BrandArena : July 2018

Tuesday, 31 July 2018

Nikon confirms August 23 launch for new mirrorless camera

Following a teaser campaign which kicked off few days ago, Nikon has confirmed that it will unveil its new full-frame mirrorless camera and a new line of lenses on August 23.

Promasidor Nigeria Limited, a leading food company, has secured a N5.6 billion credit from the Bank of Industry (BoI) to support its aggressive expansion programmes.

Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced a Profit after Tax of N18 billion for the first half of2018, according to the unaudited financial results released to The Nigerian Stock Exchange.

After 38 years of service, President & CEO GE Africa, Jay Ireland will be taking his final bow from GE on Sunday, September 30, 2018. Farid Fezoua, President & CEO, GE Healthcare Africa has now been named President and CEO, GE Africa in addition to his role in GE Healthcare. This appointment is effective October 1, 2018.

Creating a platform for African and global real estate data and transparency experts to share insights, best practice and solidify global and regional investor confidence in Africa's high growth economies are some of the primary objectives of the 9th annual API Summit & Expo taking place in Johannesburg on 20 and 21 September 2018.

From today, Tuesday, July 24, 2018 students of the Federal College of Education, Akoka, Lagos will now enjoy SWIFT Red Cheetah free Wi-Fi service on their campus. The service went live at the institution today as part of SWIFT Networks Limited commitment to deepen broadband penetration and improve academic excellence.

Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Appoints Three New Directors

Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) has announced the appointment of Senator Khairat Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe and Shehu Abubakar as Independent Directors and, Abbas Ahmad Gandi as a Non-Executive Director to its board effective July 12, 2018.

Senator Khairat AbdulRazaq-Gwadabe, one of the new Directors of CCNN

These appointments were ratified during the company’s recently held 39th Annual General Meeting in Sokoto.

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) have announced the launch of a one-year intensive African Master’s in Machine Intelligence (AMMI) in partnership with Facebook and Google. The master’s will begin this September at the AIMS-Rwanda campus in Kigali.

There was a fire outbreak today (Tuesday) at 8:40am at the Ecobank Transnational Inc. (Ecobank) head office on Victoria Island, Lagos.

Nokia and T-Mobile yesterday announced a landmark $3.5 billion agreement to accelerate the deployment of a nationwide 5G network. Nokia will provide T-Mobile with its complete end-to-end 5G technology, software and services portfolio, assisting the Un-carrier in its efforts to bring its 5G network to market for customers in the critical first years of the 5G cycle.

Airtel Donates Medical Kits to Cancer Treatment Foundation

…Reiterates commitment to quality health-care delivery

In realization of the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3), which focuses on promoting good health and wellbeing, leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has partnered with St. Cyril Cancer Treatment Foundation, to offer better care and support to cancer patients.

L-R Mrs. Foluke Aboderin; Former Executive Director, St. Cyril Cancer Treatment Foundation, Mrs. Veronica Onoja, Director, Customer Service Delivery, Airtel Nigeria, Mrs. Mojisola Amimashaun, Executive Director/Founder, St. Cyril Cancer Treatment Foundation and Chioma Okolie; Team Lead CSR, Airtel Nigeria during Airtel donation of clinical facilities to the Foundation in Isolo, Lagos as part of the on-going Airtel Touching Lives season 4 prize presentation.

At a formal ceremony held at St. Cyril’s headquarters in Lagos, yesterday (26th July, 2018), the telco donated chemotherapy infusion chairs, medical waiting room chairs, chemotherapy infusion pumps with drip stand, flat screen monitors and nursing/medical consumables, amongst other items, to the Foundation.

IMC Experts React to Sterling Bank Controversial "Shooting For The Moon" Artwork

The controversial 'Shooting for the Moon' artwork by Sterling Bank has continued to stir conversation beyond social media despite the apology statement issued by the bank. The post which has since been pulled down by the bank as generated a buzz that draws the attention of Nigerians to the bank.

