E-Business
COVID-19: Laptops Scarcity Hits Europe as Request Floods Nigeria
The on-going COVID-19 crisis has sparked a spike in demand for laptops in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa as Europe, the Middle East and other continents face a scarcity of devices occasioned by the global pandemic which has disrupted supply chains across the world.
Investigations reveal that the COVID-19 crisis has necessitated a de-emphasis on mass gatherings, thereby prompting businesses and educational institutions in Europe and other continents to turn to virtual work in order to keep the wheels of their enterprise and academic pursuits turning. Consequently, staff and students have been encouraged to work and learn from home.
The development has seen increased demand for laptops and other work tools to enable staff who would otherwise have relied on work systems in the office; to be able to turn in productive work on personal laptops.
Also, a number of educational institutions in these advanced climes have embraced e-learning as a way to bridge the gap between tutors and students/pupils while complying with the lockdown being enforced in many of these countries.
Furthermore, parents and other social media-savvy youth have had to purchase laptops in view of the lengthy stay at home as a means of enjoying more convenient screen time for leisure activities such as chatting or seeing movies on Netflix.
These factors have all combined in engendering a scarcity of laptops in these zones; with supply stunted and few available units all being snapped up by eager shoppers.
Consequently, attention has turned to Africa and to a larger extent, its biggest market, Nigeria for inventory.
‘‘Businesses have bought up almost all available laptops in Europe for their staff working from home.
“The benefits of e-learning as a tailor-made solution for the lockdown in most countries has also seen increased demand for these tools.
“Most professionals and social media users have also considered bigger screens as a better option for the long stay at home as against mobile phones.
“This has seen a massive demand for laptops from other parts of the world, especially Sub-Saharan Africa,’’ disclosed Ravi Zack, a supply chain specialist based in Germany.
Furthermore, he disclosed that Nigerian businesses with international outlook are being looked up to for help in meeting the supply gap in Europe and further afar.
As a matter of fact, Konga, one of the foremost e-commerce companies and largest stockists in Nigeria had fielded enquiries from some of the biggest products merchants in the UK and other parts of Europe.
‘‘Konga has been identified as a credible outpost with the capacity to retain huge inventory which could come in handy to bail out a lot of people in Europe,’’ says Vipin Shaw, a mega electronics business owner based in Dubai.
‘‘In fact, few international computer OEMs had recommended Konga as one of the structured sources that could be of assistance. TDAfrica, another Nigerian-based tech firm, was also mentioned as a reliable HP partner which could be in a position to make some stock available.’’
When contacted to verify these claims, Vice President, Konga Offline, Kalu Johnson admitted that some enquiries had been received over the past few days on the possibility of supplying laptops abroad at double the market price. Nevertheless, he affirmed that the management of Konga was considering the needs of Nigerians.
‘‘Yes, Nigerians are not heavy on e-learning and we will make more money selling these devices over there.
“However, we are not so keen to push these devices abroad as we also have thousands of Nigerians who are in need of these PCs and laptops. Same goes for schools, businesses and other establishments in Nigeria.
‘‘The Federal Government is enforcing a lockdown and the Ministry of Education has also urged educational institutions to go online to continue teaching and learning.
“Millions of Nigerians are also working from home this period. If we offload these devices overseas, who knows when we will be able to achieve such inventory capacity to serve the local needs, especially as no one has an idea when the COVID-19 crisis will end,’’ he said.
Nigeria is currently looking to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic as confirmed cases rise across the country.
Paga, a payments and financial services provider for Africa has processed transactions value to the tune of N14trillion in the last 15 years of its existence.
Tayo Oviosu, chief executive officer, Pagatech, said at a media interaction to mark the company’s 15 anniversary that 80 percent of the amount was done in the last five years.
“When we celebrated 10 years of our business that was five years ago, we have grown our transactions values by 7 times, across the three business arms of our operation which includes; consumer payments, platform as-a-services and super App for retailers.
“This has translated into job creation as we have created over 1,000 direct jobs in Ethiopia and in Nigeria and indirect jobs through our agent network to about 100,000 jobs, this is economic empowerment of Nigerians.
“Our desire is giving people financial freedom and making life possible for them and impacting on our community. We are really proud of our economic achievements and we are making sure that our customers get the best experience.
“We are super excited about what the future holds for our business. Our vision is a world where cash does not exist anymore. We ensure that our customers’ money is safe by complying with the highest global security standards.
“Our focus is on helping both consumers and sellers pay, get paid, and access financial services. We do this directly; and through our Platform-as-a-Service, which enables other third parties to leverage the deep infrastructure we have built for endless possibilities.
Oviosu, further explained the three business lines Paga has transformed into from a mobile money operator from inception to a financial services provider includes; Consumer payment: where anyone can open a Paga account from any type of phone, by download Paga App from Apple or android store or dial *242# from any type of phone device.
“With Paga app, you can fund the account, make payments and also have a physical Visa card or a virtual Visa card on the account. This gives you significant convenience over other bank accounts we have in the market today.
You can send money into that account from any bank account or walk into any bank branch to fund the account. You can as well go to any agent and fund or make transactions from the account,” he said.
