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MUST READ: Lagos Photo Festival “Places” Powered by etisalat
Voting has began for the #People category of the Lagos Photo festival #ILoveNigeria #EtisalatPhotographyCompetition . . Read the rest of this entry
Globacom, Samsung Partner on Galaxy S5
Globacom and Samsung have partnered in order to offer in-store activations featuring Samsung’s latest Galaxy device, the Galaxy S5.
During the in-store activation period, consumers who purchased the Samsung Galaxy S5 were given premium Samsung accessories. The in-store activations took place at a variety of Gloworld stores including: Palms Mall, Lekki and Ikeja mall located within Lagos.
Additionally, Samsung Professional Consultants were present at each in-store activation in order to educate Galaxy S5 owners on the phone’s features and benefits. According to the Head of Gloworld, Brenda Akhigbe, the in-store activation was designed to offer Gloworld visitors with a first-hand experience with the Samsung Galaxy S5, which has been bundled with a High Speed Internet service from Globacom.”
According to correspondents Akhibe stated that, “Globacom has bundled a free 1GB data plan, valid for 6 months, with the Samsung Galaxy S5, giving customers a unique opportunity to enjoy instant internet connection from their Samsung Smartphones”.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 features an ultra-power saving mode, which shuts down the device’s key functions in order to provide users with a longer lasting battery. According to Samsung, the Galaxy S5 can run for up to 24 hours on a 10 percent battery charge when this mode is activated.
Samsung partners with hellofood delivery service.
Online food ordering service Hellofood, founded by Africa Internet Holding (AIH), has announced a partnership with Samsung at the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S5 in Lagos.
Using Hellofood could not be simpler: you just need to download the app, search for your favourite restaurants in the area and place an order. Your order will be delivered to your doorstep and you can pay cash on delivery to make the process even quicker and simpler. As part of the Galaxy Gift Package, Hellofood has been selected as one of six apps that will be pre-installed on all Galaxy S5 devices for its users.
Emmanouil Revmatas, Samsung West Africa Director, endorsed Hellofood as “the fastest way to order food online from your favourite restaurants” and praised the simplicity of the service.
According to the founders, Hellofood has become the most popular food delivery app on the continent and this latest partnership demonstrates the huge consumer demand for high-quality and easy-to-use apps. Having been operational in Nigeria for just under 18 months, Hellofood is already working with over 300 restaurants across several cities, including Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
“This latest partnership with Samsung is very exciting for us”, said James Gibson, Managing Director of Hellofood Nigeria. “Being featured within the Galaxy Gift Package will help us to extend our reach to an even wider audience, and we look forward to being able to provide a range of new customers with a convenient and easy way to order food online.”
This latest partnership follows a global deal with Nokia to make the Hellofood app available on Nokia smartphones, as well as extensive pre-installation deals with 4 of the 5 top network operators in Africa. Hellofood is fast redefining the food delivery industry as a mobile-driven experience that is continuing to grow at an impressive rate.
Download hellofood for iOS here
Download hellofood for Android here
IBM invests in Accelerating Innovation in Nigeria
New Innovation Centre to Foster Business and IT Skills Development around
Big Data & Analytics and Cloud Computing
Lagos, Nigeria, February, 4 2014: IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced it is
further expanding its operations across Africa with the opening of an IBM
Innovation Centre in Lagos, Nigeria. The new facility is designed to
accelerate innovation for Nigerian and West African business and IT skills.
Using the centre, clients, IT partners, developers, entrepreneurs, venture
capitalists and academics can now access enhanced cloud capabilities and
extensive big data and analytics resources.
Adoption of cloud technology in Africa has reached a tipping point and in
Nigeria alone, cloud usage is expected to more than double to 80 percent of
businesses in the next year. In addition, the growing proliferation of
mobile phones and tablets is accelerating the opportunity to interpret data
patterns to anticipate needs and deliver improved services.
As the local demand for these types of technologies and skills increases,
Africa is quickly moving to the center of global attention as the last big
emerging market of the current economic era. According to the IMF, Sub
Saharan Africa is set to be the world’s second fastest growing region with
projected economic growth of over six percent this year.*
To take advantage of this explosive growth, the new centre will focus on
providing solutions that use Big Data & Analytics and cloud technologies to
solve key local challenges such as improving government services,
digitising banking services and enhancing customer centricity in
telecommunications. Clients will be able to participate in virtual and
in-person training, test out new products, network with peers from around
the world, and receive mentoring and guidance from IT and business experts.
