Tuesday, November 5, 2013

African Re ends executive training in Accra


A three-day executive training for African ReInsurance employees ended in the city of Accra, Ghana recently with the Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Ken Aghoghovbia and Executive Regional Director Diomande Sory were in attendance.

DigitalSENSE Business News reports that the three-day training exercise with the theme of “Advanced Liability, Claims Management and Reinsurance” was held at the Fiesta Royale Hotel, Accra.

This Advanced Programme, DigitalSENSE Business News learnt covered Professional Indemnity (PI) and Director and Officers (D&O), General Liability, Claims Management and Reinsurance Arrangements. Marketing Strategy and Plan were discussed at the forum.

DigitalSENSE Business News further gathered that Reinsurance Directors, Managers, Technical Directors, Managers and Senior Underwriters were among the participants.

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Pix: Africa Re Deputy Managing Director Mr Ken Aghoghovbia, 2nd right, Executive Regional Director Diomande Sory at the meeting.

Ericsson unveils ‘Apps for Working Life’ contest

 


Ericsson has unveiled its 2014 Application contests for students and small and medium-sized enterprises, which this year is tagged ‘Apps for Working Life.’

The contest which is on its fifth year was contained  in a press statement from the Ericsson office in Nigeria made available to DigitalSENSE Business News, thus inviting students and SMEs owners from anywhere in the world  to submit Android and iOS apps for the award.

“This competition will give developers, start-ups and anyone who has an idea for a great app, the opportunity to gain a foothold in the app industry, while also earning recognition and making contacts within the telecom industry”, the statement said.

The winner of the student category in 2013 was Portugal’s GreenSpark, which offered a solution based on energy efficiency with a truly global reach. The UK’s TboxApps was the winner in the company category. Their solution was based on usage patterns in order to get access to instant messages and quickly get help.

The statement also said that for this year, the first prize is EUR 25,000 (about N5 million) while second prize is EUR 10,000 (about N2 million) and special recognition for innovation supporting Technology for Good. The third to 10th prize will get diplomas and honorary mentions.


Remmy Nweke & Anthony Nwakaegho

DigitalSENSE Business News
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Vision 20:2020, MDGs unrealistic without ICT- NCS


 DigitalSENSE Business News


The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has warned that the pursuit of the Federal Government’s Vision 20:2020 objectives and the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) as set by the United Nations Organisation (UNO) may be a mirage if government refuses to develop an attitudinal change to the information communication technology (ICT) sector.
The NCS President, Prof David Adewumi, made this remark while speaking with ICT journalists in Lagos, expressing concern over what he described as 'the marginalisation' of the ICT sector by government agencies, and warned that the development portend serious danger to the attainment of the goals set down by the government.
He explained that the sector is concerned about the marginalisation of ICT today in the country which is the driving force and contributor to the digital economy, adding that it would be tragic if Africa lost out on the ongoing digital revolution, having already lost out in the industrial revolution.

 “Nigeria is not fully harnessing the growth opportunity of the IT sector. The academia, manufacturing sector, government and other stakeholders must take advantage of the enormous opportunities available in IT to drive growth and development.
“Local content needs to be enforced practically and those working and providing services in ICT in Nigeria should be encouraged and supported in providing the much-needed innovative solutions for job creation, security, governance, health and other challenges besetting the nation,” Adewumi said.
He assured of the commitment of NCS to embark on research and development (R&D), ICT-enabled employment generation, and promotion of excellence and professionalism in the industry and urged the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue to incorporate and prioritise the role of the ICT sector if Nigeria is to be a key player among the comity of nations.

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Pix: NCS President, Prof David Adewumi

Australian Minister debunks media report on Huawei



Australian Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull has denied media reports that he did not receive a security briefing about Huawei.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that there had been a number of media reports in recent days about the Australian government's decision to retain the ban on Huawei participating in the National Broadband Network and had also suggested that Turnbull had not received briefings from security agencies on this matter.

However, the Minister in a statement said that whether as the opposition spokesman, or now as the Minister for Communications, he has always had regular technical briefings and discussions on these matters with the country's security agencies both before and after the election.

"we can't all become telecom engineers or software developers (I certainly lay no claim to that level of technical expertise), but in order better to protect ourselves from cyber attack we need to question and learn from those engineers and specialists to raise our own layman's level of understanding of where and how risks can develop and what we must do to manage and mitigate them," the statement said.

DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that Huawei had expressed surprise and disappointment that the Australian government had decided to maintain the ban on it as a supplier.

