Telecom
9mobile Advocates for Inclusion and Investment in Women for National Growth
9mobile, Nigeria’s customer-centric telco has advocated for more investments and inclusion of women in the fabric of national life on the occasion of the 2024 International Woman’s Day celebration.
The telco noted that a deliberate policy for the inclusion of women has the potential to spur national growth and development, noting that no society can thrive without the full engagement of women.
This was said during a webinar with the theme ‘INVESTING IN WOMEN: The power of diversity and Inclusion’. The 9mobile Webinar which was held on X Spaces (formerly Twitter) had an all-female panelist who shared their thoughts on the topic.
Speaking on the importance of community building, supportive networks, and mentorship relations in helping women break through barriers for desired goals, the Director of Marketing Communication at 9mobile, Saidat Lawal-Mohammed, highlighted the importance of job referrals and recommendations from friends, colleagues, and bosses as a significant part of a supportive network.
“In terms of leveraging relationships, I believe in the African adage; ‘if you want to go quick, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together’.
For me, opening ourselves up to help or support other people to achieve their desires and their goals can only make us richer. She further emphasized the need for women to support fellow team members to achieve their goals and objectives.
Also speaking at the webinar, 9mobile Brand Ambassador and former Miss Nigeria, Beauty Tukura, stressed the significance of investment in women to create inclusion and social acceptance.
“Investing in women means equipping them with resources, and opportunities to promote their personal and economic growth. We empower women by providing them with financial support and creating platforms where they can express themselves while maintaining their dignity”, she said.
Other panelists at the webinar were public health physician, Dr Zainab Kwaru Muhammad-Idris, seasoned digital expert, Bolu Essien; CEO, Bella Africana, Buki Asehinde; lifestyle fitness coach, Esta Richards; Head of Digital and Direct Marketing, FCMB, Tosin Adekoya; Head, of Risks and Compliance, 9mobile, Anthonia Attoh; and Co-founder, First Delivery, Seun Ayodele-Alley.
The conversation revealed that men were strong support pillars to women. Hence, in her summation, lifestyle fitness coach, Esta Richards listed gender inequality and insensitivity as one of the barriers against women.
She noted that there are things peculiar to being a woman like menstrual circle, menopause, pregnancy, and victimization at the workplace, arguing that these things need to be considered.
“Being a woman does not reduce the quality of our work just because we are going through a phase, one of which is nine months that leads to giving birth and life to one of the most incredible species called men who are doing great at work. These men are born of women. So, imagine if we didn’t have women”, Richards asks rhetorically.
Speakers at the Webinar all reemphasized that collaboration across the board, trust, self-belief, mentoring, education, work-life integration, gender-sensitive value status, responsibility, and being intentional are most important for women in this current global economic reality regardless of the barriers.
These, they added, are imperative for every woman to thrive and especially inspired to do great work.
Participants at the webinar were also in agreement that every woman has the potential to spark a sustainable change when given the opportunity and empowerment.
International Women’s Day is a global day set aside to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, as well as to mitigate the challenges faced by women.
Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), the Archbishop of Owerri has raised caution on the deployment of Artificial Intelligence.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria
Ugorji called for a balance that prioritises human welfare alongside technological progress, mindful of ethics and morals, as well as risks such as job displacement, threat to world peace, spread of falsehood through propaganda, manipulation of the human person, and privacy concerns through advanced hacking and deepfakes.
The clergyman raised the concern during the ComWeek Public Lecture in Abuja on Artificial Intelligence, noting that the exclusive use of technology in religious formation, pastoral care, and education has enhanced theological knowledge, accessibility and mission of the universal church.
Keynote Speaker at the event, Father Anthony Akinwale, deputy vice chancellor of Augustine University Lagos, dismissed the speculations that the intellectual roles of humans will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence, explaining that AI relied on humans to function and did not have a mind of its own to choose to or not to obey commands with which it was programmed.
Akinwale further cautioned that AI should be solely used for the common good of mankind and not for destructive purposes.
Most Reverend David Ajang, chairman on Social communication of the Catholic Bishops Conference, called for a reflection on the power of communication as a divine gift, “one that holds the potential to bridge divides, enlighten minds and unite hearts in the pursuit of truth and common good”.
9mobile, Nigeria’s customer-centric telecommunications company has refreshed its ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ offerings with additional benefits to enable new and potential customers enjoy more value on calls, data, SMS and CUG for their Businesses.
The ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ product offering is a flexible and customizable plan with an array of add-on services. The plan gives customers benefits of extra cost-saving tariff within the bundle, and 100% bonus data upon repurchase of select bundles.
