U.S-based Digital Marketing Agency, AIS Media, today announces the premiere season of The Amazon Project (TAP) – a 13-week television production aimed at selecting and investing in the brightest entrepreneurs and business ideas in Nigeria. The program will air on terrestrial and satellite television channels towards the end of the first quarter of 2017. The Amazon Project (TAP) will provide up to NGN10 million in seed capital and business incubation support to 10 participants who can demonstrate their superior abilities as entrepreneurs, to an expert panel of carefully selected judges and, ultimately, the viewing audience. TAP judges are Foluso Phillips…
Author: Paul Adepoju
A first of its kind industry solution to manage “Pay-On-Delivery” transactions for online businesses and e-transactions has been deployed by Red Star Plc, a leading courier and logistics organization with decades of service delivery experience. The application, known as “Saddle”, allows instant payment on delivery reconciliation, enable customers monitor and track the movement of ordered products until items are delivered and at the same time, allows e-platforms/partner companies to seamlessly receive notifications when orders are placed. According to Jayson Oyarekhua, Head, Projects and New Ventures, Red Star Plc, the application has been customized in such a way that it…
NetplusDotCom has launched the Ten app to simplify existing church collection and to expand the reach of the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The app works seamlessly with the existing Church collection system. There is Ten app for the church administrator and another Ten app for the members of the church. For many years, the collection of tithes and offering has been very standard. The tithes are collected in sealed envelopes. The offerings are collected during Church service in a collection plate. At the end of the Church service, the Church admin and assistants physically…
An innovative app called EasyPOS Restaurant has been introduced into the Nigerian market to solve current pain-points in order management and payments in restaurants. The app is now available for free download on Google Play Store by clicking here. The app which runs on smartphones and tablets provides an easy and intuitive way for customers to select orders from an electronic menu list at a table or plate level; it also provides a mobile point of sale (mPOS) solution that works seamlessly at the table for collection. The solution which was developed by Nigerian growth tech company NetPlusDotCom, also…
More than 10,000 participants and notable technology thought leaders converged in Lagos for Techplus 2016, Chairperson of Alliance for Affordable Internet Dr. Omobola Johnson and other tech experts have highlighted Nigeria’s key role in Africa’s highly anticipated technology revolution. Giving her opening remark at Africa’s biggest technology conference, Dr. Omobola Johnson, stated that developments in technology are fundamentally altering the way people live, connect, communicate and transact. These developments, in her view, have had profound effects on economic development in Nigeria and Africa at large. According to her, to promote tech advancement, developing countries should invest in quality education…
Airtel has disclosed it is no longer going ahead with the proposed sale of its telecoms towers in Chad and Tanzania to Helios Towers as earlier announced. In a stock market statement, Airtel noted that plans had lapsed and therefore terminated. “With reference to the Press Release dated July 09, 2014 regarding ”Airtel divests telecoms tower assets to Helios Towers Africa”, Bharti Airtel has now informed BSE that the agreements for sale of tower assets in Tanzania and Chad between the respective subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel Limited and Helios Towers Africa have lapsed and therefore stands terminated,” reads the statement.…
MainOne’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Funke Opeke, believes Nigeria could become less dependent on natural resources if it fully implements its national broadband policy. She said in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, while speaking on a panel at last week’s Commonwealth Broadband Forum. Opeke, who was represented by Mr. Temitope Osunrinde, examined the role of a national broadband policy in driving the nation’s GDP. She said that following the re-basing of national GDP, the contribution of the ICT industry in Nigeria had risen from 5.6% to 8.69%. He also referenced the contributions of ICT to the growth of the Services…
Jay Alabraba, Paga’s Co-founder and Director of Business Development, believes that accessibility has critical roles to play in the future of mobile payments and financial inclusion in Nigeria. Alabraba added that a viable agent network will finance services to become accessible to all Nigerians. “We believe strongly that accessibility still has a big role to play in the future of mobile payments and financial inclusion. With the unique challenges around connectivity in Nigeria, having a viable agent network remains key to ensuring that every Nigerian, irrespective of their location has access to finance,” Alabraba said. Speaking on the success of…
Ecoemmerce giant JUMIA this evening unveiled its first ambassador for Côte d’Ivoire, he is musician Serge Beynaud. In Côte d’Ivoire, Serge Beynaud is a real phenomenon. Since 2009 the artist has become one of the main leaders of an urban culture whose musical genre “Coupé-Décalé” is the anthem. With the famous replica translated from French as “less talk, more smile” Beynaud has popularized a motto for an entire generation. This is surely why, for the first time since it arrived in Côte d’Ivoire, JUMIA is teaming up with a musician in a new campaign launched Monday June 15th through a…
The government Ghana has set March 2016 as the new deadline for migration from analogue to digital broadcasting. Deputy Minister for Communications, Hon. Ato Sarpong, explained that the new migration would enable all broadcasting houses transmit on one free platform instead of broadcasting on different platforms which would help reduce cost, time and energy. Sarpong said the first phase of the project, installation of digital infrastructure in the Greater Accra and the Ashanti regions, would be completed by October 2015. He added that phase two of the project would be completed by November 2015 and would cover areas including the…
Ericsson has signed a five-year multi-country managed services agreement to manage Smile’s 4G/LTE networks across all its operations. The agreement covers the operations of Smile – a 4G/LTE operator – in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Under the agreement, Ericsson will provide a fully managed end-to-end service that includes network operations, performance, optimisation, field support and maintenance. The contract is an extension of Ericsson’s relationship with Smile in Nigeria, where Ericsson is Smile’s sole vendor for 4G networks. Tom Allen, group chief operating officer of Smile Communications said, “We regard Ericsson as more than a vendor, we…
Hotel booking platform Jovago has announced it will be paying Nigerians to monitor its advert. “Nigerians N500 per hour to watch or listen to our new advert,” the company said in a statement. To participate, follow the guideline below. Send an email to zmyslowski@jovago.com with subject: Media Monitoring State which type of Media you want to watch or listen (you can choose all): DSTV Channels/Terrestrial Channels/Radio. For each day you are available, state the hours when you can monitor the media. Days to choose from (You can choose all): 18th June – 5th July Hours to choose from (You can…
At a Mobile Banking Masterclass held in London for partner banks (Commercial and Microfinance) of eTranzact, stakeholders chart a course for the development of Mobile Banking in Nigeria. At the Masterclass, eTranzact demoed their newly designed Mobile banking architecture with new interfaces and touch points that would accelerate adoption and integration into consumers lifestyle. New features were unveiled around onboarding, personalization, communication; introducing person to person messaging as well as other. The Masterclass aimed to provide a platform to discuss new innovations in mobile banking targeted at making mobile banking more about the customer and launching new innovations to make…
One of Nigeria’s major innovation hubs, the Wennovation Hub has announced it is accepting applications for its WennoKICK Pre-Acceleration Program – an all-inclusive 6 weeks pre-acceleration program that helps participants to build strategy to validate their business model/idea. The hub said its WennoKICK is suitable for idea stage and early stage entrepreneurs who need a ‘little kick’ to forge ahead. The 6-week WennoKICK program has been designed to guide impact, lifestyle, and social entrepreneurs unto a path of sustainable revenues, whether it is for-profit, non-profit, or a hybrid model. Here are what participants will benefit. 6-week Incubation at the Hub…
Naij.com, a news, jobs and entertainment portal, is helping to bring free mobile internet to Nigerians via the MTN network. This has been made possible through Opera’s Sponsored Web Pass, which allows operators to package their data in a user-friendly way. At the click of a button, users can get online and explore what the mobile internet has to offer. A first-of-its-kind initiative in Africa, Naij.com is sponsoring a massive one million days of internet for subscribers on the MTN network between from June 17th. MTN users will be able to activate their free day of internet and will be…
Social media platform Twitter announced it is now much easier for its users in Africa to enjoy video on its platform. In a statement made available to TechMoran, Twitter said native videos, Vines and GIFs will begin to play back automatically. “You can keep up with the action without missing a Tweet and get a better sense of what’s been shared instantly,” Twitter stated. This is how the new feature works. Once you tap the video, sound will turn on and the video will continue to play in an expanded view. If you turn the video to landscape mode, the…
A new platform has been launched to play in the online hotel booking space in Nigeria – a space that is currently dominated by Hotels.ng and Jovago. Unlike the two very popular platforms, founders of HotelNowNow.com are targeting to become the leading discount hotel site in Africa. “We negotiate deep discounts on your behalf so you can sit back and live it up! Whether you are planning to take a break or go on a business trip Hotel Now Now can get you ridiculously low prices from a variety of hotels offering added services from buffets, gym access to free…
Nigeria’s major ecommerce platform Konga.com today officially announced it has developed a novel online payment solution called KongaPay which it said will foster trust and safety for online shoppers in Nigeria. In a statement, Konga described KongaPay as a payment solution that allows users to perform one-click payments on the Konga marketplace. Every time a customer triggers a transaction, the bank sends a secure authorization code to the customer’s registered mobile number. “Anyone with a bank account and a registered mobile phone number can use KongaPay. There is no need to sign up for internet banking,” Konga.com stated. KongaPay is…
The Nigerian government is planning to announce 29 new guidelines for tech companies operating in the country next month. This was disclosed by the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Peter Jack. According to him, arrangement had been concluded to unveil 29 new standards, guidelines and regulations for all ICT operators in the country next month. Speaking at NITDA”s multi-stakeholder approach for rapid deployment of e-governance across all sectors of the economy, Jack said the 29 standards and guidelines were developed by NITDA with inputs from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). The new standards,…
Tuteria has been unveiled with the goal of connecting tutors with individuals who are in search of private tutoring in different subjects. Godwin Benson, co-founder of the startup, told Innovation Village he got the idea to start Tuteria after realizing that while many people want to learn various things, they had no way of connecting with people who could teach them, especially when those same people lived within their communities. “There were other problems of people teaching and struggling to collect payments, or those who pay for lessons and don’t get quality service,” he said. According to him, Tuteria was built to…