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Johnson opens training for 1,000 Girls for ICT, commends Huawei

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The honourable minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has declared open, the training programme on 1,000 girls for ICT in Lagos.

She told DigitalSENSE Business News at Oriental Hotels Lagos, venue of the launch that out of the proposed 1,000 that qualified 200 among the participating girls would be retained as System Administrators by Huawei, the host for the programme.

She also enjoined participants to prove their selection worthy by taking full advantage of the programme, so as to be engaged in the ICT.

This, Johnson equally said would empower the girls to be employers of labour by the end of this programme.
CommTech Minister further commended Huawei for the bold initiative of training these girls on ICT, so as to enable them contribute to the Nigerian economy.

Earlier, official of Huawei West Africa, recalled that they began their regional expansion in 1999 and established its regional headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, with approximately 1,800 employees, of whom 70 per cent are locally recruited, across 13 countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Libe
ria, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

While Huawei customers in the African region include Vodacom (South Africa), Telkom (South Africa), MTN (South Africa), Neotel (South Africa), Cell C (South Africa), Unitel (Angola), Movicel (Angola), MSTelcom (Angola), Angola Telecom (Angola), Safaricom (Kenya), Orange/Telkom Kenya (Kenya), Essar, CCK and Kenyan government.

In addition, Huawei has customers in the sub-region, comprising Starcomms (Benin), Etisalat (Burkina Faso), Camtel (Cameroon), MTN Cameroon (Cameroon), Etisalat (Central African Republic), MTN Côte d’Ivoire (Côte d’Ivoire), Etisalat (Côte d’Ivoire), Airtel (India), MTN Ghana (Ghana), Lonestar Cell (Liberia), MTN Nigeria (Nigeria), Glo Mobile (Nigeria), Starcomms (Nigeria), Multi-Links (Nigeria).
In 2010, Huawei disclosed it successfully deployed the National Broadband Network in Cameroon. 

Whereas DigitalSENSE Business News notes in Lagos, Nigeria that Huawei setted up one of its three global network operations centers (GNOCs), which began operations in 2012; the other GNOCs are located in India and Romania.


The Minister was later taken on a guided tour of Huawei office in Victoria Island as well as mini exhibition.

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Pix of official opening ceremony of 1000 Girls for ICT in Lagos, Monday.

NCS set to confer fellowship, achievers awards

DigitalSENSE Business News 

 The President of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Professor David Adewumi has said it is set to confer fellowship and achievers awards on deserving members in the Information Technology (IT) industry, DigitalSENSE Business News reports.

Adewumi, made the remark at a press conference in Lagos, stressing that NCS  instituted the awards under the National Information Technology Merit Award (NITMA) as a means of inspiring the awardees and boost growth in information technology in the country.

“We must learn to celebrate our own. We must learn to celebrate achievements and landmarks in our profession to inspire and propel growth in information technology. In this light, the most important and recognized award ceremony in the IT community, NITMA, will be held on December 13, 2013.

“Annually, through NITMA, NCS recognizes and rewards excellence and tremendous contributions in the development and deployment of information technology in the country and the Diaspora,” Adewumi said.

He informed DigitalSENSE Business News that  fellowship will  be conferred on deserving members while the other category of awards are conferred based on IT specialization, NCS standards and global best practices.


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DigitalSENSE Business News
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Pix:President of Nigeria Computer Society, Professor David Adewumi

Nigeria has post code- Baba

The Post Master General of the Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba has debunked the assertion by stakeholders that Nigeria does not have Post Codes.
Baba informed DigitalSENSE Business News in a chat at the just concluded 3rd Nigerian Courier Summit organised by Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) in Lagos that the issue of Post Code raised by stakeholders is quite unfortunate because there are Post Codes already in existence for the country.
He said that under the Post Code arrangement, the country has been categorized into nine zones, and urged members of the public to avail themselves of the opportunities by visiting the NIPOST website www.Nipost.com.ng to authenticate the Post Codes that they need.
According to him, NIPOST is already working on the 4th edition of the Post Code for the country.

Earlier in his goodwill message at the Summit, the National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISON) Sir Sunny Nwosu reminded the Post Master General that “Nigerians who travelled overseas are asked for the country’s Post Code and four years after the Communication Technology Minister, Mrs Omobola Johnson is just telling us that they are addressing it. NIPOST should work closely with the Ministry of Communication Technology to give Nigerians the Post Code or Addressing System they desire.”

