Mobile World - issue 49 | 2015

PUBLISHER’S THOUGHT

When Apple gives you a watch… new chapter in the rela onship people have with technology. It's the most personal product we've ever made, because it's the first one designed….. gets more real.

En rely new, yet immediately familiar, that is the feeling the piece offers. From the moment you wake the display with a simple raise of the wrist, you'll be comfortable using Apple Watch.

The Watch OS feels amazingly fresh. But it's visually reminiscent of what you're used to seeing, and is designed around simple gestures, such as zooming and panning, that already come naturally. Naviga on is fluid and responsive. And the arrangement of apps is simple and orderly. A new typeface is even developed to maximize legibility. All of which means you'll know your way around Apple Watch in virtually no me.

Akin Naphtal Group Publisher Apple is not bragging about the new techie's delight it has put on the shelf. The unveiling of the mind blowing me piece has gripped the tech world and Tim Cook, Apple's CEO has said- “ It is the most personalized devised we have ever created”

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As we would probably have guessed, it is more than a me piece, it is a piece of splendor strapped on your wrist, ready to help you se le quickly for a day. It is a me mate. A work mate.

Because it's connected to your iPhone, Apple Watch can present me in a more personal way. One that's based around your life and schedule. You'll receive real- me no fica ons for incoming mail, messages, and calls. So you can answer or dismiss them instantly. And since Apple Watch sits on your wrist, your alerts aren't just immediate.

They're in mate. With a gentle tap, no fica ons subtly let you know

Apple's goal has always been to make powerful technology more accessible. More relevant. And ul mately, more personal. According to them, Apple Watch represents a

Group Publisher Akin Naphtal IT& Research Henry Gyedu

Associate Editor, Ghana Carol Opata

Group Editor Kehinde Olesin IT/Business Reporters Derrick N.A Tagoe Deborah Arthur

IT/Business Reporters Tope Ajayi

NIG 3a, Shomoye Tejuosho Close, off Ogunmodede Street, Allen, Ikeja, Lagos Tel: +234 1 291 5803, Mob: +234 806 3603521, +234 8161342518

Contribu ng Editors David Ajao Terry Washington Social Media Execu ve Julius Ofori Boadu

UK Unit 2, Anchor Bay Ind. Estate Manor Road, Erith, Kent, DA8 2QA Tel: +44 777 510 9698 info@instinctwave.com www.instinctwave.com

GH: 6, Motorway Extension, Dzorwulu, Accra, Ghana Mob: +233 208 910 380, Tel: +233 302432849

when and where your next mee ng starts, what current traffic condi ons are like, even when to leave so you'll arrive on me. At any point, you can simply swipe down to No fica on Center to view what you may have missed.

While all these a ract and get you more into this new piece, acquiring one and at what price comes to mind too. Apple watch is a status gizmo .

Whether the price is high or not has been highly debated. Sure the Apple Watch is expensive, but Apple products are known for their highresale value.

When the price was announced by Cook, many did not know it was the star ng point. That's where the price starts. $349 is for the very base model. The Apple Watch comes in a variety of styles that goes all the way up to a whopping $17,000 .

While they may not actually have compe tors in the real sense of it, there are s ll numerous ques ons hanging. Will the Apple smartwatch sell at these prices? Will it take off like wild fire? Will you be buying one if you're an Apple user?

The apt word at this moment is that“Time will tell…”

Crea ve Manager Isaac Agyeman-Duah

Crea ve Officer Lawrence Otoo

Business Development Execu ve Gina Ibeh Liability While every care has been taken in the preparation of this magazine, the publishers cannot be responsible for the accuracy of information in herein, or any consequence arising from it.

MobileWorld is a controlled circulation magazine and not available on newsstand. It is free to qualified readers worldwide. c Instinct Wave 2014 No part of this publication may be used, copied or reproduced without prior consent of the publisher.

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Contents Access To Technology Has Been The Cornerstone Of Our Strategy Kabelo Makwane, Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria

8 6 MasterCard and Grooming Centre to Extend Electronic Payments to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

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Kazeem Oladepo, Country Manager, MainOne

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Angela Mensah-Poku Head of Vodafone Business Solutions (VBS)

13 Vodafone Foundation To Deploy ‘instant Classroom’ To 12 Schools In Kenya, Tanzania And DRC

22 Airtel Partners DataMi to Offer Toll-Free Content in Ghana

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Maxwell Dodd, Director, Business, Airtel Ghana

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Femi Banigbe, COO, Tigo Ghana

Google’s New Consumer Barometer Tool Explores Internet Usage In Nigeria yet.”

From left- Mrs Juliet Ehimuan –Chiazor, Google Nigeria Country Manager, Gur Biron Head, Sub- Saharan Africa and Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communication and Public Affairs Manager for Anglophone West Africa at the launch of Google’s Consumer Barometer 2014 yesterday

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igerians can now enjoy Google’s new tool that provides most up-to-date d i g i t a l consumer insights. The innovative and comprehensive Google’s Consumer Barometer is a free tool for advertisers to understand and compare online consumer behaviour. It will enhance the understanding of how Nigerians and people across the globe deploy the internet for commercial activities.

Now in its fourth year, Google created the Consumer Barometer to provide professionals such as marketers with the latest consumer insights to support their devising of sales strategies and planning in a fast changing digital landscape.

The content of the Barometer which is based on two research studies conducted in 46 different countries involving over 150,000 respondents, will undoubtedly affect business dynamics.

A l s o, l a t e s t d a t a i n s i g h t s o n Nigerians online purchasing power and general online attitude provided by the tool could be the best thing to analyse the interface between brands and consumers .

Insights from Nigeria reveal that

Nigeria is switching to online shopping and 45% of people researched their last purchase online. 74% of Nigerian respondents used the internet for early inspiration and 49% to compare products during their last purchase. For people in Nigeria, smartphones are becoming a vital part of online shopping. 85% of people used smartphones for product research.

Against 30% using Computers and 6% using Tablets Acco rd i n g to J u l i e t E h i m u a n , Google’s Countr y Manager for Nigeria, the Consumer Barometer remains the most comprehensive free tool for anyone looking to understand and compare how people use the internet around the world. “For the 2014 edition, we worked closely with Hive, a Londonbased digital products and services design studio and the work involved 150,000 respondents in 46 different countries and profiled vertical sectors as clothing and footwear, home appliances, flights, hotels, cosmetics and groceries. Using stateof-the-art technology to crunch the mammoth datasets and make the interface feel more responsive and easier on the eye, we believe we’ve come up with our most detailed and user-friendly Consumer Barometer

In Nigeria, there is also a growing switch of consumers to online shopping thanks in large part to the increasing availability and affordability of mobile devices. This switch, says Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communication and Public Affairs Manager for Anglophone West Africa, is sure to make the Consumer Barometer an invaluable asset to adver tisers, agencies and journalists, who seek creative insights into the shopping behaviour of consumers in the country. “Our research shows that smartphones are becoming a vital part of online shopping in Nigeria with about 85% of shoppers using them for product research as against 30% who used computers and 6% using tablets.

Brands and their marketers are then likely to reach their greatest online audience by focusing their marketing communications on the smartphone. The Consumer Barometer provides insights like this and much more. It is a free tool anyone can use to create and download customised data and market-specific information. These can help users discover anything from: how often people go online, to how many connected devices they may have, how people research and purchase online, the influence of online video on their shopping habits or the differences between generations and their online behaviour.”

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MasterCard and Grooming Centre to Extend Electronic Payments to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

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artnership to e x t e n d electronic payments to 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 w o m e n o w n e d businesses, reduce cash www.mobileworldmag.com

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dependence and increase financial inclusion LAGOS, NIGERIA- February 24, 2015 – MasterCard and Grooming Centre have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see electronic

payment solutions extended to 500,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in periurban and rural parts of Nigeria.

Grooming Centre is a Nigerian micro-finance organization that seeks to address the gaps in

“ There are a huge number of MSMEs that do not have access to any form of formal financial tools or services. Through the provision of electronic payments, these business owners will enjoy more convenient access to capital, be able to better manage and track their spending, save for future needs and protect themselves against unforeseen r i s k s ,” s a y s G o d w i n Nwabunke, Chief E xe c u t i ve O ffi c e r o f Grooming Centre.

financial services by providing affordable loans to women-owned MSMEs. Up until now, Grooming Centre disbursed these payments by cash or cheques, which are less efficient than electronic means.

Under the MoU, the Grooming Centre will pre-load the funds onto MasterCard prepaid cards. Business owners can use their cards to withdraw funds at millions of ATMs or pay for goods and services at merchants that accept MasterCard payments in Nigeria and in over 210 countries globally.

MasterCard and Grooming Centre will also work with various financial institutions to rollout payment devices including Mobile Point of Sale terminals, enabling these MSMEs to accept debit, prepaid and credit cards for the first time. “ Through this par tnership, we will enable financial inclusion in c o m m u n i t i e s w h e re consumers have largely b e e n u n a b l e to u s e formal payment products and have had to rely on cash,” says O m o k e h i n d e Ojomuyide, Vice President and Area Business Head for West Africa, MasterCard. “These payment solutions will help these MSMEs reduce the amount of cash they currently handle, increase sales, and improve cash flow while making it easier and safer for their customers to pay.”

o f N i g e r i a ’s e c o n o m y . O u r collaboration with Grooming Centre not only supports the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Nigeria policy, but it will help this vital sector to connect more efficiently to the national and global economy,” says Ojomuyide.

About MasterCard MasterCard (NYSE: MA), w w w.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make ever yday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Pioneers Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About Grooming Centre Grooming Centre is a NonGovernmental Organization (NGO) founded in November 2006 that is dedicated to mobilizing resources and implementing a radical action programme for empowerment through the use of best practices and technology in the provision of a range of financial services delivered to the doorsteps of its members. The Centre operates in Nigeria through a network of 333 branches in twentyone states and the Federal Capital Territory, and collaborates with a number of local and international funding agencies to help its members respond to their financial needs. For more information, please v i s i t t h e w e b s i t e www.grromingcentre.org.

