Nigeria Tech News Summary – April 04, 2011 (part 2)

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April 5, 2011

Following the acquisition of MultilinksTelkom by Visafone, subscribers on Multilinks networks have asked Visafone to maintain the former’s good quality of service at affordable tariffs. Visafone had, on Friday in Johannesburg, South Africa, acquired the mobile asset of MultilinksTelkom in a $52m deal.

Computer maker, Dell, has certified The Source Computers Limited as an enterprise partner in Nigeria, according to a statement on Monday. Dell said that TSC was awarded a certified status in the Dell Enterprise business because the indigenous company had deployed various enterprise solutions in various organisations across different economic sectors. According to the statement, the certification by Dell also came on the heels of the recent silver partnership status attained by TSC with NetAppa and HP

Nigeria and five other West African countries are now benefiting from a special roaming rate on the Etisalat network. The telecoms company, in a statement on Monday, said the Easy Pass service had been introduced on its network.

VConnect Global Services Limited, Nigeria’s largest local search engine that provides diverse information to subscribers, has rewarded about 95 service users with various prizes in the ongoing VConnect ‘Buzz’ contest.

The E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria has concluded plans to brainstorm on the mobile payment system and the changing financial landscape in Nigeria. This will be done in Techno-Interactive Session coming up in May. And some of the topics to be discussed included the integrity of telecoms system for mobile payment; the creation of certainty and support for mobile banking in the Nigeria economy; managing the complex tradeoffs between growth and regulatory/legal barriers and transformational process for enabling mobile payment.

Similarly, Stakeholders in the identity management and electronic payment business have called on the Federal Government to formulate a Nigerian Mobile Commerce Strategy so as to determine what the platform will be used for. The over 120 stakeholders, who gathered at the Ennovators Breakfast series organised by financialtechnology magazine with the theme, “Harmonising SIM Registration Requirement with m-Payment KYC for Secure Mobile Commerce in Nigeria,” said it was a step that the government must take at this point. They argued that mobile payment, like other means of conducting financial transactions, was vulnerable to criminal activities, hence the need for adherence to the Know-Your-Customer criteria in mobile payment transactions.

A technology-driven recruitment agency, Dragnet Solutions, has said it will combat examination malpractices in the country with its Computer-Based Testing technology. Speaking while unveiling the solution in Lagos on Friday, the Head, Research and Development, Dragnet Solutions, Mr. Taghogho Emefeke, said that the technology could curb examination malpractices in the country. He said that the firm had been a long advocate of tests to migrate from the paper-and-pencil testing methodology to computer-based methodology for a myriad of reasons, one of which was its arsenal against test and examination cheats.

Resourcery Plc, a Cisco certified partner, has introduced an energy management architecture that allows Information Technology operations and facilities to measure and fine-tune power usage to realise significant cost savings. The company, in a statement on Monday, said there had been an increased need for sustainable and “green” business IT operations in direct response to the rising cost of energy, environmental concerns and governmental directives.

End – April 04, 2011

Sources: Punch, Guardian, Thisday, Sun, Vanguard, TechLoy

Nigeria Tech News Summary – April 04, 2011 (part 1)

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Tekedia Editors

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April 5, 2011

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The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Federal Government to shelve its proposed plans of using nuclear resources to generate electricity. Vice Chairman of MAN, Chief Gbadebo Giwa, made the plea at the second edition of Ikeja MAN’s Consultative Forum in Lagos, urging the government to focus on gas. He said Nigeria lacked the resources to tackle the problems associated with the nuclear power plant.

The Nigerian Communications Commission has set a September 28, 2011 deadline to cut off unregistered subscribers on telecommunications networks in the country. This exercise will help to reduce the number of crimes that are assisted by telecommunications as well as gather data that are essential for planning and implementation of government programmes. This is coming after more than two years of talking about the registration of SIM cards. And finally the Nigerian Communications Commission on Monday finally inaugurated the beginning of the exercise intended to capture essential data of all subscribers in the country.