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pix:Post Master General of the Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba

No transformation in Africa without ICT – Museveni

DigitalSENSE Business News:                            
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said that that there can be no transformation in Africa without the information and communication technology (ICT).
Museveni made this assertion at the just concluded Transform Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda and informed his fellow Heads-of-State from Africa to note that the application and use of ICT must be multi-directional and has to be integrated as part of the entire social economic transformation process.
”ICT must not only be used to assist agricultural development, manufacturing, in education and the services sector but it must also be used as a sector by itself especially in out-sourcing of jobs abroad. It must also be optimally applied in solving challenges in automation of machines, storing and retrieving of information, identifying of persons, in democratic voting systems, sorting out the wage bill and in defence systems,” Museveni   said.
He disclosed that Uganda has acquired broadband backbone connectivity in 22 towns and municipalities out of 112 in the country,
DigitalSENSE Business News recalls  that the Summit hosted by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, in conjunction with the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)  Dr. Hamadoun Touré with the theme “The Future Delivered Now” focused on broadband connectivity as a solution to ICT connectivity challenges on the Continent, as well as communication between governments and the private sector.

*with additional report from new Vision

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pix:Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Etisalat appoints Matthew Willsher acting CEO


Etisalat Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Matthew Willsher  is now  the acting Chief Executive Officer of the company following the resignation of Steven Evans as the CEO.
This development was confirmed to DigitalSENSE Business News by the spokesperson for Etisalat Nigeria; Ms. Chineze Amanfo who said that the Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Matthew Willsher, was appointed as acting CEO in his place of Evans.
DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that the acting CEO, Etisalat, Mr Willsher is a product of

McGill University, INSEAD and University of Oxford respectively and began his working career at Procter & Gamble Brand Management Uk and Holland September 1988  March 1995; Marketing roles; Head of International Compliance BT, London, United Kingdom April 1995  November 2001; VP, Marketing LG Telecom (a BT joint venture with LG) Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea June 1999  November 2001.

 

Other positions held are Commercial / Marketing Director Roles, Telstra, Australia November 2001  February 2008; Chief Operating Officer Hong Kong CSL Limited (a Telstra joint venture) ) Hong Kong March 2005  February 2008 ; Managing Director New Creation Services Hong Kong March 2008  July 2008; CMO / EVP Strategic Marketing Maxis Communications Bhd Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia August 2008  March 2011; Chief Marketing Officer / EVP Marketing Etisalat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates April 2011 .



Anthony Nwakaegho/Nkemdilim Nweke


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FOI: Media practitioners want implementation at all levels


Media practitioners in Delta State have risen from two-day workshop  with a call for the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act at all levels to ensure transparency and accountability in the public service.

The workshop  which was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with Delta state government  with the theme ‘ Social Accountability and Good Citizenry’ ended with a communiqué signed by Austin Ogwuda of Vanguard Newspapers, Frankwhite Osabohein of Delta Broadcasting Service and Ebere Obiakor of Africa Independent Television (AIT).

The communiqué which was sighted by DigitalSENSE Business News urged public office holders to release information of public interest, especially those relating to the activities, programmes and development projects of government to the media.

“The media practitioners should to be alive to their responsibilities by not compromising their constitutional mandate as the “watchdog’’ of the society. There is the need for the enactment of laws that would compel public office holders at all levels to be accountable to the electorates through periodic presentation of their score cards. Such account of stewardship should be subjected to public scrutiny. Stakeholders involved in the public procurement process and enforcement of the Fiscal Responsibility laws should insist on best practises.

“Stakeholders involved in the public procurement process and enforcement of the Fiscal Responsibility laws should insist on best practise.  Nigerians should start taking their destiny in their hands by monitoring government projects which are in their domain. Lawmakers at the National and State Assemblies to take professionalism into consideration when carrying out their oversight functions, ’’ the communiqué stated.



