Connect with us

General News

Zoho Announces New Office, Expansion Plans for Africa

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Zoho, the global technology company offering the most extensive suite of business software in the industry, today announced the opening of its South African office in Cape Town. The office is the company’s flagship office in Africa.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the company’s annual user conference, Zoholics: South Africa.

Zoho is also conducting an upskilling programme with UCT Developer Society under which students can get certification for popular Zoho apps such as Zoho Creator, a low-code development platform and Zoho CRM, the company’s Customer Relationship Management software.

Zoho’s new Cape Town office has a training facility that can cater for up to 40 students per course for this programme.

“Zoho strongly believes in its growth being closely tied with the growth and development of the broader community that it serves, a strategy that we refer to as ‘transnational localism’. As part of this vision, we’re focused on contributing to the creation of self-sufficient economic clusters across the world.

“Our new Cape Town office adds to this effort and will help us effectively scale our ongoing initiatives in South Africa such as local hiring and upskilling, and also be closer to our customers.

“We build from experience, and having already conducted successful skill-building programmes in other countries like India and UAE, we’re looking forward to growing these initiatives in South Africa, especially because there is tremendous youth potential here,” said Hyther Nizam, President, MEA at Zoho Corp.

Zoho, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has had a presence in South Africa since 2019 when it hosted its first Zoholics. In 2020, the company grew by more than 50% in the region in revenue.

As part of Zoho’s commitment to the country and its transnational localism efforts, aside from the new office in Cape Town, Zoho will continue to hire more local talent, forge long-standing partnerships, invest in local business communities, adopt local culture in its business operations, and support regional economic development initiatives.

In August 2021, Zoho had announced partnership with Entrepreneur’s Organization to accelerate digital transformation of businesses associated with EO.

“We are looking to work closely with more local technology solution providers in order to grow the number of re-sellers and implementation partners in the country, while also hiring for customer-facing roles in order to service the high demand for Zoho’s products in the country.

“We are also looking out for partners for scaling our skill-building initiatives. South Africa is Zoho’s key market in Africa, and we will continue to invest in the country,” said Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager for Africa at Zoho Corp.


Kindly share this post

Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

General News

Fortune Global Shipping Aims to Transform Nigeria’s Business Landscape

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Fortune Global Shipping and Logistics Limited is set to transform the business landscape of the logistics industry through services in oil and gas logistics, project cargo and lots more.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dr. Eric Opah, in a statement said the organisation is expanding into more regions across the globe with its latest addition of a corporate office in Benin Republic, while the Abuja and Lekki free trade zones which follow soon will be part of asset acquisition to serve the clients better.

In the statement tagged, “Plans for 2025: Global Business Expansion, Exciting Benefits for Customers Top the List,” Opah said he remains committed to upholding and promoting global standards and will stop at nothing in providing value added services to support clients and help them thrive this year.

He said: “The organisation is expanding into more regions across the globe with its latest addition of a corporate office in Benin Republic, while the Abuja and Lekki free trade zones which follow soon will be part of asset acquisition to serve the clients better.

“Much more, the number one Africa logistics partner has reiterated the commitment to provide innovative and ‘value-centric’ services in oil and gas logistics, project cargo and lots more.

“We remain committed to upholding and promoting global standards and will stop at nothing in providing value added services to support our clients and help them thrive this year.”


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

General News

Investing in Innovation Africa Shifts Focus to Growth-stage Startups in Response to US Aid “stop-work” Directive

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative for startups building the future of healthcare supply chains, has made a pivotal change to its third cohort selection to prioritize the immediate support for between five and seven growth-stage companies building the future of pharmacy care in Africa.

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and sponsored by MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics, i3 is dedicated to facilitating the commercialization of promising early- and growth-stage companies.

Selected startups receive introductions to leading potential customers in industry, donor agencies and governments, grant funding, and tailored investment readiness support from leading accelerators Villgro Africa, IMPACT Lab, Startupbootcamp Afritech, and CcHUB.

This comes in response to the United States (US) State Department’s “stop-work” directive for foreign aid issued on January 25, which is anticipated to impact the distribution of essential medicine in Africa’s healthcare supply chains.

The order highlights and intensifies the need for locally-driven, market-creating approaches to health product distribution and service delivery across Africa.

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

General News

Fidelity Bank to Launch Dedicated SME Hub for Small Businesses and Creative Entrepreneurs

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Fidelity Bank, a leading financial institution, has announced the imminent launch of its dedicated physical facility for Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SME) and entrepreneurs in the creative sector.

Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc

Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc

Known as the Fidelity SME Hub, the multipurpose facility features training halls, meeting rooms, networking spaces, podcast rooms as well as music, photography and content production studios.

“For nearly four decades, Fidelity Bank has been at the forefront of supporting small businesses in achieving their potential and driving the nation’s economy. During this time, we have recognized that SMEs require more than just financial assistance. This realization has led to the implementation of various non-financial initiatives tailored to support this sector.

“The Fidelity SME Hub is our latest non-financial solution for SME growth. The facility is designed to foster innovation, collaboration, and capacity-building -vital elements necessary for strengthening Nigeria’s SME ecosystem and driving economic growth”, commented Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc in a chat with journalists recently.

Located at the heart of Lagos, the Fidelity SME Hub will provide entrepreneurs with networking and stakeholder engagement initiatives as well as access to industry experts and mentors for hands-on guidance and business advice. A key feature of the facility is the Creativerse, a well-equipped space for entrepreneurs in the creative industry.

The bank has also announced the launch of dedicated courses to be hosted at the SME Hub in areas such as Financial Management & Investment Readiness, Digital Transformation & Technology Adoption, Marketing, Branding, and Business Growth Strategies. Furthermore, a fully-fledged creative academy will be established to cover courses on Music Production, the Business of Music, Website Design & Development, Mobile Videography, Disc Jockey and Photography. To see a comprehensive list of available courses or to apply, please visit https://www.fidelitybank.ng/smehub/.

Explaining further, Onyeali-Ikpe said, “Beyond empowering small businesses, the Fidelity SME Hub will also serve to bolster our non-oil exports drive as we empower SMEs to increase their contribution to Nigeria’s non-oil GDP thus supporting government’s economic diversification drive. Through our investment in Creativerse in particular, we anticipate that content creators will unlock new revenue streams in entertainment, digital media, and arts, an industry already contributing 2.3% to GDP.”

Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank serving over 8.5 million customers through its 255 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, as well as through digital banking channels.

The bank has garnered multiple local and international awards, including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023, and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards. It was also recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023 and the Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending