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NowNow Says ‘Ditch Traditional Leather Wallet’ as Mobile App Goes Live

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NowNow, has launched an innovative consumer mobile wallet (M-Wallet) to boost financial inclusion in the country.

NowNow, a mobile wallet offering from Contec Global InfoTech Limited is a PCI DSS compliance platform which ensures all transactions are secure and certified by Commodo SSL.

Mr. Sahir Berry, the managing director of NowNow told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that the m-wallet has been unleashed as an app for doing payments recharges and transfer money electronically.

The wallet, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek learnt, can be opened against a mobile number, First Name and Last Name. You can use the service if you have a smartphone and internet access to the phone. The NowNow Wallet is easy to use, safe and having faster payment process.

The NowNow wallet aims to eradicate the habit of keeping traditional leather wallets.

“The NowNow wallet, “allows user to perform mobile recharge, bill payments, money transfer to bank accounts, Peer to Peer transfer very quickly directly from the pre-funded wallet without entering the card details every time before performing the transaction.

“You don’t have to carry your leather wallet full of debit cards. Every time you don’t have to put your card details for every payment which is actually minimizing the risk of exposing your full bank account, unlike using a Bank app or USSD code especially at smaller merchants you may not be comfortable exposing your card or bank account details or for performing simple transactions like Mobile Recharge, Pay TV, Money Transfers”.

He said that over a period of few months’ consumers will be able to use NowNow wallets for payments at offline and online merchants.

“Moreover, when you pay using our wallet you will get cash back for every transactions or you may get a free discounted coupons usable at eatery, shoe shop, saloon, boutique redemption of the coupon may end up making your transaction absolutely free,”

Mahesh Nair, chief operating officer of the company, further explains he is optimistic about the future of mobile wallets in Nigeria in the coming years. As more people go mobile and embrace the newer and faster ways of making payments from mobile wallet.

Speaking further, the MD said that by using NowNow Wallet (App) customers stand to get “Hassle free fast, secure transaction procedure; cash back or discount coupon on every transaction; limiting your exposure to your direct full bank account to all merchants, especially for smaller transactions and monitor and keep a control on your daily expenses.

Other Specialities:
The NowNow app allows the unbanked easy access to financial services. Users gain access to a wide variety of financial and value added services which include but is not limited to being able to;

Receive Money Using Only a Phone Number
Send a request for money that allows people to pay you with a simple tap. Whether you’re collecting money for a group dinner or contributing to a friend’s upcoming nuptials, we make it easy for everyone to send and receive money.

Generate a QR Code and request for money is a very easy functionality available on the app.

Send Money Within Seconds
Send money to anywhere in Nigeria in just seconds. Send Money to NowNow wallet holders in the country using their mobile number.

Transfer Money and Cash Out at NowNow Agent point without an account number.

Transfer Funds to Bank Accounts
With your NowNow wallet you are able to transfer money to any bank account in the country and the money will be delivered to recipient’s account in minutes any day, anytime 24x7x365.

Pay Utility Bills with No Delays
Renew your subscription with your favourite pay TV and internet service provider. You can also take care of your electricity bill using your NowNow wallet. Merchants you can make payment using your NowNow wallet include but is not limited to GOtv, DStv, StarTimes, Consat, Smile Networks, Spectranet, Swift Internet, IkejaElectric.We can even buy itune credits, good play, xbox, skype credits and much more.

NowNow, Nair said, is constantly working to add more merchants and billers on the platform.

Purchase Airtime/Data
Recharge: Now stop scratching heads on scratch cards and USSD for recharging your airtime and data packs. You can easily recharge from anywhere and anytime and happily continue with our phone calls with our loved ones using NowNow Wallet.

Creating A NowNow Wallet
So now you don’t have to take the stress of carrying and paying by cash for any transactions the mobile wallet can be used for all types of transactions.

Over a period of time the wallet will be accepted at all online and offline merchants the idea is to promote wallet transactions.

Funding Your NowNow Wallet
You can fund your mobile wallet through any of the following ways: at any NowNow agent outlet; using the internet banking platform. At Bank branch, using your debit/credit card.

How It Works: Select phone number from your contact list; create a beneficiary list for recipients of your most frequent transactions; send and request money from using QR code; earn rewards for every transaction performed.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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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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