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#Nigeria ranks behind Mauritius, Seychelles, 13 others in ICT development

By: Bhodemarz on November 20, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

Fourteen countries have been ranked ahead of Nigeria in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development in Africa.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) stated this yesterday in a report on the 2017 ICT Development Index (IDI), which measured the information society.
According to the report, Mauritius, Seycheles, South Africa, Cape Verde, Bostwana, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Sao Tome and Principle, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Senegal are ahead of Nigeria in the ranking.
The IDI survey, which examined about 38 countries in Africa, is a yearly report that studies the adoption of new technology trends and growth of ICT among countries.
The report showed that while some countries recorded growths in the last one year, Nigeria remained stagnant at 15th position, while Seychelles, which ranked fourth in 2016, moved two positions upward to become second a year later.
Also, Cote d’Ivoire, which ranked 12th position a year ago, moved to the ninth in 2017.
Mauritius maintained the number one position back-to-back in Africa and ranked 72nd in 2017 globally, from its 75th position a year ago. Nigeria maintained same spot globally and regionally in 2016 and 2017, ranking 143rd out of 176 countries surveyed by the ITU.
The telecoms union stated that Africa has by far the lowest average IDI performance in any region, adding that only one country, Mauritius falls into the top half of the IDI distribution or exceeded the global average value for IDI 2017.
It added that only four more countries: Seychelles, South Africa, Cape Verde and Botswana, exceeded the average value of 4.26 for developing countries.
ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao, who called for Africa’s governments’ attention on ICT, noted that a revolution would unfold in the coming decades with unpredictable opportunities, challenges and implications.
Also, a telecoms expert, Kehinde Aluko, cautioned that until the fundamental challenges hindering innovations and creativity are removed, the country would continue to experience a lull in technology development.



Source: GuardianNG

Firm makes first off-grid energy investment in Nigeria

By: Bhodemarz on November 20, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

An independent impact investing company, All On, said it had made its first set of transactions aimed at facilitating increased access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy sources for low-income households, the Small and Medium Enterprises and communities.
According to a statement, seeded with funding from Royal Dutch Shell, the company is working with partners to increase access to commercial energy products and services for under-served and un-served off-grid energy markets in Nigeria, with a special focus on the Niger Delta.
The Chief Executive Officer, All On, Dr. Wiebe Boer, said, “This initial set of transactions demonstrates our commitment to utilising a market-based approach to making a sustainable impact on the off-grid energy sector in partnership with global and local market leaders.
“It is just the beginning of our investments towards improving access to energy in Nigeria for the tens of millions of off-grid households and the SMEs across the country,” he added.
According to the statement, the initial investments include an equity investment in Lumos Global BV, the fastest growing “distributed utility” in West Africa, and a grant to Nigerian tech ideation incubator, Co-Creation Hub, to launch a challenge to engage Nigeria’s technology innovation ecosystem in the access to energy space.
It said All On had also entered into a grant agreement with Solar Nigeria, a UK Aid-funded project implemented by Adam Smith International, for the receipt of grant funding to further de-risk investments made by All On in the Solar Home System space.
The firm said it was also currently in the latter stages of negotiations for an equity and debt investment in Green Village Enterprises, the award-winning indigenous mini-grid operator in Nigeria, headquartered in Port Harcourt.
Commenting on the proposed investment, the Managing Director, GVE, Ifeanyi Orajaka, said, “We at the GVE are excited about this relationship with All On. An investment from a world-class organisation such as All On further validates our position as one of the leading and most innovative indigenous clean energy solutions providers in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We are very optimistic and look forward to achieving our medium-term target of impacting two per cent of Nigeria’s 180 million population through this partnership.”
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, CCHub, Bosun Tijani, said, “The organisation is proud to partner All On to support Nigeria’s early stage clean energy entrepreneurs. Matching our expertise identifying and supporting innovative startups with All On’s seed capital, we hope we can unearth amazing enterprises to meet the energy needs and aspirations of Nigerians.”


Source: PunchNG


Russia Signs Agreement With Nigeria for Nuclear Power Plant

By: Bhodemarz on October 31, 2017 / comment : 0 , , , , ,

Russia has signed agreements with Nigeria to build and operate a nuclear power plant in the oil-rich West African nation that has a deficit of reliable power and faces security challenges by Islamist militants in the far northeast.
Feasibility studies for the plant and a research center construction will include site screening, capacity, financing, and time frames of the projects, state-owned Russian nuclear company Rosatom said in an emailed statement. Representatives from the firm and the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission signed the deal.
The nations in 2009 signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of the peaceful usage of nuclear technologies. Nigeria in 2015 was in talks with Rosatom to build as many as four nuclear power plants costing about $20 billion, the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission said at the time.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, distributes an average of 4,500 megawatts of electricity. Half the output of the Egbin power plant, the nation’s biggest, is lost because of inadequate transmission infrastructure, its chief officer said last month.
Rosatom is seeking to build nuclear power plants in other countries on the continent including South Africa.

