There cannot be any acceleration and expansion of digital economy without biometric Identity Verification (IDV) for all transactions.
PRESS RELEASE |
Booming African Mobile Markets To Get Boost from Nordic Expertise |
Africa is poised to leap forward, unencumbered by legacy technologies and processes, and empowered by youthful demographics |
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, October 25, 2022/ -- SUBTONOMY (https://www. The African digital revolution It’s time to reappraise Africa’s place in the global digital market. Long held back by affordability and availability issues, the advent of cheaper smartphones and ubiquitous, higher capacity mobile networks have provided a huge springboard for growth. Young, internet-savvy Africans are optimistic and opportunistic about tech, utilizing it as a platform for their creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and thirst for education. Already the world leader in mobile money[1], Africa is poised to leap forward, unencumbered by legacy technologies and processes, and empowered by youthful demographics[2]. The continent’s rapid transition to a mobile-first, digital economy means that it already has more smartphone users than North America and by 2025 Sub-Saharan Africa will have 474 million internet users (39% of the population[3]). New demands on the network, new customer expectations Whether it’s using their phones for banking, finding work, shopping, creating, listening to music or watching their favorite shows, young Africans have moved far beyond their parents’ expectations of mobile services. While the future of the African mobile market may look rosy, it’s not without challenges, however. In the next few years, African operators will have to cope with onboarding large numbers of new customers[4] and find cost-effective ways to support them while they transition from 3G to 4G, from feature phones to smartphones, and from simple to complex service offerings. As if all of this were not enough, the expectations of African Gen Z customers are also rising rapidly. Like their social media friends around the world, they expect high-quality uninterrupted services backed by world-class, 24/7 customer support when things go wrong. If they don’t get it, they’re more willing than ever to simply walk away[5]. And this is precisely where African operators can benefit from the experience of other mobile-first markets such as the Nordics. Operators in the Nordics have pioneered efficient and cost-effective digital customer care for years. Subtonomy’s customers, for example, are already able to automate 75% of customer support in digital channels, and increase contact center efficiency to deliver 60% fewer escalations and 47% faster call handling. Future proofing support With things moving so rapidly in Africa, it’s hard for operators to manage change cost-effectively or predict what their support operations will look like in a few years. Will future African customers have virtual reality-based support, or get help via their digital assistants? Whatever happens, operators must squeeze the maximum value out of their existing equipment to keep costs down and reduce disruption, while at the same time innovating their customer support offerings and preparing for what’s coming. Fortunately, there’s a win-win here as well. Subtonomy’s Network Equipment Platform takes data from any existing source – including legacy probes (eg Amdocs, Anritsu, Commprove, Empirix, Exfo, Polystar, Radcom, Tektronix, Teoco or Viavi), BSS and OSS, cell data and device data – to deliver a 360o real-time view of actual customer experience, empowering 24/7 holistic support. “As the African mobile market matures, customers will expect better support from operators. As researcher Herring Shava[6] recently pointed out, two of the biggest causes of dissatisfaction with support are operators’ reliability (not doing things when they said they would) and responsiveness (not informing customers when they intend to fix problems). We’re proud to have helped our clients fix both these issues in the Nordics and look forward to helping African operators revolutionize the way they support their customers in future – giving them both happier customers and a competitive edge.” Andreas Jörbeck, CEO, Subtonomy To find out more about Subtonomy’s offering, operators are invited to meet with Subtonomy at AfricaCom 2022, Telcos of Tomorrow booth A52. Book a meeting here: APO Group rep (malika.bouayad@apo-opa.com). [1] According to the GSMA, Africa accounts for 70% of the world’s $1 trillion mobile money transactions. [2] Africa has the largest number of Gen Zers (also called ‘Zoomers’) in the world, and more than a billion people under the age of 35. [3] Forecasts from GSMA. [4] By 2025 the GSMA forecasts Africa will have 120 million new subscribers and 170 million new mobile internet users, taking the proportion of the population using mobile internet to 40%. [5] According to a BrandsEye study (2019), 47.2% of the complaints raised by customers in South Africa were about the quality of customer service. Approximately 37% complained about the mobile network provider’s turnaround time, and 44.4% of the respondents complained about the network provider’s failure to attend to queries posted on social media. But in cases where the network provider did respond, 61% of consumers ended up being dissatisfied with the quality of service provided. [6] See: H. Shava. Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Experience Among South African Mobile Telecommunications Consumers. Walter Sisulu University. Published in Eurasian Journal of Business and Management, 9(3), 2021, 217-232. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Subtonomy. For more information or to set up an interview, please contact:Tina Rosén tina.rosen@subtonomy.com About Subtonomy: Subtonomy’s ML-driven Network Experience Platform provides unprecedented real-time insight into the experience of customers on any network (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G NSA, 5G SA, broadband and gigabit fiber). Its easy-to-use applications utilize this rich data to enable customer support teams to isolate and resolve problems faster; operational teams to prioritize fault fixing and network build according to actual customer need; business teams to up-sell to both business customers and consumers; and wholesale teams to understand the service they’re delivering to MVNO clients. Founded in Sweden in 2012, Subtonomy’s technology helps network operators deliver more personalized support and more proactive care to help its clients deliver a premium network experience. We’re proud to have a 100% satisfied client base and to be finalists in the 2022 World Communications Awards for Customer Experience. Also see: Subtonomy’s website (https://www. SOURCE |
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PRESS RELEASE |
PalmPay Hits 10 Million User Milestone in Nigeria |
The fintech has gained significant traction with its payment’s app and nationwide agency banking network |
LAGOS, Nigeria, August 31, 2022/ -- PalmPay (https://PalmPay.com/), a fintech innovator aiming to make digital payment more accessible and flexible, announced that it has reached 10 million users in Nigeria. This represents a doubling in its user base within just six months and puts its customer numbers in the same league as major institutions only 3 years after the company launched in the market.  The fintech, which operates under a Mobile Money Operator license from the Central Bank of Nigeria, has gained significant traction with its payment’s app and nationwide agency banking network. Its proposition of instant financial account creation, fee-free bank transfers and cashback rewards on airtime and bill payments has appealed to Millennial and Gen-Z consumers, who are looking for more affordable banking options and prefer the convenience of a digital-first service. Nowadays PalmPay is processing millions of transactions a day. And around 20% of the company’s customer base report that the PalmPay app was their first financial account, demonstrating that the Mobile Money Operator is contributing to driving progress towards financial inclusion targets in Nigeria, where 36% of the population remains unbanked. Nigerians without smartphones can visit one of PalmPay’s 200,000 mobile money agents across the country, who can transact on their behalf or issue an innovative QR card that can be used to hold a balance. Consumers can also use PalmPay agents to deposit cash to their PalmPay accounts and to withdraw money using their debit cards through PalmPay-branded POS machines. “We are delighted to be able to celebrate this growth milestone and are proud of PalmPay’s track record of making cutting-edge financial services accessible to every Nigerian - including the unbanked.”, said Mr Chika Nwosu, Managing Director, PalmPay Nigeria, "The pandemic has accelerated the shift from cash to digital payments and we are looking forward to continuing to work together with regulators and our partners to innovate to meet the financial needs of consumers." “Our significant growth in Nigeria demonstrates PalmPay’s ability to innovate to meet the financial needs of consumers, and we are looking forward to replicating this success as we scale in more markets across Africa.” said Sofia Zab, PalmPay Global CMO. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of PalmPay. Media Contact:PalmPay Global Communications press@palmpay-inc.com About PalmPay: PalmPay is a fintech innovator that aims to make digital payment more accessible and flexible for consumers and merchants. We improve users' digital payment experiences by offering instant financial account creation, money transfers, and bill payments. Since launching in 2019, PalmPay has quickly established itself as one of the continent's leading and fastest-growing payment providers with 10 million users and a mobile money agent network of 200,000. PalmPay raised a US$100 million Series A round of funding in August 2021, with US$140 million raised in total. The company is now operating in Nigeria and Tanzania, and will be scaling its proposition in other African markets in 2022. Learn more about PalmPay at https://www.PalmPay.com/  SOURCE |
#ThrowBackThursday
The Next Big Thing
The Alpha Man, Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima meeting with Mark Zuckerberg, the Cofounder and CEO of Facebook on August 31, 2016 at the Afrinolly Space in Oreggun, Lagos Mainland, Lagos, Nigeria.
