Internet Solutions to provide direct access to Google’s Cloud Platform

Internet Solutions, a pan-African communications service provider, today announced it is a Google Cloud Interconnect (GCI) Partner and is able to offer Enterprise clients and small businesses a private connection directly into Google’s cloud platform, providing better network security and a more consistent network performance than using the Internet.

Internet Solutions’ clients, enterprise size and smaller businesses, will be able to activate Google cloud services quickly via dedicated capacity, eliminating issues of network congestion, and will benefit from low latency, high availability and predictable performance.



“Agile and secure network capabilities are critical in ensuring that as clients transition to using more and more services from multiple cloud providers, the full potential of cloud including speed of scaling and activating services, as well as commodity based billing and usage efficiencies are realised,” said Greg Montjoie, Executive: Connectivity, Internet Solutions.

Internet Solutions’ direct connections with multiple cloud service providers (Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Dimension Data) will enable Enterprise clients that choose a hybrid cloud strategy and host with Internet Solutions to move back and forth seamlessly between different cloud providers as demand requires. Organisations will be able to choose the services they require from their cloud-provider of choice and be able to scale up or down on demand via a reliable and secure connection.

“Enterprise clients are now looking to connect to more than one cloud provider for services and that we are now able to offer a direct connection to Google’s cloud platform, as well as to Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Dimension Data cloud, means that clients have the choice they are looking for. Clients want to have access not only to the best cloud services available but be able to connect securely to all of them, and Internet Solutions can provide this access”, commented Montjoie.

As a GCI Partner, Internet Solutions can now boast that it provides secure connectivity options to all major cloud platforms, offering Enterprise and smaller business clients a reliable and secure connection that will meet the demands of data intensive and latency sensitive cloud applications.

COMESA and Microsoft collaborate to promote access, skills and innovation in 19 African Countries

The strategic partnership will promote access to technology to improve regional trade, develop public sector ICT skills and promote local innovation for better service delivery.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) through the COMESA Business Council (CBC) and Microsoft have taken a step toward strengthening their working alliance today by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which sets out how they will collaborate in the areas of access to technology, development of relevant skills and the fostering of innovation in COMESA’s 19 member States. This is in line with the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative’s three core focus areas (World-class skills, Access and Innovation).


Vice-President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, surrounded by The Microsoft Nigerian Team during their courtesy visit to Aso Villa today 10th November, 2015

The MoU will promote access to technology to COMESA Member States based on a Trusted Cloud Infrastructure that focuses on the secure deployment of modern IT operations. It is also expected this collaboration will accelerate and promote the adoption of innovative high-speed low-cost connectivity initiatives, including through new policy approaches to spectrum management such as dynamic spectrum access. It will also encourage the use of cloud technologies through the adoption of important enabling policies in the areas of cyber-security, data privacy and data protection.

Mr. Sindiso Ngwenya, COMESA’s Secretary General during the signing, said: “Business technology has revolutionized the way countries and firms conduct business. We are in an age where the planning processes of organizations is through instruments and solutions that promote quality management, and respond to age –old constraints of time limitations and high costs of operations.”

“Through Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative, we have been working to increase regional trade and the growth of the knowledge economy in Africa,” says Antony Cook, Associate General Counsel, Legal and Corporate AffairsMicrosoft, Middle East and Africa. “Through influential partnerships, such as the one with COMESA, we aim to scale across the region further to impact not just thousands, but millions.”

The collaboration is further expected to focus on fostering innovation across the COMESA region by promoting the value and protection of Intellectual Property. It will also encourage the development of eGovernment solutions that will facilitate, simplify and stimulate investment in and trade across the COMESA region to save on time and the cost of complying with business governance and regulations. This collaboration fits squarely with COMESA’s mandate and demonstrates the commitment to promote common interests for economic development in the region.

“Through this collaboration, we will bring policy makers and businesses together and empower them to take advantage of the cloud-first, mobile-first world. With the right policies and regulations in place, people will be encouraged to use cloud technology, develop their own IP and ultimately participate in trade and e-commerce across borders. With innovative eGovernment services, citizens and businesses will additionally benefit from safe online transactions, open borders, efficiency and increased foreign investment,” adds Cook.

The implementation of the MoU will be the responsibility of the COMESA Business Council, as the voice of the private sector in the region.

SPANFest 2015

The Society for the Performing Arts in Nigeria, SPAN presents its performing arts Festival called Spanfest 2015! Spanfest will host workshops and events using various tools of the performing arts including Dance, Music, Spoken Word, Visual art, Theatre and Comedy. The festival theme is titled: Voice of the Voiceless.



SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
· Monday 16thNovember 2015: Movements in Moments
A pioneering 5 stage show where a Violinist, Poet, Comedian, Singer & Dancer perform simultaneously while painters create masterpieces.
Venue: The Ocean View Marquee, Victoria Island, Time:7-9pm, Register Here:http://bit.ly/SPANfest-moments

· Tuesday 17thNovember 2015: Speechless – A Musical Adventure
An adventure through jazz with famous guest artists, Tee Mac, Bright Gain, Jerry Omole, and Olufunmi taking us on an unforgettable journey of love for music and sounds.
Venue: The Ocean View Marque, Victoria Island. Time: 7- 9pmRegister Here:http://bit.ly/SPANfest-speechless

· 18th November 2015: Hear Word!

HEAR WORD!An exhilarating and thought provoking performing art production of IfeomaFafunwa.The production combines artistry, social commentary and true-life stories of inequality and transformation, delivered by Nigeria's talented actresses TaiwoAjai-Lycett, Joke Silva, Kate Henshaw, Bimbo Akintola, Omonor, ElvinaIbru, Ufuoma McDermott, Zara Udofia, LalaAkindoju, Rita Edward, Debbie Ohiri and Odenike.
Venue: The Ocean View Marquee, Victoria Island, Time:7-9pm, Register Here:http://bit.ly/SPANfest-word

· 21st November 2015: The Era (Era of Legends)
This amazing dance concert featuring legends from within our community will leave the audience breathless and thoroughly entertained. Venue: The Ocean View Marque, Victoria Island.Time: 7-9 pm.Register Here:http://bit.ly/SPANfest-ldc

· 22nd November 2015: Grand Finale – Voice of the Voiceless
A performing art piece of Music, Dance & Drama. The gifted performances of our artists who have decided to speak for us ...their art become our voice.... the voice of our community!Venue: Grand Ballroom Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island. Time:5pm. Register Here:http://bit.ly/SPANfest-event.

Denrele Edun, Maria Okarende, Estelle Ahanda, DNG & Aurelie Eliam To Host 2015 All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA.

The 2015 All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, would be anchored by the continent's most outstanding hosts and hostesses. While DNG and AURELLE ELIAM will host the main show, DENRELE EDUN, MARIA OKANRENDE and ESTELLE AHONDA would hold forth on the RED CARPET on Sunday November 15, 2015 at Eko Hotel and suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
DNG, real name Davidson Ngibuini, is an Eastern African award winning singer, model and an On Air Personality. He is the host of "Sakata Mashariki", Kenya's biggest Dance TV Show.

Aurelie Eliam, actress, model and on air personality, is a household name in Côte D'Ivoire, her home country and Africa, particularly for her role in the highly successful television series, "DR. BORIS".



Denrele Edun, multi-award winning presenter is a marvel to behold on the red carpet, is a maverick Nigerian presenter whose dress sense has brought him international fame. Popularly referred to as "Punk and Fun", Denrele has the enviable profile of interviewing such personalities like Beyoncé, Akon, Tyler Perry, Lil Kim, Snoop Dog now Snoop Lion, etc.

Maria Okanrende AKA, Maria Beat Fm, is a well groomed UK trained presenter with a vast experience working with BBC, MTV and DROPOUT UK. Her interviews profiles read like the who is who in "A" list entertainment. Alexander Burke Mary J Blige Wizkid, D'Banj, 2Face, Davido are fe of those she had walked the red carpet with. A bonus for AFRIMA 2015, RED CARPET.

Estelle AHONDA is a Cameroonian bilingual (English/French) communications and brand management expert. She comes with an over ten years of International experience in media and interpersonal communications.
AFRIMA is expected to be broadcast live to over 80 countries across the world with African superstars billed to light up the stage are but not limited to Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Davido, Diamond Platnumz, Olamide, Yemi Alade, Busiswa, AKA, Sakordie, Charlotte Dipanda, Ahmed Soultan, Flavour, Dr. Jose Chameleon, Alikiba, Vanessa Mdee, Wiyaala, Cassper Nyovest, Dark Suburb, Bebe Cool, Darey, among others.
AFRIMA Is an Annual African Union Initiative, to celebrate, honour and reward the best of African Music, Arts and Culture. AFRIMA is designed to be hosted in various African Nations with Nigeria hosting for 3 years. 2Face Idibia hosted 2014 AFRIMA edition, in Lagos.
This year's event slated for Sunday November 15, inside the CONVENTION CENTRE OF EKO HOTELS AND SUITES, will kick off with the RED CARPET at 4.30pm, promptly
A thoroughly well produced second to none ceremony, feature awards categories that are uniquely African.