Source: Bloomberg



Ford assembly plant berths in Lagos, to produce 20,000 vehicles yearly

By: Bhodemarz on October 23, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

Coscharis Group has unveiled its Ford assembly plant in Lekki area of Lagos. It has the capacity to produce 10,000 to 20,000 cars yearly.
Already, Coscharis has rolled out 600 units of Ford Ranger multi-purpose mini-truck as part of measures to expand and consolidate on existing market share in Nigeria and West Africa.
Speaking at the event, President, Coscharis Group, Cosmas Maduka, said the facility was the second Ford plant in Africa, after South Africa and the first ever in Nigeria and the entire Sub-Sahara Africa.

 According to him, the assembly plant has the capacity to churn out 10,000 to 20,000 cars annually, even though the number of vehicles assembled this year so far is about 2,000.
He said the plant is an initiative from the organisation to further create value as a leading player in the automotive industry in Nigeria, in response to the clarion call of the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP).
He added that the plant is also to appreciate the confidence that the globally respected iconic brand, Ford, reposed in its organisation as its exclusive official representative in Nigeria to roll out the very first Ford Assembly Plant in Nigeria. This milestone marks another first in the evolution of our company towards remaining timeless in its relevance.
“The NAIDP aims, among other objectives, to discourage the importation of Completely Built vehicles and encourage the local manufacturing of vehicles through either Complete Knocked Down or Semi Knocked Down facilities for a start.
“We are aware that a few automobile companies have also initiated their process towards achieving this objective. However, at Coscharis Motors Plc, our concern and commitment to our loyal customers and stakeholders is to, as usual, set standards that other players will be judged by in the industry,” he said.
He said: “It has been a long wait from when the company first announced in November 2015 that we had commenced physical structuring of the new Plant sighted on a piece of land of more than 14 Hectares within our Lekki Group head office in Lagos.
“At the moment, our focus at the Plant is to rollout the Ford Ranger, which is a multipurpose mini-truck that serves well for both work and leisure, we also can produce 60 units a day using two shifts.”
“As you are all aware, Ford has a global standard for all of its products including the Ranger. Therefore, Ford’s certification of our facility and output is a confirmation that every single Ranger that rolls out of this plant is indeed “Built Ford Tough” from which we’ve rolled out over 600 units from this facility since we started operation; some of which are on display outside,” Maduka revealed.
Assembly Plant Manager, Sola Afolayan, who conducted journalist round the plant, revealed that all laid down specifications and production procedures are being followed in line with Ford’s global standard operating system.

Source: guardian.ng


Making A Case For The Regulation Of Cryptocurrency In Nigeria

By: Bhodemarz on October 09, 2017 / comment : 0 , , , , ,

Cryptocurrency [1] is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure the transactions and to control the creation of additional units of the currency[2].
The use of Cryptocurrency as gained strength in Nigeria. The use of Cryptocurrencies in Nigeria may not be unconnected with the move by the central bank of Nigeria to stop the capital outflow of foreign currencies from Nigeria.
The extreme volatility of digital currency has forced many governments to warn its citizens of the use of the unregulated currency or money known as digital currency with some countries taking the extreme measure of banning its use and making it a crime to hold, own or purchase Bitcoins or any related cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has been called “digital gold,” and for a good reason. To date, the total value of the currency is close to $9 billion
Pictured below is a list of the most used cryptocurrencies in the world, with Bitcoin taking the lead.

Unlike other cryptocurrencies Bitcoin is different: It wholly replaces central bank currencies with a digital version that’s tougher to forge, cuts across international boundaries, can be stored on your hard drive/Flash Drive instead of in a bank, and perhaps most importantly to many of Bitcoin’s users isn’t subject to the inflationary whim of a Central bank or government decides to print more money.

Problems Associated With Digital Currencies
It can be used for money laundering, activities such as drug dealing, to finance terrorism because many digital currencies offer anonymity services.
Proliferation of Ponzi schemes are easier to propagate as fake digital currencies may be used to attract unsuspecting consumers as it isn’t under any government’s control.
It is Difficult to tax as it is not recognized as a currency, although it can be classified as a good or products which can be used as barter goods.[3].
It is not recognized by any regulatory agency in Nigeria, so fraudulent activities by businesses and individuals are likely to succeed and continue unabated until cryptocurrencies are regulated in Nigeria.

