Connect with us

E-Business

Obi, Ex-Gov Anambra State Says TD is Company to Trust

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Peter Obi, business magnate and former Governor of Anambra State, has hailed Technology Distributions Ltd. (TD Africa) as an organization built on integrity and sound credentials.

Obi, Ex-Gov Anambra State Says TD is Company to Trust

Peter Obi

He stated this while speaking at Celebrating You 2019, an annual year-end dinner/awards party organized by Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest ICT products distributors, TD.

The event, arguably the most eagerly-awaited celebratory event in the Nigerian ICT ecosystem, was held on Sunday December 8th 2019 at the prestigious Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

On an annual basis, Celebrating You focuses on sharing deep insights with attendees on diverse areas of the economy. The 2019 edition was not different as Obi proved a fitting resource person who drew from his personal experiences in addressing guests.

‘‘I must mention that I have a special relationship with TD which is based on performance. It is a company that you can rely on. I remember many years ago while I was still in office at exactly 1am when I called Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh to say I wanted to buy 30,000 laptops. I still recall his response till today. He told me that he does not do business with state governments and that even if he wanted to, he does not think the Anambra State Government could afford to pay for the 30,000 laptops without credit.

‘‘I assured him that the laptops would all be paid for which we did upfront without collecting a bank guarantee. And they were supplied by TD and all of them deployed to specifications down to the very last one. I must confess, the execution beat our expectations. Today, the feat achieved by the Regina Pacis school girls who shocked the world at Silicon Valley, USA in 2018 can be attributed to this effort by TD and the Zinox Chairman. Though we paid for the equipment but TD added huge value and Anambra is better for it till date.  Also, Anambra State has continued to emerge tops in school knowledge tests and examinations conducted over the past couple of years. The investment in technology and TD’s contribution played a key role in making this happen,’’ he said.

Obi, who was the Special Guest of Honour and who was wearing the cap of entrepreneur at the event, further described TD’s place in the Nigerian ICT distribution landscape as very essential to the current developments and gains recorded in the sector. Further, he urged budding entrepreneurs and small business owners to borrow a leaf from TD’s remarkable consistency, track record of delivery and integrity which has seen it all the way to the top.

Also speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), TD Africa, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh identified tenacity as the enduring attribute that has kept the organization at the top of its game over the past 20 years.

‘‘This quality, more than anything else, sets TD apart and makes us different. We keep our promises,’’ she said.

Further, she heaped praises on the entire Management and staff of TD, whom she described as the lifeblood of the company, even as she expressed deep gratitude to the special guests and other attendees for honouring the invitation.

The Zinox Group Chairman, Ekeh who extended best wishes of the season to all, also assured younger entrepreneurs that there seems to be light at the end of tunnel with the rebranding of the Ministry of Communications to Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy by President Muhammadu Buhari and with a tested hand as the Minister.

‘‘The new addition resonates confidence and assures certified future for smart entrepreneurs,’’ he enthused.

Meanwhile, the event witnessed the presentation of awards to deserving Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and other channel partners. Top winners on the night include Dell-EMC, Huawei, Konga, Edgebase Line Ltd. Allied Computers, HPI, among others. The event also witnessed top-notch performances from A-list artistes including Kizz Daniel, Flavour, comedian SLK and Okey Bakassi who doubled as the MC/compere.

Equally important, Celebrating You remains arguably the only one which brings together the major competing local and international Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and other stakeholders in the industry under one roof, albeit in a fun and relaxing atmosphere.

In attendance was a host of knowledge-driven resource persons including former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Ibidapo Obe; Chairman TDBoard of Directors, Prof Anya O. Anya; former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ernest Ebi; Group Deputy Managing Director, Access Bank, Roosevelt Ogbonna; among many others.

 

 

 


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

E-Business

StarNews, Global Black Economic Forum Launch Business Competition In Partnership with MTN & USAID

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Africa’s leading video streaming platform, StarNews Mobile and the Global Black Economic Forum (GBEF), have announced a call for applications for the launch of their Business Competition in Lagos, Nigeria.

Held in partnership with MTN and United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID), the initiative will empower Nigeria’s most promising businesses that are classified as Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with invaluable investment and partnership opportunities from the USA.

Held over 10 weeks between April 8th to June 14th, hosted exclusively on the StarNews Biz Channel on the StarNews platform, this competition offers a platform for emerging entrepreneurs to showcase their ventures and gain national visibility.

With subscribers voting for their favourite candidates, the top 20 contestants will seize the spotlight and make their mark on the business landscape.

The StarNews Business Competition in partnership with GBEF delivers a unique opportunity for thriving Nigerian SMEs to access mentoring, funding, partnerships and socio-economic development tools through the Global Black Economic Forum.

With the prospect of securing cash prizes through StarNews worth up to NGN5,000,000, getting access to StarNews’s network of investors and the opportunity to gain national visibility by having their business on the StarNews web platform.

The top three winners will also receive coaching from GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence and become part of GBEF’s ecosystem of global leaders committed to social and economic justice across the Black Diaspora.

Previous speakers at GBEF convenings from the entertainment sector include Wyclef Jean (Haitian Musician & Activist), Debra Lee (Former CEO of Black Entertainment Television – BET) and Ceci Kurzman (Founder of Nexus Management Group). Applications will close on April 5th 2024.

Speaking on the competition’s launch, Guy Kamgaing, Founder and CEO at StarNews Mobile, says “The StarNews Business Competition is a passion project close to our hearts at StarNews Mobile.

