At Tekedia Institute, we nurture innovators & great project champions. We work with universities allowing their students to take our program as an elective. We work with banks, helping them to prepare their merchant customers for the opportunities of today and tomorrow. We are working with a state government to help it move from invention to innovation. Great companies are training their workers here. Entrepreneurs are being prepared here. Class begins Aug 10. Register today; early bird ends on Friday. Tekedia offers an innovation management 4-month program, optimized for business execution and growth, with digital operational overlay. It runs 100%…

In less than a few months that the University of Ibadan through the Registrar announced the vacancy for the post of Vice Chancellor of the institution, people have continued to express their views who becomes the new Vice Chancellor on December 1, 2020. In a series of articles, our analyst has highlighted academic contributions of some of the contenders. Our analyst has also pinpointed the reasons the University must be led by a strategic thinker not only planner. Following our analyst’s pieces, Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe picked interest in some of the insights from the  pieces and wrote two articles that…

“We’re trying to get drivers to care about their daily earnings. Within the first three months, we had twenty drivers that earned ₦4.4 million ($11,335),” Babajide Duroshola told TechCabal The post Nigeria’s bike-hailing wars didn’t take off in Ibadan but SafeBoda is making some progress appeared first on TechCabal.

Microsoft has confirmed that it will continue discussions to buy Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok and expects to conclude the M&A negotiations by Sept. 15. This coming after President Donald J. Trump said he opposed such a deal and has claimed he plans to ban TikTok. Trump had told reporters that he planned to take some kind of action to […]

In its efforts of making a home available to every Nigerian, the federal and state governments have made some laws through legislative houses. From early 1970s to the 2000s and the current decade, laws that focus on making accessing housing funds and reducing other problems preventing effective home ownership have been passed. For instance, the Mortgage Institutions Act was enacted in 1989 with a view of helping people at the middle and bottom of the pyramid accessing government’s housing intervention funds. This is equally followed by the enactment of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Act 1993, which led to…

Poor TikTok America as it makes its way to Microsoft. Forget it. I am not sure if MicroTok, my suggested name for the Microsoft future version,  will live up to the glory of the real TikTok. It would be complicated as what makes TikTok hot is the AI which drives those short video recommendations to align perfectly for users. Mess up those AI systems, you have nothing.  There is a possibility that MicroTok could struggle because of one thing: the zero privacy in China makes its mobile solutions more engaging as they can use data which American companies cannot use…

As the United States government intensifies pressure on TikTok to cut off ties with China or get booted out, the parent company, ByteDance has succumbed to the demands of Trump’s administration as it seems to be the only way out. ByteDance has offered to forgo its stake in TikTok to a US-based firm in order to stop the video app from being blocked in the United States. US president Donald Trump said on Friday that he would ban the TikTok within days, because the app poses a security risk under its Chinese parent. “Not the deal that you have been…

Comment on LinkedIn: This may be an overly simplistic analysis of the situation. It is hard to imagine that earnings for a single quarter over a 15-year investment period is responsible for the exit of Shoprite. And while exchange rate exposure is a key factor in any business operation, smart businesses often find ways to ameliorate its effect. For instance, they could have hedged this risk by exporting local produce with their earnings to receive payment abroad in a foreign currency (eg dollar). I imagine the Shoprite exit decision had more forces at play. Perhaps they had a pre-determined investment…

Business is the art of communication, but 90% of the time, it is expected to return money. In a situation where a pure water hawker is no longer making money on Lekki bridge, he usually moves to Mushin bridge, and maybe add one or more products, such as Gala to attract diverse customers.  If he notices that the bowel of water is becoming too heavy to include Gala, he tries to cooperate with an independent Gala seller. That is how so many ventures started, and is surviving sustainably.  Facebook is sitting on global fire, but they have extended their hand…

Looking at the financial records (see here) of Shoprite, the company is not doing bad in Naira. Reported sales dropped 6.7% for H2 ended June 2020 for the Nigerian operation . If Naira had not lost value, the company would have recorded financial growth. Excluding South Africa (the home country and with the benchmark currency), Shoprite recorded financial growth decline (1.4%), even when discounting Nigeria, due to currency issues in Africa. If your sales dropped 6.7% while the influencing currency dropped close to 25%, the operating numbers are not bad.  If Shoprite had been listed in Lagos, it would have…

