Facebook Celebrates African Innovation at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2018

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05/12/2018

In line with its commitment to growing Africa’s technology start-up ecosystem and its passion for developing diverse, young talent, Facebook is returning as the headline sponsor of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2018.

The event, taking place in Lagos, Nigeria — will search for Sub-Saharan Africa’s best innovators, makers and technical entrepreneurs.
TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa sees start-ups compete across three categories: social good; productivity and utility; and gaming and entertainment. It profiles the founders and entrepreneurs leading Africa’s next wave of technology innovation and highlights new ideas, businesses and applications with disruptive potential.
On December 11, TechCrunch Startup Battlefield supported by Facebook, will bring together the strongest start-ups from across Sub-Saharan Africa, where they will pitch to a live audience of 500 people ranging from VCs, investors, government officials and developers.
Facebook representatives from Africa and beyond will be on the ground to celebrate, where they will be connecting, listening and learning from various communities as well as taking part in an exciting series of workshops, networking sessions and talks between 6th and 11th December.
“Following the great success of the inaugural TechnCrunch Startup Battlefield event in 2017, we are delighted to return as the headline sponsor for this year’s event,” says Emeka Afigbo, Facebook’s Head of Developer Programs.

“Given our passion for connecting people and helping developers and entrepreneurs to thrive, we can’t wait to see how this year’s entrants are using technology to engage and empower people across the continent.”

Events Facebook will host over the week include:

Developer Circle Leads Summit (6-7 December):A two-day summit for more than 65 Developer Circles Leads across Sub-Saharan Africa, representing a growing community of over 42,800 members across 31 cities in 15 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Instagram Inspire Action Lagos – Women and Small Business Event (6 December): A workshop to inspire, educate and train 70-80 entrepreneurs and women working in tech with a panel featuring special guests.
Startups and Developers Summit 2018 by Developer Circle Nigeria (8 December):Bringing together 600 attendees, and hosted by Facebook Developer Leads, the Summit will run trainings and workshop sessions on specialist deep-tech subjects, such as Messenger Bot
Aspiring Entrepreneurs — Digital Pitch Competition (10 December): Winners from seven Nigerian states who participated in the Aspiring Entrepreneurs: Digital 2018programme will pitch their businesses to a panel of judges for a chance to win support and prizes from Facebook and Fate Foundation.
NG_Hub Start-up Mixer (10 December): A social gathering bringing together Start-ups from across the ecosystem, including NG_Hub start-ups (Start-ups using Facebook’s Community Hub) and those taking part in the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield event.

Student Hack (11 December): In partnership with Re:Learn by CC_Hub, Facebook will bring together 50 local high school students from Lagos to take part in Hack-a-Day and other activities that highlight the difference developers can make in the world using computer science skills.

‘Africa Must Leverage Strengths to Accelerate Drive Towards Integration’

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05/12/2018

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Participants to the 13^th African Economic Conference called for African countries to leverage the full range of their strengths and resources to accelerate the region’s drive towards continental integration.

Themed “Regional and Continental Integration for Africa’s Development” the 2018 AEC, jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the African Development Bank follows the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) 8 months ago in Kigali.

Speaking during the conference’s opening ceremony, Hon. Claudine Uwera, Rwanda’s Minister of State in charge of Economic Planning said: “Africa’s integration is no longer a choice. It’s a must for the continent and its people. To become the global player that it deserves to be, Africa should integrate speedily.”

Experts agree that a self-reliant approach that emphasizes intra-African trade, would not only help deepen regional economic integration, but contribute significantly to sustainable economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction, and inflow of foreign direct investment.

The African Continental Free Trade Area signed in March 2018 by 44 countries is seen as the most ambitious effort to form what has the potential to be the world’s biggest free trade agreement which aims to create a single continental market of goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments across Africa.

Estimates are that if Africa were to increase its share of global trade from 2 to 3%, the one percentage point increase would result in an annual additional income of about US$70 billion.

Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP Regional Director for Africa observed: “African countries need to collaborate more effectively in devising public policies that can create skills, foster innovation and technological advancement, facilitate labour mobility and access to productive assets including land and finance.”

Speaking to the urgency of ratifying the AfCFTA, Ms. Giovanie Biha, ECA Deputy Executive Secretary said: “It’s time to ratify to ratify AfCFTA, the more ambitious the liberalization, the higher will be the gains in terms of increase in GDP and exports.”

The need for African economies to adopt innovative approaches to finance integration and especially infrastructure development also underscored.

Gabriel Negatu, Director General of African Development Bank stated: “We are committed to continue supporting Africa’s integration agenda for it will lead to sustained growth and allow the continent to withstand external pressures; enable African companies to grow and become global giants.”

AEC 2018 debates are expected to focus on four main themes: Conceptual underpinning of Africa’s integration; Infrastructure and institution for Africa’s integration; Leveraging private sector for Africa’s integration; Partnerships for effective integration that addresses impediments to Africa’s regional and continental integration.

The high points of the conference will include the launch of three significant reports: the 2018 Visa Openness Index; the 2018 Africa Sustainable Development Report; and the African Governance Report on Tuesday 4 December 2018.

