Microsoft Nigeria has partnered the Candle Career to organise the 2019 edition of the Candle Career Conference which held on Saturday in Lagos.

The conference which will be graced by seasoned speakers in various industries is themed: “Out of the Ordinary: The bedrock of an extraordinary career.”

The conference is a spring up from “The Candle Career,” a community focused on up-skilling and increasing the pathways to success of Nigerian undergraduates and fresh graduates.

For this year’s conference, top industry professionals are expected to share insights on the nitty-gritty of an extraordinary career.

Mr. Orimolade Oluwamuyemi, Regional Marketing and Communications Coordinator – MEA Philanthropies at Microsoft who is set to speak on “Key patterns of an extraordinary career” and Mr. Adora Ikwuemesi, Director, Kendor Consulting Limited are the keynote speakers of the occasion.

Mr. Ikwuemesi will speak on the topic: “Understanding your career trajectory: Beyond a degree.”

The event will also feature other speakers in a panel session such as: Mr. Tochukwu Egesi, CEO, Innovation Corner; Mr. Samuel Akinlotan, Talent Acquisition Partner, Sterling Bank Plc and Mr. Ajoke Emekene, a Management Consultant.

Speaking about the fourth-coming conference, Miss. Yvonne Okoro, Founder, The Candle Career, said that the event would create the opportunity for undergraduates and fresh graduates to be guided on the right career path.

Miss Okoro said: “We are excited to organize our maiden edition of The Candle Career Conference. We are also thankful for the support given to us by Microsoft, Nigeria. We are certain that attendees will gain knowledge that will help them enhance their careers and also expand their network at the event,”

According to her, The Candle Career continues to empower, inspire and educate Nigerian undergraduates and fresh graduates.

The Candle Career is founded as an employability and career hub called to tackle unemployment in Nigeria. The community is focused on up-skilling and increasing the pathways to success of undergraduates and fresh graduates to thrive wherever they find themselves.

By Elvis Eromosele

Technology is an almost indispensable part of human history. It has however never quite progressed as projected. It almost always manages to beat expectations. The automobile, the television and even the computer all defied expectations. One of the biggest fears about technology was always about job loss. This fear never quite materialised.

Technology always manages to achieve net job gain. Rather than take jobs, technology constantly creates jobs and sometimes even whole new industries thus boosting productivity. After all is said and done, technology is now an ally, an ally to humans, an ally for human development.

On the flip side, a major challenge for development is poverty. it has been described as easily one of the most prevalent and challenging issues in the world. Beyond the definitions and categorisation, however, the stark reality is that poverty is deprivation.

According to the United Nations (UN), “To be poor is to be deprived. And the worst kind of deprivation is financial exclusion.”

It is precisely the desire to curb, curtail or else eliminate financial exclusion that has made financial inclusion to become a real big deal in the last decade.

And why not; traditional banks have struggled to reach large segments of the population, both in the urban and rural areas. They have struggled to reach the unbanked. They have struggled to provide services beyond the formal settings.

Banks have been unable to achieve financial inclusion. New ideas are needed. New methods are required. New technologies must come to play.

Thankfully, it is already beginning to happen. It started with payments. In the first instance card and later gradually online payments until eCommerce started to buzz. Interswitch is a pioneer in this space. Now, it has graduated to the level of firms, technology firms, offering the full range of financial services.

Today, these firms, technology firms offering financial services are aptly referred to as fintechs. They are at the root of disruption ravaging the financial services sector and are spreading fast. They are working actively to change the narrative. They seem committed to contributing to efforts to close the financial inclusion gap. They are emerging as the real MVP of financial inclusion.

Fintech, according to Investopedia, is used to describe new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services.

Fintechs are however not only technology-driven but equally deeply customer-focused, data-powered and service-oriented. They are also currently springing up like mushrooms across the country. This is not surprising as emerging markets such as Nigeria, are today the hotbeds for producing smart and simple financial solutions at an incredibly rapid rate. This makes sense in a country where so many are currently financially excluded.

In using modern technologies innovatively to enhance the delivery of financial products and services, fintechs find themselves not just providing alternative finance but in direct competition with banks.

This need not be the case. Yes, for a long time, fintechs offered mobile-only propositions because they lacked the legacy infrastructure and associated costs of the banks. Banks, on the other hand, lack the technology and agility of the fintechs.

But now, the future is in collaboration. No, not a competition, but co-operation and collaboration. At this point, banks and fintechs must find a way to shake hands and get things done. There are huge opportunities to bridge the gap if the parties will collaborate. They must go together if the goal is true financial inclusion.

The opportunity is huge. Unconfirmed reports indicate that over 90 per cent of transactions in Nigeria are still cash-based. The opportunity to provide financial services is enormous. Every player in the sector must therefore actively collaborate to bring in a substantial portion of the 90 per cent into the formal system.

Here again, fintechs are showing the way. They are driving payments as a strategy to boost financial inclusion. This is precisely why the emergence of new players like Opay is welcome-a new fintech that entered the market with a completely new business model, one that may just be the way to go.

Opay is ensuring that a growing number of people to use its digital payments solution by offering everyday services. Think ORide, OFood, OBus and others.

Fintechs are enabling payments, increasing the number of people with access to financial services and creating jobs. Consider the massive number of agents that now dots the landscape. It is therefore not far-fetched to think that fintechs are driving financial inclusion and jump-starting efforts to free people from the clutches of poverty.

Besides, fintechs are pushing the frontier. They are rapidly expanding the borders from basic financial service such as payment to lending, savings and insurance among others. They can leverage data analytics to provide personalised loans, improve the loan disbursement timeline and promote prompt, somethings almost same day quick loans.

Firms such as Renmoney are in this space, promoting unprecedented access to quick loans. It is now so easy for anyone that desires quick loans (business or personal) to access it.

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.” Fintechs are making this a reality for millions of Nigerians. It is beyond commendable.

Without a doubt, the association between financial inclusion efforts and the reduction of poverty rates is a key driver for the future expansion of digital financial services (DFS).

Progress has been made. Reports indicate that about 50 per cent of adults in the country have access to financial services. It can be better. A lot more still needs to be done.

Thankfully, some banks have seen the light. They are promoting services using USSD, such that customers with the most basic mobile phones can perform essential banking services.

Here, consider Stanbic IBTC’s *909# among others. ALAT by Wema, a first in its class, is also worthy of study. With USSD and other mobile financial solutions, people can access top-notch financial services without stepping into a bank.

Also, now that the telecoms behemoths are getting into mobile money and digital financial services, a huge leap is imminent. They are expected to help advance the quest to reach the unbanked with financial services. This is plausible as there are currently over 150 million connected lines in Nigeria.

The licensed telecoms service providers is a great way to democratise access to financial services in Nigeria. There are reports that MTN plans to roll out over 500, 000 MoMo Agents across the country, through its Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS) subsidiary.

This is the future. The future is already here.

Undeniably for the benefits of technology to successfully and fully harnessed to improve financial inclusion in Nigeria the right developmental and regulatory framework must be in place.

As the world looks to end poverty, technology and fintechs are in the thick of things. Access to financial services is on the rise. The government should focus on enabling the safe and sustainable development of this critical section of the economy.

Policies that seek penalise for using e-payment must be abolished, regulations that restrain e-commerce must be scrapped and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) must shelf the plan to tax online transactions.

Fintechs and indeed all technology solutions providers deserve a break. They are today driving financial inclusion. They are heroes of Nigeria’s financial inclusion success story. They are helping to end poverty.

Elvis Eromosele, a Corporate Communication professional and public affairs analyst lives in Lagos. 

MTN Nigeria PLC (MTN) yesterday announced that Nigeria has become the first country in West Africa to trial 5G technology and applications.

The result of a strong collaboration between the Ministry of Communications Technology and Digital Economy, the Nigerian Communications Commission, MTN and Huawei (Abuja), ZTE (Calabar) and Ericsson (Lagos.)

This immersive demo and experience will travel across three Nigerian cities to showcase the capabilities of 5G and its potential to enable economic growth, and social inclusion.

By working together, MTN and its partner – Huawei, were able to provide a glimpse into a range of 5G use cases and applications at a test Lab designed to show proof-of-concept in Abuja.

Standing alongside former Super Eagles captain, legendary Joseph Yobo, attendees got to match their skills against an artificial-intelligence powered goalie; immerse themselves in a high-speed, low-latency virtual reality gaming world; experience ultra-high speed streaming and downloads on 5G devices; and engage in discourse with life-like holographic projections.

