BrandArena : September 2014

Saturday, 27 September 2014

UEFA confirms Liverpool probe over possible financial fair play breaches

UEFA has announced it has opened a formal investigation into Liverpool and six other European clubs for possible financial fair play breaches.

Anfield Stadium

Monaco, Roma, Besiktas, Inter Milan, Krasnodar and Sporting Lisbon are the other clubs under investigation.

The clubs have recently submitted their accounts to UEFA and are due to be asked to provide further information on their finances as the governing body dictates that losses must be restricted to £35.4million over a two-year window.

Liverpool reported losses of £49.8m for the 2012-13 season, and £40.5m for the 10-month period before that.

A statement from UEFA read: “The clubs disclosed a break-even deficit on the basis of their financial reporting periods ending in 2012 and 2013.

West Africans Shine at 2014 Anzisha Prize Gala Awards

Alain Nteff (Cameroon), founder of Gifted Mom was announced as the grand prize winner of the 4th annual Anzisha Prize Award, receiving a $25,000 cash prize to support his social business. He leads a rising tide of West African youth entrepreneurs.

Cross section of the awardees

Schoolbag manufacturer Thato Kgatlhanye (South Africa) was first runner up, with second runner up going to 17-year-old farmer Gabriel Kombassere (Ivory Coast). They received cash prizes of $15,000 and $12,500 respectively to catalyze their venture growth.

18-year-old Tom Osborn from Kenya received a special $10,000 energy prize award from Donors Circle for Africa, for his eco-fuel venture, Greenchar. This year’s awards were judged by respected entrepreneurs Wendy Luhabe (South Africa), Khanyi Dhlomo (South Africa), Willy Mukiny Yav (DRC), Wanjiru Waithaka (Kenya) and Mohamed Nanabhay (South Africa).

The 2014 Anzisha Finalists were honored at a prestigious ceremony last night at the Focus Rooms in Sunninghill, Johannesburg. The keynote speaker was Divine Ndhlukula, founder and Managing Director of Securico, one of Zimbabwe’s largest security companies.

MDA 8: Which Family Wears the Crown Today?

The stage is now set for the epic dance battle that will showcase Nigeria’s best dance family as the curtains fall on the Maltina Dance All(MDA) family television show today. The winning dance family will go home with N10million, while the second and third will pocket N3million and N1million respectively.

Unanka Family with the co-host of the show Laffup

The fate of the families is however in the hands of Nigerians as they - and not the judges – are the ones that would eventually pick the winning family. They can do this by sending their preferred family name through their phones to 20822. The family with the highest number of votes automatically becomes the country’s number one dance family.

The MDA,a consumer engagement platform is sponsored by Maltina, a premium non-alcoholic malt brand from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc. After a rigorous, intensive and competitive process spanning more than two months, four families - the Utere, Unanka, Uzodinma and Odigie families - qualified for the grand finale taking place live at The Expo center, Eko Hotel and Suites.

The race started on September 7, 2014 with ten families in the picture; Six families were unable to survive the various dance styles that were introduced in the MDA Academy: the “Wazobia” (indigenous Nigerian dances), Jive, New Age Dance, Rhythm of Naija, Pantomime and Hip-hop.

Konga.com, Nigeria's largest online mall now features GTPay internet bank transfer!

Konga.com recently integrated on its platform a new GTPay Payment method - the GTBank Internet Bank Transfer. This was done in a bid to make shopping easier by providing a new convenient channel to make payments online. Customers on Konga can now pay for their goods through GTBank Internet Banking, in addition to the ATM/ Debit Card option.

With GTPay, you can now login to your GTBank Internet Banking portal when checking out on Konga.com and make secure transfers from your GTBank account directly to Konga.com with ease!

GTBank Internet Banking provides a secure and convenient alternative payment channel for all Konga customers. It also promotes cashless transactions and provides instant value for successful transactions.

Do you have any questions about the new payment channel? Contact Konga’s Customer Experience Team at help@konga.com. Do have an amazing shopping experience on Konga.com!

AIESEC Reaffirms Social Entrepreneurship as tool for economic development

Social entrepreneurship has been described as the veritable tools to building community and self-reliance as well as creating vehicle for organizations to meet community needs in a financially sustainable way. This was a major discourse at the 30th edition of the Omolayole Management Lecture series organized by AIESEC recently.

Speaking at the event, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Seni Adetu who was the guest speaker “social enterprises help create a vibrant and diverse economy with more opportunities for people of all abilities and backgrounds. All nations must be able to work with social enterprises through private investors to address the social, environmental, cultural and economic challenges no government can solve alone”

Adetu made mental note of several incidents that have helped him in his career panning from changing the look and feel of his brands to creating enormous result for the organization. He further explained “The essence of social entrepreneurship has unfortunately largely been misunderstood in the past. At its heart it is an approach to social and environmental problems, which combines innovation and opportunity just the way any entrepreneur would. The difference is that the primary purpose is not profit maximization for shareholders but using revenues generated to drive transformational social change. Put very simply, I see it as what you get when you combine Richard Branson and Mother Teresa.”

“However, I realized that to drive change in the nation, the key is to educate future business leaders, and which informed my coming here today. Everyone must stand up to contribute to making Nigeria a better place which is not an exclusive right of the government but everybody, hence the need for us to take social entrepreneurship serious. He added

Maltina Dance All Contestants Visit NB Lagos Brewery

As the momentum in the ongoing Maltina Dance All 8 continues to gather steam, the contestants took out time from their busy dance schedules and practice routines to visit the Lagos Brewery of Nigerian Breweries Plc to see first-hand how Maltina, Nigeria’s number one nourishing malt drink is brewed.

After fulfilling all the necessary safety procedures, they were ushered into the brewery and taken through the brewing process by the brewery Quality Manager, Mr. Ajileye Olufemi who described the visit as essential and timely added thatMaltina is enriched with vitamins A, B, B2, B3, B5, B6, C and calcium which positions it as a drink that delivers superior nourishment and vitality. The raw materials used in the brewing process are limited to just the finest quality hops, water and adjunct (malted sorghum, raw sorghum and maize grist).

According to him, Maltina is beneficial to the body in many ways. To this end, it “provides extra nourishment to build, protect and rehabilitate the body system. It gives firm support to the bones and teeth and makes them strong due to the presence of calcium. It is the only malt drink in the market that is fortified with calcium”

The Packaging Manager, Mr. Nduka Nnabuihe, explained that the process involved in packaging Maltina into finished form is totally automated and complies with international quality assurance standard.

