Nokia Networks is committed to Nigeria’s Broadband Plan - Najm

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The leadership of Nokia Networks in the Middle East and Africa, has declared its commitment to the achievement of Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Revealing this in Lagos on Tuesday, the Vice President and Head of Middle East and Africa, Nokia Networks, Mr. Bernard Najm, told  DigitalSENSE Business News at a media roundtable that Nokia is ready to work with Nigeria and Nigerians to ensure the five year plan on broadband become a reality.

He noted that mobile broadband infrastructure in Nigeria needs to be strengthened to significantly improve network coverage and speed across the country including mid-size cities and rural areas.

“To help achieve National Broadband Plan’s objectives and drive the country’s socio-economic development, we are committed to providing operators here with our advanced 2G, 3G and 4G technologies, and global expertise in services to build and run the networks cost efficiently,” he said.

This, he also told DigitalSENSE Business News was focus of the industry conference with stakeholders, held earlier in the day, just as he highlight the need to deploy Nokia’s advanced 2G, 3G, 4G technologies coupled with services for operators to help the government achieve NBP.

He also said that Nokia Networks telecom conference titled ‘Connect Nigeria: Exploring ICT Potential for Growth’ was to explore the road for connected Nigeria in line with the government’s ambitious National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2013-2018. 

The plan aims to increase broadband penetration from 6 per cent in 2013 to 30 per cent by 2018, stressing that it also aims to cover 80 per cent of the population with 3G and LTE services and offer a minimum download speed of 1.5 Mbps. 

He revealed that about 150 industry experts representing Nokia Networks, operators, government, and IT companies participated in the conference.

Najm quoted a recent GSMA report on Nigeria which indicates the nation is a fast growing economy and the largest one in Africa, but has low mobile broadband penetration.

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Pix: Benard Najm of Nokia

ICANN 52: Singapore agog for global Internet stakeholders convention

ITRealms:

The city of Singapore is now wearing a new look as participants for the global internet stakeholders meet converge for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) 52 public meeting reports ITRealms.

The four-day meeting, ITRealms reports, would hold between February 9 and 12, 2015 at the Raffles City Convention Centre, near Raffles Hotel, and the adjoining Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel.

The meeting, ITRealms gathered, will also bring together stakeholders from around the globe to discuss what the future of the Internet may look like in light of last year’s announcement that the United States (U.S.) government will transition stewardship of the IANA functions to the global multistakeholder community.

ITRealms also gathered that former Senior Advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton, Ira Magaziner, and Singapore’s Minister of Communications and Information, Dr. Yaacob bin Ibrahim, will address attendees at the meeting’s opening ceremony in the morning of February 9, 2015. 

In the afternoon, ITRealms further learnt that ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé will join Board Chair Dr. Stephen D. Crocker, Global Domains Division President Akram Atallah and Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Pacific (APAC) Yu-Chuang Kuek at a world press conference in Singapore.

ITRealms equally gathered that top on the agenda at the press meet will be to address a wide range of issues, including the current status of the IANA stewardship transition and the continued delegation of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs).

+Remmy Nweke +ICANN +ICANNWiki @ICANN52 @DigitalSENSEng
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SME: Okere prescribes 3 Powers for Success as entrepreneurs

DigitalSENSE Business News:

FOUNDER and Chief Executive Officer, Computer Warehouse Group Plc, Mr. Austin Okere has prescribed three antidotes owners of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) must abide with to become successful, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The three antidotes are what he tagged “3 Powers of success” which include the Way power, the Will power and the Wait power.

Okere who gave this insight at the maiden edition of the Annual Fidelity SMEs conference in Lagos as a panelist on the theme “Leveraging Technology for SME Growth”, noted that the three powers are secrets that will keep every entrepreneur going.

The panel featured outstanding entrepreneurs in the ICT sector of the country, including Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, the Founder of Zinox Technologies; Mr. Nicolas Martin, CEO and Co- Founder of Jumia , Mr. Charles Anudu, CEO, Swift Networks, Mr. Bankole Cardoso, Founder Easy Taxi, Mr. Opeyemi Awoyemi, Co-Founder Jobberman and Mrs. Funke Opeke, CEO of Main One.

“Will power is the competence you possess to run your business. The knowledge of how to run the enterprise you want to venture into,” he said.

Many people, he noted, will start a business, create solutions then go about looking for the problems. And when sales are not made they become disappointed.

“You first ought to be finding out peoples’ problems and pain points then create solutions that ameliorate the pain. This is the best way to ensure patronage,” Okere advised.

The will power, Okere said is “the resolve to keep going when everyone say give up”. “Sometimes people close to you will advise you to dump your venture and seek a proper job. But, what should keep you going at such times is your passion. It is the passion of a footballer that makes him complain when he is benched, despite the fact that he will still receive his pay at the end of the day. Your will power makes you go the extra mile, while your passion makes you persist in your venture while waiting for pay day.”

“Most businesses fail because the proprietors abandon them as soon as they face challenges, because it is not yielding as much as they want. After you have put so much effort into your business, you need to patiently wait for the benefits that will accrue from it. This is the essence of the third power; the wait power, which takes you eventually to light at the end of a dark tunnel,” he concluded.

On how SMEs could leverage on technology to maximize results, Okere advised merchants to explore the opportunities that the CWG 2.0 platform offers.