Lampe Omoyele, Managing Director, 141 Worldwide Limited

The post is considered a disruptive creative that has never been experienced in this digital marketing era in the banking sector.

According to the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, democratization of technology is quantum leap for Africa’s development and the continent will continue to shape the world with its fortunes.

Uganda becomes the first African country to sign an agreement with the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF), a joint initiative of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), a Pan-African and multilateral guarantor and KfW with funding from German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. Under the program, RLSF will offer protection to new small and mid-sized renewable energy projects (up to 50 MW) in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW), a global communications agency, has announced leadership shakeup across its service market in Europe and Africa (E&A). The newly appointed market leaders will be responsible for growth and innovation in the regions.

One of the world’s leaders in digital payments, Visa has announced Nigerian startups CredPal and Zowasel as winners in the Merchant Payments and Financial Inclusion challenges of its first ever Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) Everywhere Initiative, a global program aimed at startups and designed to encourage the development of the next big thing in payments. The winning solutions beat 10 other contenders selected from 238 submissions to emerge as champions.

The SSA program was structured around three real life business challenges:

The First Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Seyi Akinwunmi, has called on the private sector players to be more supportive of the development of youth sports, explaining that their contribution would boost national sports, reduce crime rate and increase brand loyalty.

#BankWars: Sterling Bank Apologises For Shading Other Banks in Viral Artwork

Sterling has apologized for its controversial artwork which trolled United Bank for Africa, First City Monument Bank, First Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank and Union Bank.

AXA Mansard Launches First Responders Service

In line with its commitment to enhance customer experience, AXA Mansard Plc, a member of AXA Group; the global leader in insurance and asset management, has launched the first responder service which aims to support customers whose vehicles are insured with the company whenever they are involved in road accidents.

Andela Launches Pan-African Technology Hub In Kigali for Software Developers Across the Continent

Andela, the company building high-performing engineering teams with Africa's most talented software developers on Wednesday announces the launch of a pan-African technology hub in its fourth African market: Kigali, Rwanda.

To fuel the expansion, Andela is partnering with the Government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Development Board, an organization responsible for transforming the country into a dynamic global hub for business, investment and innovation.

Emirates Announces Special Offer to Nigerian Families

Celebrating the spirit of summer, Emirates Airline, introduces a unique offer for Nigerian families travelling from Lagos and Abuja to Dubai in Economy Class, for a limited period, by booking between July 19, 2018 and August 3, 2018.

Temenos, a banking software company has announced the appointment of Alexandre Menage as Head of Sales for the firm in Africa. Alex brings over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, including numerous business development and managerial roles at Thomson Reuters, where he spent 12 years.

Heritage Bank Plc, Nigeria’s most innovative banking service provider, has signed a partnership agreement with Feet ‘N’ Tricks International Limited to make the premier edition of Africa Freestyle Football Championship a resounding success.

Nigeria’s leading brands and marketing publications MARKETIN EDGE is set to expand the frontiers of brand and marketing reportage with the premiere this Wednesday 25 July 2018, of MARKETING EDGE on TV.

The seventh edition of the Africa CEO Forum, the largest international gathering of CEOs and investors from the African private sector, will be held on 25th and 26th March, 2019, in Kigali, Rwanda.

Meet the two newly appointed Vice Chairmen of Nigerian Economic Summit Group

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group has appointed Niyi Yusuf and Onyeche Tifase, who are presently Non-Executive Directors as new Vice-chairmen of the board.

Niyi Yusuf

NESG is a private sector led think-tank organisation that promotes sustainable growth and development in the Nigerian economy.

Expectation Heightens As 108 Students Battle For 2018 Cowbellpedia Glory

Five months after 41,735 secondary school students sat for the qualifying examination, the second stage of the competition is about to commence. One hundred and eight students who scaled the first hurdle of the 2018 Cowbellpedia Mathematics TV Quiz Show will engage in the game of speed and accuracy for the ultimate prize in the competition sponsored by Cowbell, the flagship brand from Promasidor Nigeria Limited.