Research carried out by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agenc y and the National Bureau of Statistics shows that MSMEs represent 95% of registered businesses in Nigeria and account for 75% of the workforce.

“MSMEs are essential to the growth www.mobileworldmag.com

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Kabelo Makwane,

Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria www.mobileworldmag.com

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Access To Technology Has Been The Cornerstone Of Our Strategy Kabelo Makwane, Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria

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abelo Makwane, the Country M a n a g e r , M i c r o s o f t N i g e r i a ' s thoughts on achieving the best and Microsoft's focus on unlocking the economic opportunities of Africa reverberated throughout M o b i l e Wo r l d ' s exc l u s i ve interview.

The seasoned technology professional and a long-standing member of the Microsoft family, South African born Makwane had prior to his role as countr y manager, served as Public Sector Director in the Microsoft South Africa subsidiary. There, he led the business to double digit growth and built an accomplished team, which continues to deliver high growth levels.

He has great plans for Nigeria too.

The man whose passion and natural understanding of the business makes him the ideal candidate to take Microsoft to the greatest height in Nigeria shares on cloud adoption, CSR Initiatives, internet penetration, family and many more.

Excerpts….

Microsoft has been at the forefront of pioneering internet penetration in Africa, and Nigeria is no exception, What has been the motivation behind this?

If you look at our strategy as a c o m p a ny, g l o b a l l y M i c ro s o f t continues to evolve and reinvent its self as a company and embrace the

technology trends dictated by our user base. We pride ourselves in becoming a cloud first mobile first company and reinventing productivity for our customers.

When you look at how far we've come in our technology portfolio and our offering, I can truly say we are well on our way in achieving that vision. To enable people across the world wherever they are to be productive in the activities they value the most. In the African context, internet penetration and promoting access to technology has b e e n t h e co r n e r s to n e o f o u r strategy. One of the founding pillars in our 4Afrika strategy is access, the other two are skills and innovation.

Internet access is very critical to providing access to information through whatever mechanism, whether it be mobile smartphones, tablets or whatever smart device available. This is the bed rock of our strategy. We are democratizing technology, so that all sectors of society enjoy ubiquitous access to technology and leverage the platform for their economic advancement.

Tell us about cloud adoption, how its uptake has been in Nigeria and what Nigerians should expect from Microsoft?

Interestingly cloud has been around fo r a w h i l e, i t i s n o t a n ove l technology. For instance we all have free mail accounts, and a free mail account in itself is based on cloud technology. Cloud affords enterprises and businesses, consumers and individuals to consume technology on their own terms. It is like a pay as you go system, it is cost effective and

affordable.

In Nigeria we have seen phenomenal growth of cloud technology adoption in the upper double digit. People are seeing the benefits and advantages of this technology across the board and there is huge appetite for cloud services. Both in the consumer space driven by affordable mobile platforms - where apps are key drivers for users of tablets and mobile phones. Within the enterprise, there has also been significant adoption as well - a quantum leap in fact. With cloud offerings, the advantage is that of speed and the ability to be flexible re a l t i m e i n re s p o n s e t o t h e changing market dynamics of businesses in the global economy.

What are some of the CSR initiatives you are carrying out?

We are patrons of a number of NGOs and also some orphanages. We have a lot of initiatives targeted at enabling the youth, particularly young women. One of our wellknown CSR initiatives is DigiGirlz where we take young ladies from underprivileged public schools and help them bridge the gap with technology so they become more employable.

Another long running global initiative is Youth Spark. Through Youth Spark, we reach out to the different segments of the youth population through various organizations, schools, etc. In the schools for instance, we offer our software for free to students where the school's administrators and academic staff have procured our

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products or cloud services to enable them to be productive while doing their assignments and also learn skills and tools that enable them become more suitable for formal e m p l o y m e n t . We a l s o g r a n t software donations to NGO's.

What are you doing about internet penetration in Nigeria?

Through Microsoft Research we developed a technology that leverages unused spectrum across the world. We have an offering that leverages TV whitespace - this is the spectrum within 40- 60 Mega Hertz frequency spectrum that was used by analogue broadcasters, and with digital broadcasting (or Digital Te r r e s t r i a l Te l e v i s i o n – DT T ) becoming mainstream this has spectrum has been left vacant and unused. We are leveraging this spectrum which is low frequency but potentially high bandwidth and can cover large distances of over 100km and can deliver bandwidth speeds of up to 4 Megabits per second at a very low cost, which sometimes can be as low as $2.00 per Megabyte to deliver affordable broadband. This is what we are focused on in terms of making internet access more affordable to a lot more people. We recently successfully launched TV White Space projects in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. We have seen great successes where we can offer very cheap broadband access.

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What is your vision for Microsoft in Nigeria in the next three years?

Nigeria is blessed with so much potential and opportunities. With our 4Afrika vision premised on access, skills and innovation, we are aligning this vision to Nigeria through targeted high impact and focused initiatives. For instance, we want to make a difference in educating the youth, by providing them affordable access, and empowering them with the necessary skills to ultimately reverse youth unemployment. The aim is to help people and youth in particular become more innovative and productive by empowering them with skills that either enhance their ability to innovate on existing technology or enable them to create solutions made by Africans to address African challenges. The second area is to enable people to be economically active and create economic empowerment. We want to ensure that the economically marginalized find economic opportunities, where they can start their own enterprises. We want to help create a sustainable middle class, more entrepreneurs who create more employment opportunities for our youth with our focus on SME's (small and medium enterprises). Lastly we want to enable government to be more efficient, transparent and more productive with our solutions.

What kind of a leader are you?

What defines me as a leader is my candidness, integrity and transparency. With this I am able to operate in an environment where we foster open dialogue, where everybody's opinion is respected, and people are free to innovate and think out of the box. That's my leadership mantra.

If you had three wishes what would they be?

To eliminate poverty, eradicate youth unemployment and see Nigeria claiming its rightful position on the world stage.

How do you balance work and family?

I believe in work life integration as opposed to work life balance. Work life balance eludes me because I cannot find that balance. Work life integration is what works for me and I think technology affords us that luxury. For instance, while I am relaxing at home I am able to attend to work from any of my devices and respond to demands without putting a stop to what I am currently doing, so I am able to achieve some dynamic balance. Therefore I can engage in extramural activities and be spending time with family and friends while at the same time staying connected with my work.

Surine Communications Chooses Huawei Technologies To Bring High-speed Internet Access To Millions In Ghana amazing feat for the country’s only telecommunications network that is wholly owned

by Ghanaians.

The announcement follows Surfline’s extremely successful launch last August, which saw Surfline raise the bar on both new and existing operators through their commitment to bring international standards to G h a n a by i nt ro d u c i n g sophisticated experiential stores, superior customer service and incomparable data speeds.

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S u r fl i n e Communications has announced plans to expand their awardwinning 4G LTE network to cover all regions in Ghana with Huawei Technologies. After a grueling evaluation process, Huawei emerged as the winning vendor for expansion due in part to their

success as a worldwide market leader on frequency division duplex (FDD).

The expansion will cover major cities such as Takoradi, Kumasi, Cape Coast, Tamale and Ho, and include all key municipalities within the datahungry country. Once completed, Surfline will boast 700+ cell sites, making it one of the world’s largest independent LTE networks, an

S u r fl i n e h a s e x p e r i e n ce d tremendous growth in its customer base making them a force to be reckoned with within the competitive marketplace. In 2014, Surfline was nominated for “Breakthrough LTE Entrant” at AfricaCom in South Africa and won “ Top Emerging Brand” at the Top Brands Awards in Ghana.

About $3.7b Needed To Cover Underserved Areas In Nigeria- Dr. Johnson

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i g e r i a ’ s Communication Te c h n o l o g y M i n i s t e r, D r.

O m o b o l a Johnson, has said in spite of the progress made so far in the telecoms sector, the country still needs a whopping $3.7 billion to reach the various underserved people in different parts of the country.

local content among others.

Speaking on the challenges to government’s efforts to creating digital citizens through the pervasive spread of broadband, Dr. Johnson said the government was wo r k i n g h a rd t o re s o l ve t h e bottlenecks surrounding the issues on right of way, multiple taxation, encouraging the demand side by ensuring people adopt the technology, cost of access to infrastructure, and the challenge of

Sector analysts have hailed for her commitment to broadband deployment and development and for the progress attained so far which has elevated the country from the telecoms back waters to an enviable level ack nowledged globally.

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Vodafone Foundation To Deploy ‘instant Classroom’ To 12 Schools In Kenya, Tanzania And DRC Kenya. Teachers at the Dadaab schools said the tablet-based lessons have been so popular that pupil attendance had increased by an average of 15 per cent.

Over the next two years, the Vodafone Foundation Instant Network Schools programme will be extended to support additional schools in refugee camps in Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo with the aim to reach more than 40,000 children and young people.

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he Vodafone Foundation t o d a y announced the I n s t a n t Classroom, a digital ‘school in a box’ that can be set up in a matter of minutes, helping give children and young adults in some of the world’s largest and poorly resourced refugee camps the opportunity to continue their education.

The Vodafone Foundation Instant Classroom has been specifically designed for areas where electricity and internet connectivity are unreliable or non-existent and will be deployed in partnership with UNHCR’s Innovation and Education units.

The Instant Classroom is shipped in a secure and robust 52kg case which is equipped with a laptop, 25 tablets p re - l o a d e d w i t h e d u c a t i o n a l software, a projector, a speaker and a hotspot modem with 3G connec tivit y. The tablets can connect to the laptop locally, enabling teachers to deliver content and applications to students without the need to access the internet.

All the components of the Vodafone Foundation Instant Classroom can be charged simultaneously from a single power source while the case is locked. After 6-8 hours of charging time, the Instant Classroom can be used for a full day in a classroom without access to electricity.