Maersk Sets Net Zero CO2 Emission Target by 2050

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05/12/2018

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Soren Toft Chief Operating Officer A.P. Moller-Maersk

A.P. Moller -Maersk aims at having carbon neutral vessels commercially viable by 2030 and calls for strong industry involvement Aimed at accelerating the transition to carbon neutral shipping, Maersk announces today its goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

To achieve this goal, carbon neutral vessels must be commercially viable by 2030, and an acceleration in new innovations and adaption of new technology is required. Climate is one of the most important issues in the world, and carrying around 80% of global trade, the shipping industry is vital to finding solutions. By now, Maersk´s relative CO2 emissions have been reduced by 46% (baseline 2007), approx. 9% more than the industry average. As world trade and thereby shipping volumes will continue to grow, efficiency improvements on the current fossil based technology can only keep shipping emissions at current levels but not reduce them significantly or eliminate them.

“The only possible way to achieve the so-much-needed decarbonisation in our industry is by fully transforming to new carbon neutral fuels and supply chains,” says Søren Toft, Chief Operating Officer at A.P. Moller – Maersk. Maersk is putting its efforts towards solving problems specific to maritime transport, as it calls for different solutions than automotive, rail and aviation. The yet to come electric truck is expected to be able to carry max 2 TEU and is projected to run 800km per charging. In comparison, a container vessel carrying thousands of TEU sailing from Panama to Rotterdam makes around 8800km. With short battery durability and no charging points along the route, innovative developments are imperative. Given the 20-25-year life time of a vessel, it is now time to join forces and start developing the new type of vessels that will be crossing the seas in 2050.

“The next 5-10 years are going to be crucial. We will invest significant resources for innovation and fleet technology to improve the technical and financial viability of decarbonised solutions. Over the last four years, we have invested around $1billion and engaged 50+ engineers each year in developing and deploying energy efficient solutions. Going forward we cannot do this alone” adds Søren Toft.

“Research & Development is key to take the industry away from today’s fossil based technology and by setting this ambitious target, Maersk hopes to generate a pull towards researchers, technology developers, investors, cargo owners and legislators that will activate strong industry involvement, co-development, and sponsorship of sustainable solutions that we are yet to see in the maritime industry.

In 2019, Maersk is planning to initiate open and collaborative dialogue with all possible parties to tackle together one of the most important issues in the world; the climate change.”

CBN: Nigeria’s Food Import Drops by $21bn

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03/12/2018

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The policy of the Federal Government to reduce import of food seems to be yielding the desired result as the country’s food import dropped by $21 billion since January 2015. This translates to $160.4 million in October 2018 from as high as $665.4 million in January 2015.

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said at the Bankers Dinner in Lagos that rice, fish, milk, sugar and wheat accounted for the drop while assuring Nigerians that the government will continue to implement farmer-friendly policies to further reduce the country’s dependent on food import.

Emefiele said: “Noticeable declines were steadily recorded in our monthly food import bill from $665.4m in January 2015 to $160.4m as at October 2018; a cumulative fall of 75.9 per cent and an implied savings of over $21billion on food imports alone over that period. Most evident were the 97.3 per cent cumulative reduction in monthly rice import bills, 99.6 per cent in fish, 81.3 per cent in milk, 63.7 per cent in sugar, and 60.5 per cent in wheat. We are glad with the accomplishments recorded so far. Accordingly, this policy is expected to continue with vigour until the underlying imbalances within the Nigerian economy have been fully resolved. We have maintained a particular focus on supporting farmers, entrepreneurs as well as small and medium scale businesses, through our various intervention programmes such as the Anchor Borrowers Program, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending and the National Collateral Registry.”

Emefiele who attributed the reduced food import bill to the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) said the Programme has created over 2.5 million employment opportunities across the country while 835,239 hectares of 16 varied crops had been planted by 862,069 farmers so far.

“It is in light of the success of the Anchor Borrowers Program with regards to cultivation of rice and maize that the Monetary Policy Committee in its last meeting on the 21st of November, 2018 recommended that the Anchor Borrowers program be applied to other areas such as palm oil, tomatoes and fisheries to mention a few.”

HP to Educate 100,000 Learners Across Africa by 2021

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03/12/2018

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Recently at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, HP announced a new commitment to reach 100,000 learners across Africa over the next three years through the HP Foundation’s HP LIFE program, and kicked off the commitment by opening a new tech-enabled HP LIFE Center in South Africa.