Nigeria’s fastest growing and most innovative telecommunications company, Etisalat, lived up to its billing at the 10th Nigerian Telecoms Awards last weekend, by claiming two prestigious awards for ”Best Brand Campaign” and “Youth Empowerment Telecom Operator of the Year.” The icing on the cake was the “Telecom Entrepreneur of the Year”, won by the Chairman, Etisalat Nigeria, Hakeem Bello-Osagie.

Public Relations Manager, Etisalat Nigeria, Chineze Amanfo, described the awards as a clear confirmation of Etisalat’s commitment to innovation and corporate excellence.

“Since our entry into the Nigerian market in 2008, we have continuously delivered e top quality products and services promised to our customers. Our subscriber base in this highly competitive industry now exceeds 19 million,” Amanfo said.

She further explained that creativity is important in almost every decision taken at the organization. “At Etisalat we believe in doing things differently and we are proud of it. We are driven by a desire to add value to the lives of our customers and to build a reliable network” she said.

Olamide, Iyanya, Patoranking, Elenu And More Storm Unilag For Coke Studio Africa Concert

Coca-Cola’s youth-centric music platform, Coke Studio, is set to storm the University of Lagos, Akoka, on Friday October 3, 2014, with electrifying performances from top acts like Olamide and Iyanya who would headline the event alongside trending vocalist Tekno, Emma Nyra and dancehall maestro Patoranking.

According to the Brand Manager, Colas, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Olufemi Ashipa, the Coke Studio concert will continue to excite campus communities across Nigeria with live music from established music stars, who would perform alongside upcoming and aspiring local artistes at each campus where the music platform visits.

“The huge turnout by fans and the rave reviews for the Coke Studio outings at the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), the University of Benin and the Abia State University are indicative of the high level of consumer engagement which Coke Studio enjoys across the country.” Ashipa said.

He also added that Coca-Cola would continue to connect the very best artistes from across Africa to create new sounds through a fusion of genres, styles, and songs.

Adedeji Ademigbuji, senior correspondent at The Nation newspaper (Nigeria) and Tracy Garner, Global Anti-counterfeiting Manager at Schneider Electric

Winners of the first Media Awards on Electrical Counterfeiting in Africa on Thursday received their awards during a special ceremony held in Grenoble (France) in the presence of Mrs Tracy Garner, Global Anti-counterfeiting Manager at Schneider Electric.

The Media Awards on Electrical Counterfeiting in Africa was established by Schneider Electric (http://www.schneider-electric.com), the global specialist in energy management. It recognises African journalists who publish or broadcast outstanding investigative reports on issues relating to electrical counterfeiting in Africa.

The first Media Awards on Electrical Counterfeiting in Africa was won by Adedeji Ademigbuji, senior correspondent at The Nation newspaper (Nigeria), for his piece entitled “Checking the menace of fake electrical products” and by Birame Faye, reporter at Le Quotidien newspaper in Senegal, for his piece entitled “Electricité – Usage des produits contrefaits : De l’insécurité dans notre confort domestique”.

“Schneider Electric is extremely proud to award the very first Media Awards on Electrical Counterfeiting in Africa. I would like to express my warmest congratulations to these two very talented journalists,” said Tracy Garner, Global Anti-counterfeiting Manager at Schneider Electric.

Online marketplace Kaymu has won the “Department Store” award of commendation at the Online Retail Awards which was held recently in London.

Managing Director of Kaymu Nigeria, Evangeline Wiles stated, “Kaymu is made up of a hardworking and driven team and it’s rewarding for our efforts to be recognized”.

The Online Retail Awards are independent business awards that celebrate the best online retailers of any size anywhere in the world. Former winners at these awards include top brands such as Virgin Atlantic, Debenhams, Barclays Pingit and Vodafone UK.

Elias Schulze, CEO for Kaymu Africa, is thrilled to win this award: “It’s great that an African company is recognised by the industry. We have worked hard to grow fast in multiple emerging markets and we’re proud to share this award with our fantastic team.”

Kaymu was also nominated in the “Small Size Online Retailer of the Year” category.

GE Foundation supports fight against Ebola with $2m

West African Countries presently battling with the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) may now heave a sigh of relief as the Global infrastructure giant, GE Foundation announced a whopping sum of $2 million donation to strengthen the fight against the disease.

Jay Ireland, President & CEO, GE Africa, who made the announcement at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York, USA; said the donation will help launch an effective coalition, led by Partners in Health and Last Mile Health against Ebola in the affected countries.

In conjunction with the Liberian and Sierra Leonean Ministries of Health, Ireland disclosed that the coalition will execute the project in four rural counties/districts of Grand Gedeh, Rivercess and Nimba in Liberia as well as Kono District in Sierra Leone.

His words: “GE is proud to support the Coalition with Partners in Health to scale – up Ebola response efforts and rebuild rural primary health systems in West Africa. Fighting Ebola requires a comprehensive strategy – from Ebola treatment in hospitals to revitalizing primary health care and community-based services – that could transform how the world responds to epidemics and rebuilds public health systems.”

Online Businesses Fueling Nigerian Economy

The Managing Director of Africa’s largest online hotel booking platform Jovago, Marek Zmyslowski, at the ongoing 3rd EU-Nigeria Business Forum has stated that online businesses have contributed to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

In a statement made on a panel discussing private sector contribution to Nigeria's growth at the EU - Nigeria Business Forum held yesterday, Marek Zmyslowski stated that with the influx of online businesses in Nigeria, the economy has seen a significant boom. Zmyslowski was on the panel with the Deputy Minister of Economy, Poland, Andrzej Dycha; UK Trade Envoy to Nigeria, David Heath MP; Head of EU Delegation to Nigeria, Ambassador Michael Arrion; Regional Director, Peugeot Nigeria, Eric Maydieu; CEO, National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN), Chika Mordi; World Bank Lead Economist, John Litwack; Director, Orleans Invest, Simone Volpi and a representative of the Hon. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga all of whom held varying opinions on the position of the Nigerian economy and what it stands to gain from executing the proposed free trade agreement.