It’s about discovering the most promising business entrepreneurs and creators in Nigeria, opening up global opportunities for them and providing them with the resources and tools to achieve their goals.

By partnering with MTN, USAID and GBEF, we want to be a platform of empowerment for these SMEs by helping them give back to the communities that are supporting them.”

According to the US Embassy and Consulate for Nigeria, over 80% of Nigerian startups are incorporated in the United States and more than 60% of venture capital funding in Nigerian startups accounted for by the US.

In 2023 alone, Nigerian startups raised a total of $398mn however, this signalled a 66% funding decline compared to 2022 due to the global economic downturn, reinforcing the massive need for a fresh injection of capital and business support for Nigeria’s emerging SMEs.

Alphonso David, President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum notes that, “Our partnership with StarNews Mobile is a critical resource as we continue to build the collective strength of entrepreneurship across the Diaspora.

“Building a sustainable ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs in the United States and across the African continent is essential to create a future that makes economic opportunity and economic freedom a reality for all.”

A sister company to ESSENCE, GBEF advances its work by convening global summits and conferences, bringing together world leaders, business leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities and civic leaders to address the most challenging problems facing our communities.

GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence facilitates workforce and leadership development strategy, addressing the talent pipeline & employee lifecycle, providing leadership development & coaching, and conducting institutional assessments & research.

GBEF also develops and implements economic and social justice policy recommendations with partners ranging from civil and human rights organisations to government entities and corporations that advocate for economic opportunity, social justice, and health equity through thought leadership, advocacy and litigation.

Launched in 2017, StarNews Mobile empowers African content creators with the unique opportunity to monetize their work through a subscription model, boasting over 4 million subscribers and a thriving community of more than 120 content creators.

With a strong presence across six countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, Congo, Benin and Ghana, the platform has also established key partnerships with major telecom operators such as MTN and Orange.

To-date, StarNews Mobile has secured over $8mn in funding with its most recent raise – a $3mn pre-Series A funding round in October 2023 – led by Janngo Capital with participation from French football players Aurélien Tchouaméni, Jules Koundé and Mike Maignan.

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

Companies Invest More than $100,000 Yearly to Upskill their Cybersecurity Teams – Study Reveals

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Over 70% of businesses pay more than USD $100,000 for additional training annually to keep skills of their cybersecurity employees up to date, a recent global Kaspersky study has revealed.

However, the surveyed companies also highlighted that there was a lack of relevant courses covering new challenging spheres in the educational market and stated that training does not always bring them the expected result.

In its recent study ‘The portrait of the modern Information Security professional’, Kaspersky examined the topic of the global cybersecurity staff shortage, analysing the exact reasons businesses lack cybersecurity experts, and identifying the ways they evaluate and upskill their cybersecurity workforce¹.

According to the research, companies are investing significant amounts in upskilling their cybersecurity teams: 43% of organisations globally say they usually spend between $100,000 and $200,000 per year on information security courses, while 31% even invest over $200,000 for training programs. The remaining 26% state they usually pay less than $100,000 for educational initiatives².

However, cybersecurity practitioners also note that the educational market is struggling to keep up with the rapidly changing industry and fail to deliver the necessary training programs on time.

Survey results for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa (META) region shows that the scarcity of courses covering new challenging spheres (48%) was the main problem for those searching for cybersecurity training.

50% of respondents from the META region also stated that trainees tend to forget what they learned because they had no opportunity to apply newly acquired knowledge, therefore the courses were useless to them.

The need for special training pre-requisites such as coding and advanced mathematics, which were not specified at the pre-registration stage were also problematic for 37% of practitioners from the META region.

“With a constantly evolving threat landscape, businesses should continually improve the skills of their cybersecurity personnel in order to be well prepared for sophisticated cyberattacks.

“Developing high-profile specialists within the company and building internal expertise can be an effective strategy for organisations that aim to retain existing employees and allow them to grow professionally, instead of constantly hunting for new candidates and checking their professional backgrounds and practical skills.

“For organisations served by Managed Service Providers it is also important to maintain a pretty high level of expertise internally and use the same language when discussing the scope of services and Service Level Agreement with them,” comments Veniamin Levtsov, VP, Center of Corporate Business Expertise at Kaspersky.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

Heirs Insurance Launches User-friendly Website for Stakeholders

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Heirs Insurance Group, Nigeria’s fastest growing insurance group, has launched a new website that delivers the most user-friendly insurance experience in the industry.

Heirs Insurance Launches User-friendly Website for Stakeholders

In addition to its features that aid simple navigation, the website also personalizes the insurance experience taking customers through a short journey that enables them to make decisions quickly on the best insurance plan to support their personal and business success, or access competent insurance advisors to speak with.

According to Ifesinachi Okpagu, chief marketing officer, Heirs Insurance Group, the website, www.heirs insurance group.com, embodies the ethos of the brand: the delivery of simple, quick, and accessible insurance service that delights customers and brings the uninsured much closer to taking up insurance plans.

She said: “Today’s customers want simplicity and this new website delivers on that request, ensuring that people find the right insurance solutionsfor their needs in a few minutes. We are empowering customers to take control of their lives, their businesses, assets, and their most cherished people.” Heirs Insurance Group has been at the forefront of pioneering a new era of insurance solutions since its launch with the roll-out of various initiatives including a seamless mobile app, USSD; Prince, its intuitive chatbot; InConnect, its partnership portal Digital Experience Centre; and more. With the launch of this website, Heirs Insurance Group solidifies its position as the leading digital insurance company in Nigeria, democratising access to insurance for all.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending