Blog Archives
Etisalat Announces Possible Outages to Network Operations
Etisalat Nigeria today announced possible disruptions to its operations and services as a result of the current nationwide scarcity of petroleum products. Management stated that the company is working assiduously to minimise the impact given the circumstances. Read the rest of this entry
Etisalat Nigeria Customers to get iPhone 6 and 6 Plus…
Nigeria’s most innovative telecommunications company, Etisalat Nigeria, today announced it will offer iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the biggest advancements in iPhone history, beginning on Friday, 14 November 2014. Read the rest of this entry
Etisalat Commissions Flagship Experience Centre in Abuja
Nigeria’s most innovative telecommunications company, Etisalat, last weekend, commissioned a world class flagship Experience Centre in Abuja.
Speaking to journalists at the official launch of the Flagship Experience Centre, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Matthew Willsher said the company constantly strives to deliver outstanding customer service at every touch point. Read the rest of this entry
Etisalat Excites Subscribers with Vringo Services
Nigeria’s most innovative telecommunications company Etisalat is out to excite customers in the Nigerian telecoms market with a special video ringtone service called ‘Vringo’. The new product allows customers to customise their caller tunes by replacing it with a video clip of their choice, ranging from music, movie, and comedy to football and other sports.
Head, Digital Media, Etisalat Nigeria, Adia Sowho said the new product is to enable etisalat customers get as much pleasure as possible from their telephony experience.
“We’re committed to listening and responding to our customers to ensure that they are at the heart of everything we do. Our customers rely on us to develop innovative products that deliver value to them and ensure that they can derive as much pleasure as possible from our network,” she said.
Shedding more light on the product, Sowho said that the Vringo service also enables customersto share video ringtones with friends across multiple platforms. The service is compatible with Android, Java and Symbian devices and is available on WEB, WAP and also available as a mobile application.
Customers can opt in via SMS by sending “SUB” to 669 on an etisalat line. To de-activate, all a customer needs to do is text “STOP” to 669. The service is free for the first 30 days, after which customers will be charged a subscription fee of N 100.00 monthly.”
The application comes preloaded with a wide range of video clips including latest local and international music videos, movie clips, comedy clips, football clips and Etisalat specific content. While some of the content is free, however, premium content is available for downloads for a one off fee of N50 per download.
Meet the 2014 Etisalat Prize for Literature Panel of Judges
Most Innovative Network Etisalat Nigeria, today, Friday 19th July 2014 announced the judging panel for the second edition of its prestigious literary prize the Etisalat Prize for Literature. Chaired by renowned Nigerian writer Sarah Ladipo Manyika, the distinguished panel consists of award winning British/Sudanese writer Jamal Mahjoub, prolific Francophone writer Alain Mabanckou and writer and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga.
Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher said the judges for this year’s prize are some of the most respected individuals in the literary world and they will bring in diverse experiences and expertise to the judging panel. “What is most exciting is that we have a very diverse panel that will bring in their individual perspectives to the judging process. They are an accomplished panel with vast amount of experience in the creative writing world”.
The Judges
Chair Sarah Ladipo Manyika holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches literature at San Francisco State University. Her writing includes essays, academic papers, reviews and short stories. Sarah’s first novel, Independence, is published by Legend Press (London) and Cassava Republic Press (Abuja). Sarah was one of the inaugural Judges for Etisalat Prize for Literature 2013.
Jamal Mahjoub is an award winning writer of mixed British/Sudanese heritage. Born in London, he was raised in Khartoum where the family remained until 1990. He is also an award-winning novelist, translator and essayist. Jamal Mahjoub reflect on notions of ancient Egypt in modern life and art. He was awarded a scholarship to study in England and attended the University of Sheffield. He has lived in various countries including the UK, Denmark and currently, Spain. He writes in English and has published seven novels under his own name. In 2012, Mahjoub began writing a series of crime fiction novels under the pseudonym Parker Bilal.
Alain Mabanckou is considered to be one of the most talented and prolific writers in the French language today and the first francophone sub-Saharan African writer to be published by Gallimard in its prestigious “collection” called La Blanche. He is mostly known for his novels, notably Verre Cassé (BROKEN GLASS) which was unanimously praised by the press, critics and readers alike. In 2006 he published Memoires de porc-épic (Memoirs of a Porcupine) which garnered him the Prix RENAUDOT, one of the highest distinctions in literature written in French. His novels are published in more than fifteen languages.
Tsitsi Dangarembga is a contemporary African feminist. She published a short story in Sweden entitled “The Letter” and in 1987, she published a play in Harare entitled “She No Longer Weeps.” Her real success came at age twenty-five with the publication of her novel Nervous Conditions. This novel was the first to be published in English by a black Zimbabwean woman. In 1989, Nervous Conditions won her the African section of the Commonwealth Writers Prize. She had made many film productions, including a documentary for German television. She made the film entitled Everyone’s Child in 1996. It was shown worldwide at various festivals including the Dublin Film Festival. In 2006, she published The Book of Not: A Sequel to Nervous Conditions.
Now in its second year, the Etisalat Prize for Literature is the first Pan-African prize for debut fiction writers of African citizenship. The Prize was launched in June 2013 and has become one of Africa’s most prestigious literary prizes for fiction.
Zimbabwean NoViolet Bulawayo was the winner of the maiden edition with her debut Fiction novel Bom Boy. She received £15,000 in Prize money and a fellowship at the Unversity of East Anglia in the United Kingdom which she gifted to runner-up Yewande Omotoso.
Zuriel Oduwole Pays Courtesy Call On Etisalat Nigeria
Eleven year old award winning girl child education advocate, documentary film maker, conference speaker, and writer on Tuesday 8 July, 2014, payed a courtesy call to Etisalat Nigeria.
The courtesy call was made to the Youth Segment Team, in what can be described as a chat on Cliqlite, our child-friendly product, recently rolled out to the market.
The visit which lasted about 50 minutes had in attendance Wole Rawa, Director of Consumer Segments, Enitan Denloye, Director, Brands and Communication and the Youth Segment Team who were on ground to welcome Zuriel to Etisalat.
The Cliqlite tablet was the major subject during the chat. Idiare Etimomo explained the reason behind the product launch and stated the pros that come with the device while highlighting the security measures made available to ensure that kids using the devices are actually using it for the right purpose; learning while having fun.
In her remarks, Zuriel commended Etisalat for such innovation, especially for identifying with children at a time when child education in Nigeria was on the decline. She also told the team that Nigeria was her 4th country stop for her #FollowTheBallForEducation project, a campaign in support for Education among children which was launched in Brazil. The Campaign will cover countries like Brazil, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mauritius and South Africa in a bid to gather support and signatures from players, fans, government officials, organizations and ordinary people as she brings attention to the need for safe education for girls across Africa.
The ball signing session was also conducted at the Etisalat premises by Enitan Denloye and Oluwole Rawa.
Zuriel was later presented with a Cliqlite tablet from Etisalat.
Etisalat Adds Super BB and Super Data to the Easybusiness Package
In line with its innovative DNA and the desire to continuously delight subscribers with value offerings, Etisalat Nigeria has introduced two more plans on its Easybusiness package called Super BB and Super Data Plan.
Director Business Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Lucas Dada said the company is driven by the desire to continually grow customer loyalty through improved and innovative value offerings that help customers conduct their businesses locally and internationally at minimum cost and maximum satisfaction. “Easybusiness was introduced in 2012 as a strong value proposition for Small and Growing Businesses, offering free calls and SMS in a Closed User Group (CUG) as little as three at a competitive flat rate per month. We are driven to continue to find ways to make Easy Business the de-facto business mobile phone package for SMEs in Nigeria,”
This is why we are introducing two new plans under the easybusiness package. They are the Super BB and Super Data plans which come with the existing easybusiness premium variant bundled with a BlackBerry Complete plan and 200 MB data respectively,” he said.
For customers already on the Easybusiness premium plan, things just got better as Dada highlighted that there would be no need for them to dial additional codes to enjoy BlackBerry or data services, because “this enhanced bundle not only provides the convenience of an all in one package without the hassles of remembering and dialling different activation codes but also provides the opportunity for customers to make international calls at a highly subsidized rates”.
Drawing the line between the two offerings, the Director Business Segment added that the “Super BB is a stand-alone plan with features of easybusiness premium plan which includes close user group (CUG) minutes capped at 2500 and 100 CUG SMS bundled with blackberry complete and 30 international minutes to 14 destinations. The SuperData is a combination of the easybusiness premium plan which offers CUG minutes capped at 2500 and 100 CUG SMS, bundled with 200 MB and 20 international minutes to 14 destinations.”