With the update, 9mobile customers on this plan will also enjoy free incoming calls while roaming on select networks in the following 10 countries: UK, UAE, South Africa, Kenya, Spain, Egypt, France, Germany, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia when they recharge ₦5,000 and above in a month.
A further benefit of the plan is the ‘Add-on solutions’. With this, companies and institutions will enjoy seamless business operations’ continuity and optimization through Close User Group (CUG), Fleet Tracking, Cloud PBX, Cloud Services, and Device Financing. Others are International Call Bundles, Roaming Bundles, and Special International Destinations Calling.
Commenting on the development, Nneka Owolabi, Director Enterprise Business, highlighted the telco’s unwavering commitment to ensure customers and subscribers enjoy premium customer experience, and wholesome value for their subscription on the 9mobile network.
“At 9mobile we have proven time and again that premium customer experience is important for us. It is the essence of our operations. That is why we have reintroduced the ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ for customers and subscribers, particularly businesses to enjoy value for their loyalty to us, and upscale their businesses”, he said.
Owolabi also stated that the ComboPak combines all business needs in one affordable bundle with cheaper voice calls, data subscription, SMS, and CUG, saying “It’s a ComboPak offering that keeps you, and your business stay ahead of trend”.
“What 9mobile ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ does is to create and sustain an ecosystem where people, in this case, customers and subscribers, and businesses run systematically with a combination of our tools efficiently. This is certain to revolutionize the way Nigerians communicate, stay connected, and transact businesses effectively”.
Subscribers to ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ plan will enjoy unique voice calls, SMS & data.
The service allows flexibility to move across packages based on your needs. For ₦1,000 ComboBasic bundle cost, customers will dial *246*4*33# to enjoy 60k/MB Browsing, 12k/sec in bundle calls, 12k/sec out of bundle calls, ₦2.60/SMS, and CUG; while for ₦1,000 ComboValue bundle cost, customers will dial *246*4*30# to enjoy 700MB, 30 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 10 National SMS, and CUG.
For customers with ₦2,000 ComboPremier bundle cost, all they need to do is to dial *246*4*33# to enjoy 2.1GB, 60 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 25 National SMS, and CUG. Customers subscribing to ₦5,000 ComboBlack bundle cost will enjoy benefits of 7GB, 300 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 25 National SMS, and CUG.
The unique value adds on the ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ plan for customers also includes: Bundled Plans – for customers to enjoy flexible and customizable plans with an array of add-on services, and extra cost saving tariff within bundle.
Unlimited Add-ons – this is Add-on solutions – include CUG, Fleet Tracking, Cloud PBX, Cloud Services, Device Financing, Shared Data, International call bundles, Roaming Bundles, and Special International Destinations Calling, for customers.
This is in addition, to free data offer which is a 100% bonus data upon repurchase of select bundles.
Convenience has been embedded into the ComboPak plan for Subscribers also to check account balance by dialling *310#, and data balance by dialling *323#, while migration or opting out of the plan is absolutely free.
MTN Nigeria’s Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, is the first ever winner of the “Global Corporate Secretary of the Year” award by the Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA). She was honoured with the award at an event on April 23rd, 2024, in Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia.
The CSIA Global Awards was instituted to recognise the efforts of corporate secretaries and governance professionals that not only impact their organizations but also international platforms. Of the three main award categories- Global Corporate Secretary of the Year, Rising Corporate Secretary of the Year and Governance Professional of the Year, Uto was awarded the Global Corporate Secretary of the Year for her hard work, diligence and professionalism by a distinguished jury of expert practitioners and thought leaders in the corporate governance field.
Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria congratulating her on the recognition said, “At MTN, we understand the critical role strong governance plays in driving sustainable growth and fostering trust among stakeholders. Uto’s exemplary leadership underscores our commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency. We are proud of Uto’s commitment to corporate governance. She deserves the recognition.”
Ukpanah, the pioneer winner of this award has worked with MTN Nigeria for over 18 years. She is a corporate lawyer with extensive experience in company and commercial law. Her contributions in developing sustainable corporate governance structures in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have been instrumental in fostering transparency and ethical business practices.
Ukpanah’s dedication to ethics and corporate social responsibility advisory services has positioned her as a respected leader in the industry, driving positive change and setting high standards for corporate excellence. This is seen in her active participation on the ‘Code of Corporate Governance Committee,’ ‘9to5 Woman,’ ‘Bankers Committee on Corporate Governance’, among others.
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