There is a big event for women in Nigeria, the Total Professional Woman Meetup exclusively for only 200 women at the Protea Hotel, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on 7th of December, 2013.
It is subsidized by UBA for N10, 000 only per woman.
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Saturday, November 9, 2013
Total Professional Woman Network Event at the Protea Hotel in Ikoyi
There is a big event for women in Nigeria, the Total Professional Woman Meetup exclusively for only 200 women at the Protea Hotel, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on 7th of December, 2013.
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IBM Opens Doors of First African Research Lab in Kenya
IBM Opens Doors of First African Research Lab - Continent's Grand Challenges in its Sights
Develops solutions in Africa for Africa and the World
The African continent accounts for 14 percent of the world's population and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. With a growth rate expected to average 7 percent annually over the next 20 years, Africa is poised to become a leading source of innovation in a variety of industries. To further enhance the scientific and technology base on the African continent, IBM Research has opened a new lab in Nairobi, Kenya.
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The United Nations of Digital and Technology
The United Nations of Digital & Technology
ISTANBUL, November 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
This is how the 8200 attendees from 103 countries, the 300 speakers, exhibitors and 300 media perceived the Global Webit Congress. Over 160,000 people watched the Congress online.
The Global Webit Congress made its way
among the biggest and most attended international forums for the digital
and technology industry.
Webit Congress's Founder and Chairman, Plamen Russev, gave an opening speech on 6 November 2013: "Today Istanbul is even more amazing! It welcomes some of the brightest people on Earth to attend the Global Webit Congress. Digital marketing and technology ecosystems, investors, entrepreneurs and scalable startups from all over the world shall connect and network during the 2 days of the forum." He also thanked the big number of sponsors, exhibitors and partners who supported the Congress and made it happen. "Webit is amazing in scale and unique in content" says Ben Barrocas, General Manager Marketplace of Google. "Webit is the United Nations of Digital" said Aseem Chadra, VP, Adobe. "For the past 5 years, Webit turned into one of the world's most exciting and important industry events", stated Andery Sebrant from Yandex. "Webit may establish Istanbul as one of the most important hubs of the global digital industry and as an attraction point for the talents, entrepreneurs, ideas and investors capital" was the most repeated phrase during the Congress by the thousands of attendees who visited from all around the world.
"For us, the Congress is not a magic as many attendees said. It is a result of very hard work by a huge team of amazing people who managed to bring top global experts and speakers from all around the world to join us in Istanbul and to be a magnet for the thousands of people from 103 countries to join" said Aniela Russeva - Executive Director of Webit Congress . "The Istanbul edition is also a result of our partnership and friendship with Mr. Tarik Köni and his world class event organizing company - Plus Event Marketing - who managed the event set-up and venue in Turkey and helped a lot for the Turkish companies to understand and support Webit Congress- creating an environment for us to call Istanbul a home of the Global Webit Congress for the next year again.
Top representatives from Yandex, IBM,
Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Spotify, SoundCloud, Yahoo, Lenovo, Acer
Nokia, Skype, Twitter, BBC, Unilever, Lakestar, TechCrunch, Pentagram,
OMD, comScore, Gemius, PayPal, Blackberry, Intel, Crimton, Vivaki,
Joulie, Mediabrands, Wall Street Journal and hundreds more were among
the speakers of the Congress.
The Global Webit Congress send a number of messages and set trends for the industry. "Data is the new oil", said Chris Schaumann,
EVP Nokia, while later the VPs of BBC, Twitter, Yahoo! and others
challenged this topic further whilst discussing the future of
Advertising on the Digital Marketing and Innovation stage in front of
3000 delegates. At the other side of the Webit Congress venue at the
Leaders of the Future conference, top global entrepreneurs, investors
and champions from Westen Europe, America, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia
were focused on exploring new disruptive ideas, growing talents,
sharing new ideas and ways to achieve them. The auditorium of the Metrix
and Big Data Conference and the big eCommerce Conference were too small
for the hundreds fo people who wanted to listen to the challenging
content. The same could be said of the expo area - the event was sold
out and a number of companies couldn't make it to become exhibitors. In
this respect, the organizers plan to expand the Congress next year and
to open more expo area for the local and international companies who
want to exhibit.