Skye Bank Plc has launched a new product branded “Skye Xcel,” designed to take care of small businesses in the country and help them grow into major contributors to national output. The product focuses on small businesses with a view to help them improve their work processes as well as make them attractive to banks for financial support. The product requires a minimum balance of N150,000 while owners can enjoy contract financing facility, overdraft and other services.

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has asked the federal government to help develop power and Agriculture. They emphasized on the need of affordable loans and community based power generation and distribution in the nation. The president of NACCIMA asked the FG to “revive farm settlements, industrial clusters, irrigation, storage, processing and packaging facilities, among others, to boost trade” as well as “advocated for integrated transportation system that would connect roads, rails, airport and waterways with the major cities and industrial estates”.

Mr. Oscar Onyema, the CEO of Nigerian Stock Exchange, resumed work on Monday. And Nigeria will partner with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and World Bank on food safety.

Renewable Energy Academy of West Africa has said it planned to train 1000 Nigerians in Renewable Energy application and entrepreneurship by 2012 in support of the much needed infrastructural development and youth employment in the region. Chief Executive of the Academy, Mr. Emmanuel Emielu said the programme was in line with the Academy’s objectives of developing the entrepreneurial and technical skills needed to achieve a massive diffusion of renewable energy technology in Nigeria and across Africa, noting that it was the entrepreneurs that will create the jobs and make the investments for the growth of the sector.

Elan Consortium, comprising Erha and Star Crest, two oil firms belonging to businessman, Emeka Offor, at the weekend clinched the bid for Royal Dutch Shell’s stake in a Nigerian oil field in an auction, the first of four potential disposals in the country this year.

The Federal Executive Council has ordered ministries, departments and agencies of government to, henceforth, patronise locally-assembled vehicles in order to boost their production and increase employment. This directive was issued when the President met with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria recently.

Sources: Punch, Guardian, Thisday, Sun, Vanguard, TechLoy

Can Humans become Immortal?

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Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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April 4, 2011

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It is October 1 2080; Ken’s parents have just renewed their marriage contract which expires every five years. This is the seventh time. Everyone is happy and they have reasons.

Two years ago, Ken was hospitalized for a severe fracture of the spinal cord. He had an accident and many thought he would never walk again. But thanks to experts in the state’s general hospital, his locomotion was restored through an electronic implant. They have used CPG (central pattern generators) implants to reactivate his motors.

For a young man who at youth joined a faith movement that considered implants immoral and unethical, it has been a long journey. He preached against it and even atoned to die to defend the sanctity of life by preventing human defilement caused by implants. He has reasoned along with the adherents of the faith that implants challenged the creative power of the deity.

But one afternoon while visiting his parents from college, he saw a boy he knew to be blind and deaf seeing and hearing. The joy, the hope and the energy from this boy and his parents enveloped him. The boy had gotten retina and cochlea implants. Ever since, Ken decided to become a neuromorphic engineer-a designer of implants.

Generally, technology takes time to penetrate and be accepted by the population. And in our contemporary society, the resistance to a new one like implants is expected. Unfortunately, that inertia to acceptability goes beyond safety and reliability concerns to morality and religiosity. But over time, the barriers usually crack and the technology is accepted. It could be inorganic food, medical MRI, medical robots, among others; attitudes change over time regarding innovations.

In the past, body enhancements for face and breast were despised until people began to appreciate how accident victims were remade by the technologies. Increasingly, in most societies, it is normal that people may want to improve their outlooks. Similarly for implants, some view that it is normal that someone could decide to hear better, see better and walk better. The issues of morality become blurred because man by nature wants to have a better quality of life. Why remain blind when there is a technology that can help you see?

Unfortunately, bionics touches a very potent area in religion because of apocryphal misinformation by some zealots. They say that implants are designed-ready for the biblical rule where doomed men will receive the mark of beast, ‘666’, in the reign of the anti-Christ as is documented in the book of Revelation. By avoiding implants, one inherently avoids readiness for this mark.

