News
Nigeria, Others Emerge Highest Mobile Online Reading Population – Report
African mobile users have spent an average of over four million hours reading books on their mobile phones so far in 2018, representing a 32% increase from 2017.
This is according to a survey conducted by Web browser company, Opera Mini, in partnership with global literacy non-profit, Worldreader, in light of World Literacy Day on 8 September.
The research provides insights into the mobile reading habits of almost two million Worldreader app users on the African continent. In addition, Opera Mini ran an online survey of 1 500 women and men aged 14 to 44 from various parts of the Africa continent, to learn more about their Web browsing habits on their mobile phones.
The study reveals that Nigeria, SA and Ivory Coast are the countries with the highest mobile and online reading populations in 2018.
Furthermore, 65% of mobile readers on the continent are men, while 35% are women. The study reveals women in African countries are as tech-savvy as men, when it comes to browsing the Internet using their mobile phones.
“Women are using their browsers as often as men; with the majority of female survey respondents in Kenya and Nigeria (60%) stating they access their mobile browsers more than eight times a day. Furthermore, women tend to spend 11.5 minutes reading on average, while men read 6.5 minutes per session, making women more frequent readers.
“On average, there are more than 414 000 monthly e-book readers across the African continent, with most readers preferring books related to love and romance, especially those that come from local authors and publishers,” it notes.
According to the study, millions of people do not read for one reason: they do not have access to text. However, mobile phones and cellular networks are transforming a scarce literacy resource into an abundant one.
“Mobile technology is significantly advancing literacy and learning in underserved communities around Africa. Affordability of mobile phones together with the data saving technology have been key to the increase in access to free electronic books,” it points out.
Smartphone access
According to Zenith’s Mobile Advertising Forecasts 2017, in 2018 around 66% of individuals in an array of 52 developed and developing countries, including SA, will own a smartphone. This number, according to the report, represents a 63% increase from 2017 and a 58% increase from 2016.
However, the rapid expansion of smartphone ownership across the world is expected to slow down as penetration reaches 80%-90% in the most advanced markets, notes the study.
According to the latest report of Groupe Sp’eciale Mobile Association (GSMA), “The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2018”, at the end of last year, there were more than 444 million unique mobile subscribers and 250 million smartphone users in Sub-Saharan Africa. These numbers represent a big opportunity to bring reading to millions in the region through technology, says GSMA.
“We know that mobile phone affordability and the convenience of owning one are two big reasons why we are seeing more and more people accessing our e-book collection through their mobile devices in Africa,” says Colin McElwee, co-founder of Worldreader.
“Our partnership with Opera Mini is a perfect match. With Opera browser being the number one choice for mobile users across Africa, it provides an incredible opportunity to get people reading.”
GSMA predicts 80% of the 800 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will have a mobile device by 2020, pushed by the growing popularity of over-the-top services and mobile banking.
E-books collaboration
Opera Mini has developed e-books technology that compresses text and images to 10% of their original size, reducing data consumption and the cost of data on a mobile phone and allowing users to spend more time reading and downloading books when using Worldreader.
The partnership between Opera and Worldreader started in 2015 with the aim of bringing free e-books to millions of mobile users in Africa through Opera Mini’s affordable mobile browser.
“We are very happy to contribute to literacy in Africa with our Opera Mini browser as we give mobile users access to Worldreader’s vast library of great books,” says Jan Standal, VP of product marketing and communications at Opera.
“Since we started this partnership, we have added more than nine million new readers in Africa who now enjoy books from different genres such as romance, adventure and education, among others.”
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Participants at the event
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Jim Ovia
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
CBN Licenses Unified Payments as Second Provider for PTSA Services for Nigeria
FG to Fnalise National Intellectual Property Policy Soon– NCC Boss
NITDA, ICF Train 100 Schoolgirls in ICT Skills
See Full List of Fake Loan Apps Blacklisted By CBN
CBN Sacks another 50 Staff, 117 Disengaged in 20 Days
AfDB, AGF Partner on Female Entrepreneurs’ Access to Finance
Nigeria Plans AI Strategy Workshop for National Development
IMF says Rising Cyber Threats Pose Serious Concerns for Financial Stability
Telecom3 days agoWorld Earth Day: Kuda Partners with Wecyclers to Clean up Communities in Lagos
Telecom3 days agoAirtel Boosts NIPR Public Relations Week with Onsite Unlimited Data Connection
News3 days agoUK Pledges €1Bn to Fight against Malaria in Nigeria
Broadcasting3 days agoNCC Seeks Media Collaboration on Copyright Infringement
Broadcasting3 days agoFCCPC to Review Multichoice’s Tariff Hike
Editorial3 days agoTelcos Ask NCC to Allow Them Hike Tariff
News2 days agoLegit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
News2 days agoPresident Tinubu Appoints Jim Ovia as Student Loan Fund Chairman