Usage
According to localbitcoins[4] Nigeria’s weekly Bitcoin exchange volumes since mid-December 2016 have increased from more than  ₦400 million, which is close to $1.3 million[5] to Over  ₦1 Billion which is  about $3 Million

Regulation across the World
On 25 September 2013, the analytical department of Ministry of Finance of Czech Republic published legal guidance for buying and selling digital currencies. Transactions worth more than 1,000 EUR are considered “AML high-risk”[6] in accordance to S 6 para. of Act No. 253/2008 Code while transactions worth more than 15,000 EUR are considered “AML suspicious” in accordance to Section 18 of Act No. 253/2008 Code.
In America, the Bit License, a local regulatory framework formulated by New York’s Department of Financial Services is already in place to regulate digital currency businesses operating in the state.
The European Union has passed no specific legislation relative to the status of the bitcoin as a currency within its territory. In October 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that
 “The exchange of traditional currencies for units of the ‘bitcoin’ virtual currency is exempt from VAT” and that “Member States must exempt, inter alia, transactions relating to ‘currency, bank notes and coins used whileas legal tender’”, making bitcoin a currency as opposed to being a commodity[7].
On the other hand The United Kingdom, has created a regulatory framework that bends over backward to make it easy and quick for innovative startups and entrepreneurs to comply with the appropriate consumer protection regulations and safely enter the market.”
As against the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union stated above, bitcoin is not yet recognized as a currency in Nigeria. However, I believe that it can be classified as a good or product thus, taxable under the Capital Gains Tax Act, 2004[8] which would lead to the generation of more revenue for the Nigerian Government

Conclusion
Regulation may be needed to protect consumers and the wider financial system in essence bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies should not remain in a legal vacuum, without the appropriate supervision and unless serious action is taken by the CBN and other potential regulatory agencies to make it clear to the Nigerian people and companies on the modalities on use of digital currency [9].
It is important the government issues modalities for individuals and companies participating in the trading of digital currencies.
The money laundering act [10] would also need to be amended so as to allow for the recognition of digital currencies. A benchmark for trade in digital currencies should also be set so as to enable security agencies flag investigate the trading and use of digital currencies to prevent terrorism amongst other nefarious acts. The Money Laundering Act [11] would also need to be amended to cover digital currencies.
With an unclear regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies in Nigeria and the constant delay being exhibited by the CBN in reeling regulations, it remains unseen how Nigeria expects to positively utilize the unruly product called cryptocurrency. The ownership or possession of bitcoin, etherum or related cryptocurrencies is therefore not illegal in Nigeria.

[1] (or crypto currency)
[2] Cryptocurrencies are a subset of alternative currencies, or specifically of digital currencies. Today, there are over 700 digital currencies in existence [2].
[3] http://www.lawyard.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CAPITAL-GAINS-TAX-ACT.pdfLast Accessed January 30 2017
[4] Localbitcoins.com A website dedicated to viewing Cryptocurrency transactions near a persons location
[5] http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/02/01/weekly-bitcoin-volumes-cross-1m-in-nigeria-raise-speculations/
[6] Anti-Money Laundering Law
[7] In Europe Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a form of currency.
[8] http://www.lawyard.ng/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CAPITAL-GAINS-TAX-ACT.pdfLast Accessed January 30 2017
[9] Nigeria’s alleged interest in regulating digital currencies comes amid similar efforts elsewhere across the world
[10] Money Laundering Act 2011 Amended 2012
[11] Money Laundering Act 2011 Amended 2012


Source: lawyard.ng


kudi.ai , 5 other Artificial Intelligence startups to look out for in Africa.

By: Bhodemarz on October 09, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

Digital All Stars is a series of articles which aims to celebrate the best of South African digital. The articles, which will appear on Memeburn and Ventureburn, recognise and celebrate South Africa’s best digital entrepreneurs, business people, advertisers, and media professionals among others.
In this piece we take a look at some interesting African startups involved in developing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.

Kudi.ai
Nigerian startup Kudi.ai has developed a chatbot which allows users to make payments and send money to friends and family in Nigeria via messaging. The company is a graduate of the YCombinator Winter 2017 batch.
Pelumi Aboluwarin (pictured above, left with co-founder Yinka Adewale) says the founders began working on Kudi in July last year. “We registered an entity two months after and ran a private beta in December 2016. We launched publicly in January 2017,” says Aboluwarin. The company has seven employees.
The company uses AI to understand user requests, drive conversations, understand user spending habits and prevent fraud. “We developed it in-house using a variety of machine learning techniques,” says Aboluwarin.
The startup has put together a business-to-business solution too, which it is piloting with banks and telecommunication companies.
“After YCombinator we’ve raised additional seed funding from a group of angel investors in the valley and in Nigeria,” says Aboluwarin.