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Pix: Gov Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State

MainOne unveils largest Tier 3 Data Centre in West Africa

 
MainOne, the first privately-owned subsea cable in West Africa has unveiled the construction of a new Tier III + Data centre at 1,500 square meters with a 600 rack capacity.
Speaking on the project at the cable landing station in Lagos to DigitalSENSE Business News, the Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Ms. Funke Opeke said that the new Data Centre will leverage on MainOne’s network which is peered with leading operators and internet exchanges worldwide to provide global reach to its customers across all locations.
Opeke said the project when completed will have redundancy such that there is no single point of failure within the facility and added that the MainOne Data Center at Lekki will pave way for the establishment of additional Data Centers and Point of Presence (POPs) across Nigeria and other West African nations
The Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, MainOne, Mr Folu Aderibigbe said that the project is further proof of MainOne’s commitment to enhance infrastructure within its primary markets, aid in the reduction of information technology costs and risk as well as transform Africa into a digital economy.
 Aderibigbe explained that one of the unique features of  MainOne is its direct access to MainOne Metro and International fibre and all the major interconnection with telecom networks in Nigeria and Ghana,
DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that MainOne recently received a $100 million( about N15billion) refinancing facility from Standard Chartered Bank and a consortium of other Nigerian banks to help fund its infrastructure expansion including fibre around the country, metro Lagos, and nationwide POPs.

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DigitalSENSE Business News
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Pix: Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Ms. Funke Opeke

British Council, Bharti Airtel launch 127 digital hubs




The British Council and Bharti Airtel have entered a pact to maximize the learning benefits of Bharti Airtel’s wider broadband connective of 5 GB per month in a three-year deal for 127 digital hubs located in schools across nine countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria.

Country Director, British Council Uganda, Peter Brown disclosed this in a press statement made available to DigitalSENSE Business News, saying “This latest partnership initiative with Bharti Airtel demonstrates our commitment to improving access to high-quality teaching and learning in Africa. The British council connects teachers and learners around the world, so they can learn from each other, accessing knowledge and ultimately become global citizens.

Bharti Airtel will provide full internet accessibility to British council Hubs, surrounding schools and communities. Digital hubs have already by been set up through partnerships with Microsoft in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Ghana and Nigeria. High speed broadband access from Airtel for these hubs guarantees teachers and students limitless new education opportunities.”

The Managing Director Airtel Uganda, Mr. V.G Somashekar said that In line with Airtel’s Corporate Social Responsibilities,(CSRs) the initiative will empower teachers and students to be more digitally enlightened and ultimately become more competitive in today’s fast changing economy.

The Head Teacher of Nakasero Primary school, Turyasingura N. Beatrice expressed her delight that their teachers had a chance to Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills, which has contributed to improving their interaction with fellow teachers in and outside the country, and opined  that with full connectivity the child will also be able to learn and share information with peers, but must be protected from content.

She confirmed that there are challenges which the opportunity threw up such as protecting the child from content that isn’t appropriate and urged the partners to ensure that it is dealt with promptly.
DigitalSENSE Business News  recorded from the statement that British Council operates a number of similar educational programs including connection classrooms, International inspiration and Badiliko to support schools across Africa, with over 400 schools in Uganda.


Remmy Nweke/Anthony Nwakaegho


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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Mobile security service market to hit N36m-Report



ABI Research has estimated that the current Mobile Encryption Software and Services market will hit $230m (about N 36 billion) by the end of 2013 

According to the report, the market offer significant opportunities for security vendors and Mobile Device Management (MDM) service providers while the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are still waiting for the direction of the market demand to come into focus before investing the space.

It also disclosed that the biggest laggards are mobile network operators, despite the fact that they have substantial advantages that they are far from leveraging, while Mobile authentication and encryption services for enterprises are growing dynamically with the saturation of cloud-based applications and BYOD trends,

DigitaSENSE Business News noted that organisations are looking for ways to exploit the benefits of these technologies while maintaining a level of security that satisfies compliance, protect corporate resources as well as balanced same against flexibility and manageability, without these guarantees, even the most secure solutions are useless.

ABI Research  noted that Mobile encryption technology is tailored towards effective key management while authentication may be Single-Sign-On (SSO) or tokenless access and remarked that the field of application for mobile authentication and encryption services is wide, and the demands are varied.


* With additional report from Business News

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Friday, November 1, 2013

Cisco, Facebook boost brand recognition with WiFi

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Cisco Systems is collaborating with Facebook to help businesses increase brand recognition and proactively target promotions and advertisements based on customer preferences and demographics using Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi).

DigitalSENSE Business News reports that the Cisco Connected Mobile Experience (CMX) with Facebook Wi-Fi is currently being piloted by some of the world’s most popular retailers, hotels and other public gathering spots.

The CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi, helps improve the consumer experience, provides a quick and simple way for consumers to access Wi-Fi by checking in on Facebook, and gives businesses more opportunities to connect with their customers.

CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi also, according to officials, provides businesses with more likes and check-ins for their Facebook Page, increasing the demographic data on their customers, so they can better serve them.