HP’s pledge supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal and furthers the company’s goals to enable better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025 and to enroll a million HP LIFE users between 2016 and 2025, as outlined in the HP 2017 Sustainable Impact Report.
By 2030, Africa will be home to 32% of the population under the age of 30, and the largest working age population by 2035. Yet, today’s youth unemployment in Africa is up to 3x higher than adult unemployment. HP LIFE offers free, online learning for users to gain the skills to start and grow their own business or improve their employment opportunities. Building on the success of this global program, HP is working with partners to open technology-enabled HP LIFE innovation centers to further support entrepreneurship and workforce development across the continent.
“We believe that education is a human right, that technology in the classroom is a critical component for a 21st century education, and that in today’s economy our learning is never done,” said Nate Hurst, Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer, HP. “Africa is experiencing rapid urbanization and digitization—and it’s essential that people have access to learn skills for the work of tomorrow. This new HP LIFE Center provides a launch pad for innovation and opportunity across the continent.”
In 2017, on the global stage at the Global Citizen Festival in Hamburg, Germany, HP announced a commitment to enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025. The commitment to education is a part of HP’s broader Sustainable Impact strategy – a strategy to use the scope, scale and expertise of HP to drive positive, lasting change for the planet, its people and the communities where we live, work and do business.
“Sustainable Impact is fundamental to our reinvention and core to achieving our vision – to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere,” said Hurst.

HP LIFE
In collaboration with institutions such as the Ekurhuleni West TVET College in Katlehong and its Centre of Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator, HP opened the HP LIFE Center in South Africa on November 30, a technology-enabled hub to facilitate learning, collaboration and entrepreneurship in a physical, face-to-face setting.
Built on the belief that entrepreneurs are the backbone of the global economy, HP LIFE offers 30 free, online courses focused on business and IT skills – from business planning and marketing, to raising capital and design thinking. To date, HP LIFE has reached 744,000 learners in 200 countries and territories.

All users need is a computer and Internet connection to access HP LIFE, and the new, physical center in South Africa will create a more formal educational environment. HP LIFE has an enrollment goal of 1 million users between 2016 and 2025.
At the World Economic Forum’s 48th Annual Meeting in January, Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) and HP Foundation announced a new 3D printing course to be delivered through the HP LIFE platform.

3D printing will fundamentally change the manufacturing industry. $4 to 6 trillion (USD) of the global economy will be disrupted in the next five to 10 years, shifting economic value and jobs across the globe. This new course is helping individuals to learn how to use 3D printing and create entrepreneurial opportunities.

‘Global Cancer Deaths Top 10m in 2018, 18m New Cases’

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03/12/2018

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The Mass Medical Mission is set to launch its cancer prevention initiative on Tuesday, December 4, 2018 in Lagos.

This is important given the fact that Nigeria now has the seventh lowest life expectancy in the world (down from eleventh lowest in 2014). Most Nigerians do not live to reap the fruit of their labour. Cancer and its related risk factors are the major causes of untimely death in Nigeria.

A release signed by Dr. Abia Nzelu said the global cancer burden has risen to 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths in 2018 up from 14 million new cases and 8.8 million deaths in 2016. To address this problem, Mass Medical Mission (mmm) has deployed the pilot set of Mobile Cancer Centres (aka “the PinkCruise”) to take wholistic preventive healthcare to Nigerians. The eye-care aspect of Mission PinkCruise is known as Mission PinkVISSION, where “VISSION” stands for Voluntary Integrated Sight Saving Initiative of Nigeria. The PinkCruise is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for screening and treatment (including mammography, endoscopy, colonoscopy, colposcopy, cryotherapy, laboratory, vaccination and surgeries for pre-cancer and early cancer). The pilot phase of Mission PinkCruise is currently ongoing in Lagos, following a 12-months schedule which is available on the campaign website (pinkcruise.org).

To maximize the impact of Mission PinkCruise & Mission PinkVISSION, mmm / NCPP (National Cancer Prevention Programme) is set to launch a campaign, tagged … Health Education On The Go! This campaign involves the deployment of a fleet of special buses which are designed to combine provision of health education with public transportation.

Total Reiterates Commitment to HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign in Schools

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03/12/2018

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Total Upstream Nigeria Limited has reiterated its total commitment towards sustainable awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS among adolescents in secondary schools across the country.

Mr. Nicolas Terraz, the Managing Director, Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria gave the assurance during the official launching of the school-based project on HIV/AIDS awareness campaign for secondary school in Lagos on Thursday.

Terraz who was represented by the General Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development, Dr Charles Ngeribara said that the essence of the programme was to sanitised adolescents in very secondary school on the need to be more cautious of the menace called “HIV/AIDS’’.

Total has also provided HIV tool kits for five schools, namely, Oshodi Comprehensive School, Bolade Senior High school, Oshodi Senior High School Ikeja Grammar School and Unity Senior High School to be used as reference materials to educate others.

He said that December 1st of every year is marked globally as the World AIDS Day, hence the date for this campaign could not have been better chosen, adding that the theme for the 2018 World AIDS Day is, “Know Your Status”.

According to him, Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria connects to this, by bringing this awareness campaign to your school this year. We encourage voluntary HIV counseling and testing for all Nigerians and non-Nigerians living in Nigeria to ensure that everyone knows their status.

“We also believe that students of your age need to be aware of the disease because we believe that with knowledge comes the ability to take informed decisions to protect yourselves, your families and your communities against HIV/AIDS.

“Over the years, HIV/AIDS has been more than a major global health crisis, but the disease has also become a real development challenge especially for developing nations where young people, who are the most productive segment of the population, remain at risk.

” It is quite disturbing that, up till now, prevalence rates remain high due to the negligence and ignorance of the public,’’ he said.

