Organizers of the SABRE awards have adjudged 9mobile winner in two distinct categories – The SABRE Award for Superior Achievement in Reputation Management and Special Event/Sponsorship based on the telco’s innovative and transformative campaign titled The Hack, Expand Your Hustle.

The SABRE Awards, organized by PRovoke Media, is the world’s most prestigious Public Relations awards programme dedicated to benchmarking the best PR works across the globe.

It recognizes exceptional campaigns, by brands, and agencies that exhibit the highest levels of strategic planning, creativity, integrity, effectiveness, and business results across Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.

9mobile carted home these awards based on its recognition of the importance of SMEs in driving the economic growth of Nigeria, thus positioning itself as an SME-friendly company to support their development and success to thrive and scale their businesses.

This drive to see SMEs succeed led the telco to launch a novel entrepreneurship programme – The Hack, an Enterprise Business Growth Series designed to empower entrepreneurs by giving them the knowledge, technology, and access to the market required to help them grow, with imprints in various Nigerian cities and university campuses.

With the Hack, 9mobile showed the endless opportunities in the SME sector while addressing challenges that business owners confront, assisting them in expanding their enterprises and overcoming obstacles, taking them through the hacks the SMEs need for business growth.

Expressing her delight at this global recognition, Saidat Lawal Mohammed, Director, Marketing Communications said: “It gives us great joy to see our work recognized by such a prestigious and globally respected organization such as PRovoke Media, organizers of the SABRE Awards.

“We know that this is a highly sought-after award and based on other projects we beat to clinch these awards, we are super delighted to be recognized on a global stage. What is key for us are the results we achieved and the impact we made which has served as an elevation for this recognition”, she said.

She went on to thank the management of 9mobile for their support of the Hack initiative, and the marketing communications team for the synergy in driving the campaign.

Lawal Mohammed affirmed that through this project, 9mobile burnished its reputation as Nigeria’s SME friendly telecommunications company, adding that “in the end we reached over 23.7 million people online, had over 20,000 knowledge participants, 382 entrepreneurs exhibit and over N10 million in Grants to budding entrepreneurs. The journey of the Hack has been fun and equally impactful”.

The SABRE Awards for Superior Achievement in Reputation Management recognizes public relations work that has played a central role in corporate strategy, positioning and messaging.

In its submissions 9mobile demonstrated that its PR professionals took a lead role in creating and developing a corporate reputation platform and explain how that platform shifted perceptions, built stronger stakeholders’ relationships, and ultimately contributed to corporate performance.

The Special Event/Sponsorship category recognizes the creative spark and execution by brands and agencies in how to bring to life their ideas and strategy and   propel their campaigns into the target audience consciousness, raising brand exposure and providing a competitive advantage.

9mobile had previously won Certificates of Excellence under the Corporate Social Responsibility category for its Health Talk Series and Health Workers Appreciation as well as Future CEO Initiative under the Technology category.

The 2024 Awards for Superior Achievement in Branding Reputation and Engagement (SABRE) will be held on May 16 in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, on the sidelines of the annual Conference of the African Public Relations Association (APRA).

Sharing your phone number on chatting platforms can expose you to unwanted spam, potential security breaches, and even compromise your identity.

Simple Azenabor, CEO, SoftTalk Messenger, a Nigerian developer based in Japan, said: “Anyone in an individual or a group chat can see your phone number. But don’t worry, you can use SoftTalk Messenger that doesn’t require a phone number.

“It gives you the best of both worlds, the freedom to communicate with anyone and everyone, and the security of keeping your phone number private”.

SoftTalk Messenger allows you to connect effortlessly with your friends, school mates, and family by using your @username, eliminating the need to share your phone numbers. This feature provides privacy for your phone number, particularly in group chats.

To add friends you simply search by their Unique SoftTalk @USERNAMES or Names to start a conversation and make encrypted HD audio and video calls.

It is possible for a user to turn off and on his profile from  the SoftTalk directory if he prefers not to be discovered in a public search for a complete world of his own. Helping you to communicate with friends safely and privately

SoftTalk Messenger is a Nigeria’s Messaging app for Africans & the world. It enables users to buy and sell products and services in a marketplace, post stories, chat, make audio / video calls as well as pay utilities bills & buy low cost data & prepaid mobile airtime in Nigeria with plans to expand to other African countries in the near future. Users can make extra income by reselling Data and airtime to their friends right from within the app.

Messages are encrypted and transferred over a secure channel and use standard encryption algorithms: RSA-2048, RC4+ making sure that only the receiver of the message is able to read it. SoftTalk Messenger accommodates a total of 500,000 participants in a single group, and members can share media and large files.

According to Simple Azenabor, there is no doubt that Nigerians and indeed Africans are hungry for a new technology and need something different that can be called our “own” . It is my wish to see Nigerians use and encourage an indigenous solution built by one of us to grow our own.

The android version of the app was first introduced to Nigerians in late 2018 in the presence of the delegates from the NCC officials and the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Raufu Mohammed represented by a Director General in the ministry. SoftTalk Messenger has been bootstrapping and exploring various technologies in order to strengthen its backend infrastructure to build a secure and scalable system.

Today, SoftTalk Messenger  is available on both android, web and the Apple iOS platforms with support of about 16 languages including French and can be downloaded on google and apple stores.

QNET, a global lifestyle and wellness-focused direct-selling company, has recently become aware of fraudulent activities being carried out in the name of its CSR arm, RYTHM Foundation.

An individual had set up an office in Port Harcourt in the name of the RYTHM Foundation and was using online ads offering jobs in the foundation.

The incident came to light when a job seeker who had contacted the individual about the job was asked to pay a fee to secure it. Suspicion prompted the job seeker to verify the ad’s legitimacy by contacting the Foundation directly.

QNET promptly reported the incident to relevant authorities, which led to the arrest of the perpetrator. The matter is currently under investigation.

QNET is deeply troubled by the impersonation of the RYTHM Foundation for illicit activities, including fake job offers and other deceptive practices. RYTHM Foundation, QNET, and any of our affiliate companies are not associated with these activities and disavow any connection with the perpetrators. The company is committed to collaborating with authorities to apprehend fraudsters.

QNET warns the public to be vigilant and verify information before engaging in any such commitments.

QNET and any of its other affiliated companies do not offer jobs in exchange for a fee. The company urges the public to report any such job ads via the WhatsApp compliance hotline for Sub-Saharan African markets at +233256630005.

QNET remains dedicated to empowering individuals through life-enhancing products and micro-entrepreneurship opportunities. The company has undertaken educational and public awareness initiatives such as establishing the Direct Selling Disinformation Centre (DSDC) and launching the “Social Awareness Campaign” and “Say No! Awareness Campaign” to protect individuals from scams.

Direct Selling Disinformation Centre – https://www.directsellingdisinformation.org/ Say No Campaign – www.saynocampaign.org.

QNET reaffirms its commitment to maintaining trust with customers, partners, and communities. The company vows to conduct business with sincerity, integrity, and a focus on enhancing lives through its product offerings and entrepreneurial opportunities.

For more information, visit QNET’s website at www.qnet.net or our Africa blog at https://www.qnetafrica.com/