For example, the centre will provide clients hands-on access to cloud-based
industry solutions such as IBM Intelligent Operations designed to provide
cities, governments and utilities with a central command center for the use
of predictive analytics to enhance efficiency and manage all their
operations.
“Our investment in this centre is in line with our strategy to help fuel
growth in Nigeria’s IT sector and to support the use of advanced technology
service delivery for the public sector and commercial business growth,
particularly expansion in West Africa,” says Taiwo Otiti, IBM West Africa
Country General Manager. “IBM Innovation Centres are designed to help
clients envisage their future, illustrated using IBM Social, Mobile,
Analytics and Cloud solutions, combined with industry focused experience
and expertise. Through this centre, we will bring the reach of IBM’s global
capabilities and thought leadership closer to local and regional clients.”
IBM believes its new test and demonstration environment will serve to cut
the costs and complexity of assessing IT solutions, but will also assist
CIOs in presenting strong business cases for advanced technology adoption.
The company is already working with the Union for International Cancer
Control (UICC) to create the world’s largest and most comprehensive
clinical dataset on cancer patients by building cancer registries in
developing nations, beginning in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Innovation has become a key driver of positive change in developed
economies, and IBM has blazed the trail once again in this market with its
new Innovation centre,” says Mr Victor Hammond, managing director of
Lagos-based Bankers Warehouse Ltd, a non-bank financial services
institution and Nigeria’s leading cash management and cash-in-transit
service provider. “I foresee this facility becoming a key driver of
technology innovation in Nigeria, helping to promote the culture of
knowledge incubation and scientific enquiry in all sectors of the national
economy.”
IBM has been operating in Africa since the 1930’s, and today has a direct
presence in more than 20 African countries, including: Nigeria, Tanzania,
Senegal, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria,
Kenya, and Mauritius. IBM plans to continue strengthening this network
with more new facilities, offerings and partnerships in the next few years.
The new centre joins a worldwide network of over 41 other IBM Innovation
Centers in 33 countries including South Africa and Kenya. Through this
network, IBM connects local companies and entrepreneurs with technical and
industry experts around the world and can support growth with introductions
into new markets.
Click here for IMF Report
Orlando Julius and Grammy-winning Jazz Master, Marcus Miller, set Lagos Jazz Series Stage on Fire
This year’s Etisalat-sponsored Lagos Jazz Series was as enthralling as expected, with guests at the A-list event treated to five hours of snazzy performances by renowned jazz legends, Nigeria’s Orlando Julius and America’s, Marcus Miller, at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos.
Miller, the star act at the event, won Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song in 1992, for Luther Vandross‘ “Power of Love” and Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2001 for his fourth solo instrumental album titled M2. Miller lifted the hearts of the Lagos Jazz Series guests to Motown when he performed ‘Detroit’, to the Middle East when he performed ‘Blast’ and back into Africa when he performed ‘Tutu’. The highlight of Miller’s performance was when the multi-instrumentalist proudly showcased his all-Nigerian drum crew, who were recruited barely 4 days before the concert.
The concert featured other performers drawn from across the world, including South African Pianist, Nduduzo Makhathini and Kenya’s Sara Mitaru who opened the concert. The Lagos Jazz Series 2013 also featured instrumentalists from Nigeria, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Boston, Texas and London.
Acting Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat Nigeria, Mathew Willsher, said supporting the Lagos Jazz Series was the brand’s way of sharing its passion for life with customers and also bringing nothing short of top quality music performances for their pleasure. The Lagos Jazz Series follows other concerts activated by Etisalat, this year, such as Mary J. Blige Concert, MUSON Classical Concert and Cloud 9 Series.
Etisalat Re-Assures on Enhanced Customer Care Service at Customer Forum Lagos
Nigeria’s most innovative and fastest growing telecommunications company, Etisalat has reassured Nigerians of its commitment to enhancing customer experience on its network through constant engagement with its customers. According to the mobile phone operator, this is in line with its brand promise communicated at the beginning of its operation in 2008 to continuously demonstrate its leadership as a customer-focused company.