All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, November 15, 2015. Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria.

Don't miss the 2015 All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA
Date: Sunday, November 15, 2015.
Venue: Eko Hotel and Suites, Victorial Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

Upgrade your way to a modern data platform – End of support for SQL Server 2005 less than six months away

By Takeshi Numoto, Corporate Vice President, Cloud + Enterprise Marketing

Data has become increasingly critical to businesses, so it’s more important than ever for every organization to be utilizing a modern data platform that drives innovation, delivers business value, and provides quick insight. In just under six months—on April 12, 2016, to be exact—extended support for SQL Server 2005 ends. That means an end to supportability updates, and perhaps more importantly, security updates.
In the decade since SQL Server 2005 launched, businesses technology needs have changed dramatically. Microsoft has responded with advancements in technology to meet and exceed the expectations of organizations large and small. Our current version, SQL Server 2014, opens the door to new scenarios with:

· Improved performance. SQL Server 2014 has benchmarked 13x faster performance than SQL Server 2005 and set a new world record for SAP performance for 16 processors on an HP Superdome X.
· In-memory across workloads for up to 30x transactional performance gains and over 100x faster queries to work with larger quantities of data and get the fast answers you need.
· High availability using AlwaysOn availability groups for mission-critical uptime and disaster recovery to the cloud for improved business continuity.
· Tools to manage data across the enterprise such as master data services, data quality services, and enhanced integration services.
· Support for unstructured, complex, and streaming data to help with tasks like collecting and managing manufacturing sensor data or analyzing social media activity.
· Faster time to insight using Microsoft Excel and Power BI to meet demands for quick reporting and mobile insights.

In short, SQL Server 2014 delivers a high-performing, advanced data platform that keeps up with modern business needs. Let me share with you one customer’s story – TPP – and how they have benefitted from SQL Server 2014.

SQL Server 2014 boosts performance for clinical software company

The story is a real-world example of how SQL Server 2014 solved a number of issues for this clinical software provider. When TPP needed to increase its application’s scalability and performance to prepare for ambitious global expansion, they began planning for an upgrade that would support the company’s SystmOne clinical software application. SystmOne manages more than 30 million patient records and is used by physicians and other health professionals across England to accurately and securely document every appointment, medication, allergy, and physician contact a patient has ever had.

A feature that became a critical component of the application’s success is the in-memory online transaction processing (OLTP) solution in SQL Server 2014. This high-performance, memory-optimized solution relies on no-locking/no-latching concurrency control, which serves to eliminate system bottlenecks resulting from scaling needs to handle additional users.

Using in-memory OLTP in SQL Server 2014 in testing, TPP saw seven times faster processing performance for SystmOne and the ability to scale to handle hundreds of thousands of additional users. The company expects to save time and money by not having to create its own database system. Plus, the doctors using the apps will be better equipped to serve patients with a more modern data platform supporting the critical health data being collected.



Immediate Cost and Security Benefits

According to a July 2014 Microsoft commissioned study with Forrester on the Total Economic Impact of SQL Server 2012 and 2014, customers realize a 9.5 month payback period when deploying a new SQL Server database. If you are running Windows Server 2003 as well as SQL Server 2005, an investment in both your infrastructure and your database technology will ensure you realize the maximum benefits of a truly modern platform by taking advantage of new security features like Windows Server Core support or the ability to scale up to 640 logical processors on Windows Server 2012 R2.

Continuing to operate SQL Server 2005 without security updates and hotfixes from Microsoft may put your organization at risk for business disruptions, security and compliance issues, and increased maintenance costs. Upgrading to SQL Server 2014 before extended support ends next April is not only a necessary security and compliance decision, but a sound business decision as well.

Watch for upcoming posts on the SQL Server blog where we’ll dive deeper into the process for planning your upgrade and offer tips and tools to ease the process. In the meantime, please visit the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 upgrade website for helpful evaluation and planning resources. We also have a worldwide team of partners and Microsoft services offerings designed to help you with your migration.

Finally, I hope you’ll also check out the Top 10 reasons to upgrade from SQL Server 2005 blog as a further resource for understanding how modernizing your data platform on SQL Server 2014 will help drive innovation, deliver business value, and provide quick insight.

Intel Connects Young Girls and Women to Dreams in Lagos

Intel is continuing in its mission to bridge the gender gap in technology, and empower 5 million girls and women in the next five years through its ‘She Will Connect’ initiative. Quite recently, the leading technology company held a digital literacy and entrepreneurship training for young girls and women in Igando/Ikotun Local Government of Lagos.


(L-R): Intel Director of Global Girls and Women Initiative, Suzzanne Fallender; Intel 'She Will Connect' Ambassador for Nigeria, Titilope Sonuga; Beneficiary of Intel 'She Will Connect' training program, Jessica Orji and Intel Africa Program Manager, Suraj Shah, during the Intel 'She Will Connect' Digital Literacy training program for girls and women, held at the Igando-Ikotun Local Government Secretariat, Lagos recently.

The training, which was led by Intel She Will Connect Ambassador for Nigeria, award-winning Poet and Engineer, Titilope Sonuga, furthers the effort of the company to bridge the gender gap, empower young girls and women through technology.

Speaking at the event, the Director of Intel’s Global Girls and Women Initiative, Suzzanne Fallender expressed that the internet is powering ideas across the world, yet a large number of those taking advantage of this platform are men.

Starting with a goodwill message to the participants, Fallender expressed that the ‘She Will Connect’ programme was something Intel was very passionate about. She stated; “I am so happy to be here with all of you, I came to see the trainees in person. I have worked with a lot of people in a lot of countries on this programme, and people who have been helping this program for years will love to hear back from all of you on what you have liked about the training, what you have missed and what more you would like to get from the training. But I think the most important thing is doing things to justify the tools, because we know, once you have a chance to learn the skills, it will only be limitless what you are going to be able to do.''

The Africa Program Manager for Intel Corporation, Suraj Shah who was also present, at the digital literacy and entrepreneurship training held for the young girls and women explained that, “Intel remains committed to empowering young girls and women through technology. We are helping women understand that, there is a lot they can achieve with technology, and these are indeed amazing things happen. We want to break down barriers, create interests and offer connections through technology.''


(L-R): Human Resources Officer, Igando-Ikotun Local Government Secretariat, Mr Animashaun M.A; Intel Director of Global Girls and Women Initiative, Suzzanne Fallender, Executive Secretary, Igando-Ikotun Local Government Secretariat, Hon. Wale Azeez; Intel Africa Program Manager, Suraj Shah and Intel 'She Will Connect' Ambassador for Nigeria, Titilope Sonuga, during a courtesy visit to the Igando-Ikotun Local Government Secretariat, Lagos where young girls and women were trained on Digital Literacy by "Intel She Will Connect', recently in Lagos.

Shah added that, ''Intel is using the ‘She Will Connect” to reach out to young girls and women in communities, States and countries around the world, offering an opportunity for Intel to encourage women to build connections, develop and solidify actions and also celebrate success stories to become the best version of themselves in their studies, work and careers.”

The Executive Secretary Igando/Ikotun Local Government Secretariat Hon. Wale Azeez who hosted the event welcomed the participants and Intel’s executives, expressing his delight at the company’s effort at using technology to empower women to train young girls and women in the Igando-Ikotun local community.

Hon. Azeez said, “We thank Intel for bringing the program to this community. We are looking forward to partner with women and trainings such as this offer such platform.”

The girls and women who participated in the training expressed appreciation to Intel for the opportunity to participate in the program. They stated that they were looking forward to inputting things they learnt in their lives and businesses, and that even more than the knowledge gained, they felt confident in themselves and looked forward to a better future.

Intel She Will Connect is an initiative of Intel Corporation to bridge the Internet’s gender gap by connecting millions of girls and women to opportunities through technology. By partnering with various female focused NGOs across the continent, its goal is to reach 5 million young women in Africa by 2020. The program offers an innovative combination of digital literacy training, an online peer network and gender-relevant content to females which will afford them the opportunity of acquiring or improving their digital literacy skills and expanding their understanding and use of technology.

Microsoft releases Office 2016The new Office takes the work out of working together.

