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CWG’s New Business Strategy Impacts its Half Year Financial Report

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Austin Okere, Founder and CEO, CWG
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Computer Warehouse Group (CWG Plc), at the twilight of a five year strategic plan to take the company in a different direction into a more robust subscription business model, paused to evaluate the progress achieved, and the impact on her hitherto traditional business, underpinned by technology sales and support to major enterprises in Africa.

According to Austin Okere, group chief executive officer, “we crafted the plan code named CWG2.0 in 2010, realizing back then the pervasiveness of cloud computing, and the major enablement for this in our region following the increase in broadband access from 0.65tb to a combined capacity of 9Tbits per second. We were very clear that while our tremendous growth over the years had been propelled by our traditional businesses in hardware and software sales and support, and VSAT bandwidth vending, these represented mature and declining margin businesses, the import of which have been evident in our recent Financial Statements”.

The uptake of the company’s New Cloud products not only in Nigeria but also in Ghana, Cameroon and Uganda proves that  her emerging business model of providing cloud services on a subscription basis is scalable, repeatable and transferable, albeit relatively more sustainable and profitable.

Following her listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in November last year, the company has vigorously pursued her CWG2.0 initiative with the commissioning of a tier 3 Data Centre and the release of many products, which have been solely locally developed, or in collaboration with other innovative Companies such as MTN Nigeria, Diamond bank and Ericsson among others.

According to James Agada, chief technology officer of the group, ‘CWG2.0 is all about the freedom to dream and the passion to execute. CWG2.0 defines the future direction of our company. In summary it is a social impact investment initiative directed towards empowering the African Entrepreneur.’

CWG2.0 comprises products such as SMERP, an online resource planning solution that enhances proper business inventory management by business owners; Openshoppen, an e-commerce site that provides multiple shop owners the opportunity to open virtual shops online, complemented by an integrated secured payment gateway, thereby allowing online buyers to pay for products and services with their cards.

CWG2.0 also includes a Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSP) smart grid solution, and various cloud services which promote the Cashless policy initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The company’s SMERP product has received increasing interest, with different channel partnerships being developed for rapid deployment of the product.  There is a lot of interest for this service from individual merchants, banks and other organizations that support SME business.

CWG is currently nurturing relationships with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Bank of Industry, as well as other Agencies charged with the support and growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria to take advantage of her vast offering.

In addition, CWG has entered into strategic partnership with SES Astra, a Satellite Services provider to provide teleport and platform services for the pioneer satellite-based free to Air and free to View digital Television system that will launch commercially in Q4 2014.

According to Gbadebo Adesina, head of Power Business at CWG, ‘the audacious plan to privatize the power sector has unveiled a new revenue opportunity for us, as we have partnered with a company in India to provide a key solution to address the technical and non-technical loses in power distribution. Our solution which provides an effective medium for energy audit and revenue assurance is currently undergoing proof of concept with two of the largest DISCOs in Nigeria, and we expect that this new line of business will be at implementation stage by Q3 2015’. 

‘With the full launch of this solution, CWG shall generate an additional source of revenue, not unlike the volumes witnessed during the telecoms boom earlier in the decade’ he continued.

According to Remi Adeloye, CWG financial controller, ‘CWG’s 2014 first half of the year revenue of N8.3b is 16% below 2013 N9.9b, while Gross Profit N1.6b is 23% below 2013 N2.1b. The lower H1 revenues is a reflection of the continued decline in margins on traditional IT infrastructure business due to commoditization and competitive pressures, as well as viable alternatives in the Cloud Computing Frontier’.

Continuing, Mr. Adeloye said ‘the financial position of the group remains strong with adequate liquidity, leverage and efficiency ratios. H1 2014 Current ratio improved to 1.5 as against H1 2013 which was 1.4 signifying strong liquidity and adequacy of working capital to meet transactional needs. Also CWG’s leverage Debt to Equity ratio remains low at 9% as against 10% in 2013.’

Emphasizing the imperative in the shift in strategy, the CWG Boss, Mr. Okere added ‘we consider the refocusing of our business into a subscription based model as a dual advantage play. In addition to being a more sustaining strategy, it maximizes our social impact investing on the economy of Africa, and helps to create jobs by empowering entrepreneurs in the countries of our operation. The dip in our H1 numbers while expected, will be more than compensated for when the full import of CWG2.0 comes fully on stream by H2 2015.’

With the rebasing of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to $509.0b (N80.3trillion), capturing the recent growth effects in sectors such as telecommunication and the movie industry (Nollywood), and with the fast growth of the ICT sector, contributing about 8.3% of current GDP, Mr. Okere’s optimism is not far-fetched.


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Temu Joins INTA to Combat Counterfeits and Elevate IP Standards Worldwide

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Temu, the global online marketplace, has joined the International Trademark Association (INTA) as a corporate member and serves on its Anti-Counterfeiting Committee.

