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e-Business Will Drive the Industry in the Future-Ibekwe

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Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development has constituted a restriction on one side to courier business but the same ICT is actually throwing up a major opportunity of the future for the industry. Mike Chukwuemeka Ibekwe, chief executive officer of Suvex Delivery Service and financial secretary, Association of Nigerian Courier Operators (Anco) disclosed this to Nigeria Communications Week in his office recently. Ibekwe says the real future of the industry in Nigeria is e-business which is already being practiced abroad where someone can stay in his bedroom and order what he wants from anywhere. In this process, Ibekwe says the shop doesn’t deliver these items but the courier. "That is the business of the future and that is what will determine or drive the industry in the future. That aspect of the market is grossly underdeveloped in Nigeria but time will come when the market in Nigeria will be e-driven", Ibekwe predicted.

To improve the services of the courier industry, Ibekwe says it will take the will power of the government to fast track action on the postal reform bill believing that once that bill is passed into law and the commission set up that the commission will then be able to define standard and ethics of the profession as well as measure operators and those that don’t measure up to those standards as he suggested, may be given a time frame either to measure up or fold up or join with some others. In addition, there is need for public enlightenment as Ibekwe expects that customers should also know what his or her rights are to courier service as well as recognize his responsibilities too.

Ibekwe emphasizes the need for training in the courier industry arguing that courier is a peculiar industry where there is no university or institution that offers courier as a course underlying the fact that the industry is vague to some extent. Therefore, to get the real quality and service according to Ibekwe, the industry has to come up with clear cut training programmes and packages, processes and procedures, standards and expectations which each organization will be involved in. Ibekwe says Suvex Delivey Service which provides domestic and international courier services, haulage, consultancy, in-house mail management has its own customized approach to doing business which the company does not compromise no matter what. He defines Suvex Courier as a company that observes honesty, integrity, character, relationship, value for money and respect for their customers as the core values of the organization especially this time around when there are a lot of sharp practices in the industry. "People don’t honour promises or honour their words but we go to any extent to keep our promise", Ibekwe said.

Ibekwe identifies the customer as the king and the reason for the existence of Suvex Delivery Service even as he says that it is a sacrilege for the organization to do anything against their clients and that the firm goes any mile to ensure customer satisfaction. Professional and efficient delivery of service within the budget of the customer is some of the selling points of the organization. Ibekwe believes it is one thing to deliver service and another for the service to fall within the budget of what the customer can afford.

He talks of Anco as a young organization that is still coming up compared to most of other trade groups. He says the biggest challenge in the organizations is trying to mobilize people who don’t believe in themselves not to talk of believing in an organization. Ibekwe says the truth of the matter is that the courier industry cannot get to its zenith without a proper organization and that that is what Anco is trying to do with the help and support of the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD). According to him, the association is looking forward particularly when the industry will be sanitized, when it will have a legal frame work that properly defines what should be and what shouldn’t. "You have an independent umpire there setting the standard and a professional organization that understands, believes and is willing to take all it has into the industry. We will then have a room to operate. That is the future we are looking at but right now Anco is using moral persuasion and every means possible to convince, mobilize, encourage and galvanize the multitude of people that are licensed to operate courier in the country," Ibekwe said.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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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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StarNews, Global Black Economic Forum Launch Business Competition In Partnership with MTN & USAID

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Africa’s leading video streaming platform, StarNews Mobile and the Global Black Economic Forum (GBEF), have announced a call for applications for the launch of their Business Competition in Lagos, Nigeria.

Held in partnership with MTN and United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID), the initiative will empower Nigeria’s most promising businesses that are classified as Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with invaluable investment and partnership opportunities from the USA.

Held over 10 weeks between April 8th to June 14th, hosted exclusively on the StarNews Biz Channel on the StarNews platform, this competition offers a platform for emerging entrepreneurs to showcase their ventures and gain national visibility.

With subscribers voting for their favourite candidates, the top 20 contestants will seize the spotlight and make their mark on the business landscape.

The StarNews Business Competition in partnership with GBEF delivers a unique opportunity for thriving Nigerian SMEs to access mentoring, funding, partnerships and socio-economic development tools through the Global Black Economic Forum.

With the prospect of securing cash prizes through StarNews worth up to NGN5,000,000, getting access to StarNews’s network of investors and the opportunity to gain national visibility by having their business on the StarNews web platform.

The top three winners will also receive coaching from GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence and become part of GBEF’s ecosystem of global leaders committed to social and economic justice across the Black Diaspora.

Previous speakers at GBEF convenings from the entertainment sector include Wyclef Jean (Haitian Musician & Activist), Debra Lee (Former CEO of Black Entertainment Television – BET) and Ceci Kurzman (Founder of Nexus Management Group). Applications will close on April 5th 2024.

Speaking on the competition’s launch, Guy Kamgaing, Founder and CEO at StarNews Mobile, says “The StarNews Business Competition is a passion project close to our hearts at StarNews Mobile.

It’s about discovering the most promising business entrepreneurs and creators in Nigeria, opening up global opportunities for them and providing them with the resources and tools to achieve their goals.

By partnering with MTN, USAID and GBEF, we want to be a platform of empowerment for these SMEs by helping them give back to the communities that are supporting them.”

According to the US Embassy and Consulate for Nigeria, over 80% of Nigerian startups are incorporated in the United States and more than 60% of venture capital funding in Nigerian startups accounted for by the US.

In 2023 alone, Nigerian startups raised a total of $398mn however, this signalled a 66% funding decline compared to 2022 due to the global economic downturn, reinforcing the massive need for a fresh injection of capital and business support for Nigeria’s emerging SMEs.

Alphonso David, President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum notes that, “Our partnership with StarNews Mobile is a critical resource as we continue to build the collective strength of entrepreneurship across the Diaspora.

“Building a sustainable ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs in the United States and across the African continent is essential to create a future that makes economic opportunity and economic freedom a reality for all.”

A sister company to ESSENCE, GBEF advances its work by convening global summits and conferences, bringing together world leaders, business leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities and civic leaders to address the most challenging problems facing our communities.

GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence facilitates workforce and leadership development strategy, addressing the talent pipeline & employee lifecycle, providing leadership development & coaching, and conducting institutional assessments & research.

GBEF also develops and implements economic and social justice policy recommendations with partners ranging from civil and human rights organisations to government entities and corporations that advocate for economic opportunity, social justice, and health equity through thought leadership, advocacy and litigation.

Launched in 2017, StarNews Mobile empowers African content creators with the unique opportunity to monetize their work through a subscription model, boasting over 4 million subscribers and a thriving community of more than 120 content creators.

With a strong presence across six countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, Congo, Benin and Ghana, the platform has also established key partnerships with major telecom operators such as MTN and Orange.

To-date, StarNews Mobile has secured over $8mn in funding with its most recent raise – a $3mn pre-Series A funding round in October 2023 – led by Janngo Capital with participation from French football players Aurélien Tchouaméni, Jules Koundé and Mike Maignan.

 


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Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme

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“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.

MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.

Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make   the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.

The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.

The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.

 


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