Top 40 startups for Demo Africa final

After more than four months of work, the DEMO Team has now released the 40 demonstrators to launch at the first ever DEMO Africa Conference. The 40 finalists have gone through three rigorous vetting processes with the final vetting and adjudication done by a pan-African panel of judges including entrepreneurs, academics and venture capital investors.

“This has been a very enriching exercise seeing the kind of quality innovation coming out of Africa,” said Harry Hare, Executive Producer, DEMO Africa, when announcing the names of the final 40. The process included several DEMO Africa innovation tours to encourage participation from technology startups from as many countries as possible.

Obiageli Ezekwesili, Nigeria's former World Bank Vice President for Africa joins Bharti Airtel Board worldwide

Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili

Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Nigeria's Former World Bank Vice President for Africa and a world-renowned expert on economic reforms and economic governance, joins the Bharti Airtel Board

Nairobi, September 27, 2012: Bharti Airtel Limited, a leading global telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced the restructuring of its Board of Directors and that of its subsidiary Bharti Infratel. The changes have been effected in view of the proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Bharti Infratel, which is a leading provider of passive telecom infrastructure in India.

Transcorp, others win bids for five power plants in Nigeria

THE Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) yesterday successfully conducted the sale and concession of three thermal stations and two hydro stations, all part of the 18 succeeding companies unbundled from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Besides, the Capital Market Committee (CMC), comprising all stakeholders, yesterday appealed to the Federal Government to make provisions for the listing of successful distribution firms created from the unbundling of PHCN on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Out of the six electricity stations, three are thermal, namely: Ughelli Power Generation Plant which was yesterday won by a consortium promoted by Transnational Company of Nigeria (TRANSCORP Plc) under the special purpose vehicle Transcorp and WoodRock/Symbion Power. Transcorp emerged as the preferred bidder with an offer of $300 million for the 100 per cent government’s equity. The consortium beat two other bidders: Amperion Consortium, which offered $252 million and Feniks Electricity’s offer of $54 million.

Read more

UNDP, ECN Schneider Electric set to implement renewable energy project

As part of measures by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) to promote energy efficiency in Nigeria, Schneider Electric has been selected to implement a renewable energy project at the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN’s) headquarters’ building in Abuja.

According to the director general of the Energy commission of Nigeria, Sambo said the key barriers to successful energy efficiency practice in Nigeria include a lack of relevant policy, cost versus market ratios, a lack of information as well as wrong human behaviour.

He further reiterated that projects that help save energy, eventually save the environment as well as the economy.

The project, aimed at showcasing the Energy Commission of Nigeria’s building as a model for public lighting using renewable energy will include the replacement of all non compliant lighting fixtures in the building with Schneider Electric’s energy efficient LED lamps ‘In-Diya’.

Source: BusinessDay

BlackBerry maker deepens presence in Nigeria

Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, is raising its stakes in Nigeria’s mobile broadband device market valued at N245 billion with the establishment of a local office as well as the expansion of its retail and distribution network. 

The move, according to the phone manufacturer on Tuesday, marks the expansion of RIM’s footprint in Africa from its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, and further underlines the strategic importance of the Nigerian market in RIM’s global business strategy. Robert Bose, managing director for Middle East and Africa, RIM, told journalists at a media briefing in Lagos, Tuesday, that BlackBerry was presently the highest selling smartphone in Nigeria and South Africa, further revealing that BlackBerry devices are currently been sold in about 300 retail stores nationwide.

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WAEC unveils online results' verification portal for WASSCE

Dr. Iyi Uwadiae

THE West African Examination Council (WAEC) on Tuesday in Lagos, unveiled its online portal, for verification of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results.

A proud Dr Iyi Uwadiae, the council’s out going Head of National Office, said with the launch of the portal, the council has moved a notch higher in the business of conducting public examinations.

With the council recently marking its 60th years of operations in Nigeria, he said: “ The launching of the online results’ verification portal is coming almost 10 years after the launching of the online results’ checking portal, known as waecdirect in February 2003, and eight years after the take off of the electronic registration portal in November 2004.” The registration of candidates for the May/June 2005 WASSCE was subsequently done online.

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This is my authentic facebook page - Pastor E. A. Adeboye (RCCG)

Pastor E. A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of "The Redeemed Christian Church of God", recently stated on his authentic Facebook page that there are a lot of fake pages claiming that they represent the great Man of God.