Over the next year, the Vodafone Foundation Instant Classroom will be deployed to 12 schools in refugee settlements in Kakuma in Kenya, in the Nyarungusu refugee settlement in Tanzania and in the Equatorial Region in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Instant Classroom will provide up to 15,000 children and young adults aged from 7 to 20 with advanced teaching aids that are currently only available in a minority of schools in developed nations.

The Instant Classroom builds on the Vodafone Foundation’s experience with tablet-based learning programmes. In 2014, the Vodafone Foundation worked with UNHCR’s Education and Innovation units to develop the I nstant Net wor k Schools programme, which introduced tablet-based learning to around 18,000 pupils in the Dadaab refugee settlement in northern

Vodafone Foundation Director Andrew Dunnett said, “At the end of 2013, UNHCR estimates that there were 50 million refugees and displaced people worldwide, half of who are under the age of 18. With refugees displaced from their homes for an average of 17 years, many have little or no access to education. The Vodafone Foundation Instant Classroom is robust, simple and powerful. It puts the best technology that educators have to offer into the hands of children and young people living in the toughest of environments.”

UNHCR Innovation Lead Olivier Delarue said, “In the face of increasingly complex humanitarian crises, UNHCR is tasked with finding new, creative ways to meet the developmental and educational needs of young refugees and stateless people worldwide. We welcome the opportunity to work with the Vodafone Foundation to find innovations that work in the refugee context. Innovation for us is not about developing educational products; rather it is about using technologies that partners like Vodafone Foundation have to offer as a new way of identifying and testing solutions to enhance educational opportunities.”

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Ghana Needs Smart-city Initiatives To Deepen Internet Penetration Kazeem Oladepo, Country Manager, MainOne the continent continues to be hindered by last-mile connectivity, lack of a robust national and local access infrastructure, unwillingness of operators to share infrastructure, exorbitant costs of Right-of-Way, as well as administrative constraints.

All of which are hampering the demand side of broadband services.

Cost of access devices, overall low per- capital income as well as stunted content market, amongst other factors, aects the demand side in addition to plethora of issues, including the dismal level of supporting infrastructure, municipality planning issues and frequent cable cuts, that are not peculiar to Ghana, but rampant in emerging markets.

Kazeem Oladepo, Country Manager, MainOne

Can you introduce yourself? y name is Kazeem Oladepo, and I am MainOne's General Counsel and Business E x e c u t i v e responsible for West Africa and Ghana.

The internet penetration in Ghana is quoted to be about 20%. What do you think are the factors responsible for this, and what can Ghana do to step up its internet penetration indices?

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Ghana has an impressive growth story in internet penetration in Africa over the course of the last few years; thanks to early adoption of market liberalization by its government and the impact of what has become a matured regulatory environment, led by the NCA. Much more could however have been achieved, but for various reasons; some peculiar and others quite common to the region.

For instance, internet access across

No doubt, at 20% rate, internet penetration has grown signiďŹ cantly in the past 5 years, though it is still one of the African countries with the lowest internet utilization rates, after South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Algeria, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.

For tunately, there are several opportunities for improvement.

What do you advocate can be done?

I believe the government has articulated an ambitious broadband plan to facilitate the provision of aordable access to broadband, as well as its plans towards convergence of infrastructure and services delivery to stimulate supply and demand. This is wellintentioned and should be encouraged. The NCA has also towed the line and appears to be doing well, particularly in terms of

Can you introduce yourself? y name is Kazeem Oladepo, and I am MainOne's General Counsel and Business Executive responsible for West Africa and Ghana.

The internet penetration in Ghana is quoted to be about 20%. What do you think are the factors responsible for this, and what can Ghana do to step up its internet penetration indices?

Ghana has an impressive growth story in internet penetration in Africa over the course of the last few years; thanks to early adoption of market liberalization by its government and the impact of what has become a matured regulatory environment, led by the NCA. Much more could however have been achieved, but for various reasons; some peculiar and others quite common to the region.

For instance, internet access across the continent continues to be hindered by last-mile connectivity, lack of a robust national and local access infrastructure, unwillingness of operators to share infrastructure, exorbitant costs of Right-of-Way, as well as administrative constraints.

All of which are hampering the demand side of broadband services.

Cost of access devices, overall low per- capital income as well as stunted content market, amongst other factors, affects the demand side in addition to plethora of issues, including the dismal level of supporting infrastructure, municipality planning issues and frequent cable cuts, that are not peculiar to Ghana, but rampant in emerging markets.

No doubt, at 20% rate, internet penetration has grown significantly in the past 5 years, though it is still one of the African countries with the lowest internet utilization rates, after South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Algeria, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.

For tunately, there are several

opportunities for improvement.

What do you advocate can be done?

I believe the government has articulated an ambitious broadband plan to facilitate the provision of affordable access to broadband, as well as its plans towards convergence of infrastructure and services delivery to stimulate supply and demand. This is wellintentioned and should be encouraged. The NCA has also towed the line and appears to be doing well, particularly in terms of stakeholder engagement to move things in the right direction. But so much needs to be done in driving uptake and utilization. Intervention is required from the infrastructure, content and regulatory angles.

MDAs need to adopt IT in their processes. Similar to what has been done in more advanced economies, Government should establish Smart City initiatives and strategies that will establish pocket Silicon-Valleytype hubs around the country, connecting homes and businesses.

We need to adopt a 'push' role, through the provision of IC T infrastructure and development of a content-driven domestic ICT sector, and the 'pull' strategy, to promote digital literacy and establish an a p p ro p r i a te l e g a l f r a m e wo r k surrounding internet use and development of local content.

Pull strategies that have worked in South Korea and Kenya include government subsidies of personal computer ownership, regulatory interventions to encourage infrastructure investments and free digital literacy programs aimed at expediting internet demand via suitable content and application services. These can also work here in Ghana.

Government can support initiatives to drive indigenous content. In addition, the volume of traffic in incubation hubs and e-commerce

and sites like Rmart, Kasoa, and Jumia will also help in a pull strategy.

All these ultimately drive value, productivity and help develop the economy.

What is MainOne Ghana doing to accelerate internet penetration?

We view adaptable strategies for resolving access conundrum in Ghana from three perspectives: Infrastructure, Content and Regulator y issues. From an infrastructure standpoint, MainOne is continuing to extend its coverage areas and supporting the build-out of pervasive infrastructure in key areas of the market, in our efforts to provide reliable connectivity to our customers. These we are doing directly and through strategic collaborations. We will continue to partner with other operators to ensure we can together deepen internet access through superior service quality at rates that are highly affordable.

For content, we are interested in the Ghanaian ICT ecosystem, and will continue to collaborate with indigenous star t-ups, social innovation centres and the entire software development ecosystem.

Similar to our activities with the Andela group and CCHub in Nigeria, we provide complimentary support to various initiatives and provide connectivity to a few education providers here . We provide capacity to Spectra Wireless at the Kofi Annan Centre, which is pioneering white space technologies in Ghana. ELearning, e-Commerce e-Banking, e-Health; all these are platforms that we are identified as capable of driving content, which will in turn drive connectivity uptake in Ghana.

We believe that strong regulatory intervention is required in terms of infrastructure rollout, harmonisation of taxes and fees, and the need for government to take services online. Just imagine if every government fee was paid online?

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MTN Business Is Ready To Assist Businesses Of All Sizes And Help Them Grow Sam Addo Gm MTN Business Ghana How successful has MTN Business unit been in Ghana?

TN Business since its inception in 2011 has become a leading provider and partner in delivering IC T services to businesses in Ghana and beyond. We are proud to say that we boast of a unique mix of clientele such as Large corporate, government agencies , and most importantly SMEs who we take pride in providing solutions that enable them grow.

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What are the unique products a n d s e r v i ce s MT N B u s i n e s s solutions offers?

MTN Business, has the largest known IC T based enterprise product portfolio for businesses in Ghana . We have a range of products and solutions spanning across calling solutions, networking, internet, mobile financial services, connectivity, data center services and M2M services on the market t a i l o re d to t h e n e e d s o f o u r customers.

How competitive is your pricing?

Our pricing is highly competitive and as such enables us to serve all kinds of businesses, from startups to well established corporates and multinationals. Our key account managers normally holds discussions with prospects to arrive at a price point that is accommodating to all parties and this is why we have such a high retention rate of customers in the industry .

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In what role is MTN Business supporting the growth of SMEs in Ghana?

MTN Business has SMEs at heart. It is our mission to inspire and enable their growth. We don't just say this, we live it. Apart from our extensive range of SME based business solutions, we have some of our services such as vehicle tracking, audio conferencing and directory s e r v i ce s i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h multiple SMEs .In so doing, we not only drive their growth but bring visibility to their potential on the market. Again we are the major sponsors of the upcoming Ghana SME 100 Ranking awards that seek to recognize up and coming SMEs and celebrate their success.

We have identi ed Easifon as one of your most exciting product.

Can you share more insight on that product and its impact on your business?

MTN Eazifon has been one of our breakthrough products into the SME space. It has received an outstanding market response and urged us on to bring more of such services to the market. It is basically a handset with fixed phone properties however powered by a SIM card .It allows the user to keep track of their usage either through a postpaid option or through the MTN recharge voucher top up and also allows the flexibility to move it around to various locations.

Customer experience is the back bone of every business. How would you rate your performance on satisfying your customers ?

We are proud to say that in our most recent market survey, MTN Business came out above all others as providing the best customer relations through our key account managers and also being the best in providing 24/7 technical after sales support .

What are some of the challenges with Enterprise Solutions in the Ghanaian market?

The most challenging aspect for us as a business is gaining access to all businesses in Ghana and educating them to the various ways we can support them ease their operational burdens. MTN Business is ready to assist businesses of all sizes and help them grow. As such, this year, we have strategized to open up our customer-facing sales force to better reach more businesses and create more channels of engagement with business men and women in Ghana.