INTA is a global association that brings together more than 6,700 organizations, representing over 37,000 trademark professionals and brand owners across 181 countries. By joining INTA, Temu deepens its commitment to building a trusted online marketplace and advancing global IP protection through broader, cross-industry collaboration.

“INTA welcomes TEMU’s willingness to engage in anticounterfeiting initiatives, including in the Association’s annual Anticounterfeiting Workshop and Online Takedown Certificate Program which serve to share best practices and connect stakeholders,” said Alastair Gray, Director of Anti-Counterfeiting, INTA. “Constructive collaboration with these efforts can contribute to the protection of intellectual property rights for INTA members and support the removal of counterfeit products from the platform which ultimately protects consumers.”

At the 2025 INTA Annual Meeting held in San Diego in May, Temu participated in the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee Roundtable, serving as a moderator to facilitate discussions among brand owners, online platforms, and government officials on emerging technologies, best practices for collaboration, and strategies to strengthen global anti-counterfeiting efforts.

“Joining INTA and serving on its Anti-Counterfeiting Committee reflects Temu’s ongoing commitment to ensuring a trustworthy online shopping experience,” said a Temu spokesperson. “We value collaboration with industry peers and stakeholders and are dedicated to advancing collective efforts in intellectual property protection.”

Temu also participates in INTA-led online workshops, including the Online Platform Notice and Takedown Certification Program, which outlines the latest procedures and best practices used by e-commerce platforms and social media companies. These workshops aim to enhance the quality and accuracy of rights-holder notices, promoting more effective takedown processes and content moderation.

Since launching in 2022, Temu has made significant investments in IP enforcement. Its measures include comprehensive seller vetting and compliance training, 24/7 algorithmic monitoring with manual review, a dedicated IP protection portal and brand registry to streamline takedown submissions, and an internal enforcement team that handles claims with speed and accuracy.


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Huawei Unveils AI Computing System to Challenge Nvidia’s Flagship Product

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China’s Huawei Technologies unveiled an AI computing system on Saturday that an industry expert said rivals Nvidia’s most advanced product, as the company aims to expand its footprint in the country’s booming AI sector.

Huawei Unveils AI Computing System to Challenge Nvidia’s Flagship Product

The CloudMatrix 384 system made its public debut at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), a three-day event in Shanghai, attracting a large crowd to Huawei’s booth with its showcase of cutting-edge AI innovations.

The system has attracted significant interest from the global AI community since Huawei (HWT.UL) first introduced it in April. Industry analysts see it as a direct challenger to Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72, the most advanced system-level offering currently available from the U.S. chipmaker.

In an April article, Dylan Patel, founder of semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis, stated that Huawei now possesses AI system capabilities that could surpass those of Nvidia.

Huawei staff at its WAIC booth declined to comment when asked to introduce the CloudMatrix 384 system.

A spokesperson for Huawei did not respond to questions.

Huawei has become widely regarded as China’s most promising domestic supplier of chips essential for AI development, even though the company faces U.S. export restrictions.

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang told Bloomberg in May that Huawei had been “moving quite fast” and named the CloudMatrix as an example.

The CloudMatrix 384 system features 384 of Huawei’s latest 910C chips and, according to SemiAnalysis, surpasses Nvidia’s GB200 NVL72 in certain performance metrics, despite the latter using 72 B200 chips.

SemiAnalysis attributes this performance advantage to Huawei’s strong system design, which offsets the lower power of individual chips by leveraging a greater number of them and incorporating system-level innovations.

Huawei describes the system as utilizing a “supernode” architecture that enables ultra-high-speed interconnectivity between chips.

In June, Zhang Pingan, CEO, Huawei Cloud confirmed that the CloudMatrix 384 was already operational on Huawei’s cloud platform.


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Transcorp Hotels Delivers Stellar H1 Results, Declares Over ₦1Bn Dividend

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Transcorp Hotels Plc has delivered a stellar performance in the first half of 2025, recording a 60% year-on-year surge in revenue to ₦47.57 billion, up from ₦29.72 billion in H1 2024. Gross profit climbed 71% to ₦36.21 billion, maintaining a strong 76% margin despite inflation and operational headwinds.

The hospitality giant, a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc, also announced an interim dividend payout of ₦1.024 billion — offering ₦0.10 per 50 kobo ordinary share to shareholders.

In a bold move, the company unveiled Nigeria’s largest corporate venue — the 5,000-seat Transcorp Centre — staking its claim as the new leader in event hospitality. Chairman Emmanuel Nnorom described the results as proof of Transcorp Hotels’ transformative strategies and unwavering investor commitment. MD/CEO Uzo Oshogwe attributed the success to relentless execution and a resilient business model.

Transcorp Hotels, renowned for iconic assets like Transcorp Hilton Abuja and its digital platform Aura, says it isn’t just leading Nigeria’s hospitality sector — it’s redefining excellence across Africa.


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