Georgia Tech will work with AT&T and Udacity, the 15-month-old Silicon  Valley-based company, to offer a new  online master’s degree in computer science to students across the world at a  sixth of the price of its current degree. The deal, announced Tuesday, is  portrayed as a revolutionary attempt by a respected university, an education  technology startup and a major corporate employer to drive down costs and expand  higher education capacity.

Georgia Tech expects to hire only eight or so new instructors even as it  takes its master’s program from 300 students to as many as 10,000 within three  years, said Zvi Galil, the dean of computing at Georgia Tech

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/14/georgia-tech-and-udacity-roll-out-massive-new-low-cost-degree-program#ixzz2TSRV2vqO Inside Higher Ed

Founded in 2007 by former Mint.com executive, Dave McClure, 500 startups is a seed accelerator and investment fund that invests in primarily in consumer & SMB internet startups, and related web infrastructure services. The company has invested in over 400 companies globally, including Twilio, TaskRabbit, SendGrid, MakerBot, and Wildfire Interactive (acquired by Google for $250 million in 2012).

Dropifi is the first company founded by an entirely African team to make it into the program. It was also incubated at Ghana’s Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST).

In addition to the awards, this year will include an innovation pavilion where innovators can exhibit their creative and life changing innovations.

The selected finalists will both exhibit and receive an award from Google during the Connected Kenya Summit 2013.

NOTE: Only complete applications will be considered.

Click herefor more information

Last year 88mph invested in 6 web-mobile startups in Nairobi. The 3-month program to accelerate the growth of the startups in Nairobi last year has reaped great rewards for the start-ups, with one startup with confirmed follow on funding and another two that are in final discussions. This will allow them to be able to scale their businesses across Africa successfully.

The speed at which the mobile internet has reached the markets of Africa, now at 274 million Africans on Edge or 3G, has created a huge demand for local applications and services catering to the young and growing middle classes of Africa. 88mph is here to fund start-ups wishing to grab a portion of this growing market. So far, they have invested over $750,000 into 23 early stage start-ups.

The combination of a large market, young population and opportunities within the mobile/web industry makes this accelerator attractive to any tech entrepreneurs who are looking to solve real challenges in Africa.

Additional Information:

• Application deadline is midnight July 15th, 2013

• Startups can apply now on 88mph.ac

 • 88mph invests up to $100k per startup

 • Equity will depend on the startup company valuations, which could range from $100k to $1mil

 • Altogether 8 – 15 teams will receive an investment and get accepted into the 3-month program

 • The teams will be noti?ed if they have been accepted to the program by August 1st, 2013

 • Program starts on August 26th at the 88mph Garage in Nairobi, Kenya

 • Startups in the program will have access to tech hubs in Cape Town, as well as to 88mph’s partner tech hubs across Africa

About 88mph

The team behind 88mph first came to Kenya in 2010 when they set up a 48-hour investment boot camp; this event resulted in an investment in M-Farm, an SMS service that helped small farmers get access to the market price of their crops. Since then, 88mph has added 15 startups to its portfolio, all mobile-web based businesses.

This last round in Nairobi included a mobile music startup, Mdundo, and an airtime credit startup, Movas, All the startups from this time around are generating revenues.  88mph is a privately backed fund.

Design and Display

Design being inspired by Lumia, the new Asha 501 comes in six vivid colors. It just have two parts, one is a removable casing, the second is a scratch-resistant, glass display featuring 3-inch QVGA capacitive touchscreen and a ‘back’ button at the bottom of the display. The device also comes with a 3.2 MP fixed-focus rear camera and pre-installed 4GB microSD card. This can be further extended to 32GB.

Operating System

It has a 3-inch QVGA capacitive touchscreen that supports two finger multitouch and runs on a new version of Asha operating system. It’s a grandchild of the MeeGo OS, featuring two home screens – one is the app drawer, the other one is Fastlane. Fastlane commits to show your past along with your present. Past as in the messages and notifications you would have received on your phone and the present covers the apps that is currently running.