See his Facebook post as displayed on Friday, 21 September 2012.

It has come to my attention that several parties and individuals have created several Facebook pages, with my name, in order to make the public believe I am directly connected to or associated with them. The only official Facebook page associated with me and my office is,http://www.facebook.com/pastoradeboye. All others have been created without my authorization. I seek your assistance and help.
Please help us visit the following pages and report them to Facebook for me. As you report them, report them as a duplicate or fraud.

https://www.facebook.com/ea.adeboye.5
http://www.facebook.com/enochadeboye
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-EA-Adeboye/229821590403747
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-EA-Adeboye/229821590403747
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-E-A-Adeboye-My-Daddy/300082810016960
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Enoch-Adeboye/139044599457938
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mentor-Me-Pastor-EA-Adeboye/116464318384282
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-Enouch-Adejare-Adeboye/181498545218525
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-Enouch-Adejare-Adeboye/181498545218525
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-Enoch-Adejare-Adeboye/140798729303303
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-EA-Adeboye/164608403569437
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adeboye/178849152220266
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Enoch-Adejare-Adeboye/135513546487097
http://www.facebook.com/pages/pastor-adeboye/124868694203548
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-Adeboye/135162549875902
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-enoch-adeboye/119392151484390
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-EA-Adeboye/209229592466197
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pastor-EA-Adeboye-books/129462030435506

So all please take note.

Mobile Monday Nigeria September 2012 Event: Monetizing Mobile – What Customers want Developers to create

Mobile Web is fast becoming a major medium through which people access the web in developing countries. Even in developed nations, people tend to use mobile applications to access information than going to a desktop version of a website.

This presents a new challenge for developers. They have to develop carefully because lots of factors come into play. The factors include

Apple rolls out its first TV ads for the iphone 5

Apple rolled out its first TV ads for the iphone 5 yesterday. These TV ads focus on the various aspects of the new handset and aptly titled Thumb, Cheese, Physics and Ears.

The "Thumb" ad shows how the new screen – taller but not wider – allows for single-thumb operation of the device while "Cheese" demonstrates the new Panorama feature enabling ultra-wide shots. The "Physics" ad shows off the dimensions of the new device, asking how something can get bigger while getting smaller and the "Ears" takes a look at the new EarPod headphones bundled with the smartphone.

Watch the 30 second skits below...

Firstly, the "Thumb" ad

Secondly, the "Cheese" ad

Thirdly, the "Physics" ad

Fourthly, the "Ears" ad

Planned fake phones switch-off by CCK by September 30: Nokia in Kenya to collect fake handsets for recycling

Nokia has partnered with local mobile service providers and retail outlets to collect and dispose off counterfeit phones, ahead of the planned switch-off of these devices by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).

The handsets manufacturer has partnered with Safaricom, Airtel, Nakumatt, Naivas, Phonelink, and Tuskys to ensure an additional 100 collection points are set up across the country for consumers to dispose of the fake phones.

Ahead of the CCK’s planned switch-off end of this month, there has been mounting concern amongst Kenyan NGO’s, environmental agencies and consumers as to what will happen to the devices once they are discarded.

NITDA gets powers to certify local PCs for government agencies in Nigeria

The Federal Government last week, armed the National Information Technology Agency of Nigeria ( NITDA) with more teeth to perform its functions as the Agency now has the sole authority to clear all locally made information systems before they are purchased by Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.

This follows directives from the Federal Government, that all MDAs should henceforth patronise locally made PCs .

Founders buy back Naspers stake in S’pore ad network BuzzCity

South African media conglomerate Naspers has sold its stake in Singapore-based online and mobile advertising network BuzzCity for an undisclosed amount. Naspers’ stake was acquired this month by the founders of BuzzCity and existing shareholders, which includes OWW Capital Partners and Exploit Technologies. Naspers had acquired an undisclosed stake in BuzzCity in August 2008 for an investment of $10 million.

“The transaction was completed in September 2012. The existing shareholders and founders bought the (Naspers) stake. The majority of the stake was acquired by the founders,” a BuzzCity spokesperson told StartupCentral in response to emailed queries. We were alerted on the development by a reader who noticed that the current Naspers organization structuredoesn’t list BuzzCity (thanks for the scoop Jonah Smith!). Following the buyback, the company said, “This gives the founders and existing shareholders more flexibility to consider various strategic options. Operationally, the ad network continues to grow and we are progressing with consolidating our position in the global market.”

