Electricity To Be Next Major Prepaid Market After Mobile Phones and Cards

Electricity To Be Next Major Prepaid Market After Mobile Phones and Cards
Global utilities to invest $11.4 billion in prepaid electricity metering   

Three Quarters of People Now 'Talk' to Businesses with a Mobile Message

Three Quarters of People Now 'Talk' to Businesses with a Mobile Message 

 
LONDON, June 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

• 65 per cent of consumers communicate with businesses on chat apps; increasing to 76 per cent globally via SMS
• 1 in 3 users have interacted with a financial services company via mobile
• Authentication is a key driver - 30 per cent of consumers worldwide have confirmed passwords via text
• Facebook (56 per cent), WhatsApp (50 per cent) and SMS (42 per cent) the top three messaging channels for person to person (P2P) messaging

Businesses are embracing mobile as a communications channel, regularly engaging with their customers via text and chat apps.

Arik Air Sponsors Conjoined Twins to Travel from Nigeria to America for Surgery

 The Ayenis at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport before take-off.

 NEW YORK, June 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Arik Air, West and Central Africa's largest airline, has sponsored round-trip tickets from Lagos, Nigeria to New York, USA for conjoined twins. Miracle and Testimony Ayeni arrived yesterday to have immediate access to urgent medical surgery and care. 
In partnership with Linking Hands Foundation, a Nigerian-based non-governmental organization (NGO), Arik Air is offering additional support alongside Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, Tennessee, which is providing secured free medical treatment for the Ayeni twins.

Great African Novelist Elechi Amadi Passes On To Eternal Glory

Elechi Amadi (born 12 May 1934-29th of June 2016.

One of the greatest African novelists of the post colonial era, Elechi Amadi of Nigeria has passed on to eternal glory.
His family reported that he passed away yesterday Wednesday at the Good Heart hospital in Port Harcourt in Rivers State at the age of 82.

Amadi's first published work is "Penitence". It was published by The Horn of the University of Ibadan edited by his fellow student, John Pepper Clark in 1957.
Prof.Clark and the first black Nobel Laureate in literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka are now the last of the literary titans who studied at the great University of Ibadan. The others were the famous novelist Chinua Achebe and legendary poet Christopher Okigbo of blessed memory.

Elechi Amadi became famous with his first novel The Concubine published in 1966.

"'A highly sophisticated, measured treatment of... the fatal loves of a woman in an Eastern Nigerian village. Written in a grave and simple style, it... reveals its author as a fine writer ruminating on a past already turning into legend.'"  
~ The New Statesman.

"'Mr Amadi writes with speed and shapeliness and exhilaration... a lovely and dignified picture of a society not only still ruled by gods, but governed by a great delicacy in human relationships.'"
~ The Guardian.

The novel was followed by The Great Ponds in 1969. His personal account of the Nigerian civil war Sunset in Biafra published in 1973 was an international bestseller. His novel The Slave published in 1978 completed his historical trilogy with The Concubine and The Great Ponds.

His other popular works include the plays, "Isiburu" (1973), "Pepper Soup and the Road to Ibadan" (1977), "Dancer of Johannesburg" (1978), "The Woman of Calabar" (2002}, Collected Plays (2004, Edited by Seiyifa Koroye) and his novel "Estrangement" (1986).

Elechi Amadi was born in 1934 in Aluu near Port Harcourt in Eastern Nigeria. At University College, Ibadan he took a degree in physics and mathematics. After a period of land surveying and teaching he enlisted in the Nigerian Army. He left the army finally to work for the Rivers State Government, where he headed the Ministry of Education.

Asian Millionaires Now Control More Wealth Than Those In North America

The amount of wealth owned by the globe’s millionaires continues to rise every year. Between 2014 and 2015, the wealth controlled by millionaires across the world grew 4 percent to $58.7 trillion, according to finance firm Capgemini. The global HNWI population (high net worth individuals controlling assets of $1 million or more) is also increasing, having expanded 4 percent in 2015 to 15.4 million.

Asian millionaires now control more wealth than those in North America, primarily driven by financial services, technology and healthcare. Capgemini found that Asia’s millionaires were worth $17.39 trillion at the end of 2015, slightly ahead of North America’s $16.61 trillion.

 Japan and China were the engines of global HNWI growth in 2015, with both registering double-digit increases in their millionaire populations. The two countries also drove almost 60 percent of HNWI population growth worldwide last year. Under the most aggressive growth scenario, the amount of wealth controlled by the planet’s millionaires could reach $100 million by 2025, almost three times the 2006 amount.


Source: •Asia's Millionaires Control The Most Wealth | Statista.

Special Report: The Impact of BREXIT on Africa

PRESS RELEASE

Special Report: The Impact of ‘Brexit’ on Africa

EXX Africa analyses the impact of an eventual ‘Brexit’ on three of the UK’s most important African markets: South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 28, 2016/ -- Following the UK’s surprise vote to leave the EU, EXX AFRICA (www.ExxAfrica.com) assesses the probable impact such a departure would have on African trade, investment, and security policy. In this free special report, EXX Africa analyses the impact of an eventual ‘Brexit’ on three of the UK’s most important African markets: South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.

EXX AFRICA is a specialist intelligence company that delivers accurate, decision-ready, and commercially relevant forecasts on African political and economic risk to businesses.  We embrace the continent’s fast changing dynamics and serve our wide-ranging client base to mitigate their risk exposure to Africa’s fast-changing political and economic developments.

We pride ourselves on providing timely, reliable, and well-informed intelligence that is sourced from our extensive on-the-ground network and then rigorously applied to our analytical processes.  We prepare our clients to enter new markets in Africa, to recognize and engage senior stakeholders, to identify key threats and opportunities, to monitor indicators of risk, to assess their socio-economic impact, and to manage expectations and meet local requirements.

We believe that the value of intelligence is in its factor of surprise, so we endeavor to always tell our clients something new and striking.  We are based in Johannesburg and London, with a network of trusted analysts and dedicated sources across the African continent and beyond.

Find the Report here: http://bit.ly/2920AvC Distributed by APO on behalf of EXX AFRICA.

Contacts:
Robert Beseling
Executive Director robert.besseling@exxafrica.com www.ExxAfrica.com

SOURCE EXX AFRICA

Distributed by :
APO 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor
Voie du Chariot 3 1003 Lausanne – Switzerland
Tel : +41 22 534 96 97
E-mail: switzerland (at) APO-opa.org www.APO-opa.com

Nigeria's Democracy in Danger

 

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

Nigeria's Democracy in Danger 

ABUJA, Nigeria, June 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Democratic leaders in Nigeria's Senate (the Upper House), including Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, are being unfairly targeted by senior members of the Nigerian Government with politically motivated allegations in order to undermine the power of the Nigerian Senate.

Top 10 Landmarks in the World

Top 10 Landmarks in the World:

1.     Machu Picchu – Machu Picchu, Peru

Average summer bookable rates in Machu Picchu: June: $58 July: $59 August: $59

Machu Picchu is an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, above the Urubamba River valley. Built in the 15th century and later abandoned, it’s renowned for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar, intriguing buildings that play on astronomical alignments, and panoramic views. Its exact former use remains a mystery.

Address: Peru

Elevation: 2,430 m

Area: 13 km²

Management: Government of Peru

UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

BREXIT: EU Referendum In Focus

The ballot boxes are finally being filled for the United Kingdom referendum on membership of the European Union. The debate has been divisive, to say the least, with both 'Remain' and 'Leave' camps being branded with terms such as 'project fear' and 'project hate'.