Connectivity

Talking about the Internet connectivity options, the phone supports only 2G and Wi-Fi connections as of now. The 3G version could possibly be launched later.

Applications

The most impressive part is the free access to facebook. Yeah, Nokia has also announced a global partnership with Facebook and Airtel saying that Airtel and MTNL users on Asha 501 will get free access to the social network site, without any data plan. But, this facility will be for limited period only. In addition to this, the new Nokia Asha platform will keep you very social with the apps like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Foursquare, eBuddy, Pictelligent, Youtube, WeChat and many more.

Moreover, the Asha 501 comes with pre-installed Nokia Xpress Browser, which compacts Internet data by 90% making mobile browsing faster. There’s also a new web application on this phone called Nokia Xpress Now. This app suggests content based on preferences, location and trending topics.

Hardware

The Asha 501 would be available in both – single and dual SIM models. The dual-SIM version provides the facility of exchanging the SIMs without the need of removing the battery. This is apparently a unique feature that Nokia is introducing. Both the model have dimensions of 99.2 x 58 x 12.1mm and weighs 98 grams.

Battery Back-up

The phone is equipped with 1,200mAh battery that is powerful enough to provide up to 17hrs of talktime and around 48 days of standby time in case of single-SIM and 26 days in case of dual-SIM.

Other information

The new Asha 501 will be built in India and costs around Rs.6,000. The Nokia Asha 501 price has also been kept very reasonable, to cater the needs of large number of buyers. If we look at the Nokia Asha 501 review, then Nokia Asha 501 surely takes the ground as it is offering so many features and that too in such a reasonable price.

Since, it will hit the market by June, so people who are interested in buying Nokia Asha 501 can buy it online from Naaptol.com as Naaptol offers additional reward points and other benefits that perhaps you wouldn’t get on buying it from anywhere else. So, gadgets freaks start your pre-booking now and be the first to grab this new invention among your peers and friends.

Bio: This is the Guest post by Alisha Singh, She work with naaptol.com

1. It is with great pleasure that I present to you today, the 2013 Federal Government Budget. I thank Mr President, my colleagues and the Honourable Members of the National Assembly for their contributions to the planning, preparation, passage and signing into law of the 2013 Budget.

2. I would also like to acknowledge the effort of the Leadership of the National Assembly, all relevant committees and the Budget Office for completing the 2013 Budget in record time. I am positive that the good work would translate into the development of our economy and improve the living standards of our people.

WORLD ECONOMIC REVIEW

3. The 2013 Budget was designed against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty. Growth in the US is forecast to average only 2 per cent in 2013. Similarly, the near-term outlook for the Euro area has been revised downwards, with growth expected to contract by 0.2 per cent. In Asia, the short-term outlook for Japan is weak, with the Japanese economy expected to expand by only 1.2 per cent in 2013. Overall, global growth will average 3.5 per cent in 2013, a moderate increase from 3.2 per cent in 2012.

4. Against this backdrop of global economic uncertainty, the international natural resources map is also changing. There have been discoveries of new oil and gas deposits in many African countries, as well as the discovery of shale oil and gas in the US. These developments suggest that there could be lower demand for Nigeria’s crude oil in the future, and thus we should be even more prudent in managing our natural resources today!

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE DOMESTIC ECONOMY

5. In spite of the turbulent global economic environment and changing global oil map, the Nigerian economy has been resilient, experiencing a robust growth in 2012 of 6.5 per cent compared with global growth of 3.2 per cent. Inflation is now down to single-digits at 9 percent in January 2013, compared with 12.6 percent in January 2012. Our fiscal deficit is on a downward trajectory, and below our threshold of 3 percent, while the exchange rate has remained stable.