REDMOND, Wash. — 2015 — Microsoft Corp. began the worldwide release of Office 2016. The apps are the latest addition to Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based subscription service that helps people do their best work, together. The company also announced new and enhanced Office 365 services built for team productivity.

“The way people work has changed dramatically, and that’s why Microsoft is focused on reinventing productivity and business processes for the mobile-first, cloud-first world,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “These latest innovations take another big step forward in transforming Office from a familiar set of individual productivity apps to a connected set of apps and services designed for modern working, collaboration and teamwork.”

Nadella wrote about the new Office on the Official Microsoft Blog. Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president for the Office Client Applications and Services team, provided more insights about Office 2016 on the Office Blog.

Office 2016 delivers new versions of the Office desktop apps for Windows, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Project, Visio and Access. By subscribing to Office 365, customers can get always-up-to-date, fully installed apps for use across their devices, combined with a continually evolving set of consumer and commercial services, such as OneDrive online storage, Skype for Business, Delve, Yammer and enterprise-grade security features.

Together, the new Office and Windows 10 are the most complete solution for doing. The Office 2016 apps run beautifully on the best Windows ever, including the new Sway for Windows 10 to create shareable, interactive stories that look great on any screen. Windows Hello logs you into Windows and Office 365 in one simple step.1 Office Mobile apps on Windows 10 empower on-the-go productivity, and work with Continuum2 so you can use your phone like a PC. Cortana3 connects with Office 365 to help with tasks such as meeting preparation, with Outlook integration coming in November.

Built for teamwork

The Office 2016 apps simplify collaboration and remove barriers to team success.

• Co-authoring4 is now provided in Word, PowerPoint and OneNote desktop software, including real-time typing in Word that lets you see others’ edits as they make them.
• Skype in-app integration across the rich client apps allows you to IM, screen share, talk or video chat right in your docs.
• Office 365 Groups are now an integrated part of the Outlook 2016 client app and available on your favorite mobile device through the Outlook Groups app, delivering a consistent team experience across the suite.
In addition, new Office 365 solutions that combine the power of apps and services for better collaboration are coming soon.
• Introduced today, Office 365 Planner helps teams organize their work, with the ability to create new plans, organize and assign tasks, set due dates, and update status with visual dashboards and email notifications. Planner will be available in preview to Office 365 First Release customers starting next quarter.
• Significant new updates to OneDrive for Business are coming later this month, including a new sync client for Windows and Mac, which will deliver selective sync and enhanced reliability. Updates also include increased file size and volume limits per user, a new user interface in the browser, mobile enhancements, and new IT and developer features.
• Unveiled earlier this year, GigJam is available Tuesday in private preview and will become part of Office 365 in 2016. GigJam is an unprecedented new way for teams to accomplish tasks and transform business processes by breaking down the barriers between devices, apps and people.

Works for you

Office 2016 provides built-in intelligence to help you work faster and smarter.

• Outlook 2016 provides the smartest inbox yet, with lightning-fast search and automatic removal of low-priority mail. Everyone on the To: line has the right access to documents with modern, cloud-based attachments.
• Tell Me helps you quickly find the right Office feature or command, and Smart Lookup brings insights from the Web right into your documents.
• Excel 2016 now includes integrated publishing to Power BI and new modern chart types to help you make the most of your data.
• The most recently used documents list allows you to pick up right where you left off, traveling with you across your devices, whether you are working in Office Online, in the Office Mobile apps or in the Office 2016 desktop apps.



The most secured Office

Office 2016 apps with Office 365 deliver new capabilities for better enterprise security and protection.

• Built-in Data Loss Prevention across Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook significantly reduces the risk of leaking sensitive data, giving IT administrators tools to manage content authoring and document sharing policies.
• Multifactor authentication ensures secured access to content anywhere when you’re away from the corporate network.
• Enterprise Data Protection will be available for the Office Mobile apps for Windows 10 later this year and for the desktop apps early next year, enabling secured content sharing within corporate boundaries.

Availability and requirements

The new Office 2016 apps are available in 40 languages and require Windows 7 or later. Starting Tuesday, Office 365 subscribers can choose to download the new Office 2016 apps as part of their subscription. Automatic updates will begin rolling out to consumer and small-business subscribers next month, and to commercial customers early next year. Office 2016 is also available today as a one-time purchase for both PCs and Macs.

Customers can visit one of the more than 110 Microsoft Stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico to discover and purchase the new Office. While there, they can participate in a free, one-hour Office 2016 workshop and visit the in-store Answer Desk, a one-stop shop for your Office needs.
More information is available at http://www.Office365.com.

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

1 Windows Hello requires specialized hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric sensors, and may require additional authentication steps in certain configurations.
2 Available only on premium Windows Phones. External monitor must support HDMI input. Requires a Continuum-compatible accessory.
3 Cortana experience may vary by region and device.
4 Co-authors must be using Office 2016 or Office Online.

Post by: Adejuyigbe Francis

Konga-Microsoft Lumia promo takes Kingsley Obodo to London

The promo kicked off as quietly as possible, without the usual buzz that preludes such epochal trade promotions. People, who bought their Lumia smart phones on konga.com, did not know that they are entering into a venture that could give them a lifetime experience, an all-expense-paid trip to London. They were asked to simply "Share a story describing how they intend to achieve more with their new Lumia device".

In the first week of the promo, which had seven entrants, Kingsley Obodo emerged as the 1st of 5 winners in the Konga-Microsoft Lumia Competition spread which will run till the end of August 2015.

Obodo, a 200L, Public Administration student of Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu shared a story of how his Lumia phone will aid the achievement of his everyday goals, a story that was adjudged the most innovative and fascinating of the entries, showing the innovative essence of the Microsoft Lumia smart phones.


L: R- Communications Lead, Microsoft Nigeria,Yemi Orimolade, 1st Winner of the Konga-Microsoft Lumia Competition, Kingsley Obodo, Head, PR and Brand Management, Konga.com ,Olatomiwa Akande and Citizenship Lead, Microsoft Nigeria ,Olusola Amusan during the presentation ceremony of the on-going Konga-Microsoft Lumia Competition, held in Lagos recently.

“With my Lumia phone, the world is at my fingertips, as I can browse news all over the world without worrying about the battery life. Life needs to be captured everyday with the lens, no need of carrying bulky cameras because my Microsoft Lumia is just the perfect tool for me to expand my hobby that is photography. Microsoft Lumia offers me so much more that no other device can and that is why I ordered for two (mine and for my wife),” Obodo wrote.

Olatomiwa Akande, Head PR & Brand Management for Konga, speaking at the ticket presentation on August 12, 2015 informed that the Konga-Microsoft partnership is set to reward customers who purchase the Microsoft Lumia smart phones from the konga.com over the five weeks of the promo.“The competition, which started on June 26, 2015, will be rewarding five other customers - based on the boldness, innovativeness and fascinating nature of the buyers’ stories of how they intend to improve their lifestyle with the Microsoft Lumia smart phones - with all-expense paid trips to London,” she said.

Also commenting during the presentation, Yemi Orimolade, Communications Lead for Microsoft Nigeria said we are excited to be partnering with Konga to reward those who purchase Lumia smart phones from the e-commerce platform.

“This partnership with our friends at Konga is our little way of re-enforcing our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more, ensuring our proud winners get the opportunity to achieve more during the course of their visit to what is an amazing city.”

“This promo is meant to encourage smart phone and gadget lovers, who purchase their Lumia range of phones on the Konga.com to explore the capabilities of the Lumia range of phones. We hope the winners will make good of this opportunity and be inspired to explore the capabilities of the Lumia phones during their visit to the city of London.”

Obodo, whose major interest in the transaction was to own a Lumia smartphone, was full of excitement over the prize.

“I feel excited and happy. I wasn’t even thinking of being the winner. I decided to participate and I was selected. Shopping on Konga was awesome and the delivery was very fast. The Lumia phone is everything I could ask for, the phone is wonderful,” Obodo said.

So here’s a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to London. All you need to do is buy the Lumia 540 Dual SIM or the Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM or any Lumia smart phone from Konga.com and describe how you intend to achieve more with your new Lumia device. Competition closes August 31, 2015.

GSK PARTNERS PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF NIGERIA ON INNOVATIVE TRAINING PROGRAM

GSK – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

GSK has partnered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) on an innovative training program, tagged Scientific Course for Pharmacist Education (SCOPE), which is aimed at enhancing the knowledge of Nigerian Pharmacists.

According to the partners, SCOPE, a non-promotional and free online training program for Pharmacists, consists of nine (9) disease area modules that is accredited by the United States based Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).