The managing director said that Total, as a company, makes effort to identify with its host communities and with Nigeria as a whole, adding that not only to give back to society in fulfillment of our Corporate Social Responsibility obligations, but because it’s also truly believe that when Nigeria prospers, Total prospers too.

“To reduce the impact of this disease, we join the United Nations and the World Health Organisation as part of a broad-based coalition that is leading the fight against HIV/AIDS. It is for this reason that Total extends its annual HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign to Secondary Schools.

“The Youth are mainly vulnerable to HIV infection, especially where they are ignorant and engage in risky behaviors such as drug abuse, cult activities, blood rituals, sexual exposures whether by informed choices or rape, etc.

According to the WHO, prevention is not only better than cure, but cheaper and prevents complications. Total agrees with the WHO and believes that the youths have a great role to play in heightening awareness and the prevention of this pandemic.

Terraz said that Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria and its partners will continue to collaborate with government at all levels, non-governmental organisations and the private sector, to educate the public on the preventive measures to mitigate the spread of this disease.

“I therefore encourage everyone here today to take the message from this campaign to your homes, friends, families, school-mates and communities. HIV/AIDS is real and will continue to destroy our communities is we do not adopt behavioral changes that prevent its spread.

Mr Roland Ewubare, the Group General Manger, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NIPIMS) expressed commitment towards supporting effective and rewarding HIV/AIDS awareness campaign across the Federation.

Ewubare who was represented by Mrs Olunbumi Lawson expressed sincere appreciation to Total and its partners on effective partnering with the Lagos State government and other stakeholders in creating awareness to secondary school students on the HIV/AIDS.

According to him, NNPC/Total decision to carry out the campaign on HIV/AIDS in secondary scholls is in line with our company’s goal to give back to the society which we operate and touch their lives in many positive ways.

“Over time, NNPC along with its joint ventures has implemented various projects in the area of education, (building of classrooms, laboratories blocks, books, scholarship, quiz competitions ) skill acquisition, economic empowerment, , health care, water and sanitation, solar power and other infrastructural intervention.

“HIV/AIDS is a disease whose prevalence shows no sign of abating. The most effective form of prevention is awareness, in view of this, it has became imperative for us to focus on its education as a tool to spread the awareness.

– By Simon Ugwu

Societe Generale Unveils Growth Strategy in Africa Plan

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03/12/2018

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During a press trip to Dakar, Senegal, the Societe Generale Group confirmed the solid growth of its African operations, in line with its “Transform to Grow” strategic plan. As part of the launch of its “Grow with Africa” programme, the Bank also announced several initiatives in partnership with international, regional and local clients and institutions in order to meet sustainable development needs in Africa.

A Pro-growth Strategy
With operations in 19 African countries*, Societe Generale has a unique positioning in the region, enabling the Group to offer its customers the expertise and knowledge of an international bank combined with the proximity of its local banking networks. With its roots in Africa stretching back over a century, the Group’s 11,500 staff members on the continent support local economies, serving 4.1 million customers, including 150,000 businesses.
As announced in its strategic plan, the Group is targeting a compound annual revenue growth rate of 8% and profitability of over 15% by 2020 for its African operations.
The Africa, Mediterranean Basin & Overseas Region Business Unit generated €1.52 billion in revenue in 2017, an increase of 11%. This trend continued in the first nine months of 2018, as the bank continued to roll out its strategy, building on its strengths to capture local growth.

Business customers account for more than 60% of NBI and outstanding loans. The bank is supporting this increasingly sophisticated client base, in particular via regional hubs of expertise that have proven their capability in more mature markets, such as structured finance or currency hedging solutions.

Societe Generale has also decided to increase its outstanding loans to African SMEs by 60% over the next five years (+€4 billion).

In terms of individual customers, Societe Generale is looking to consolidate its leadership positions in several countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, Guinea, etc.), specifically by drawing on the benefits of its high-end positioning, while remaining focused on improving customer satisfaction. The Bank is also forging ahead with its innovation strategy with the roll-out of YUP. This e-wallet solution was launched in August 2017 and currently has over 300,000 e-wallets opened and almost 4,500 agents. YUP adds around 1,500 new customers per day and is aiming for one million customers and 8,000 agents by 2020.

In order to deliver on this roadmap, Societe Generale is adapting its structure in Africa.
Four regional divisions for Africa have been set up in Abidjan, Douala, Algiers and Casablanca, in addition to an organisation and IT system division in Casablanca. Specifically, this will enable the pooling of expertise, standardise processes and improve efficiency.
The Bank is also looking to broaden its innovation initiatives, thanks to Innovation Labs in Dakar, Tunis and Casablanca, where new banking and non-banking solutions are being developed with start-ups and customers.
Finally, the Group his strengthening its teams in Africa. With a strong renewal in the managerial structure, many African staff members well connected to local economies are being promoted to top management positions. Several initiatives on training, equality – such as the partnership with “Women in Africa” – and collective intelligence are also playing a key role in the Group’s inclusive growth strategy.