6. Government is also building up the necessary savings to cushion the economy against a possible global recession or collapse of oil prices. For instance, the balance in the excess crude account has increased from $4.22 billion in August 2011 to about $9 billion at the end of 2012. In addition, we have launched Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, with an initial capitalization of $1 billion, and we hope to increase this Fund further in the future. Our foreign reserves have also grown steadily, and now stand at $47.38 billion as at the end of February 2013 – the highest level for almost 3 years!

7. There has been strong external validation of the management of Nigeria’s economy, despite the global economic slowdown. The leading international rating agencies – Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s – have upgraded the outlook for the Nigerian economy, even at a time when other developed and emerging economies are being downgraded. Nigeria’s domestic bonds have also gained international prominence, and were recently included in the JP Morgan and Barclays Emerging Market indices. All these external endorsements provide further testimony to our strong macroeconomic fundamentals!

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE 2012 BUDGET

8. Before I discuss the 2013 Budget, let me briefly summarize the outcomes of the 2012 Budget. As you may recall, the 2012 Budget was approved late, and so implementation occurred over a compressed time schedule. However, we succeeded in releasing N1,017 billion for the implementation of various capital projects, and successfully cash-backed N739 billion. By the end of 2012, MDAs had utilized N686 billion or 92.8 per cent of the total amount cash-backed.

9. The 2012 Budget also financed a number of important projects across various parts of the country, such as: rehabilitation of tracks for the Lagos-Kano railway line; ongoing construction of the East-West Road and dualization of the Kano-Maiduguri Highway. The 2012 Budget also financed completion of work on the Treatment Plant for the Owena Dam, and ongoing work at the Hadejia Valley Irrigation Project. In addition to these major projects, the Ministry of Works, also worked to maintain the nation’s highways during the Christmas and New Year Season – and this received very positive feedback from Nigerians. The 2012 Budget also helped to energize the Agriculture sector, resulting in an increased output; for example, it helped to boost cassava output to about 1.4 million metric tonnes last year!

THE 2013 BUDGET

10. Ladies and gentlemen, let me now turn to the subject matter for today – the 2013 Budget. You will recall that, in breaking with recent practice, the 2013 Budget was prepared in record time, and submitted to the National Assembly by Mr. President on 10th October 2012. The National Assembly also worked hard to review this Budget, and returned their version to the Executive before departing for their Christmas recess. However, at the beginning of the year, when we reviewed the National Assembly’s version, there were several challenges which had to be revisited. There were three main challenging areas, namely: reductions in the wage bill, major capital expenditures which had been re-allocated, and reallocations of the budget for the SURE-P program. We successfully resolved these changes in the past two weeks, and Mr. President will send a proposal to the National Assembly for amendment of the 2013 Budget. Let me also add here that Mr. President has assigned the Minister of Special Duties to assist in overseeing the implementation of the N100 billion constituency projects across the country.

11. Now to the 2013 Budget itself. This Budget promotes the continuity of the four main pillars on which the 2012 Budget was based namely: Macroeconomic stability, Structural reforms, Governance and institutions, and Investing in priority sectors. This Budget continues the theme of fiscal consolidation with inclusive growth and is underpinned by the following parameters:

• Oil production of 2.53 million barrels per day compared to 2.48 million barrels per day in 2012. • Benchmark oil price of $79 per barrel, up from $72 per barrel in 2012. • Projected real GDP growth rate of 6.5 per cent. • Average Exchange Rate of N160/$.

Revenue projections in the 2013 budget 12. Based on the above assumptions, the gross federally collectible revenue is projected at N11.34 trillion, of which the total revenue available for the Federal Government’s Budget is forecast at N4.1 trillion, representing an increase of 15 per cent over the estimate for 2012. Non-oil revenue is projected to sustain its growth in 2013. At this point, let me commend the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which has worked hard to achieve a 20 percent growth rate in non-oil tax revenues between 2007 and 2012. But I also believe that the gap between non-oil tax revenues currently collected and the full potential revenue remains significant. Therefore, we will support FIRS this year to embark on further reforms such as improving auditing checks, increasing controls on exemptions, and enforcing repayment of arrears. Similarly, we will also pay greater attention to increasing internally generated revenues, and work with government entities to increase their remittances to the Treasury.

Expenditure provision

13. The 2013 Budget makes provision for an aggregate expenditure of N4.987 trillion, representing a modest increase of 6.2% over the N4.697 trillion appropriated for 2012. This is made up of N387.97 billion for Statutory Transfers; N591.76 billion for Debt Service; N2.38 trillion for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure, of which N1.717 trillion is the provision for personnel cost while overhead cost is projected at N208.9; and a total of N1.62 trillion has been provisioned for Capital Expenditure. In addition, N273.5 billion has been provisioned for the Subsidy Reinvestment (SURE-P) programme.

14. Given the above, the fiscal deficit is projected to improve to about 1.85% of GDP in the 2013 Budget compared to 2.85% in 2012. This is well within the threshold stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 and clearly highlights our commitment to fiscal prudence.

15. Government remains focused on critical economic and social sectors. Some of these sectors are largely driven by private sector activity, while others require a great deal of public sector support. Some key allocations are as follows: Critical Infrastructure (including Power, Works, Transport, Aviation, Gas pipelines, and Federal Capital Territory) – N497 billion; Human Capital Development(i.e­. Education and Health) – N705 billion; and Agriculture/­Water Resources – N175 billion. We also allocated over N950 billion for national security purposes, comprised of: N320 billion for the Police, N364 billion for the Armed Forces, N115 billion for the Office of the NSA, and N154 billion for the Ministry of the Interior.

16. For 2013, the SURE-P program has a projected allocation of N180 billion, augmented by the 2012 unspent balances of N93.5 billion. This amount will be used to make further progress in the provision of social safety net schemes, maternal and child healthcare, youth development and vocational training for Nigerians.

PRIORITIES OF THE 2013 BUDGET

17. Ladies and gentlemen, let me use this opportunity to highlight some of the key priorities of Budget 2013. First, the cost of governance is coming down! Government has sustained its policy of re-balancing its expenditure in favour of capital investment over the medium term. I am therefore pleased to announce that the share of recurrent spending in total expenditure has reduced from 74.4 per cent in 2011 to 67.5 per cent in 2013. Similarly, capital spending as a share of total expenditure has increased from 25.6 per cent in 2011 to 32.5 per cent in 2013.

18. In addition, we are continuing the roll-out of IPPIS across all MDAs which will result in savings in personnel costs. In the spirit of the Oronsaye Report, we have started trimming down allocations to agencies with duplicate functions. For the 2013 Budget, this resulted in about N100 billion of savings, and we hope to have even greater savings in 2014. However, let me add that some of these agencies with duplicate functions were established legally, and so we will require the support of the National Assembly in reviewing the relevant legislations before we implement the rationalization­ exercises.

19. Second, on debt management, we remain committed to the implementation of a strong strategy for managing domestic debt which progressively scales down both the stock and flow of our domestic debts. In this regard, we recently paid down N75 billion of maturing debt obligations last week, and have also set aside N25 billion in a sinking fund to be used for retirement of maturing debt obligations in the future. Government has further reduced annual domestic borrowing to finance the budget deficit from N852 billion in 2011, to N744 in 2012, and now to N577 billion in 2013!

20. We are also making concerted efforts to defray the debts of our foreign missions. In this context, we have made a provision of N13 billion in the 2013 Budget to help clear accumulated debts as at the cut-off date of June 2012. Government has also established a committee under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which will work out a system to better manage the assets of our foreign missions.