Governments are supposed to be one of the largest buyers of connectivity solutions. Has that sector been a focus area for MTN business .

The Government sector is so crucial to us, as an enabler of technological growth , that MTN Business has a unit specifically created to handle government projects and requirements. The government is made up of you and I and we are keen to play the greater role in bringing connectivity to the entire nation through the governmental channels .

Going forward, what will be the growth drivers for MTN business in Ghana?

How successful has MTN Business unit been in Ghana?

TN Business since its inception in 2011 has become a leading provider and partner in delivering ICT services to businesses in Ghana and beyond. We are proud to say that we boast of a unique mix of clientele such as Large corporate, government agencies , and most importantly SMEs who we take pride in providing solutions that enable them grow.

What are the unique products and services MTN Business solutions oers?

MTN Business, has the largest known ICT based enterprise product portfolio for businesses in Ghana . We have a range of products and solutions spanning across calling solutions, networking, internet, mobile ďŹ nancial services, connectivity, data center services and M2M services on the market tailored to the needs of our customers.

How competitive is your pricing?

Our pricing is highly competitive and as such enables us to serve all kinds of businesses, from startups to well established corporates and multinationals. Our key account managers normally holds discussions with prospects to arrive at a price point that is accommodating to all parties and this is why we have such a high retention rate of customers in the industry .

Sam Addo Gm MTN Business Ghana

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Angela Mensah-Poku Head of Vodafone Business Solutions (VBS)

Cloud Services Or Virtualisation Is The Next Frontier Of Innovation And Game-changer For The Telecoms Sector Angela Mensah-Poku – Head of Vodafone Business Solutions (VBS)

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ngela MensahPoku, is the H e a d o f Vodafone Bus ines s Solu ons (VBS). This is a specialist unit, within, Vodafone Ghana, that cate rs fo r S M E ' s , c o r p o rate organisa ons and Global Enterprise. A dynamic and keen professional Angela had prior to www.mobileworldmag.com 18

her appointment been the Head of Corporate Sales and Vodafone Global Enterprise West Africa, a por olio which included managing large mul na onal customers.

Versa le in her delivery, the woman who has also taken on many challenging roles in her career shares with MobileWorld the uniqueness of VBS products and services, Red Business and pricing….

What are the unique products and services VBS offers to Ghanaian businesses?

At Vodafone Business Solu ons (VBS), we understand the transforma on of the product matrix from a goods-dominant based model to a service-dominant logic. What we do is to provide our customers with unmatched telecommunica ons solu ons; this is at the heart of everything we do.

by our Ready Business; our brand campaign which gives us a great opportunity to inform our customers (both prospec ve and exis ng) about how Vodafone is helping businesses across the world achieve their ambi ons.

Whether it's an SME or large corporates, we believe VBS is the most valuable partner for the Ghanaian customer today. Our deliverables are at cu ng edge and we know we can help transform and keep organiza ons' ahead of the game.

Times have changed and product i n n ova o n i s key to d r i v i n g businesses and enhancing compe ve advantage.

Our services include, fixed data products that connect your business across Ghana Africa and the Globe, scalable mobile solu ons, vehicle/ asset tracking , virtual voice extensions and many many more.

We are ul mately involved in managing our client's holis c communica on needs, controlling costs by providing a broad range of innova ve products and solu ons and ensuring they receive excellent service at every level. This is depicted

How compe ve is your pricing strategy?

Compe on in the telecoms sector is very fierce and most telecom companies are constantly fashioning out ways to modify their offerings for their customers.

Inasmuch as we are compe ve when it comes to pricing, we are also mindful that a marke ng strategy based on pricing will ul mately fail because others will come who will be willing to reduce even further.

Therefore, for us, that is not a strategy at all. We strive to be differen ated in terms of our deliverables and the manner in which we deliver them – that's the only strategy the compe on cannot match because nobody can be like us.

Ul mately it's about value, differen ated service and being mindful of our customer's budget.

Can you share more insight on Red Business ini a ves and its impact on your business?

Red Business was borne out of the realisa on that SMEs needed empowerment in a bid to overcome the numerous challenges and grow successfully by employing ICT – a pla orm that is made possible by us.

The product was specially developed to meet the telecommunica ons needs of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) and connect them to the larger world of business.

It affords such businesses a total Vodafone Red experience including lots of minutes to browse the internet and make both on-net and off-net calls as well as interna onal calls.

Addi onally, SMEs, through the ini a ve the product provides, are guaranteed 50 percent bonus on any top up, free calls to colleagues within a Closed User Group (CUG) and Caller Ring Back Tunes (CRBT) exclusively.

Customers also enjoy free data devices, up to 50 percent discounts on a range of devices, discounts on domes c fares, shopping discounts at selected shops, fuel and SPA vouchers.

I have always been excited by the stroke of inspira on which led us to unveil this product. It effec vely fits into our commitment to empower and inspire everyone who comes into contact with the Vodafone Brand.

Over the years, we have changed the stories of thousands of SMEs across the country with our range of innova ve and integrated solu ons tailored to meet our clients' needs.

So far the impact has been tremendous; customers are ge ng bespoke offerings that suit their specific needs. They feel empowered and confidently-connected based on the unified pla orm that we provide.

Is Vodafone offering cloud services to customers?

Cloud services or virtualisa on is the next fron er of innova on and gamechanger for the telecoms sector.

Already popular in some Western countries, the concept is yet to be properly integrated across subSaharan African. We live in an age where the customer is at the heart of all we do. The role of the internet is becoming more online-life cri cal as against business-cri cal.

Vodafone as a Group is at the forefront of the cloud-based internet revolu on and we are excited. We remain on course to see it introduced

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and flourishing in West Africa. We only need to ensure that it is stable, secure and has robust set of standards to govern it.

However, one of such cloud-based solu on worth men oning is the exci ng world of machine-tomachine (M2M). Our technology can connect not just people but machines & devices on a global scale to the internet. This means that you can communicate over the Vodafone network without the need for human interven on. This sounds futuris c but we have many customers who are using the service today like vehicle and fuel tracking, point of sale devices and air condi on management systems. It's an exci ng world and it's already here in Ghana!

Going forward, what will be the g ro w t h d r i ve rs fo r Vo d afo n e business in Ghana?

Our growth drivers in the enterprise space will be the Corporate, SME and SOHO segments. Already we are projec ng an exponen al growth in smartphone adop on across the country with a complementary shi by customers/enterprises towards added fixed and mobile data usage this year. To win in the industry, we need to constantly differen ate on our customer experience and extend our reach. At Vodafone, we are in agreement with what the Marke ng legend, Michael Porter says, that to win in an industry, differen a on should take center stage above pricing and that's what we are about.

What would you say has been the secret to running a successful business arm of Vodafone?

Success begins with a passionate and determined spirit. Nothing is impossible under the sun if you put

your mind and strength to it. Love your job and be great at what you do…..that's core!

Make sure you build a great team the kind that understands you, knows what is expected and will be prepared to work for you. You don't need to know everything – but you need to surround yourself with smart and knowledgeable people. I have always sought out amazing mentors both male and female. They provide great advice and help me accelerate my own business experience.

Do not compromise on excellence and great delivery. Avoid stereotypes and believe in the skill and experience you have - the reason why you have been hired is because they know you can solve an expensive problem. Always understand your worth. Never underes mate it.

5th

CELEBRATING

EXCELLENCE IN THE ICT INDUSTRY May 22, 2015 Movenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra www.mobileworldmag.com 20

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Airtel Partners DataMi to Offer Toll-Free Content in Ghana investment from the mobile operator and support existing mobile websites and applications across mobile devices and operating systems.

This is DataMi’s first international rollout. Last year, DataMi and AT&T Wireless made certain news and podcasts available with no data fees. In side-by-side testing, users offered toll-free access to content were significantly more likely to read it, and DataMi’s product is now available on other operators, too.

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irtel, one of the world’s top five m o b i l e operators has partnered DataM i, a pioneering U.S. mobile-technology company, to make a wide range of content available to cellphone users in Ghana free of charge for data.

“We are delighted to be able to use our technology to make valuable content more widely available in Africa, saving consumers money a n d i m p rov i n g t h e i r m o b i l e experience,” said Harjot Saluja, President and CEO of DataMi. “Tollfree data can give many people in the world access to information and the digital marketplace that they otherwise haven’t had.”

The technology for the first time will allow significant numbers of mobile-phone users in Africa to have toll-free access to content including social media, ecommerce, news and entertainment. Initial trials will offer a mix of content to Airtel users in Ghana, to gauge response rates and tailor the program to users’ habits.

Th e i n n ov a t i ve a p p ro a c h to content delivery is made possible

by DataMi’s technology platform, which allows marketers, content producers or carriers to pay the cost of data use that would otherwise be charged to mobile -phone subscribers. DataMi seamlessly integrates this sponsored-data functionality into the mobile operators’ net works without requiring any new infrastructure

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DataMi specializes in technologies that make more efficient use of cellular networks to save consumers money or give enterprises the freedom to pay only for the mobile data they need.

DataMi was the first technology provider of its kind to fully integrate with multiple major U.S. carriers, when it last year successfully deployed its technology to offer toll-free content to consumers, and the company is now rapidly expanding its international footprint. Its technology also supports a number of enterprise applications.

“A i r t e l w a s o n e o f t h e fi r s t companies to offer mobile advertising in Ghana, helping brands transform how they communicate with customers. This partnership with DataMi therefore, takes the engagement with the customer to a higher level, bringing benefits to customers by leveraging on our superior network and fast speed internet to bring a wide range of advertisers content to the customer” said the Director of Data at Airtel Ghana Jean Claude Domilongo Bope.

MTN Sees 6.4% in Revenue Growth for Year-end 2014

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elecommunicati ons giant, MTN, has announced that its revenue for the year e n d e d 3 1 December 2014 rose by 6.4 percent to ZAR 146.2 billion, despite a 3.9 percent contraction in the South African operation's revenue and declines in the value of the Ghanaian cedi and the Syrian pound. R evenue growth was supported by an increase of 12.1 percent in MTN Nigeria's revenue and weakness in the Rand, which had a 3.2 percent positive impact on revenue.