About the Global Webit Congress
The first Global Webit Congress (http://www.WebitCongress.com) was held on 7-8 October 2009.
Since then, every year the Congress has grown bigger and bigger, to
reach the number of 8200 attendees in 2013, coming from 103 different
countries. The Congress attracts the global digital, tech and telco
elite and became one of the world's major networking business platforms
as well as a place to hear great ideas by scalable startups from all
around the world and meet top entrepreneurs and investors. The Global
Webit Congress is organized by Webit Ambassadors Foundation and
eAcademy. In Turkey, the event partner
is Plus Event Marketing. Webit Congress is supported by all major
industry associations including IAB, MMA, EACA, EGTA, OPA, Arab ICT
Organization, Africa ICT Alliance and tens more.
CONTACT: office@eacad.eu, +(359)888205225
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Friday, November 8, 2013
Nigeria Wins FIFA U-17 World Cup and Makes History
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 08: Zaharaddeen Bello of Nigeria celebrates with the trophy after Nigeria win 3-0 during the FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013 Final between Nigeria and Mexico at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium on November 8, 2013 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Richard Heathcote - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Thursday, November 7, 2013
UNEP and INTERPOL Assess Impacts of Environmental Crime on Security and Development
6 Nov 2013 14:40 Africa/Lagos
UNEP and INTERPOL Assess Impacts of Environmental Crime on Security and Development
NAIROBI, Kenya, 6 November 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - Environmental crime - from the illegal trade in wildlife and timber and the smuggling of ozone depleting substances to the illicit trade in hazardous waste and illegal fishing - is a serious and growing international problem, whose impacts transcend national borders. Environmental crime affects all sectors of society and is often linked with the exploitation of disadvantaged communities, human rights abuses, violence, conflict, money laundering, corruption and international criminal syndicates. Wildlife crime alone is estimated to be worth USD $15 - 20 billion annually and is recognized as the fourth largest global illegal trade behind illegal drugs, human trafficking and trade armaments. Studies indicate that the illegal trade in wildlife and timber may help finance terrorism and organized crime across the world. The same routes used to smuggle wildlife across countries and continents are often used to smuggle weapons, drugs and people. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that up to 14,000 tonnes of CFCs, worth approximately USD $60 million were smuggled into developing countries annually up to 2006. At the same time, electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing waste stream in the world.  Up to 50 million tons of e-waste is generated annually with only a 10 per cent recycling rate. Shipments of waste across the globe are in some cases contravening the UNEP-hosted treaty, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing accounts to 11 - 26 million tonnes a year, equivalent to 15 percent of world catches. UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said, “The theft of natural resources by the few at the expense of the many is rapidly emerging as a new challenge to poverty eradication, sustainable development and a transition towards an inclusive Green Economy when one looks at the scale and breadth of these criminal activities”. “Interpol along with United Nations bodies such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime is at the forefront of the response to this challenge and UNEP is committed to supporting their work and the evolution of the rule of law into the realm of environment and sustainability,” he added. “The sharp rise in the poaching of elephants and rhino in Africa may be the issues that are grabbing the headlines. But as this week's forum shows the breadth of environmental crime does not end here. Whether it be timber or fisheries or the dumping of hazardous wastes, improved intelligence gathering, focused police work, strengthened customs capacity and the engagement of the judiciary are all going to be vital pieces towards our shared ambition of a less crime-ridden and more just world,” said Mr. Steiner. INTERPOL and UNEP are working together to enhance environmental compliance and enforcement at the national level and across borders. The first Executive Level Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Committee (ECEC) Meeting (to be held in Nairobi from 7 to 8 November) will look into developing and implementing innovative strategies to combat environmental crime, working with governments, international organizations and local communities. Elephants in the Dust This week's meeting comes amid growing concern of the resurgence of elephant poaching. Populations of elephants in Africa continue to be under severe threat as the illegal trade in ivory grows - with double the numbers of elephants killed and triple the amounts of ivory seized over the last decade. According to a recent report by UNEP and partners, the systematic monitoring of large-scale seizures of ivory destined for Asia is indicative of the involvement of criminal networks, which are increasingly active and entrenched in the trafficking of ivory between Africa and Asia.  