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Nigeria, Others Emerge Highest Mobile Online Reading Population – Report

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African mobile users have spent an average of over four million hours reading books on their mobile phones so far in 2018, representing a 32% increase from 2017.

This is according to a survey conducted by Web browser company, Opera Mini, in partnership with global literacy non-profit, Worldreader, in light of World Literacy Day on 8 September.

The research provides insights into the mobile reading habits of almost two million Worldreader app users on the African continent. In addition, Opera Mini ran an online survey of 1 500 women and men aged 14 to 44 from various parts of the Africa continent, to learn more about their Web browsing habits on their mobile phones.

The study reveals that Nigeria, SA and Ivory Coast are the countries with the highest mobile and online reading populations in 2018.

Furthermore, 65% of mobile readers on the continent are men, while 35% are women. The study reveals women in African countries are as tech-savvy as men, when it comes to browsing the Internet using their mobile phones.

“Women are using their browsers as often as men; with the majority of female survey respondents in Kenya and Nigeria (60%) stating they access their mobile browsers more than eight times a day. Furthermore, women tend to spend 11.5 minutes reading on average, while men read 6.5 minutes per session, making women more frequent readers.

“On average, there are more than 414 000 monthly e-book readers across the African continent, with most readers preferring books related to love and romance, especially those that come from local authors and publishers,” it notes.

According to the study, millions of people do not read for one reason: they do not have access to text. However, mobile phones and cellular networks are transforming a scarce literacy resource into an abundant one.

“Mobile technology is significantly advancing literacy and learning in underserved communities around Africa. Affordability of mobile phones together with the data saving technology have been key to the increase in access to free electronic books,” it points out.

Smartphone access

According to Zenith’s Mobile Advertising Forecasts 2017, in 2018 around 66% of individuals in an array of 52 developed and developing countries, including SA, will own a smartphone. This number, according to the report, represents a 63% increase from 2017 and a 58% increase from 2016.

However, the rapid expansion of smartphone ownership across the world is expected to slow down as penetration reaches 80%-90% in the most advanced markets, notes the study.

According to the latest report of Groupe Sp’eciale Mobile Association (GSMA), “The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2018”, at the end of last year, there were more than 444 million unique mobile subscribers and 250 million smartphone users in Sub-Saharan Africa. These numbers represent a big opportunity to bring reading to millions in the region through technology, says GSMA.

“We know that mobile phone affordability and the convenience of owning one are two big reasons why we are seeing more and more people accessing our e-book collection through their mobile devices in Africa,” says Colin McElwee, co-founder of Worldreader.

“Our partnership with Opera Mini is a perfect match. With Opera browser being the number one choice for mobile users across Africa, it provides an incredible opportunity to get people reading.”

GSMA predicts 80% of the 800 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will have a mobile device by 2020, pushed by the growing popularity of over-the-top services and mobile banking.

E-books collaboration

Opera Mini has developed e-books technology that compresses text and images to 10% of their original size, reducing data consumption and the cost of data on a mobile phone and allowing users to spend more time reading and downloading books when using Worldreader.

The partnership between Opera and Worldreader started in 2015 with the aim of bringing free e-books to millions of mobile users in Africa through Opera Mini’s affordable mobile browser.

“We are very happy to contribute to literacy in Africa with our Opera Mini browser as we give mobile users access to Worldreader’s vast library of great books,” says Jan Standal, VP of product marketing and communications at Opera.

“Since we started this partnership, we have added more than nine million new readers in Africa who now enjoy books from different genres such as romance, adventure and education, among others.”


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PalmPay Unveils First Set of Winners in Eid Mobile Bonanza

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PalmPay has announced the first set of winners in its ongoing Eid campaign tagged PalmPay Eid Bonanza, which kicked off on April 10th and will run until April 30th, 2024.

Since the start of the bonanza on April 10th, 5 lucky winners have been emerging daily simply by performing tasks on the PalmPay App such as transferring funds, airtime and data purchases, bill payments, and savings.

Comfort Udoh from Lagos, one of the proud recipients of an iPhone 15 Pro, expressed her sheer delight. “I simply won by recharging my phone with airtime on the PalmPay app. I received the exciting news via a call from PalmPay Nigeria. I thank them for the generous reward of a brand new iPhone 15 pro”

Also, Mr. Abegurin Patrick Segun’s winning entry came about when he placed a N100 bet using his PalmPay app. It was a delightful surprise for him to receive a call from PalmPay Nigeria, informing him of his victory in the daily raffle draw, and he’s now the proud owner of an Infinix Hot 40i.

To participate in the remaining weeks of the campaign, download the PalmPay App from Google Play or App Store. Sign up for an account and include your BVN or NIN to complete the process and click on the  Eid Bonanza Feature.

There are still numerous phones to be won daily, along with the added bonus of daily free transfers to any bank via the PalmPay App.

Enakeno Umuteme, the Head of Marketing and Communications at PalmPay Nigeria, notes that “Our primary objective is to reward and acknowledge our loyal customers. This campaign stays true to its promise of appreciating Nigerians who are PalmPay users”

PalmPay offers an array of services including money transfers, bill payments, credit services, and savings on its app and via its mobile money agents. Since its inception in Nigeria in 2019 under a Mobile Money Operator license, the platform has amassed over 30 million app users as part of its cashless payment ecosystem.


