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Quick Takes NiRA May Shutdown DomainKing.ng
SUCCOUR FOR WOMEN
L-R: Group Head Public Sector, FirstBank, Mr. Timothy Arowoogun; a member of Oyo State House of Assembly, Mrs. Bolanle Agbaje; Wife of Oyo state Governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi; Chairman, Board of Directors, FirstBank, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika; and a member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Mrs. Olawunmi Oladeji at the Oyo State Women Empowerment Programme in collaboration with FirstBank’s FirstGem in Ibadan…recently
Facebook: Nigeria Has Become Technology Hub for Africa Emma Okonji With 8.6 million people in Nigeria currently using Facebook on mobile every day, out of 95 million sub-Saharan African people that are on Facebook on monthly basis, coupled with the fast-growing mobile technology sector in Nigeria and its vibrant film and music industries that are driven by social media technology, Nigeria, no doubt, has developed to become the technology hub for Africa. Chief Product Officer at Facebook, Mr. Chris Cox, made the remark when he visited Nigeria this week. Cox, who was in Nigeria to speak at the Social Media Week in Lagos, about the
ICT future of media, and to meet with Nigerian entrepreneurs and content creators, said the level of engagement with social media tools to tell the Nigerian story and the African story in the most unique way, using digital video, has placed Nigeria far above other African countries in digital technology. His statement confirmed that of the Founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, who noted during his first visit to Nigeria in September last year, that Nigerian youth would not just shape the country but will shape the whole world, based on their creativity and innovativeness in making the best use of
technology tools. Cox who also visited Nigeria for the first time, is billed to visit Ghana and Senegal, after leaving Nigeria. According to him, “Facebook is a great place for businesses to reach their customers and market their products and services. We are listening to our community of partners, developers, advertisers and content creators to understand what we can build to best serve their needs.” During his talk at Social Media Week, Cox highlighted Nigeria’s status as a hub for innovation and creativity because of its fast-growing mobile technology sector and its vibrant film and music industries. He focused on
how the world is moving to digital video, with formats such as virtual reality, live video broadcast and 360 video giving people new ways to tell their stories. “Stories matter, whether it is the stories of our lives or the stories of Africa’s growth,” says Cox. “We want Nigeria’s storytellers, such as the musicians, the filmmakers, the novelists, to take their stories to the rest of the world. The explosion in mobile video and live video, gives people a new way to share their story and perspective with the globe, and this is happening on Facebook.” Cox talked about how Continued on page 24
Britain Insists on Robots, AI to Boost Economy ...As Accenture Urges Nigeria on AI
Emma Okonji with agency report Britain is insisting that it will capitalise on the rise of robot machines and artificial intelligence (AI) to boost its economy, just as the country exits the European Union. Britain’s belief in robotics technology and artificial intelligence, is coming few weeks after Accenture’s report that was released simultaneously in Nigeria and other African countries, called for public and private sector participation in artificial intelligence in Nigeria. The report, which predicted five significant technology trends that Nigerians must apply to disrupt businesses over the next three years, has the theme: “Technol-
ECONOMY ogy for People”, which is a call to action for business and technology leaders to actively design and direct technology to augment and amplify human capabilities. The report states that the world is beginning to see the emergence of technology for people, by people, drawing a conclusion that what the globe needs in 2017, is technology that seamlessly anticipate the needs of the people and delivering hyper-personalised experiences, using artificial intelligence. As part of its strategies to champion robotic technology and artificial intelligence in specific industries, the UK government said in a statement
this week that it would invest 17.3 million pounds ($21.6 million) in university research on robotics and artificial intelligence. The government cited an estimate from consultancy Accenture that AI could add 654 billion pounds to the UK economy by 2035. According to Bloomberg report, the UK’s Culture Secretary, Karen Bradley, said in a statement that “We are already pioneers in today’s artificial intelligence revolution and the digital strategy will build on our strengths to make sure UK-based scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs continue to be at the forefront,” which he added, referenced AI’s contribution to smartphone voice and touch recognition
technologies. The announcement is part of UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to identify industries worth supporting to help transform the economy and boost productivity. The government has said it intends to target areas where it thinks the UK could excel in the future, including biotechnology and mobile networking. The UK’s digital strategy proposal, set to be unveiled this week, also includes a review of AI to determine how the government and industry can provide further support. UK’s Business Secretary, Greg Clark, said: “Investment in robotics and artificial intelContinued on page 24
Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), may shutdown an Indian based ccTLD Accredited Registrar, DomainKing.ng, for not responding to escalated support queries and emails from its clients forwarded to it by the .ng Registry, since February 8, 2017. According to NiRA, the Registry had attempted severally since then and is still trying to contact this registrar via email, telephone, their online support system, social media platforms and postal services. January 24, 2017 was the last time this Registrar responded to the Registry via email. Failing to respond to the .ng Registry is a breach of the Registrar Agreement that DomainKing.ng signed with NiRA. Also DomainKing. ng’s failure to respond to its registrants is in breach of the obligation a Registrar owes its registrants. Some of the complaints via emails and phone calls from the clients of DomainKing.ng bordered on payments made via the DomainKing.ng website/platform without service being rendered by DomainKing.ng Whilst considering the plight of existing DomainKing.ng clients, the .ng Registry had taken a protective measure to ensure that the DomainKing.ng platform is temporarily not available for more Nigerians to make further payments. Further sanctions will be applied against DomainKing.ng by 2nd May 2017 should the company not reactive/attend/respond to queries/complaints raised by the registrants, NiRA said in a statement.
Masterpass QR Live in Seven Markets
Mastercard has successfully been able to introduce and roll-out Masterpass QR in seven markets in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). This momentum is part of the company’s commitment to delivering efficient and cost effective payment solutions to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the region. The significance of Masterpass QR and the contribution already made in these markets are being highlighted at Mobile World Congress that is convening the best minds from the global business and technology community in Barcelona this week. Insights will be shared on how to expand this model to other emerging markets across the globe. Front of mind will be recent research that reinforces how mobile financial services can potentially contribute $3.7 trillion to emerging economies in the next ten years.With mobile penetration figures on the rise and predictions that smartphone adoption in the region will jump to 65 per cent, which is about 467 million devices by 2020, it goes without saying that mobile-driven and supported solutions will have a significant impact on financial inclusion.
Dell EMC Launches Partner Program
Dell EMC has launched of the integrated Dell EMC Partner Program, built from the ground up while preserving the best of two world-class legacy programs. The program establishes an extraordinary new program that addresses the needs of partners today and into the future. The unified program embraces the entire Dell EMC partner ecosystem, inclusive of solution providers, cloud service providers, strategic outsourcers, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) partners, systems integrators and distribution partners as well as includes unique tracks with specific advantages and incentives that align to a particular partner type and attained tier designation. As part of this full ecosystem strategy, also included is the “Powered by Dell EMC” brand program for those businesses that embed Dell EMC technologies into the marketplace. Speaking on the program, the Country Manager, Dell Nigeria, Akin Banuso noted that global business is rapidly changing as more and more customers prioritise investment in digital transformation and Dell EMC and its partners are uniquely positioned to help customers through this evolution. “Dell EMC provides vast opportunities to our partners through an industry leading portfolio of innovative products, services and solutions, and now with the Dell EMC Partner Program, provides the support and programs for partners to excel,” Banuso said.
“Multitude of opportunities exist for the current generation of Nigerian youths to create and sustain new wealth in the 21st century, using technology tools” Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh