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Encouraging Local Content in Telecom for Development

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The fact that the country’s telecommunications sector has witnessed tremendous growth over the past eight years of its liberalization is no longer celebrating news, but how to sustain and develop the sector is now the paramount concern of stakeholders in the industry.
One likely area of emphasis in a bid to develop as well as sustain the growth is adoption of local content to replace dominant foreign content in the sector. Local content in telecommunications industry is the use or adoption of locally manufactured material and initiatives in the operation processes of telecommunications service delivery. To many, there are little or nothing that local initiatives can contribute in the telecommunications industry going by the capital intensive nature of the business, they cite instance of mobile handsets which are predominately imported and where there are no known initiative of capacity to develop it locally. More so, core network equipment such as intelligent switches and microwave equipments which are sensitive high technological equipment that will take the country decades to come to terms with, let a lone manufacturing them.
But, unknown to these school of thought, that there are other areas where telecommunications operators are spending huge of the country’s hard earned foreign exchange in import that Nigerians can effective play role in substituting with local initiatives.
Among them are billing software, cyber cables, mast, connectors, switches as well as equipment racks.
Local content policies
Local firms are ultimately and probably the most important driver of economic incomes and growth in developing countries. It has been found that local technology is spreading faster in emerging economies than in rich nations, even though the technology gap remains wide. It also found that technological progress has helped raise incomes in the developing world and reduced the share of people living in poverty from 29 percent in 1990 to 18 percent in 2004.
It has long been recognized that investment in science and technology makes a vital contribution to economic growth in terms of higher growth rate of the economy’s productivity under such conditions; the neglect of R&D in developing countries will have serious repercussion on firms’ ability to absorb and evolve new technologies and participate in their development. This may have long-term implication for the developmental efforts of these countries. But two critical questions arise: one, what were the weaknesses that resulted in the poor performance of technology policies in these countries? And two, what measures should be adopted to plug in the loopholes in these policies to make them more effective in the globalize era?
  Local content means the development of local skills, technology transfer, use of local manpower and local manufacturing. It has become an increasingly important issue that could support the federal government to upgrade her manpower capacity, with results that benefit the government, private companies, and the Nigeria’s economy. However, the performance of this mission over the past decade has been a mix of successes and failures. Research performed to improve this performance by identifying the characteristics of successful public to private sector technology transfers identified several critical success factors. These include a "transfer culture" in the government laboratory and Nigerianized organization, shared personnel of the federal and local organizations throughout the transfer project life cycle; the local workforce services could be the major source of employment inside Nigeria economies, accounting for over 50 percent of jobs. Local technology services account for a much larger share of total economic output than either manufacturing or agriculture in this country. Home-grown services are the future of this country, as it is the fastest-growing component of the total GDP, particularly low-income Nigeria.
 Nigeria, though embarked to the periodic development planning exercise as early as 1964, failed to realize the importance of private sector and market oriented policy in the process of overall development of the country till late eighties and this resulted to several economic distortions.
Since then, the private sector development policy has been reoriented to identifying and removing the barriers for private investments, and creating private sector friendly economic environment so that the private sector would play pivotal role in the economy. Thus shift in the role of the government from active participant to facilitator not only brought positive psychological change in the private sectors, but also added economic dynamism through the active participation of private sectors in all sectors.
Nigeria provides a classic case of a developing country where despite the presence of a wide institutional infrastructure for producing trained manpower, generating new knowledge and providing science and technology (S&T) services, the industry became increasingly dependent on foreign technologies ever since the economy became liberalized under ex-president Obasanjo’s regime.
In the early 1999’s new democratic government initiated a series of market oriented policy reforms to integrate the economy towards globalization and economic growth. A remarkable progress in terms of growth, investment and employment has been achieved. Private sector led growth was the main thrust of the policy reform initiatives taken during the millennium.
In the field of science and technology, Nigeria presents two completely contradictory faces. On the one hand, foreign observers look upon Nigeria as a bottomless container of S&T talent which in due course of time will, along with China, dominates the global scene in the second half of the 21st century. This perception is based on the success Nigeria has registered in the field of information technology in Nigeria and the achievement of African Americans in the United States. The opposite face is registered at Nigeria’s inability to solve problems of infrastructure, namely roads, power, water supply and sanitation and at the poor state of its schools and colleges. In a bid to meet this target, Nigeria joined other countries in jumpstarting the services negotiation in the local content policy implementation. The Collective Services Requests are aimed at promoting this country’s economic growth, particularly in developing economies, by improving productivity, creating jobs and improving the quality and availability of goods, agriculture and services through oil and gas root-up.
Since the country’s own technological capabilities were limited, the dual trade policy placed a continuous pressure on firms for acquiring foreign technologies. To meet the industry demand, the government encouraged the transfer of foreign technology embodied in capital goods and turnkey plants by assigning low protection to the capital goods industry. Highly restrictive policies were adopted towards FDI and technology licensing. Technical agreements were allowed only in the cases where technical assistance was needed to run the turnkey projects. Capital goods imports were given preference over the alternative modes of technology acquisition for two reasons. Light industries required simple and standardized technologies that could easily be transferred through capital goods imports.  It was felt that given the training and entrepreneurship of Koreans, it would be easy to assimilate and adapt foreign technologies embodied in capital goods through reverse engineering at the production end. Though the policy led to massive imports of foreign capital goods and owing to low protection retarded the growth of the local capital goods industries, it did facilitate a rapid acquisition of technology during this phase.
Local content in telecommunications is not all about equipments, human resource is another area of local content. This requires telecommunications companies to employ greater number of Nigerians in their work force. However, trained manpower is not readily available in the industry; this is evident in the high rate of pouching in the industry, where skilled personnel move among organizations that pay high.
Engr. Lanre Ajayi, managing director, Pinet Informatics, acknowledged that there is acute shortage of trained human resources in ICT industry. According to him, any policy that requires a company to use local human resource such policy should ensure that there is enough trained human capacity available in the country. He cited instance of problem of poor quality of service in the GSM space, which he attributed lack of skilled manpower as part of the causes.
This could also be explained as responsible for Nigerian Communications Commission conception of the establishment of ICT training institute in the name of Digital Bridge institute to provide the needed skilled manpower requirement to develop the industry.
Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, president, Association Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (Atcon) said that the industry requires an effective policy framework as well as enforcement to encourage local content in telecommunications development. He urged NCC and National Information Technology Development Agency (Nitda) to ensure that policies are formulated to encourage operators in the industry to use locally made equipment where necessary in the sector. This he said would go a long in solving the problem of unemployment and save the country’s foreign exchange that are used in the importation of those goods with local alternatives.
Obstacles to adoption
Nigerian psyche has been steeped in the notion that foreign made products are preferable even when there local alternatives are of higher quality and cheaper. Government officials expected to set example for private sector to follow are also cut in the web of this act as most government officials uses foreign made goods against the locally produce ones. This accounts for lack of vigor required in the enforcement local content policies in the different sectors of the economy.
Liberalization is not an end in itself; however it could enhance the capability of the local content to the asses of capital, technology and knowledge by which the overall objective of economic development could be achieved. Local workforce and home-grown technology as the main actor in the process of liberalization of telecom can inject more capital, acquire new and modern technology, generates additional resources for telecom development. The process of integration possesses various opportunities and challenges and such challenges which are complex as well as need competitiveness have to be dealt with joint effort of the regulatory authorities and local input inside the telecom space through appropriate institutional mechanism.