Equally the partnership revealed the expansion of the Unified Access portfolio with the introduction of the Catalyst 3650 access switch designed to accelerate the convergence of wired and wireless networks and the Aironet 3700 802.11ac wireless access point for managing next-generation mobile devices in high density environments.

The CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi solution, DigitalSENSE Business News recalls is built on this Unified Access architecture. 


Chuks Egbuna
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VConnect engages 800,000 SMEs online




The General Manager, VConnect Global Services, Mr Rustagi Deepankar has said that the company has brought over 800,000 small and medium enterprises online.

Deepankar disclosed the company’s achievement at the just concluded 2013 annual science and technology conference and exhibition held at the Lagos Business School, Ajah, Lagos State, stressing that VConnect is Africa’s largest search engine.

The General Manager, VConnect informed DigitalSENSE Business News that the company is a localised search engine created to help Nigerians to save time to locate service centres and businesses around them rather than relying on information from limited sources.

He explained that the search engine does not only provide information for emergency situations, but has gained the peoples’ trust as more than 3,000 businesses are also added and verified daily.

“In ensuring trust to its registered businesses, VConnect carries out an intensive verification process on all businesses registered on its website to assure users they can do business with them. VConnect is focused on helping SMEs in Nigeria by taking them online and building trusts in their brands”, Deepankar said.

According to him, a research carried out by Nigeria Communications Commission, (NCC) disclosed that there are about 50 million Nigerians online daily while the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) also noted that there are 17 million small and medium enterprises, four million of which are full structured businesses.

“Most SMEs are prone to using one-on-one sales methods, promoting businesses to their friends, neighbours, mosques and churches. These businesses are the small giants waiting to erupt. Combined, they would make a big fish. This big fish does not have any power until we infuse the power of digital technology,” he said.

AN/GEE


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Broadband: FG sets to post N317bn from auction of unused spectrum


The Chairman, Presidential Committee on the Transition from Analogue to Digital Broadcasting, Mr. Edward Amana has disclosed that about US$2bn (about N317 billion) will accrue to the federal government from the auction of unused mobile broadband spectrum.

Amana, whose committee is also known as the DigiTeam, informed DigitalSENSE Business News that the unused mobile broadband spectrum is a fall-out from  those vacated from the ultra-high frequency (UHF) bands television stations, to be auctioned to prospective telecommunications operators.

He explained that the telecommunications operators require additional bandwidth in order to deliver faster internet services which Nigerians are willing to pay for, hence everything is being done to commence the switchover to digital broadcasting in the first quarter of 2014, beginning from Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Enugu.

According to the law maker, NCC will be the beneficiary of the left over spectrum when the digitization switchover is completed and stressed that "One of the benefits of digital transition is that by the time we switchover from analogue to digital, part of the upper UHF will now be available for the telecoms operator to use for mobile broadband, which will further enhance their service delivery and make life in the rural areas a lot more easier for those who can afford it,”

During the inauguration of the council for the national mobile broadband headed by Mr. Ernest Ndukwe,  DigitalSENSE Business News recorded that the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson assured Nigerians that the role out of mobile broadband would soon be available in the rural areas.


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pix: Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson 

MainOne secures USTDA grant for fibre expansion


The Nigerian communications services company, Main One Cable Company has secured USD550,000 grant  from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)  to support a feasibility study on the extension of a fibre optic network from Lagos to Port Harcourt. 

The Chief Executive Officer of Main One, Ms. Funke Opeke said the signing ceremony that the grant will enable Main One to evaluate the technical and financial feasibility of extending approximately 300 miles of undersea fiber optic cabling and supporting infrastructure between two of Nigeria's most important commercial centers.

Opeke informed DigitalSENSE Business News that project will connect Port Harcourt which is the centre for oil and gas to the existing Main One cable system, which spans approximately 4,500 miles and provides capacity for international and internet connectivity, thereby bringing down the costs of bandwidth for both businesses and consumers.

“We are appreciative to the USTDA for this important grant towards furthering the development of broadband services and thus economic development in the oil-producing Niger Delta region," she said.

The Regional Director for sub-Saharan Africa, Paul Marin also said that the project serves as an example of Main One's commitment to bring high-speed broadband access to Africa, adding that "We are proud to be supporting Main One in their efforts to provide the infrastructure for broad-based economic growth in Nigeria."

Highlight of the event was the signing of the grant by U.S. Consul General Jeffrey Hawkins on behalf of USTDA and by Funke Opeke for Main One at the residence of the Consul General.


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Pix:Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Ms. Funke Opeke