Aajoh
Nigerian startup Aajoh uses artificial intelligence to help individuals that send a list of their symptoms via text, audio and photographs, to diagnose their medical condition.
The business was started in February last year — by Simi Adejumo (who is the CEO), Zuby Onwuta, Vikas Ramachandra, Ike Ilochonwu and Charles Ademola — with an angel investment of $10 000.
The company has two companies and 35 users signed up for its pilot programme. “Our present go-to-market strategy involves getting companies to sign up to the platform as part of staff health benefits,” says Adejumo.
Adejumo said the app won’t replace medical diagnoses but will allow doctors to make the best use of their time by allowing them to focus on the patients that need physical care.
“In frontier markets, there’s a high patient to doctor ratio with Nigeria having a 4000 to one patient-to-doctor ratio, in proper context on the average an individual spends about 20 minutes with a GP, so assuming the population fell ill (all) at once, it would take over 55 days to get care,” he says.
The company’s immediate plans are to grow its pilot programme and then expand to India. “By August we aim to have implemented partnerships with key pharmacies across Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria and increased our user base to 1000.”

DataProphet
South African startup DataProphet last year received a significant investment of an undisclosed amount from Yellowwoods Capital Holdings to expand its international offering. As part of the deal, DataProphet will act as the advanced analytics partner for the group.
The startup, based in Cape Town, has developed various machine-learning interventions, mainly for the finance and insurance sector. It has also added a number of large industrial and fast-moving consumer goods clients, some of which are international clients.
Among the applications the startup has designed are a conversational agent for inquiries and a solution to detect emotion via image which has been integrated into a game for major Japanese publisher Bandai Namco.
Daniel Schwartzkopff (pictured right, with co-founder Frans Cronje) says four years on the company has seen it now turning a profit and no longer relying on “burning VC funds”.
The company has 18 employees and Schwartzkopff says their immediate plans include fleshing out its product offering for the conversational agent and expanding overseas sales, primarily in the US (the company already has a sales office in San Francisco).
“It is very cost effective for US businesses to utilise DataProphet as we have a major cost advantage by operating out of SA,” he adds.

Clevva
Founded in 2011 by Dayne and Ryan Falkenberg and Mark Pederson, the Stellenbosch-based company uses virtual advisors on artificial intelligence platforms to advise sales and technical consultants.
The platform has been adopted by a wide number of large organisations in the banking, insurance, telecommunications, oil & gas, software and electronics sectors. These clients typically have large numbers of staff dealing with sales, service and operations.
Clevva has since its inception been entirely self-funded by the company’s co-founders and directors. At present the company has a team of seven.
The startup has been recognised by a wide range of industry bodies, including being showcased by Gartner in 2015 as one of six African Innovations and selected by Microsoft to be part of its BizSpark programme.
Clevva is looking to expand globally, starting with the UK and Australia and then heading to the US in the next 12 to 18 months.

Aerobotics
Founded by Benji Meltzer and James Paterson in 2014, Cape Town based Aerobotics develops AI systems for drones.
The company uses AI to assist farming consultants in South Africa, Australia and the UK to analyse processed maps and extract actionable information to identify problem areas in crops such as wheat, macadamia nuts, citrus and sugar cane. This enables the company to develop variable rate fertilisation application maps and predict the yield of crops.
“We have built technology that goes as far as identifying and classifying individual trees (using computer vision and machine learning) and then additional algorithms that track each of these trees, with a number of metrics per tree (health, biomass, canopy area, etc) over time,” explains Meltzer.
So far, the startup, which has 11 employees and has previously been selected for Startupbootcamp Insurtech accelerator programme in London, has used its own funds to finance operations, but signed a term sheet in March for its first round of funding.
“The tech is at a point now where we’re ready to scale operations and we’re looking to build partnerships with major players in industry. In the future we’d like to explore additional industries that would be interested in this data,” says Meltzer.

Stockshop.co.za
Founded by former equity-derivatives specialist Annabel Dallamore together with Julian Dallamore and Mark Karimov in 2013, Johannesburg startup Stockshop.co.za offers a number of artificial intelligence solutions to financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies.
These include a conversational user interface (a bot in its infancy) that match-makes available financial consultants or brokers with client leads. The startup has also developed a bot interface that completes real-time identity verification checks on behalf of banks and financial institutions in line with requirements under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA).
The startup has also developed a solution that uses an algorithm that pairs financial behaviour, spending and other data along with emotional cues and provides clients with assistance around financial matters such as payments, administration, rewards, education, analytics and tracking.
It’s also launched a micro-insurance platform in April that is unique to the African market.
In 2013 the company received support from the Seed Engine accelerator and has raised funding from two angel investors and a venture capital fund, for an undisclosed sum. It now has 11 employees.

