Blog Archives
Airtel to invest $300m in network expansion in Nigeria
Bharti Airtel is planning to invest $300m this year expanding its network and services in Nigeria.
Segun Ogunsanya, head of the Nigeria unit stated that: “We plan to spend about $300 million expanding Airtel’s network and services in the country this year. We have invested so much in marketing research to see what the customers want and we are delivering on those expectations.”
According to Bloomberg, Airtel plans to increase subscribers in Africa’s biggest economy to 30 million by the end of the year.
“I’m very optimistic that there are no encumbrances against growth so I’m sure we’re going to reach the 30-million mark. Despite the environment and the issues we face, I think we’re still giving relatively good service to our customers,” said Ogunsanya.
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.”
Airtel offers complimentary data, zero interest rate on iPhone 5s
Leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel, has announced that it is offering Nigerians zero interest charges and free monthly 500MB data bundle for 24 months for all iPhone 5S devices purchased from any of it showrooms and express shops nationwide.
This is coming a fortnight after Airtel Nigeria announced a strategic partnership with leading mobile phone maker, Apple, to officially unveil the iPhone 5s in Nigeria, thus becoming the first mobile telecommunications services provider in the country to officially seal a partnership deal with Apple.
Airtel says this new offering is consistent with its major objective of delighting and empowering telecoms customers with highly relevant solutions that will enrich their lives.
The new offering allows for affordable and convenient device financing from Stanbic Bank at zero interest rates with free NANO SIM for every iphone purchased and free 500MB per month over a period of 24 months upon activation and a minimum recharge of 500MB data plan monthly.
A customer can activate complimentary 500MB by texting HERO to 141 after loading a recharge of 500MB.
The iPhone 5S comes as a 16GB or 32GB device in any of space grey, gold and silver colours with one year warranty. It sets a precedent, with an amazing amount of technology in a remarkably thin, light design. It builds on that achievement with Touch ID — a fingerprint identity sensor, an A7 chip with 64-bit architecture, an ultrafast LTE wireless and an even more impressive iSight camera. It is described by telecoms pundits as the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world.
Speaking about the new value offering, Chief Commercial Officer, Maurice Newa, described the package as another first from Airtel and a convincingly bold statement of the company’s commitment to empowering people to succeed in chosen areas of life endearvours.
“Only a fortnight ago, we announced a strategic partnership with Apple. Today, we have taken another giant stride to highlight our role as a leader in innovation and delivery of quality service. This is a further testimony of our unwavering commitment to our vision of becoming the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians,” he said.
MTN & PriceCheck app launching in Nigeria
PriceCheck CEO André de Wet and MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer, Pieter Verkade jointly announced a second co-branded app deal, this time for Nigeria.
André de Wet stated that, “PriceCheck’s experience over the past seven years has taught us that search is where everything starts. It is the first step in the decision making process for the end user, the point where influence is the strongest. The partnership with MTN both in South Africa and in Nigeria gives us access to the largest mobile phone market in Africa. Together we own product search. Shopping is no longer somewhere you go, it’s something you do – that’s the power of mobile.”
Pieter Verkade said that, “Mobile commerce is on the rise in Africa. The partnership with PriceCheck will not only give our customers a better and richer digital experience, but also empower them to make more informed decisions, while saving time and money on their purchases.”
The PriceCheck MTN Nigeria app will be available in all leading app stores from August. The app will also be pre-loaded on popular mobile phones across Nigeria.
Nigerian phone maker buys MTI stake to expand in rural broadband
Nigerian mobile-phone manufacturer Tingo Mobile agreed to buy a majority stake in Mass Telecom Innovation Nigeria plc for about N4 billion ($25m) to develop rural broadband in Africa’s most populous country.
Tingo will acquire 51 percent of cable-network operator MTI, CEO Dozy Mmobuozi said in an interview in Lagos. The company will be rebranded and remain listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, he said.
“We’re using the acquisition to reach out to the mass market,” Mmobuozi said. Lagos-based MTI’s “assets from base stations to license and goodwill and other things, will help penetrate rural Nigeria.”
Telecommunications companies including China’s Huawei Technologies Co. and Johannesburg-based MTN Group Ltd are expanding in Nigeria to tap into a growing market for mobile and data usage.
Africa’s biggest economy had 169 million mobile-phone subscriptions as of March for a population of about 170 million, the Nigerian Communications Commission said on its website.
With many users owning more than one phone, subscriber numbers are expected to grow to more than 200 million in 2017, according to London-based research company Informa Telecoms and Media.
MTI’s shares were untraded at 0.50 naira as of 12:48pm in Lagos on Tuesday.
Tingo said it will start selling three smartphones in Nigeria, the first time its devices will be made available to the public rather than to government or corporate customers.