As the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, it brought the space journey that started in May 31, to a successful end. After having blazed through Earth’s atmosphere, the parachutes delivered them safely to the waiting hands of NASA officers. The two parachutes worked autonomously to bring the capsule to slow down, reducing the astronauts’ speed of 17,500 mph in orbit down to 350 mph upon atmospheric reentry, splashing down eventually at 15 mph. Good splashdown of Dragon confirmed! Welcome back to Earth, @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug! pic.twitter.com/0vAS3CcK9P — SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 2, 2020…

A Report has queried the low participation of women as gubernatorial candidates in the forthcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States. Released by a non-governmental organisation, Kimpact Development Initiative, and titled Why do we have Low Women Political Participation, the report had a breakdown of the gender, age and qualifications of the candidates in the two forthcoming elections. For instance, in Edo State, 14 governorship candidates are participating in the election. Out of these, only one female governorship candidate is on the list of contestants who will slug it out in the September 19, 2020 election. Analysis further reveals…

The previous cumulative and the new statistics about the cases of Covid-19 in Nigeria indicate a mixed trend, which shows that the country could not be said is losing or winning the war against the disease.  Over the last few weeks, Lagos, Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Kano, Oyo and Osun states recorded rising and falling cases of the disease despite various medical and non-medical measures recommended by the governments and medical experts. A recent research, describing the disease, notes “that by April 30, 2020, the total confirmed, active, recovered and death cases stood at 1932, 1555, 319 and 58 respectively;…

Tokunboh Ishmael, Managing Director of Alitheia Capital, says her firm’s investment thesis is based off the impact investment strategy. She backs companies that have good business models and good impact on the common man. The post Tokunboh Ishmael: Pragmatic thesis of an African impact investor appeared first on TechCabal.

Running a supermarket in Nigeria is very challenging. Then, running a supermarket chain like the Shoprite model may be hopeless. The reason is evident: every major street in key Nigerian cities is a “market” with a security man doubling as a vendor. Then, walk a few miles, there is one market or the other. Just around Ikeja in Lagos state, you have Alade Market, the one at the junction, computer village, etc. Move a little further, there is the Oshodi Market and Ajao Estate Market. Most of those market participants do not pay tax. So, formal supermarket chains have to…

Shoprite, the biggest retail supermarket in Africa, is reportedly leaving Nigeria after 15 years, according to the statement issued by the retail company on Monday. “Following approaches from various potential investors, and in line with our re-evaluation of the Group’s operating model in Nigeria, the Board has decided to initiate a formal process to consider the potential sale of all, or a majority stake, in Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Shoprite international Limited. “As such, Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited may be classified as a discontinued operation when Shoprite reports its results for the year. Any further updates will…

If you are an IT professional who is trying to find a place in the job market, you should consider going for a few certifications. There is no denying the fact that the credentials have become very valuable nowadays, part of the reason for this is that the companies want only the best people for the job and don’t want to use a lot of resources to train them. If you are thinking about obtaining any certificate, you need to understand that there are a lot of providers that you can choose from. Some vendors are better than others, so…

This week on the TechCabal Weekly podcast, we talk about exits, Airtel Africa's recently released quarterly reports as well some excitement over Jumia stock. The post TechCabal Weekly Podcast: Africa sees another big exit and investors are excited about Jumia once again appeared first on TechCabal.

Notes: See table below for Tekedia Live schedule Tekedia LIVE – Week of Aug 3   Day Lagos time Faculty/Guest Focus Zoom Link Mon None Tue 11am – 12 noon Franklin Peters, CEO, Bitfxt Decentralized Payments, ID management, etc; Blockchain local Case studies Click link to join Wed None Thurs 11am – 12 noon Adetokunbo Omotosho, CEO, Infoprive Digita Asset Security, Mobile Security Fri None Sat 11am – 12 noon Ndubuisi Ekekwe General   Week Theme: Logistics & Supply Chain Management Lab # 1 — Tekedia Institute Download lab note instruction here (pdf, see below of this page for password) Download one-page…

I wrote a few days ago, noting that the indigenization of key positions in federal universities in Nigeria is the new order. Yes, being a Yoruba man is not enough in UI; it has to be an Ibadan man. Being an Igbo man does not cut it in UNN, he must be an Nsukka man. And being an Hausa Fulani cannot qualify unless the man is from Zaria for ABU. Too bad that I am using “man” because yes, in nearly 99% of these races, our female professors are overly marginalized. The University of Ibadan Vice Chancellorship race comes to…

