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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Economic strategy for Nigeria on discourse @WorldStage Summit - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

At a time when attention is majorly focused on politics, as Nigeria is getting ready for the general election in the first quarter of 2019, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) will converge at the WorldStage Economic Summit on Tuesday, October 23 to discuss ‘New sources of economic strength to make the future happen’ reports ITREALMS.

In a statement by World Stage Limited, the organisers, the summit (http://worldstagegroup.com/wes) at the Event Centre, Nigerian Stock Exchange, 2-4 Customs Street, Lagos, by 9.30 AM will attract the participation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ATCON), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) among others.

According to Mr Segun Adeleye, President/CEO, World Stage Limited, the lead paper will be presented by Dr Tunde Adeoye, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, after which there will be a panel discussion of the theme of the summit.

He said the latest downturn in the economy due to political uncertainty is the more reason why Nigeria must laid an economic foundation based on its area of strength, which must be sustainable irrespective of the government that would be voted to power.

He said, “Credit for economic growth and boom in the developed countries world over the years had been linked to strategic identification and development of their economic strengths while government played the pivotal role of motivating the private sector with incentives to achieve the common goals in most cases.”

Notwithstanding that Nigeria has never at any particular period intentionally developed any area of economic strength, he said the dynamic nature of global interest could be a blessing if the country can identify and run with the right future to fast-track industrialization, just as the telecommunications sector broke all record of growth in the last decade.

In a global economy where tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook are richer than all African countries put together, he said managers of the economy cannot continue to fake ignorance of the needful, that mineral resource will no longer be a major factor in future relevance and prosperity.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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ADI ranks Nigeria 18th in affordable internet access - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Nigeria has been ranked 18th in this year's Affordability Drivers Index (ADI) by the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), reports ITREALMS.

This was contained I the 2018 Affordability Report made available to ITREALMS, which assesses and scores countries based on the policies they have in place to advance affordable access.

ITREALMS also gathered that Nigeria alongside Mauritius have been the two highest-scoring Sub-Saharan African countries on the ADI for the past 3 reports.

Reacting to the report findings, A4AI Executive Director Sonia Jorge noted that while they have seen a few bright spots of the policy leadership needed to advance affordable internet access, they are deeply concerned to see that policy progress has largely stagnated.

“Failure to prioritise needed broadband policy reforms has left billions of people offline, and has contributed to a significant slowing in the rate of people coming online. Every moment that these billions are unable to participate in digital development is a lost opportunity for economic, social, and political growth. Policymakers, the private sector, and civil society must come together to take immediate action to develop and implement the policies needed to connect everyone and accelerate internet growth,” she said.

ITREALMS gathered that the report finds that policies to expand infrastructure to underserved locations and populations have particularly faltered, resulting in stubbornly high costs for internet providers and consumers alike.

The ADI therefore, recommended that policymakers prioritise the time and resources needed to support the development of infrastructure critical to reducing internet costs.

Honorary Chair of A4AI and former Communications Minister of Nigeria, Dr Omobola Johnson, said that Internet access is a critical driver of economic growth.

“Good, stable infrastructure is, quite literally, the backbone of internet access. As it is today, many of the policies in place conspire to make the building and upkeep of internet infrastructure more difficult and expensive than it should be. Policymakers must focus on implementing policy frameworks that work to support the smart, coordinated development of infrastructure needed to ensure high-quality, affordable connectivity for all people — no matter whether they are in the city, a rural village, or a remote island community,” she declared.

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‘How Visa-On-Arrival boosts Nigeria’s tourism’ – ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Federal Government's Visa-On-Arrival Policy has started yielding fruits, especially in the tourism sector which has been boosted by the policy, reports ITREALMS.

Receiving members of the Latin America Motorcyclists Association (LAMA) in Abuja, who were in Nigeria for a tour of heritage sites and other tourist attractions in the country, Alhaji Mohammed pointed out the efficacy of visa on arrival.