Leading integrated payments processing and transaction switching business focused on Africa, Interswitch, has announced that its business-to-consumer value exchange platform, Quickteller, can now be used to add top up credit to UK mobile phone lines. With this announcement, Interswitch said Nigerians who travel to the UK will be able to use the international vending service to top up their UK lines directly either from their Nigerian payment card or their bank accounts. The service, which can be accessed on the Quickteller website, is available on all major UK mobile networks including Orange, Three, O2, T-Mobile, EE, Tesco Mobile, Asda Mobile,…
Ghana’s capital city of Accra is hosting a workshop on Mobile Number Portability (MNP) and quality mobile service. The 5-day workshop is organised by the National Communications Authority (NCA) Ghana, in collaboration with the West Africa Telecommunications Regulations Assembly (WATRA) and is being attended by nine ECOWAS countries. It is intended to provide opportunities for the delegates to benefit from experience and knowledge of NCA in the area of MNP. Declaring the workshop open, Ghana’s Minister for Communications, Dr. Edward Omane-Boamah, said Ghana’s success in the implementation of the MNP policy could be largely attributed to the initial advanced preparations…
Collins Onuegbu, member of Lagos Angel Network (LAN), who attended the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) conference in Eindhoven, Holland alongside Tomi Davies, president of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN), said EBAN is committed to the support of the development of the African angel community. “Our attendance was to deepen the ties and encourage the relationship between the two continental networks,” he said. At the Eindhoven programme, LAN requested EBAN to support Demo Africa and many investors from EBAN have committed to attend Demo in September in Nigeria to seek alliances and opportunities for investment in African start-ups. “We…
Jonathan Doerr, Managing Director of Jumia Nigeria has said less than 30% of customers shopping on the ecommerce giant’s platform are paying with credit cards – the majority prefer the cash on delivery payment option. “Less than 30% of Jumia customers pay with the credit card online, but we are seeing growth in that area,” he said. He also revealed that most of the platform’s traffic come from mobile devices. “Most of our traffic comes from mobile devices,” Doerr said. He believes mobile is very important and urged stakeholders to intensify efforts to ensure more Nigerians have access to affordable…
Opera Software today announced the official released of the popular Opera Mini browser – for Windows devices. The journey to bring Opera Mini to Windows devices began last year. “We approached it carefully, because rebuilding Opera Mini from scratch for a new platform is no joke. We wanted to give you an app that works. We released the beta version of Opera Mini for Windows Phone several months back, and all your feedback is paying off,” Opera said in a newsletter. In three of the company’s major African markets, Windows phone is particularly popular. These countries are Nigeria, South Africa…
Vodacom Business Nigeria has expressed its readiness to bridge the existing digital divide in Nigerian communities and schools that lack access to ICT. Managing Director of Vodacom Business Nigeria, Guy Clarke said at an event in Lagos. He said: “Internet penetration in Nigeria is still low, especially in public schools. With the Power to You Project, we aim to bridge the digital divide that exists in communities and schools without access to ICT. It’s for this reason that we’re proud to be able to provide this connectivity to The Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba.” At the event, the company…
Smartphones manufacturing company Infinix Mobility on Thursday officially launched its latest device the Infinix Zero 2 smart phone into the Nigerian market. Designed in Paris and Shanghai, The Infinix Zero 2 comes on the heels of the successful roll out and impressive acceptance and patronage of the Infinix Zero. The new product, which is specifically targeted at the students, youths and young professionals, is designed to address the demands of this segment of the market, which craves trendier variants of phones. Designed with a Kevlar back cover that is ultra-strong, light, flexible, 5 times stronger and lighter than steel and…
Subscribers on MTN network can now enjoy 30-minute free airtime if they make 3 three minutes call between 5am to 8am in the morning. This imitative tagged; Good Morning Nigeria, GMN is launched by Media Perspectives, a media buying agency and seven other firms – MTN, ARM, Coca-Cola, Jumia, Leadway Assurance, Mansard and Samsung. Addressing a press conference to announce the GMN initiative the MD/CEO, Media Perspectives, Tayo Oyedeji described the initiative as a Community Social Responsibility (CSR) conceived to enable phone users to make extended phone calls. According to him, for subscribers to enjoy this free call, they have…
Idemudia Dima-Okojie, WeChat Country Manager (Nigeria) believes that a mobile strategy for companies and brands is more than just sending SMS or publishing posts on social media. He told Innovation Village the need for a mobile strategy becomes imperative due to the fact that most services out there are not designed for mobile, and with more people getting smartphones. “Your customer or audience should be able to transact with, consume your mobile focused content or service directly on their smartphone,” he said. He announced the company is reaching out to young developers and entrepreneurs who may have unique services and…
Nigeria’s new president, Muhammadu Buhari has said the technology used for the successful elections were provided by “foreign partners” after he confronted them with a scary scenario of a refugee crisis that may follow another round of fraudulent poll in Nigeria. He said his presentation “pricked their conscience” and they provided the needed support, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. The president however refused to name the partners he contacted. He spoke Friday at the inauguration Gala Night held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa. Many Nigerians and international observers believe the success of the 2015 elections…