The reality is that the design of retina and cochlea all follow the typical processes used in making the microchips that power our cellphones and computers, except that quality controls are tighter because of their critical functions. As normal is the chip in the cellphone is the biochip in the implant.

We have been transformed by the phenomenal powers of microelectronics that opened the pathway to design tools that can restore vision, locomotion, among others; yet, many still cling on dogmas, denying themselves life-saving solutions. But with time, implants will be welcomed by the whole humanity and man will become mostly bionics. Moreso, as nanotechnology matures, we will see better implants with higher efficiency and lower cost as scientists take advantage of the migration from the classical Newtonian physics to quantum mechanics that provides more affinity to biology at sub-atomic level. Technology will triumph over dogmas with multiple ‘home-runs’.

Why? While it is easy to ignore vision implants on faith crusades, most will overcome personal beliefs to have their visions back through them. And if terrorists continue to ravage the world, governments may require implants in some troubled regions of the world to help save captives. In the near future, it is possible that military personnel will be bionics.

The human instinct to survival will continue to open opportunities for science to push further. As understanding of human biology improves, more efficient breeds of implants that seamlessly capture the event driven asynchronous parallelism of the nervous system will emerge. Will that be a path to attain that holy grail of human immortality? Can humanity in 20000 years today shop for bio-grade artificial brains on the Internet? In essence, this can go beyond body parts like retina, cochlea to all body. Simply put: can man electronically create biological quality human in the far future?

Possibly, this trend will be gradual that generations will experience techno-acculturation of gradual metamorphosis of Homo sapiens to bionics. It is very interesting that people are concerned about bionics when our present computing paradigm is simply a primitive system when compared to the way nature computes. There is going to be a quantum leap in bionics when spiking communication matures so that machine and nature could talk under a similar protocol.

In our time without looking deep into the future, man will be ready for bionics as more needs emerge for them. Our doctors will prescribe drugs that will take photos of our internal tissues and when needed reprogram them while inside us. To save us time, the drugs could be assigned Internet IPs so that irrespective of our location, out doctors can still help us. In other words, it is not just bionics, but man becoming an Internet node. Will this be welcomed? It all depends on the need for survival and life.

Our society will welcome implants as they mature and the health benefits well explained. The acceptance will positively correlate with the advancement. And as the buzz over the green tech fades in few decades, bionics will take central stage. But if society rejects bionics, the entertainment industry will help us break that barrier. When top golfers get new retinas for better vision on the course, we will hail them. And when we understand how those precisions come, the world will accept the inevitable outcome: the Homo sapiens will evolve to bionics.

Founders Series: Ahmad Mukoshy – Techpreneur and Creator of Yarnable

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Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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April 4, 2011

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Founders Series interviews Founders every Monday. Visit this page every Monday for the next entrepreneurial or business star.

Today, Tekedia interviews a very bright and young Nigerian techpreneur, Ahmad Mukoshy. At the young age of 21 years, he has done some really remarkable things. He has built companies and most especially helping companies in the Northern part of Nigeria get on the web. His hosting company has provided a very local alternative to the foreign behemoths. His writings are clean and he has a vision – yes, he wants to build Nigeria’s GoDaddy. Ahmad is just one of those young Nigerians that make every one of us beam with hope and optimism.

In 2009, Fasmicro Founder, Prof (Dr) Ndubuisi Ekekwe, spent a week teaching in Usman Danfodiyo University on the invitation of the University Vice Chancellor. He told us that he did not meet Ahmad, but one of the professors mentioned a “bright young man on this campus that does web hosting and IT” when he was discussing a plan for a project. Yet, he explained that there were many smart boys in Usman Danfodiyo University – one built a solar cell and was on his way to Malaysia on a scholarship. As we go through the reports Dr Ekekwe made on this university, we noticed one thing – Nigeria is overly fixated on Lagos guys while other young men in other parts of the country are not noticed. With the Sokoto Energy Center on campus, he said that he saw students that could help power their homes, with green tech, if there is proper support and funding.