As Zmyslowski noted, “Agriculture and Oil used to be the leading sources of the Nigerian economy, but with the rebased GDP it was shown that these two industries together only account for 37.9% of the Nigerian economy. A bigger percentage of 51% was allocated to services of which online businesses like Jovago.com play a big part of.” He went on to say that “the rebasing of the GDP merely reinforced the fact that Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, a fact which has been long evident from Nigeria’s booming economy”

This EU-Nigeria Business Forum, which is the 3rd one that has been in held in Nigeria so far, is set to showcase European trade in Nigeria and discuss possible business growth for Nigeria. The EU-Nigeria Business Forum is being organised by the EU delegation to Nigeria, a number of EU Member States and the Nigerian government. The forum is expected to bring together, policy makers and business representatives with the aim to boost trade relations between Europe and Nigeria.

Consumers Now Able to Use MasterCard-Branded Cards at Ecobank Subsidiaries in 28 African Countries

Patrick Akinwuntan and Daniel Monehin shake hands

Ecobank Transnational Inc. (“Ecobank”) and MasterCard have announced that consumers can now use their MasterCard prepaid, debit and credit cards at Ecobank’s ATMs and Point of Sale terminals in 28 African countries, significantly boosting card acceptance on the continent.

A culmination of the multi-country licensing agreement signed by MasterCard and Ecobank in January 2014, this initiative gives MasterCard cardholders access to more than 2,500 ATMs and allows them to pay for goods and services in over 20,000 shops, hotels, restaurants and other outlets across Africa.

“Expanding MasterCard’s acceptance in 28 countries across Ecobank’s network is a significant milestone for us as we work together to accelerate the adoption of electronic payments and create a cashless society in Africa,” says Daniel Monehin, Division President, Sub-Saharan Africa, MasterCard. “Through this partnership, we have combined MasterCard's global payment technology with Ecobank’s unrivalled pan-African footprint to give our cardholders more convenient, secure and reliable ways to pay.”

Ecobank subsidiaries now accept MasterCard-branded cards in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Hungarian Olympic Committee (HOC) has backed the idea of Budapest bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, HOC President Zsolt Borkai said.

Borkai Thursday said he thought bidding for the Games was realistic. Since Hungary, and more specifically, his own hometown of Gyor, will be hosting the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2017, reports Xinhua.

Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, head of BOM, a nonprofit group of corporations and individuals backing an Olympic bid, said that while a bid for the 2028 Games would be "realistic," the possibility of trying for 2024 "would not be surprising." Formal bidding for the 2024 Olympics will begin in 2015.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will choose the venue for the 2024 Games in 2017. As of now, four cities in the US - Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington DC - as well as two German cities - Berlin and Hamburg - are vying for the hosting rights, while Rome and Istanbul are also expected to bid.

The 2016 Olympic Games will be in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 edition in Tokyo.

Magna Carta marks 20 Years of managing Africa’s Blue Chip Clients

Magna Carta has marked its twentieth year by celebrating its evolution from a traditional public relations firm to a truly global African reputation management consultancy, highlighting the firm’s ongoing commitment to evolve along with the rapidly changing media and information landscape.

Since its birth in 1994, the year of South Africa’s first democratic elections, the Johannesburg-based company has grown into one of Africa’s most recognised reputation management consultancy offering the full spectrum of new media positioning solutions. Its long-term client base includes the likes of Standard Bank, Engen, Deloitte, Oxford University Press, Samsung, Syngenta, Emirates Airlines, Starwood, Medscheme, Bonitas, Vedanta and Eskom as well as a rapidly expanding portfolio of new business opportunities.

“In acknowledging the enormous success that Magna Carta has enjoyed over the last 20 years of managing the reputations of Africa’s top companies we now have to confront ourselves with where we go next,” Vincent Magwenya, CEO of Magna Carta said at the side-lines of the consultancy’s Africa network conference.

“The massive changes that have taken place in the manner news and information is disseminated and consumed, along with ever-evolving regulatory regimes, means that we have to be agile enough to adapt to the threats and opportunities faced by both our clients and ourselves.”

Wembley Stadium in London

England's Wembley stadium will at last stage another major football tournament after it was awarded the final and semi-finals of Euro 2020 in Geneva on Friday.

Munich withdrew from the final stages bid at the last moment making the choice of London and Wembley by UEFA's executive committee unanimous.

The quarter-finals and three group matches will be held in Munich (Germany), Baku (Azerbaijan), Rome (Italy) and St Petersburg (Russia). Danish capital Copenhagen, Bucharest in Romania, Amsterdam, Irish capital Dublin, Spanish city Bilbao, Hungarian capital Budapest, Brussels and Glasgow will host three group games each, plus one round of 16 match.

Munich was the only other city apart from London to bid for the finals package, although media reports indicate that Germany’s Football Association will now consider a bid to host the entire 2024 tournament.

Uefa’s president, Michel Platini, confirmed that Wembley had been unanimously awarded the so-called “finals package” after the German Football Association, the only rival bid, said it was more interested in hosting Euro 2024 in its entirety and in effect withdrew.

ICOC Football Tourney Kicks Off October 4

The 11th edition of International Church of Christ (ICOC) Football tournament is set to kick off on Saturday, October 4th, 2014 at the National Institute of Sports Training Ground, National Stadium Surulere, Lagos.

The announcement was made by the local organizing committee (LOC) at a ceremony recently to unveil the Teams and the various Team Jerseys for the tourney. Also announced was the rules and regulations document that will guide the conduct of the competition.

(L-R) Chairman, Local Organizing Committee, Mr. Reuben Mbaka, Secretary General, Mr Abideen Muritala, Elder of the Church, Mr. Israel Ereola, Lead Evangelist, Mr Chris Ogbonaya, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology Ogun State, Hon. Segun Odubela at the unveiling of International Church of Christ (ICOC) 2014 Football Competition Mascot and Jerseys in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the LOC, Reuben Mbaka, revealed that the competition which is in its 11th edition will be on a knock-out basis, with four teams qualifying to play in the semi-finals and final. He added that, 10 men and 10 women teams have registered for the competition, which will see all the regions presenting teams for the event.

According to Mbaka, the matches will hold at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) training ground in which only medically tested and fit players will be allowed to feature in the competition. “We will be looking at the discipline and the general comportment of the players because we believe that sports shape the personality of the individual. So, aside yellow and red cards, any unruly person found in the competition would be issued a black card, which means he will no longer feature in the competition,” said the LOC chairman.

Google, Microsoft, Others to Participate at the 2nd Annual BrowseDotCom “Grassroot” Conference

BrowseDotCom, a web marketing company has announced the date for the second edition of their annual conference, BrowseDotCom Conference 2014.

