VConnect eyes Ghana market, lists 950,000 businesses in Nigeria

By Bankole Orimisan

AS part of its expansion drive, Nigeria’s local search engine, VConnect will soon be exploring market opportunities in Ghana.

  VConnect, which claims to be the seventh most visited site in Nigeria, said it has listed about 950,000 businesses on its website.

  According to the co-founder and General Manager of VConnect, Deepanker Rustagi the firm’s entry into the Nigerian market has left positive footprints, following its strong level of acceptance which has seen it surpassing its target by a sharp 160 per cent growth in all parameters last year, including revenue, traffic, topline among others.

  Rustagi said the lack of a formal system of street numbering and unavailability of a working postal system are some of the setbacks the company experiences. He however, stated that VConnect would not rest on its oars until all SMEs in Nigeria are empowered and taken to the peak. 

  Meanwhile, he said the firm is already making plans towards extending its reach beyond the shores of Nigeria. 

  According to him, by May 2014, the firm would pitch its tent in Ghana, where a similar shortfall of business information has been noticed.

  “Africa is set to witness another new media powerhouse in a few years’ time, as VConnect will not only attend to all business information needs in Nigeria, but will become a Pan African solution provider,” said Rustagi.

  He disclosed that VConnect.com developed a user-friendly mobile WAP site because statistics have shown that a huge percentage of website visits are done via the mobile phone, adding that the company also recently launched its Android and Blackberry Applications.

  On the firm’s achievements so far, Rustagi said “due to the galloping development of ICT worldwide, SMEs in West Africa face the formidable task of surviving and competing in a global market, thus the presence of a local search engine like VConnect.com which has a wider reach, would help deliver unprecedented opportunities to the businesses. It will be interesting to see how this startup would expand geographically in other parts of Africa.”  

  The VConnect Co-Founder noted that the SME sector has been a direct beneficiary of these positive spin-offs, especially with the efforts the firm, stressing that it has help to put them on the map so those interested in their products and services can easily reach them.

Airtel allays job loss fears over tower sales

By Bankole Orimisan

Airtel has dismissed fears that the selling off of telecoms towers by telcos in the country will lead to job losses, sending thousands of workers out of employment.

 Its Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya, who spoke to ICT editors in Ikoyi, Lagos, said: “Yes, indeed there are plans by operators to sell off, not necessarily outsource, the towers. It is the trend globally, and …it is meant to allow operators concentrate on their core competences and allow those who are better equipped professionally to manage the towers to do so. The telcos had already outsourced their network operations to experts like Ericsson and Huawei, who in turn outsourced maintenance services like fuelling, cleaning and security to local companies known in industry parlance as ISMs.

 “It is evident that the eco-system of telecommunications business is growing a wide value-chain, which has Nigerians (locals) at the epicentre. So, more jobs would be created rather than lost, given that the new owners will definitely like to grow their businesses. Regarding the Call Centres, which were outsourced to BPOs (business process outsourcing), it is inaccurate to say jobs were lost! On the contrary, the number of people employed in the Call Centre business has grown exponentially, by over 300 per cent.”

  He averred that rather than create fears in the minds of indigenous engineers, who will be moving to the tower management companies, and disaffection in the hearts of Nigerians, who have been unapologetic beneficiaries of the global system for mobile (GSM) communication revolution started in 2001, the immense advantages inherent in this strategic business move by the telcos should be highlighted.

  According to Ogunsanya, there are many positive stories coming from the telecommunications sector which, he said, has attracted over $20 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the last 12 and a half years. He added that it is the only industry that has continued to creatively take advantage of a combination of economic factors including technology, competition, outsourcing, and other economies of scale, to drive costs down hence price of telecommunications services and related products like phones and other devices. 

“The telecommunications industry has demonstrably employed more people directly and indirectly since 2001. The marketing communications industry, construction, security, petroleum marketing and several others have experienced a boom with the activities of the telcos. Indeed, telecommunications can be described as the goose that lays the golden egg in the Nigerian economy,” he said.

Jumia Nigeria Announces new CEOs

JUMIA, one of the leading online retailers in Nigeria announces its new CEOs; Nicolas Martin and Jérémy Doutté. They will replace former Managing Directors, Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Afaedor, who decided to leave JUMIA Nigeria to start their own businesses according to reports from JUMIA Nigeria.