Stepping up business initiatives to foster sustainable development in Africa
We believe that development in Africa is one of the collective challenges to which Societe Generale can contribute, and so the Bank made the decision to put its expertise and drive for innovation towards serving positive change on the continent. With the launch of the “Grow with Africa” programme, conceived in collaboration with several local and international partners, Societe Generale has identified four areas of development:

Multi-dimensional support for African SMEs

In order to support SMEs, which are the cornerstone of African economies, Societe Generale will create “SME Centres” in each of its subsidiaries, bringing together under one roof the different organisations** that work together to promote business development. This initiative will go hand in hand with the Bank’s plan to substantially increase the amount of loans granted to African SMEs.

Infrastructure financing

Infrastructure financing is a key aspect of development in Africa, especially in energy, transport, water and waste management, and even the development of sustainable cities. Societe Generale is deeply involved in infrastructure financing in Africa and intends to further increase its contribution. The Bank plans to double its African workforce dedicated to structured finance by 2019 and increase its financial commitments related to structured finance in Africa by 20% over the next three years.

Developing innovative financing solutions

Societe Generale is dedicated to improving its support of agricultural industries, by working alongside all of the sector’s stakeholders, including farmers, cooperatives and SMEs. As such, Societe Generale is committed to providing access to a range of banking and non-banking services (healthcare, education, advisory) to one million farmers over the next five years, thanks to its YUP platform.
The Bank is also focused on supporting energy inclusion, promoting renewable energy sources in areas that are not connected to the electricity network and supporting connections for households located close to existing networks.

Promoting Development through Financial Inclusion

For several decades, Societe Generale has been a key player in local economies, with the aim of improving financial inclusion among local populations. The Bank will continue in this direction by pursuing the roll out of YUP, which offers simple, accessible, bank-like products to a broad population, the majority of whom does not currently have access to banking services. The group has been active in microfinance for over 10 years and is committed to doubling its outstanding loans to microfinance organisations by 2022.
Frédéric Oudéa, Chief Executive Officer of Societe Generale said: “Our long-standing presence in Africa makes Societe Generale an essential, well-placed player on the continent to serve as a unifying force around the challenge of responsibility and sustainably contributing to African growth. This ambition is a key part of our strategic plan. This is why we are launching “Grow with Africa”, an initiative that involves all stakeholders seeking to provide solutions to the specific environment in which sustainable development in Africa is expanding, and who are convinced that the futures of Europe and Africa are more closely linked than ever.”
The Group’s desire to contribute to sustainable development in Africa is also driven by the initiatives of the Societe Generale Corporate Foundation for Solidarity.

The Foundation has already supported close to 100 projects promoting professional integration in 14 African countries, and the budget it dedicates to projects in Africa will be considerably increased over the coming years.

NSE, Nasdaq Sign MoU on Technology

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28/11/2018

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L- R shows Oscar N. Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with Meyer Sandy Frucher, Vice Chairman, Nasdaq during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between The Nigerian Stock Exchange and Nasdaq on technology at ASEA Conference in Lagos.

3 Modular Refineries Ready for Business in 2019

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28/11/2018

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The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu says there are strong indications that three modular refineries, out of 40 licenses issued, will likely come on stream by end of 2019.

Kachikwu disclosed this at the 3-day Biennial International Conference for Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) organised by Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Lagos.

He told participants that “out of the 40 private licenses issued to private investors to build refineries, only 10 have showed signs of progression.

“Out of the 40 licenses issued, only 10 have shown progress by submitting their programmes and putting something on the ground.

“ By end of 2019, we are assured that three private modular refineries would come on stream,’’ he said.

The minister said that the conference is a renowned and highly-professional forum for pooling ideas and research findings for the incubation of enduring and game-changing oil and gas policy initiatives.

“Perhaps this edition of the conference could not have come at a better time, first to allay the popular fear that the days of oil and gas as an international commodity and energy source are over.

“And secondly, to stimulate new ideas on sustainable ways of developing this resource in a manner that will both prolong its acceptability as an energy source and also help the nation reap optimal benefits,’’ he said.

Kachikwu said that environmental sustainability is a key component of the Seven Big Wins initiative of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration for the oil and gas industry.

He said that with the continuous inflow of statistics from the DPR highlighting the gory state of affairs on gas flaring and the failure of previous efforts to end the menace, the ministry had to come up with new initiatives to truly incentivize the flare-out policy by creating the new National Gas Policy.

He said that the policy is aimed at ensuring that all currently flared gas, including those previously considered as non-technically feasible and non-commercially viable, is gathered and utilised for various economic utilities that are financially rewarding to the producers.

He added that the collectors and interested investors that then convert it for power generation, petrochemicals and other beneficial uses.

“ Aggressive efforts are being made within the ambits of HSE sustainability to convert more gas to LNG through new and existing investors to retain Nigeria in its currently threatened fourth position as an LNG exporter.

“Our push for the increased investments in modular and conventional refineries is not only targeted at helping the nation benefit from its resources by providing products to the entire West African sub-region.

“But also essentially to stop the scourge of local unconventional artisanal refineries that have led to massive oil spills that have been hard to manage for nearly a whole decade.