Source: ventureburn.com


Technology is helping middle-class Nigerians turn to farming without getting their hands dirty

By: Bhodemarz on September 29, 2017 / comment : 0 , , ,

For decades, various Nigerian administrations have championed the idea of diversifying an oil-dependent economy with agriculture often been cited as the top alternative. But rather than match bluster with action, Africa’s largest oil producer has perennially remained reliant on it’s biggest export.
More than 80% of farmers in Nigeria are small holder farmers who cultivate a few acres of land to feed their family and also sell produce to earn a living. Yet, while the government has failed—getting middle-class Nigerians to take up farming—thanks to technology, a crop of new agro-tech startups are finding success.
Rather than purchase farmlands and get involved the daily routine of the industry, startups like FarmCrowdy and ThriveAgric enable interested middle-class Nigerians to fund existing farms for between $200 and $750 for a harvest cycle (which can last between five and six months depending on the crop) and earn up a share of profits.
For the investors, the entire process happens online. Once signed up, they’re kept in the loop with bi-weekly email updates and videos detailing the progress of farms and expected harvest. At the end of a harvest cycle, investors receive the capital plus a pre-agreed profit margin via bank transfer. No physical interaction required although investors can visit farmlands if they wish to.
With capital from its farm sponsors, FarmCrowdy provides its network of over 3,500 farmers with funds, equipment and technical support to plant and harvest crops. To ensure quick sale of harvested produce, FarmCrowdy secures purchase orders from prospective buyers before each harvest cycle to ensure that supply matches demand. With a bulk of small holder farmers lacking the capacity to operate at scale, FarmCrowdy’s business model allows them readily access capital to hire more labour and cultivate larger farmlands.
ThriveAgric operates a similar model, but there’s a slight twist. Rather than fund farmers’ existing farmland, the company leases farmlands from communities and then contracts farmers to plant crops based on demand. ThriveAgric also secures purchase orders for the produce to ensure sales after harvest. Since its launch five months ago, ThriveAgric has contracted nearly 300 farmers in its farms mainly across northern Nigeria.
For Onyeka Akumah, CEO of Farmcrowdy, the company’s proposition is simple.”There is a lot of interest in agriculture among Nigerians, but there’s little guidance on how to go about it.” We want to educate them about the process in a way they can relate.”
Akumah is focused on channeling funds from middle class Nigerians with an interest in agriculture to small scale farmers who he says are often neglected. “It’s impact plus returns,” he says.
Since its launch in November 2016, Akumah says FarmCrowdy has attracted over 1,000 farm sponsors with a 76% rate of repeat investment. Another mark of its progress—and the public’s interest, FarmCrowdy timeline for securing sponsors for its available farms has been cut from six weeks when it first launched to less than 10 minutes, Akumah says. ThriveAgric has also seen a high level of interest: Uka Eke, co-founder of ThriveAgric, says the company has seen a “400% increase” in farm subscriptions since launch earlier this year.
To protect investors’ funds, both ThriveAgric and FarmCrowdy insure farms during the harvest cycle.
Beyond providing the farmers with access to capital and guaranteed sales, both startups are also focused on improving the value chain of agriculture by providing technical support to farmers through mobile devices and periodic visits by specialists who educate farmers on modern farming techniques in a bid to ensure higher efficiency for yields and better produce. (Akumah says FarmCrowdy is focused on production and sales rather than storage at the moment.)

Should crowdfunding farms become a mainstream practice among Nigeria’s middle-class, the government could inadvertently see its dream realized. But to achieve that level of adoption in the long-term, Nubi Kayode, an Ireland-based Nigerian who’s invested in farms with both startups, says they must look beyond the internet. “The internet works for the diaspora market,” he tells Quartz. “For local customer acquisition, they should look to have more physical retail presence to increase accessibility for people who want to get involved.”

Source: Quartz Africa

With 170m people, Nigeria is a preferred investment destination in Africa by Umar Danbatta