Hate has indeed been at play, manifesting itself in the most terrible of ways with the brutal murder of pro-EU MP Jo Cox last week. With the 'Leave' (aka Brexit) campaign focusing heavily on immigration from the EU and prospective EU countries, some voters have been left feeling unrepresented - pro-Brexit but not willing to associate themselves with the increasingly dangerous rhetoric coming from some key 'Leave' figures.

Needless to say, the polls have been very tight in recent days. One of the latest results from YouGov showed a one point difference in favour of 'Remain', while others have it neck and neck. In Europe however, as the infographic below shows, the feeling is generally in support of the UK remaining in the EU, with 70 percent saying it would be a bad thing if a Brexit were to occur.

Despite all the bluster from politicians, a poll by Ipsos Mori shows that only 12 percent of people hold any trust in those in power when it comes to the referendum. Way out in front are friends and family members with 73 percent and academics with 66 percent. Such is the complexity of the debate, however, even academics and experts consistently fail to agree on the potential outcomes of a vote to leave. As illustrated below, the effects on GDP are forecast to be anywhere from a 7.5 percent drop to a 4 percent increase.

The future of the United Kingdom and the EU truly hangs in the balance today. Whatever the result (due Friday at roughly 04:00 BST), the political ramifications will be..continue reading.

Nigeria: Fractured and Forgotten

Nigeria Trip from Lou Ann Sabatier on Vimeo.

Nigeria: Dire Crisis Spawns Letter to President Obama Appoint Special Envoy for Nigeria & Lake Chad Region

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a letter from 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative:

Dear Mr. President: We write with great urgency regarding the dire crisis continuing to unfold in northeastern and central Nigeria, much of it as the direct result of Boko Haram. Just yesterday, in the Washington Post, Kevin Sieff noted, "Thousands of Boko Haram victims are on the verge of starvation in northeastern Nigeria." Six people, on average, are dying every day from malnutrition. According to Medicins Sans Frontieres, "on certain days more than 30 people were dying due to hunger and illness," and that 66 percent of the children they screened were emaciated.

This is in addition to a recent Refugees International report which quoted a top UN official as saying, "Nigeria is our biggest failure." Another chief UN humanitarian official described the Lake Chad region as the "world's most neglected humanitarian crisis."

Should Nigeria further fracture it would also constitute one of the greatest security threats in West Africa. The Global Terrorism Index now considers Boko Haram the most lethal terrorist organization in the world with the Fulani militants of Nigeria's Middle Belt the fourth deadliest. Our own research indicates that in just the first four months of this year, there was a 190% increase in people killed by Fulani militants.
Earlier this year, we, along with others from the 21^st Century Wilberforce Initiative, traveled to Nigeria and witnessed first-hand what is taking place. We met with over 500 people, drove through entire villages burned to the ground, visited with families forced to live in caves to elude terrorists, and heard firsthand testimony of communities surviving by eating grass. We have continued to liaise with those affected on the ground, diaspora groups, Congressional offices and State Department officials, and just released a report, "Nigeria: Fractured and Forgotten."

The crisis in Nigeria and the surrounding countries is larger than Boko Haram and cannot continue unaddressed. We are grateful you and your Administration have already designated Boko Haram as an FTO and offered significant assistance to Nigeria. However, given that this is the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis and one of the most significant security threats in West Africa, we believe what is needed is a Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.

A Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region directly reporting to Assistant Secretary of State Linda Thomas-Greenfield could relate to Boko Haram, terrorism, IDP's, refugees, psycho-social care, etc. It is our firm belief that the United States and other Western nations have a vested interest in confronting one of the worst humanitarian crises of our day. The appointment of a Special Envoy would send a strong signal and further strengthen American leadership.

We urge you and your Administration to act quickly and appoint a Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.
Thank you for your consideration.
Randel Everett
President, 21^st Century Wilberforce Initiative  
Frank R. Wolf
Distinguished Senior Fellow
The full report with recommendations can be accessed at www.standwithnigeria.org

SOURCE 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative
RELATED LINKS
http://www.standwithnigeria.org/