3D holographic communication has potential applications for education, medical imaging, video conferencing and gaming, and requires about four times as much data as a streamed 4K video. That means that 5G is best suited to support this kind of application on a mobile network and to enable its use. It also demonstrates how 5G has the potential to support key socio-economic objectives Nigeria has set for itself, and to be a key contributor to the emergence of a fully digital economy.

MTN was honoured to host the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami; the Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, and the Chairman, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Garba Danbatta; House of Representatives, Committee on Communications, Honourable Akeem Adeyemi at the launch event, without whom the demo would not have been possible.

Speaking shortly after taking a tour of the exhibition booths, Dr. Pantami underlined the potential of 5G for sustainable growth. “I believe as long as we are able to handle the potential challenges, the deployment of 5G is very critical to our economy, because of so many advantages of 5G, the issue of latency, speed and many more.”

Stressing the importance of an enabling regulatory framework and protecting telecommunications infrastructure, Dr. Pantami stated that on the instruction of the President, he has signed a draft Executive Order declaring telecommunications infrastructure ‘critical national infrastructure’ which has been forwarded to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation for review.

The Minister referred to the proposed Executive Order as a short-term measure, stressing that the President has instructed that a proper legislation be facilitated to deal conclusively with threats to telecommunications infrastructure.

Highlighting the importance of partnerships, Ferdi Moolman, the Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria said:

“Pushing boundaries is easier when your aspirations are supported by likeminded people. We are here today because of the support and guidance of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission who provided the trial spectrum used for this.”

Also key to this achievement are our equipment vendors who shared our vision, and whose capabilities were brought to bear in making the 5G trials across the country a reality.  We are grateful for these partners, our customers and everyone who made it possible. Today’s success underlines the fact that we are good together.”

Mazen Mroue, Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria stated that “In collaboration with our technical partners and the support of the Federal Government, we are proudly putting Nigeria on the 5G technology map.  As we continue to invest in technology solutions to meet the wide needs of our customers, MTN will continue to strengthen these partnerships as we move to build our 5G capacity in future, guided by the standards and spectrum set by the Nigerian Communications Commission.”

In addition to the bandwidth increase for seamless video streaming or the next social application playground, 5G technology supports real-time, ultra-reliable communication between massive numbers of devices.

It creates vast possibilities in innovation and transformation, and will immensely improve quality of living, as users gain a better experience of services and technology in general – from financial services, healthcare, education, and even public service delivery to more leisurely purposes, such as video streaming services, gaming and even self-driving cars.

“5G offers tremendous benefits in terms of speed, latency (less delays), efficiency and security. This pilot offers a unique opportunity for us to explore use-cases and applications in Nigeria, and we are excited about its potential for our country and our company”noted Mohammed Rufai,  Chief Technical officer, MTN Nigeria.

Following the successful demonstration in Abuja, the 5G-demo train moves to Calabar and Lagos. In addition to which 5G trials will be run in four other cities across the country. The 5G trial will run for three months utilizing trial spectrum allocated to MTN by the NCC.

Verve, a leading payments technology and card business in Africa, held a first transaction event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Verve Global cardholders can now use their cards on Discover Global Network to transact in more than 185 countries and territories, including Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The first transaction event took place at Emperor Retail outlet, City Walk by Meraas Al Safa Str. Dubai. Senior executive members of Verve International were joined at the event by key partners including Jerry Fosker, a senior Executive from Discover Global Network, Shamsudeen Fashola; Group Head Retail Banking FCMB, Margaret Okhoya; Product Manager Card Services FCMB, Lanre Oladimeji; Group Head Retail Banking Zenith Bank, Nneka Onwuegbuche; Product Manager, Card Services Zenith Bank, among others.

Speaking at the launch in Dubai, Mitchell Elegbe, Interswitch Group Managing Director expressed his excitement, stating that the decision to bring Verve Global to Dubai was a strategic one: “Dubai is an important destination of choice for business and leisure as well as being a popular destination for Nigerians.”

The transaction in Dubai comes following the successful launch of Verve Global in New York in August this year and marks Verve International’s first entrance into the UAE region.

Elegbe continued: “As we approach the Dubai Expo 2020, we believe this is the right time to expand into a region with a rapidly evolving payments market. The launch in Dubai will provide an efficient way for new and existing Verve Global cardholders to transact whenever they visit the region.”

Expressing his gratitude to stakeholders and partners present, Mike Ogbalu III, Chief Executive Officer, Verve International, reiterated the mission and vision of Verve, stating its core objective of making seamless payment solutions available to Nigerians and Africans in every part of the world.