An estimated 17,000 African elephants were illegally killed in 2011 at sites monitored by CITES (a UNEP-hosted convention) that are believed to hold around 40 per cent of the total elephant population in Africa. Large-scale seizures of ivory (consignments of over 800 kg) destined for Asia have more than doubled since 2009 and reached an all-time high in 2011. Large movements of ivory that comprise the tusks of hundreds of elephants in a single shipment are indicative of the increasingly active grip of highly organized criminal networks on Africa's illicit ivory trade. These criminal networks operate with relative impunity as there is almost no evidence of successful arrests, prosecutions or convictions. The prevalence of unregulated domestic ivory markets in many African cities, coupled with the growing number of Asian nationals residing in Africa also facilitates the illegal trade in ivory out of Africa. Poaching is spreading primarily as a result of weak governance and rising demand for illegal ivory in the rapidly growing economies of Asia, particularly China, which is the world's largest destination markets. The high levels of poaching are, in some cases, facilitated by conflicts that, through lawlessness and ensuing abundance of small arms, provide optimal conditions for the illegal killing of elephants. Earlier this year, an INTERPOL-led operation targeting criminal organizations behind the illegal trafficking of ivory in West and Central Africa resulted in some 66 arrests and the seizure of nearly 4,000 ivory products and 50 elephant tusks, in addition to military grade weapons and cash. Interventions across five countries – Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Congo, Guinea and Liberia – also resulted in the seizure of 148 animal parts and 222 live animals, including crocodiles and parrots, which were released back into the wild. Illegal Logging and Project Leaf Between 50 to 90 per cent of logging - in key tropical countries of the Amazon basin, Central Africa and South East Asia - is being carried out by organized crime, threatening efforts to combat climate change, deforestation, conserve wildlife and eradicate poverty. Globally, illegal logging - worth between US$30-100 billion annually - accounts for between 15 and 30 per cent of the overall global trade, according to a UNEP-INTERPOL report entitled, Green Carbon Black Trade. The trans-national nature of illegal logging raises difficulties for law enforcement and regulators, who are often limited in their ability to work outside their own domestic jurisdiction. INTERPOL's first international operation targeting large-scale illegal logging and forest crimes, in February 2013, resulted in almost 200 arrests as well as in the seizure of millions of dollars' worth of timber and some 150 vehicles across Latin America. The operation, carried out under Project Leaf , an INTERPOL-UNEP initiative, was undertaken in 12 countries in Central and South America brought together law enforcement agencies to combat forestry crime in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. The resulting seizures of wood and related products during the operation are estimated to amount to more than 50,000 m3 of seized wood, equivalent to some 2,000 truckloads of timber. The total value of the seized timber is estimated at around USD 8 million. One of the key aims of the operation was the development of practical cooperation and communication among national environmental law enforcement agencies, including forest authorities, police, customs, specialized units and international organizations. Project Leaf supports countries to tackle illegal logging and forestry crime which undermine attempts to implement national and international forest protection policies and sustainable forestry practices. The illegal trade hampers the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) initiative - one of the principal tools for catalyzing positive environmental change, sustainable development, job creation and reducing emissions. Internationally coordinated enforcement efforts need to be stepped up to prevent illegal loggers and cartels from shifting operations from one haven to another to pursue their profitable trade at the expense of the environment, local economies and the lives of indigenous peoples. Fishy Business The world's marine fisheries are socially and economically vital, providing animal protein and supporting food security to over 1 billion people.  World fisheries deliver annual profits to fishing enterprises worldwide of about US$8 billion and support directly and indirectly 170 million jobs, providing some US$35 billion in household income a year, according to studies by UNEP's Green Economy team. When the total direct, indirect and induced economic effects arising from marine fish populations in the world economy are accounted for, the contribution of the sector to global economic output is found to amount to some US$235 billion per year. At the same time, pirate fishing accounts for an estimated 20 per cent of the world's catch and as much as 50 per cent in some fisheries, according to WWF estimates, with the value of pirate fish products estimated at between $10-23.5 billion annually. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that 52 per cent of the world's marine fish stocks are fully exploited, 16 per cent are over-exploited and 7 per cent are depleted. Project Scale is an INTERPOL initiative to detect, suppress and combat fisheries crime. The project, launched in February 2013, aims to assess the needs of vulnerable member countries to effectively combat fisheries crimes and to conduct operations to suppress crime, disrupt trafficking routes, and ensure the enforcement of national legislation. The project will conduct region- or commodity-specific operations tailored to the needs of vulnerable areas, such as the West African coastal region. Illegal Trade in Electronic Waste Electrical and electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world, a consequence of rapid turnover of electronic devices, particularly in developed countries. E-waste is often diverted to the black market to avoid the costs associated with legitimate recycling. The first INTERPOL operation targeting the illegal trade of electronic waste in 2012 saw the seizure of more than 240 tonnes of electronic equipment and electrical goods and the launch of criminal investigations against some 40 companies involved in all aspects of the illicit trade. The operation aimed to identify and disrupt the illegal collection, recycling, export, import and shipping of discarded electronic products such as computers, televisions and other electronic devices, before they are dumped in landfills or other sites where they can cause severe environmental harm. Checks were conducted at major ports in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in Europe, a region considered to be a common source of electronic waste being shipped internationally, and in Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria in Africa, a region considered to be a destination for this waste. Almost one-third of the checks resulted in the discovery of illegal electronic waste. The operation also uncovered evidence of new concealment methods used by individuals and companies implicated in the illegal trade of electronic waste. This information will help the international law enforcement community work towards the elimination of these illegal activities. Need for Firm and Strengthened Action Environmental crime continues to be on the rise and is now one of the most profitable forms of organized crime. Despite the international consensus on the need to address environmental crime, enhanced political support and financial investment are needed to tackle such crime more effectively. INTERPOL encourages countries to establish multi-agency National Environmental Security Task Forces (NESTs) to further strengthen enforcement mechanisms. The initiative aims to establish a common platform for national compliance and enforcement responses, so as to enhance both national and international efforts on ensuring current and future environmental security. Penalties for environmental crime vary amongst national governments, where some states impose criminal sanctions for environmental offenses, while others rely on civil or administrative sanctions. Imposing strict penalties for engaging in environmental crimes may have a significant deterrent effect. Recovering assets and proceeds of environmental crime by “following the money trail” as well as freezing and ultimately confiscating proceeds to ensure that criminals do not benefit financially from their criminality is also crucial because the proceeds of environmental crime may be used to finance other serious crimes. At the World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability – organized last year by UNEP – a gathering of chief justices, heads of jurisdiction, attorneys general, auditors general, chief prosecutors and other high-ranking officials adopted a declaration recognizing the importance of “adherence to the rule of law” for sustainable development. The declaration was submitted to and was reiterated at the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, where “firm and strengthened action” was called for to be taken on both the supply and demand sides to tackle the illicit trafficking in wildlife. SOURCE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP) Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time |
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| 7 Nov 2013 | |
| 16:49 | Global X Funds Launches Next Emerging & Frontier ETF |
| 16:43 | EF Helps Mexican Football Stars Prepare for Their Professional Career |
| 14:51 | Bristow Group Announces Quarterly Dividend |
| 14:23 | Infrastructure Development in West Africa: AfDB Invests US $20 Million in ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund |
| 14:05 | Oryx Petroleum Corporation Limited Announces Third Quarter 2013 Financial and Operational Results and 2014 Capital Budget |