My second meeting with Mark will be coming up after the release of my mobile video app, the next big thing for social media networking, news, entertainment, e-commerce and fintech which will begin the total decentralization of financial transactions and all from an app.
#Michael #Chima #markzuckerberg #mobilevideo #mobileapplications #mobileapp
#nigeria #ceo #socialmedia #networking #fintech #video #entertainment #facebook #commerce #transactions #streaming #video #decentralized
#decentralization #money #finance #africa #broadcasting #iot
The Next Big Thing
Since 2014 I have been developing what will become the biggest and largest digital media network in the world and I have chosen to run with the vision Almighty God has shown me.
It is the greatest idea for the digital media ecosystem.
My ultimate goal is the disruption of the e-commerce and fintech industry by total decentralization of human interactions and transactions in every part of the world from the hand of everyone with a camera phone.
- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
The CEO,
International Digital Post Network Limited,
Lagos, San Francisco, New York.
#ceo #digital #network #fintech #africa #commerce #news #lagos #sanfrancisco #newyork #communications #phones #transactions #payments
Navigating the Virtual Market in an African Context
- By Babatunde Adekanmbi
The global impact of technology ever since its inception have brought about positive impact though coupled with some negative effects but we can't downplay how it have facilitated developments across all sectors of the economy.
The issue of virtual market navigation particularly in an African context is as a result of Technological impact in our current disposition today. There is need to understand what virtual market entails, it is marketplace with the aid of internet connectivity where numerous companies execute economic transactions to facilitate sales enablement . The virtual market is an advanced development of the traditional way of marketing, although people are still going by the modality of running a small scale enterprise in which there is need to navigate from one geopolitical zone to another in order to increase their customer base but fortunately, business owners and Corporate Organizations have adopted the use of Virtual market as new marketing strategy.
It's imperative we understand the mode of operation of a virtual market for optimum performance otherwise it'll be underutilize. A virtual marketplace is a platform where third-party sellers can transact businesses (also known as e-commerce marketplaces), such sites may feature individual traders, large-scale manufacturers of goods, or anything in between. The third party sellers are known to be the retailers, small business owners, enabling them reach out virtually to the final consumers at a specific period of time.
The virtual market comes with is own peculiarities unlike the traditional way of marketing although with some features that would probably facilitate sales enablement and customer engagement but have some hitches that the virtual market have addressed. We definitely need to align with the developments brought up by the virtual market but there's need to understand how we can effectively navigate this New virtual market particularly in an African Context. While we can't discard the fact that there are some similar features that would possibly be pinpointed from the traditional way of marketing which was understudy and developed better to align to the standing protocols setup particularly in this era.
The Africa economy ecosystem have the capability to adopt and adapt to whatever New inventions but business owners or enterprise should position themselves for it otherwise the opportunities that lurk in the world market might elude them
The following tips highlighted below are adoptable in which it will give an insight and serve as a guide on how to navigate effectively a virtual market particularly in an African Context
Research your target market
Knowing and understanding the needs of your target audience is a prerequisite to enable you navigate effectively, you need to understand your target audience, you can do a demographic framework which will comprise of ,age groups,gender, location etc. Learning from existing businesses relatable to what you do will equally help out as well This will Facilitate sales engagement, customer satisfaction and enhance visibility and viability for your products and services. This research will definitely guide your working operations, it serve as a drive towards enabling the growth of your enterprise . It will further give a deeper insight into who your target audience are, enabling you work around their interest because their satisfaction should be prioritized while thinking of maximizing profit.
Design your marketplace operations.