Group EBITDA increased by 10.2 percent to ZAR 65.5 billion, with progress in cost optimisation efforts supporting a 1.5 percentage point expansion in the EBITDA margin to

Basic headline earnings per share (HEPS) increased by 8.9 percent to ZAR 0 . 1 5 3 6 a n d attributable earnings per share (EPS) increased by 20.0 percent to ZAR 0.1752. The group said the 2014 results reflect a challenging year, with aggressive price competition, increased regulatory requirements and p r e s s u r e o n c o n s u m e r expenditure. The sharp decline in the oil price in the second half of the year had a marked impact on the economies and exchange rates of a number of African and Middle Eastern countries.

44.8 percent for the year.

According to the Group, subscribers increased by 7.5 percent to 223.4 million, driven by competitive pricing, segmented offerings and improved network quality and capacity in many markets.

Subscriber figures were, however, affected by the alignment of internal subscriber repor ting methodology in Cameroon, which negatively impacted reported subscriber numbers by about 1.6 million.

Capital expenditure was ZAR 25.242 billion, which was 16.3 percent lower than the previous year.

During 2014, the group rolled out 3,669 2G sites, 6,491 largely colocated 3G sites, and 684 LTE sites, facilitating increased voice and data usage on the network.

Notwithstanding these conditions, most of MTN's large and small operating companies (opcos) showed promising improvements in operational performance. In 2015, MTN expects to benefit from a number of interventions put in place in South Africa and Nigeria in the previous year. In South Africa, the group expects to build on the positive momentum gained in revenue and subscriber additions in the second half of 2014. The South African operation will also accelerate its immediate capex plans to support MTN's mediumterm growth prospects, particularly in the data area

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App Downloads To Pass 235bn In 2015 As Chinese Market Continues To Surge

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new report from Juniper Research has found that the number of apps downloaded to m o b i l e handsets and tablets is expected to rise by nearly 28% this year to over 235 billion.

Firewall of China). As a result, Baidu's app store - which is effectively integrated into the company's search engine - has now eclipsed Apple's App Store to b e co m e t h e s e co n d - l a rg e s t storefront in terms of download volumes. Furthermore, China now accounts for 5 of the leading 7 app stores by that metric.

The report argues that the recent surge in app downloads is in large part attributable to phenomenal growth in the Chinese market, which last year accounted for nearly 60% of downloads worldwide.

However, the report found that China still lags behind both the US and Japan in terms of app revenues, with revenues per download nearly 9 times higher in the US and more than 14 times higher in Japan. Meanwhile, it observed that the continuing trend away from the PPD (Pay Per Download) model now saw that monetisation option accounting for just 12% of all app revenues.

The Great Firewall of China According to the report, local storefronts have benefitted from Google's near exclusion from the Chinese marketplace, with access to Google's Play store severely restricted by the GFoC (Great www.mobileworldmag.com 24

Games Predominate, but Multimedia Bundles Prosper

The report argued that although Games is the most mature and lucrative app sector, there is significant scope for growth in both developed and developing markets, highlighting strong migration from handheld game consoles and continued social gaming growth.

M e a nw h i l e, i t c l a i m e d t h a t adoption and monetisation of multimedia apps is likely to be fur ther fuelled as network operators bundle multimedia a p p l i c at i o n s w i t h c u s to m e r subscriptions. As report author Dr Windsor Holden obser ved, "Broadcasters are now offering distinc t and bolt- on mobile packages, a trend which will gain further impetus as customers migrate to larger screen phablet devices".

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Ghana’s MNP Service Hits Two Million Ports

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The regulator also noted that during January 2015 more than 95% of all porting requests were completed within five minutes, and no users were charged for switching operators.

h a n a’s telecom municati o n s regulator , the National Communications Authority (NCA) has reported that on 1 9 Fe b r u a r y 2 0 1 5 t h e country’s mobile number portability (MNP) service reached two million successful ports.

The MNP service was introduced to Ghana in July 2011, with 370,107 mobile numbers ported during the first year.

Vodafone, Dropbox Launch ‘Backup+’ Service

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Telecommunicati ons group, Vo d a f o n e a n d Dropbox have introduced a new mobile-first s e r v i c e exclusively for Vodafone's customers.

The service called Backup+ integrates with the Dropbox cloud storage service and offers new features designed for smartphone www.mobileworldmag.com 26

users. Backup+ will enable Vodafone customers to sync automatically their contacts as well as save all photos, videos and other files in a Dropbox account. Any files can also be restored to a new device or accessed and shared through the Dropbox mobile application.

The Dropbox app will come preloaded on the majority of Vodafone's Android phones, and will be promoted to iPhone users for download. Existing Dropbox

customers will be able to sign into their account through Backup+.

New customers will be able to set up a Dropbox account through Backup+ and get 25 GB of free space for one year.

Vodafone will begin rolling out Backup+ to iOS and Android app stores by the end of March, and c u s t o m e r s i n m o s t Vo d a fo n e markets will be able to start using it over the coming months.

MTN Nigeria Re-launches Trutalk, To Boost Voice Communication more benefits including access to the internet at lower rates.

The MTN TruTalk service is also an upgrade of the Family and Friends feature, which avails customers more talk time and an opportunity to make calls for half the rate. The value offerings provide a tariff as low as 11 kobo/sec to 11 registered numbers, eight on-net and three off-net numbers, for Family and Friends.

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n order to boost v o i c e communication and allow its customers a long a n d u n i nte r r u p te d talk time, MTN Nigeria recently relaunched the MTN TruTalk, a prepaid plan that offers customers the opportunity to make calls at a new tariff rate of 11 kobo/sec to 11 selected numbers from any network of choice.

The new rate is equivalent to half the cost of making calls at a flat rate of 20kobo per second.

Speaking at the re-launch event in Lagos, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, MTN Nigeria, Funmi Onajide, said with the re-launch of the MTN TruTalk service, the company is striving to meet and exceed the expectations of its subscribers, with a promise to create other innovative products in the course of the year.

“For us at MTN, the launch of these extensions to the MTN TruTalk plan is an attempt to demonstrate our understanding of the desires of the vast majority of customers. This is

the desire to talk and to talk cheaper.

Whilst it is true that this industry is gradually moving to Telco 2.0, which is the focus on data and digital services, we also realise that there is a need to make it easier for people to talk. Although at the moment, data is the crown-prince, voice remains king,” Onajide added.

Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, Akinwale Goodluck, said: “Our pledge is to continue to enrich the customer experience by offering a robust bouquet of innovative products and services. The launch of two additional features to the well a cce p te d Tr uTa l k s e r v i ce i s a testament of this pledge. We will continue to explore new, innovative initiatives to avail our customers more value for the services that we render.”

With MTN TruTalk, customers will now enjoy a much reduced tariff on calls with the opportunity to make calls at half-price to as many as 11 specific friends or family members while enjoying greater value for money on an extended amount of call time. This is coming on the heels of its recently launched Betterme offer, which also gives subscribers

Analyzing the prepaid tariff plan with the game of football, which has 11 best players in a particular team, the Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Bayo Adekanmbi, said halving of the tariff was to enable people get things done, while adding that Nigerians now have the liberty to pick their best eleven across all networks to add more value to their lives.

"For us, customer satisfaction is key, which is why we are offering even more value for money by upgrading the Family and Friend feature so our customers can talk endlessly with the best 11 members of their team," Adekanmbi said.

MTN TruTalk is a prepaid tariff plan that offers a flat rate of 20 kobo/sec across all networks from the first second a call is initiated. The tariff plan does not attract a daily or monthly subscription or access fee.

Customers can migrate to the service by dialling *400#.

Subscribers can register 11 numbers for Family and Friends, which also allows them to register three off-net numbers by simply dialling *560*1 * the number that the customer wants to register#.

However, the MTN TruTalk service is currently available to only prepaid customers.

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Internet Banking On The Rise In Rwanda

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monthly national payments report

by Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) shows that the v a l u e o f transactions of internet banking is soaring as it has moved from US$27 million in January to US$33 million in Februar y, representing a 22.4 percent increase.

This is in line with the increase in the subscriber base for Internet banking in Malawi which has now risen by 4.7 percent to 24, 240 in December 2014 from 23, 162 in the preceding month.

The report says the service has continued to cater for high value transactions as the average value per transaction increased from K648 860.98 to K800 945.90 over the same period.

The repor t predic ts that this increase will now tremendously www.mobileworldmag.com 28

improve with the launch of National Switch (Nat Switch) last month which is a shared switch platform for all commercial banks in Malawi.

The Nat Switch will interconnect banking operations and financial transactions through automated teller machines (ATMs), point of sale (POS) devices, mobile banking, ebanking transactions, Visa and MasterCard gateway and other over-the-counter transactions.

This is under the part of the World Bank five-year loan amounting to $28.2 million under the Financial Sector Technical Assistance Project (Fstap).

In the total transaction volume, Internet banking registered a 19.8 percent increase to 276, 752 in 2014 from 230, 954 in 2013 while the total transaction value increased by 67.3 percent to K128.5 billion from K76.8 billion over the same period.

“Total volume of transactions for

bank-led mobile payments increased by 48 percent to K1 million in December 2014 from K678 040 in November 2014 and the transaction value rose by 55.6 percent to K2.8 billion from K1.8 billion over the period,” the report says.

The monthly report also says the bank-led increase in mobile banking a c t i v i t y re fl e c t s t h e grow i n g popularity of the service among existing subscribers, especially for utility bill payments.

“The average daily transaction volume processed by the domestic payments system rose by nine percent in December 2014 to K201 728 from K185 128 the previous month although corresponding daily average value declined by 22.9 percent to K34.7 billion from K45 billion, reflecting seasonal factors,” it says.