| 08:10 | Le Président de la CPI achève sa visite officielle au Nigéria |
| 00:47 | ICC President concludes official visit to Nigeria |
6 Nov 2013 |
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| 22:15 | Bristow Group To Present At The Jefferies 2013 Global Energy Conference |
| 19:31 | Les constructeurs allemands de machines-outils ciblent l'Afrique |
| 14:40 | UNEP and INTERPOL Assess Impacts of Environmental Crime on Security and Development |
| 00:46 | NIGERIA: UN RIGHTS OFFICE CONDEMNS ATTACK ON WEDDING CONVOY WHICH KILLED DOZENS |
| 5 Nov 2013 | |
| 20:00 | Thousands of Walden University Volunteers Make a Difference During Global Days of Service |
| 17:34 | Specialist Private-Client Practice Chooses Proclaim |
| 15:09 | OHCHR PRESS BRIEFING NOTE - Nigeria |
| 15:06 | Emergency programme in Benin kick starts farm production after floods |
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SYLVAFRANK Excites Nigerian Consumers with Premium Tomatoes, Mackerel and Seasoning Brands
SYLVAFRANK Excites Nigerian Consumers with Premium Tomatoes, Mackerel and Seasoning Brands
~ By Ingram Osigwe
SYLVAFRANK International Limited the sole importers and marketers of St Rita tomatoes can make bold the claim that St Rita’s paste tomatoes is now a market leader in the country. Housewives and Caterers from Calabar to Kano, Sokoto to Abeokuta, Lagos to Enugu and Awka to Warri savour with delight the rich taste of St Rita Tomato Paste. St Rita’s Tomatoes is barely 5 years in the Nigeria but the impact and the market attest much to the quality.
When asked about the success story, the marketing manager of Sylva Frank International Limited has this to say, The Nigerian consumers are getting sophisticated about their choice of quality goods. St Rita has exceeded the expectation of what a good tomato should be.
The marketing manager reiterates their resolve to continue with this tradition of quality. St Rita’s products contain the finest-quality vine-ripened tomatoes to help bring out the flavor of family-favorite meals. Creating these superior tomato products takes skill, time, and experience, as well as state-of-the-art equipment.
In cooking, seasonings include herbs, spices and special additives are used to enhance the taste of recipes, especially sauce, soup, stew and marinade. To season and to flavor, may be described as different aspects of cooking. Seasonings are usually salt-based additives used to magnify the natural flavor of food ingredients, making it richer and more delicate depending on the dish. Flavourings on the other hand, are herbal (and in Africa, lentil seed based) condiments added to recipes, to enhance the aromatic qualities of the food, thus enhancing its ability to stimulate the taste buds, making food more appealing to the consumers.
In modern times however, food technologists have been able to combine the natural qualities of herbs and lentils with the strong tastes of salt, to produce special seasonings which come in whole packages, either as pastes, powders or cube format. After the successes of St.Rita tomato paste, Sylva Frank Nigeria limited, has decided to raise the ante a little higher in its bid to make cooking a pleasurable activity for wives and caterers all over the country introduced Bullion cubes to market. It has been a trail blazer in the seasoning sector of the condiments market because it combines all the qualities of existing brands while at the same coming in different varieties and a good price. Bullion cubes have all the vitamins and minerals recommended by the American FDA for a normal daily intake by all human beings, as well as salt and extracts of local herbs, spices and lentil seeds; more than all that, it comes at a highly affordable price.
Also taking into consideration the high price of good quality mackerel in tomato paste these days, and the proliferation of poor quality mackerels in the market today, Sylva Frank stormed the market with its own brand of mackerel in tomato paste. Especially packed with mackerel from Japanese trawlers, Sylva frank mackerel combined all the excellent qualities of fish as the best source of animal protein in the world, with the excellent taste of well preserved mackerel and as well as the good food qualities of tomato, to present a wholesome good package for wives and caterers all over the country.
The health benefits of Good Tomato paste cannot be over emphasized, Good Tomatoes like St RITA are widely known for their outstanding antioxidant content, including, of course, their oftentimes-rich concentration of lycopene which reduces chances of cancer in human in human beings, Good tomato helps to reduce Sunburn, Consuming tomato paste may help protect you against flushing that occurs as a result of exposure to ultraviolet light, mackerel, like all fishes come with fish liver oil which is rich in vitamin E, and good for the heart, and also has a high concentration of Lysine, the most digestible form of protein. Sylvafrank mackerel combines all these qualities in addition with their special brand characteristics of excellent quality and good taste as well as good prices and availability in the market.