The theme for this years’ conference is “Creating, Driving and Sustaining Business with Technology”. Over 13 speakers and tech companies will be participating at the conference, which is focused on bringing technology to the grassroots level. The event which will take place on October 4th, 2014 at Ajegunle-Apapa, Lagos, will feature local and international speakers.

Some of the speakers whom will be speaking at the conference include; Gbenga Sesan (Paradigm Initiative Nigeria), Alastair Curtis (Uber), Bayero Agabi (AIT Infotech Network), Riccardo Pasqualotto (2go), Tomi Davies (Lagos Angel Network), Shina Oyetosho (Microsoft), Emeka Afigbo (Google), Oyedokun Oyewole (Institute of Information Management), Ope Banwo (America Internet Business School) , Marek Zmyslowski (Jovago) Celebrity Singer, Benita Okojie and others.

Addressing the press, BrowseDotCom Conference Convener, Olatunde Farinde, noted “We are very pleased to be holding the second edition of our conference and are equally optimistic that it is going to be a great event. The purpose of this event is to create a more positive awareness of, promote and strengthen the technological, business and internet ecosystem in Nigeria; one community at a time. We aim to achieve this of course with support from important stakeholders and corporate bodies.”

Panasonic, Leica Camera expand digital camera partnership

On September 19, 2014, Panasonic Corporation announced an extention of partnership agreement with Leica Camera AG and agreed to expand and strengthen their technological cooperation in the digital camera field.

Panasonic and Leica Camera sign new agreement

The agreement includes the extension of license agreement for use of Leica's trademark on Panasonic's digital camera products as well as expansion and strengthening of technological cooperation between the two companies. Based on this agreement, Panasonic will be able to commercialize digital camera products with Leica lenses over the next five years, from October 2014 to September 2019 while Leica will be able through the expansion and strengthening of technological cooperation to utilize Panasonic's digital technology in its own product development.

The agreement will allow both companies to boost product competitiveness by combining Leica's optical technology and Panasonic's digital technology.

The companies had signed a cooperative agreement for digital audiovisual equipment lenses in August 2000 and agreed to cooperate in the digital camera sector in July 2001. Since then, the companies have built up a cooperative relationship in optical technology and quality control, and brought high-performance and high-quality digital cameras to the market by fusing Leica's superior optical technology with Panasonic's digital technologies such as image processing.

From Right: Mr. Deji Balogun, Chief Technology Officer, Terragon Group; Mrs. Anurika Azubuike, Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Terragon Group; while receiving an Award for Terragon Group as 'Digital Advertising Company of the Year' from Dr. Mike Onyia, Commissioner, Nigerian Communications Commission (Left); during the 10th Nigerian Telecom Awards held in Lagos.

Terragon Group, at the Nigerian Telecom Awards, received a recognition award as ‘Digital Advertising Company of the Year’. The recognition award was presented to the company during the 10th Edition of the Award ceremony at The Incubator Centre, Oniru, Lagos.

According to the organisers of the Awards ceremony, Terragon Group scaled through a credible thorough evaluation process and was selected due to its service delivery and unprecedented corporate image in digital advertising.

In a citation read for the award, it was stated, “With technology and information being at the core of what Terragon Group’s business entails, it boasts of a skilled product and engineering team versed in several web and mobile technologies. With over twelve servers across four continents, the Group’s platforms crunch several terrabytes of data monthly to deliver unparalleled value to advertisers and brands alike.”

Speaking on the award, Chief Technology Officer, Terragon Group, Deji Balogun, said that the award symbolised a recognition of the work the company had achieved in putting Nigeria and Africa on the map of Digital Advertising: “We are proud to be recipients of this award. It showcases our niche services and how we are making use of digital to drive businesses and brands forward in Africa.”

Zuriel Oduwole

After a well deserved summer break following her successful #FollowTheBallForEducation program which took her to Brazil and 5 other countries on 3 continents in support of Education, Zuriel Oduwole is now working post production on her third documentary, due for limited first release in 4Q 2014.

Her first documentary in 2011 at age 9, focused on the Ghana Revolution, and she interviewed Presidents Jerry Rawlings and John Kufuor for that artistic piece. Her second documentary on the formation of the 1963 Organization of African Unity in 2013 won an award in California, and was also shown in Addis Ababa during the 50th Anniversary of the African Union in May 2013, an event she was invited to. For that piece, she interviewed the Presidents of Tanzania, Mauritius and Malawi.

In a change of focus with her quest to also Re-brand Africa by showing the positive aspects of the continent, she is profiling 4 African countries over the next few years, and her first country is Nigeria.

Her up-coming documentary work would showcase 4 individuals from diverse perspectives, who in their own way are working to brighten the Nigerian narrative, despite the challenges of doing business or thriving in Nigeria. She hopes foreigners would see a promising Africa of possibilities, starting with Nigeria, when they see this new documentary, and future ones in the series.

AIESEC Nigeria Holds Annual Management Lecture

Alumni of the International Association of Students in Economics and Commercial Sciences (AIESEC) in Nigeria have concluded plans to hold the 30th edition of the Dr. Michael Omolayole Management Lecture themed “Social Entrepreneurship as a Tool for National Economic Development” to be hosted by Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

It will hold at NECA House, Central Business District, Alausa Ikeja on September 25th at 2pm.

According to organizers of the lecture, the guest speaker will be the Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Seni Adetu while Mr. Larry Ettah, current President of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association as well as the Managing Director of UACN, will chair the event.

As part of the programme of the day is the book presentation which comprises of a selection of past lectures from the Omolayole management lectures series over 30years. The lectures have covered diverse topics since 1985 delivered by notable speakers such as Chief (Dr.) Ernest Shonekan who delivered the first paper in the series; “Industrialisation and Economic Recovery”; Chief Olusegun Osunkeye,OFR OON, the 1989 Guest Speaker with the topic “The Effect of Current National Financial Policies on the Manufacturing Sector” to the more recent 28th and 29th lectures by Mrs Sola David-Borha -“Financing Infrastructural Development in Nigeria: The Power Sector” ; and Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, MFR -“Agricultural Innovation & Contemporary Investment Opportunities.

Just days before the announced launch of the Xbox One in China, Microsoft pushes back the console's release date to an unspecified date by the end of the year. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it will start selling its flagship video game console in the Chinese market on Sept. 23 after the Chinese government lifted a 15-year ban of foreign game consoles made due to concerns over their effect on the education of children.

