A2
Wednesday 16 September 2020
BUSINESS DAY
NEWS
Paxful expands beyond bitcoin, adds tether to platform BUNMI BAILEY
G
L-R: Allen Jia, sales manager, CHINT Nigeria; Igwilo Allena, head, medical services, Eko Electricity Distribution Company; Michael Chen, Nigeria country manager, CHINT West Asia and Africa; Aik Alenkhe, chief human resources officer, Eko Electricity Distribution Company; Babatunde Lasaki, assistant general manager, brand management and corporate communications, and Yusuf Saliu, team leader welfare, during the presentation of 5,000 face masks to Eko Electricity Distribution Company by CHINT Group to fight against the Covid–19, in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Olawale Amoo
Electoral offenders face UK, US visa ban, asset seizure ahead Edo, Ondo polls INIOBONG IWOK
B
arely 24 hours after the United States government imposed additional visa restrictions on Nigerians whom it said are undermining the country’s democracy in the run-up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections, the United Kingdom has said it would take action against individuals who mastermind violence during the forthcoming governorship elections. In a statement published on its Twitter handle on Tuesday, the British High Commission in Nigeria said the sanction could include restrictions on the eligibility of the affected politicians to travel to the UK, restrictions on access to UKbased assets, or prosecution under international law just as it did after the 2019 elections.
Catriona Laing, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, in the statement said she has held meetings with the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on the Saturday governorship election in Edo State. The commission explained that the parley focused on the need for the parties to prevail on their supporters to avoid violence before, during, and after the elections. “The UK takes a strong stand against election-related violence and just as we did in the general election in 2019, we will continue to take action against individuals we identify as being responsible for violence during elections,” the statement said. “This could include restrictions on their eligibility to travel to the UK, restrictions on access to UK-based assets or prosecution under interna-
Small businesses, job seekers to get post COVID-19 support as Google unveils initiatives CALEB OJEWALE
G
oogle on Tuesday announced plans to help businesses, job seekers, educational institutions and vulnerable populations as they try to rebuild and recover from the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Over 500,000 small businesses across sub-Saharan Africa are to benefit from funding, training and services across identified sectors, while 25,000 teachers will get access to free online training sessions and resources to boost their capacities. In executing its plans in Nigeria, Google is also partnering with the federal ministry of youth and sports development to provide support for youthowned small businesses. The partnership is also expected to provide jobseekers in Nigeria with support in acquiring marketable skills through certifica-
tion and training programs. “We are focused on creating an enabling environment that promotes youth and social development in Nigeria. This partnership with Google in Nigeria is critical at this period and we look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on SMBs’ recovery, enhancing the skills of jobseekers and improving the digital effectiveness of the education sector,” said Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sports development during an online briefing hosted by Google. Google also says it has set up a digital hub that provides free tools and resources to businesses and individuals. Through the hub, 500,000 small businesses will receive help getting online or improving their digital presence through Google My Business (GMB), which helps them connect with millions of users every month. www.businessday.ng
tional law,” it said. The statement further said the UK welcomed the signing of a peace accord by the governorship candidates in the state. The commission disclosed that it would be deploying observation missions to both Edo and Ondo polls while supporting civil society-led observation. It could be recalled that the US government imposed additional visa restrictions on Nigerians who it said are undermining the country’s democracy in the run up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections and their actions surrounding the November 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa State elections. The US State Department did not name those affected but said the visa sanctions were targeted at some individuals who were involved in election violence, not the gen-
eral population. These individuals have so far operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and have undermined democratic principles, according to a statement issued September 14 by the Morgan Ortagus, Department spokesman. The US said it was a steadfast supporter of Nigerian democracy. “We commend all those Nigerians who participated in elections throughout 2019 and have worked to strengthen Nigerian democratic institutions and processes. We remain committed to working together to advance democracy and respect for human rights and achieve greater peace and prosperity for both our nations. We condemn the acts of violence, intimidation, or corruption that harmed Nigerians and undermined the democratic process.
