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5 Tried and Tested Ways to Keep Employees Engaged
By Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager – Africa, Zoho Corp.
Employee engagement, when done right, nurtures long-term relationships and contributes to an organisation’s sustainability. Engaged employees commit themselves to their employer’s goals, find satisfaction and meaning in the work they do, and have the potential to enhance business profitability. Here are five simple yet effective ways to keep your workforce engaged:
Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager – Africa, Zoho Corp
Uphold two-way communication
Two-way communication keeps employees informed about work-related developments and gives them a platform to offer their suggestions and feedback. A lack of communication can lead to information silos and in some cases, may also lead to employees perceiving it as mushroom management. To break silos and establish two-way communication, a flat organisational structure is a good place to start. Next, consider using different communication channels that allow free flow of information for all parties at various levels, i.e., between peers, managers, and the organisation. Apart from face-to-face and emails, introduce internal chat mediums, social intranet, and frequent business outlook updates. For instance, organizations can make use of virtual town hall meetings to enable their employees to communicate with their top leaders.
Facilitate employee development
For employees to work dedicatedly towards company goals, the first show of commitment has to always be the employer’s. An employer has to be ready to make long-term investments in human capital development and provide opportunities for employees to expand their skill sets or be redeployed to new roles that fit their interests. Moreover, for individuals to learn and perfect their work, it takes time. So there needs to be a culture of acceptance that encourages employees to learn from their mistakes without fear of being criticised. Similarly, experienced employees can be brought on board to mentor new employees. They can help interns understand what it takes to excel in their new roles and overcome work challenges.
Empower employees with trust
A culture built on trust empowers workers to become the best version of their work selves. Trust provides the mental space that every employee needs to hone their capabilities and deliver to their full potential. On the other hand, micromanagement introduces work fatigue and even the most spirited employees can lose interest when constantly monitored and badgered for updates. Today, we continue to hear about how more and more companies are deploying digital surveillance and key logging software to make sure that their remote workers put in the necessary hours while working from home. These are just different forms of micromanagement and practices like these will not be sustainable in the long run. They can affect workplace dynamics and destroy trust relationships, the effects of which will reflect eventually in the attrition rate.
Put the human back into human resources
Trying times like the present call for employee engagement approaches that prioritise individual well-being above all else. During such unprecedented circumstances, it’s critical to allow employees the space to adapt to the new normal and regain balance between their professional and personal lives. Flexible work arrangements that allow employees to develop their own work schedules will come in useful. Also, acknowledge and act on concerns that hold back employees from doing their work. For instance, poor ergonomics while working from home can increase stress and affect productivity. A one-time allowance towards enabling employees to set-up a dedicated home office can help solve this.
To better help employees who are battling anxiety and mental health issues, consider bringing a psychologist on-board to enable them to navigate their overwhelming emotions under guidance. Wellness webinars can be organized to help employees maintain a healthier lifestyle amidst the lockdown and stay-at-home orders.
Align organisational values with workplace practices
Employees respect and gradually become loyal to an employer who stands for what they believe in and integrates the same within workplace practices. An organisation’s key decisions must always be guided by its core values. At Zoho, we believe the cloud will power entire businesses and true to that vision, all our business operations including employee collaboration run only on Zoho applications to date. Another value close to our heart is the philosophy of transnational localism and as part of it, we have established more than 30 satellite offices in rural locations across various nations to help our employees stay close to their roots.
Strong employee engagement programs are core to sustainable human capital management. They determine an organisation’s capability to attract the right talent, build loyalty, and promote development. Moreover, amid testing times like the ongoing pandemic, continued employee engagement practices become all the more important for an organisation to assure employees of its investment towards the well-being of its workforce.
About ₦2 billion changes hands in bets every day (KPMG Gaming Outlook 2025), driven by a 60-million-strong punter base that treats wagering as both entertainment and side-hustle. Industry revenue is on pace to hit US $3.63 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) by December 2025 – roughly the size of Nigeria’s entire recorded-music market.
Smartphones rule this universe: more than 90 percent of slips now start and finish on a handset, which is why the market leaders obsess over data-lite apps and USSD deposits almost as much as odds feeds.
Our Litmus Test for “Best”
To separate hype from heft we graded each book on the nine variables that still matter after the banner ads fade:
- Odds edge & market depth – average margin on EPL, NPFL and niche sports
- Live tech stack – cash-out latency, in-play uptime, streaming rights
- Payout speed & reliability
- Responsible-gaming tools (RG) – time-outs, self-exclusion, deposit caps
- Licensing strength & dispute history
- Promotions that actually pay
- Product breadth – virtuals, jackpots, prediction games, casino
- Financial resilience – operating cash flow, retail footprint, VC war chest
- Cultural traction – agent networks, grassroots sponsorships, meme power
The Heavyweights – and Why Each Owns a Piece of The Best
| Operator | What They Nail | Ticking Time-Bombs | Verdict |
| SportyBet | Biggest traffic (≈ 57 M visits / month), sub-5-second cash-outs, crazy-low EPL margin (~4.5%). | Still no retail city hubs; crash loops on older Tecno devices. | Mobile kingpin |
| Bet9ja | Heritage trust, retail agents in 20 states, jackpots like Super9ja; circa ₦10 billion monthly handle. | Dated UX; odds less sharp since 2024 revamp. | Legacy war-horse |
| BetKing | Data-driven odds, Genius Sports in-play feed, renewed deal with Gamble Alert for RG training. | Slower KYC queues at peak traffic. | RG poster-child |
| Surebet247 | NLRC Permit 0001081; cash-first agent model with mobile slip tracking; boosted welcome bonus to ₦150k; full cash-out on domestic basketball. | Android app, iOS app; livestream rights still pending. | Mobile dark horse |
| 1xBet & Betway | Global market buffet, esports, crypto options. | Offshore-licence optics; occasional geoblock glitches. | International muscle |
| NairaBet, AccessBET, Msport, Premier Bet, BetPawa | NairaBet = pioneer cachet; Msport & BetPawa blitz TikTok; Premier Bet just signed Francis Ngannou. | Each misses at least one core pillar (RG tooling, market depth or fast payouts). | Specialist niches |
Two Deep-Cut Insights the Billboards Won’t Show You
- Women are quietly reshaping the market. According to University of Abuja (“according to data from the University of Abuja”), 30 percent of urban Lagos women now gamble regularly, and a 2025 field survey found daily spend often tops ₦50,000 despite lower median income.