The Tingo T5, T500 and T561 models cost 10,000 naira to 18,000 naira and are made locally, Mmobuozi said.
The Abuja-based company also has operations in Kenya and Malaysia.
Tingo is making GPS tracking systems and mobile point-of-sale devices that can be attached to its phones as it looks to expand its Internet-based services business. New products include a chat application that localises emoticons, using Nigerian cultural references. “In the next two months, we must have hit a 10 million subscriber base for our Tingo Chat app,” Mmobuozi said.
Etisalat introduces low tariff roaming offer to Brazil
Nigeria’s most innovative and fastest growing telecommunication company, Etisalat, is set to introduce an affordable roaming offer for the upcoming global football tournament slated for Brazil from June 1st through July 31st.
The Director, Business Segment at Etisalat Nigeria, Lucas Dada said the global football tournament is being hosted in Brazil and Nigeria is among the 32 countries that would be competing. The etisalat Brazil roaming offer provides customers with affordable rates so they can keep in touch with their families, friends, and business associates easily, seamlessly and affordably with Etisalat’s discounted roaming rates on local calls within Brazil, calls to Nigeria, SMS and data activities.
Details of the offer show that it is valid from June 1st through July 31st, 2014, and is open to all prepaid and post paid subscribers, except enuf yarn (commercial call operators), while Etisalat is partnering with the vivo network in Brazil to make it possible.
With this special offering, local calls made to local Brazilian networks and calls made to Nigeria from Brazil would be charged at just N200, internet and data activities at N1 per 10kb, while SMS will cost N60 per SMS.
Dada advised that customers who travel to Brazil should ensure they are roaming on vivo Brazil by carrying out a manual network search. They should do so by going to settings on their handsets, locate “Mobile Networks” and select “Manual”. On doing this, the customers’ phone will list all available partner networks, so that he/she can select “vivo” to enjoy the special roaming rates in Brazil. Note that customers, who roam on networks other than vivo, will be charged the applicable roaming rates for those networks.
Roaming is available to all prepaid subscribers by default; however to enjoy continuous access to mobile services, customers must ensure they have sufficient airtime via any of the following means:
- Credit transfers, e-TopUps or ‘Recharge Others’ from any sender in Nigeria
- Online at https://www.quickteller.com/etisalat
- Online at http://www.etranzact.net/JustTopup/?SP=1 (select Etisalat from the list)
- Log in via your Internet banking platform, locate “Payment or Bills Payment, select NIBBS e-bills and choose etisalat from the list
Post paid customers who are not yet activated for roaming would need to visit the nearest etisalat experience centre to request for roaming services and pay the mandatory roaming security deposit before embarking on their trip in order to access the roaming service while abroad.
Etisalat Nigeria Achieves ISO 9001: 2008 Certification for Quality Management
Nigeria’s most innovative and fastest growing telecommunication company, Etisalat, recently announced the receipt of the ISO 9001:2008 certification for its quality management system. This certification validates that Etisalat’s quality processes and systems meet specific criteria and recognizes the company for determining customer requirements, making informed decisions, and consistently providing its products and services to enhance customer satisfaction.
ISO 9001:2008 is accepted worldwide as the standard that defines quality, sets the criteria for a quality management system and provides the necessary framework to improve company efficiency, minimize risk and maximize opportunities.
“Achieving ISO 9001:2008 certification is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team members,” said Matthew Willsher, Acting CEO at Etisalat Nigeria. “Attaining this certification speaks to our continuous effort to increase internal process disciplines, provide first-class customer service and make certain the Etisalat brand products remain synonymous with quality.”
In his remarks, the Director General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Dr Joseph Odumodu, represented by the Director, Administrative and Human Capital Development Mr Samson Adegun described the certification as a giant stride for Etisalat in its pursuit of excellence to provide world class products and services to its customers.
Odumodu said “achieving the ISO 9001:2008 certification is a demonstration of conformity of Etisalat’s management systems to internationally acceptable standard requirements and the company’s ability to get it right the first time and every time”.
After just five years of operating in Nigeria, Etisalat has revolutionized the telecommunications industry and has continued to provide its customers with affordable products and services to meet their needs. While pioneering more innovations, the company remains steadfast in its pursuance of delivering the best customer experience through quality of service and operational excellence.
Willsher adds, “We constantly design and roll out different products, services and propositions each year, and our commitment to quality assurance and operational excellence demonstrates our long-term stance on the importance of consistent high quality service.”