Etisalat Nigeria Officially Announces iPhone 5s with 12-Month Warranty and Trade-in Program for Next-Generation iPhone
Etisalat Nigeria has announced the official launch of the iPhone 5s with 12-month warranty and a trade-in offer that will allow Etisalat customers exchange their iPhone 5s devices for the yet to be released next-generation iPhone. The iPhone 5s was unveiled at an event at the recently launched Gold Series Etisalat Experience Centre at Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island, Lagos, on June 16, 2014.
The Director, Retail Sales at Etisalat Nigeria, Charles Ogunwuyi, speaking at the event, described the partnership as a demonstration of the company’s commitment to providing customers with world class telecommunication services.
According to Ogunwuyi, “Our partnership with Apple Inc is a match of two innovative giants. It acknowledges our sustained investment in network infrastructure and capacity to ensure consistent quality of service. There is no doubt that the iPhone 5s will be at its best while running on the Etisalat network.”
A delighted Ogunwuyi highlighted that Apple Inc chose to partner with Etisalat Nigeria in acknowledgement of the quality of its network and service offerings that would optimise user experience on the iPhone 5s. He disclosed that the device is available at all Etisalat Experience Centres nationwide.
Matthew Willsher Appointed CEO of Etisalat
The Board of Directors of Etisalat Nigeria today announced the appointment of Matthew Charles Willsher as its new Chief Executive Officer. Willsher previously held the position of Chief Commercial Officer and Acting Chief Executive Officer replacing previous CEO, Steven Evans in August 2013. In under a year of his leadership Etisalat has recorded over 20% growth in its customer base, increase in spend per customer, significant strengthening of margins, and has maintained the No. 1 position on Customer Satisfaction.
Matthew Willsher, a physics graduate from the prestigious University of Oxford with a Masters in Management from McGill, started his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble. He joins Etisalat Nigeria with over 20 years in telecommunications. Prior to Etisalat Nigeria, he was Executive Vice President, Marketing at Etisalat Group from 2011 to 2013. He also served as Chief Marketing Officer and Head of the Consumer Business from 2008 to 2011 at Maxis, the leading telecommunications operator in Malaysia, an innovative operator that overtook the incumbent operator in Malaysia to become number one.
From to 2005 to 2008, he was Chief Operating Officer in CSL Limited, the largest mobile operator in Hong Kong; and before this, he spent 4 years at Telstra Australia where he occupied a number of leadership positions. Willsher’s blue-chip career also includes managing a range of consumer products for BT in the UK, leading marketing for BT’s mobile operator joint venture with LG Telecom in South Korea.
Mr. Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Chairman of Etisalat Nigeria said, “Matthew’s creativity and deep understanding of emerging markets has played a pivotal role in Etisalat’s strengthened market position in the highly competitive telecommunications industry. He brings with him the vision, passion and years of experience from diverse environments which have sustained the execution of our priorities providing superior customer experience, sustained network quality and increase in our operational excellence. We look forward to the continued leadership that he has brought to the company”.
Since joining the company in 2013 as acting Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria’s market position has been reinforced with an increased focus on sales channels, customer service, segment marketing and new self service-channels increasing operational efficiency. Willsher’s leadership has also realized a wide variety of innovative programs including the first loyalty proposition in the Nigerian telecommunication industry, Etisalat GEM; the first of its kind educational tool in the youth market, Cliqlite; as well as the launch of the new state of the art gold series flagship experience centres, a revolutionary retail experience driven by the essence of the Etisalat brand.
The operational performance of Etisalat Nigeria has also been substantiated with transformation of its IT operations being accredited with the ISO Quality Standard and continuous recognition as offering the best quality. The sustained investment in quality of service is evident in the sole exemption of Etisalat from the recent NCC ban on other telecommunication providers.
Etisalat Nigeria has continued to be a leading contributor to Nigerian culture and content promoting Music with platforms such as Etisalat Cloudnine and Nigerian Idol, Arts & Culture with Africa’s first pan-African prize for debut fiction the Etisalat Prize for Literature, and a focus on sustainable development joining the recently inaugurated Nigerian Regional Network of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
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