What You Need To Know About “Shade Corner” Season 4 Reunion Special

Brand Spur
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What You Need To Know About “Shade Corner” Season 4 Reunion Special

The fourth season of Accelerate TV’s “Shade Corner” comes to an end with a reunion special featuring our favorite group which includes Akah, Tamara, Noble, and Dayo.

We were not going to give you a reunion episode without guests and for this episode, Biodun Laaro is our moderator, he is the face of Accelerate TV News. We also invited huge fans of the show to be a part of the episode.

“Shade Corner” Season 4 Reunion Special-Brand Spur Nigeria
Biodun & Tamara-Brand Spur Nigeria

We get to put the gang on the hot seat with questions about themselves, did you know that Noble has been called to The Nigerian Bar Association, Tamara is a writer, Bayo is a fashion designer and we saved the best for last Akah (father, husband, content creator and Genz associate).

You can tell that the pack sticks stronger than gorilla glue, we found out how the shady bunch assembled and also how they have handled celebrities who have confronted them on the streets for speaking their truth.

The episode gets competitive when the fans go against the shady bunch, make sure to tune in to see who wins. We also have some drinking games, so make sure you have something in your cup.

 “You can feel the love between the cast and this is why we adore the shady bunch. They are all so unique and talented in various ways.” said Colette Otusheso, Head of Accelerate TV.

Watch the reunion of Shade Corner season 4 below;

Previous seasons of “Shade Corner” can be found on our Youtube page and also on Acceleratetv.com which is powered by Access.

Viewers can learn more about “Shade Corner” on Accelerate TV’s Website, Facebook and Instagram pages and share comments on their favourite episodes on social media using #ShadeCorner4.

About Accelerate TV

Accelerate is a digital lifestyle and entertainment platform with a focus on film, fashion, and music in Nigeria and across Africa. We create engaging lifestyle programming and content specially curated, for a global audience of Africans and lovers of African culture.

Accelerate is committed to pushing the Africa Re-imagined narrative to the world through its website, and magazine—The Cover, by creating positive entertaining, educative and empowering content. With more than 10 million views across all its platforms, Accelerate is the place where diverse stories and experiences are told and shared, to spark meaningful and transformative conversations.

VBank Rolls Out New Version 3.0 App With Innovative Features

Esan Bolaji
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VBank Rolls Out New Version 3.0 App With Innovative Features

VBank, Nigeria’s foremost fully digital bank unveiled new and better features of its app at an online press briefing on Monday, March 1, 2021, to kick off the financial year, as well as promote ease of use for its customers. The new app, Version 3.0, boasts exciting features including Cardless Withdrawals, Multiple Funds transfers, Recurring Transactions, Proximity Payments and Advance Budgeting.

The new VBank app will enable users to securely access their accounts to automate recurring bills, manage multiple cards from different banks, send and receive funds using a unique QR code, track spending, generate virtual cards for online payments, buy airtime and data, fix deposits and make free transfers, all within a sleek, responsive and easy-to-use interface.

Speaking at the press briefing, Senior Product Manager VBank, Ebere Ahaotu,

“Virtual banking is all about supporting the needs of every user. We are committed to ensuring that all our customers find banking enjoyable and remain satisfied with the banking process thereby encouraging them to do more. That’s why it takes less than 2 minutes to set up an active bank account.”

According to Osifo Anosike, Head of Engineering at VFD Tech, ‘it was important for us to ensure that the app becomes even more convenient to use and that informed the design and features that we introduced or enhanced in this version. Building Version 3.0 was an opportunity to relearn what it takes to satisfy our users. We had a long list of requirements we wanted to work on but after collecting customer feedback over a couple of months, we were able to prioritize in such a way that the app delivers to the users what they truly need.”

Launched March 8, 2020, the digital bank has onboarded more than 250,000 individuals and businesses on its mobile banking platform across Nigeria and processed transactions worth billions. The all-digital platform is most accessed in cities including Lagos, Anambra, Port-Harcourt, Abuja and Asaba.

“When we unveiled this product last March, we had no idea that the Covid-19 pandemic would sweep in greatly in Nigeria and that people would suddenly become more digitally reliant. We were simply being our innovative selves as a data-driven tech company with big dreams. And while it has been hard through the year 2020, our customers have made every single day of hard work worth it. We hope that with version 3.0 they would find the app, truly useful, intuitive and better suited to their banking needs,” said, Managing Director, VFD Microfinance Bank, AzubikeEmodi, owners of VBank.