So, today, Tekedia presents Ahmad Mukoshy – the young man that built a web hosting firm at 17 years in Sokoto and just recently sold one of his companies for profits.

– Tell us your name and background

My name is Ahmad Mukoshy, I am 21 years now, born and brought up in Sokoto, Nigeria. I just graduated from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, where I studied B.Sc (Hons) in Physics. A rundown of my professional bio is as follows:

First, I am the the founder of Aimtech Comm. Limited; A multidimensional web hosting company providing on-demand shared hosting in Nigeria since 2007, which as of today is empowering over 500 web site owners in Nigeria.

Early 2009, I built NairaParking; The first Nigerian domain market place allowing users to list their domain names for sell just like in Sedo. But later in 2010 I shut it down with less than 20 domain names listed for sale because i understood that Nigeria was not yet ripe enough for bulk domain transaction, so I had to to move on with other things.

In mid 2009 i joined a network of web developers and entrepreneurs to building a social site called NaijaBorn. Though I was mostly in-active in the team, it became a learning phase for me on how to work in a team. Naija Born is a site that showcase proud Nigerians living in Nigeria and Diaspora. NaijaBorn is an SYS Africa projected owned by Qubestreet Entertainments and Afrovision Group.

I quit NaijaBorn in the same year, 2009 to start my own social network for my university colleagues called Danfodites which grew to over 1,000 users until it got invaded by spammers in mid 2010. I had to shut it down too, due to my final year exams and mostly because it was distracting me from my studies and i could not get someone to handle it for me. So, mounted on a Facebook group which is still being patronized by the students and gathering momentum.

Back in January last year, I built yrn.me, a nifty 5-letter URL shortner just like bit.ly in one week which is still in constant usage by over a hundred users. Just a month after yrn.me, I built Yarnable.com, a micro-discussion site allowing users to yarn on topics that matters to them in 140 characters or less which became my first venture acquired by a company.

I also built Edugeria in 2010, a blog focusing on education in Nigeria, where I was hoping to host writers from all Nigerian Universities where I started with Usmanu Danfodiyo University and University of Maiduguri with volunteered writers, it was a moment of success but I also took it off in less than 6months of operation due to financial and administrative demands.

But now, I am cutting down the rate at which I build startups to concentrate on building successful startups rather than so many closed startups. So, at present I only work on Aimtech Hosting and Yrn.Me.

– Introduce us to your company, products and services

My company name is Aimtech Comm. Limited, registered with corporate affairs commission, providing domain registration, web development, web hosting and general technology services in the area of communication and internet. Some of my products includes the URL shortner, yrn.me and the micro-discussion site, yarnable.com which I sold to mobiQube Nigeria Limited based in Abuja this year.

– Tell us the challenges your business is facing

Because I run my business while in school, it wasn’t easy managing the two. That was my biggest challenge, balancing grades and revenue! Some of my other challenges also include inadequate power and internet access.

– Share with us how you are mitigating those challenges

When I was in school, I set time for my studies in which I stay away from computers and also use the night to do some of my work.

– Your message to other founders and entrepreneurs

My message to all founders and entrepreneurs is that persistence is the key, it is always good to remember the saying, quitters never win and winners never quit. The truth is every successful person once had challenges; they succeeded because they didn’t quit. So, keep doing what you do best and time is the judge.

– Should you become a LGA chair, Governor or President, tell us how you will make technology to flourish in your country

I will surely do my best to ensure electricity flows 24hr 7days and I will provide internet connection to youth and build entrepreneurial forums to encourage youth in building more startups.

– Tell us how people can reach you online

Mostly, I communicate on twitter with the handle @mukoshy and I am also on Facebook . For people interest in reading my writeup, I blog timely on my site.

Founders Series: Ahmad Mukoshy – Techpreneur and Creator of Yarnable

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Tekedia Editors

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April 4, 2011

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