As Sylvafrank wishes all their customers an excellent yuletide, they are also informing them of the prospects of an excellent new year with excellent premium products.
...St. Rita, for tasty and delicious meals
Media Contact:
Mr. Ingram Adichie Osigwe
MD/CEO Fullpage International Communications Limited.
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Emerging Trends and Opportunities in the Entertainment and Media Business
"EMERGING TRENDS & OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA BUSINESS"
A presentation by Femi Odugbemi at the WOMEN IN BUSINESS (WimBiz)12th Annual Conference held on Tuesday 5th November, 2013 at Eko Hotel Victoria Island, Lagos.
I am particularly excited to be here today at the WinBiz Conference 2013 because progress in Entertainment and media needs the intervention at every level of Women in Business. And we already have a good taste of the possibilities because many new and successful interventions in entertainment and media in Nigeria today are indeed driven and championed by very capable, confident, visionary women. And there are many more who need to recognize the reality that entertainment and media is the new oil&gas and with Nigeria's population there are loads of opportunities for so many ancillary businesses to prosper.
First lets talk about what you already know in terms of what's driving the trend in media and entertainment across the world but especially so in Nigeria.
I am in the business of producing television so I will focus on that for this short time that I have. For those that were around in the 80s and up to the mid 90s, you could say that you witnessed the golden era of TV programming in Nigeria. Those were the days of "Things Fall Apart", "The New Masquerade", "Cockcrow At Dawn", "Behind The Cloud", "Second Chance", "Village Headmaster", "Tales By Moonlight", "Ripples", "Checkmate", and many more. Audiences were treated to engaging content and quality culturally-relevant entertainment that are still memorable to this day. But these were entertainment packages reminiscent of the old order of content consumption - You had to wait for it. If you watched Village Headmaster typically at8pm on a Thursday evening, you had to wait at least 168 hours before you could see the next episode!
Even NTA's Network News was every 24hours...well, I guess not everything has changed but you get the point.
By today's standards, 24hours is an eternity in media and entertainment programming and content deployment.
24hours today is just about the time it takes for 4billion videos to be viewed on YouTube. 24hours is how much time about 400 million tweets go up on Twitter. In 24 hours, 350 million photos are uploaded to Facebook. Infact, If our Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) had been airing new contents everyday for 24 hours non-stop since the day it was established, it still would not have as much content as YouTube does today.
In music video alone imagine that D'banj's Oliver Twist, has been viewed on YouTube alone almost 23Million times? PSquare's Alingo, has had 5.8Million views! Sir Shina Peters released a nationwide hit album (ACE) in 1989; the album was number one for close to a year and gave Shina Peters a career breakthrough. The popularity and success of Shina Peters' ACE, can in no way be compared to Psy's Gangnam Style with over 1.8 billion views on youtube.
So, how is YouTube able to have more content than NTA in just 8years, how does Facebook get over 1 billion users, and twitter over 500 million users?
Because new media connects to our innate tendencies. We can't break away from our desire to see and be seen; over the years, conventional media has served that appetite with gross limitation. It served us our favorite programmes in piece meal, we could not choose what we wanted to see and how we would like to see it, and most importantly, we were not allowed the chance to be seen (we really never got any chance at being a celebrity). What new digital media technology gave us is a chance to be active participants in deciding what we see and how we are seen.
The magic of the new media lies in two key trending factors – MOBILITY and CONVERGENCE.
When CNN says ‘Be the first to know’, or CHANNELS TELEVISION in Nigeria says ‘The news at your fingertips’ they are simply expressing the unprecedented access that audiences now have to content with little regard for where they are. In 1993, if you missed the news of the June 12 Election Annulment as it broke (on any media), you would have to wait for almost 24 hours before you could get an update – that’s because you were not at the right place at the right time; you were not where your television set was. In 2011, during the ‘Occupy Nigeria’ protests, you need not be where your television or radio set was, or at any of the protest venues, everything seemed to be happening on your smartphone, even details that terrestrial broadcast stations missed out on were constantly being shared around on phones, beyond the borders of Nigeria. It would be very interesting to calculate the difference in the time it took for the news of General Sanni Abacha’s death to saturate Nigeria and the time it took for the ‘Oga at the top’ video to saturate the country. It might interest you to know that close to 80% of the people that saw the ‘Oga at the top’ video, did so using a mobile phone – MOBILITY.