BuzzCity was founded in 1999 by KF Lai, Andrew Lim and Clifford Chew. It started as a venture capital-funded technology spinoff from Singapore’s Kent Ridge Digital Labs (now A*STAR), with a service that enables users to track updates from their favourite websites. The company turned in profits in 2003 by offering a cost-per-acquisition platform to distribute premium mobile content on thousands of web sites. The service saw success in the Chinese market. In 2007, the company turned its focus to the rest of the world and transitioned to a cost-per-click mobile advertising platform.

By the end of August 2012 the BuzzCity network had served 131.5 billion banners, against the 126 billion served in all of calendar year 2011. The company’s largest served market in August was India, followed by Indonesia and North America.

Naspers recently made news in India when it acquired an undisclosed stake in Bangalore-based ecommerce company Flipkart, participating in its Series D round of funding with ICONIQ Capital, Accel Partners and Tiger Global. The size of the investment was not disclosed.

Source: StartupCentral

Samsung video poking fun at iPhone 5 in comparison with the Galaxy S III is out

As with every Apple iPhone launch, Samsung has put out a video poking fun at overly-obsessed, iPhone-idolizing Apple fanatics. It was released a couple of minutes ago on YouTube. This follows closely on the heels of the anti-iphone newspaper ad campaign released 2 days ago.

The message is, clearly, that the iPhone 5 just doesn’t match up to Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III.

Watch and see. What do you think?  

The Next Big Thing is Already here --Samsung Galaxy S III

Knock Out! Improved Underwear - Startup specializes in odor- and moisture-eliminating undies

It is always interesting to share innovations across the globe to excite the mind of curious and the creative. I came across this innovation while browsing through the Businessweek site.

It is a startup that specializes in odor- and moisture-eliminating undies. Hmmm..... should we be discussing this? But it is a something that some people live with.

Knock Out! underwear.. Courtesy Knockout!

Kristen Hinman reports for Businessweek....

Angela Newnam’s quest to make the perfect pair of underwear began with camouflage. It was 2009, and the textiles consultant-turned-stay-at-home-mom had combed through hundreds of patents in search of a technology that would wipe out the unmentionables—odor and moisture—in unmentionables. She learned that Dan River, a textiles company that closed in 2008, was selling a patent for No Trace, an odor-absorbing solution developed for hunting apparel so deer wouldn’t be tipped off by the smell of a sportsman’s sweat. Newnam bought up all the No Trace camouflage gear she could find on EBay. Then she got out her scissors.

Anti-iphone ad to run tomorrow in America - kinda misleading

Just saw this by Steve Kovach on BusinessInsider. An interesting story about a Samsung ad supposed to run tomorrow in America.

According to Steve.....

Samsung just sent me an ad that it plans to run in national newspapers tomorrow comparing the iPhone 5 to the Galaxy S III.

The ad breaks down some key specs of the two phones, but it's also a bit misleading. Samsung lists a lot of Galaxy S III-specific software features like sharing photos wirelessly between phones and tilt to zoom, but doesn't mention any iPhone 5-specific features.

It's a silly implication that just because the iPhone 5 doesn't run Samsung's software that it's an inferior phone. Apple packed a lot of features into its iPhone software that the Galaxy S III can't do like Facebook and Twitter integration, AirPlay, and access to thousands of more apps.

Read more: BusinessInsider

Kinda misleading. But what do you think?

October 1 2012 presents The platform 10.1 and 10.2 powered by Covenant Christian Centre

After a resounding success of The Platform 10.0 - Cultural Innovation that took place on the 1st of May this year, Covenant Christian Centre is prepared to offer a stimulating, captivating, double - impact programme aptly titled The Platform 10.1 and 10.2 on the 1st of October 2012.

For the newbies, "The Platform" is a Non-Profit initiative of Covenant Christian Centre. It is geared primarily to improving the individuals of Nigeria and the world. The Platform holds twice every year - May 1 (Workers Day) and October 1 (Nigeria's Independence Day).

The October 1 edition is a combined programme which brings together 12 global speakers at two venues - The Harbour Point, Victoria Island and The Haven, Ikeja, both in Lagos, Nigeria.

The theme of "The Platform 10.1" session is "Pragmatic steps to moving Nigeria forward- How Understanding & Building the Right Institutions is Driving the Growth of Nations". The speakers are Anne-Marie Slaughter, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Mrs Oluremi Oyo, Prof. Anil Gupta, Olusegun Adeniyi and Khanna Parag.