However, Microsoft says it is delaying the Xbox One release with nary an explanation. "Despite strong and steady progress, we are going to need a bit more time to deliver the ccbest experiences possible for our fans in China," the company says in a statement.

"At Xbox, we pride ourselves on delivering first-rate gaming and entertainment experiences, and to allow us to deliver on that promise, we need to reschedule the launch of the Xbox One." This comes just one day after the state-controlled Xinhua News Agency published a report of a Microsoft official saying that the introduction of the Xbox One is "more efficient" than in any other country.

Despite the delay, Microsoft says it will continue to hold its Xbox One launch party on Sept. 22 at the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, where the company will be giving away 100 Xbox One units to be shipped when Microsoft starts selling the Xbox One in China. Attendees will also be given the chance to play games on the video game console.

As e-commerce continue to grow rapidly in Nigeria, one of the leading online marketplace Kaymu.com.ng has further deepen its market penetration in country by extending its operations to the nation's capital Abuja.

The expansion was borne out of the need to satisfy the ever increasing number of buyers and sellers on Kaymu’s platform. The new office will serve as a base for the entire northern region by providing more efficient customer service and a point of contact for business owners situated in the surrounding area.

Speaking on this new development, Evangeline Wiles, Managing Director of Kaymu Nigeria said, “We are very excited to expand our business to the federal capital territory, a major business hub in Nigeria. Online shopping is here to stay and we will continue to introduce new ways to reach out to a larger audience, achieved partly through expansion of our operations to major cities within the country”.

Abuja is one of the fastest growing cities in Nigeria and is largely populated by the middle class, making it a viable location for e-commerce to thrive.

Apple Sets New Sales Record: 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sold in three days

Apple broke its sales record for an opening weekend of a new iPhone model, delivering 10 million in three days and boasting it could have sold more if it had them.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin. While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible.”

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus had already gotten off to a record start prior to launch, reaching 4 million preorders in the first 24 hours of availability. Last year, Apple achieved what was then its strongest iPhone launch with sales of 9 million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c units.

But while last year the new iPhone 5c was the company's mid-range handset, this year the company introduced two top-tier models, including the jumbo-sized 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus with a starting price of $299 with a new two-year carrier contract subsidy.

Africa's football governing body, Confederation of African Football (CAF) has vehemently denied media reports claiming it has lifted ban on three countries where deadly Ebola outbreak was detected.

The three countries that CAF banned from hosting home games comprise Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In a statement on Tuesday, CAF, said sharply disputed ever lifting the ban on the three countries in question. “Contrary to recent false claims disseminated by a section of the media, to create the impression that the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has granted Guinea the green- light to host matches at home; CAF wishes to affirm that the circular dated 12 August 2014 which stated that Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone cannot host matches on their territories due to the Ebola outbreak still holds.

“It was mentioned in the circular that a new assessment of the situation will be discussed in mid-September 2014 in consultation with the World Health Organization and the CAF Medical Committee,” the CAF statement reads.

British mega carrier, British Airways and its partner, Iberia Airlines have launched what could best be described as the most amazing offer of the year. The new offer, which is available for trips to the United Kingdom (UK), and select destinations in Europe, affords customers the unique opportunity to purchase a ticket for their companion for as low as N50,000, and N100,000 to US and Canada.

Known as the ‘Companion Fare’ the new promo comes in celebration of the 54th Nigerian Independence anniversary and are available for purchase from 24th September until 15th October, 2014.

According to the airline, with N50,000, BA/IB customers travelling to London and other destinations in the UK, Europe and North America from Lagos and Abuja in the World Traveller (Economy) class can now extend to their companions or loved ones, the opportunity to experience the unparalleled service within the luxurious ambience of British Airways cabins while those on a trip to Canada and US from Lagos and Abuja can travel for as low as N100,000 each, all fares excluding taxes.

Giving details of the offer, British Airways Regional Commercial Manager for West Africa, Mr. Kola Olayinka, said the Companion fare is available for the customers to book at all British Airways & Iberia call centres and travel agents in the country.

According to the latest figures released by the regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Telecom giant, MTN Nigeria lost about one million subscribers in the second quarter of the year.

However, the Y'ello company still has the highest number of subscribers with 56 million, followed by Globacom [27 million subscribers], Airtel [25 million subscribers] and Etisalat [19 million subscribers].

Within the period, Globacom’s subscriber base increased from 23 million in Q1 to 27 million subscribers in Q2 making it Nigeria’s second largest telecoms operator after MTN.

Globacom lost the second position to Airtel in the first quarter but it regained it after adding 2.8 million new subscribers between February and June, moving up from 23 million subscribers in March 2014, to 27 million subscribers in June 2014.

Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is hosting the first Africa SME Champions Forum on 11 and 12 November 2014. The specialist recruitment agency AfricSearch, the African Guarantee Fund and the pan-African bank Ecobank are coming together to organise this, the first forum devoted exclusively to African SMEs.

300 SMEs, from the five regions of Africa, will be invited to this forum according to strict criteria: they must be officially registered in Africa, have been legally created at least three years ago, have turnover of at least $1.5 million and a minimum workforce of 10 employees. The SMEs are invited to submit their application on the forum site: www.africa-smechampions.com.

In addition to these 300 SMEs, a number of financial institutions will be present as well as high-quality experts and policymakers. “This forum will be the first direct access platform to finance for the SMEs,” states Didier Acouetey, founder of recruitment agency AfricSearch. In total, some 600 people are expected in Dakar.

SMEs represent 90% of privately-owned African companies, 33% of the continent's GDP and account for 45% of new jobs. “SMEs are vascularising the African economy,” states Didier Acouetey. “The African champions will be at the heart of the transformation of the continent,” declares Gervais Koffi Djondo, co-founder of the Ecobank group.

L-R: Peju Adebajo, Outgoing Managing Director, Mouka Limited; Femi Fapohunda, Head of Supply Chain, Mouka Limited; Azuka Onyia, Chief Financial Officer, Mouka Limited and Boniface Nwabuko, Head of Human Resource and Admin, Mouka Limited at the dedication of Mouka Lifestyle store in Allen, Ikeja, Lagos on Friday.