 


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Treepz Doubles Down on Corporate Mobility in Africa with Launch of a New Website

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Treepz, Africa’s leading corporate mobility startup, has expanded its corporate mobility and employee transportation services across the continent with a fresh new look for its website.

 

The company’s new website boasts a sleek, user-friendly interface with added features to better showcase Treepz’s range of services for companies looking to efficiently and sustainably move employees and clients in major African cities. From on-demand employee shuttles, and school bus solutions to intra-city group trips for events and conferences, Treepz is positioning itself as an all-in-one corporate transportation provider.

Managing transportation logistics across multiple sites has always been an operational nightmare for companies,” said Onyeka Akumah, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Treepz. “Our goal is to streamline that experience through Treepz’s powerful technology platform.”

With nearly 6,000 employees of companies daily relying on Treepz’s innovative tech and reliable fleet for employee transportation or staff bus commutes, we understand the complexities of managing corporate transportation firsthand. “Our revamped website simplifies the process, offering businesses a seamless solution to optimize their transportation needs and empower their workforce in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana,” Onyeka added

Key Features of the New Treepz Website

  • Trackable Dashboard for a bird’s eye view of all guests’ trips in real-time when using Treepz.
  • 24/7 customer support to assist with all mobility inquiries.
  • Wide selection of vehicle options, each with professional drivers tailored to specific needs.
  • Friendly interface for easy navigation and booking.
  • Client testimonials and case studies showcasing Treepz’s success stories.

Treepz’s mission extends beyond just transportation – they aim to revolutionize how over 1 million daily commuters experience mobility across Africa. Since its launch in 2019, the company has provided employee transit for top firms like Tekexperts, Wakanow, Somasource, and Brighter Monday across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. This has resulted in the transportation of about 5 million passengers since then.