“ And, indeed, if anyone has new innovative ideas for improving the science of local refining initiatives, the DPR has been directed to listen to same, improve and license it, perhaps we may end up developing local technologies that can be exported, provided the HSE content meets acceptable international standard ,’’ he added.

Meanwhile, the Director of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Modeccai Ladan, urged stakeholders to galvanize efforts at maximizing Nigeria’s production and minimize wastage.

Ladan explained that the oil and gas industry seems to be under a new threat, which is the renewed dislike and global war against fossil fuels and the quest for renewable and cleaner energy, purely for environment considerations, chief among which is the concern about global warming.

According to him, “Over the years, the threat against fossil fuels had always been on paper, but today, it is more real than ever, based on some clear evidence I like to draw our attention to.

“Three among the biggest technology companies have made attempts at electric cars to replace gasoline and diesel engines.

“While the attempt of Apple may not have made it to production yet and that of Google was suspended after clearly successful street trials, that of Tesla actually took the world by surprise.

“Not only did the first two releases of Tesla outsell sales forecasts, they were actually oversubscribed, and the demand keeps rising while new models are being added,’’ he said.

Ladan said: “As we speak, some of the big International Oil Companies (IOCs) here seated are funding gigantic researches into alternative fuels, which include the use of cheap, common algae.

“ As sweet as Nigeria’s crudes are renowned to be globally, we have recently lost our most valued customers and our gas buyers are themselves now competing with us in the same market space as suppliers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, all of these points to one fact, namely, if Nigeria is to continue to benefit from its vast petroleum resources, now than ever is the time to build sustainability into its prospecting, drilling, production, transportation and usage.

“As well as management of its wastes. And this task rests on the shoulders of not only the DPR but all stakeholders.

“Little wonder then that we have chosen a befitting theme for this current edition of the conference, which is: “Driving Sustainability in the Oil and Gas Industry through Improved Stakeholders’ Environmental Stewardship.”

Signal Alliance, Microsoft, Cisco Partner to Deliver Azure Stack

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28/11/2018

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L-R: Uche Nwaukwa, Signal Alliance Azure Practice Lead; Sophia Sankey, Microsoft Cross Industry Senior Territory Executive; Kunle Oloruntimehin, Cisco Country General manager; Ifeanyi Aneke, Microsoft Cloud Solution Architect and Sikiru Abass, Signal Alliance Head of Platforms & Applications.

As businesses in Nigeria continue to find more effective ways to drive down their running costs, whilst improving profitability, Signal Alliance, Microsoft and Cisco have joined forces to deliver the Azure Stack solution, an innovative hybrid cloud computing solution designed to help organisations deliver their various services efficiently from their own data centers.

Speaking at the workshop, Uche Nwaukwa, Signal Alliance Azure Practice Lead said, “Azure Stack is an extension of Microsoft Azure, which brings the agility and fast-paced innovation of cloud computing to on-premises environments.”

The workshop had the Cisco Country General Manager, Kunle Oloruntimehin; Microsoft Business Lead, Cloud, Wale Olokodana; Signal Alliance Technology Director, Yinka Ntia; Microsoft Cross Industry Senior Territory Executive, Sophia Sankey in attendance.

Also present at the event were top business executives from selected organisations in the banking, insurance, telecoms, and oils & gas sectors.

Workshop participants were shown how Azure Stack can enable businesses and Government agencies leverage cloud capabilities and still maintain regulatory requirements around data residency, including Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance.

Furthermore, there was a demonstration of how the solution serves as a hybrid cloud computing platform for edge and disconnected scenarios which address latency and connectivity issues, including simple and easy-to-use analytics.

While speaking on development, Sikiru Abass, Head of Platforms & Applications, Signal Alliance said it enables organisations to build modern applications across hybrid cloud environments, balancing the right amount of flexibility and control.

Moreover, with Azure Stack, developers can speed up new cloud application development by building on application components from the Azure Marketplace, including open source tools and technologies. With this consistent cloud platform, organizations can confidently make technology decisions based on business requirements, rather than business decisions based on technology complications.

Azure Stack is an integrated solution made up of software and hardware components. Microsoft owns the software, while Cisco and other approved vendors support with their proprietary hardware. Signal Alliance acts as the partner delivering the solution and providing support for user organizations in Nigeria.

African Securities Exchange Elects Karim Hajji as New President

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28/11/2018

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L.R: Mr. Karim Hajji New President of African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA)/CEO of the Casablanca Stock Exchange and Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, Immediate Past President of ASEA.

The African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA or the Association) held its 22^nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) where the election of officers took place.

Mr. Karim Hajji, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Casablanca Stock Exchange and Mr. Edoh Kossi Amenounve were elected as the President and Deputy President of ASEA respectively. Mr. Hajji takes the leadership of the Association after Mr. Oscar Onyemas two (2) terms of two (2) years as President of ASEA.