Commercial Development Manager, Africa & Development Countries in Asia (ADC), Mr. Jide Adeosun, Google Nigeria Country Manager, Mrs Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, President, Pharmacists Society of Nigeria, Pharm, Olumide Akintayo and the Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, Mr. Lekan Asuni at the media launch of GSK’s innovative training program tagged Scientific Course for Pharmacist Education (SCOPE) in partnership with Pharmacist Society of Nigeria held in Lagos recently.

Google Nigeria Country Manager, Mrs, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, in her contribution at the media conference to announce the partnership explains that "The Internet plays a key role in professional development across all sectors and it's great to see GSK and PSN driving digital awareness within the pharmaceutical sector."

A 2013 survey conducted in Nigeria revealed that 50 per cent of Pharmacists seek training as a value added service from GSK. This need led to the development and launch of SCOPE, which is designed to enhance the knowledge base of pharmacists and improve pharmaceutical care outcomes for patients at the pharmacy. These would improve patient productivity and well-being, thereby building credibility for pharmacists within their communities.

Mr. Jide Adeosun, the Commercial Development Manager, Africa & Developing countries in Asia (ADC) commended the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) for pioneering this partnership with GSK.


President, Pharmacists Society of Nigeria, Pharm, Olumide Akintayo, Commercial Development Manager, Africa & Development Countries in Asia (ADC), Mr. Jide Adeosun, Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, Mr. Lekan Asuni and National Treasurer, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Pharm. Duru Emeka during the signing of Memorandum at the media launch of GSK’s innovative training program tagged Scientific Course for Pharmacist Education (SCOPE) in partnership with Pharmacist Society of Nigeria held in Lagos; on August 11th, 2015.

“We are committed to rolling out similar programmes across Africa” he said.

In his remarks at the media conference, PSN President, Pharm. Olumide Akintayo disclosed that, successful completion of SCOPE is now one of the requirements to receive ten (10) credit points towards the required thirty (30) credit points under the Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) programme of the Pharmacist’ Council of Nigeria(PCN)

Pharm. Olumide Akintayo noted that the partnership with GSK will further strengthen PSN’s doggedness to promote and maintain a high standard of Pharmaceutical education in Nigeria, stressing that, SCOPE “facilitates a future grounded on professionalism through new frontiers in quality education updates.’’

Speaking at the event Lekan Asuni; Managing Director GSK, stated that today’s MOU signing marks a milestone for not only the Partners, PSN and GSK, but also for the pharmaceutical industry as a whole. “We consider this education partnership a great opportunity for us at GSK to fulfil our mission of improving the quality of human life. Through this innovative programme, SCOPE, we aim to enhance the knowledge of Nigerian pharmacists, and in turn, positively impact the lives of patients in Nigeria. The online platform was chosen to implement the modules because its more cost effective than face to face trainings with a wider reach as pharmacists in hard to reach area can benefit. Access to quality education will indeed build credibility in the Pharmaceutical industry.”

Among key opinion leaders in attendance were heads of departments of pharmacy in Teaching Hospitals and Hospitals across the Southwest region of Nigeria; Mrs. Awofuwa, Director of Pharmacy, General Hospital, Ajeromi; Pharm. Bukky George, C.E.O, Health Plus, Pharm Dorcas Omeire, University Of Lagos Medical Centre, Mrs. Nmadu, Director of Pharmacy, Central Bank Of Nigeria Staff Clinic, Pharm Bolanle Adekoya, Deputy Director of Pharmacy, Lagos University Teaching Hospital Idi-Araba, Pharm Salami, Director of Pharmacy, Health Service Commission and host of other dignitaries within the industry.


Intending participants are encouraged to visit the SCOPE website (http://cme.dannemiller.com/scope/) and successfully complete the activities, following which a certificate of completion is immediately issued to the participants by ACPE.

Windows 10 available in 190 countries as a free upgrade

People and organizations can do great things with Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Xbox App, new Office Universal apps and more.

Microsoft Corp. announced that Windows 10 will become available Wednesday as a free upgrade1 or with new PCs and tablets. Windows 10 includes innovations such as Cortana,2 an Xbox app and Microsoft Edge for a familiar, yet more personal and productive, experience. The most secure Windows ever, Windows 10 is delivered as a service and kept automatically up-to-date with innovations and security updates.

Windows 10 offers one experience that will become available on the broadest range of devices, including PCs, tablets, phones, Raspberry Pi, Xbox One, HoloLens and more — with more than 2,000 devices or configurations already in testing. The new Windows Store and Windows Software Development Kit also become available Wednesday, opening the door to new and innovative app experiences on Windows 10.

People around the world will celebrate the launch of Windows 10 Wednesday at fan celebrations in 13 countries and via a new yearlong initiative to celebrate people and organizations making a difference around the world. Microsoft encourages people to share how they plan to #UpgradeYourWorld and to vote for a global nonprofit to receive a cash donation by simply mentioning the nonprofit in a post on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and using the hashtags #UpgradeYourWorld and #vote. More information on Upgrade Your World can be found at http://www.windows.com/upgradeyourworld.

“A new era of Windows starts today. From the beginning, Windows 10 has been unique — built with feedback from over 5 million fans, delivered as a service and offered as a free upgrade,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices Group, at Microsoft. “Windows 10 delivers on our more personal computing vision, with a natural, mobile and trusted experience. Along with our partners, we’re excited to deliver the best Windows ever, which will empower people and organizations around the world to do great things.”

Windows 10: Best Windows ever
Windows 10 is fast and familiar — with the return of the Start menu and Live Tiles for instant, streaming updates of what matters most. Windows 10 is the most secure Windows Microsoft has ever released, with enhancements to Windows Defender and SmartScreen to help safeguard against viruses, malware and phishing and innovations such as Windows Hello, which offers a fast, secured, password-free way to log in.3 Keeping up-to-date is also simple, as free updates will help people stay current with the latest features and security updates for the supported lifetime of the device.

Windows 10 is more personal and productive, with voice, pen and gesture inputs for natural interaction with PCs. It’s designed to work with Office and Skype and allows you to switch between apps and stay organized with Snap and Task View. Windows 10 offers many innovative experiences and devices, including the following:

·Cortana, the personal digital assistant, makes it easy to find the right information at the right time.
·New Microsoft Edge browser lets people quickly browse, read, and mark up and share the Web.
·The integrated Xbox app delivers the Xbox experience to Windows 10, bringing together friends, games and accomplishments across Xbox One and Windows 10 devices.
·Continuum optimizes apps and experiences beautifully across touch and desktop modes.
·Built-in apps including Photos; Maps; Microsoft’s new music app, Groove; and Movies & TV offer entertainment and productivity options. With OneDrive, files can be easily shared and kept up-to-date across all devices.
·A Microsoft Phone Companion app enables iPhones, Android or Windows phones to work seamlessly with Windows 10 devices.
·The all new Office Mobile apps for Windows 10 tablets are available today in the Windows Store.4 Built for work on-the-go, the Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps offer a consistent, touch-first experience for small tablets. For digital note-taking needs, the full-featured OneNote app comes pre-installed with Windows 10. The upcoming release of the Office desktop apps (Office 2016) will offer the richest feature set for professional content creation. Designed for the precision of a keyboard and mouse, these apps will be optimized for large-screen PCs, laptops and 2-in-1 devices such as the Surface Pro.

Windows 10: Best platform for businesses
Feedback from millions of IT pros has shaped Windows 10, the most extensively tested version of Windows ever. Ready for corporate deployments, Windows 10 will help companies protect against modern cyberattacks, deliver experiences their employees will love and enable continuous innovation with a platform that keeps companies up-to-date with the latest technology. Businesses will be able to control the frequency of their updates and select the features and functionality that are right for each group of their employees.

Windows 10 includes built-in, enterprise-grade security, so customers can replace passwords with more secure options, protect corporate data and corporate identities, and run only the software they trust. New management and deployment tools simplify device management, help lower costs, and enable companies to power their business with the enterprise strength of the Microsoft Azure cloud.

Top apps available on Windows 10
The new Windows Store will open Wednesday and begin accepting new apps for Windows 10. The Windows Store offers one-stop shopping for popular free and paid apps, games, movies, TV shows and the latest music, which can work across all Windows 10 devices. The new Windows Store is the only store where people can use Cortana to control apps with their voice5 and get real-time notifications on their app tiles. All Windows Store content is certified by Microsoft to help keep devices safer. In addition to existing Windows 8.1 apps such as Netflix, Flipboard, Mint.com, “Asphalt 8: Airborne” and The Weather Channel, the Windows Store provides a constant stream of new and updated Universal Windows Apps and games, including Twitter, “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta,” Hulu, iHeartRadio, USA TODAY, “Candy Crush Saga” and many more others including WeChat and QQ, which will launch soon .6

Easy upgrade, devices now available
Upgrading to Windows 10 is easy for customers running a genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PC or tablet. Starting Wednesday, people who reserved their upgrade to Windows 10 will be notified in waves when their upgrade is ready to be installed. For business customers, Windows 10 is available to start deploying within their work environments, and starting Aug. 1, organizations that have volume licensing can upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education.