L-R: Head of Supply Chain, Mouka Limited, Femi Fapohunda presenting a gift to outgoing Managing Director, Mouka Limited, Peju Adebajo during the Send forth event organized for the outgoing Managing Director, Peju Adebajo at Mouka Head Office, Ikeja Lagos.

L-R: Peju Adebajo, outgoing Managing Director, Mouka Limited; Dotun Suleiman, Chairman, Mouka Limited and Hasib Moukarim, Board Member, Mouka Limited during the send forth dinner organized for the outgoing MD at Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday.

Oladapo, Nwaeze Families Bows Out Of Maltina Dance All 8 Academy

Maisamari Family

The curtains fell for the Oladapo and Nwaeze families as they became the second set of families to exit the ongoing Maltina Dance All (MDA) family dance show. They were evictedafter being put up for possible eviction from the ‘Rhythm of Naija’ and ‘New Age’ dance performances. They now join the Leonard and Maisamari families who left the show last week.

The three judges - Muyiwa Oshinaike, Jeffery Page and Comfort Fedoke - had carefully deliberated on the families that will be put up for possible eviction. The Uzodinma and Utere familieshad earlier been selected for possible eviction alongside the Oladapo and Nwaeze families who were earlier selected after their below the bar performances at the two performance shows. The four families had to come back on stage to finetune their routinesin the ‘Rhythm of Naija’ and ‘New Age’ dance performance to maintain their slots in the academy.

The tension in the hall was evident as the four families took to the stage one after the other to keep their dreams alive. The families competed first to the ‘Rhythm of Naija’ dance style. First on stage was Uzodinma family who performed to Lil Kesh’s Shoki followed by the Nwaeze family who upped the tempo with their dance rendition to MC Galaxy’s Sekem. The Utere family who were next up on stage danced to Skales Shake Body whilst the Oladapo family who performed last, danced to Runtown’s Gallardo.

For the New age dance performance, the Nwaeze family opened the dance floor after which the Uzodinma family followed with a performance which got both the audience and judges off their seats. Next up on stage was the Oladapo family while the Utere family capped off the exciting night with an amazing performance dancing to Egwu, a song by Flavour.

Orange, BOA expand partnership to offer new mobile financial services in Africa

In the coming months, BANK OF AFRICA and Orange Money customers will be able to transfer money directly from their Orange Money account to their BOA account and vice versa simply with their mobile.

Orange customers will have the opportunity to carry out safe and real-time banking operations, to transfer money, pay for goods and services (water, electricity, education, television bills, etc.) and purchase airtime credit without going to the bank or to the shop.

The large network of licensed Orange Money distributors will supplement the network of 450 BANK OF AFRICA branches, offering a maximum number of cash withdrawal points to the customers of the two companies.

“The partnership between Orange and BANK OF AFRICA illustrates Orange’s ambition to offer its customers high-quality services that are both easily accessible and easy to use. Our respective businesses complement each other making it easier for customers to manage their money using their mobile, wherever they are in the country and at any time of the day,” said Marc Rennard, Senior Executive Vice President, Africa, the Middle-East and Asia, Orange.

While enterprise flash adoption is clearly on the rise, Dell is seeing that nearly all customers (98 percent) prefer a flash approach in a hybrid array that mixes flash with spinning drives. The brand new Dell Storage SC4020 arrays, introduced in June, begin shipping globally on Tuesday, 2nd September.

Dell Storage arrays offer the flexibility to support all-flash, spinning disk or a hybrid mix and this approach is being recognised by its customers:

Last month (August), research firm IT Brand Pulse announced details of its 2014 SSD Brand Leaders customer survey. Dell was voted by storage users as the overall Price Leader for hybrid SSD/HDD arrays and for All-Flash Fibre Channel arrays, iSCSI arrays, and NAS as well as flash management software. Since historically price has been the #1 barrier to flash adoption, Dell has worked to provide flash at the best economics in the industry.

In a Storage Strategies NOW independent survey a few months ago, Dell was chosen as the top choice among IT leaders when selecting a vendor for deploying flash.

Dell saw a substantial 7x growth of flash shipments in 2013 and continues to see substantial growth so far in 2014. Dell offers 100 percent all-flash (with MLC and SLC) at market-leading economics -- all-flash for the price of a 15K disk array solution with storage arrays such as the new Dell Storage SC4020. But it’s significant to note that 98 percent of Compellent arrays and 97 percent of EqualLogic arrays that are deployed with flash have had customers opt to also include spinning disks in one solution.

When the all-new 2015 Ford F-150 has its day in the sun, it will be better prepared than ever for damaging rays both inside and out.

Much of the glare and fade testing was performed in the company’s Central Lab where Ford engineers focus on making individual parts stronger and more durable. A device known as a Therhj matron simulates damaging UV sunrays, and can be used over long periods of time on prototype parts to help identify the best design for production.

The antiglare testing took place in the Visual Performance Evaluation Lab, also known as the Ford lighting lab. The facility can replicate almost any sunlight conditions from dawn to dusk, as well as changes to natural light caused by weather conditions.

Materials Engineer in the Central Lab, Cindy McComb, said “We like to think our work on this truck has given it the kind of sun protection Built Ford Tough trucks require to look as good after five years of exposure to sun, wind and rain as they do when they leave the showroom floor.”

Also, in Ford Central Lab facilities located in Florida, USA, engineers place individual exterior and interior parts on outside racks for six months at a time to look for fading and other signs of degradation. The parts are examined under a special xenon light to reveal damage invisible to the human eye. Parts are approved for production only when they meet rigorous fade-resistance standards.

Spanish football club, FC Barcelona has boosted its multimedia profile with a new channel on Vine.

The six second videos will be used to follow day to day happenings at the club from a light-hearted, fun point of view.

Barça, the leading club on social networks, will move yet another step closer to its 150 million fans.

Vine is a free app that’s built into Twitter that displays six-second videos on an infinite loop. FC Barcelona has more than 25 million followers of its different Twitter accounts and anyone who wants to add to this new experience will be able to enjoy exclusive videos and thus play an active role in the creation of content on the channel.
User content on #VineFCB

Unpublished images, exclusive videos, soccer skills and all kinds of loops will feature among the different content that users can start enjoying today. FC Barcelona is inviting all of its users to use the hashtag #VineFCB to take part in the launch and show their passion for FCB in the form of six minute videos. The best offerings will be linked directly to FC Barcelona and published on the official account, stating the names of the users that created them.

