THIS DAY, Vol. 16, No. 5834, Page 31
Thursday, April 14, 2011
f) BusinessWORLD
e-business Ministry Produces Natural Drugs for Ailments
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he Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar has disclosed that the ministry has produced natW"alJy manufactured drugs for Human Virus Immunodeficiency (HIV) . Arthritis and other relat-
ed diseases waiting for full commercialisation and disnibution. The Minister disclosed this at the second Ministerial Press Briefing Scientific recently in Abuja. He said that processed indigenous foods , herbal prepa-
rations, diagnostic kits. organic fertilizers and pesticides dJat would be useful to fast-track industrialisation in Nigeria are in the Ministry and ready for commercialisation. While stating dle importance of the naturaUy produced drugs, the minister said. "The products will improve nunitionaI status of Nigerians boost agricultural yield and help in the treatment of arthritis, cough. malaria, HIV and hepatitis." . . According to him , the min-
From Chinonye Ntkokwelu ilJAbllja
istry has been meeting with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with a view of working out funding options adding that the Bank of Industry (BOI) has pledged to collaborate with the ministry on its vision of taking R&D from the laboratory to the market place. In her remarks. the Pennanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Dere Awosika revealed that the ministry has inaugurated specialist to help facilitate the commercialisation of avai lable products and achieve the recommendations that arose from the first briefing. "l1le Ministry has inaugurated a special committee that is already working. with CBN in this regard. Machineries have also been set in motion to
implementing the other recommendations;' she said . The second bliefing, which
was attended by some ambassadors of some foreign counnies, is aimed at strengtheniug efforts of providing local and
intemationaJ investors, financial institutions, diplomatic
kits for malaria, hepatitis B and C among others. Presentations were made by six agencies including Federal Institute for Indusnia} Research Oshodi (F1IRO) , Sheda
cotlununities and Entrepreneurs an opportunity for collaboration and partnership in driving. the nation's socio-economic development dU'Ough guided research and w estgate Technologies development. Limited, an emerging Other objectives of the infonnation and combriefing was to educate the munications technology public on the availability and company in Nigeria will 01Iiutilisation of R&D results, procially open its lCT Mall today mote demand driven research at Utako Market, Abuja. and development, position sciThe Group Managing ence and technology for indusDireCtor" Mr. Casmir Ezeudu , nial growth and most imporof tliecompany, saiq that maIl, tandy provide fCC!lback syswhich is a one-stop shop center tern on our research and develwill offer genuine IT products opment efforts. . arid after sales support to all The focus for dlis mondl's customers in .. and around the scienti5c briefing was on R&D'. country. According · t~ him, ·the ICT . development in Food, Health, - " and chemical sectors including mall will solve . about 85 per drugs like herbal arthritis ointcent of customers buying gray ment, .herbal cough syrup, and ' counterfeit products. He· herbal' mosquitoes repellent, explained that .this is a catalysi insecticides, rapid diagnostic for the Gross ,Domestic
Science a~d. Technology Complex (SHESTCO) , National Agency for Biotechnology Development (NABDA) , Nigeria Natural Medicine Development
Agency (NNMDA), Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis and (Onchocerciasis) Research (N ITR) and National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARlCI1 .
Westgate Opens leT Mall in Abuja
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Products (GDP) of the country as well as to give consumers around the Abuja environs the opportunity to see. feel and experience the power of the Westgate brand. " It is also part of our resolve at to expand our market share and dominance as well as to satisfy the yearnings of Nigerians for a quality and alfordab le provider of ICT products . Ultimately, the goal is to enhance the after sales and service experience of customers by establishing branches in all the major cities of Nigerian in the near future;' Ezeudu said . Also speaking the Managing Director of Westgate Technologies. Mrs. Ijeama Ezeudu. said the ICT Mall will alford the customers a delightful experience as they now have the opportunity to touch and feel the products before purchase unlike in the past where customers pay without seeing the products. She stressed that Nigerians are becoming more interested in technology and are catching up with the rest of the world in tenTIS in that regard. According to her, the mall will be stocked with the latest ICT gadgets for customers to bi;abrea'SlWith"1l1e'lmest technology in the world ,
She added that the mall also has fac ilities to train public and
private institutions for the implementation of their IT solutions. adding that the goal of Westgate Technologies in expanding its business horizon is to make computers and other ICT accessories cheaper and alfordable to most Nigerians especially the middle income group across the country. Ezeudu said that was optimistic that Westgate Technologies wou ld be a big player in the West African region within the next five years as it has plans for expansion into other West African countries. According to her. the company has been receiving tremendous support and goodwill from recognised and certified brands such as HP. DELL. TOSHIBA, MICROSOFT and APC amongst others . Meanwhile, Chief Executive OlIicerof the Zinox Group, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh has endorsed the commissioning of the Westgate ICT Mall in Abuja. Ekeh noted that the Westgate Group is fast becoming one of the leading soul s in IT in Africa today. adding that the compa, ny has a track record of excel, lence which has been sustained over the years.