Nigerian Universities Commission launches portal, learning platform in two varsities

THE Nigerian University system moved several shades closer to its dream of digitizing all its processes at the weekend, with the launch of two separate projects: The first Online Universities Accreditation Portal and the Nigerian Universities Electronic Teaching and Learning platform.

While the former is domiciled in the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Cross River State, the latter is based in the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), Akwa Ibom state. In essence, the portal in Calabar, which is an offshoot of the National Universities Commission Data Base (NUCDB), intends to automate the accreditation processes of all academic programmes being offered by the various Universities and enable them upload their various data – academic programmes, staff and students’ records. This, in turn, would enable the NUC match the respective details with its template.

Eton Group funds greenfield refinery project in Nigeria

Eton Group and Qua Petroleum Refinery Ltd will invest around US$1.7bn for the construction of a greenfield refinery in the Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony in Abuja, director of Eton Finance Private Ltd, Allen Rennie, said the refinery would produce about 100,000 bpd.

“Eton Group is offering US$1.7bn as funds for the project, while US$1.4bn is being put in by Qua Petroleum Refinery for the re-engineering and construction of the export designated refinery,” said Rennie, who added that US$300mn had been earmarked for start-up operations and feed stock.

Zenith Bank partners with Visafone to deliver EaZyMoney on its phone menu

Zenith Bank has partnered with Visafone to deliver a mobile money product called EaZyMoney. EaZyMoney is Zenith Bank's secure, fast and flexible mobile payment solution designed to enable customers send and receive payments and carry out basic financial transactions with their mobile phones. These financial transactions include lodgments (cash in), withdrawals (cash-out), transfers and payments for goods and services.

Though this product is not entirely new to the market, Zenith bank has gone a step further by partnering with Visafone to make this product available on the phone menu for easy accessibility and use. The EaZyMoney module is now deployed on UTK (User Identity Module Tool Kit for CDMA networks). This product was launched on Wednesday this week.

This partnership is a natural occurrence as the two companies, Zenith Bank and Visafone, have the same founder - Jim Ovia.

Victor Asemota at TechCrunch Disrupt 2012 at San Francisco

Hi,

I am currently following a very good friend of mine online at the TechCrunch Disrupt currently taking place in San Francisco, USA. He is an ardent Tech Junkie and "disruptor" himself but he loves the African continent. His first blog post about the event is already up and it is aptly titled "Go Saya!! Support Saya!! referring to his support for Saya's support at the TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield. Victor operates from Ghana even though he is Nigerian. Guess you know why he is rooting the Ghanaian's company attempt to win the Disrupt Cup and $50,000 cash prize.

Now over to Victor Asemota......

I arrived San Francisco Sunday on another of my “learning trips” this time as a Startup Alley participant (cheaper tickets) as we decided to support Starlogic/Pontaba an HTML5 gaming platform founded by Amaete Umanah who is also the founder of the Silicon Africa Startup Group.

I was still jetlagged and woke up at 2:50am that morning and the first day’s event was like a blur. I had never expected with all the drama and departures from the company last year that TechCrunch Disrupt would get this packed. The International Pavilion was bigger than a few startups from Israel this time as Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico joined this year. The international startups had to take up another space equally as big as Startup Alley itself.

Continue with The Big Chief's Blog post by clicking here 

Kalahari.com adds on new product categories in line with increased shopping habits

Naspers-owned Kalahari.com has announced the addition of eight new product categories that will be offered on the online retailer’s website. The new categories are Baby, Appliances, Home & Living, Homeware, Luggage, Outdoor, Pets and Tools.

The site’s marketing manager, Liz Hillock, attributed the expansion to more and more South Africans shopping online for a wider range of products.

According to Kalahari.com’s assessment over the decade of its existence, local e-commerce shoppers have migrated from buying books, DVDs and games to higher-value items such as consumer electronics and recently everyday essentials such as homeware and baby supplies.

A study by MasterCard between December 2011 and January 2012 as part of its Worldwide Online Shopping survey found a significant increase in online shopping among South Africans.

In 2009, 44 percent of survey participants used online shopping. In the most recent study close to 60 percent of respondents were online shoppers.

At Naspers’ annual general meeting last week, Ton Vosloo, the group’s chairman, said Naspers forecast that e-commerce would represent the largest segment of the internet within the next five to 10 years.