As someone puts it, “…the social web is the modern version of Alice in Wonderland, where we are following not one, but many rabbits down innumerable rabbit holes”, that is quite true about our digital consumption pattern. It is now commonplace to have a single programme being simultaneously broadcast in multiple versions to suite different devices and platforms – television (satellite and terrestrial), computers, tablets, smartphones, game consoles (X-Box, Playstation), portable TV (Walka) and so on. So, you could start watching a programme in your living room, and if you need to leave the house, you simply switch to a mobile device (smartphone, tablet, or mobile TV) while in your car, should you get to your office, you switch to a computer, and all the while, you are tweeting about the programme on Twitter, sharing comments on Facebook or Google+, or you could download it and own a copy of your favorite programmes. About 4billion people saw the opening ceremony the London Olympics 2012 live, via all broadcast platforms at the same time – that is CONVERGENCE.
Once we found a platform that allows us to see what we want to see, where we want to see it, how we want to see it, and also to be seen, the ground was set for a media explosion as never seen before in human history. Mobility and Convergence are the two most important factors feeding our desire to see and be seen and voraciously shaping the trends in entertainment business today. If I cannot access your content or presence from wherever I am and on more than one device, you might as well count yourself out of the competition – you are not in the TREND.
Content creation is no longer the reserve of some curator or producers or broadcast houses, it is in the hands of everyone who own one of the over 4.2 billion mobile phones around the World. The thinking behind CNN’s iREPORT underscore this understanding, same with AL-Jazeera’s AJSTREAMS, and several other audience-generated content that are now being broadcast on television. When the Boston Marathon bombing happened in April 2013, many of the videos of the incident was fetched from uploads via mobile devices. During the manhunt that followed, residents of Watertown and surrounding areas were asked to stay indoors, and the public transportation system and most businesses and public institutions were shut down, creating a difficult situation for broadcast stations to cover. Local ABC affiliate WCVB Channel 5 got its coverage of the search from videos sent to the station by residents of the neighbourhood where the search was being carried out.
To state it simply, the era of MASS-MEDIA(where we all sit back at home and some folks dictate what we see or whether we can be seen) is over, we are now in the era of ME-MEDIA(I choose what I want to see and whether I want to be seen). This trend is opening tremendous opportunities in ways that are simply mind blowing.
In Nigeria, only a part of these opportunities are being harnessed.
We are yet to fully take advantage of the abundance of wealth that can be created in the businesses that are associated with new trends in entertainment. We are a ‘show’ people, there are a lot of performance artists spread across the country churning out awesome creative pieces from different areas of the performance and creative industries. Check out Youtube Nigeria, AfricaMagic, IrokoTV, Not-just-ok.com, Too-xclusive.com, Dobox and a many more, and you would see a massive pool entirely driven by Nigerian ‘showmanship." Therein lie the opportunities that are waiting for Nigerian entrepreneurs and investors.
Where are the Entertainment Lawyers?
Business is about contracts, terms, and condition, unfortunately, entertainment business in Nigeria is grossly unattended by legal practices as is the case in some parts of the World. Millions of content are generated, uploaded, distributed, shared, downloaded on different platforms daily in Nigeria. In the process, a lot of legal breaches take place; right are violated, terms are compromised, laws are broken, but the larger chunk of the players and actors in this field do not even know. Who are the entertainment lawyers in Nigeria? Not so many people know, maybe five or ten can be mentioned, but in an industry that employs close to one million Nigerians, that number is completely inadequate.
There is a great vacuum that entertainment lawyers can fill in the industry, just as there are great business opportunities for them.
Where are the APP Developers?