21. Third, let me turn to infrastructure investments. We recognize that Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit remains one of the binding constraints to growth in the economy. Therefore, our strategy is to prioritize infrastructure investments in the budget, and also to leverage additional external financing for infrastructure investments in the country. For example, Budget 2013 has some important infrastructure projects in the transportation sector, such as the second Niger Bridge. We plan to augment our domestic resources with a proposed $1 billion EuroBond as well as a Nigeria Diaspora Bond which will harness savings from Nigerians abroad. These additional financial resources will be invested in various infrastructure projects such as building the country’s gas to power infrastructure.­ We plan to use PPPs aggressively, working with the Sovereign Wealth Fund which will attract co-investors from home and abroad such as pensions funds, institutional investors and so on!

22. Fourth, on job creation. The objective of the 2013 Budget is to achieve inclusive growth by identifying and developing job creation opportunities. We are working on creating 3.5 million jobs in the agriculture sector, with more jobs coming in the housing and construction sectors, solid minerals sector, aviation sector and the creative industries. Government is also using the YouWin programme to support young entrepreneurs to create between 80,000 and 110,000 jobs. We also have the Graduate Internship Programme, in which participating private companies provide one-year internships to 50,000 graduates, paid by the Federal Government.

23. Let me add here that to energize the construction sector, we are developing a private sector led Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company to help provide long-term mortgages to help kick-start our housing and construction sectors.

24. Fifth, to support the development of the manufacturing sector, Mr. President also announced various fiscal measures to support our local entrepreneurs. Machinery and equipment imported for the solid minerals sector will attract 0% import duty and 0% VAT. For rice, there is now a 10% import duty and 100% levy which will be applied to both brown and polished rice. And for sugar, we will implement a gradual and phased increase in tariffs on raw and refined sugar, in order to support domestic production.

25. We recognize that our manufacturing sector – especially our SMEs – cannot grow without a reliable source of long-term finance and more affordable interest rates. As a result, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President have set up a committee to look into the issue. We now have approval to restructure existing DFIs as retail outlets for financing domestic lenders, while we build a strong wholesale institution that will increase and drive lending costs down.

26. Finally, on gender empowerment and sports development. The Jonathan Administration is very gender-friendly­ and committed to improving the position of women in society. We have developed an innovative approach to gender mainstreaming beginning with five pilot ministries namely: Agriculture, Water Resources, Health, Works and Communication Technology. These ministries have signed MOUs with the Ministry of Women Affairs to deliver on specific services for women. The Government is also determined to take our sports to great heights again given the importance that Nigerians give to the performance of our sportsmen and women. We all remember our recent celebrations following the sterling performance of the Super Eagles who won the African Cup of Nations after 19 years! Mr. President wants to ensure many such celebrations for Nigerian sports in the future. In this regard, he has now tasked me to work on developing a sustainable model for sports financing in Nigeria.

CONCLUSION

27. To conclude, Ladies and gentlemen, the 2013 Budget gives priority to our concerns for security, infrastructure,­ food security and human development. It is a Budget for everyone! For expectant mothers, children and the elderly – there will be increased access to healthcare; for smallholder farmers – there will be greater support from the government for access to market and extension services; and for tax-payers – the government will drive transparency and accountability;

­

28. I am confident that Budget 2013 will consolidate our recent macroeconomic performance, and lay the foundations for more inclusive growth and job creation in the country!

Overview Of The 2013 Budget By Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Coordinating Minister Of The Economy And Minister Of Finance 7th March 2013

Over the years, the Internet Society (http://www.internetsociety.org), AfTLD, and ICANN have supported the continued development and growth of Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) in Africa through capacity building and technical support. Despite the support, the growth and sustainability of African ccTLDs and adoption of new technologies remains very low as compared to other regions of the world. To identify the bottlenecks that are keeping the industry from growing and the actions that can catalyze its growth, the three organizations determined the need for a forum to discuss these regional DNS issues.