By: Bhodemarz on September 28, 2017 / comment : 0 , , , ,

I welcome you warmly to the Nigeria Pavilion in the ITU Telecom World 2017, Busan. I want to thank all of you especially the management of ITU led by its Secretary General, His Excellency Houlin Zhao, the People and Government of South Korea, the host city, Busan and all the industry players from Nigeria and other nations here present.
Our country, Nigeria is proud to be a part of the ITU in whose activities we always actively participate.
We come to the ITU Telecom World every year to tell our story, share our experiences and borrow a leaf from global best practices to address our concerns, engage and collaborate with the global community to strengthen the growth and impact of the Nigerian Telecoms Industry.
We therefore come to enlist the support of other players, governments, regulators and the global community from whom there is always a basket of ideas to take back home to Nigeria.  The implementation of these ideas will ensure a better regulatory environment, even though ours has been seen as a very robust and consultative regulatory agency right from 2001 when the Digital Mobile Licences (DML) were issued.
The spirit of cooperation and consultation is very high at ITU Telecom World events.
While it is true that different people come with different notions to ITU Telecom World, the end result is to better serve our people, deploy resources to address access gaps in underserved and unserved communities in our various jurisdictions.
Our engagement with the global community during this event will include creating awareness of the investment opportunities in Africa’s biggest Telecom market, as well as guarantee of adequate Returns on Investments (ROIs).
In this connection, we are here to tell the ICT community that Nigeria with a population of about 170 million is a preferred investment destination in Africa.
With over 150 million active subscribers, in the voice segment, over 102 percent teledensity and a little over 92 million internet connections, Nigeria is indeed a place to invest.
The ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for sustainable development recently said Nigeria now has about 21% broadband penetration and conscious of the reality that broadband fuels faster data transmission speed and capacity, our focus now is on how we can attract the right investments to grow this critical area of the sector through broadband coverage expansion.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as a foremost regulator, has put in place measures and guidelines to licence wholesale broadband service providers consistent with the Open Access Model for broadband deployment.  Of the seven infrastructure companies (Infracos) earmarked for licensing, only two have so far been licensed for Lagos which is commercial hub of Nigeria, and Abuja including the North Central zone of the country leaving five more licences for the South West, South East, South South, North East and North West zones of the country. The process of licensing of infracos for these five remaining zones is about to be concluded.
In our firm resolve to strengthen institutions of corporate governance for telcos, woo investors and guarantee returns on their investments, the NCC, in consultation with industry stakeholders introduced a mandatory Code of Corporate Governance as guide to managers and boards of telecommunications companies.  The code outlines minimum global best practices covering processes, procedures and general corporate behaviour for telecommunications industry players.
When we rolled out the 8-point agenda in 2016, it was predicated on the change mantra of the new democratic government in Nigeria led by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. It is premised on facilitating broadband penetration, improving quality of service, optimizing usage and benefits of spectrum, promoting ICT investment and innovation, facilitating strategic partnership, promoting fair and inclusive growth and ensuring regulatory excellence and operational efficiency.  Because we recognize the importance of ICT to national development that is why growing this sector has been top on our agenda.  Hence, ladies and gentlemen, permit me to say that despite our modest achievements, Nigeria ICT sector is work in progress.
I invite you later this afternoon to the Nigerian Investment Forum with Broadband Nigeria as the theme, where experts and knowledgeable people about the Nigerian investment environment will talk some more on the investment opportunities in Africa’s largest economy.
Remember, ladies and gentlemen, that we are already in the era of Internet of Things (IoTs) where every sector of our economy will depend on telecoms infrastructure to maximally operate.
Remember too that all sectors of every national economy have become dependent on the telecommunications sector and failure on the sector would have far reaching negative ramifications to other sectors hence the need to build capacity in the sector.
Members of the Nigerian delegation will be on ground here in our Pavilion and investment forum to network and give you firsthand information about Nigeria.
In 16 years since the Digital Mobile Licences (DML) were issued, investment in the sector has hit about $70Billion from a mere $50million in 2001. Most of these investments are Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).
Although, we have made very modest progress in the sector, we still need to deepen investments to make broadband pervasive in the country.
We are at 21 percent now and our target is to hit 30 percent by 2018, consistent with the National Broadband Plan.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention.


Being remarks by Prof. Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at the official opening of Nigeria Pavilion @ ITU Telecom World 2017 – Busan, South Korea, September 26, 2017

FG: About 2000mw electricity wasted daily due to distribution lapses

By: Bhodemarz on September 20, 2017 / comment : 0 ,

The Federal Government said yesterday that nearly 2,000 megawatts of electricity is wasted daily due to distribution lapses in the country.
Speaking at the 3rd National Council on Power which opened in Jos, the Plateau State capital, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Louis Edozien, said  the generation companies and Transmission Company of Nigeria can deliver well over 6,600mw at these trading points but consumers are enjoying less than 4,600mw.” 
Edozien explained during his welcome address that deficit in power distribution lines and substations are key challenges facing the sector and explains why distribution companies are unable to distribute the entire 6,600mw of electricity generated and transmitted to consumers. 
According to him “today there are about 750 33KV trading points from where electricity available on the national grid is received by the distribution companies for onward delivery to households, businesses, government offices and industries that consume it.”
He urged the participants at the conference themed, ‘Completing Power Sector Reforms’, to brainstorm on critical challenges facing the power sector especially as they relate to optimal use of power generation for consumers. 
The council which comprises of major stakeholders in the power sector who meet and formulate sustainable power policies in the transition and post-privatisation era, is designed for a robust deliberation.

Nigeria announces $5.8 billion deal for record-breaking Mambilla power project

By: Bhodemarz on September 18, 2017 / comment : 0 , , , ,

According to CNN, the government of Nigeria has announced the award of a $5.8 billion contract to build what will be the largest power plant in the country.

The 3,050-megawatt Mambila hydroelectric power project in the state of Taraba will be delivered by a consortium of Chinese state-owned construction firms.
The megaproject will feature four dams between 50 and 150 meters tall, and take six years to complete, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, told reporters in Abuja.
The Chinese Export-Import Bank will finance 85% of the development, with the Nigerian government contributing 15%.
Minister Fashola claimed the project will deliver far-reaching benefits.
"(Mambila) will have a transformational effect on all of Nigeria's socio-economic development," he said through a government spokesman, "It will have considerable positive impact on electricity supply nationwide, productivity, employment, tourism, technology transfer, rural development, irrigation, agriculture and food production."

False starts

The Mambila hydropower plant has been in development for over 30 years, but previous administrations have made little progress.
In 2007, the Nigerian government awarded a $1.4 billion contract to two Chinese construction firms for a 2,600-megawatt plant, but the agreement broke down soon after.
Attempts were made to revive the deal without success. But the deadlock was broken by conversations between the presidents of China and Nigeria in 2016, according to the spokesman of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
"The major breakthrough in the execution of this project was achieved when President Muhammadu Buhari initiated discussions at the level of the President of the Peoples Republic of China in the course of his State Visit (in 2016)," wrote government official Garba Shehu.
The meeting resulted in the creation of a consortium of Chinese companies to deliver the project, according to Shehu, and an agreement that the Chinese government would commit finance to it.

Power shortage

Despite being one of the largest economies in Africa, over 40% of Nigerians live without access to electricity, according to World Bank figures.
Hydropower, one of the cleanest and cheapest forms of power, is a key target for development as Nigeria is currently exploiting just a fraction of its potential resources.
The country is also seeking to shift away from oil dependency, after plummeting oil prices triggered a recession.
The clear need for the Mambila project could make it more likely to succeed, some analysts believe.
"The prospects of project implementation starting are perhaps stronger than in previous decades," says Elizabeth Donnelly, deputy head of the Africa Programme at UK think tank Chatham House. "Nigeria continues, albeit slowly, with its complex power sector reform and badly needs to generate - and more importantly distribute - more power for its 180 million people."
"Hydroelectricity is an important part of this mix, particularly for rural electrification."


Source: cnn.com

Whatsaminar Series I: AI development in Nigeria, Challenges and Opportunities

By: Bhodemarz on September 18, 2017 / comment : 1 , , ,


Nigerian youths took to the WhatsApp platform to rub minds and enlighten one another about the topic that became the subject of intriguing exchanges between Messrs. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg—Artificial Intelligence.
The occasion was moderated by Joshua Funbi Koya or JFK, and he started with an explanation of how the session was to proceed.
The panel  had Oluwafunmilayo Oshinubi. Olawale Abiola, Niyi Oke and Akolade Okunola, all of whom were graduates of the department of electronic & electrical engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University.

After presenting and welcoming members of the panel, the moderator delved into the serious business of the night as he fired the first question, asking members of the panel to explain what they understood by AI the first time they heard about it.
While Akolade Okunola suggested that football gaming presented him with understanding AI the first time, Oluwafunmilayo Oshinubi mentioned that a humorous encounter between Soji Ilori, a lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University, and one of his project students at the time let her to venture into artificial intelligence.
For Olawale Abiola, the movie, “I, Robot” was the premise on which he found AI whereas Niyi Oke opened up that he had thought it referred to the brainbox of a robot before he found out that it is much more than that.

What is Artificial Intelligence?
All four panelists agreed to the idea that AI seeks to imbue or equip machines or computers with the human intelligence and even sentience. According to the moderator, this definition of AI explained why it has become amazing or controversial, whichever way people choose to look at it.

What AI is not 
The panelists then clarified that AI and robots were not the same. Oke mentioned that “AI is not automation. AI is not robots. AI is basically a piece of software that learns and can apply its learnings to serve any purpose you can choose”. In her statement to corroborate this position, Oshinubi maintained that “not all robots are artificially intelligent.”
Okunola highlighted that it was easier to think about what constituted AI rather than what did not, as there were limitless opportunities. He then suggested that the less developed nations could have much to show as to what did not constitute AI because of “how crudely we detect faults in power lines, manage tourism business, handle crime detection and management, and so forth”.
Abiola added that “any device, software or bot that cannot learn from its environment and take possible actions of survival cannot be termed AI”.

 Application of AI
When prompted by the moderator, the panelists started to mention real world
examples of the applications of AI.
Oke pointed to the Facebook image recognition AI for tagging friends in pictures while Abiola talked about the optical character recognition software for detecting texts in pictures, as well as the YouTube speech recognition feature.
Oshinubi indicated that a project she was working on was to serve as a house assistant, and would recognize speech and detect actions. Okunola rounded off with the example of the Google app that learns one’s persistently visited topics and then provides targeted content based on the user’s interests that it has learnt. He also gave an example bordering on the use of hotel assistants that could help hotel managers and users manage their experiences better.