''All our visitors here today got visa on arrival. That shows that the Federal Government's visa-on-arrival policy is working,'' he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the presence of the international bikers in Nigeria is a testimony to the fact that the Administration's quest to promote the country's cultural heritage and tourism sites is yielding fruits.

''As you tour Nigeria, under the 'Rediscover Heritage Bikers Tour of Nigeria', and visit historical heritage sites, you beam the searchlight on those sites for the world to see.

“You will see these heritage sites for yourselves as you travel through our culturally-rich and diverse nation. These sites include museums, monuments, homes of national heroes and other tourist sites,”
he said.

The Minister therefore enlisted the support of the bikers to become Nigeria's heritage ambassadors by spreading the news of the country's hidden treasures and their experiences while in the country.

In his remarks, the President of LAMA, Mr. Mario Nieves, said the group, which consists of members from 24 countries, is in Nigeria to rediscover the country’s culture and heritage as well as promote unity
among the human race.

“We are just a group of humble motorcyclists that decided to arrange and create some type of impact in our society. We believe that it is more important to be human than it is to be black or white or oriental
or Indian, because we belong to the human race and we believe that we are all one people,” he said.

Mr. Nieves said Nigeria has set a good example for them in humility, respect and hospitality, and that when they return to their respective countries, they will spread the good news about Nigeria.

While giving a background on the tour, the Acting Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Mr. Abdulkarim Kadiri, said the bikers, from Brazil, US and Mexico, among others, and their Nigerian counterparts will tour 11 states of the Federation in order to rediscover Nigeria and its rich cultural heritage.

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Excellence awards for African CSOs - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Rockefeller Foundation and EPIC-Africa have launched the first African Civil Society Organization (CSO) Excellence Awards across eight (8) major elements of organizational capacity, reports ITREALMS.

The awards, ITREALMS gathered, will highlight the importance of organizational capacity for civil society organizations to achieve program impact. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are awarded for excellence across eight (8) major elements of organizational capacity. Applications for the African CSO Excellence Awards are now open

EPIC-Africa (www.EPIC-Africa.org), with the support of The Rockefeller Foundation has launched the call for applications for the first African CSO Excellence Awards. The Awards highlight the importance of organizational capacity to achieve program impact, and showcase civil society organizations who demonstrate excellence across eight key elements of organizational capacity: Strategic Ability and Adaptability, Leadership and Governance, Financial Health and Management, Human Resources and Staff Development, Operations, Communications, Partnerships and Alliances and Monitoring and Evaluation.

The awards are now open to civil society groups across Africa to apply for the opportunity to fundraise on the international GlobalGiving Platform, benefit from a series of capacity building workshops, increase their media visibility and participate in networking opportunities through the African CSO Excellence Awards community.

EPIC-Africa is at the forefront of the charge to strengthen the infrastructure that supports civil society organizations and to deepen philanthropic impact in Africa. Mamadou Biteye, Managing Director of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Africa Office said, “As a major development partner in Africa, it is imperative that we invest in initiatives that highlight the importance of organizational capacity for program impact. We are delighted to support EPIC-Africa in this innovative approach to map the pan-African CSO sector and showcase the highest standards of organizational excellence among CSOs in Africa. These awards will also expand the opportunity for increased partnerships among key organizations on the continent, for greater impact.”

Rose Maruru, co-founder of EPIC-Africa added, “We are pleased to launch these awards to showcase the EPIC work that CSOs are doing all across Africa and make the case for ever more support for organizational capacity. This will allow CSOs to continue to be catalysts for the transformational change that our continent needs.”

Africa has the youngest population in the world. According to the UNDP, by 2055, the continent’s youth population (aged 15-24), is expected to be more than double the 2015 total of 226 million.

Adwoa Agyeman, co-founder of EPIC-Africa commented that “Africa will be relying heavily on the CSO sector over the next few decades to truly maximize its demographic dividend.” She added that “it will take concerted effort around key areas such as education, healthcare, employability, governance and human rights to reshape the continent. We know that CSOs cannot fully deliver on Africa’s promise to its young people when they have, among others, financing, human resources, and communications challenges to deal with on a daily basis. We are committed therefore to highlighting those who are thriving despite difficult circumstances and to share their approaches so that others can also learn.”