The DNS Forum will foster cross-border collaboration between registries, registrars, registrants, DNS experts, Government representatives, and policy makers. Topics covered during the 1 ½ day event include trends, opportunities, and challenges of the DNS industry; strategies for registries and registrars; legal issues with cross-border domain registrations; ways Governments can support domain name growth; and benefits of standardizing accreditation to attract more cross-border registrars and registrations.

Nigeria’s largest mobile operator, MTN leads the pack with an estimated 21.3 million users or 65.9% of the overall market share. Airtel, Etisalat and Globacom significantly lag behind with about 5.9 million, 4.4 million and 800,000 respectively.

CDMA operators such as Starcomms, Multilinks and Visafone significantly lag behind their GSM counterparts. Though Starcomms overall share of the Nigerian internet subscription market has declined markedly in recent months, Visafone has rapidly accelerated to capture the company’s declining share of the market. Overall, CDMA is a lagging category and Nigeria remains a largely GSM play.

MTN continues to be the nation’s dominant mobile operator in the voice and data category in Nigeria’s lucrative mobile market. The country is the company’s most profitable market making over $4.2 billion in revenue in FYE 2012. The company is prioritising its focus on data products as it continues to witness declining Average Revenue per User Rates in the voice and sms category. This trend has been led by social networking and instant messaging applications witnessing a huge surge in popularity across the continent such as Facebook, the South African instant messaging application, 2go, Blackberry Messenger, WhatsApp and a slew of other rising applications.

Source: CP Africa

This is the second investment by Summit Partners in Namshi, further affirming the investors’ confidence in the online retailer after months of steady growth in the region. Prior to this funding, Namshi secured investments from Investment AB Kinnevik, JP Morgan Chase, Blakeney Management as well as Holtzbrink Ventures and others.

 

“We see our partners’ growing support as an encouragement for us to continue serving our customers with world-class products and services.” says Hosam Arab, co-founder and Managing Director of Namshi. “Our customers made the company what it is today. Therefore, they will be the ones to see the main benefits coming from this investment. We will further focus on providing a shopping experience like no other in the region.”

 

“Namshi and its management team have done an exceptional job of growing the company, and we are happy to support the company’s continued expansion,” said Scott Collins, a Managing Director and head of the Summit Partners London office.

The capital infusion from Summit Partners will support Namshi’s efforts to scale up operations and gain a stronger foothold in the Middle East. The investment will also be used to make a warehouse move, from shared space with Aramex to Namshi’s centralised distribution centre with state-of-the-art facilities.

There is a huge opportunity in the mobile space and Rocket Internet is leading it in the developing world.

We’re an exclusive network of angel investors focused on supporting start-up entrepreneurs in Lagos and environs. Our members provide funding and are mentors; they also make their own investment decisions.

These are some of the members of the Lagos Angel Network:

Some startups they are evaluating to invest:

JANDUS RADIO:  Jandus Radio Mobile Application is a radio directory app focusing on increasing listening audience of African traditional radio by utilizing web technology to expand it’s reach and increasing audience engagement by integration of social media.

BOOKNOWNOW: This is an online reservation service that allows people to book event venues, restaurants and hotels and other associated services.

SKIN IT: Focuses on carrying out skin wrapping for gadgets activities anywhere in Nigeria.

CASH ENVOY: CashEnvoy.com is a web application that aids the transfer of money from person-to-merchant using the web application and personal email addresses.

GIGA LAYER: Provides domain name registration and web hosting solution in Nigeria.

IDEACENTRIC: Ideacentric’s Business idea is centred around bringing to market novel “convergence” smartphone devices (called “Nerve”)

PLEDGE 51: Chopup by Pledge51  is a social game platform which allows players to interact based on in-game achievements.

NIGERCON2013 is here again!

IEEE NIGERCON2013 will be held in the vibrant city of Owerri in Imo State of Nigeria from 14th to 16th November, 2013.

Once again, this conference is determined to provide an international platform for the exchange of relevant technologies directed at providing enabling atmosphere for the creation of technology for development. Opportunities will be presented for the exchange of experience in the practical application of information and communication technology as well as power engineering in the direction that can produce sustainable development.