Airtel to Launch $100 3G Handsets irtel is in talks with major gy of Bhani Ain eJ's i2i cable mobile handset manufacsystem and its domestic network turers to launch tlle 3Gin India. together wi dl Pacnet's enabled handsets below the EAC-C2C and EAC Pacific price of$IOO. submarine cable network. will The penetration of 3Genable businesses and conenabled handsets is currently sumers across India to enjoy enhanced high-speed broadband very low in India and in several other markets. The 3G spectrum connectivity to the US via Asia. Simultanously. both finns was auctioned few months ago in India and after that many telewi U also benefit from gaining com operators· have launched additional complementary fiber their 3G services. But. the capacity, as weU as additional growth oOG has been hindered network routes to increase the diversity and resiliency of their because of high prices of 3GenableiI mobile handsets. global IP networks. "We see that it (price) is a "Increasing network capacity westward of Singapore is an barrier. to the ~pread of 3G. We think that by bringing it down, important step forward in ensurwe could giv~ a boost to dle ing we are able to deliver on our , spread of3G. We further foresee customers' requireme nts and keep pace with .the growth a breakthrough when it reaches the $50·mark;'- ' President ... momentum which we are seeing across jndia." ' said Bill (Mobile SerV,ces), Airtel . Mr Atul Mohan 'Bindal . said. He Bamey, ChiefExecutiveOlIicer. however refused to divulge the . Pacnet: . names of the~ companieS it. waS 1I1lle new Chennai-US nettalking !o. . . . ' '. . work wilf deliver much needed Airtel , which launched 3G bandwidth there is an exposervices last month. has over "entia) increase in demand for three million subScribers in the international connectivity from India to Asia and the US ." said third-generation telecom net, work. In the 3G auction, Ainel Sunanda Das. Country has received spectrum 'in 13 cirManager, Pacnet India , cles out of the 22. It has Pacnet's EAC-C2C is Asia's launched serv(Ces in Delhi and largest privately-{)wned submathe NCR, Berigaluru. Chennai. rine cable network of 36.800 Coimbatore ,Mysore ·,ManipaI . km. which lands at 18 cable landing stations in China. Hong Udipi and Jaipur so far. · Meill)while~ Pacnet has Kong. Japan • Korea • the signed ' agreenjents with Bharti Philippines .. Singapore and Taiwan . EAC-C2C has a design Ainel Limited' to deliver a new high-speed network connecting capacity of 17.92 Tbps to 30.72 Chennai to the US . Tbps to and from each of the The . US$120 million netlanding countrtes with continuwork.~ted.~~~~l~~~~~~-. , ous upgradesund~,:,,~~.
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-L-R: Managing Director o/Westgate Techn%gies, Mrs ljeoam Ez.euduJ Group Managing Director of Westgale Group, Casmir Ezeudll and the Managillg Director of Ezcom Solutiolls ltd; Ki'liJo Omanllkwue aJ the llllveilillg o/WeslgaJe's upcoming rCI'MaIl to be based ill Ahuja in Lagos... recently
FG Introduces Biotechnology for Mass Food Production
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s tile population of Nigeria . continues to increase, the . Federal Government has embraced biotechnology as a means of addressing food security challenges tlJa( could emerge as a threat to the country. It is also colJaborating through the Ministry of Science and Technology with the Cuban government to pro· mote the transfer of new agricultural technology called 'Temporary Immers ion Bioreactor System' (TIB). Disclosing this while commissioning National Centre for ··...Qenetic Resources and 'Biotechnology (NACGRAB) laboratory in Ibadan . the Minister o f Science and Technology. Prof. Muhammed Ka'oje Abubakar said the critical role of biotechnology to national food sufficiency can-
not be underestimated, as
tutes. will hopefully boost agricultural production in the coun.... , .. try:" He added, ".federal govem- . ---------'---'~--'-".:... ment is-also taking appropriate. measures to ensure the safety of counnies, especially the develthe products of biotechnology oping ones, ' are today conresearch outcomes. fronting the problem of starvatlIn add ition, even the little tion. food produced is lost to pest, Abubaker further hinted that diseases and travails of weather the quantity of food production thereby straining the resources globally has dropped from further and threatening the three per cent in the 1970s to well-being of millions of peoone percent per annum. adding ple. 1I that worldwide. no fewer than Abubakar however noted 40 .000 people die every day that to ensure the success of the from hunger and starvation. new research endeavour, there "All these constitute serious is the need to develop available challenges for which scientists human capacity to keep them have to develop new technoloabreast of technological gies to address and tilereby advancement. boost food production. l1lis is Levels I and 2. EC-Council , largely responsible for the CompTIA A+. Network+, renewed emphasis on biotechCCNA , CCNP. Web Design. nology," Abubakar stressed. IC3 , oracle and Java programHe said "this new technoloming amongst others. A stategy. which will be replicated in ment made available to THISother relevant research insti-
From Chillollye Ndeokwelll iirAbfYa
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DAY disclosed that the Vice Chancellor of the University • Professor. Ngunan 1'/.. Ag!>e, decided to · partner - with the finn to deliver world class training to its students to enable a robust knowledge of ICT for dle total development According to him . .. the world has experienced tremendous economic growth tllfOugh social networks. ecommerce, e- ' procurements and technology driven business processes in Customer Relationship Management. supply chain management and project management to mention a few, This has created the need for university curricula to come up with industry ready graduates that will hit the ground running more so when good jobs are hard to find and many organizations are making huge cuts on their staff training budgets " .
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