Google Launches Cloud Storage Nearline for Cold Data matter whether it’s online or “nearline.”

This commonality of systems, he argues, is pretty unusual.

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oogle is launching a new cloud storage ser vice today that has the potential to change how many companies, ranging from startups to enterprises, view online storage. With Google Cloud Storage Nearline, businesses can store the data they or their customers don’t frequently need to access (think backups, log files or older photos), for $0.01 per gigabyte at rest.

Cold storage isn’t a new concept.

Unlike other cold storage services like Amazon’s Glacier, where it can take hours before your data is available again once it has been put on ice, Google promises to make your data in Nearline available again in about 3 seconds.

As Google director of product management for the Cloud Platform team Tom Kershaw said, he believes that the gap between the cost of online and offline storage has to decrease.

Online storage has always been relatively expensive, but if you run a

large email service, for example, your customers expect to be able to search through all of their messages immediately. You can’t just put older messages into offline storage and then tell your users to come back in an hour once their batch job has finished.

Similarly, businesses may want (or need) to keep their log files around for as long as possible. But once they are moved offline, you can’t quickly analyze historical data anymore.

With Nearline, Google wants to blur the line between standard online storage and cold storage so businesses don’t have to delete their data anymore or move their files to cold storage.

“We wanted to create a product that made it economical to never throw anything away,” Kershaw told me.

“Google is pretty good at storing things, but every organization should be able to keep its data around.”

Historically, storage co m p a n i e s b u i l t two different systems, but the hardest and most costly thing about offline storage is actually moving the data between these two systems. On the backend then, Nearline uses the same system as the re s t o f G o o g l e’s storage products, with exactly the same encryption and other security features. It also shares its APIs with Google’s standard online storage service.

Google expects that many of its early customers will use the service primarily to store photos, videos and documents. Many companies pay a lot to keep these online, just in case a user ever needs them.

To reach an even wider market, Google has par tnered with a number of storage companies, i n c l u d i n g Ve r i t a s / S y m a n t e c , NetApp, Geminare and I ron Mountain. While all of these will get Google’s new service in front of a lot of enterprise customers, the Iron Mountain relationship is interesting because that company will allow users to send in their hard drives and have them securely uploaded to Nearline.

According to Kershaw, Google is able to offer this competitive price — which is on par with Amazon’s Glacier — because it is able to host all of its data on a single system, no www.mobileworldmag.com

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Our Aim Is To Connect Enterprises Through Empowerment Maxwell Dodd, Director, Business, Airtel Ghana

Maxwell Dodd, Director, Business, Airtel Ghana

What is the rationale behind the Airtel Business uptake and what category of businesses/people make up your target market? ur conviction is in the fact that information technology transforms individual lives and businesses.

Airtel Business is here as a partner, offering its customers a world class service that enables businesses to keep up with the enormous market dynamics. Air tel Business is committed to delivering competitive, tailor - made and innovative communication solutions to every organization across Africa and beyond to spearhead this transformation.

O

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Our customer segment is made up of but not limited to, small, medium and large businesses. We also keep growing our high net individuals (HNI) base of customers under va r i o u s p o s t- p a i d services.

In less than a year of Airtel Business inception, we have managed to grow our monthly fixed data revenues from zero to over one million Ghana Cedis which has helped to monetize Airtel's investment in telecoms fibre infrastructure.

What are the unique range of products Airtel business is offering the business community in Ghana We have developed a very large por tfolio of solutions for our customers and the industry specific 'need-based' approach, which has been our greatest hallmark in developing our solutions.

We offer Educational Solutions; from basic school, through to higher learning institutions. These solutions give students, instructors and staff tools for richer learning, effective teaching and efficient administration. Our educational solution offer is carried out via our dedicated Internet, Wi-Fi solution, our e-library- , our mobile data and mobile money for students.

Another unique product of Airtel Business is our Health Solutions which ensures that healthcare practice is supported by electronic processes and communication. With Airtel Business, we provide dedicated internet to these health centers and Wide Area Network (WAN) Solution, our cloud services allows data to be accessed anywhere, anytime by dedicated staff and patients. Our collaborative solution also ensures surveillance of activities among health centers.

Our manufacturing industry solutions gives total ease to local and international operations, production flexibility, integrated supply chain, ability to anticipate customer demand and supply. Airtel Business also has an impeccable Home Business Solution that allows individuals and families “an always on”, high speed internet experience for business, entertainment and security. For instance, our Home and office security solutions allows remote camera surveillance, vehicle tracking and prevention of theft; using the home emergency alert systems.

In a challenging global environment, how affordable are your business solutions?

Our aim is to connect enterprises together by empowering them to create opportunities, dream big and exceed their aspirations. We do this by launching solutions such as fixed and mobile convergence and hybrid that bring cost savings to businesses and help them stay competitive on the global front. Our managed and hosted services comes with cloud computing that offers huge savings for even SMEs to take their business global by developing and launching

corporate websites without having to purchase a server or pay for a website developer which comes at huge costs.

Furthermore our footprint across Africa makes Airtel a truly Pan African partner since this offers global companies access to our voice and data connectivity on Airtel's flagship fiber network called 'Africa Connec t' for business operations across Africa via fiber, satellite, and radio through a single point of supplier contac t but multiple delivery destinations across Africa. Airtel's One Africa roaming package offers roaming services to customers across its OPCOs at local rates which offers huge cost savings to businesses across Africa.

Lastly, Airtel's partnership with the launch of Thuraya's mobile satellite services across Africa brings mobile services to customers over land and sea to as low as 1 USD per minute which is more than half the cost of a roaming call today across the region and most importantly users do not pay for receiving calls on this service.

Most SME's complain of lack of support, unfair pricing, how do you intend to seek loyalty for SME market It is because of this perception that we have shifted from already designed products for customers to a solution-based approach. Our SME segment is very dear to us and by the potential we see in that space, we have built in flexibility to develop a vast range of solutions for all their needs understanding the challenges they face.

Hence we have solutions from fixed voice and data, mobile voice and data, managed and hosted services such as website and email hosting that helps SMEs grow with advantages in cost control, developing efficienc y in their business, advertising, business promotion and expansion.

We have built a unique customer management model that ensures our SMEs are served by a dedicated sales and service support team to enable them focus on their core business with ease. Besides the customer management model, SMEs can contact us via email and our contact center 24/7.

Lastly we closely engage this

segment through our periodic breakfast meetings to gather feedback as well as show our appreciation to our customers within the SME segment.

Considering the level of competition in the telecom space, what are the strategies you have in place to ensure that Airtel business succeeds as a topnotch brand?

The current trend of dwindling telecom voice revenues is the main reason for an Enterprise business setup for telecom companies to meet the increasing appetite for new revenue streams. However, the Airtel Business solutions' approach in this value preposition coupled with our global reach is where we are placed to succeed as a topnotch brand.

We admit that there are enterprise businesses in various telecom sectors in Ghana, our strategy is to bring the value of our size as the 4th largest telecommunication operator in the world through savings on economies of scale to bear, on the services we offer to our customers.

We l e ve ra g e o n o u r s i ze a n d footprints to replicate our te c h n o l o gi c a l a n d m a r k e t i n g successes across markets to benefit a l l o u r c u s t o m e r s g l o b a l l y.

Delivering best practices locally, e.g. strategies associated with the success of Airtel money across Africa has been a tool to deploy locally and in other emerging markets.

We support our customers with our strong partnerships and related brands; and this enables them benefit from the skills and technologies of these brands although an SME may not necessarily be able to afford the services of these global brands How do you intend to change the face of the market with the uptake of Airtel Business?

We are promoting and pushing the

'e -ever ything' concept. This identifies the key role telecommunication plays in changing the lives of businesses.

This is looking at e-business, eco m m e rce, e - g ove r n m e nt, e finance, e-education etc.

One of our major leverages is on our all-winning Airtel Money platform that allows our customers to pay their service bills, utility bills, salaries for employees, undertake bank transactions, make purchases, and send and receive money etc. all from the comfort of any location.

Like every eld of endeavor, there are challenges? How prepared are you for the challenges ahead The three major challenges in this field are addressed bearing in mind acquisition, training, and motivation; Rare enterprise sales people - Enterprise solutions selling experts are expensive employees so we train and build talent in - house through various innovative programmes such as the graduate training programme to feed into new roles. Developing enterprise solution selling skill set - Airtel has developed an Enterprise academy to train and develop enterprise staff in the Airtel way of selling that ensures that staff are equipped with the right skills to deliver in the enterprise segment. Motivating staff for optimum per formance and retention - Performance based commission structure has been developed to ensure that staff with the right skills and attitudes are well motivated to excel in their selling abilities If asked to make three wishes personal and work related what will they be?

Be a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ across the nations, happily married and living with my family and to become a telecoms CEO by the age of 50.

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Touchfoundry Launches Fuel Alert App ‘llapp’ In SA

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ouchFoundry, a SA based app development firm says its l a t e s t application d u b b e d “FillApp” is set to save consumers money when it comes to the recent volatility price of fuel in South Africa.

According to the developer, many South Africans find themselves not knowing whether to fill up sooner rather than later, and a misstep could easily cost them hundreds.

The app has been designed for the person on the go, and according to the company, is easy to setup and use. TouchFoundry explained that there is no registration required or adverts on the application.

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How it works Once FillApp knows how big your car’s fuel tank is and what fuel you use, it will send a reminder each month informing you of the fuel price change, how much you’ll save and whether you should fill up before or after the change (depending if it’s a price increase or decrease). The app is free and available on both Apple and Android devices. “ The aim here was to develop something simple, intuitive and unobtrusive” says co-creator Fabio Longano. “Apps have become an integral part of our lives, but many of them don’t take the consumer into account. FillApp has been designed to fit seamlessly into your day-today, empowering locals to save money.”

FillApp uses information available on agency and government websites to predict prices changes.

According to Co-creator Lance Jenkin, there is a lot of publicly accessible information that isn’t necessarily ‘accessible’ as per say, to the public.

“Every-day-people aren’t able to access this data efficiently and conveniently when they need to. So we did the time, crunched the code and came out with an elegant product that will hopefully add a touch of convenience to everyone’s lives,” he said.

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Tigo Music: An Innovative Clutch On Your Essence www.mobileworldmag.com

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Ghanaians with unlimited music e x p e r i e n c e . M o n t h s a f t e r, subscribers seem to want more of this highly innovative product.

Through pre-paid data bundles, Tigo customers have since 31 October, 2014 been enjoying more than 35 million tracks including African and Ghanaian artistes on their phones and tablets.

Additionally, Tigo is also sourcing exciting new and local content through a partnership with digital music company, Africa Music Rights (Africori), which funds, acquires and manages music rights across the African continent.

More than six months after the launch, the CEO of Tigo, Roshi Motman, is still excited about Tigo Music. Her words - “We were the first in this market to give our customers access to such unlimited music.

Music plays a major role in Ghana's rich and diverse culture as it is enjoyed at every social event and in private moments. This is a significant achievement for us as we expect an increase in smartphone penetration in this part of the world.”

She emphasized that as a digital lifestyle brand, Tigo Music was facilitating a seamless integration into the everyday lives of Ghanaians and promoting great local music.

The very interesting package gets on easily. Customers get to choose from three different options: Weekend Unlimited Music at GHS 4.99 for 500MB; Weekly Unlimited Music at GHS 11.99 for 1.5GB; and Monthly Unlimited Music at GHS 59.99 for 9GB. All prepaid customers can enjoy their favour ite music from a database of over 35 million songs – including African artistes.

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f music be the food of love, play on. Tigo Ghana caught William Shakespeare's words and did not let go. There are two key words love and music.

Tigo played music and the ever teeming subscribers have fallen more, more in love. The story is not once upon a time, it started last year, October to be precise. Tigo Ghana announced the launch of Tigo Music and a partnership with Deezer, the international music streaming service that will provide

Simply dial *500# or *567# and follow the prompts. Alternatively, you can text Weekend, Weekly or Monthly to 567 to activate your bundle of choice.

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Africa As The Next Growth Frontier With Immense Opportunities Despite Challenges, Femi Banigbe, COO, Tigo Ghana Prior to that, Banigbe had worked at different Managerial capacities at Ericsson, specifically in West Africa.

His well-rounded educational background both in Engineering, Business Management and Leadership has also equipped him with wealth of knowledge over the years.

The London Business School and Manchester Business School alumnus shares with MobileWorld the trends, challenges and moving forward….Excerpts Africa has been perceived as the Continent with Immense growth potential within the Global Telecom Industry, Femi Banigbe, COO, Tigo Ghana How do you think the various MNOs operating bafemi Banigbe, a in Africa can optimize their CAPEX g l o b a l spend to support this growth?

Management Executive with I sincerely believe in the fact that the over 15 years' African continent has immense experience in the potential for growth however this Information and growth comes at a higher cost Telecommunication industry and compared to what multinational t h e C h i e f O p e rat i o n s O ffi ce r, MNOs experience in other part of Millicom Ghana capability in his field the world. is immense. His adequate acquaintance and dedication over Typically, CAPEX per incremental the years are visible within the subrevenues in Africa has been Saharan Africa telecoms markets historically high due to the cost of having worked in several roles and deploying new Passive implemented several projects in infrastructure. In order to mitigate Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, these, many network operators have Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana. gone the TowerCo route where The thorough professional whose operator rely heavily on colocation experience spans across both the on existing towers in rolling out new equipment vendors and the coverage/capacity. telecom operator space, has worked with various multinational The TowerCo model is quite good companies in different capacities. and has many advantages when you Before joining Millicom, he was the think in terms of improved time to Network Operations and market, reduction in environmental Maintenance Director Celtel Nigeria. pollution, and reduction in the

O

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number of towers littering the landscape. Consolidation on towers has indeed helped reduce initial CAPEX outlay related to rollout out however it has its own challenges.

The major being the recurrent monthly use fees paid to the TowerCo which in some market is denominated in foreign currency leading to exchange rate risk. In some market where most of operators have hedged against this by converting the foreign currency to local currency with defined annual escalator in monthly use fees benchmarked to the Consumer price index. This is good in a way as MNO can predict it's cost if the inflation rate in the countries is predictable. But if inflation rate is not steady, it can have a major impact on annual OPEX growth curve. This ends up being a fixed contract without any possible variability.

Other areas of CAPEX optimization for operators that are part of a multinational group structure will be to leverage on globally negotiated pricing structure based on combined volume discount in order to drive down cost of active equipment purchase. This offers immense benefit and I have seen many MNOs take advantage of this.

Do you think sharing of Network Asset can help in anyway to reduce the total cost of deploying networks in Africa?

Asset sharing is one of the ways in which operators can reduce the initial CAPEX outlay in rolling out networks. Apart from Tower asset sharing where the TowerCo vehicle has been used to achieve this, Fiber Optics transmission back haul sharing is another major area of opportunity. In most market these days owning a fiber network for own use is NO longer a competitive advantage. If an operator owns a fiber asset as a first mover, such an

operator can fully explore its first mover advantage by offering that asset at a competitive rate to competition.

But if an MNO operates in market where there is little or not so significant fiber infrastructure on the ground, I will advocate for joint build effort with competition. There are different models for a join built effort: One is to form a consortium with competition and co-build via a special purpose vehicle; the second is to source a third party firm to build and the operators will commit to longer term IRU based kind of lease. I opted for the consortium option in one of the market where I worked in East Africa. I worked with other CTOs of competition to convince our respective management team to go with the consortium idea and also played the lead negotiator role with the ministry of telecommunication at that time. Thankfully, even though it took a while, the consortium was a reality and metro fiber network phase of this arrangement is currently operational. I must say that the consortium model does have its own limitation as well mainly around the governance; this makes a third party build while Operators lease on IRU basis a viable option if the price point is right.

Data is expected to grow exponentially as many users on the continent will still have to rely on mobile Internet. Do you think the Investments in African Networks will payback? And what is your advice for MNOs on how to navigate this road?

You are very right, data traffic is expected to grow 10 fold over the nex t 5 years driven by video streaming and download over mobile networks. According to Cisco latest mobile data forecast that I came across recently, data traffic is expected to grow at compound average growth rate of 57% and 72% of this growth will be driven by Video traffic. This is really huge and will put a lot of pressure on the network infrastructure. Unlike voice growth, the investment required to support huge data uptake is much higher than voice.

This poses a great challenge when it comes to return on invested capital hence, it needs to be approached pragmatically. I will like to offer a few ideas that could help MNOs to positively shift the balance between Investment and returns First every MNO needs to define an approach to the market based on its current market positioning relative to competition and how it wants to be positioned in the market. This serves as a basis for it commercial/business strategy. A well-executed brand survey as well detailed network benchmarking with competition will give the MNO some baseline information. These will serve as inputs to the commercial strategy that will drive the investment strategy.

If you follow most brand tracker in many markets, you will find out that when it comes to data, customers value Coverage, Quality, Speed even before Price as part of what they consider important to them. I call it “the critical 4” and the MNO needs to ensure that any investment plan should address these.

If Data is considered as the next big driver of revenue; MNOs must ensure it gets data pricing right. We must avoid rushing into a price war like we did with voice in most African markets. Pricing has to be smart. MNOs must communicate value through attractive bundles when it comes to Data pricing instead of screaming with Price as its main advertising headline When it comes to making a coverage decision, Coverage must be deployed in order of priority based on commercial viability. The penetration of 3G capable devices must be considered as well.

Having worked in different part of the African continents, what are the various cultural challenges you had to deal with especially as regards people management?

African people just like every race in the world, are different by virtue of their unique culture, history and experiences which shaped their ways of living and relating with

other people, relating with authority figures as well as with institutions.

Culture as they say, reveals itself more in the relationships between people. As a senior management executive, you have to be aware of these in order for you to know how to understand the people you are working with. In his famous book titled 7 habits of highly effective people, Stephen Covey taught me a very vital lesson and that I have applied and has worked for me; this i s, “ Yo u h a ve t o s e e k fi r s t t o understand before you are understood”. Before I resume in a new country, I make it a point of duty to read about the history of the people of the new country of interest, understand what makes the society tick; what unique experiences had shaped the culture of the people. The essence is not to create a framework of biases and prejudices that tend to create a stereotype with which one generalizes people's behavior. The essence is to understand how best to adapt one's leadership and management style to relate and work with the people. I have seen many international managers make the mistake of generalizing and stereotyping which ends up being more costly.

I have learnt never to try to change the people overnight; it is easier to change oneself than to change others. And with respect to managing within different cultures, situational leadership principles come in handy. Regardless of the cultural context within which one finds oneself, there is a common denominator which every human being shares and that is “the need to b e l e d ”. H o w e v e r w h a t t h e subordinates expect in a leader varies depending on the cultural background they have.

Overall, as a leader, one of the emphasis that I usually make is the need to empower people I work with having learnt that the higher you go in the organization, the more you need to make other people winners and not make it about winning yourself

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Vodacom Tanzania Partners Safaricom to Launch Cross Country Money Remittance Service

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ver 7 million MPesa customers in Tanzania and over 18 million S a f a r i c o m customers in Kenya can now send and receive mo n e y f rom e a ch ot her. Th i s revolutionary service allows for mobile wallet to wallet transfers between the two largest telecom operators in East Africa. Now, customers can transfer funds across the border at the same rate as sending money locally.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam, Vodacom Tanzania’s Managing Director said available statistics indicate that over TZS 200 billion is sent from Tanzania to Kenya annually, while the latter sends over 26 billion to Tanzania.

“Statistics from the World Bank, (2013) indicate that Tanzania sent approximately TZS 200 billion to Kenya through formal channels.