Prize has transformed my wife’s business - winner in Glo Rewards Cashtoken BUNMI BAILEY
A
s first set of winners in Glo Rewards Cashtoken promo receive their prizes across the country, one of the winners, William Ubi, has expressed his gratitude to Globacom for helping to transform his wife’s business. Ubi, a civil engineering student of Cross River State University, won N200,000 in the promo, he said he invested in his wife’s business. According to Ubi, “This is my first time of winning in any promo. So when I got a call from Globacom, I was very happy. The money has helped to transform my wife’s business. We added more stocks, especially those that were in demand which we don’t have before. Now, we are selling more and making more profit, thanks to Glo. I pray that God will reward Glo for this unex-
pected gift.” Other winners include Warri-based Anthony Iyemi who won N100,000; Mohammed Tijani, a Kaduna-based farmer; Ugochi Nwabiokeze, a businesswoman in Onelga, Port Harcourt; Sarah Sadiq, a student of Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa; Benson Polycab from Igueben, Edo State, and Ayomide Ibukun, a 300-level student of Marketing at the Ekiti State University, among others, who won N20,000 each as prize. Globacom in a press statement released in Lagos on Monday said the winners emerged from Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Calabar, Kaduna, Warri, Ilorin, Igueben, and Ibadan. It added that it would continue to provide different empowerment opportunities from time to time, in which they will benefit from the network.
https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng
lobal peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, Paxful, has announced the addition of Tether (USDT) to its platform. The inclusion of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market value, will assist users in combating a volatile market, protecting their assets, and expanding their portfolio. The industry has seen a surging demand for a stable digital currency amidst fears of an economic recession in both traditional and digital markets. In the last 12 months, Tether has established itself as a champion amongst stablecoins, with a market capitalisation of over $13 billion. “We consider this a big step for us since this is the first cryptocurrency other than bitcoin we have on the platform,” said Ray Youssef, CEO, and co-founder of Paxful. “We always listen to our users. We understand that they go to Paxful for wealth generation and turn to crypto for stability when their national currency is affected by inflation. We hope that this
can aid them to be more in control of their finances,” Youssef said. The addition comes with a hedging option, allowing users to instantly convert BTC to USDT and vice versa, helping the users to protect their funds during bitcoin price fluctuations. The company also plans to enable USDT trading on the platform. Same as with the bitcoin (BTC) trading in the Paxful marketplace, users can buy and sell USDT with over 300 payment methods. The USDT balance is accessible via the wallet page, where the current market price for both coins is displayed. The launch of this feature marks Paxful’s first step towards potentially adding new cryptocurrencies in the future. The company recently announced that the platform Paxful has hit 4.5 million registered wallets, reached 4.6 billion USD in trading volume, and reduced dispute levels to under 1 percent. Since inception, they have added 1 million users per year and so far in 2020 and are on track to sign up an additional 2 million users by the end of the year.
Rising concern for intellectual property protection as online learning soars MODESTUS ANAESORONYE
C
ovid-19 pandemic has resulted in exponential transition to online and digital learning across the world, raising concern for intellectual property protection and increasing plagiarism among education experts. According to UNESCO reports, 776.7 million school children worldwide have been affected by school closures since the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in increased digital course enrolments, and investor interest in education start-ups looking for capital. Experts at NoCopyCopy, an eduTech start-up that has been a witness to these increased activities and its fallouts, has developed the capacity to stand on the frontline of intellectual property protection with its plagiarism checker. According to them, while students study from home, educational bodies will need to ensure that, without their usual systems for invigilation, they would need technological systems in place to protect the integrity of intellectual property attributed during academic assess@Businessdayng
ments. Seeing the increased supply of information as a product, it is important to safeguard the rights of authors and creators and ensure decorous exchange of information within this ecosystem including creators, consumers, researchers and publishers, says EmoreOgho, the chief operating officer, NoCopyCopy. “As a plagiarism checker, NoCopyCopy will help to provide proper referencing of intellectual work to students, lecturers, bloggers, executives and individuals while also preventing plagiarisation of intellectual property across universities and institutions in Nigeria and West Africa.” “We are keeping our focus on driving and supporting the future of online learning,” Emore Ogho said. NoCopyCopy, the foremost indigenous plagiarism checking platform is a social impact Lagos-based educational technology start-up that is pioneering the value of ethics and originality in the Nigerian market by providing a broad spectrum of web platform service and mobile application which verifies the authenticity of documents.