“We are very delighted that a domestic card scheme of African origin can be used to make payments across the world. We express our gratitude to all our partners, particularly Zenith Bank and First City Monument Bank, who have joined us today. One of the biggest assets of Verve International is our partners (both those who are here in Dubai and all others). Thank you for joining us on this epic journey to plant our footprints all over the world. We are very confident that you will remain with us as we continue to take bold steps”, he said.

By Elvis Eromosele

Technology enthusiasts are big on the power of new and emerging technologies to disrupt existing realities. Consider how personal computers, smartphones, and the internet caused disruptions. Today, we are talking about autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, robotics, artificial intelligence, wearables, and the likes. Oh, the possibilities!

History has shown however that people can also be the cause of disruptions-eccentric, unconventional, uncommon, nonconformist and courageous people.

While the jury is still out on whether, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami fits the bill, his actions so far, nonetheless, point to a deep empathy for the long-suffering Nigerian telecoms consumer.

On resumption of office, he quickly kicked against and later formally kicked out the plan by telecoms service providers to introduce new charges for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD). The USSD is used by customers for financial transactions.

The Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) tackled the minister. ALTON’s Administrative Secretary, Gbolahan Awonuga, slammed the minister for interference

noting that the N4.00 charge was determined by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s telecom regulator before the minister’s appointment.

According to Gbolahan, “The issue is not policy, but regulation which has a legal document backing it. “We are confusing regulation with policy. There was a determination on this USSD, even before the appointment of the Minister,” he stated.

Next, the minister directed the NCC to work at reducing data cost and curb incidences of illegal deductions from customers’ account within five working days. This is something that telecoms consumers have complained about for eons.

ALTON’s Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo insisted that the service providers were not making illegal deductions, contrary to complaints being made by subscribers. He explained that the smartphones being used by the subscribers were to blame for such deductions.

In his words: “If you are using a smartphone naturally you have all these updates and downloads that are unsolicited but you get it whether you want it or not but that is what keeps your phone up-to-date. Most of those deductions are traceable to that.”

On the proposed slash of the cost of data, ALTON said, “Price is not a policy issue; price is determined by market forces. Price cannot be set by policy pronouncement.”

Dr. Pantami latest directive is an order to service providers to stop further exploitation of subscribers through the automatic activation of the voicemail service on their platforms.

By law, the voicemail service should be optional on operators’ platforms. But in practice, it has historically been offered as a mandatory call feature by MNOs resulting in loss of millions of call units by subscribers to the advantage of operators.

According to the statement credited to Dr. Pantami, “The Voicemail service should be accessed at the discretion of the subscriber and not by default.”

Expectedly, ALTON again quickly responded to the minister’s directive insisting that the minister’s intervention amounted to unnecessary interference.

ALTON said that voicemail not a major “policy issue” within the meaning of section 23 &24 of the Nigeria Communication Act (NCA) which empowers the Minister to formulate “general policy for the communications sector…” after consultations organised by the NCC.

ALTON appears poised to tackle the Minister at every point. It has certainly given Dr. Pantami a frosty welcome.

The association has also proven feisty. It appears poised for a fight at every turn. It is unwilling to budge. It would not the relent. In its books, the operators can do no wrong.

It is not surprising, ALTON is anxious to defend its members, promote their interest and advocate their position. ALTON is doing its job, as an advocate for its members.

Sadly, only one side has an advocate, the service providers. Who is talking on behalf of the customers?

No one!

An association of telecoms customers and subscribers would if it existed. The NCC should if it were doing its job. Currently, however, no one is speaking for the telecoms consumer. The minister is thus automatically a hero to the much-deprived Nigerian telecoms consumers and customers.

Some say the Minister may have political ambition and he is seeking public appeal. Well, he is getting it. He deserves it.

This is because the issues he has raised are germane, valid and real pain points for the telecoms consumer, over the years.

From the customers’ point of view, the planned introduction of USSD charges was uncalled for. The Minister knocking it down was simply fulfilling the aspiration of the customers.

Ilegals deduction and high cost of data are a perennial and vexed issue in the sector. The operators conveniently ignore talks about it.

Plus, Nigerians generally believe that data is overpriced. The operators see no need to justify what they charge. It’s a take or leave it sort of transaction, a supplier’s market. This is why ALTON’s talk about market forces is untenable.