Estimates would indicate that more than twice that amount was transacted via informal channels including bus drivers, friends and family,” stated Meza.

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that our customers need to overcome in order to send and re ce i ve m o n e y a c ro s s to o u r neighbors in Kenya and have come up with a safe, secure and convenient way to do so. From today one doesn’t need to send money by suka wa basi au konda or incur hefty charges to transfer school fees, buy goods or settle business payments, he or she can do so directly from their M-Pesa wallet and from the comfort of their home, anytime the need arises, ” added Meza.

For his part, Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said, “We believe that we have launched a new chapter in the continuing growth story of M-Pesa Enabling transactions between Kenya and Tanzania will make it ever-more convenient for businesses and individuals to transact across borders and unleash the transformative power of a first of its kind cross-border payment system.”

“Vodacom customers will from today be able to send and receive money to and from Kenya through the same process that they are already used to. Their experience is

the same as that of sending money nationally, the only difference is that a customer can now choose option 3 - send money to M-Pesa Kenya- and enter the mobile number beginning with the +254…prefix,” added Meza. “Even before the money is sent, the customer will be s h o w n t h e K e ny a n Shillings equivalent value of the money that the customer in Kenya will receive. The currency conversion w i l l h a p p e n immediately and the money will be available instantly for withdrawal or making bill payments, buying airtime or any other services on M-Pesa,” he added.

M-Pesa is offered by Vodacom Tanzania Limited and Safaricom in Kenya – the region’s two biggest telecom operators. Vodacom has approximately 65% market share of mobile financial services in Tanzania whereas Safaricom commands over 80% share in Kenya. Meza further stated that, “Our combined distribution of over 150,000 agents in Tanzania and Kenya will ensure that our customers continue to enjoy the many benefits that M-Pesa offers them today. This groundbreaking service in the evolution of mobile financial services as we know it today is s u p p o r te d by a f u l l y- fl e d g e d customer ser vice unit that is reachable 24 hours every day.”

“Kenya is Tanzania’s largest trading partner and it was therefore logical that we activate the service there first. This is our own way of further cementing the ties that bind the people of the EAC region,” said Meza.

He goes on to say that communication is about connecting

people and communities regardless of the geographical barriers that stand between them – something that Vodacom does only too well across the countries where it has a presence around the world.

Tanzania is home to approximately 300,000 Kenyans who remit funds to their home country via informal ways and channels including bus drivers, friends and family. There is also a sizeable part of the Tanzanian population that has chosen to

educate their children in Kenya and rely on the very same means to transfer money. “This service will now empower a trader or a small business owner in Kariakoo or any other part of Tanzania to transact with his customers or suppliers in Kenya. For the parents whose children go to school in Kenya, settlement of school fees has been simplified because of this service.

Gone are the days that bus drivers, friends and family had to carry cash across the border to settle such dues

For all Kenyans who reside in Tanzania today, M-Pesa now makes it easier for them to send and receive money home,” added Meza.

“This service will also eradicate the need for people to carry large amounts of money in physical cash.

For, it is CONVENIENT, SECURE and DIRECT and reaches the intended person INSTANTLY. This is what Making Life Better is all about,” concluded Meza.

Orange And Airtel Partner On International Money Transfers Between Côte D'ivoire And Burkina Faso d'Ivoire and Mali, we want to develop new ways to allow our customers to send and receive money between countries in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. We are very happy to launch this service b e t we e n Cô te d ' I vo i re a n d Burkina Faso, which meets one of the region's biggest needs,” said Thierry Millet, Orange's Senior VP Mobile Financial Services and NFC. Faster, easier and available anywhere

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s of today, c u s to m e r s o f Orange Money in Côte d'Ivoire can use their mobile phones to send money to customers of Airtel Money in Burkina Faso, and vice versa. This partnership between Orange and Airtel enables Orange customers, for the first time, to send and receive money to or from people based in a countr y outside the Group's footprint. In addition, thanks to the interconnection between the two operators' mobile money platforms, it is also the first time that people living in Burkina Faso will be able to send money to contacts in

This partnership builds on the existing “Orange Money International Transfer” offer, which enables Orange Money customers based in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali to carry out cross-border money transfers. Since its introduction in July 2013, the service has been a considerable success with over 200,000 users to date.

With “Orange Money International Transfer”, Orange Money customers can easily use their mobile phones to transfer electronic money in real-time. The customer simply connects to his or her Orange Money account on their mobile phone, and enters the recipient's number and the amount t o b e s e n t . Fu n d s a r e t h e n immediately available in the mobile wallet of the beneficiary, who can then pay bills, purchase goods or make transfers from wherever they are, or make a withdrawal at any nearby Orange Money distribution point. The same applies to Airtel customers based in Burkina Faso using their own mobile wallets.

“Following the successful launch of O ra n g e M o n e y I nte r n at i o n a l Transfer between Senegal, Côte

Orange Money is available in 13 countries in Africa and the Middle East and currently has over 13 million customers.

Côte d'Ivoire using their mobile phones.

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Microsoft Inks Mou With Jobberman On Aiki.ng Employability Portal

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s part of efforts geared towards addressing unemployment and unlocking youth potential in Nigeria and other parts of West, East and Central Africa, platform and productivity company, Microsoft Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jobberman, Nigeria's No. 1 recruitment website.

By this par tnership, Microsoft Nigeria and Jobberman will create platforms to promote employment opportunities, career guidance, employability skills, and enterprise development for young people in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia, through collaborative efforts and contributions to bridge the opportunity divide for local youths through the use of technology.

Kabelo Makwane, Managing Director, Microsoft Nigeria while speak ing at the M oU signing ceremony held at Jobberman’s office in Lagos, said the MoU signing represents one of the commitments of Microsoft Nigeria Citizenship

team to further strengthen the success of the Microsoft Employability portal platform.

“The MoU is considered highly imperative at this time in order to further increase the number of job opportunities available to existing and new users of the Aiki.ng portal.

N i g e r i a’s y o u t h a r e a m a z i n g incubators for new innovative ways of thinking. By investing in their skills, we aim to help the next generation fulfil its potential, challenge the status quo and become the business leaders of tomorrow. We will assist in getting to explore other vital components of the employability portal hitherto not given maximum attention; these aspects include, career advisory, mentorship services and career centers,” he explained.

“Speaking at the event, Ayodeji Adewunmi, Jobberman’s CEO, explained that the platform will create immense opportunities for jobseekers and aspiring entrepreneurs. He also reiterated J o b b e r m a n’s c o m m i t m e n t t o matching top Talents with suitable job openings which he believes has positioned the company as the

leading jobs and recruitment website in Nigeria”.

Olusola Amusan, Citizenship Manager at Microsoft Nigeria in his remarks highlighted activities undertaken by Microsoft within the Middle East and Africa region to empower youth, make them relevant and useful to their countries and most impor tantly, to themselves.

One of such initiatives is the Microsoft Youthspark which since its launch in September 2012 has created new opportunities for 227 million young people in more than 100 countries. This includes providing cash grants and technology donations to more than 350 youth-serving non-profits in nearly 100 countries. Youthspark has reached 16.2 million youths in Middle East and Africa.

The Microsofct IT Aademy Program has more than 15,000 Member Institutions around the Globe and more than 1,400 in the Middle East and Africa region that get access to a wide range of digital curriculum resources leading to a globally recognized Certification at various

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levels of technology skills from beginner, intermediate up to advanced levels.

Last year, Microsoft announced the launch of The Cloud Star tup Academy for Moroccan SMEs: a project that aims to foster entrepreneurship and create jobs by unlocking the power of Cloud Computing. In an increasingly interconnected world, this is the kind of high-impact approach whose ripple effects will be felt across the entire ecosystem.

Jobberman has over the years organized job fairs with key

partners in a bid to help more young people find jobs and start meaningful careers. In 2014, it partnered with The Future Project to o rg a n i ze I nte r n 4 J o b s – a programme with the objective to up-skill and connect at least 100,000 young West Africans to jobs and job opportunities through internships over a two years’ period.

Jobberman, through its job board www.jobberman.com and direct recruitment services for companies, has successfully placed over 67,000 people in jobs between 2013 and 2014 alone. It aims to place many more in the nearest future.

About Microsoft Fo u n d e d i n 1 9 7 5 , M i c ro s o f t (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and b u s i n e s s e s re a l i ze t h e i r f u l l potential.

About Jobberman We are Nigeria's No. 1 Jobs Website, keeping you in the loop on the latest jobs in Nigeria, recent vacancies and 2015 Nigerian job recruitment opportunities. Choose your job. Love your job.

Vodacom Group Considering African Infrastructure Sharing With Bharti And Tigo-report Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lesotho and Mozambique at the end of December 2014.

In its home market, the group reported 31.38 million mobile subscribers at that date, while the remainder was split between Tanzania (11.81 million), DRC (11.49 million), Mozambique (5.05 million) and Lesotho (1.32 million).

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elecommunicati ons group, Vodacom, would be open to sharing its n e t w o r k infrastructure in Africa with rivals Bharti Airtel and Millicom International Cellular (MIC), owner of the Tigo brand, Agence Ecofin reports, citing an unnamed source.

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the maintenance of equipment, as well as in future network deployments. With telecoms infrastructure costs forming a significant part of operators’ annual e x p e n d i t u r e , Vo d a c o m’s suggestion marks a divergence from current thinking – whereby operators divest towers and then lease back space from the tower operator, in order to save costs.

Vodacom provided GSM services to approximately 61.1 million ‘active’ voice customers and 26.5 million active data subscribers in South

Under the plan, it would share infrastructure with Bharti Airtel and MIC in the markets they have in common. India’s Bharti Airtel had 75 million subscribers at the end of 2014, and is present in Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gabon, Sierra Leone, Chad, Tanzania, Congo, Zambia, Madagascar, Uganda, Seychelles, Malawi, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger and Rwanda. For its part, MIC had 25 million customers at the same date in Senegal, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Chad.

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