Dangote Industries embarks on TV sponsorship campaign With CNN International

The President/Chief Executive,
Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote

Dangote Industries Limited, one of Africa’s largest business conglomerates, is sponsoring the prestigious ‘Facetime’ segment on CNN Marketplace Africa, CNN International’s show that offers a unique window into African business.

Starting on September 19, a bespoke multi-media Dangote Industries Limited advertising campaign will include sponsorship of CNN Marketplace’s ‘Facetime’ segment and exclusive branding on the show’s microsite. The advertising campaign will support Dangote Industries Limited’s expansion across the Continent and outside of Africa by raising its profile among business and economic audience.

‘Facetime’ is a high-profile segment within CNN Marketplace Africa, where each week a major player from the continent’s business community is interviewed. CNN Marketplace Africa is the destination for access to movers and shakers at the forefront of African business. The show goes beyond the numbers to bring viewers the new business solutions and industry trends redefining African business. On-air content is complemented by distinctive online editorial at a CNN Marketplace Africa microsite, where popular and innovative content is shared across a range of social channels.

“We are delighted that Dangote Industries Limited is working with CNN to promote its brand internationally in a TV sponsorship across all CNN International global feeds,” said Antonio Canto, Vice President, Regional Ad Sales, EMEA, CNN International. “The ‘Facetime’ segment in CNN Marketplace Africa is an important programming strand to be associated with because the content reflects the dynamic nature of African business. Dangote’s expansion, underpinned by this bespoke advertising campaign with CNN, is a brand-builder for African business as a whole.”

Guinness Nigeria Plc is currently under fire. The company which has been posting declining performances in the past five years is alleging through a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO); Consumer Rights Advocacy Network of Nigeria (CRANN) that its poor performances are as a result of unfair practices by Nigerian Breweries.

Although, the NGO did not disclose the name of the brewery, which it claimed was engaging in demarketing and pirate marketing, it was obvious from the content of one of its adverts that it was referring to Nigerian Breweries.

In the advert material were two bottles, the bigger bottle was labelled Surulere while the smaller bottle was tagged Ogba.

With this, one does not need any clairvoyant to point at the direction of the campaign as Nigerian Breweries operates from Surulere, Lagos and Guinness from Ogba, Lagos.

Aside the CRANN campaign, the performance result Guinness declared recently also shows that the brewery is currently going through a hard period.

For its financial year ended June 30, 2014, Guinness said it recorded a 19 per cent drop in its profit after tax (PAT). The company’s audited result for the period, which it filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, showed that its PAT fell from N11.864 billion to N9.573 billion.

Only two months after launching its operations to Abuja, Emirates, a global connector of people and places, has today announced it will upgrade the route’s operating aircraft to a Boeing 777-200ER, starting from 1st October 2014.

Emirates launched a daily service to Abuja - its second Nigerian gateway and 22nd passenger destination in Africa - on 1st August utilizing the Airbus A340-300. The new aircraft will continue to operate daily to Nigeria’s capital and offer 274 seats in the three cabins; 12 luxurious lie-flat seats in First Class, 42 deeply reclining seats in Business Class, and generous space for 220 passengers in Economy Class.

“The upgrade of our Abuja service to a Boeing 777 demonstrates our commitment to Nigeria market and another step to ensure we offer world class products to our customers in Nigeria. Since its launch on 1st August 2014 Emirates boosted international tourism and trade in Abuja from a raft of destinations in the Far East, West Asia, Middle East, Europe and North America,” said Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates' Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, Northern and Western Africa.

A testament to the growing importance of Nigeria as a key Emirates market, the airline currently operates twice daily to Lagos and daily to Abuja, giving a total of nearly 14,000 seats per week.

Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière,
Senior Executive Vice President of Innovation,
Marketing and Technologies of Orange

With “Orange Fab Ivory Coast” and “Fab Israel”, Orange’s network of start-up accelerators is now present on four continents. The programme, which is a pillar of the Group's open innovation approach, reflects the determination of Orange to support the new digital players and help them grow by accelerating innovation.

The aim of Orange Fab Ivory Coast is to facilitate the development of start-ups in the Ivorian economic system. In order to be eligible, the start-ups must already have a product / service in one of the following fields : customer experience, digital solutions for the company connected objects, social networks and community services, e-commerce, everyday life, local content, mobile payment and money transfer, e-education, e-agriculture and e-health.

The selected start-ups will be supported for 3 months in the development of their product and their business. They will benefit from the valuable mentoring of fifty coaches, including Orange mentors, entrepreneurs and local academics. Moreover, six workshops will be offered to them. They will also have the opportunity to test their products in the customers’ testing center of Orange in Abidjan, have access to Orange’s APIs and will receive financial support in the form of a convertible note of 15,000 euros.

They will also benefit from workspaces and from communication services made available by Orange Ivory Coast and the Technocentre of Orange, based in Abidjan. Finally they can participate in two demo days (in Abidjan and Paris) and two investment forums.

Marek Zmyslowski

The Managing Director of Africa’s largest online hotel booking platform, Jovago, Marek Zmyslowski has stated that e-commerce is the key driving innovation factor for mobile payments in Nigeria.

In a statement made on a panel for Mobile Payment Solutions for the Nigerian Market at the on-going Nigeria Com Conference, which Marek Zmyslowski attended yesterday at the Oriental Hotel, he said that E-commerce in Nigeria has experienced a boom with the likes of Jumia and Kaymu entering the market. With the increasing Internet access, more affordable data costs, mobile connectivity and the convenience of purchasing goods and services online, more Nigerians are beginning to embrace the culture of transacting business online.

As Zmyslowski noted, with the increase in more people purchasing goods online, booking hotels online and transacting other forms of business online, mobile payment is on a steady rise. He further added “this is why at Jovago.com, we are constantly innovating with better and more secure forms of mobile payment. In July we launched the Mpesa mobile payment platform for our customers in Kenya and the SimplePay was rolled out in August to aid mobile payment for our Nigerian customers.”

With the recent entry of PayPal into the Nigerian market and with players like Mastercard and Interswitch already competing to provide secure online payments, it will only be a matter of time before Nigerians come to totally embrace the culture of paying for goods and services online.

Construction of Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Village 50 per cent complete

Construction of the apartment complex that will become the Olympic and Paralympic Village for the Rio 2016 Games has passed the 50 per cent completion mark. Based in Barra da Tijuca, in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, the Village will have capacity for more than 18,000 guests, including athletes and officials. Construction started in July 2012 and the buildings will be finished in the first half of 2016.