Retail partners are ready to help people upgrade to Windows 10 with our largest tech bench program ever, including more than 100,000 trained retailers and tens of thousands of stores around the world. Free upgrade programs will be available Wednesday, with Windows 10 software becoming broadly available in retail stores around the world between mid-August and September. Devices running Windows 10 will be available in some retail stores on Wednesday, with many, many more devices to become available in the weeks and months ahead.

Microsoft has also worked closely with retailers to introduce programs to help people easily upgrade, including Best Buy, Bic Camera, Croma, Currys/PC World, Darty, Elkjøp, Fnac, Jarrir, Incredible Connection, Media Markt, Staples, Yamada Denki, Yodobashi and many more leading retailers from around the world.

OPIC and Microsoft begin financing discussions with Kenya’s Mawingu Networks

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s Development Finance Institution, today signed a mandate letter to begin financing discussions with Mawingu Networks, a provider of solar-powered wireless Internet across rural Kenya.

OPIC’s President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield is in Nairobi for the 2015 Global Entrepreneur Summit, and signed the OPIC mandate today alongside Antony Cook, Microsoft’s Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs for the Middle East and Africa, who served as a witness to the mandate between OPIC and Mawingu.
Mawingu Networks was able to establish their current operating model using an initial grant from Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an investment from Angel Investor Jim Forster, and early funding from Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc.

Using a network of solar-powered “nomadic” wireless internet stations, Mawingu provides last-mile connectivity access to areas that cannot economically access the Internet. Spurred on by the promise of Mawingu’s initial pilot operations, OPIC’s consideration of a potential $4 million loan would allow a commercial expansion of a proven model to utilize existing technology of TV White Spaces (TVWS) connectivity for off-grid Internet access.


“The development potential from creative private sector organizations like Mawingu captures the spirit and promise at the heart of this week’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit,” said Elizabeth Littlefield, OPIC’s President and CEO. “Financial support at crucial stages of a company’s business evolution can transform a great idea into a deeply impactful reality for millions in the developing world. By leveraging technology and ingenuity, Mawingu’s massive reach to connect rural African communities to the Internet is just beginning, and I look forward to the growth and scalability of this model that OPIC financing can unlock.”

“Mawingu was the first of the 6 TV white space pilots Microsoft has deployed in Africa in collaboration with partners, making Africa a leader in TV white spaces. We hope regulators across the continent develop legal frameworks that support broader commercial deployment of the technology. It is now time to work with both local and global partners such as OPIC to go commercial and scale to impact not just thousands, but millions of lives across Africa,” Says Antony Cook, Microsoft’s Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs for the Middle East and Africa

“This is an exciting day for the Mawingu team. The support from OPIC will really help us deliver on the potential of this opportunity to help connect millions of Kenyans to the Internet for the first time” says Mawingu Director Tim Hobbs.

“Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc. is investing in African entrepreneurs and startups in order to develop scalable solutions from within Africa,” said Lauren Kickham, Vulcan Inc.’s head of Africa entrepreneurship program. “We are pleased that our investment in Mawingu will help drive resiliency in African communities. Through our pilots and partnerships, we will de-risk and catalyze growth of new businesses.”

Microsoft Employability Platforms bet on creating 100,000 job opportunities by the end of the year

Microsoft is aiming to create over 100,000 job opportunities and reach over seven million people across the Middle East and Africa by the end of the year through its Employability Platforms, in partnership with organisations from public and private sectors, as well as NGOs. Launched in 2012, the YouthSpark Employability Platform for the first time provides job-seekers with end-to-end career guidance, upskilling, job-matching and mentorship – all centred on a free online hub that brings the best resources together in a bold attempt to address unemployment and underemployment.



In the MENA region the platform is called Ta3mal (“works” in Arabic) and is a partnership between Microsoft and Silatech, a non-profit organization supporting youth access to employment across the Arab world.

“Unemployment in Africa and the Middle East is not a new issue, but its scope is growing with the youth bulge and economic downturn worldwide and we need to find new solutions to address this problem,” says Ali Faramawy, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Middle East Africa (MEA).

Microsoft’s solution, in the form of its Employability Platforms, has landed in markets including Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Qatar, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Botswana, Algeria, Ghana, Palestine and Turkey and will expand to 21 countries across MEA including Tanzania, Pakistan, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Mauritius. To date, the YouthSpark employability platform has reached 5.8 million youth with a target of reaching 7 million by the end of FY15. In addition, 69,000 job opportunities have been posted on the job search tool against 100,000 job openings goal to be reached by the end of the year.

Silatech Chief Programs Officer Martin Roeske commented on the partnership, saying “The Ta3mal network of Employability Platforms across MENA shows what we can do when NGOs and the private sector join strengths and resources together to achieve real impact.”

“Part of the unemployment problem is caused by a lack of economic opportunity, as well as the fact that graduates from secondary and tertiary institutions lack the skills required by employers,” says Faramawy. “But there is no shortage of determination and even in a country like Iraq that has been faced with some dire situations, our platform has helped put 30 000 youths into jobs in the past 14 months.”

Microsoft’s solution is not only to provide access to job opportunities to interested youth, but to define pathways through which to equip them with the necessary skills, including soft skills, to land and hold onto these jobs. “Job seekers need to be equipped with skills like how to write up a CV, have a successful interview and how to dress in the workplace, which is why we have included videos, articles and courses of this nature on the platform along with the more competency based courses,” comments Faramawy.

Retention is also higher when graduates are in jobs matched to their aptitudes and career ambitions. This is why the first step on the platform is a series of tests, to help each user to determine their strengths as well as areas of improvement. Based on that, they can decide from a selection of 1000 courses on the platform they should sign up for in order to improve their skills in their areas of interest including entrepreneurialism. “We also focus on helping entrepreneurs simply because there aren’t enough jobs to go around so people need to know how to self-employ and perhaps even employ one or two others,” explains Faramawy.

Once users have been upskilled, the Employability Platform connects them with professional and entrepreneurial opportunities. To achieve this, there is a mentoring function allowing users to connect with volunteers around the world to receive informal guidance from experts, while a ‘job posts’ function presents them with suitable positions in the private sector, with a special focus on those youth with little to no professional experience.

“There are lots of employment resources out there for youth, but the great thing about the Employability Platform is that it offers one central space where users can find out what they’re good at, take courses to upskill, speak to people in their desired industry and view jobs in that industry,” comments Faramawy.

Accounting student at Damanhour University in Egypt, Mostafa Baragheet, made use of ‘Masr Ta3mal’ – Egypt’s Employability Platform – when extra-curricular courses became too expensive. After taking a personality test and taking part in a career consultation session, he signed up for accounting and business management courses through the platform. “With the guidance of Masr Ta3mal’s consultant, I was able to help myself without spending any money, and I gained the confidence to start my own company.”

Faramawy calls the Microsoft Employability Platforms “a solution in a box that can be tailored locally.” The target audience is not specifically university students, but simply young job-seekers across MEA needing the tools to take the step into the working world. Microsoft views itself as the solution provider, and relies on government, NGOs, universities, vocational schools and the private sector to bring the platform to life.

“The young minds of MEA are amazing incubators for new ways of thinking. But we also have to develop new ways of thinking when investing in their development if we are to help the next generation fulfil its potential.”

Eastern Hill Academy Adopts Etisalat Cliqlite for e-Learning

Driven by a need to improve the education standards of its students and promote open access to quality education in the country, Eastern Hill Academy School, Enugu, has adopted the use of Cliqlite, Etisalat’s child friendly educational product as an e-learning tool to boost teaching and learning in the school.

According to a statement made available to news men at the school’s Prize-giving Day recently in Enugu, the school’s administrator, Chineye Ikenma said that the school adopted the use of Etisalat Cliqlite device as an e-learning tool in order to give its students a unique opportunity to easily access educational materials online and address problems that are associated with examination failure.


(L-R): Head, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Elvis Daniel; Founder, Eastern Hill Academy, Mrs. Oyenyekwena Adaeze; Administrator of Eastern Hill Academy, Mrs. Chineye Ikenma and Manager TEEN Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Mrs. Ifeoluwa Oyeyipo, at theEastern Hill Academy speech and Prize Giving Day, held at the school premises in Enugu.