Marketplace operations entails working hours, payment operations, delivery time that needs to be setup and getting your customers informed. It gives your potential customers a level of confidence when transacting business with you. They are able to effectively plan their schedule whenever they choose to patronize your brand or business. A well design marketplace operations entails the working hours, processes, procedure for patronage that enables your customer align to the set goals and objectives. It will equally facilitate the organization of your potential team, they are able to understand the proceeding at which your enterprise would be operating.
Choose the right business model
Having the right business model is a veritable tool for navigating the virtual market. It gives you a sense of responsibility and direction. It is the overall framework that keeps your business operations in Check on the Long run. Your customers will be willing to transact businesses With you because you have a model that is operational and it gives no room for compromise. Both parties key into the framework since it's available. Moreso you need to understand that the business model will equally serve as a working template for your future employees, it is an avenue for creating synergy between them, your enterprise and potential customers. A business model serves as a guide for your enterprise because it entails the dos and donts of how you intend running your enterprise. It gives an indication that processes will be duly followed and this is how an organized enterprise starting up and ready to navigate the virtual market
Select the right marketplace software
Having the right software to run your enterprise is highly necessary it is equally important to to know whether you're considering the use of social media platforms, email marketing tool or website for customer engagement. It aid in swift Communication between you and your customers. The market research you have done will enable you know which platform will be suitable for the products or services being offered. The right software also reduces the number of negative feedbacks receive from services offered because realistically the software will continually serve as an intermediary between your enterprise and your potential customers. You can equally look at the possibility of building up a software of your own as this will give you the opportunity to adopt and integrate your own strategy which other software might not featured.
Outline the essential marketplace features.
Having an outlined feature for your marketplace is an enabler in making your potential customers in deciding to transact business with you. It should entails features that are user-friendly , that gives an overview of what your services and products entails. Integrating the right features will Facilitate More sales to your business or enterprise. These features also serves as an indicator in enabling your customers make quickr decision when engaging with your enterprise. They have the opportunity to navigate through the available features highlighted. These outlined essential features should give a detailed description of your enterprise which necessarily don't have to be too ambiguous hence the need for readability.
Choose a marketplace payment solution
Payment solutions are applications setup to facilitate payment of goods and services. It's important you make use of a payment solution that will be easy on the part of your customers, with less Technical issues and good Internet services. Your customers may be deterred from patronizing you continuously if your payment solutions are not user friendly or easily accessible. They are numerous payment solutions available for use but it's essential to choose the one that is relatable to one's enterprise . The right marketplace payment enhances timely payment of services offered to your customers, it avoids the issue of complexity when making payment as the society have equally clamored for cashless policies. It equally address the issue of theft.. You equally need to ensure this marketplace payment solution is efficientenough , the technical aspects must be well understood particularly to your team.
Assemble a great team
The need for a great team, who are ready to adhere and align to the set aim and objectives of your enterprise can't be over emphasized, the great edifice or platform you're creating can be ruin down when your team is made of wrong individuals. Team selection is a process that should be followed with due process, the responses derive while engaging with the pontential employees should at least correlate with your enterprise hope to achieve in the nearest future.
You need to setup a team of high quality professionals, they hould be knowledgeable about the type of business you operate. The success of your business would be as a result of the attitudinal response of your team members to your customers. Their ability to understand the concept of your business enhance the growth of your business facilitate more sales enablement as your customers or clients are eager to recommend you to people in their network and society at large
Build your marketplace platform
Build a marketplace platform that your customers can trust. This can only be achieved if your customer service is swift, reliable and readily accessible, ensuring your customer queries are attended to in an ample time. A platform that is responsive where you can resolve customer queries faster without physical visitation of the customer to your business location would also be of great help. The uniqueness of one's enterprise will be further appreciated and valued when there's a market platform your potential customers can relate with. A platform that affords them the opportunities to relay issues relatable to services rendered by your enterprise, give them the opportunities to make their recommendations due to their user experience.
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You can reach out to the writer
Babatunde Adekanmbi
Digital Creator
Email-babatundeadekanmbi@gmail.com
WhatsApp +2348096570499 , Call+2348096570499