“SMERP and Openshopen platforms are designed to meet the peculiar needs of SMEs in Nigeria. Openshopen will give you the visibility your business requires to thrive in this age where businesses are going online, while SMERP will take care of your accounting and generate the records banks like Fidelity will require from you to access loans. Beyond that, they are reliable and affordable, and are available on a subscription basis,” he said.

Okere emphasized on the essence of developing the CWG2.0 platform to democratize the technology that companies such as Jumia and Konga have erstwhile used exclusively to great advantage, and make them available to the over 17.7m MSMEs in Nigeria.

“Seeing the value that this platform shall bring to the SME’s in the country, SMEDAN recently signed an MOU with CWG Plc culminating in a partnership that will address the technology needs of the sector.” Austin asserted.

The Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, in his opening speech maintained that the bank’s commitment to building Nigerian entrepreneurs is one of its core business focuses. 

“We have gathered here today to deliberate on the challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria and proffer solutions that would guide entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses,” he explained.

“Our goal is to produce more successful businessmen like Alhaji Aliko Dangote from our entrepreneurs that are in SME category for now. We have watched Dangote transform from a merchant who went into manufacturing and later transformed into an owner of a multinational conglomerate,” he said.

Earlier, Mr. Okere was given a Distinguished Partner Award for his role in the building of Nigerian entrepreneurs by Fidelity Bank plc.

In a commemorative statement, the bank appreciated Mr. Okere for sharing his ideas on the panel. 

“We have continued to receive excellent feedbacks from the audience who are inspired by the insights and knowledge you shared.” he explained.

 

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Etisalat Cliqfest 2015 storms UNIZIK

ITRealms:

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State hosted  the first Etisalat Cliqfest programme for 2015, reports ITRealms.

Cliqfest, ITRealms notes, is a youth-centric education and entertainment initiative of Nigeria’s fastest growing and most innovative telecommunications company, Etisalat Nigeria.

The two-day programme featured an inspirational session with renowned motivational speaker, Niyi Adesanya; a novelty football match and an exciting concert headlined by nonconformist hip-hop artiste, Kiss Daniel, Nigerian music legends of the 21st Century; popular hip hop stars, Mr Raw, Terry G; and the winner of the 4th season of Etisalat-Sponsored Nigerian Idol, Evelle Zibili.

Head, Youth Segment at Etisalat Nigeria, Elvis Daniel observed that Cliqfest provides an opportunity for strategic engagement with an important market segment and also positions young Nigerians for successful careers.

"Etisalat Cliqfest is an edutainment and reward initiative for Nigerian students. During the programme, students have an opportunity to prepare for life outside school, while having fun at the same time and experiencing Etisalat’s youth-centered product - Easycliq,” Daniel told ITRealms.

Further reports by ITRealms shows that the climax was when a 100 Level Medical Laboratory Student, Obiekwe Somtochukwu, won the grand prize of a brand new Hyundai i10 car during the raffle draw.

Overwhelmed, Obiekwe Somtochukwu said she was extremely grateful to Etisalat for their generosity. “I never thought I would win it when I bought my ticket but I guess it goes to show that nothing is impossible. I will forever remain grateful to Etisalat for this car. This is definitely the best way to start the year for me” she said.

ITRealms recollects that Etisalat Cliqfest has been to over 50 tertiary institutions in Nigeria, motivating thousands of students with its unique combination of education and entertainment.

+Remmy Nweke +Etisalat Nigeria

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PIC 1: L-R: Student Union Government President, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Akwa, Anambra, Noble Eyisi; Analyst, Customer Care Etisalat Nigeria, Olanike Faroun; Dean of Student Affairs, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Akwa, Anambra, Professor Kenneth Nwogu; Winner of brand new Hyundai i10 car, Obiekwe Somtochukwu; Head, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Elvis Daniel; and Analyst, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Micheal Nwoseh; during the presentation of the brand new car to Onyenachie at the Etisalat Cliqfest in Ekpoma, Edo State over the weekend.

InfraCo: MainOne, IHS Consortium clinch license

ITRealms:

The duo of MainOne Company and IHS Consortium have emerged winners of their licenses for the Infrastructure Company (InfraCo) bid opened last year by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), reports ITRealms.

Disclosing this to ITRealms at a one-day industry Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Stakeholders Forum which held at Eko Hotel at the weekend, the Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Eugene Juwah said MainOne won the license for the Lagos and IHS Consortium won the license for the Lagos North-Central respectively.

ITRealms reports that four operators comprising MainOne, Zinox Telecom, HIS and Trussnet vied for the Lagos region license which NCC divided into two for ease of coverage, since Lagos is the commercial nerve center of the national and center of communication investment in the country.

The four companies had tendered bids for the license in 2014 and in response to a question at the 4^th Industry ICT Stakeholders Forum, Juwah told ITRealms the have concluded and the letter of award of licenses should be on dispatch to respective winners as at the time of filing this report.

This he said, follows the conclusion of the evaluation by NCC, which was delayed due to several reasons, including the mild-break out of Ebola in the country by third quarter of 2014, which has since been contained.

ITRealms recalls that NCC had revealed it would be licensing seven InfraCos for the country, stressing that six will be for the geo-political zones each in Nigeria, while Lagos will have one operator because of its peculiarity.

The Lagos and North Central regions, NCC said would come in the first phase of the licensing, while other five zones namely the North East, North West, South East, South West and South South have been lined up for the second phase.

+Remmy Nweke +MainOne Cable @IHS

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