- Mobile-money betting dents student wallets. According to Lagos State University, mobile-money deposits explain 26.7 percent of the variance in student financial well-being – a stat that should make every platform’s RG desk sweat.
So, Who Actually Wins?
- Premier-League diehards who live for lightning-fast in-play cash-out: SportyBet wears the crown.
- Corner-shop loyalists who still like to chat with a clerk: Surebet247 Betshop nails the cash-plus-mobile sweet spot.
- Jackpot chasers who want EPL on Saturday, Ugandan Super League on Tuesday, and darts on Thursday: Bet9ja is still the Swiss-Army knife.
Punters who value self-exclusion toggles and deposit caps (you should): BetKing edges ahead.
In reality, “best” is contextual. Odds hawks, live-stream junkies, crypto degenerates and agent-network stalwarts will all point to different logos. What you don’t want is a bookie that melts down at 89′ when Villarreal finally scores.
On that front, the four names above – plus a rapidly innovating Surebet247 mobile bet shop – look built to survive Nigeria’s next data-price hike and the NLRC’s tightening audit screws.
The rest? Keep one eye on their uptime dashboards – and the other on your bankroll.
By Lukman Otunuga, Senior Market Analyst at FXTM.
A flurry of high-risk events may pump global financial markets with fresh volatility this week.
Top-tier data, including US Inflation, the unofficial start of earnings season, and US Congress “Crypto Week,” among other themes, could spell fresh opportunities.
Amidst this, uncertainty over global trade will add to the mix after President Donald Trump threatened 35% tariffs on the EU and Mexico over the weekend.
Regarding US inflation, this may impact bets around Fed cuts in the second half of this year. Markets are forecasting CPI to rise 2.6% from 2.4% in the prior month, with core CPI rising to 2.9% from 2.8%. Signs of rising prices may shave bets around the Fed cutting interest rates – boosting the dollar as a result.
Closer to home, Nigeria’s June CPI data due July 15 is expected to show signs of cooling inflationary pressures. This could offer some relief to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which aggressively hiked interest rates throughout 2024. Inflation is expected to have eased to 21.4% year-on-year from 23% in May – marking the 4th consecutive month of decline. However, the slowdown is largely a technical adjustment aided by the recent gains in the Naira amid higher non-oil exports and a weaker dollar.
The CBN is scheduled to meet later this month and will most likely keep rates unchanged at 27.5%.
One key challenge for the country will be how to re-tweak its budget for lower oil prices. Indeed, the budget was based around oil production at 2 million barrels and oil prices of $75. Brent is trading around $70 with the nation producing 1.544m b/d of crude in May according to OPEC. Nigeria is hoping to raise production to 1.9m b/d by the end of 2025. But its impact on the economy may be muted if oversupply and tepid demand keep oil prices subdued. Brent is up 4% this month but still down over 6% since the start of 2025.
Bright Echefu, chief executive officer, Telecom Satellites Limited (TStv), and three co‑defendants appeared before the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday on an amended twelve‑count indictment brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The charges allege money laundering, tax evasion, and investment fraud involving approximately ₦1 billion and $1.3 million.
Bright Echefu, chief executive officer, TStv
In addition to Echefu, the defendants are TStv Executive Director, Felix Igboanuga, Telecom Satellites Limited itself, and Briechberg Investment Ltd.
According to the April 5, 2025, amended charge sheet the EFCC accuses the quartet of defrauding Mr. Tanimu Turaki, Managing Director of Kalsiyam Global and former Minister of Special Duties, alongside BYI General Limited, out of a combined investment of ₦1 billion and $1.3 million. The commission has also included a ₦66 million alleged tax default.
The revised indictment lists:
Count 2: ₦33,909,542.47 in unremitted Company Income Tax
Count 3: ₦13,519,382.00 in unremitted VAT
Count 4: ₦19,488,860.00 in unremitted PAYE
Counts 5–12: Various fraud‑related transactions, including ₦380 million from Kalsiyam Farm, ₦400 million from BYI General Ltd and $1.35 million in loans secured under false pretences.
All defendants pleaded not guilty once again. At the hearing before Justice Mohammed Umar, Echefu’s lead counsel, Senior Advocate Eyitayo Fatogun, informed the court of ongoing settlement discussions with the complainants.
“There are moves to settle this matter and there was a meeting on Saturday between myself and the Nominal Complainant as it is about investment,” Fatogun stated.
“The Defendants have paid some money and I was thinking that the matter be adjourned for report of settlement.”
EFCC counsel A.S. Tomwell confirmed receipt of those payments but emphasized the necessity of entering a plea before considering any adjournment. The court thus ordered the formal reading of the charges and adjourned the trial to October 15, 2025.
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