Opportunities in AI
The panelists seemed to agree that education and enlightenment were the key first steps to tapping into AI. Oluwafunmilayo Oshinubi advised the group to be “openminded” and to expect the “unthinkable”.
Similarly, Akolade Okunola noted that “the starting point is for us to keep ourselves updated with [what] our peers do globally”. He then went on to warn that mediocrity should never be tolerated, saying “And this is why I stand on the point that we should never ever allow our society impose or foist mediocrity on us as the way to go”. He encouraged members of the group to learn the science of AI on educational platforms and to take important cues from the manner in which companies abroad did “basic” things such as “farming, microgrid set up and so on”. In rounding off on the point, he
urged members of the group to regard the exchanges between Messrs. Musk and Zuckerberg as “a battle of wits that must be seen from an open-minded perspective, rather than the bias that each of them exudes”.
Niyi Oke stated that as electrical engineers, members of the group had started to be equipped for AI, because, according to him, “All of us have the background knowledge of electrical engineering which is the grandmother of AI with computer science being its mother”. He concluded that the forum was helping to learn about AI, and that members of the group should then look to apply what they learn to whatever they loved to do, and not necessarily “techy stuff”.
Olawale Abiola quoted a 2017 PWC report that, according to him, stated that “63% of 2500 consumers agree that AI would help solve complex problems that plague modern society”. He went on to calm members of the group down about the fears of purported job losses as a result of AI, quipping that “With regards to loss of jobs as a result of AI, new jobs will emerge due to [these] evolving technologies”.
JFK, the moderator, then suggested that Abiola had “touched a very sensitive part that psychologists would be interested in to defend why AI cannot win humans” after the latter posited that AI merely does what it has been trained to do, and does not have “social awareness, conscience, mercy or remorse”.

  Q & A session with the Audience
In response to Abdulhafeez Odetoyinbo’s question as to what “economic sense” it made to “spend so much to build something that will mimic human intelligence alone” after he had listed beneficial areas of AI such as in geology and health, Niyi Oke asserted that “the truth is we have not even been able to mimic the brain yet, not even close” while Akolade Okunola suggested that such expenses as mentioned by Odetoyinbo could actually yield a good return on investment, citing the Boeing example.
On his part, Adedoyin Betiku wondered as to the possibility of the society getting to a stage, with further AI developments, such that human creation such as robots would start to see their creators as “inferior” since “AI in its truest [form] will be so advanced that it goes back to the basics of Eden, knowledge of good and evil”.
Niyi Oke then expressed, in response to Betiku, that he thought “AI is only as powerful as what we put it in charge of”. He continued, “If we put it in charge of governance, it will govern our lives. And may decide to eliminate us”.
Also responding to Betiku, Akolade Okunola dismissed the fears as being part of the “hysteria” that comes with new knowledge discoveries but insisted that government and policy makers must spearhead the development in AI so as to provide a clear direction for the society.
In commenting on Betiku’s question, Olawale Abiola mentioned that “the greater threat from AI comes from developing machines that are better decision makers than us”.
Wandji Danube shared information about his graduate studies in respect of AI, and mentioned that he was interested in using neural networks and fuzzy logic to aid “the control as well as kinematic mapping of robotic manipulators”. Danube and Okunola then shared their views about the development of AI being aided by Neuroscience advances.
Gbenga Falodun queried as to what the panelists thought would be the threshold in the development of AI, and if they thought humans could create humans. For Okunola, “it is hard to predict what the threshold will be at the end, but I do not realistically see humans create humans. It is frankly an unrealistic thing to do”.
For Oke, “We can surely create something very close [to humans]. If we get AI right, add some humanoid robot and we have something very close. But I do not think [we] can create a human with tissues, hearts and brains with DNA, evolution and soul”.
Olufunke Balogun, however, disagreed with Oke on this position. Odetoyinbo and Okunola then noted that so much more was still to be learnt about the brain, and this suggested that AI still had a very long way to go in its development, since it had yet to come near the brain, in terms of functionality, with the limited knowledge about the latter that the society presently has.
In rounding off the Whatsaminar, Oke warned that putting AI in charge of robotic
troops’ deployment amounted to “looking for trouble”.
The overall commentary about the session was that it was civil, fruitful, enlightening
and enriching, and apart from the top quality of the ideas that the panelists mooted, the
beautiful and constructive commentary and interjections by the moderator, and later on
members of the group, as the event proceeded, helped to spice things up.

Background Note
This whatsaminar—coined from the name of the platform on which it is
presently hosted, WhatsApp, and the word “seminar” was hosted by OAU Elect/Elect class of 2014 (NUCLEUS) led by Betiku Adedoyin and Arowele Ayomide.

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