Nigerians have complained of data disappearing fast for years. What has the NCC done about it? The operators and the association constantly offer excuses.

Now that someone is speaking for the customers, resistance is expected. So, ALTON’s aggressive posturing is understandable. It has to protect its source of revenue. The telecoms operators are content to hide behind the association. They won’t want to be seen openly or directly contending against the Minister.

While it is in order to commend the Minister for his willingness to address these vexed issues, it is equally prudent to call for caution. There are rules to this game. And since we are not in a “juggle” everything can’t be achieved by administrative fiat.

The Minister must meet with the ministry’s legal team. He should get them to look at the law and counsel him where he can intervene directly and where he would need the regulator to work out an agreeable solution.

He should meet with the commission, to share his vision for the ministry. Together, they can then work out what is possible within the ambit of the law. Immediately afterward, the Minister can meet with the telecoms operators and then the general public.

The Minister must understand that the operators do have genuine grievances. There are issues around right of way, multiple taxation and the regular wanton vandalisation of telecom infrastructure across the country.

He must support efforts to declared telecom infrastructure as a critical national infrastructure. He should be willing to work assiduously to help improve ease of doing business for telcos.

ALTON, on its part, however, can make its point and indeed make its position known without being antagonistic and unduly confrontational. ALTON should be an advocate and not an antagonist.

The Ministry was appointed to work for all Nigerians, the customers and the businesses people alike.

The purpose of disruption is to dislocate the status quo, realign forces and enforce change.

If the Minister’s disruption brings about change then it is a win for the Nigerian telecoms consumer, in particular, and the industry at large.

Interswitch Group has been recognised as the inaugural winner of the Linkedin Sub-Saharan Africa Rising Star award at the 2019 edition of the Linkedin Talent Awards hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This prestigious accolade was presented to the company at the South African LinkedIn Talent Awards ceremony, which took place at the Level Three Premium venue in the heart of Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa.

For Interswitch, a leading technology-driven company focused on the digitisation of payments in Nigeria and other countries in Africa, this award is a reflection of the deliberate investment the company makes in its people and in shaping its employer brand, including unique approaches to talent attraction, nurturing and engagement, which have resulted in the phenomenal growth attested to by Linkedin’s peer-ranking analytics.

The LinkedIn Talent Awards, in their second edition in Africa, are designed to recognise organisations that invest in understanding, engaging and developing talent based on a company’s page and engagement on LinkedIn.

Currently operating in 12 locations across the world and recognising organisations in four regions including the Middle East and Africa, the LinkedIn Talent Awards are powered by insights and driven by data. Using carefully crafted criteria, LinkedIn evaluates the performance results and impact of its corporate customers to identify finalists and winners.

Expressing her delight at this recognition, Tolulope Agiri, Group Chief Human Resources Officer at Interswitch said:“We are extremely proud and excited to be the inaugural recipient of the Linkedin Sub-Saharan Africa Rising Star Award. This recognition means a lot to us, and we’d like to thank the Linkedin team for putting this awards initiative in place, and particularly for creating such a valuable platform in which employers are able to leverage on and build upon to drive a wide variety of talent engagement initiatives. This recognition is a strong testament to the inherent value in collaboration, not only between Interswitch with the Linkedin team, but also internally between our different teams.”

Also commenting on the milestone, Cherry Eromosele, Group Chief Marketing & Communications Officer stated that “It’s a really exciting time to be at Interswitch, and I’m particularly so very proud of this award, which is the culmination of quite a few years of dedicated effort, commitment and drive towards improving the way we tell our stories and engage with increasingly discerning audiences across platforms. Essentially, through LinkedIn, we have been able to expose the Interswitch story and philosophy to the wider world outside of Interswitch, and I daresay it further strengthens our resolve and inspiration to continue to re-inventing our approach to content marketing in the best ways possible with content that is relevant and valuable embedded at the core.”

Interswitch Group was nominated in the ‘Rising Star’ Category for Sub-Saharan Africa alongside Debswana Diamond Company (Botswana) and Union Bank of Nigeria. LinkedIn analyzes the performance, results and impact of thousands of companies across various regions globally to determine outstanding performers who are then short-listed as finalists with respective category winners in specific geographical regions then awarded at an annual grand ceremony.

Linkedin remains the world’s largest professional network with nearly 660+ million users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, with a vision of creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.