Welcome to Owerri, the Heartland and entertainment capital of Nigeria!

Imo State is one of the seven states created by the Federal Military Government on February 3,1976 during the General Murtala Muhammed regime. It is regarded as the Brain Box of the Nation with Owerri as its capital and largest city.

http://nigercon.info/

#1: Be More Social

There’s no doubt about the fact that social media is turning out to be an important part of any size marketing plan. If you look around you’ll notice that even the big corporate companies are leveraging Facebook and Twitter to connect to their target audience. Being an online business it’s crucial that you have a social media presence. But in order to stand out, you need to go beyond creating a Facebook page and posting random links on it.

Using social media effectively is all about engaging with your customers/prospects and creating a strong community. So in short, you should use social media (along with your blog) to broadcast interesting/useful information that’s related to your niche, and keep learning from your customers in order to stand out of the crowd.

#2: Make Your Website Easy to Use

The Internet is still brimming with sites that are difficult to navigate, are loaded with confusing graphics and have no intuitive search functions. If your website visitors don’t find what they’re looking for with ease or if they find the checkout process difficult to move grasp, then there are high chances that they move to another site      that’s much more user/customer friendly. In order to make your mark in a crowded marketplace, your website has to functional and clean.

So go out there and do a little research. Visit websites of your competitors’ to take note of what they’re doing, the mistakes they’re making, what needs improvement – basically use their site’s design to improve your own. Try to go beyond the basics and offer added value. For example, if you’re selling something that needs a fair amount of technical work – say, mobile conference apps for companies to organize trade shows and conventions – then you can offer the technical support that’s needed without an extra charges to provided added value.

#3: Provide Great Customer Service

Most of the successful online businesses have one thing in common: they don’t take their customers for granted. Along with creating and selling a great product, they also make sure that the customer service they provide is top notch. Regardless of how tough your competition is, you can easily stand out from the rest if you simply make your customers happy by providing them timely help and assistance needed.

Your web business is running because your customers, which makes them the top priority. Also, customer service doesn’t simply mean that you only assist those customers who are in dire need of help. It means that you go beyond what the others are doing to give your customers a stress-free experience with your product or service. Remember, the happier your customers are, the easier it will be for you to sell them again and to get them spread the word about your product.

PayGate announced back in February of introducing a new product that would enable people in Tanzania and Africa to use M-Pesa for paying through mobile for purchasing online products.

Lack of internet infrastructure and access in different countries is the reason why those who accept mobile payments had difficulty in gaining traction, but more effective means of this form of payment solutions are the key to spur growth in Africa.

Although the access of internet is facing limitations across the continent, more consumers now own a mobile device, particularly with the launch of low cost handsets through African carriers such as Yolo from Safaricom.

Mobile money operators are also looking to cash in. They’ve the benefit of letting African consumers pay for their own services through mobile as well as keep a share in payments for other services such as Airtime, which is turning out to play a major role in Africa’s mobile commerce sector. It wouldn’t be a surprise either if brilliant ideas are introduced through crowdfunding.

Independent operators such as Pagatech from Nigeria are gearing their efforts towards merchants and introducing them to payment from mobile solutions. For example, Tanzania’s Selcom Wireless’ PayPoint is acting as a point of sale for merchants, which is also giving them room to sign-up more merchants for the service.

The payment through mobile solution has also made way in the banking sector. In late 2011, 11 companies were issued operating licenses from Central Bank of Nigeria in a bid to increase cashless form of payment, and the terms allowed mobile operators to open mobile infrastructure network for consumers, and also enabled those who subscribed to select their own choice of payment service from mobile.

SMS and USSD are two of the consumer technologies that are expanding the reach of payments technology. Due to ease of use, most of those who have the option of payment through devices available are able to carry out the operation without any issues. As it stands now, USSD is leading the way in mobile transactions, but SMS may take over sometime in future.