Mrs. Ikenma added, “We kicked off the use of this device in September 2014 and currently, we have over 73 students in our school using it. Cliqlite device has made it easy for us to access educational programs such as Nigerian education curriculum, exam materials and educative games. Another unique thing for us and the parents is the security function that enables parents and guardians protect children from harmful content on the internet.”

Responding to the latest development, Head, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Elvis Daniel, who was also present at the event expressed gladness that the school appreciates the value in Cliqlite and adopted it as an educational learning resource to promote its educational programs.

Daniel stated, “At Etisalat, we are driven by a sustained commitment to revolutionize learning in the country and we are happy that Eastern Hill Academy is part of this dream. Cliqlite is a learning tool that every child should own in this age to keep up with trends and learn in an enjoyable and safe manner. Keeping children in class alone has become boring these days, so rather than giving your child a mobile phone or tablet without any restrictions, Etisalat Cliqlite is a better option.”

Cliqlite supports learning and development for children and teenagers between the ages of 8 to 15 years. Users enjoy the benefits of preloaded educational apps and approved textbooks on the Cliqlite tab. The educational content include approved primary, junior and senior secondary school textbooks, Wikipedia app, Okada books, dictionary, sounds (pronunciation app), Typing Tutor and ‘Spell Me Right’, amongst others.

The Story Of Kente Part 1

Origin from the Akan land such as Ashanti Kingdom



Kente textile is from Ghana.
It is worn for special occasions.
It is hand woven.
It is one of the most famous African textile.

Aso-oke textile is from Nigeria.
It is worn for special occasions.
It is hand woven.
It is one of the most famous African textile.

Kente textile is from Ghana, a country located in West Africa. Kente is a cloth worn by royalty. It is hand woven just like the Aso-oke (Nigerian textile) in wooden looms and is of very high worth. It comes in a variety of patterns, colours and designs, each of which have different meanings.

According to Ghanaian mythology, Kente textile was first made when two friends watched how a spider wove its web. They created the Kente cloth by mimicking the actions of the spiders. It is said that this story, whether true or not, shows the harmony between Ghanaians and Mother Nature.

Looking back in the olden times, the Kente cloth is reserved for the Kings and is associated with royalty and sacredness. Even in recent times, it is worn only during important times. Though the cloth has widespread acceptance and usage it is still held in high esteem among the Akan tribe and the Ghanaians in general.

The Kente cloth is one of the most famous and wanted fabric in the whole of Africa. For the Ghanaians, this represents the history, philosophy, oral literature, religious beliefs, political thought and aesthetic principles of life.

The various colours in the cloth symbolize various aspects of life. Blue symbolizes ‘peace and harmony’. Gold colour mostly worn by kings in ancient times symbolizes ‘royalty, power, esteemed status, spiritual purity and holiness’. This colour is also used by the high priests in ancient times. Pink and purple colours are associated with ‘women’. White and grey colours symbolize 'sanctification, holiness' and are mostly used by priests and holy people.

Different patterns have been invented over time for different occasions. Whereby the various patterns have different names and meaning;

Source: Bellafricana

PRESS RELEASE: WAJO LAGOS – YOUR INVITATION TO DANCE

Plan to attend WAJO LAGOS, Nigeria’s ONLY monthly dance platform slated for every last Thursday of the month. This month’s edition will be the 19th year anniversary celebration of one of the Nigeria’s foremost dance and drama group –
CROWN TROUPE OF AFRICA led by Segun Adefila.

JUNE 2015 Edition – Title: “PIECE OFF”
Date: 25th June, 2015. Venue is Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos Island. Time: 6.30pm. Admission is Free

PIECE OFF: The age long practice of female circumcision otherwise known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comes under scrutiny in this work expressed in mixed media art. Piece Off is a research based work that explores and creates awareness on and the social impact of the practice of FGM on the girl/woman and the society at large. Mobile and motion pictures as well as dance, music and poetry are finely blended to create an eclectic and thought provoking piece that challenges the status quo.

WAJO is your invitation to dance; a multi-faceted dance focus project aimed at touching and enriching lives - dancers, dance lovers, dance enthusiast and people from all works of life.

For more info: WAJO LAGOS 08054063997; YouTube Channel: WAJO LAGOS; Twitter: @wajolagos;
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wajolagos; Instagram: wajolagos; Email: info@wajo.tv; Website: http://www.wajo.tv/

Grand Health Bazaar 2015

LiveWell Initiative (LWI), a public health NGO, is a registered health-promotion focused organisation, which empowers the people through health literacy. LWI has empowered nearly 2 million Nigerians and 3,000 Ghanaians directly and indirectly by proxy contact, inclusive of over 60 blind and disabled adults through health literacy. LWI is excited to announce their 5th Annual Cross-cutting Multi-sectoral International Healthcare Event, the Grand Health Bazaar (GHB2015), a corporate carnival for trade, commerce and mutual synergy and networking with healthcare as a value addition.

Good Family Building , bedrock for a successful Nation Building

Family is a group consisting of two parents and their children living together as a unit, or simply put; all the descendants of a common ancestor.

Family could be said to be genealogically connected, that's why a child could be said to be acting like his/her father or mother or even traced to behaving like a great long-gone grand father. Forget not that the parent too were ushered to this world by a father and mother. What are the qualities that this our fathers and mothers left behind for us that is worth well-behaving in the society? Were they liar? No wonder we also do lie, then someday we find ourselves in the position of power, and the lie syndrome continues to manifest.


A Family

By nature, we are all from a gene of sinner, remember the first beings, and in the word sinner; you'll find corruption, greed, etc, but that was in the old being, as our book of life said: ''If any man/woman be in Christ, he/she is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold; all things are become new.'' This is the main purpose of the God in-form of flesh to redeem mankind from the old nature of corruption, through the price paid in the New Testament, by Jesus Christ our Lord.

How the two works

The devil (The old nature) still remains in mankind, that Jesus paid the price and died for us, was/a reality achievable for as many as would be able to switch to Jesus' when temptation arises, or preferably; you may still choose to glorify the devil. The devil as we all think is not like that image of a person in all-black clothes with horns, mind you that he (devil) was subtle with Eve (first woman/mother), in other to achieve is goal, so; he could come in any form.

Every opportunity to steal, lie and all sorts is a decision by the one who owns the psyche, the ability to suppress the old nature ''sin'' would see the new man ''Jesus'' gave us since 2000 years ago been glorified, and the Adamic nature put down.

So, it's like a switch button, you decide which direction the switch would go via every decision of yours. This must be told every family, especially we the very 21st generation.

Failure to switch on the right button at every point before we take action, is equal to individual failure, family failure, community, state and nation failure. The family is the foundation for a successful nation Building, what kind of upbringing are you inculcating into our next generation in your hands/home? Remember they will be governors, commissioner, senators, presidents etc in the future, how would they manage the position, would they be worse or better?

Another opportunity we have is now! It's weekend again, where will you be, who'll you be with, what activity(ies) will you engage in? Monday till now, has been for works, distance from the family, the posterity generation, please spend this weekend with your family. Be the change you want to see to yourself and family, make it a step closer this weekend.

God bless you, and your family, God bless the Federal republic of Nigeria.

Adejuyigbe Francis Adegoke are my names, am interested in Nation Building, what about YOU?

Award Winning Poet, Titilope Sonuga is Intel “She Will Connect” Spokesperson 2015

Research findings show that there are 25 per cent fewer women than men online in emerging markets. This is a clear indication of the gender gap that exists in the technology arena. To bridge this gap, Intel Corporation through its “She Will Connect Programme”, has continued to educate young girls and women on how technology can maximally contribute toward economic and social development across the world.

This year, Titilope Sonuga has been appointed the official spokesperson of its 2015 “She Will Connect” program in Nigeria. Sonuga will use the platform to share her inspiring story of success and influence the lives of other women across the country in the pan-Nigerian initiative which starts this month and ends May, 2016.



Titilope Sonuga is an award winning poet, writer, actor and civil engineer whose work has graced stages and pages across Nigeria and internationally. She has featured on stages across Canada and internationally, and was invited alongside world renowned poets Sonia Sanchez, Jayne Cortez, Yusef Komunyakaa, to perform at the 2011 Achebe Colloquium on Africa at Brown University. Titilope is the creator of Rouge Poetry and a founding member of the Breath in Poetry Collective.

Titilope was the winner of the 2013 RISE (Recognizing Immigrant Success in Edmonton) Award for achievement in the arts and the NBCC (National Black Coalition of Canada) Fil Fraser Award for Outstanding achievement in the arts. Titilope performed a stirring inauguration poem at the swearing-in of President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2015; a historic moment for the country and the first time a poet had ever been invited to perform at a Nigerian inauguration ceremony.

As the spokesperson, Titilope will visit states across the country. She will appear as a guest in some notable Radio programs and also interact with girls and women online. Working closely with enlisted Non-Governmental Organizations, Titi will participate in training girls and women across Nigeria during the one year campaign.

Speaking on her role, Titi said she is glad to have been brought on board to use her talents to communicate the message of technology to girls and women in Nigeria.

Expressing her delight on the new role Titilope said: "I am extremely excited to collaborate with Intel to give a voice to the She Will Connect program. I believe giving girls and women access by connecting them to technology creates a world of possibility for them and their communities. Through my personal journey, I have learned that having access gives you options and with those options almost anything is possible"

Commenting on the initiative, Country Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Intel West Africa, Mr. Adim Isiakpona expressed Intel’s commitment to bringing positive change in the African Girl Child.

Adim added that it was important to educate the girl child, affirming, “We at Intel believe that smart females are the equivalent of a smart world. We want to present Titilope as an icon of the endless capabilities in a woman when she is given the platform to express herself. We want a world where women’s lives are inspiring enough for a change.”

The “She Will Connect” initiative has a goal to reach and train 5 million young women in Africa on Information Communication Technology by 2020 and it has successfully hosted several programs to introduce women to technology in Nigeria, through workshops and trainings. The program which works closely with NGOs, government agencies, and other local business partners features three key program elements designed to help girls and women take advantage of the many opportunities provided through technology and Internet access: digital literacy; online peer network; and content and resources.

#SheWillConnect2015

Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum Series 2015

http://goevents.govima-ng.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1.jpg

The Nigeria that Dreams Together

http://goevents.govima-ng.com/blog/the-nigeria-that-dreams-together/

Etisalat Easycliq now “Datafied” with Two Additional Services

Fastest growing and most innovative telecommunications company in Nigeria, Etisalat has expanded its Easycliq bundle with the addition of two new data services, ‘Social Me on Cliq’ and ‘Music & Video Night Download’.

According to Etisalat, the two new services will ensure that youths stay connected always with peers and family members through social media, in line with the Telco’s commitment to continually improve on its products and services and enhance customer experience.



Speaking on the additional services, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Francesco Angelone assured that the company would always develop innovative products that deliver utmost value to their customers.

Angelone added, “In today’s world, social media provides a powerful platform for youths to connect with loved ones through instant messaging, picture sharing, video and music downloads. Social Me on Cliq and Music & Video Night download were developed to enrich our subscribers’ social media experiences and ensure they stay longer with their peers and family at very affordable prices.’’

According to Etisalat, Social Me on Cliq gives subscribers on Easycliq unlimited access to BBM, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for an affordable price of N150 per week or N500 per month. To subscribe, Easycliq users only need to recharge N200 and dial *343*6*10#.

Also, with Music & Video Night Download, the subscribers can download trending music, exciting TV shows and the latest movies in mp3, mp4 and mpeg files between the hours of 12.30am and 4.30am every day at N500 by dialing *229*10*10#.

SAP Africa engages in partnership with German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to facilitate fresh economic prospects for Africa

http://goevents.govima-ng.com/blog/sap-africa-engages-in-partnership-with-german-ministry-for-economic-cooperation-and-development-to-facilitate-fresh-economic-prospects-for-africa/

INTEL’S EFFORT TO BRIDGE GENDER GAP ON THE INTERNET

When compared to men, women still have lower access to the internet. A report commissioned by Intel on the access to, and use of the Internet in low and middle income countries indicated women are at a disadvantage. The report shows 25 percent fewer women than men are online in developing countries. Intel has emphasized its commitment to bridging this gap with its Intel She Will Connect Programme.

The Intel She Will Connect Programme, in recent time, has been in the forefront of educating young girls and women on maximum contributions toward economic and social development across the world. At the recently concluded capacity building workshop on ICT for women journalists in Lagos, Nigeria, the country Managing Director, Intel West Africa, Mr. Olubunmi Ekundare stated Intel’s dedication to bring about positive change in the African Girl Child.


L-R: Director of Education, Ministry of Women Affairs & Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Yetunde Akin-Taylor, ‎Managing Director, Intel Corporation West Africa, Olubunmi Ekundare, Executive Director, Junior Achievement Nigeria(Partner), Ehizefua Edeh and Executive Director, Women Technology Empowerment Center (Partner), Oreoluwa Lesi at the Intel “She Will Connect” Media Capacity Training session with Female ICT reporters held today on Lagos Island.

Stressing the importance of educating the girl child, he said, “Here at Intel, we believe, and I’m sure we all agree, that smart girls are the equivalent of a smart world. What we seek to do, more than encouraging you all, is to do your best in school and seize the opportunity to build a world where youth are inspired to be advocates for change.”

The Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr. Babatunde Akinola, explained that She Will Connect programme aims to close the gap for girls in terms of access to the internet and digital literacy. He restated that the company will provide technical resources and expertise to deliver digital literacy training, online peer networks and gender relevant content to empower young girls and women in Nigeria.


A cross session of Nigerian Female ICT Reporters at the Intel “She Will Connect” Media Capacity Training session with Female ICT reporters held today on Lagos Island.

Technology and access to the internet is essential to women’s empowerment across the continent, and it is key to overcoming barriers such as poverty, illiteracy, and discrimination. She Will Connect hopes to have reached five million women and girls across Africa by 2020, empowering them to get and stay online and help others like them, thereby reducing the gender gap by 50%.

Introducing Nokia 105 - Single and Dual SIM

Microsoft welcomes the new Nokia 105 and Nokia 105 Dual SIM to its family of affordable mobile phones enabling more people around the world to have a voice, and bringing new mobile opportunities to their fingertips.

The new Nokia 105 is perfect for the first time mobile phone buyer who needs a device with all the everyday essentials to start their journey into a more connected world. With its great battery life of up to 15 days talk time and up to 35 days stand-by (Single SIM), the new Nokia 105 is also a perfect back-up phone for summer travels and fun.



Building on the award-winning successes of its predecessor, the new Nokia 105 has everything people love about the first Nokia 105 and more. The phone offers a host of enhancements including refreshed design, more space for contacts, increased talk time, enhanced audio for even better voice clarity, and a Dual SIM variant.

For more information on the new Nokia 105, or to download accompanying images and product information, visit the Microsoft Newsroom – then come and share your thoughts on the Microsoft Lumia Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages!

New Dell Inspiron Laptops and Micro Desktop Offer Purposeful Innovation for Everyday Computing Needs

Dell announced at Computex 2015, a comprehensive new line-up of Inspiron devices, offering a wide range of technology solutions to meet families’ everyday computing needs. Adding to Dell’s award-winning consumer product line up, the new portfolio includes the Inspiron 5000 Series laptops and a new micro desktop.



Demonstrating Dell’s commitment to offering something for everyone, these new devices are available with a wide range of processor options and configurable features, enabling students, families and value-conscious shoppers to connect, learn and achieve more.

Ray Wah, Vice President, Consumer Product Group Dell, said that with today’s new product launches, Dell’s Inspiron brand continues its legacy of developing great devices that are easy-to-use, employing the latest technology to help families get more out of life.

Wah said. “Everyday computing is more fun when you can power video chats and games with the latest processors and graphics, or enjoy an immersive multi-media entertainment experience courtesy of brilliant front-of-screen displays with fantastic audio. From laptops to convertible 2-in-1s to desktops, we are delivering devices for every need at an exceptional value, empowering our customers to easily create and share content and connect with the people who matter the most to them.”

The Inspiron 5000 Series offers well-designed, versatile laptops, now available with an even broader array of processor options from Intel and AMD for zippy, responsive performance whether surfing the web, writing a term paper, editing videos or initiating web chats. The 15” and 17” notebooks come with a rich set of standard features, which include sharp high resolution displays, firm keyboards that are easy to type on for hours, exceptional battery life, and great wireless performance.

Also, a touch display is available in either FHD 1080p resolution on the 15” and 17” models, or in HD on the 15. The 15” and 17” notebooks also come with True Colour, which allows users to customise the display’s colour temperature, vibrancy and tone for exceptional visual clarity and colour fidelity. In addition to premium performance and stunning visuals, stylish shoppers will enjoy the laptops’ sleek design details and vibrant chassis with a matte silver finish.

Interestingly, the new Inspiron Micro Desktop packs a full suite of features into an ultra-compact package small enough to hold in one hand at just 5.16” x 5.16”. Families seeking a space-saving computing solution will love the micro desktop’s simple and streamlined design, engineered to blend in with other household devices without cluttering your space. Users can boot up quickly and access data with a responsive, reliable solid state drive, and enjoy lightning-fast access to websites, games and apps with the latest dual-core Intel Pentium processor.

Intel HD graphics boost visuals when streaming videos or enjoying rich media; use the HDMI connection to channel full HD resolution with any HD display or TV. HDMI and DisplayPort provide the convenience and flexibility to connect with multiple displays for easy multi-tasking and head-turning entertainment. Four USB ports and a 3-in-1 SD card reader facilitate an easy connection with a hard drive, display, printer or other peripherals. Gigabit LAN, integrated Bluetooth and the latest long-range 802.11a/c wireless technology further contribute to a full, versatile desktop experience.

Intel Leads a New Era of Computing Experiences, Intelligence Everywhere

Computing Innovation, New Experiences and Internet of Things Solutions to Create Smart and Connected World

Intel Corporation has announced products and solutions that will deliver new user experiences and support the computing ecosystem’s expansion into new areas.

This was announced during the opening keynote address at Computex 2015. Kirk Skaugen, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s Client Computing Group encouraged the Taiwan ecosystem to work together and capture the opportunity to shape the future of computing.



Skaugen said, “The power of Moore’s Law has enabled incredible computing innovation over the past 50 years and because of it, nearly everything in the future will have the ability to compute and connect, our 30-year history of collaboration with Taiwan has delivered historic innovation to the world, from personal computing to the cloud and data centers. The next 30 years will see even greater innovation as we deliver new computing experiences and bring intelligence and connectivity to the Internet of Things together.”

Skaugen offered predictions into the future of computing and showcased the products and platforms that will take us there. He also showed how these innovations will soon enable intelligence to be everywhere.

Intel introduced the expansion of the Intel® IoT Gateway product family. The latest gateway reference design offers expanded choice in silicon and software with the addition of Intel® Core processor-based gateways and Wind River Intelligent Device Platform XT 3 with flexible packaging options for applications that require a low cost of entry.

Intel also expanded the choice of operating systems for Intel IoT Gateway reference designs with the availability of Ubuntu Snappy Core from Canonical. This builds upon the current OS availability from Microsoft* and Wind River. Specifically for IoT solutions, especially retail and medical environments, Intel announced the new Intel® Pentium®, Intel®Celeron® and Intel® Atom processors. With stunning graphics performance in a low thermal envelope, the processors are customized for IoT and offer seven year availability.

Intel also introduced 5th generation Intel® Core™ mobile processors for mobile and IoT with integrated Intel® Iris™ Pro Graphics. Optimized for gamers and content creators on the go, Intel’s fastest and most responsive mobile processors have Intel Iris Pro graphics 6200 and provide up to two times higher compute performance and two times better 3-D graphics performance compared to the current generation.2 These processors are also ideal for medical, public works and industrial IoT applications with the inclusion of critical features for powerful IoT designs, including ECC memory support, Intel® vPro™ technology and offer seven year availability.

Highlighting progress toward a future of a completely wireless computing experience, Intel announced it is working with Targus* to deliver Rezence standard-based wireless charging solutions. Intel also recently announced an agreement with China-based Haier* to bring wireless charging solutions to restaurants, hotels, cafés, and airports in China later this year. Additionally, Intel will work with A4WP members, Foxconn Interconnect*, Basecom* and original design manufacturers BYD* and Primax* to bring wireless charging solutions to market later this year.

SKYE BANK HOLDS SME SEMINAR IN LAGOS

Following the success of its Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Seminar in Onitsha, Anambra State last month, Skye Bank Plc recently held the Lagos edition of its seminar for business owners in the SME sector.

The event which was of exceptional success, with over 200 entrepreneurs in attendance, took place at NECA Hall, Alausa, Ikeja.

Speaking at the event, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Skye Bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, explained how Small and Medium Enterprises are major contributors to employment in Nigeria and other countries worldwide.


L-R Group Managing Director, Skye Bank PLC, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo; Vice Chairman, Tantalizers PLC, Mr. Olu Ayeni; Head Mistress, Vivian Fowler Memorial School, Mrs. Funke Fowler-Amba and the Managing Director, Spectra Industries Limited, Mr. Duro Kuteyi at the Skye Bank SME Business Seminar which held in Lagos.

Mr. Oguntayo added, “Skye Bank wants to facilitate knowledge sharing and offer banking solutions that will help businesses. There is no way for multinationals to employ all the teeming young people who are seeking employment, therefore, the role of SME’s in employment cannot be over emphasized.”

Keynote Speaker, and Vice Chairman of Tantalizers, Mr. Folu Ayeni, shared his success story on the rapid growth of Tantalizers from a small living room venture to a large scale business with 53 outlets nationwide

Ayeni recalled how Skye Bank provided the initial N2.5 million seed capital that was used to start the business. He charged the participants to come up with bright, profitable business ideas, and package the ideas properly, saying: ‘If no one is listening to your ideas, go to Skye Bank.”

Contributing to Mr. Ayeni’s statement, Mrs. Funke Fowler-Amba, urged the participants to get training on their vision in order to make it a reality.

Questions raised by participants at the seminar, were appropriately addressed by Skye Bank representatives who revealed that the next SME Seminar will take place in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The SME initiative is part of the Skye Bank’s contribution towards encouraging small businesses, thus developing the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector of the Nigerian economy.

Launch of “GTEasySavers” powered by Etisalat

From Left: Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher; Managing Director, Guarantee Trust Bank GTB , Segun Agbaje; and Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Angelone Francesco at the launch of “GTEasySavers” powered by Etisalat and GTBank which held at Guarantee Trust Bank Headquarters on Tuesday, 26th May 2015

MAN Blames CBN for Funds Shortage to Manufacturing, SMEs

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has blamed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the tight access of funds to develop the real sector and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.



The president, MAN, Dr. Frank Jacobs, explained that access to funds to drive growth in the manufacturing sector is still a major challenge hindering any meaningful growth and development in the sector.

Jacobs during its 2015 media luncheon, maintained that several recommendations had been made by the association to the apex body to address the situation, but stressed that CBN opposed all the proposal on the way forward.

"As the new government is preparing to come on board, MAN will continue to dialogue with the federal government by agreeing to some of the recommendation. The lending rate to SMEs and other sectors of the economy is still not good enough," he said.

He however appealed to the CBN to review the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) downwards, saying that there is no where in the world where industrialisation can be achieved with a double digit MPR.

"Our recommendation to the CBN is to find a way to reduce MPR to 3 per cent. The only way to industrialise is when loans are less than 10 per cent. MPR at 3 per cent might transform the banking sector to fund SMEs and other vibrant sectors of the economy," he said.

Meanwhile, the president expressed the hope ‎for the country going forward, pointing out that the third quarter will be much better than the previous quarters experienced in the country.
Reviewing the first quarter of the year, the MAN boss said real Gross Domestic Product grew by 5.94 per cent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014, showing a 0.29 percentage point decline from the 6.23 per cent position at the end of the third quarter of the same year.

According to him, inflation rate ‎remained at a single digit of 7.9 per cent at the end of December 2014 as it fell by 0.2 percentage point from the 8.1 per cent recorded in November the same year, adding that banks lending rate remained at a double digit at the end of fourth quarter of 2014.

He stated that corruption is still a major challenge in the country's quest to achieve economic growth, noting that the economy would turnaround when the new government takes charge.

He advised that the incoming government must as a matter of urgency, pay attention to consider the MAN memorandum on economic and industrial policy, give bonafide ‎manufacturers the opportunity to source their foreign exchange requirement through Retal Dutch Auction Systems (RDAS), honouring al outstanding obligations on Export Expansion Grant (EEG) in a way that will further promote exports.

He also called for a streamlined electricity tariff to reflect the actual consumption by the industries instead of the current use of estimated bills to drive further improvement in power supply and create a special electricity tariff lines for heavy users of electricity.

He noted that the council under his leadership will strengthen its collaboration with the media in order to ensure cross fertilisation of ideas and information to facilitate timely dissemination of news on MAN programmes and activities of interest to stakeholders within the Nigerian economy.

He added that his administration will sustain and improve upon the advocacy machinery,saying that the interface between the association and government at various levels will be improved upon, establish a centre for entrepreneurial studies to train and develop entrepreneurs, including aspiring manufacturers with the capacity tobadd value to the Nigerian economy and secure a land in Abuja for the construction of a befitting corporate headquarter for the association.

He added that there is also going to be a closer collaboration with tertiary institutions and research institutes to close up the existing gap between the manufacturing sector, research institutes and tertiary institutions in order to maximise the results of resources and skills required industries.