The press report made available to us further states: “JUMIA had a very successful 2013, from launching the leading e-commerce app in Africa to building our e-commerce campus in West Africa. We have to say a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this. Especially to Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Afaedor, for their achievements with JUMIA Nigeria. They’ve made a great impact on our development and we wish them all the best” Sacha Poignonnec, Co-CEO Africa Internet Holding (AIH)

Raphael Afaedor and Tunde Kehinde were also a part of the Co-Founders team,which set up JUMIA together with the AIH in 2012. Last year, JUMIA was the first African company to win a World Retail Award as “The Best New Retail Launch of the Year”. Further to this, MTN and Millicom announced its investments into AIH.

Raphael Afeador, former Managing Director of JUMIA: “JUMIA was an exciting one and a half year journey for us. We are extremely proud of JUMIA and wish all the best to the company and all the people here. E-commerce in Nigeria is growing very fast and is an exciting industry to be involved in.”

Bidding farewell to the JUMIA team, Tunde Kehinde, former Managing Director of JUMIA: “As we move on to start our own businesses, we owe a lot to every member of the team, together we made history, together we have built Nigeria’s first and biggest online retailer; a fate we never would have achieved without you. Let us urge you to continue to hold the values of looking after and satisfying every customer, supplier, and the people around you. There is no doubt we are building a great team of entrepreneurs that will leave a huge mark on this nation’s history”.c

ASUS picks Mitsumi as country distributor

By Bankole Orimisan

ASUS, the third largest PC manufacturer in the world has announced its partnership with Mitsumi, one of Africa’s largest IT distributors to drive its penetration in the Nigerian market.
  The company said the partnership with Mitsumi opens up the door for more possibilities and transformative products for Nigerian users.
  Speaking at the official launch of the two new products in Lagos, ASUS Product Manager, Nigeria, Simplice Zaongo said, “we’re at the beginning of our second year in Nigeria and the partnership with Mitsumi, one of the largest IT distributors of the region is well-timed. We’re happy about that. In fact, the demand for ASUS products has significantly increased since last year. So partnering with a distributor of the caliber of Mitsumi will increase our reach-out in the channel and ultimately our capability to bring these incredible products of ASUS to more Nigerians.”
  ASUS Country Manager for Nigeria, Mr. Serge P. Nabyoure, explained that the newly introduced products, Asus Fonepad 7 and Asus Transformer Book T100 tables are powered by Intel Atom processors Z2560 and Bay Trail-T Z3740 quad core processor respectively.
  According to him, Asus brand was a known brand in the Kenya and venturing into Nigeria was to extend the footprint on the continent.
  Nabyoure said that the company taking into cognisance the electricity issues in Nigeria informed the choice of Intel processor, which gives more battery life for both devices.
  Meanwhike, Intel Country Manager for West Africa, Mr. Bunmi Ekundare commended the partnership between Intel and AsusTek at the launch, expressing excitement over the price of these products, which was announced as N35, 000 for the Fonepad 7 and N75, 000 for the Transformer Book T100.
  Country Manager, Mitsumi Nigeria, Rohit Banerjee said that the firm as an authorised distributor of global IT hardware and software brands, had been introducing appropriate technologies and solutions to Africa for decades now.
  He said that Mitsumi’s partnership with ASUS signalled the company’s effort to increase its footprint on the Nigerian market.

Core Group Africa announces official availability of iPad Air in Nigeria

By Bankole Orimisan

CORE Group Africa has announced the official launch of the iPad Air in Nigeria. Featuring a stunning 9.7-inch Retina display in a new thinner and lighter design, the iPad Air is precision-engineered to weigh just less than 500 grams, which makes it 20 per cent thinner and 28 per cent lighter than the fourth generation iPad. iPad Air will be available from 13 December from all Apple Authorised Resellers for the starting price of 99 000 Naira.
  “We are delighted to announce the official availability of iPad Air in Nigeria. iPad Air is unbelievably thin and light and we encourage customers to visit their nearest Apple Authorised Reseller to purchase or experience this life-changing product,” says Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk, Core Group Africa’s Director.
  According to the firm, It has appointed Apple Authorised Resellers to sell iPad Air to ensure the product is available through official channel partners. This means that customers will have peace of mind that if repair issues arise during the warranty term, their product will be repaired or replaced by an Apple Authorised Repair Centre and that they will have access to the required level of support that is mandatory for Apple Authorised Resellers. A full list of Apple Authorised Resellers selling iPad Air is available from www.isocietynigeria.com.
     Customers are reminded that when they purchase iPad Air, they qualify for free productivity and creativity apps. Apple have made iWork (Keynote, Pages and Numbers) and iLife (Garageband, iPhoto and iMove) free with the purchase of any new iPad. This means that customers will be able to do amazing things with presentations, documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos and music-all for free.  
  Furthermore, iPad Air owners will have access to the world’s number 1 app and music store through iTunes. The iTunes Store gives customers access to over 475 000 iPad apps, millions of songs and thousands of movies to personalise their iPad according to their lifestyle.
  “We are thrilled to make this unbelievable product available and ensure that Nigerians can purchase with the confidence that they purchased through official distribution channels. We want customers to have the best iPad experience possible and be able to take advantage of the benefits of purchasing from an Apple Authorised Reseller,” concluded Van Spaandonk.

