphy group and all hard works are appreciated and will be rewarded. Today in New Jersey we have made known to the citizens of New Jersey that if given chance and opportunities we can deliver victory. I rose to senior coordinator in the campaign and have helped bring victory to couple other elections in New Jersey. The zeal and exposures are very high in New Jersey.

ITRealms: With your experience, what would you say led to such inroad by Africans and particularly by Nigerians in the city politics in the US?

CU Eke: Persistent, patient, total loyalty and honest. I started in USA politics in 1995, contested first level in 1998 and won in my city, then served my term and in 2002 became commissioner two terms then in 2012 became citywide councilman at large completing a term, 2015 became county committee member and 2016 joined Murphy for Governor campaign.

ITRealms: Now that you have been appointed into Gov. Murphy administration, what can you share as your agenda to support the administration, moving forward?

CU Eke: We are currently in transition and I know we will do our best going forward.

ITRealms: The Trump administration is still struggling with the anti-migration policies. Do you think that has any impact on US relationship with Africa or Africans?

CU Eke: I don't think so and it should not remember state can have bilateral relationships between countries.

ITRealms: And by the way, which party is Gov. Murphy Or is he an independent candidate?

CU Eke: Murphy is a Democrat.

ITRealms: Where do you see Africans in the next decade in US politics, especially in New Jersey?

CU Eke: Mayors, Senators and leading politically and scientifically.

ITRealms: Do you foresee Africans contesting for Governorship in New Jersey?

CU Eke: Absolutely yes, before 10 years.

ITRealms: What impact do you think the appointments of Africans cum Nigerians by Gov. Murphy sends to other states in the United States and invariably to Africans too?

CU Eke: It's a great wake up call to other states and Africans in general and thanks to Rev. Derrick Green for his vision in bringing me into the campaign that started all these effects. I know other states are in a process of utilizing Africans brains to achieve victory.

ITRealms: Are you concerned about what is happening in Nigeria and her politics?

CU Eke: I am very concerned that people’s voices are not heard. I have been approached to bring this type of campaign to run election in 2019. Still thinking about it.

ITRealms: Are you considering playing in the Nigerian politics, at least to bring your experience to bear?

CU Eke:  At a right time, yes! I am not interested in running for any office, but to manage.

ITRealms: What message do you have for Africans and Nigerians precisely residing in United States?

CU Eke: Nigeria is my country as well as United States. I graciously thank United States of America for harnessing my potential and opportunities afforded me. Nigeria must trust the brain lost and find a way to regain it. Malaysia and India was able to develop because they used their citizens abroad with honest; why can't Nigeria?

ITRealms: Any concluding comment or message from you, sir?

CU Eke: I want to thank all that called text and sent in uncountable congratulatory messages and especially my director Rev Derrick Green and entire team Murphy and Africans for Phil Murphy. My wife who supported me throughout the hardest campaigns I have ever involved in. Thanks Odiuko namba.

ITRealms: Thanks for your time, Chief and congratulations again.

CU Eke: Thanks for having me!

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Okere’s five forces for future banking

Commentary@ITRealms:

Having enjoyed centuries of monopoly, assured by the support of regulation, including through stringent requirements to new licensees, the erstwhile secured future of traditional banks is facing a heightened threat of disruption from Financial Technology companies (or FINTECHs), who are exploiting pent-up customer dissatisfaction and new technologies such as blockchain, coupled with the significant boost in smartphone adoption and pervasive broadband to disrupt the sector. 

The foundation of the Fintechs’ disruptive model lies in a peer-to-peer model for transactions, without any middleman or Central Authority in mind. A model that will possibly render the current establishment totally redundant and irrelevant.

The biggest threat to the banks has been precisely their seeming success. Centuries of relatively significant higher returns, even in the midst of economic downturns that adversely affect the real sectors, has engendered an attitude of invincibility and pomposity, characterised by a loss of touch with their customers.

Considered too big to fail, they take it for granted that they will be bailed out with taxpayers’ money in the event of any missteps – a perfect prey for disruption.

There are indeed five forces that will define the new face of banking: 
1. The banks - traditional and established, best with cash and ancillary instruments 
2. Fintechs – the new kid on the block, disrupter, mostly telecom roots, best with digital currencies and mobile services
3. Regulators - Central Banks, regulating traditional banks; and Communication Commissions, responsible for telecoms regulation (and thus Fintechs) 
4. Currencies - traditional, such as cash and cheques; or Digital, such as bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies
5. Customers - the weight and force of their new found voice. Typically, they clamour for whatever will give them convenience and lower costs. 

These forces and their interplay are represented in the schematic below:
A schematic representation of Austin's five forces analysis of the future of banking. 

Customers are the most significant force, and represented by the outermost sector of the concentric circles. As they tend more towards a preference for digital currencies, the Fintechs will tend to assume a more prominent role in the new face of banking, and the Regulatory regime will inadvertently tend towards the Communication Commissions under whose purview the Fintechs fall. 

This will introduce a regulatory imbroglio, as future ‘Huge Banks’ may fall outside the regulatory ambit of Central Banks (as seems to be the case with the MPESA mobile money platform, through which 25million Kenyans transacted $28billion in 2015, representing about 44% of the country’s GDP. Safaricom, the telecoms promoter of MPESA ironically falls under the regulation of the Communications Authority of Kenya rather than the Kenyan Central Bank).

If the customers however, maintain a strong appetite for traditional instruments of financial transactions such as notes & coins, cheques etc. then the current status quo will remain. The face of banking will thus be more of the same, and the regulatory authority will continue to be Central Banks. Between these two positions may be many variants, depending on the appetite and preferences of customers, and the pace at which they are willing to embrace change.