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Kaspersky Warns of Data Stealers Hunting for User Credentials

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As the malware development market continues to flourish with new stealers such as Lumma, for the last three years Redline still remains the dominant data-stealing malware used by cybercriminals.

More than half of every device (55%) targeted by password-stealer attacks in 2023 has been infected with the Redline malware, Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence finds.

Infostealers infiltrate devices to illicitly obtain sensitive credentials such as logins and passwords, which are then peddled on the shadow market, posing significant cybersecurity threats to personal and corporate systems.

According to information gleaned from log-files traded or distributed freely on the dark web, Redline was used in 51% of infostealer infections from 2020 to 2023. Other notable malware families included Vidar (17%) and Raccoon (nearly 12%).

In total, around 100 distinct infostealer types were identified by Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence between 2020 and 2023 using metadata from log-files.

The underground market for data-stealing malware development is expanding, evident from the rising popularity of new stealers.

Between 2021 and 2023, the portion of infections caused by new stealers grew from 4% to 28%. Specifically, in 2023, the new “Lumma” stealer alone was responsible for more than 6% of all infections.

“Lumma emerged in 2022 and gained popularity in 2023, through a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) distribution model.

This means any criminal, even those without advanced technical skills, can purchase a subscription for a pre-made malicious solution and use this stealer to carry out cyberattacks.

“Lumma is primarily designed for stealing credentials and other information from cryptocurrency wallets, commonly spread through email, YouTube, and Discord spam campaigns,” says Sergey Shcherbel, expert at Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.

To guard against data-stealing malware, individuals are advised to use a comprehensive security solution for any device. This will help prevent infections and alert them to dangers, such as suspicious sites or phishing emails that can be an initial vector for infection. Companies can help their users, employees and partners protect themselves from the threat by proactively monitoring leaks and prompting users to change leaked passwords immediately.


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World Energy Conferencing

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By Okoko Chidozie Christian

[email protected]; 09025179984.

In an increasing world, the effectiveness of meaningful human interaction becomes ever important.

World Energy Conferencing

The significance of networking remains at the very core of what we do; and to support this we strive to offer more opportunities through digital platforms to engage online year round.

Conferences as indispensable part of business could be a vital opportunity that is certain to reap one’s time, organizational commitment and lots more.

Research proven creditably reveals that conferencing provides a rare opportunity for key individuals within field specialism to come together collaboratively all over the world, in the same place, at the same time.

Such environment provides the perfect platform to network,

form partnership and exchange knowledge with both peers, and people from connected industries with whom one may not have previously connected.

A prospect such as this is sure to serve well both now and in the future.

Having known that conferences attract a unique and incredible mix of thinkers, leaders, experts and emerging talents with an existing predisposition to develop skills; it also stimulates industry progress and contribute to important global conversations.

World energy conferencing are energy-focused events set to draw in the world’s top businesses and their leaders to put the wheels of actions in motion against climate crisis and other major threats to the energy sectors and wider world as a result.

The later part of last year saw one of the world’s most pivotal sustainability events to date, COP28 reported in my previous article “Sustainability of Clean and Renewable Energy” on April 1st, 2024. The event saw world’s leaders take urgent actions and decisions on the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable and energy efficiency.

Undoubtedly, conference brings a wealth of forums, events, programmes which unite leaders about energy and industry’s interest topics, insights, guidance and tackling of some of the most pressing challenges.

These energy events will help in bringing together leading companies and talented people to provide business professional with high quality trade shows, digital solutions and connections, research reveals.

Some of the anticipated World energy events include World Utilities Conference Abu Dhabi, UAE (May 8-10,2024); International Conference in Energy Paris, France (14-15 May, 2024); Reuters Global Energy Transition New York, USA (7-8 June, 2024); Energy Tech Summit, Bilbao, Spain (10-11 April, 2024 ); Offshore Technology Conference, OTC in Houston Texas (6-9 May 2024), and many more.

World Energy Conferencing help companies and individuals to gain access to official media partnering and news publications for the world’s largest energy events thereby increasing their brand visibility through a variety of compelling content platforms helping to share latest innovations which are shaping the future of energy.

Also, connect industry leaders and passionate individuals from across the globe all committed to advancing the future of the energy industry in a path towards sustainable, renewable and affordable energy.

Technology expositions has helped a wide range of industry-leading companies to present energy-efficient products, energy management services and solutions.

Also, creates an environment for global think tank, powered by global innovation, pioneering minds and groundbreaking insights. As creating a new energy future require bold and different thinking, majority of these conferences regarded as the foremost events get accelerated global transition to clean energy, and bring leaders, policy-makers, investment incubators, corporate partners and world-class start-ups to work towards a greener tomorrow.

However, apart from being at the frontier of discovery on a global platform, conferencing witnesses the solution, ideas and game changers that matters amongst the world’s leading energy brands. It opens way for stakeholders to a unique occasion in examining critical insights, global drivers of energy prices and to network with energy specialists from other international companies of the world.

World energy conference platforms showcase advances in energy and a highly interactive experience that inspire progressive leadership thinking, collaborative and constructive actions. Regarding the concept of its most vital meetings, reflects its present and dedicated future to the entire society.

So, as we look ahead to the next 100years of energy mix; it is critical we consider not just the future of our energy technology, but also how we increase society’s energy literacy and create more inclusive bottom-up energy communities.


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