Do we think Kalahari will re-enter the Sub-Saharan market? Only time will tell.

MIH launched online retail services in Kenya and Nigeria under the Kalahari brand in October 2009 and January 2010, respectively but closed shop in October 2011.  Incidentally, one could say the Kalahari's sojourn in Sub-Saharan market gave rise to the likes of Jumia.com, Konga.com in Nigeria and bidorbuy.co.ke in Kenya.

Boko Haram Attacks MTN, Airtel Masts In Northern Nigeria

Boko Haram recently destroyed over 24 telecom masts to protest the assistance the telecom operators offer the Security agents.

According to an email from the group's spokesman, Abul Qaqa, "We decided to launch attacks on masts of mobile telecom operators as a result of the assistance they offer security agents."  This information helps Nigerian security forces "in arresting our brethren", the statement added.

Companies targeted include South African telecom giant MTN, Airtel as well as Etisalat, AFP said.

Experts say the damage is like to run into millions of dollars as the cost of a single tower can exceed $1m (£627,000).  This is bound to cause disruption in network services across the Northern region of Nigeria.

Boko Haram launched a military campaign in 2009 to fight for Islamic rule, bombing government buildings, churches and assassinating moderate Muslim clerics.

The Power of Places and Big Data for Good: Google Places API Developer Challenge 2012

How would you like to create an app or site that solves health problems, understands crime patterns, or improves commerce? How would you like to better your local government or community and improve its efficiency? If you’ve got innovative ideas regarding apps which can improve the quality of life for communities or aid local governments in improving their services, then the Google Places API Developer Challenge 2012 is for you!

We’re inviting developers from around the world to make something that improves their communities or governments by using the Google Places API and its database of places and tools. The developers of the winning applications will receive a VIP experience at Google I/O 2013.

SAFARICOM becomes first Telco in East Africa to Launch Sustainability Report

Leading integrated communications company, Safaricom has today launched its first ever Sustainability Report, identifying major sustainability risks and detailing the proactive measures that the company is taking to ensure a better tomorrow for future generations.

The Sustainability Report is hinged on the 8 strategic pillars that cut across the regulatory environment, energy and network security, innovation, ethical supply chain conduct , corporate ethics, environmental impact and employee engagement..

Trade Transparency Hack - CcHub Nigeria, DFID and EIU initiative

Introduction

Trade-related costs and trade barriers such as tariffs raise the prices of the goods they buy. Unfortunately, there is very little information available to average citizens about the impact of trade protection on them.

While complex statistical data on tariff levels is already available online, it is usually not in an easily accessible format for people other than the experts.

To start these conversations, DFID has contracted the Economist Intelligence Unit to collect the data and model the impact of various trade-related factors on the retail prices of a small number of consumer goods. This dat a will be made available at various Trade Transparency Hacks around the world.

President Jonathan launches YOUWIN 2 for women

Today, President Goodluck Jonathan will launch YOUWIN 2.

The YOUWIN, the acronym for Youth Enterprise with Innovation,  Programme is a collaboration of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communication Technology (CT), and the Ministry of Youth Development that will launch an annual Business Plan Competition (BPC) for aspiring young entrepreneurs in Nigeria, in line with the Federal Government’s drive to create more jobs for Nigerians. It was launched on the 11th of October 2011 at Abuja and the first year competition produced 1,200 winners following a rigorous and exciting contest. Winners got prizes and grants of up to N10 million, technical support including state of the art websites an strategic guidance by experienced mentors

This second edition is exclusively for young female entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 45.

The launch of "YOUWIN 2" will take place at the Banquet Hall of the State House. First stage business concept submission starts after launch. To apply, please click here. And to know more about "YOUWIN" programme, check out the website here

Konga.com ready to take on casualties from Rocket Internet's Jumia/Sabunta layoffs

An ill wind blew through Jumia.com.ng (formely Kasuwa.com) and Sabunta.com last week friday and some people lost their jobs. It is rumoured that over 30% of the staff was let go. A recent post by Techloy today, lent credence to this report.

But I will say, it was expected as reported in an earlier blog. It was just a matter of when. Promoting the two entities - Jumia and Sabunta couldn't have been sustained for long - Economies of scale.

However Konga.com is offering the casualties another chance by telling them to send their CVs. This offer was tweeted via @shopkonga today.

I don't know if this is true but it is worth a try. Send your CVs to careers@konga.com