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6 Ways Tech Savvies Save Money at Lagos Hotels

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Lagos City can feel extremely expensive, at least compared to anywhere else in Nigeria. When vacationing in the city, it is easy to overspend and forget about your budget, especially if you are staying in any of the many hotels in the city.

Hotels can exhaust your travel funds more rapidly than most other vacation expenses, as paying too much for lodging is one surefire way to bust your budget.

Actually, when taking a break from the real world, money should be the last thing you want to worry about.

To help you strategize smartly so that you do not end up spending your entire budget with half your stay remaining, Jumia Travel, Africa’s No.1 online hotel booking portal shares tricks on ways you can save money on Lagos hotels. That way, first or second-time visitors to the city can maximize enjoyment and minimize expenses.

Do Stay Outside of the Island or Ikoyi Area
Assuming this is your first visit to Lagos, or maybe your second, where you stay can honestly make or break your trip.

If you just search for “Lagos” hotels at the Jumia Travel site, you’ll find that all the cheapest ones are either on the mainland or further down the Lekki Peninsula while the luxurious and exquisite ones are within Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and Lekki axis. Resist the temptation to book at one of these places.

Aside from those hotels being expensive, transportation, dining and basically fun activities around those areas, though bountiful, can be cash-draining as well.

Choose The Season You Visit
Room rates in Lagos hotels can vary dramatically—by thousands of Naira in some cases—depending on what time of year you visit. January 4 through mid-March, is best for bargains, November tends to be quiet and rather affordable too, but July–August, as well as holidays such as Easter, Christmas, New year e.t.c are the busiest and most expensive seasons, as despite the many “holiday deals”, you still get to pay top dollar then.

Also, when there are major events and the city fills up, lesser quality hotels will often charge prices that are equal to or even higher than the luxury hotels. If you are looking for savings, keep in mind that timing is everything.

Look Out for Deals and Coupons
You certainly can save money when you book your hotel through an online portal like Jumia Travel, but getting creative with your other expenses can save you, even more, money.

Before you leave on your trip, do an online search for coupons for places near your hotel destination to unearth deals and discounts.

Consider signing up for money-saving sites like DealDey or searching for coupons or online promotional codes for transportation, attractions, restaurants, shopping e.t.c. around your hotel of choice.

Look for a hotel with Wifi
In-room bills for phone calls in most Lagos hotels, especially if they are international calls, are rather exorbitant. Rather than set yourself up for such extra costs, opt for hotels that offer free Wifi to guests.

With Wifi, you can access internet phone services such as Skype e.t.c, that way you can stay connected to any other part of the world without running up your hotel bills.

Eat at Least One Meal Per Day Outside the Hotel
It is no secret that hotel food in Lagos is way more expensive than eating at regular restaurants, bukkas, mama puts and the many other eating options available within the city.

Rather than eat at the hotel all day, you can decide to cut the cost for dining by eating outside at least once a day. Most hotels would offer free breakfast.
You can have that, then for lunch or dinner, you hit the streets for any of the local restaurants or you opt for street food. By doing this, you not only save money, you’ll be in good company with all the locals as well. If you do not feel comfortable eating outside the hotel, you can buy food outside and take a pack back to your room.

Use Uber
Some hotels would include transportation in your package, however, if you do not have such a package and you have to organize transportation on your own. Your best bet is to use UBER Lagos.

Their rates are usually cheaper than whatever taxi company that would be offered by the hotel and their prices are consistent. Also, they are safer than the random taxis you may find on the streets of Lagos. All you need to do is download the app on your phone or tablet and you are good to go.


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E-Business

StarNews, Global Black Economic Forum Launch Business Competition In Partnership with MTN & USAID

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Africa’s leading video streaming platform, StarNews Mobile and the Global Black Economic Forum (GBEF), have announced a call for applications for the launch of their Business Competition in Lagos, Nigeria.

Held in partnership with MTN and United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID), the initiative will empower Nigeria’s most promising businesses that are classified as Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with invaluable investment and partnership opportunities from the USA.

Held over 10 weeks between April 8th to June 14th, hosted exclusively on the StarNews Biz Channel on the StarNews platform, this competition offers a platform for emerging entrepreneurs to showcase their ventures and gain national visibility.

With subscribers voting for their favourite candidates, the top 20 contestants will seize the spotlight and make their mark on the business landscape.

The StarNews Business Competition in partnership with GBEF delivers a unique opportunity for thriving Nigerian SMEs to access mentoring, funding, partnerships and socio-economic development tools through the Global Black Economic Forum.

With the prospect of securing cash prizes through StarNews worth up to NGN5,000,000, getting access to StarNews’s network of investors and the opportunity to gain national visibility by having their business on the StarNews web platform.

The top three winners will also receive coaching from GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence and become part of GBEF’s ecosystem of global leaders committed to social and economic justice across the Black Diaspora.

Previous speakers at GBEF convenings from the entertainment sector include Wyclef Jean (Haitian Musician & Activist), Debra Lee (Former CEO of Black Entertainment Television – BET) and Ceci Kurzman (Founder of Nexus Management Group). Applications will close on April 5th 2024.

Speaking on the competition’s launch, Guy Kamgaing, Founder and CEO at StarNews Mobile, says “The StarNews Business Competition is a passion project close to our hearts at StarNews Mobile.

It’s about discovering the most promising business entrepreneurs and creators in Nigeria, opening up global opportunities for them and providing them with the resources and tools to achieve their goals.