Published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the ISO 9001:2008 is a family of internationally-recognized standards for a company’s quality management system. To be awarded the certification, a company must undergo a strict auditing process where they demonstrate that they provide a product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Furthermore, the company must demonstrate how they enhance customer satisfaction via effective application of the system, continual improvement to the system, the assurance of conformity to customers and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Etisalat, FBN Insurance Launch Sure4Life To Boost Access to Affordable Insurance
FBN Insurance Limited, a member of FBN Holdings Plc and Etisalat, Nigeria most innovative telecoms company today announced the launch of ‘Sure4Life”, an airtime-based insurance product designed to increase penetration and consumer access to affordable insurance products via the mobile telephone. The product will help drive availability and accessibility to a vast portion of the uninsured Nigerian population and will provide Etisalat customers with one month free life insurance cover between May and July 2014.
Speaking at the launch, Director, Business Segment at Etisalat Nigeria, Lucas Dada, said that the partnership will bring inexpensive and easy to reach insurance products to the benefit of Etisalat’s growing prepaid and post-paid customers.
“Sure4Life is an innovative insurance product which takes away all the challenges that may be associated with taking an insurance policy and allows our subscribers to access and maintain insurance coverage with ease. It is in line with our reputation as the most innovative telecommunications company to provide such life changing products to our customers.” He said.
Dada added that the plan is optional and open to all registered Etisalat subscribers that are between 18 and 80 years of age.
Val Ojumah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the underwriting firm said the initiative will help correct the inaccurate perception that insurance is only for the rich and reduce the complexities and paperwork often associated with insurance. The initiative also supports our aspiration to bring the benefits of insurance to Nigerians who otherwise would have remained uninsured.
“We are proud of our increasing contributions to the growth and development of the insurance industry in Nigeria and assure all stakeholders of our continuous efforts to bring the latest innovations in the business for the benefit of the Nigerian populace. We believe in the strength and sustainability of the telecommunications approach to the insurance business and our ambitions are focused on working together to further enhance the growth and improvements over the coming years”, concluded Ojumah.
With a monthly insurance premium of N100 monthly, registered Etisalat subscribers will have the benefit of a flat sum of N100, 000 payable to the beneficiary in case of demise of the policy holder and a maximum of N10, 000 for medical expenses in the event of an accident. Death benefit per any one life shall be limited to NGN200, 000 (maximum of two Etisalat registered numbers), whereas the medical expenses benefit per any one life shall be limited to NGN20, 000 (maximum of two Etisalat registered numbers).
Etisalat Revamps EasyWallet… Introduces Smartphone App
Leading mobile telecommunications provider, Etisalat Nigeria, announced the launch of a new and comprehensive smartphone app that will enable customers to access their mobile money services faster and with more ease. The introduction of the innovative app expands the company’s award-winning mobile banking offerings to customers. The Easywallet Smartphone app is available for free download from various online app stores.
Since September 2012, Etisalat has partnered with leading international and regional banks including GTBank, Zenith Bank, Stanbic Bank, First Bank Nigeira, as well as Paga to allow Etisalat Nigeria customers to conveniently access mobile commerce & banking services through their mobile phones. Till date, the service has successfully registered over 15 million SIM ‘Tool Kit’ application downloads on consumer SIM cards.
Khalifa Al Forah, Etisalat Group’s Chief Digital Services Officer said, “Etisalat is at the forefront of technology innovation, bringing market relevant and transformational services to its customers across the group markets. Nigeria currently has a smartphone penetration of over 10% and it is expected to reach 40% in the next two years. By enabling people to use their mobile phones to access advanced banking services, we not only hope to deliver lasting benefits to our customers , but also contribute to the socio-economic development of the economies of Nigeria and other countries that we operate in.”
Etisalat’s new Easywallet smartphone app adds new dimensions to its existing mobile banking service. It supports all currently available functions and allows for more flexibility and convenience through additional features. The App is available on major app-stores like Android Play store, and will soon be available on Apple App store and Windows Marketplace. It has a friendly user interface accessible in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba Languages. It also provides user interaction through icons, pictograms and bar-code reading functionalities.
Furthermore, it uses advanced security features which ensure safe customer transactions that cannot be intercepted or manipulated by fraudsters.
Matthew Willsher, the Acting CEO Etisalat Nigeria said, “We believe the benefits to our customers will be immense and that this has the potential to transform the way we handle and manage money in this country. The mobile phone has already improved the lives of people in so many ways – it’s exciting to think it now has the potential to replace notes and coins and give all our customers access to world-class banking services.”
Etisalat customers using the easywallet service are able to pay bills, pay for goods and services, receive and send money to friends and family, send and receive money to bank accounts, withdraw cash, top up their own airtime account or top up someone else’s and manage their bank accounts.
Last year Easywallet won the prestigious GSMA MWC award in Barcelona as “The Best NFC/ Mobile Money Product”. EasyWallet also received special recognition from the IFC/World Bank in the “Technology in sustainable Finance” category and was honoured with the Mobile Banking Kalahari Award in Lagos, Nigeria. All these haves been in recognition of the effectiveness of the Etisalat Easywallet service.
Download Etisalat Easywallet for Android here
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