Glamour and glitz were out in force at the weekend as the crème of the Nigerian society and elsewhere line lined up the red carpet for official unveiling of TD Mobile, the revolutionary scion of Technology Distributions (TD) Ltd, sub Saharan Africa’s’ largest ICT Distributions company.
The five-star event held at the prestigious Expo Centre of the prestigious Eko Hotels in Victoria Island, Lagos drew who is who in Nigeria; top celebrities; and musical acts.
The guest included: CEOs of top banks in Nigeria like: Phillips Oduoza of UBA Plc; Nnamdi Okonkwo of Fidelity Bank; and Herbert Wigwe of Access Bank.
A-list musical acts like Naeto C, JMartins, Inyanya, Teckno Emma Nyra and a host of others also headlined the event.
Mrs Gozy Ijogun, business manager of TD-Mobile, in her welcome address, cited the desire to win and to further expand the frontiers of internet access as driving motivation behind the launch of TDMobile.
Her words: “We are well aware that despite the increasing growth rate in the ICT industry, over sixty percent of Nigerians still have limited access to the internet.
“TDMobile is the window to the world of access. Our aim is to bridge the divides between the rich and the poor, between the young and the old, between East and West and between North and South through the distribution of a range of smart devices such as Phones, Phablets, Tablets, Laptops, Mobile Printers and devices. We are focused on distribution of genuine Mobile devices through our hundreds of Partners that will radically change the way we live and do business.” She added
She paid glowing tributes to partner organizations such as HP, Nokia, Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo, IBM, among others and to the TD Mobile team for the support and hard work which went into making the launch a reality.
Ime Umoh, managing director of HP Computers, hailed the launch of TD Mobile as a timely response to the dynamic and changing face of the industry and end-user requirements.
According to him, we are living in a technology-mediated world; one in which the customers demand more and more innovative solutions not only in the area of pervasive devices but in other modes as well. In his view, the successful launch of TDMobile is testimony to the vision of the Management of Zinox Group especially that of its Chairman Leo Stan Ekeh, who has continued to drive changes in the ICT industry.
In his Keynote address, Mr. Mattew Wilshire, chief executive officer of Etisalat Nigeria, saw a congruence between the indefatigable Nigerian spirit and the launch of TDMobile. In his words:
“I have been in this country for only about 18 months but I have been impressed about a number of things with this country. The most striking is the people. Nigerians are a resilient, vibrant people who love to take on new challenges and this is crystallized in the launch of new companies as the one we are witnessing today.
“It’s not an easy task but it is a similar story to ours at Etisalat as we are just six years old but we are proud to be associated with TDMobile as major partners. I am optimistic that the launch of TDMobile signifies the beginning of a new dawn in the area of access to technology for Nigerians and we are glad to be a part of that.”
Mr. Stan Ekeh, chairman/chief executive officer of the Zinox Group, in a landmark speech, traced the history of the organization and also offered an insight into the future with the launch of TDMobile.
“ We are keen to expand the market and move from being the biggest ICT distributor in Sub-Saharan Africa to the number one position in Africa and this we intend to achieve in the next 18months”. Mr.Ekeh said from October 2nd, Technology Distributions Ltd will split into three arms: TD-Mobile, TD- Mainstream and TD Solutions and Services distributions .He also announced that the group has raised N18B for expansion and our financiers insist we invest a percentage to expand TDGroup while a reasonable percentage is meant for Research and Development and local capacity building in support of the new local content policy of the federal government in the ICT sector. He appreciated the fund syndicators for the trust and assured of prudent use of the fund. He also said part of the money raised will be for the establishment in Abuja of the single largest ICT Service and Support Center and Products Showroom in Africa. These will be commissioned before end of November this year and subsequently in other regions in Nigeria. “We are fulfilling these commitments this year” Mr.Ekeh said. He also announced the selection of TD Champions this year and assured that partners shall be selected based on their total achievement and winners shall in addition to other perks, will enjoy the benefit of direct mentorship by him.
Mr Ekeh also talked about a 24hour intelligent Hub that will go live in the month of November to support end users of ICT products from credible brands.
This and the authentication system will help reduce the abuse of the Nigerian ICT market with fake products.
He also assured friends, the Press and Partners of the Group, that the Group is tinkering listing in the stock Market but that is after achieving number One position in the whole of Africa. He advised all stakeholders in the industry to expect major global positive disruptions in the ICT sector and should be prepare to take advantage of these.
The event ended with a worldclass movie like multimedia presentation by TD-Mobile.