One of the oldest banks in Nigeria, Wema Bank has revealed it spent a total of N556.4 million on advertising in the first half of 2018, a 78% increase from the N311 million spent a year earlier. The bank has increased its ad spent since the launch of its revolutionary digital online banking platform, ALAT.

The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) yesterday in Abeokuta, Ogun State elected now executives to lead the Association. Managing Director of DDB Lagos, Mr. Ikechi Odigbo was elected as new President.

Kaspersky Lab experts have discovered the distribution of an unusual fraudulent scheme that tricks users into parting with their time and their data, for no return. By creating fake websites for the free generation of gift cards, cybercriminals are able to “sell” users’ data to third party partner sites, to which they redirect victims.

Former Airtel CCO, Ahmad Mokhles Appointed as Group COO of Liquid Telecom

Former Chief Commercial Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Ahmad Mokhles has been appointed as the new Group Chief Operating Officer of Liquid Telecom.

Before his appointment, he was the COO for Airtel Nigeria. Before that, he served as Executive Vice President of Consumer and Digital Business for du, overseeing the company’s Smart City business, and has also served as CCO for Asiacell Iraq, part of Ooredoo Group.

Autodesk Africa Advocates Digital Construction

Autodesk Inc., a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software has called for the adoption of digital technologies in the construction industry. The Company made the call at a Forum themed: “The Future of Making Things” held at the Radisson Blu Hotel Lagos on July 20, 2018.


	L-R: Arc. Ibeanu Chike Chamberlain, Managing Partner, Zdesigns and Development Consulting; Simon Bromfield, Territory Manager Africa, Autodesk Inc.; Vijay Raina, Sr. Technical Sales Specialist – AEC, Autodesk; Louis Iwegbuna, Nigeria Business Development Manager, Autodesk Inc,; Dolapo Ojelabi, Industry Specialist, Ideate Technologies; at Autodesk’s Future Forum, Nigeria.

The event highlighted how the disruptive power of digital technologies can enable a more profitable, resilient and agile construction industry and explained that the Construction industry is a new frontier for innovation. It also brought to the fore issues plaguing the Construction industry such as rising project complexity, globalization of construction, skills shortage, and access to capital as well as how cloud-enabled technologies present an opportunity for disruption in the way we design, build and operate buildings and infrastructure.

EFG Hermes, a leading financial services corporation in frontier and emerging markets (FEM), has entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire 100% of Primera Africa, a top-ranked brokerage house in Nigeria.

Four Nigerian startups have been shortlisted amongst the final 12 in the on-going Visa’s Everywhere Initiative, a global innovation program that tasks start-ups to solve commerce challenges of tomorrow. They now stand a chance to secure funding of up to US$50,000 to develop their ideas when the initiative concludes in Johannesburg on July 24.

Twitter has appointed former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former World Bank chief Robert Zoellick as directors as it reshuffled its board.

The Board of Directors of Ecobank Nigeria Limited on Thursday announced the appointment of Patrick Akinwuntan as the Managing Director designate. The appointment is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday Commissioned BUA Group’s 1.5million metric tonnes Kalabaina Cement Plant in Sokoto State which gulped $350 million to build.

WARIF Receives USAID Grant to Strengthen Response to Gender Based Violence in Nigeria

The Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) have been named one of the recipients to be awarded a grant by pathfinder International funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This grant was awarded to strengthen the Response to Gender Based Violence in Nigerian. Pathfinder is a global non-profit organisation that focuses on reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, and maternal health.

Egypt clamps down on social media with new law

Egypt’s parliament has passed a law giving the state powers to block social media accounts and penalise journalists held to be publishing fake news.

Under the law, social media accounts and blogs with more than 5,000 followers on sites such as Twitter and Facebook will be treated as media outlets, which make them subject to prosecution for publishing false news or incitement to break the law.