Other officers constituting the newly formed ASEA Executive Committee include, Mr. Geoffrey O. Odundo, CEO of Nairobi Securities Exchange, Ms. Nicky Newton, CEO of Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Mr. Mohammed Farid Saleh, CEO of the Egyptian Exchange, Mr. Thapelo Tsheole, CEO of Botswana Stock Exchange and Mr. Pierre Ekoule, CEO Douala Stock Exchange, Mr. Koffi Yamoah, CEO of the Ghana Stock Exchange and Mr. Pierre Celestin Rwabukumba CEO of the Rwanda Stock Exchange.

Speaking on his election, Mr. Karim Hajji said; I am looking forward to working with each member of the Executive Committee to continuously advancing the vision of ASEA while delivering value to the membership. He commended his predecessor, Mr. Onyema for the good work done in the past four (4) years and noted that the newly formed Executive Committee will build on the legacy he has left behind. Mr. Hajji also added; I believe that through advocacy and strategic lobbying, ASEA will be able to unlock opportunities for the much-needed liquidity in the African financial markets.

The incoming Deputy President, Dr. Edoh Kossi Amenounve, said; I look forward to working with the current and new members of the Executive Committee of ASEA and more so supporting Mr. Karim Hajji in his assignment as President of ASEA.

Speaking on the election, Mr. Onyema thanked the Executives of the Association for the support accorded to him during his four (4) years in office. “The successes that the Association has enjoyed during my tenure as President would not have been possible without the relentless support of the Executive Committee Members and that of the ASEA Secretariat. He noted; thank you for supporting my vision for the Association; he added.

The official opening of the 22^nd Annual ASEA Conference kicked off on November 26, 2018 at the Oriental Hotel, in Lagos.

The Conference themed; Champions on the Rise; Africas Ascension to a More Sustainable Future” underpins the need for operators of African capital markets to fully embrace sustainable business practices, as well as the opportunities and risks presented by the fourth industrial revolution.

Dignitaries in attendance at the opening ceremony were the H.E Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ms. Arunma Oteh, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank and Ms. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, Deputy-Governor of Lagos State among others.

About ASEA

The African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) is the Premier Association of 28 Securities Exchanges in Africa that have come together with the aim of developing Member Exchanges and providing a platform for networking.

Vodacom Partners Microsoft to Enable Greater Agile Businesses

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Business Journal

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28/11/2018

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L-R: Commercial Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Solomon Ogufere; Head, Strategic Partnerships, Microsoft 4Afrika, Soromfe Uzomah; Sales Director, Descasio Limited, Nehita Fashe; Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, Wale Odeyemi at the recently concluded Breakfast meeting held to launch the partnership between Vodacom and Microsoft on the Azure Cloud Platform.

Vodacom Business Nigeria has entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft (through its 4Afrika initiative) and Descasio to build capacity and help improve operational efficiency among its customers using the suite of Microsoft Azure Cloud platform services.

Microsoft Azure is an open and flexible cloud platform which will enable customers to rapidly build, deploy and manage its applications, data, runtime and more in the cloud. The platform allows users to leverage existing skills using the world’s most popular languages, tools, and frameworks in a resilient, scalable and reliable global datacenter network.

Speaking at a breakfast meeting in Lagos, Managing Director for Vodacom Business Nigeria, Wale Odeyemi said: “Our vision is to be a leading digital company that empowers a connected society and we have realized the benefits that strategic collaborations with key stakeholders within our ecosystem can bring to helping us realize this vision faster.

“Vodacom actively pursues a collaborative approach that leverages the combination of core competencies of its partners to increase customer value that complement our already rich products and services in addressing our customers’ needs to optimize their operations through increased flexibility, agility and resiliency. In addition to our secure connectivity services, this collaboration with Microsoft and Descasio ensures our customers can move data and applications from their intelligent edges to Microsoft’s intelligent cloud, while accelerating their cloud adoption journeys.”

Odeyemi further added: “As organizations re-invent themselves in response to ongoing digital disruptions, the appetite for cloud service adoption is also increasing as businesses seek to improve agility. Microsoft Azure addresses this need by providing diverse services under one platform, thereby creating more streamlined workflows and driving business efficiency.”

Through the 4Afrika initiative, Microsoft aims to bring smart devices, connectivity and technology training to African entrepreneurs, youth, developers and graduates by focusing on three critical areas – World-class skills, Access and Innovation.

Speaking at the event, Head, Strategic Partnerships for Microsoft 4Afrika, Soromfe Uzomah said: ‘Through these partnerships, Microsoft aims to empower businesses, across different verticals, with the tools they need to succeed in a technology driven world and the platforms they require to create breakthrough innovations and accelerate Africa’s digital transformation. To successfully achieve this transformation journey that enables business growth on the African continent, we need to depend not just on what we do in our own capacities but on the capabilities, functions, channels, and insights we all can tap into through partnering with others.

Uzomah further adds: “We are pleased to be a part of this initiative working in collaboration with Descasio to provide Cloud services to Vodacom customers. We look forward to working with Vodacom to help their customers optimize operations, extract insights from the data they generate and improve their decision-making capabilities to maintain a competitive advantage.”

Vodacom Business Nigeria will host services enabled by these intelligent Microsoft technologies to ensure that your business gains access to the latest software and business applications with state-of-the-art security for your company’s network, systems and applications at reduced prices, from anywhere and at any time.