By partnering with MTN, USAID and GBEF, we want to be a platform of empowerment for these SMEs by helping them give back to the communities that are supporting them.”

According to the US Embassy and Consulate for Nigeria, over 80% of Nigerian startups are incorporated in the United States and more than 60% of venture capital funding in Nigerian startups accounted for by the US.

In 2023 alone, Nigerian startups raised a total of $398mn however, this signalled a 66% funding decline compared to 2022 due to the global economic downturn, reinforcing the massive need for a fresh injection of capital and business support for Nigeria’s emerging SMEs.

Alphonso David, President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum notes that, “Our partnership with StarNews Mobile is a critical resource as we continue to build the collective strength of entrepreneurship across the Diaspora.

“Building a sustainable ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs in the United States and across the African continent is essential to create a future that makes economic opportunity and economic freedom a reality for all.”

A sister company to ESSENCE, GBEF advances its work by convening global summits and conferences, bringing together world leaders, business leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities and civic leaders to address the most challenging problems facing our communities.

GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence facilitates workforce and leadership development strategy, addressing the talent pipeline & employee lifecycle, providing leadership development & coaching, and conducting institutional assessments & research.

GBEF also develops and implements economic and social justice policy recommendations with partners ranging from civil and human rights organisations to government entities and corporations that advocate for economic opportunity, social justice, and health equity through thought leadership, advocacy and litigation.

Launched in 2017, StarNews Mobile empowers African content creators with the unique opportunity to monetize their work through a subscription model, boasting over 4 million subscribers and a thriving community of more than 120 content creators.

With a strong presence across six countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, Congo, Benin and Ghana, the platform has also established key partnerships with major telecom operators such as MTN and Orange.

To-date, StarNews Mobile has secured over $8mn in funding with its most recent raise – a $3mn pre-Series A funding round in October 2023 – led by Janngo Capital with participation from French football players Aurélien Tchouaméni, Jules Koundé and Mike Maignan.

 


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Companies Invest More than $100,000 Yearly to Upskill their Cybersecurity Teams – Study Reveals

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Over 70% of businesses pay more than USD $100,000 for additional training annually to keep skills of their cybersecurity employees up to date, a recent global Kaspersky study has revealed.

However, the surveyed companies also highlighted that there was a lack of relevant courses covering new challenging spheres in the educational market and stated that training does not always bring them the expected result.

In its recent study ‘The portrait of the modern Information Security professional’, Kaspersky examined the topic of the global cybersecurity staff shortage, analysing the exact reasons businesses lack cybersecurity experts, and identifying the ways they evaluate and upskill their cybersecurity workforce¹.

According to the research, companies are investing significant amounts in upskilling their cybersecurity teams: 43% of organisations globally say they usually spend between $100,000 and $200,000 per year on information security courses, while 31% even invest over $200,000 for training programs. The remaining 26% state they usually pay less than $100,000 for educational initiatives².

However, cybersecurity practitioners also note that the educational market is struggling to keep up with the rapidly changing industry and fail to deliver the necessary training programs on time.

Survey results for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa (META) region shows that the scarcity of courses covering new challenging spheres (48%) was the main problem for those searching for cybersecurity training.

50% of respondents from the META region also stated that trainees tend to forget what they learned because they had no opportunity to apply newly acquired knowledge, therefore the courses were useless to them.

The need for special training pre-requisites such as coding and advanced mathematics, which were not specified at the pre-registration stage were also problematic for 37% of practitioners from the META region.

“With a constantly evolving threat landscape, businesses should continually improve the skills of their cybersecurity personnel in order to be well prepared for sophisticated cyberattacks.

“Developing high-profile specialists within the company and building internal expertise can be an effective strategy for organisations that aim to retain existing employees and allow them to grow professionally, instead of constantly hunting for new candidates and checking their professional backgrounds and practical skills.

“For organisations served by Managed Service Providers it is also important to maintain a pretty high level of expertise internally and use the same language when discussing the scope of services and Service Level Agreement with them,” comments Veniamin Levtsov, VP, Center of Corporate Business Expertise at Kaspersky.


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Heirs Insurance Launches User-friendly Website for Stakeholders

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Heirs Insurance Group, Nigeria’s fastest growing insurance group, has launched a new website that delivers the most user-friendly insurance experience in the industry.

Heirs Insurance Launches User-friendly Website for Stakeholders

In addition to its features that aid simple navigation, the website also personalizes the insurance experience taking customers through a short journey that enables them to make decisions quickly on the best insurance plan to support their personal and business success, or access competent insurance advisors to speak with.

According to Ifesinachi Okpagu, chief marketing officer, Heirs Insurance Group, the website, www.heirs insurance group.com, embodies the ethos of the brand: the delivery of simple, quick, and accessible insurance service that delights customers and brings the uninsured much closer to taking up insurance plans.

She said: “Today’s customers want simplicity and this new website delivers on that request, ensuring that people find the right insurance solutionsfor their needs in a few minutes. We are empowering customers to take control of their lives, their businesses, assets, and their most cherished people.” Heirs Insurance Group has been at the forefront of pioneering a new era of insurance solutions since its launch with the roll-out of various initiatives including a seamless mobile app, USSD; Prince, its intuitive chatbot; InConnect, its partnership portal Digital Experience Centre; and more. With the launch of this website, Heirs Insurance Group solidifies its position as the leading digital insurance company in Nigeria, democratising access to insurance for all.


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