Speaking at the just concluded Lagos edition of the Etisalat Customer Forum, held at Oriental Hotel Lagos, Director Customer Care, Etisalat Nigeria, Plato Syrimis said that the forum is part of the company’s commitment to deliver world-class telecommunications services to its growing subscribers and also engage them through one-on-one interactions, while receiving undiluted feedback from them on how to improve the quality of products and services they offer their customers.
“At Etisalat Nigeria, our world revolves around our esteemed customers and one of our ultimate goals is to keep them smiling always. Etisalat is a network that calls its customers a friend and treats them like family. This forum is a strategy deliberately designed to improve the quality of customer service available to our customers and create an avenue for direct customer feedback on several points about the services of our network,” he said.
Speaking at the Forum, one of the customers, Bramwell Umunnakwe, described Etisalat as “a young brand that is providing something big in the telecommunication industry”. His words: “Etisalat Nigeria is very young, but they are doing something bigger than their age in the country and I really cannot compare them with other networks that have been in existence before they came. I enjoy their service which is why I moved members of my family to their network. However, my advice to them is to continue to improve our communication experience,” he said.
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Etisalat Partners EDC for 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Week
Etisalat Nigeria in partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan Atlantic University, last week held the 2013 edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), targeted at youths and young entrepreneurs in the country, to help improve their chances of succeeding in their various chosen businesses.
Head, Business Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Bidemi Ladipo noted that it was important for business owners to have access to the right information needed to excel in business. “At Etisalat, we have been relentless in supporting initiatives that go a long way in assisting young people to achieve their dreams as regards successfully setting up businesses. Some of the initiatives we have used to help develop businesses include Market Access which is in partnership with SMEDAN, our Etisalat Easybusiness package which helps SMEs to communicate at a reduced cost and our recently launched promo called Easybusiness millionaire hunt which gives an opportunity for people with great business ideas to win as much as N2 million. This is the 3rd Edition of the Global Entrepreneurship week which we are sponsoring and we are satisfied with the level of impact these trainings have had,” he said.
Also speaking at a seminar earlier organized for National Youth Corpers, Deputy Director, Enterprise Development Centre, (EDC), Nneka Okekearu expressed satisfaction with the improved turnout at the seminar. “It has become very obvious that our contributions to the Global Entrepreneurship are beginning to pay off. In the last three years since Nigeria joined the international event, we have had over eight events, over 50 local partners and more than 1.5 million people have participated at the events held in Lagos and Calabar,” she said.
She also commended Etisalat Nigeria for once again partnering with the Enterprise Development Centre for this year’s edition. “I want to particularly thank Etisalat for the support they have shown to EDC in making this edition of the GEW another success. They have been with us over the years and have continued to demonstrate strong support towards young entrepreneurs,” she said.
The 2013 GEW kicked off on Saturday November 16 with a 7km awareness walk in Victoria Island, Lagos and followed by a seminar on women entrepreneurship development which held at the American Embassy on Monday November 18. The high point of the week was a seminar tagged “Africa Rising” which held on Wednesday November 20. It featured notable speakers from Bank of Industry, Keystone Bank who took the entrepreneurs on how to access loans and ideas to grow their business. Over 400 National Youth Service Corps members attended the event which held at the Lagos Business School of the Pan Atlantic University.
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Overcoming the payments hurdle for Nigerian e-commerce
Nigeria is not “business as usual” for new entrants to the market – but, according to Robin Philip of payment services provider PayGate, for global eCommerce providers there are many opportunities if you have the right supporting network of partners and suppliers.
Philip says setting up in Nigeria has proven to be extremely challenging for online retailers in particular. “As in most African markets, Nigeria has a complex and atypical payments environment. Credit cards are rare, and there is a wide range of branded and proprietary debit cards and payment methods available on different networks which must be brought together cohesively.”
To make matters more complicated, says Philip, “there is no unified payment switch or local equivalent of South Africa’s Bankserv where online payments can be cleared. Anybody setting up to take online payments has to configure their payment offering from scratch and make multiple links and integrations to different networks.”
Philip says this creates an opportunity for payment services providers like PayGate to play an important facilitating role. “Online retailers from outside the continent will find that going direct for their payments is extremely expensive, time-consuming and difficult to manage. It makes sense for us, as a payment services provider, to knit those multiple integrations and relationships together into a single package that works.”
