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Denloye, Rustagi Spilled All to Startups at CFA’s Startups Hangout

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The much talked about June edition of the CFA’S Startups Hangout came up on Friday, June 23, 2017 and it lived up to it’s billing.

The attendee Startups really had their times worth at the event from insights given by the two distinguished and successful Entrepreneurs that spoke at the occasion, Deepankar Rustagi, Co-Founder, VConnect and  Nadu Denloye, PhD, Co-Founder, Telnet and Director, CDNet Ltd/Gte.

First to speak was Deepankar Rustagi, Co-Founder, VConnect, who stated that many people talk about the challenges of SME’s, but very few people do anything about it. He said that this was one of the reasons that VConnect was started in order to be of assistance to SME’s. Deepankar went on the state that the Social Media has various channels and businesses should always know which of the channels works best to promote their business.

He reiterated that technology should be used to simplify things, reach out to ones target customers/audiences. So they can patronize.

“Technology is not difficult to implement. You don’t have to be techy to operate your Facebook or WhatsApp. We are not scared of what to do, we are only scared of what will happen”, he stated.

Deepanker gave the attendee Startups, 8  things to imbibe when building a digital strategy and these are: a) Visibility; b) Accessibility; c) Highlight your differentiation; d) Be focused; e) Understand your target market and not the entire population. (Reach out to the right people); f) Choose what channel of social media to promote and sell your products; g) Create a good and impactful Customer Service; h) Measure your results.

In closing, Deepankar offered all the attendee Startups that attended the June 2017 edition of the CFA’s Startups Hangout, free registration for listing on VConnect.

The second Speaker, Nadu Denloye, PhD,  Co-Founder, Telnet and Director, CDNet Ltd/Gte, stated that, over time, the world has changed, but then, it has not really changed. ” The “What” and the “Why” of business has not changed over the years, but the “How’s” have changed”, she explained.

Dr. Denloye gave the elements of growing a business as: a) Turning an idea into a product or service; b) Turning your employees into your disciples by training and treating them well; c) Transforming a customer to a partner; d) Aligning your long-term objectives with those of your investors; e) Scaling your business upwards.

Dr. Denloye went on to state some things her team at Telnet did right as follows: a) Started small and growing the business gradually; b) Each team member knew his/her strengths and weaknesses and stuck to concentrating on his/her strength; c) Staff were developed and trained; d) The company walked its talk by saying what they can do and doing what they said; e) The company was constantly re-working itself through innovation of its products and services and forming effective partnerships; f) Breaking into other businesses with new brand names and with financial backing; g) Building transparency and culture of professionalism with customers.

One mistake she said she and her team made but, had to quickly correct at Telnet was that they kept putting in money without looking at the bottom line.

Some other strategies that Dr. Denloye advised the Startups to imbibe include: a) The fact that your personality reflects your business, hence, you are the change you want to see in your business;  b) You have to seek knowledge and seek it early; c) The challenges of business are ever present, so, you have to keep on solving challenges, no matter the size or level of your business d) Build your business for succession by training a successor to effectively take over from you.
 
“Your mindset, the attitude you put into your business, is what makes your business what it is and not where you graduated from”, she concluded.

The June 2017 edition was sponsored by VConnect.com, DC Hub and TAMS.

TAMS also made a presentation on the services it renders in the field of Human Resources from recruitment to retirement, etc., which the Startups can patronize in running the HR department.

Kudos also to the Media Partners of the CFA’s Startups Hangout, Nigerian CommunicationsWeek, Guardian Tech and CFAtech.ng for spreading the awareness of this unique opportunity for Startups to learn and grow.

Watch out on https://startups.cfatech.ng/ for details of the July 2017 edition of the CFA’s Startups Hangout which also promises to be excited and educative to our growing Startups.

CFA is the Founder, www.CFAtech.ng & Co-producer/Presenter,Tech Trends on Channels Television

 


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Detained Binance executive drags EFCC, NSA to court

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Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has has dragged the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to court alleging violations of his fundamental rights.

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In a filing dated March 18 and presented by his lawyer Olujoke Aliyu from Aluko and Oyebode Law Firm, Gambaryan sought redress before Justice Inyang Ekwo, requesting five reliefs. Similarly, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager who escaped custody on March 22, initiated a separate suit before Justice Ekwo.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, in the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24, had sued the Office of NSA (ONSA) and EFCC as 1st and 2nd respondents.

Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, alleged that his detention and the confiscation of his international travel passport violated Section 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution, constituting a breach of his fundamental right to personal liberty. He further requested the court to order his immediate release and the return of his passport. Additionally, he sought an injunction preventing further detention related to any Binance investigations and demanded a public apology from the respondents, along with costs incurred.

Gambaryan stated that he visited Nigeria on February 26 alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, representing Binance, in response to invitations from ONSA and EFCC. Despite attending the meeting as requested, both were detained afterward without formal charges.

