E-Business
Tips to Increasing E-commerce Sales in 2014

Do you have an ecommerce or online retail store? Have you ever thought about how to increase sales? Are you ready to reach your potentials in 2014? If yes to all then this is a must read: Ecommerce is not about the beauty of the design only, but also ensuring that sales are generated. The first goal is to make potential customers build confidence and trust in buying from your online store.
Your next goal is to ensure that your ecommerce site is easy to navigate and easy to complete an order because customers that go on your site will want not only to get the item they’re looking for quickly, but they would want their purchase to be quick and painless as well.
Below are some tips on best practices to boost confidence, trust and speed up purchasing process that will increase your sales for 2014
Show your online customers you care: Offer customers tailored recommendations of their searches while shopping on your website and send them targeted messages about deals which may interest them according to their buying patterns on your website and also remind them about abandoned shopping carts to show they are noticed and valued.
Build a mobile responsive website: With majority of internet shoppers in Nigeria on their mobile to shop on the go and accessing the web, the fact is 61% of clients who visit a mobile unfriendly website are likely to quit and go to a competitor’s website.
Keep your website updated with Pictures, Image and detailed description of products: It is essential you keep your content updated regularly with appropriate video, image-led and written content of products although it might be time consuming but it is important to be able to run successfully an ecommerce site.
Updating regularly increases your website’s visibility and it makes your site resourceful for customers and keeps them coming back.
Make Important Info Public: Customers are more likely to buy products when they know exactly what they’re getting into; how much they’re paying, when it will arrive, and what to do if they’re unhappy with a purchase.
Easily informing them of information such as the estimated shipping costs, arrival times and return policy make them more at ease with making the purchase.
Provide them with this information early and often. Anything that applies to a particular item needs to be mentioned publicly and obviously on that item’s page. Anything that would boost sales, such as a free shipping discount should be mentioned early and repeated.
Target existing customers: It is tempting at the beginning to focus attention in getting more and more new customers, however, it is evidence that retention is key to business success.
New site visitors often spend less time on websites compare to returning site visitors that often look at more pages per visit on average and are more likely to make purchases as they have built a relationship and credibility with your ecommerce site and are more willing to refer you to more potential clients.
This simply means campaigns which targets existing customers can really pay off – so don’t forget them or assume their continued loyalty.
Use Call to action: Use easily visible and very clear call to action buttons or words that would direct customers to where they are going to purchase or view products on sales or add product to basket. An example of a call to action is “Buy now” or “Click here to checkout”.
A well designed call to action button leads the customer where they need to go and where you want them to go. Make sure to enhance the most important actions; buy button, check out button, and shopping cart button.
Think and Measure Conversion Rate: The rate at which visitors are converted to sales (or to some other key objective) is called the Conversion Rate.
A small change in the Conversion Rate can make a big difference to your return on investment and turnover.
There is much that can be done to improve your Conversation Rate and, when planning your ecommerce website, you should consider everything with Conversion Rates in mind.
Using enticing action buttons, suggestive copy and banners and text links all help you to direct site visitors around your website and to your enquiry forms.
Always ask yourself when planning your website: “Is this going to drive sales?”
It should also be noted that convincing a visitor to sign up to receive Email Newsletters should be a key conversion objective.
Finally, in the business world, your ecommerce website is your number one marketing tool and everything you do online must support this.
A website is the hub of all your online marketing activity, a facility to convert interest into sales.
Much of your other online and offline marketing activity will be encouraging people to visit your ecommerce site. Once you get them there you need to convert those people to tangible sales, or at the very least collect their contact information so you can continue to communicate directly with them.
Tobi Asehinde is the founder and chief executive officer of Vibe Web Solutions Limited, a company poised to providing web solutions to meet web related needs of businesses and helping businesses grow using ground-breaking web and marketing technologies.
We help to setup your ecommerce store from planning stage to implementation stage. Vibe Web Solutions Limited has clients based within and outside Nigeria servicing both business and governmental organisations. He can be contacted via: tobi.asehinde@vibewebsolutions.com
E-Business
INEC Sets Up AI Division to Strengthen Electoral System

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division within its ICT Department.
This marks a significant stride toward enhancing electoral integrity, efficiency, and innovation in Nigeria’s democratic process.
This decision was reached at the Commission’s regular weekly meeting held in Abuja, following a series of consultations and engagements on the global and continental impact of AI on elections.
In a statement issued by Sam Olumekun, national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC underscored that the growing relevance of AI in electoral matters necessitated a proactive institutional framework to manage both the risks and opportunities it presents.
“Our interactions with electoral bodies across Africa highlighted both the risks of AI—such as fake news and content manipulation—and the vast potential it holds for data-driven decision-making, risk mitigation, automated voter services, and geo-spatial intelligence for logistics,” Olumekun noted.
According to him, the newly created division will centralise the Commission’s AI efforts, ensuring a harmonized approach to deploying intelligent systems that enhance decision-making, improve voter engagement, and boost the credibility of the electoral process.
“The creation of this division puts the Commission at the forefront of institutionalizing AI capabilities in electoral management.
It is also part of our ongoing reforms in areas where administrative action is sufficient to drive change,” he said.
He added that the AI Division will help INEC better coordinate its existing technological investments while providing safeguards against the misuse of AI technologies.
“We are positioning ourselves to maximise the positive impact of AI while mitigating its negative implications. This step strengthens the credibility and transparency of elections in Nigeria,” Olumekun concluded.
The initiative, INEC emphasised, reflects its commitment to embracing innovation in safeguarding democracy and improving electoral services nationwide.
E-Business
CAC, NIBSS Unveil Platform for Data Access to Private Firms

Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has unveiled a new Application Programming Interface (API) integration system to allow private firms access company data from the Commission’s database.
Hussaini Ishaq Magaji (SAN), registrar general of CAC, who spoke in Abuja at the unveiling said the system would give selected private organizations access to CAC services through technology-based companies, called “super agents.”
“This is a practical step to show that the Commission is committed to meeting the expectations of our customers,” he said.
Magaji explained that the integration allows the agents to retrieve data from the CAC database for use in specific client requests, outside the standard services provided by the Commission.
“Before now, only a few government agencies had this integration, especially those involved in investigations, anti-money laundering, and terrorism financing. Now, private companies that meet the criteria can also access it,” he said.
He said the system complies with the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, and information such as residential addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth may be restricted.
“This is a call to law firms and companies with the right technology. We’ve started with NIPS because of their credibility. Embassies and banks can now authenticate company records directly through them.”
“There are prescribed fees. We already collect them on our portal, and now customers can also pay through these agents,” he explained.
He named NIPS, MoneyPoint, and OPE as some of the companies involved.
“OPE and MoneyPoint handle only registrations. But NIPS has moved further into validation and verification,” he said.
Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, executive director at NIBSS, who represented Premier Oiwoh, managing director, said the service allows secure and efficient data verification.
“This is the result of years of effort to connect our systems with CAC. It will help users verify data within the limits of data protection laws,” she said.
She said the move is a way to lower costs and promote interoperability across the financial sector.
E-Business
FG Launches Online Citizenship, Business Management Platform

Ministry of Interior has announced the launch of a new Online Citizenship and Business Management Platform in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
A statement signed by Dr Magdalene Ajani, permanent secretary, Ministry of Interior’s said the initiative forms a key part of its ongoing reforms aimed at promoting transparency, enhancing operational efficiency, and significantly improving service delivery to the public.
The new digital platform is designed to streamline the application and processing of citizenship and business-related services, ensuring faster turnaround times and improved user experience.
The platform allows users to apply for and manage business permits, ensuring that both local and foreign businesses operate legally in Nigeria.
It includes an Expatriate Quota System to manage work permits for foreign employees, helping companies hire skilled workers while complying with Nigeria’s immigration laws.
The Citizenship Administration and Management System provides a streamlined online process for applying, tracking, and managing Nigerian citizenship applications and related services.
Members of the public, corporate entities, and other stakeholders are expected to access the platform through the ministry’s website: https://interior.gov.ng , Direct Portal Access: https://candb.interior.gov.ng , or contact candb-support@interior.gov.ng for support and inquiries.
“The Ministry of Interior remains committed to establishing a more efficient, transparent, and secure framework for citizenship administration, while continuously enhancing service delivery through digital transformation,” the statement read in part.
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