Airtel Offers 100% Bonus on Data in New SmartConnect Package

….Customers to also get 8x Value of Recharge

In line with its brand positioning as Nigeria’s leading mobile Internet services provider, Airtel Nigeria is offering new customers on its network 100% bonus on any data bundle purchased as well as eight times the value of any recharge.

Fifteen years after the closure of Nigeria Airways, the Federal Government has relaunched a national carrier named 'Nigeria Air'.

How did Arsenal, a club that has long-needed to step up its commercial sponsorship, manage to somehow agree to a deal with Chinese car manufacture BYD, only to find out on Monday that, in fact, they were done in by a conman?

This is the major question fans of the club have continued to ask.

Stanbic IBTC shines at 2018 HR People Magazine Awards, Reaffirmed as Leading Employer Brand

Stanbic IBTC’s status as a leading employer brand has again been reaffirmed as the financial institution won an unprecedented five of nine awards at the HR People Magazine Awards 2018 held recently in Lagos.

L-R: Head, Human Resources Shared Services, Lafarge Africa Plc, Oluwakemi Akinsinde, presenting an award to Head, Corporate and Transactional Banking, Human Capital Business Partners, Tope Popoola; Head, Learning and Development, Godwin Akpong, both of Stanbic IBTC receiving the award on behalf of Stanbic IBTC during the 2018 Human Resources Practitioners Awards ceremony held in Lagos recently

The five awards won by Stanbic IBTC are: Best Training, Learning & Development Strategy 2017; Outstanding Employee Engagement Strategy 2017; Employer of Choice 2017 (large corporates category); HR Manager of the Year 2017 and HR Champion of the Year 2017 (awarded to the Group Chief Executive for outstanding commitment to growing people at the organization).

Popular new-generation taxi-platform Taxigo and Lagos taxi-union NUPEPD signed co-operation agreement: all taxies in app should be licenced, can choose their own pricing model and have to be classified according to different service-level categories.

Spanish LaLiga football club Barcelona has declared a record revenue of €914million with expenses of €882million in 2017-18 season. It also announced operating profit was €32million, while the net profit was €13million after tax.

Boomerang, Havas Partner to become Boomerang Havas Africa

Boomerang Communication Solutions Ltd, a 360-degree Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) firm based in Nigeria, has announced partnership with Havas Africa, a subsidiary of Havas Group, the 5th largest communications group worldwide based in France that provides media strategy, media buying and digital marketing, branding, experiential, sports marketing, events solutions and content development to becoming Boomerang Havas Africa.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence

Article for Niyi Tayo – Managing Director, Technology Accenture Nigeria

Machine learning and artificial intelligence will be key enablers in a new era of digital experiences and value propositions, but the revolution needs a human touch. Keeping interactions between your artificial intelligence (AI) and your clients fair and unbiased will be critical to the success of your business.

The President of African Public Relations Association (APRA), Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya has commended the African Union (AU) on it declarations at the 31st AU Summit held in Nouakchott, Mauritania. Particularly commendable was its effort to bring on board 49 out of 55-member states to sign an agreement establishing Continental Free trade Area (AfCFTA) and its ratification by 6 countries. “This suggests business growth, opportunities and development for our continent, Africa” he stated.

Africa.com acquires iAfrica.com

...Acquisition to increase news coverage and enhance user experience

Africa.com has completed its acquisition of iAfrica.com, South Africa's oldest and most iconic news portal from South African media giant, Primedia (Pty) Ltd and telecoms powerhouse, MTN (Pty) Ltd. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Airtel Commissions ICT Centre in Imodi-Ijebu, Ogun State

…New Centre to empower thousands of youths, students

Airtel Nigeria says it has commenced plans to rehabilitate an ICT (Information Communications Technology) centre in Imodi-Ijebu, Ogun State, in line with its commitment to empower Nigerian youths.

Tuesday, 31 July 2018

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