As an emerging scholar and an early career researcher, I have always looked forward to opportunities to learn more to do what I dedicate myself to when I accepted a teaching appointment in a university.  Every researcher performs three clear duties to the society – teaching, research and community service. So, for me every opportunity to learn is a chance to get exposed to best practices in every facet of life. Thus, when I saw the flier to apply for the Ife Summer Institute (organized by Ife Institute of Advanced Studies) with the theme “Exploring New Frontiers: Knowledge Creation, Collaboration…

Some matters of urgency are most times treated with little or no attention. Some are laughed over and waved off as things unimportant. Or rather, they are handled as issues that should not be taken so seriously. Hence, nobody pays much attention to them until it becomes too late. One of such issues is the claim laid by Dr. Stella Gwandiku-Ambe Immanuel. Sometime last week, a video clip showing, where Dr. Stella gave a public speech concerning COVID-19, emerged. In this video, Dr. Stella claimed that she has been able to treat “over 350 patients with COVID” and has lost…

Indecisiveness is not a healthy trait. A man who cannot start a healthy discussion, or even alter unjust utterances, but plays angel when the rain of fire ravages his nation is not worth calling a countryman of virtue.  You are an aged man, a father, uncle and even a brother, but you watch your nation being toyed with, and you keep quiet just because you think that you can change nationality. Is that even worth discussing? It is despicable. The man you are porting your identity to his land, wasn’t he man enough to answer his father’s name? Ka m…

Week 7 will focus on Logistics & Supply Chain Management. Three Faculty members of Tekedia Institute will lead the session.  Ayodele Adenaike, COO of GIG Logistics, examines Supply Chain Systems and Management in a fascinating logistics course.  L.P.S. Barreto, who studied Supply Chain Management in MIT, handles Outlook on Supply Chain Management and how the future could look. Samuel Akinniyi Ajiboyede, CEO of Zido Logistics, provides an entrepreneurial case study. More so, the week comes with a Lab. Register for the next edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA.  

Good People, our team has batched the certificates to our members who applied for one in July. Our community is growing! If you have yours, tag me. I like seeing Tekedia Institute’s certificates. As always, contact Admin and you will get yours. Meanwhile, tomorrow begins a Lab week for the current edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA. Let’s fix business friction in our companies. You will get all elements tomorrow on the Board. To register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (Aug 10 – Dec 3), visit here.  

Nvidia is in talks with SoftBank to acquire  British chipmaker ARM. SoftBank, a Japanese mega investor, bought ARM for $32 billion about four years ago. But with SoftBank losing money in Uber, WeWork and  most of its investments, it has to sell assets to recalibrate. If this deal goes through, Intel Corp could be severely wounded – call it a Blackberry inflection point when Blackberry (actually Research in Motion) lost to Apple. ARM is an English tech company with a great reputation in chip making. It makes chips for modern devices including smartphones, an area where Nvidia is yet to…

Nvidia is reportedly in talks with SoftBank to buy ARM in a deal worth over $32 billion. SoftBank Group Corp. has been exploring ways to sell the British chipmaker that it bought four years ago for $32 billion. People familiar with the matter said negotiation is in an advanced stage and the parties may reach a deal in the next few weeks, though it is still confidential. Sources said Nvidia is the only company bidding but it is not clear if the deal will be successful. According to people with the knowledge of the matter, SoftBank may welcome interest from…

We have goodies when you refer a friend, associate or anyone to Tekedia Mini-MBA (Aug 10 – Dec 3). Just let us know, and our team will send you the goodies once they join. Tekedia offers an innovation management 4-month program, optimized for business execution and growth, with digital operational overlay. It runs 100% online. The theme is Innovation, Growth & Digital Execution – Techniques for Building Category-King Companies. All contents are self-paced, recorded and archived which means participants do not have to be at any scheduled time to consume contents. A new edition begins August 10 to Dec 3…

We are very excited to share with you what we have been working on for quite some time now. Meet Brass, an improved banking service for local businesses in Nigeria. Brass provides bank-backed, fully insured current account services to local businesses in Nigeria. Starting and running a business is already a test of character, opening […]