The African CSO Excellence Awards are open until December 31, 2018. Candidates will be shortlisted between January and March 2019 with the final winners announced in April 2019.

Nenye Dom/GEE


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DBI targets 2,000 primary, secondary school teachers by December - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) has declared focus on training over 2000 primary and secondary school teachers and administrators before year end, reports ITREALMS.

A press statement made available to ITREALMS, the Administrator of the Institute, Dr. Ike Adinde, stressed that the training programme is being extended to secondary schools under the initiative tagged Digital Awareness Programme (DAP) with funding provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

ITREALMS recalls that DBI is the capacity-building arm of the NCC which has the mandate to train Nigerians on emerging trends and rudiments of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Adinde said the schools will cut across all the six geographical zones of the federation.

Adinde described ADAPTI as a shining example of what intervention from government can do. “The NCC has supported ADAPTI from its inception and so today the universities are enjoying our capacity building opportunities because there is funding coming from the NCC via the ADAPTI programme to the universities. As we speak ADAPTI has accounted for the training of over 50,000 Nigerian lecturers and non- lecturers across all tertiary institutions.

“This year we have extended the programme with the approval of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, to secondary schools, so we now have a second component of another version of ADAPTI which we call DAP (Digital Awareness Programme) which is an appreciation programme for secondary schools and this year we’re targeting over 2000 primary and secondary school teachers,” Adinde said.

The Administrator who is a strong advocate for increased funding for ICT training among African governments said capacity building should not be an option; “it is a choice that government and organisations just have to make because the more knowledgeable and more skilled your employees are, the better their performance and productivity at work, the better they’re able to contribute to organisational objectives and goals.”

The DAP programme targets pre-tertiary teachers and administrators of public schools for training in basic ICT, office productivity tools, Intranet and Internet, use of e-teaching and e-learning facilities at no cost to the participants to enable them with ICT skills to improve their learning, teaching and administration skills.

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Millions of riders, drivers across Africa get Uber's safety toolkit - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Millions of riders, drivers and delivery-partners using the Uber app across Europe, Middle East and Africa, now have a new safety toolkit, reports ITREALMS.

With this, Uber says it has doubled down on safety and roll out Safety Toolkit for riders and drivers across 38 countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda; Features to include Safety Centre, Trusted Contacts, Share Trip, emergency assistance button and customisable speed alerts.

ITREALMS also gathered that over the next few weeks, Uber will be rolling out to the millions of riders, drivers and delivery-partners using the app across Europe, Middle East and Africa locations. 

"The toolkit will introduce new innovative features which aim to raise the bar on safety, and increase transparency, accountability and peace of mind for all users," Uber officials told ITREALMS.

Uber equally said that since launched the app it has provided millions of people with technology that allows them to get a ride at the push of a button, track every trip with GPS technology and report any issues 24/7 with a dedicated safety team. With the introduction of new safety features, the company aims to double down on safety and help make the Uber community safer.

Features that will be introduced as part of the new rider and driver safety toolkit, include:

Emergency button - With the push of a button in the app, riders, drivers and delivery-partners can connect directly to private emergency services and security response when needed through a third party private security supplier

Trusted Contacts - Riders can now easily designate five friends or family members as “trusted contacts” and, with a single tap, share their trip information which are easily customisable in their trip sharing preferences.

Safety Centre - A new app-housed safety information hub where users can find information on some of the key existing safety tools in the app, including our 24/7 team, information on the driver and the car, trip GPS-tracking and our rating and feedback system.

Speed alerts - A feature which reminds drivers and delivery partners to maintain a safe speed within the posted speed limits.

These new safety features will be a phased rollout, not all riders, drivers and delivery partners will have access to the features immediately.

“With more than 15 million trips on the Uber app every day, there is nothing more important than the safety of riders, drivers and couriers. Over the last year we’ve been working to develop innovative products that increase transparency, accountability and peace of mind for all users. The rollout of our new Safety Toolkit features across Europe, Middle East and Africa is the next step in making sure that we’re helping everyone stay safe and connected, wherever you might be,” says Sachin Kansal, Uber’s Global Head of Safety Product.