He added that when he started the business 15 years ago, there was no infrastructure, “we had to build the required infrastructure to support the business. Two years ago, we opened our infrastructure to allow other technology companies to use it for their own business. We called this Platform as a Service. With Platform as a service we are serving 150 businesses who are using our infrastructure to execute their own businesses.
“The third arm of our business is what we called Doroki this a different brand which is super App for retail business. If you are a supermarket you use it to manage your inventory among others. This is the youngest arm of our business” he noted.
Dr John Asein, director-general, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), has said that the federal government is taking steps to finalise its National Intellectual Property (IP) Policy and Strategy for the country.
Asein disclosed this on Friday while commemorating the 2024 World Intellectual Property Day with the theme “IP and the SDGs: Building Our Common Future with Innovation and Creativity’’ in Abuja.
The that the Day is observed every April 26 to celebrate the importance of intellectual property (IP) rights to encourage innovation and creativity.
The director-general was represented by Mr Emeka Ogbonna, director of Legal.
NCC boss said the policy would serve as a blueprint for a more efficient modern and responsive legal and administrative framework for the country to leverage on its creative and innovative potential.
He said that the day underscored the power of innovation and creativity in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and shaping a sustainable and inclusive future for humanity.
According to him, the SDGs represent a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by the year 2030.
“IP rights play a pivotal role in fostering innovation, creativity, and technological advancements. They provide the framework that encourages men and women to develop new solutions that address global challenges.
“It is the lynchpin for incentivising the use of creative and innovative ideas to solve many of the challenges that confront humanity.
“This year’s World IP Day reminds us that intellectual property can be a powerful tool for social, economic, and environmental development.
“It encourages individuals, businesses, and governments to leverage IP rights to drive innovation, create jobs, and build resilient communities.
“By aligning our intellectual property policies and strategies with the objectives of the SDGs, we can accelerate their achievement,’’ NCC boss said.
He said in the spirit of the “Renewed Hope Agenda’’ of the present administration, government had also shown appreciable commitment to the creative industry as a major sector of the economy.
“As one of the agencies responsible for the wholesome development of the creative sector, the Nigerian Copyright Commission will continue to provide the needed institutional, legal and administrative support for the protection, promotion, regulation and enforcement of copyright.
“The commission will pay particular attention to using the copyright system to advance Goal 1 (No poverty); Goal 4 (Quality education); Goal 5 (Gender equality).
“And Goal 8 (Decent and economic growth); Goal 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and Goal 17 (Partnerships to achieve the goals).
“We are aware that the goals would have to be adapted to fit the peculiar needs of intellectual property which is an intangible asset.’ ’he added.
The director-general, who said that the commission focused on the 17 SDGs to address emerging challenges, called on authors, innovators, users, IP experts and other stakeholders to reflect on the vulnerability of the nation’s fragile knowledge and creative ecosystem.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Illmi Children’s Fund (ICF) have trained 100 schoolgirls in digital and Information and Communication Technology skills training.
Mrs. Maryam Augie-Abdulmumin, ICF Executive Director, confirmed this in a statement on Thursday in Lagos.
The graduation followed the training of the schoolgirls in ICF and NITDA’s DIGITGALS 2.0 programme, a collaborative initiative aimed to equip adolescent girls in Abuja with critical digital and ICT skills.
Augie-Abdukmumin said the DIGITGALS 2.0 centred around essential digital literacy, programming fundamentals, digital marketing and communication skills, and cybersecurity awareness.
She added that the girls were equipped with the confidence to compete and excel in a globalised digital economy. The graduation was in commemoration of the 2024 International Girls in ICT Day celebration on April 25.
DIGITGALS 2.0 is in its second phase and empowered 100 senior secondary school girls selected from five government schools in the Federal Capital Territory.
The girls aged between 15 and 18 years were equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to thrive in the digital world and address the growing demand for ICT skills in the 21st century.
Augie-Abdulmumin reiterated the importance of bridging the digital gap in the country starting with the girl-child.
“This graduation ceremony on International Day of Girls in ICT is a powerful symbol of our commitment to closing the digital gender gap.
This programme made possible through our partnership with NITDA, and signifies a crucial step towards bridging the digital gender gap.
It also fostering a future where women are active leaders in the tech industry. This is also an opportunity for these girls to take charge of their own future,”.
Mr Kashifu Abdullahi, the Director-General of NITDA, commended the collaborative efforts of ICF in making the DIGITGALS 2.0 a reality.
According to him, building a diverse and inclusive digital workforce is critical for Nigeria’s success.
“We are proud to collaborate with ICF on DIGITGALS 2.0 to empower these young women to become active participants in the tech industry. This programme showcases the importance of collaborative efforts in bridging the digital gender gap.
These girls have been equipped with essential digital skills, and ICF and NITDA are confident they will become active contributors to Nigeria’s thriving tech landscape,”.
ICF is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of children, from underprivileged backgrounds, through education, healthcare, technology and entrepreneurship initiatives.
NITDA is a public service institution established in 2007. It functions as the ICT policy implementing arm of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy.
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