LTE connections expected to hit 2b in 2018

By Bankole Orimisan

Global 4G LTE connections will grow from 238 million in 2013 to two billion in 2018 according to a new forecast from Strategy Analytics. The report predicts that LTE networks will account for almost half of mobile service revenue globally by 2018, up from under 10 per cent in 2013.
   The US, Japan and South Korea are finally starting to see their grip on the global LTE market weaken in the second half of 2013. Their share of global connections will fall from 90 percent at the start of 2013 to 76 per cent by year-end, with Western Europe in particular generating more meaningful 4G volume as LTE increasingly penetrates operators’ smartphone portfolios.
  “Even in 2014, the US, Japan and South Korea will remain the dominant LTE markets, but all eyes will be on China,” comments Phil Kendall, Director of Strategy Analytics’ Wireless Operator Strategies service and author of the report. “With TD-LTE licenses now awarded and China Mobile particularly keen to expand and launch its already large pre-commercial network, China should be the catalyst driving lower-cost 4G devices into the global market over the next two years.”
  Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Director, Wireless Operators and Networks, added, “Mobile operators are increasingly looking to LTE for value creation in the market, with the technology currently generating average revenue per user (ARPU) almost four times the global average. That premium is more a result of the regional mix of LTE connections at present and we forecast just 1.5 per cent yearly growth in wireless service revenue over the next five years. In this scenario, LTE is more about securing higher-value customers than accelerating market growth.

Adibba.com deepens online grocery service in Nigeria

By Bankole Orimisan

IN line with its decision to key into the cashless economy scheme being driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria, a leading online retail outlet in Nigeria, Adibba.com, has showcase its commitment to provide access to an unlimited variety of products and services that caters for the needs of its customers in Nigerian market.
  According to the Chief Executive Officer,  David Allison, Adibba.com is an online  shopping  platform that offered an ever-growing variety of product categories for sale to consumers at a very competitive price. Adibba.com exists to provide access to diversity, offer the grace of ease, and the power of selection. To help people discover and experience the power of true freedom in the country.
  Allison said that the move was aimed at providing a more convenient and flexible alternative purchase channel option for its growing customers in line with the current electronic transaction revolution in the country.
  He added: “Rather, the online purchase will further help their various customers to pick any products of their choose at much more affordable prices,” however, reiterated that Adibba.com would add value to its customers through delivering promptly and efficiently purchases to any part of the country with little or no additional cost.
  The firm’s Brand Manager, Samuel Udejdi, said that customer could log on to the Internet, brose the various products on display and make purchase with your preferred payment option and the products will be delivered to you,” he said.
  However, Adibba is a Nigerian owned company lunched on September 2013. The platform was borne out of the desire to satisfy ever-growing needs of shoppers. Our Product Categories vary from Power Solutions to Fashion, Phones, Computer & Electronics, Food and Drinks, Games, Toys & Kids
  The Head of Customer Service of the company, Miss Lynda Okachie, in the occasion noted that Adibba website was developed to international standards and it was very user friendly to avoid the stress of being tech savvy to navigate it. The website has maximum security to ensure protection of data and any payment option you may choose, she said.
  Our excellent customer service team would be there to guide you from the moment your order is placed until the order is delivered. We also offer after sales support services where necessary to guarantee maximum satisfaction, she said.
  Products purchased from Adibba are authentic, because we are in partnership with top manufacturers of different products. All our products come with OEM guarantee. With Adibba, you are protected and all products are delivered within 72 hours.