Nenye Dom with agency report/GEE

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VaultBridge goes to NIIA for blockchain conference 2018 - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The VaultBridge Global Limited has concluded plans to host its maiden West African Cyber Security and Blockchain Technology conference (WACSBTC2018) to the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Victoria Island-Lagos, reports ITREALMS.

Executive Director, VaultBridge Global, Harrison Ozinegbe told ITREALMS in Lagos at a press conference that they are software security company with focus on cyber security, FinTech and blockchain technology.

On the conference, he said, VaultBridge is partnering some two foreign entities, namely the KIPYA Connect and Bit2Big

“We are geared towards organizing workshops, conferences, seminars and trainings in Cyber Security, FinTech and Blockchain Technology,” he declared.

This, he said, has become pertinent as no one imagined the exponential growth of the Internet at such a short span of its introduction on commerce, industry and government and even the ordinary citizen in a remote village.

“Applications we never thought possible are daily added and uploaded on the internet, easing and facilitating the way we live and do business. Yet at the advent of internet in the 90s in Nigeria, we were all very cautious, even up to the year 2000 with the acronym of Y2K when we heard of millennium bug supposedly to crash computer and every associated data.

“We are yet again at the emergence of another great technology, the Blockchain that has come to disrupt and further revolutionize commerce, industry, government and even our everyday life,” he said.

One of the reasons for the forthcoming conference, he said, is to acquaint Nigerians alongside members of the press with some of the objectives of VaultBridge Global, to help sensitize, educate and train members of the general public by way of seminars, workshops, conferences and exhibitions to further galvanize people into exploring and exploiting the inherent benefits of this new Technology.

In this regard, we shall be conducting regular training classes for the Certified Blockchain Professionals (CBP) to bring practitioners up to speed with the Institute of iBusiness (IIB Council) requirements.

“We hope to play very active advocacy role to engage with relevant stakeholders and authorities to develop core solution architecture in the real sectors as Power, Health, Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, etc., and to carry out in-depth research and analysis in order to create a better understanding of the Blockchain Technology to enhance and benefit all sectors of the economy.

There are high incidences of illegal hackers, internet scammers and cybercrimes across the world and Nigeria is no exception. These crimes are often associated with cyberspace technolgy which Blockchain Technology also falls. This necessitates our resolve in VaultBridge to partner with KIPYA Connect and Bit2Big to constantly organize Cyber Security Executive Master Classes in Ethical Hackers and other related EC-Council certified examinations to keep operators abreast of latest technology in combating cybercrimes.

Our maiden conference is scheduled for Saturday 10th Novmber, 2018 and to hold at the Nigerian Institute of International Affrairs (NIIA), 13/15 Kofo Abayomi Road, Victoria Island, Lagos. Experts in Cyber Security and Blockchain Technology will be hand to present papers. We therefore use this opportunity to further invite you and the general public to this conference. We are not charging any entrance fees, in fact, attendees should expect some give-aways from some of our sponsors apart from the rich expose of this workshop.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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Pix: L-R: Harrison Ozinegbe, Executive Director; Michael Kiberu, CEO; Precious Matthew, Client Relationship Officer  (CRO), and  Jude Ozinegbe, COO, all of VaultBridge Global at a media parley to announce the forthcoming Blockchain Technology Training and Conference in November in Lagos.

Microsoft certifies MDXI as Gold Data Centre - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Full-scale data centre provider in West Africa, MDXI, has been certified as the Gold Data Centre by Microsoft which strengthens its position as one of the leading Cloud Services providers in Africa, reports ITREALMS.

This, ITREALMS gathered, demonstrated 'best-in-class' capability to meet Microsoft's customers' needs, whereas the Gold Data Centre is the highest partnership level with Microsoft in Data Centre Competencies for Cloud Productivity.