The essence of the Austin Okere’s Five Forces model is to enable players equip themselves with the imperatives that will ensure that their business is continuously relevant in the sector. It helps to guide the formulation of your prediction based on the following considerations:
·        whether there will indeed be a disruption
·        What the disrupted space will look like
·        The scale of disruption 
·        The pace of disruption

A correct application of Austin’s five forces model will define the difference between whether you continue to be in business, or whether your business model will become irrelevant and redundant.

Even though I developed the Austin’s five forces model, primarily to analyse the direction of the future of banking, the model can also be used to analyse any industry which is susceptible to disruption from the pervasive blockchain technology; including Real Estate; e.g. EY’s Australian operations piloted a real estate blockchain ecosystem that is now being used in the market to trade full, and even fractional ownership of properties. 

And also Government; e.g. Ukraine has partnered with global technology company, the Bitfury Group to put a sweeping range of government data on a blockchain platform. Dubai also has an ambitious blockchain strategy to issue all government documents on blockchain by 2020.

I will like to acknowledge due credits for this work to all blockchain enthusiasts, whose previous works have provided valuable insights, and also to my dear Son, Iheomimi Okere, who is quite artistically inclined, and has been able to correctly interpret my model in an aesthetic schematic.

*Contributed by Austin Okere, founder of CWG

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*Image by Omimi Okere

IBDN to create model for business development

 ITRealms

The Institute of Business Development, Nigeria (IBDN) has said it will create a sustainable model for the continent by addressing strategies for business development in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), finance, agro-allied and aviation-related sectors, ITRealms reports.

 According toPaul Ikele, registrar/CEO of the Institute, in the press release made available toITRealms,IBD has concluded plans toassemble players in several sectors of the economy in Africa at the upcoming International Business Development Week/Summit scheduled to take place between July 23 and 24 this year at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos.
 
“Every year during the International BD Week/Summit, we celebrate entrepreneurs, business giants, governments and some of Africa’s top brands that come together to network,” Ikele disclosed even as he  further stated that participants will go home each day with excitement and renewed energy, ITRealms said.

It is expected that micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) owners will most likely be the biggest beneficiaries. By definition, MSMEs are businesses that have less than 200 employees or assets worth below $2.5 million about N497.1 million. This places over 80 per cent of African businesses on this class.

According to ITRealms reports, the organisers said attendance is open to all interested persons and organizations in private and public sectors, as well as other key development professionals such as chief executive officers, general managers, chief operating officer, research and development managers, project managers and other business owners in Africa.

Important matters, such as adopting strategies to enhance business partnership in Africa, improving aviation infrastructure and employing ICT as a tool of business development will be discussed.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

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There’s no single best-fit model for multistakeholder governance groups -Study

ITRealms:

The latest study by the Global Network of Internet and Society Centers on Multistakeholder as governance groups, has revealed there is no single best-fit model for multistakeholder governance groups, reports ITRealms.

The Executive Director, Berkman Center and Harvard Law School Professor of Practice, Urs Gasser, 

who led the international effort on the study, declared to ITRealms that multistakeholder groups are at cross-road when it comes to the global governance of the Internet, where issues must not only be responded to complex technical challenges, but also deal with a broad range of policy issues ranging from cybersecurity to net neutrality and human rights.

"This collaborative research wants to strengthen the evidence-base as we search for future governance models that preserve the generativity and openness of the Internet, while also addressing pressing challenges and problems," he said.

Gasser also said that at a point where the future of Internet governance is being re-envisioned, the report deepened the understanding of the formation, operation, and critical success factors of governance groups. 

ITRealms reports that the study concluded by stated in part that:

“there is no single best-fit model for multistakeholder governance groups that can be applied in all instances. Rather, it reveals a range of approaches, mechanisms, and tools available for both the formation and operation of such groups. The analysis demonstrates that the success of governance groups depends to a large degree on the careful selection, deployment, and management of suitable instruments from this ‘toolbox’. As governance groups pass through different phases of operation, conveners and facilitators must remain alert to changes in circumstances that necessitate adjustments to the approaches, mechanisms, and tools that they deploy in order to address evolving challenges from inside and from outside. The case study series provides insights into how those instruments can be deployed and adjusted over time within such groups, and highlights how their interactions with important contextual factors may be successfully managed within given resource restraints.”

Other key observations from the study, as further described in the synthesis paper, include:

•             Inclusiveness (including mechanisms for participation) and transparency are critical factors to be managed and adjusted throughout the lifecycle of governance groups.

•             How governance groups define accountability and legitimacy is highly reflective of and dependent on contextual factors.

•             Different governance groups have different measures of success and effectiveness that are tied to their unique contexts and to factors that change over time.

The report is the first study by the recently launched Global Network of Internet and Society Centers, which brings together over 30 academic institutions from around the globe. As a milestone, it demonstrates that a global network of academic research centers can create a shared repository of timely and relevant research, which includes peer-reviewed methodologies and adherence to academic standards, open data, and expertise on diverse issues related to global policy debates.  

More broadly, the Network of Centers seeks to contribute to a more generalized vision and longer-term strategy for academia regarding its roles in research, facilitation and convening, and education in and communication about the Internet age.

Grasser was joined in the study by Ryan Budish, Harvard University - Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and Sarah Myers West University of Southern California - Annenberg School for Communication.

+Remmy Nweke +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +Harvard University @GNISC +“Ginger Virginia Paque – Coordinator Diplo IGCBP” +Internet Governance Project +Internet Society +Internet Governance Project 

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