With this digital reinvention, Treepz doubles down on transforming corporate mobility through tech-driven solutions. The company welcomes businesses seeking smarter ways to move their people to explore the new website www.treepz.com.


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Nigerian Business Leaders Partner Google for Strategic Advantage, Seeks Competitive Edge in Privacy-First Era

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Leading companies from Nigeria joined Google West Africa at a roundtable to discuss the shift towards privacy-first marketing as third-party cookies are phased out. The forum brought together leaders from FairMoney, Konga, Mondelez, Stanbic IBTC, and Zenith Bank, highlighting a collective commitment to redefining consumer engagement in the digital age.

Businesses recognize that building consumer trust is essential in a world that increasingly values privacy. In this new era, adapting marketing strategies to be more privacy-focused is not just a necessity but a strategic move towards building sustainable customer relations. This transition challenges businesses to innovate while maintaining transparency and respect for consumer data privacy, turning potential constraints into avenues for deeper consumer engagement.

“Customer trust is the new currency,” noted Felicia Otolorin, Senior Industry Lead, West Africa, Google. “Consumers are demanding more control over their data, and the savviest businesses are seeing this shift as an opportunity. This is about reimagining how we engage with technology and data, ensuring that innovation and privacy go hand-in-hand.”

The discussions emphasised this point, highlighting the competitive advantage of adopting privacy-first strategies. Google showcased innovative solutions like Google Tag and Enhanced Conversions. These tools demonstrate a commitment to both high performance and privacy standards. Success stories illustrated how other businesses have successfully navigated this shift, offering valuable insights.

“We stand at a crucial juncture,” remarked Oluwadamilare Akinwunmi, Chief Data & AI Officer at Interswitch. “The winners of tomorrow will be those enterprises that strike a balance between innovative, data-driven marketing and a profound commitment to data protection and privacy-first practices. The essential dialogues we engage in, and the subsequent actions we take, set us on the path to achieve precisely this”

The roundtable underscores a pivotal shift towards privacy-first strategies in Nigeria’s digital marketing sphere, emphasising the critical role of collaboration and innovation in this transition. It marks a collective stride towards a future where consumer trust and data privacy form the cornerstone of business growth and competitive advantage.

“We are committed to empowering Nigerian brands in building a privacy-forward future. By harnessing AI and privacy-centric technologies, we aim to empower our partners to thrive amidst these changes,” stated Felicia Otolorin, Senior Industry Lead, West Africa, Google.


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MTN Nigeria, PAU Open Applications for 3rd Edition of MTN Media Innovation Programme

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MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and the School of Media & Communications, Pan-Atlantic University have announced call for applications from qualified media practitioners to participate in the 3rd edition of the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MTN MIP-3), which will commence on May 20, 2024, at the Main Campus of the Pan-Atlantic University, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. 

MTN Nigeria in collaboration with the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, launched the Media Innovation Programme (MTN MIP) in 2022 to enable media practitioners gain deeper insight into the ever-evolving media landscape.

The six-month, fully-funded certificate fellowship, which includes a study visit to the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and an innovation hub to incubate ideas, is open to media practitioners across all strata of the media industry including the print, electronic and online platforms. The programme is also open to social media content creators.

Speaking on the impact of the programme, Tobechukwu Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services & Sustainability Officer, MTN Nigeria said: “The media play a crucial role in shaping the society. It is important that they are enabled with tools and opportunities to do their jobs better as this ultimately benefits the society.

“Our commitment is to continue to empower media practitioners, regardless of platforms, to be able to innovate and create technological-driven solutions to our world. This is what the MTN Media Innovation Programme seeks to accomplish.”

On his part, the Dean School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Dr Ikechukwu Obiaya, stated that the programme brings into play the wide experience that the School has in the training of media practitioners.

In our various programmes targeted at journalists, we at the School of Media and Communication have always laid a lot of emphasis on the importance of creativity, ethics and professionalism.

“The Media Innovation Programme is one more opportunity to drive home these values but with a new emphasis on innovation.

“Journalism remains as important as ever to the society, and it is driven by the same values, but journalists require a retooling to meet the technological changes and challenges of today.

“This is the role that the Media Innovation Programme aims to play, and we are quite happy to be able to partner with MTN to achieve this goal.”

At the end of the training, the 20 successful applicants will qualify as Fellows for the 2024 cohort. The Fellows would be coached on Nigeria’s technology sector, the relationship between media and technology, and equipped with the skills to adapt to the changing realities that guarantee career and financial success in their professional practice.

Fellows will also have access to professional resources and mentorship from PAU’s erudite faculty.

Interested journalists, bloggers and content creators can apply for the Fellowship at https://smc.edu.ng/mtnmip

Applications open on Friday March 23 and close Wednesday April 10, 2024.


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