Disclosing this, Gbenga Adegbiji, General Manager, MDXI told ITREALMS that attaining Gold Partner status is an important step for MDXI in its drive towards supporting local companies face issues on digital transformation, particularly in relation to their data centre and computing platform strategies.

"To obtain the certification, MDXI has demonstrated the highest commitment to the integration of the latest Microsoft products, with proven expertise to help costumers drive innovative solutions on the latest Microsoft platforms," he asserted.

Stressing that the Gold Competency provides MDXI with a competitive advantage that helps us offer our customers the most relevant Microsoft solutions in the market. With this competency, MDXI is accredited as a partner to transform data centres into more flexible, scalable, and cost effective solutions using Microsoft Azure Cloud and hybrid solutions. This will enable us deliver greater value to our customers with best-in-class staff that have been subject to rigorous exams, proven implementation and satisfaction references auditable,” says Gbenga Adegbiji, General Manager, MDXI.

The new milestone proves MDXI’s commitment to enabling digital transformation for its customers through constant improvement in delivering only the best services with competency levels including Silver Cloud Platform; Silver Data Centre; Silver Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions; and Silver Application Development competencies.

In a similar vein, German business software maker, SAP, has given MDXI a clean bill of health with its recertification as a provider of infrastructure services for its cloud solutions. This recertification endorses the ability of the company to deliver high-quality cloud and infrastructure operations services for customers running SAP solutions and confirms MDXI can continue to host and manage SAP applications using the company’s enterprise cloud platforms.

As a SAP-certified provider of hosting services, MDXI offers cost-effective yet reliable delivery models for mission-critical applications for customers of SAP.

SAP customers that rely on MainOne’s data centre for hosting services are empowered to focus on the business value of their solutions and benefit from reduced operational expenses that a commercial data centre provides.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Absa unveils account opening app on Apple, Android stores - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Leading banking institution in South Africa, Absa has unveiled a new banking app available on Apple and Android app stores respectively, to shore up customer’s ease of opening bank account, reports ITREALMS.

This, Absa official told ITREALMS has become pertinent given the rise in digital and inter-connected world, and driven in largely by a collective reliance on mobile phone technology and coming a few days after Absa’s world first ChatBanking on WhatsApp service made its debut.

ITREALMS gathered that in South Africa, 38 million of the population are mobile users. That is over half the country which is about 67 per cent.

Aupa Monyatsi, Managing Executive for Virtual Channels at Absa Retail & Business Banking was also quoted in a press statement available to ITREALMS weekend that Absa introduced a quick, simple and convenient end-to-end account opening for new customers, through the Absa Banking App which could be downloaded from the Android and Apple stores. This innovation follows the launch of the world first ChatBanking on WhatsApp service and is another innovative way Absa is fast becoming a digitally-led bank, that is centered around the ever-changing needs of customers.

This “download your account” feature enables new customers to Absa, to open a Cheque account, order their card and start transacting on the Absa Banking App, all within minutes, from anywhere and at any time, by simply “downloading” it from the App stores.

“Overall, this new capability is not only expected to enhance the customer’s digital experience, but we expect to leverage this in our branches, bringing digital experiences to the branch environment and making it easier for our customers to join and bank with us regardless of where they may be,” says Aupa Monyatsi, Managing Executive for Virtual Channels at Absa Retail & Business Banking.

“With this innovation comes the need to ensure that the security of our customers is at the heart of our digital experience, this is why the digital onboarding experience for this feature includes a high-quality facial matching check with the Department of Home Affairs to verify the customer’s identity, ensuring that we have the most up to date information of our clients. Security is supremely important for us.” said Monyatsi.

Further, Monyatsi said, the new version of the Absa Banking App is now available in the Apple and Android App stores, and anyone with a South African ID can become an Absa customer, by following these simple steps:

1. Download the Absa App

2. Choose the account you would like to open

3. Tell us who you are

4. To keep you safe, we will verify your cell phone number

5. Take a selfie, and we will do facial matching with the Department of Home Affairs to confirm you are who you say you are

6. Tell us where you live

7. Let us know what you do for a living and your income

8. Click Apply.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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