Hero Beer: More Winners Emerge in Consumer Promo

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Business Journal

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28/11/2018

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L-R: Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc, Ms. Tolu Adedeji, Nollywood Actor/Director and Hero Brand Ambassador, Nkem Owoh; a winner of the on-going Hero National Consumer Promo tagged ‘HEROnaires Mega promo’, Mr. Ugwuanyi Emmanuel; National Sales Director, Mr. Godwin Oche and Marketing Manager, Hero Larger, Obumneke Okoli, both of International Breweries, at the presentation of prizes to winners in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Hero Lager, a leading quality beer brand and one of the national treasures from the stable of International Breweries Plc, a proud part of the AB InBev family, has rewarded another set of 43 consumers with cash prizes and gifts in its ongoing national consumer promo, tagged, HEROnaires Mega Promo, 2018 Edition.

The winners emerged at various draws held across the country, bringing the total number of consumers who have won N1 million and other consolation prizes to 97 since the promo kicked off on 1^st October, 2018.

The HEROnaires Mega promo is a reward scheme offering consumers who are above the legal drinking age of 18 with N1 million weekly wins for 17 weeks as well as cash prizes of N50, 000 over the next two months.

“As a business, our dream is to bring people together for a better world. We are therefore delighted that Hero Lager is able to reward and empower loyal consumers via this exciting and life-changing promotion. We are committed to impacting lives for good and putting smiles on the faces of our consumers by creating an opportunity for them to become millionaires,” said Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc, Mrs. Tolu Adedeji.

“We encourage all our existing and potential consumers who are within the legal drinking age to participate in the ongoing promo and increase their chances of belonging to a tribe of HEROnaires,” she added. “As we enter the season of sharing, caring and giving, what better way is there to salute our teeming consumers than avail them with the opportunity to become success stories as HEROnaires.”

On how to be the next HEROnaire, Tolu explained that all consumers need do is to simply text HERO and the unique code under the crown cork to 3810 and they will be eligible for the draws and subsequent entries will qualify consumers for the weekly cash prize of N1 million and other mouth-watering consolation prizes.

Marketing Manager, Hero Lager, Obumneke Okoli, said, “HERO has continued to inspire Nigerians on their journey and helping them to achieve heroic feats and giant strides. Our products are highly famed for quality and also the exceptional consumer experience they provide. We are happy because this platform is an avenue that is translating the dreams of our consumers into reality.”

It will be recalled that HERO Lager started its journey from the Eastern part of Nigeria in 2012 and this sojourn has so far seen it attain and achieve HEROic feats as the preeminent beer brand in the region and a market leader in its category.

Africa’s Mobile Phone Shipments Decline 2.1% in Q3 2018

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Business Journal

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28/11/2018

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Africa’s mobile phone market declined 2.1% quarter on quarter (QoQ) in Q3 2018 according to the latest figures announced today by International Data Corporation (IDC).

The global technology research and consulting firm newly released Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows overall shipments for the quarter totaled 52.6 million units, with feature phone shipments falling 2.7% QoQ and smartphone shipments declining 1.3% over the same period.

Transsion brands (Tecno, Infinix, and Itel) led the feature phone space in Q3 2018, with a combined unit share of 58.2%. Nokia was next in line with 11.7% share. Transsion, Samsung, and Huawei dominated the smartphone space with respective unit shares of 34.9%, 21.7%, and 10.2%.

However, in value terms, Samsung led the smartphone market with 37.2% share, followed by Transsion (21.0%) and Huawei (13.0%).

There were differing fortunes in the region’s three major markets, with Nigeria suffering a heavy 11.6% QoQ decline in mobile phone shipments, while South Africa and Kenya saw respective QoQ growth of 8.5% and 7.9% in Q3 2018.

“The decline in Nigeria stemmed from a slowdown in government spending, ongoing warfare in the country’s northern states, and market uncertainty in the lead up to elections,” says George Mbuthia, a research analyst at IDC.

“In South Africa, the market’s growth was spurred by the penetration of low-end devices from brands such as Mobicel, Mint, and Nokia, while the launch of entry-level smartphones helped drive growth in Kenya despite increases in taxes and fuel prices placing a significant burden on disposable income in the country.”

While feature phones remain steadfastly popular across Africa, particularly in more rural areas, consumers are increasingly being attracted by smartphone offerings from Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Huawei, which are actively targeting feature-oriented customers at more economical price points.

“There is a new wave of Chinese brands aggressively pursuing growth opportunities in the region, while the more-established Huawei is also accelerating its marketing efforts and expanding its distribution budget,” says Ramazan Yavuz, a research manager at IDC.

“These brands have quickly progressed along the learning curve and evolved their offerings to perfectly reflect the realities of the region by addressing the diverse pricing and feature needs of the consumer base.”

Looking ahead, IDC expects Africa’s overall mobile phone market to reach 58 million units in Q4 2018, spurred by the festive season and online consumer events such as Black Friday. The introduction of more affordable smartphones in the African market will help drive progress in this space over the coming quarters, while the share of feature phones will decline steadily as the transition to smartphones gathers momentum.

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