MicroStrategy South Africa’s director Mark Bannerman believes there’s a clear opportunity for local businesses to tap into the market of mobile commerce to find new customers and retain them. This is the time for African companies to go for mobile promotions and take advantage of social media to engage with those who are a part of the growing venture and also introduce new people to the concept.

The analysis of data carried out concerned to mobile commerce will also help in the improvement of apps used for payments through mobile, providing better consumer security and satisfaction to use this service.

Being the second largest and one of the fastest mobile growing markets in the globe, solutions of payments via mobile in Africa will only continue to grow, powered by network operators, retailers as well as new startup companies like Dazid. Trust in these services will also continue to grow overtime.

 
The NCS job fair is a platform for your company and brand to meet and interact with bright minds that will experience your brand, develop great interest in your company thereby attracting talents who can achieve your company’s business goals and vision.

 
Participation in the fair is free; thus, the job fair is a cost-effective and beneficial recruitment channel for companies in the Computer/ Information Communication technology field, within an environment engineered for intelligent interacti ons and first-hand access to talents.
The Jobberman/NCS job fair 2013 promises to be a fulfilling and engaging one for both employers and prospective employees.

 
Date:        Tuesday 28th May, 2013 Time:        9.00 am prompt Venue:    Abuja Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Abuja

If you are pursuing a career in the development or humanitarian sectors and are a citizen of Uganda, Kenya or South Sudan, then you may want to consider applying for a Lalji PfAL Scholarship to undertake the MSc Development Management or theMSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies (IDHE) programmes at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

In 2013/14, the scholarships will be awarded to applicants from South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda, with a preference for those who have completed their previous degrees within Africa.

In order to be eligible for one of these awards, you must first apply for a place on the MSc Development Management or the MSc IDHE before Monday 13th May 2013.  Only those candidates who are in receipt of an offer for one of the two programmes will then be considered for a Lalji PfAL Scholarship.

Find out how to apply

From missionary trips, exciting safaris, or attempting to scale Mt. Kilimanjaro, there are plenty of reasons to visit Africa. The environment itself can offer an exciting change of pace from the stale scenery that we see every day. Lush grasslands, tropical rainforests, and volcanic calderas are just a small sample of the varying environs you may encounter on your trip.

When deciding what to pack, a golden rule applies, lighter is better. Having multifunction gear and clothing can help reduce pack weight and make life more comfortable no matter where you find yourself. Shopping around for some high quality weatherproof products is important. For example Gore-Tex clothing is lightweight, durable and waterproof. This is especially useful if you’re planning to spend more time out doors, like trying your hand at mountain climbing.

For larger groups, like missionary trips, having name plates engraved for your baggage can be particularly useful for determining which bag to grab at a glance. This can also help shorten the amount of time spent searching for luggage when getting off the plane, allowing you to spend more time on the purposes you came for. While nameplates can be more expensive, a more cost-effective alternative is weatherproof tags, which are available in most office/travel supply stores.

If you’re traveling for the sake of broadening your horizons then make sure what you bring can with stand the rigors of the trip. Dust and rain are just a few of the elemental difficulties that can choke or ruin your equipment. Having to pay to replace your tech can be a costly endeavor, especially after factoring the trip itself. Using sturdy containers which are commercially available from various retailers, one with waterproof seals can be invaluable should the weather turn for the worse. Use metal tags to quickly and easily identify what’s in the box. Knowing which box your camera is in without having to check each and every container means you won’t miss that picture perfect opportunity.

Having the right gear for the trip can make a huge difference no matter where you go. Making sure it can withstand everything you may be up against will keep it working and can keep you safe. When everything comes back home in one piece you can fondly remember your visit and begin planning the next one.

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About the Author: Tom Toth is a freelance writer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He enjoys writing about technology, travel, and entrepreneurial endeavors.