“The project is progressing very well and it is exciting to see the Village take shape,” said Rio 2016’s Olympic and Paralympic Village Director, Mario Cilenti. “It is going to be incredible to have the best athletes in the world staying in one place, here in Rio, for the first Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America. We are doing everything to ensure they have the best possible facilities so they can focus all their attention on producing their best performances.”

Seventeen of the 31 buildings in the complex have already been erected and construction will be completed on the remaining 14 towers by the end of this year, with internal finishings to be done in 2015. The next stage will be installing the ‘overlay’ – the process of transforming a future residential complex into the Olympic Village. These works include the construction of a temporary medical centre, cafeteria with space for 5,000 people and gym, among other amenities.

Another challenge is guaranteeing the complete accessibility of the Village for the Paralympic athletes, who will arrive a few days after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games on 21 August 2016. The opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games will take place on 7 September 2016.

All Etisalat customers can now purchase a 3G Smartphone for as low as N7,000 from any Etisalat Experience Centre nationwide. Etisalat disclosed that every purchase made will earn subscribers the privilege to enjoy a fantastic free data offer for a whole year!

Depending on the type of device you purchase, Etisalat customers can now get all their favourite Smartphone’s and tablet’s at lowest prices – with up to 1.5GB free data on sign-up from Samsung and TECHNO stores nationwide! Customers also get 100% bonus of free data for 12 months on any data plan purchased between 200MB and 6GB!

This offer can be activated in any Etisalat Experience Centre, TECNO stores, Samsung stores, and other phone resellers nationwide!

No more excuses, now you can get your family and friends a Smartphone to allow them experience the thrill of high-speed data on Etisalat with this wonderful Smartphone Offer!

Visit http://www.etisalat.com.ng/easyblaze/smartphoneoffer.php for more information on this offer, including Smartphone’s, tablets, and deals.

Dell Unveils Powerful New Solutions; Designed to Optimise Virtual Infrastructure

Dell unveiled a broad range of innovative solutions across its enterprise portfolio that optimise and simplify management and productivity within customers’ VMware virtualization environments. The new offerings showcase Dell and VMware’s long-standing and strong partnership to build unique, industry-leading product and service solutions, which help customers achieve more from their IT investments.

Industry forces such as cloud computing, big data, the internet of things, mobility, and software-defined IT are leading companies to think differently about traditional IT – services based on transactional system-of-records – and compelling businesses to reexamine their approach to creating, storing, moving and analysing information.

Many are moving toward an approach that more closely mirrors new IT – business models and processes that are subscriber or relationship-oriented and require support for high-volume and high-velocity data processing.

“The collaboration between Dell and VMware continues to deliver innovative, industry-leading products and service solutions designed to help customers increase productivity and run their business more effectively,” said Samuel Greenblatt, Vice President of Engineered Solutions and Technology, Enterprise Solutions Group, at Dell. “With the introduction of the Dell Engineered Solution for VMware EVO: RAIL and other new solutions announced today, we are making it easier for customers to deploy and manage their IT environments including virtual infrastructure, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), and private clouds.”

Leonard Family

The picture is gradually becoming clearer and the dance battle for the N10 million grand prize getting intense as the Maltina Dance All 8 academy makes steady progress. The Leonard and Maisamari families could not stand the twist, turns, frills and intensity of the show as they became the first two families to be evicted from the show described as Nigeria’s number one family dance show.

The two were evicted from the show after performing the Wazobia (Nigeria’s indigenous dance) and Jive dance routines. They got the judges sledge hammer because of their inability to creatively satisfy them with their performances.

The first eviction showdown had four families locking horns to remain in the Academy. The Dide and Leonard families had earlier been placed on possible eviction list after their Wazobia performance show, while Oladapo and Maisamari could not impress the judges after the Jive performance. After what the judges’ trio of Muyiwa Osinaike, Comfort Fedoke and Jeffery Page described as unsatisfactory performance at the various performance shows, they were given an order to redeem their image and justify their stay in the academy.

The Oladapo Family set the tone for the Wazobia performance at the eviction night with Nkpokiti dance from Eastern Nigeria, Maisamari and Leonard families rocked with owigiri/ agene and Dide family nailed it with Bata dance from the South West.

MasterCard Works with Apple to Integrate Apple Pay

Paying with mobile devices is about to become even more Priceless. Apple has unveiled Apple Pay that will enable MasterCard cardholders to use their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch for everyday purchases. MasterCard built the foundation for secure mobile transactions, so consumers can use their cards when, where and how they want.

MasterCard worked with Apple to deliver a seamless and secure payment experience. For consumers and merchants alike, that means that every purchase made with a MasterCard using iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch will offer the security, benefits and guarantees of any MasterCard transaction.

Apple Pay transforms mobile payments with an easy, secure, and private way to make purchases. By integrating Apple hardware, software and services, Apple Pay creates a unique and incredibly intuitive experience for iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch users.

Owners of the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch will be able to use their MasterCard credit or debit cards from participating banks directly through Apple Pay. At a store, consumers can simply pay by just holding their iPhone near a contactless reader with their finger on Touch ID and their transaction will be authenticated. For purchases within an app, consumers will simply touch to pay and authenticate with their fingerprint or passcode for a seamless experience without having to enter their card number or leave the app.

Samsung launches Blogger Challenge to support local online content

Samsung has launched a blogger challenge that will go a long way into ensuring locally relevant content by supporting upcoming and accomplished bloggers given that Kenya’s digital community growth leads to an increase in generation of online content through blogs.

Samsung has reiterated its commitment to the dissemination of locally relevant content by supporting upcoming and accomplished bloggers. Since August, the global electronics manufacturer has been running the Samsung Blogger Challenge and plans to do so until December 2014, with each month having a unique challenge for a particular product category.

The giant manufacturer has pointed out the initiative as appreciation of the work by the blogging community as more corporates begin to engage them in the co-creation of content that will appeal to Kenyans. This will motivate bloggers who stand a chance to benefit from the challenge.

Bloggers who participate in the monthly challenge and complete all the weekly missions will stand a chance to be the Blogger of the Month and will win two Samsung Electronics Products, one for their stellar efforts and another for their online community. The ultimate blogger shall be selected from the Bloggers of the Month.

Saturday, 27 September 2014

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Thursday, 18 September 2014

Monday, 15 September 2014