There is Afrinolly, Dobox, Spinlet, and a few other apps but, looking at the core of the challenges that the Nigerian entertainment business is facing, one does not really find apps that are bringing the right solutions. Piracy is a major problem in the entertainment industry, there must be a way that technology can come in to stem this problem. This could be in creating content access and payment alternative that can redirect distribution.
What is being done about content convergence is not enough; there are needs for systems that create a seamless thread for an online and offline loop in ways that do not stall viewer experience.
Where are the Data Service Providers?
If you have tried streaming a 5minutes video on any online video platform, you probably won’t need to check for the meaning of the word ‘buffering’ in a dictionary. Sometimes, a 5 minutes video can take up to 20 minutes to buffer; yes, the content is available, but the technology to drive it is annoyingly slow. I like to see it as an opportunity for service providers and technologists to give us a solution that can birth another business. In the early days of GSM in Nigeria, service provision was a major challenge, many Nigerians carry more than one mobile phone (the situation has not changed much today). However, carrying more than a phone was an option, because multiple sim phones were introduced into the telephone markets. Can the same technology be adapted for data service? Can we have a universal hotspot device that uses more than a sim, and that is intelligent enough to switch to the fastest network per time?
The size of data service that the country currently have does not match the size of data consumption that is needed to drive new trends in entertainment business, here also is a great opportunity for technology entrepreneurs.
Who is gathering the research Analytics and Insights?
What is the online behavioral patterns of Nigerians: Who is online, when, on what device, what are they watching, uploading, or downloading? Analytics and insights are big businesses, they also help in taking informed decisions. Nigeria has the largest internet usage in Africa, over 28.3% of internet consumption in Africa is from Nigeria – that is a lot of data to be tracked and managed, and that is a lot of business to be done. Quite a lot of advertising and marketing decisions are based on assumptions, online content creation and targeting becomes even more difficult when our digital footprints cannot be analyzed. That is an opportunity waiting to be grabbed; insights and analytics provides solutions for diverse sectors of the entertainment industry and I am sure that many business decision makers would be willing to pay to get insights to the patterns of the digital lives of the demography that they target. It may interest you to know that the day of the week and the time of the day that you upload a video online may be critical consideration to whether a video would go viral or not; that is what analytics can do – that is why marketers pay Google, Facebook, Twitter etc. for insights.
We need film production support services.
Guess how many film productions are going on in different locations in Nigeria daily? A lot of the times, transport logistics for members of cast and crew are poorly managed, many a times, casts and crew are fed in very embarrassing and unhygienic manner, most producers do not even make a plan for toilet facilities. The conditions under which many of the films you see are made is quite appalling, but it can be better. Now, let us guess how many filmmakers are out working on different film projects daily across the country. I don’t think the number can be less than 50,000, if not much more. All these people need support services that can give them some sense of dignity in what they do – there can be mobile eateries that serves their meals in proper dishes and gives them comfortable chairs and tables, other than the way many productions have the crew eat in corners and in production buses, all the time chasing flies off their meals. There can be mobile lavatories that can match the kind of comfort and decency that many of us have in our homes. These are opportunities for entrepreneurs in welfare and hospitality business. Filmmakers already have a lot to attend to on a film project, the industry needs some service providers who can take the trouble of welfare and hospitality off them.
Where are the film studios?
Every filmmaker would like to shoot in a near 100% controlled environment, which is only obtainable in a studio. So, where are the professional film studios? Maybe Tinapa in Calabar, but given the quantity of film projects, there is a huge need for more. Film studios are capital intensive, but there can be joint investors who can take this onboard. I do believe that there is an opportunity for investors to tap into here.
The latitude of opportunities available in the entertainment industry are almost immeasurable. They are commensurate with the size of content that are continuously being produced everyday in the country, and with the proliferation of digital media and social web, it is hard to quantify the wealth that the entertainment business is currently creating. We know for certain that entertainment business in Nigeria is on its path to a big boom, what remains uncertain is what innovations individual entrepreneurs will bring into the industry to speed up and expand the boom.
Thank you.
Femi Odugbemi
5th November, 2013.
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