The task is challenging, says Philip, but by no means impossible: “The Nigerian environment on the whole is challenging, and visiting Lagos (the New York of Africa) is an interesting experience, not for the fainthearted — but when it comes to business, there’s a difference. Once the personal contact has been made and there’s an agreement to do business together, things move fast. They are very driven.”
With 170m connected consumers, says Philip, it makes the extra effort worthwhile. “Lagos and Nigeria are really starting to take off as a global business destination. We believe there’s a window period of three to four years to establish a strong presence in the Nigerian market”.
Etisalat Leads Development of Innovation Culture in the Mobile App Ecosystem
Etisalat Nigeria has once again demonstrated its industry leadership and continuing support to the growing community of local application developers in the country by partnering with 70TH Precinct on the maiden edition of the Nigeria App Summit 2013. The summit which held recently at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island was organized to provide a structured platform for discourse on growth and development of the Nigerian App ecosystem.
Working with the central theme: “Unleashing the Power of Mobile Applications”, speakers and delegates all agreed that for the Nigerian App ecosystem to reach its full potential, the Apps must be able to address the needs of their target audience. To achieve this, speakers at the summit charged local developers to come up with innovative ideas that will drive usage and ultimately change the face of mobile App technology in the country.
Manager, Data Marketing, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Bankole Alao reiterated Etisalat’s commitment to partner with brilliant application developers and technology start-ups. According to him, Etisalat is concerned about the growth of indigenous Apps and is ready to provide the necessary support in terms of exposure to the appropriate target subscriber base and enabling infrastructure to make the apps work. “We have been able to grow our sub base to 16 million subscribers in just over five years due to our firm commitment and belief in delivering value through innovative products and services. We believe that App developers should embrace the same culture and provide users with unforgettable interactive experiences,” he said.
The conference played host to the brightest minds in mobile technology, along with developers, brand managers, and mobile devices manufacturers. The Minister of Information Communication, Mrs. Omobola Johnson in a recorded message commended the organizers and partners of the event, saying that it was happening at a time when internet penetration was on an increase. She articulated the Federal Government’s agenda to incubate and accelerate the growth of the ecosystem through trainings that will enable the developers sell their ideas to companies.
Summit Director, Mr. Osa Umweni said the objective of the summit was to bring together the stakeholders in the mobile technology industry to proffer solutions to the creation and adoption of locally designed Apps. He lauded Etisalat for its role in driving these conversations, saying that the company understands that the future of mobile technology lies in Applications. He also implored other network service providers to work on putting Nigeria on the global map as far as mobile Apps are concerned.
‘THE CUSTOMER IS KING!’ – ETISALAT NIGERIA, AT CUSTOMER CENTRICITY SUMMIT [PHOTOS]
Brands were all present at the maiden Customer Centricity Summit, sponsored by the fastest growing and most innovative telecommunications company in Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria, where the company stayed true to its customer-centric DNA, stating that customers must come first on quality service delivery. The three-day Summit, themed ‘Service Experience – What does Customer Centricity Mean for Business?’, was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lagos recently.
Put together by Montgomery West Africa, panel discussions focused on what customer centricity meant for businesses, how businesses were achieving this and customer experience challenges. Speakers also examined what customers considered to be excellent service experience, standard service delivery, customer experience transformation strategies, customer satisfaction, digital service delivery and the effects of internal changes on customers.
Speaking on Etisalat’s customer-centric DNA which earned it the first ever Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) award for ‘Excellent Service and Effective Collaboration with the Consumer Affairs Bureau to ensure access to Customer Care Help line’, Chief Commercial Officer, Matthew Willsher, said customer centricity meant a total committed approach to delivering lasting and effective customer experience.
‘The ability to speak with customers in their locations should be at the forefront. By interaction, an organization is able to collate customer issues, pay attention and create long-term solutions. This is why Etisalat has hundreds of Customer Experience Centres across the country while keeping online care platforms open 24 hours. The mission is to keep people first and satisfy customers always. The result is happy customers who spend more, recommend more and stay longer,’ the Etisalat Nigeria CCO said.
Also speaking at the Summit, Managing Director, Montgomery West Africa, Tori Abiola, said ‘Customer experience is about emotions and emotions are about people. While considering various business strategies, it is important to also take a look at the internal atmosphere. The right customer experience drives retention, competitiveness and future business growth by motivating customer centric decisions.’
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