During the court proceedings, T.J. Krukrubo, SAN, representing Anjarwalla and Gambaryan, informed the court of the respondents’ absence despite being served. Krukrubo also mentioned their notice of withdrawal of legal representation for Anjarwalla, filed on March 26.

Justice Ekwo noted the withdrawal of legal representation and adjourned the matter to April 8 to allow the applicants to seek new representation and give the respondents an opportunity to appear.

In Gambaryan’s case, Krukrubo stated that although the processes were served on ONSA and EFCC, they still had time to respond. He requested an adjournment, indicating that the respondents’ deadline to file their applications would expire the following week.

Consequently, Justice Ekwo scheduled the next hearing for April 8 to continue proceedings.


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AXA Mansard Empowers Female SMEs with Financial, Digital Skills

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AXA Mansard, a member of AXA has empowered 200 female Small and Medium Enterprises with financial literacy and digital business skills.

In collaboration with SME 100 Africa, the two-day training, which was held in Lagos, is part of AXA’s lined-up programmes to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.

Speaking, Olusesan Ogunyooye, Head of Marketing AXA Mansard, said the training was aimed to empower female SME owners with skills to improve business output and position them for the increasing economic opportunities available in an increasingly digital marketplace.

Ogunyooye noted that the move was in line with AXA Mansard’s sustainability agenda, explaining that the company was convinced that support for women through its inclusive protection programmes was pivotal to its purpose of acting for human progress by protecting what matters and its mission of moving from being a payer to a partner.

He further said that focusing on digital skills was important because the company realised the importance of digital skills to the growth of the SME sector in Nigeria and wants to ensure that women were empowered enough to be a consequential part of that growth.

“It’s almost trite to say that SMEs are the engine for economic growth, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, where over 45 million adults are business owners. What needs to be continually discussed is how Nigeria is going to unlock that potential for economic development and how much of that potential will be unlocked by women and for women.”

“For us at AXA Mansard, we are aware that digital will play a major role in unlocking these current opportunities and Nigeria’s economic future. So, to ensure that women are equally represented in unlocking these future potentials, that’s why we have collaborated with SME 100 Africa to support them in developing the required skills”.

“Our choice of digital and financial literacy skills is deliberate. We understand the power of the duo. We understand that helping these SMEs with the skills to attract more customers will be a faster means to empower them.

“We see that they have amazing products and services, but they need to understand how to attract value for themselves by attracting the right customers, and you will agree with me that virtually all customer segments are online in one way or another today.

“So, if we can empower them with digital business skills, we would have helped them with the heavy lifting of trying to find and attract customers”. Ogunyooye explained.

According to him, AXA Mansard believes that for the world to experience progress truly, there must be an equitable distribution of creation and access to opportunities for men and women. This quest for balance informed the SHE for Shield initiative, a women-centred inclusive protection programme of AXA Mansard.

SHE for Shield is a group of initiatives designed for the Nigerian woman. The goal is to see them grow, add value, and help them mitigate risks at every step.

According to the company, research has found that access to health care is one of the most important things to Nigerian women, regardless of their economic segment. They desire to be financially independent, secure, and respected in the community.

 


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IFC Invests in New 4DX Ventures Fund to Support Tech Startups in Africa

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IFC is investing $10.5 million in a new fund by 4DX Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on supporting early-stage African technology companies across a broad set of sectors, including fintech, e-commerce, edtech, climate tech, and health tech.

IFC’s investment in 4DX Ventures Fund III will come from IFC’s $225 million venture capital platform, which was launched last year to strengthen emerging VC ecosystems and invest in early-stage companies in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan.

Africa is among the regions least served by venture capital, receiving just 2% of global venture deal volume in the third quarter of 2023. Access to capital on the continent has been further exacerbated by a slowdown in global venture capital investment.

Tech ecosystems are nascent, or even nonexistent, outside of more established markets such as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.

“IFC and 4DX Ventures share the commitment to supporting tech entrepreneurs with innovations that will help Africa leapfrog in critical areas such as climate, health care, fintech, e-commerce, and education,” said Walter Baddoo, Co-Founder and General Partner of 4DX Ventures.

“We look forward to partnering with IFC to help promising tech startups build transformative businesses and realize sustainable development impact on the continent.”

4DX’s new fund will invest in companies with tech solutions that can improve productivity, efficiency and competitiveness across Africa. The firm’s first two funds invested in companies such as Egypt-based e-commerce platform MaxAB, an IFC portfolio company; Ghana-based health tech firm mPharma; and Kenya-based B2B e-commerce platform Wasoko, formerly known as Sokowatch.

“By supporting the development of tech ecosystems in emerging markets, IFC’s venture capital platform aims to improve access to key services, boost business competitiveness, and promote job creation through digital transformation,” said Mohamed Gouled, Vice President of Industries at IFC.

“Our investment in venture funds such as 4DX Ventures will help African entrepreneurs access more financing and resources they need to scale tech innovations and bolster sustainable growth across the continent.

In addition to providing capital, IFC will work with 4DX Ventures to implement their environmental and social management system.


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