Internet-based banking has been an option since the 1990s, but the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 have hastened the transition in unexpected ways. As businesses adapt and a cultural shift takes place all around the world, Vbank takes its prideful place in the new world banking order, opening full-fledged bank accounts, verified via BVN, offering free transfers, and providing loans to service the small business community all from the comfort of their homes.VBank has been at the forefront of innovations in the banking industry, through its customer-led and industry-driven initiatives.

Kogi State Govt Restructures Its Series 1 and 2 Bonds

Esan Bolaji
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Kogi State Govt Restructures Its Series 1 and 2 Bonds

The Kogi State N5 Billion (Series I) 15% Fixed Rate Bond and the N3 Billion (Series II) 17% Fixed Rate Bond under the N20 Billion Debt Issuance Program have been restructured.

Below are the terms of the restructured bonds:

Kogi State Govt Restructures Its Series 1 and 2 Bonds

Again, Sanni Olalekan Akeem Purchases Shares of Vitafoam Worth ₦1.2M

Esan Bolaji
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0
Again, Sanni Olalekan Akeem Purchases Shares of Vitafoam Worth ₦1.2M

Sanni Olalekan Akeem, the Company Secretary/Legal adviser, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, purchased 150,000 ordinary shares of the company.

In a statement released and made available to Brand Spur, Sanni Olalekan Akeem bought 150,000 shares at N8.25 per unit on March 25, 2021, at the Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos, Nigeria. This translates to an aggregate amount of ₦1,237,500.00

Vitafoam Nigeria Plc is Nigeria’s leading manufacturer of flexible, reconstituted and rigid foam products.

Insider dealings give clues on insiders’ sentiment and director unlike before the new transparent policy where shareholders do not know what executives that formulates policy that impacts their desire stocks are doing.

Transaction details

Again, Sanni Olalekan Akeem Purchases 150,000 Shares Worth ₦1.2M Brandspurng

Vitafoam Q4 2020 Financials

Vitafoam Nigeria Plc announced 5.2% revenue growth in Q4 2020 Result to N23bn from N22bn in the previous quarter. The firm also increased its profit before tax by 62% to N5.6bn as well as its profit after tax grew by 72% to N4.1bn. Also, tet Assets grew by 51% from N6bn to N9bn.

Incorporated on 4th August 1962 and listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1978, Vitafoam’s brands remain household names in the Country.

9mobile Offers Free Access To Tertiary Education With MyClassConnect

Brand Spur
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9mobile Offers Free Access To Tertiary Education With MyClassConnect

9mobile, a telecommunication company in Nigeria,  is providing free access to lecturers and students on the tertiary educational technology platform, MyClassConnect.

MyClassConnect is a cloud-based single educational technology platform that facilitates both virtual and physical learning efficiency in higher institutions in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa,

9mobile’s support will ensure that users can access the platform without incurring mobile data costs, a statement by the telecom company said on Saturday.

The partnership with MyClassConnect is another avenue 9mobile is exploring to continue to provide innovative options for the academic community to continue teaching and learning while keeping safe during and after the pandemic.

Commenting on the initiative, Abdulrahman Ado, Executive Director, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, 9mobile told NAN that: “9mobile recognizes the importance of leveraging technology to support very important segments of society like students and the academia.

`While the pandemic brought unprecedented disruptions to life and society, it has also shown us what we can achieve through technology and innovative thinking.

“That is why we are delighted to support edtech platform, MyClassConnect, to expand access to efficient virtual and in-person tertiary teaching and learning while keeping safe.

“This gesture is driven by our passion for youth and our corporate focus on education as one of the strategic corporate social responsibility pillars at 9mobile,” he said.

In his remarks, Founder and CEO of MyClassConnect, Okwuchukwu Obi, said: “The platform enables the efficient handling of academic activities both online & in-person.

“Including planning and delivering lectures, evaluating assessments with improved techniques, keeping up with educational communications out of social media to improve learning feedback, and tracking student learning progress with AI-driven data analytics.

“With this platform, lecturers can without stress, deliver lectures, manage and track learning progress in real-time instead of waiting till the end of semester.

“While students can learn seamlessly and provide feedback which improves the overall learning experience,” Okwuchukwu said.

Okwuchukwu further explained that with support from 9mobile, students and lecturers in Nigerian tertiary institutions could now seize the opportunity afforded by the MyClassConnect platform to continue learning without any disruptions.

According to him, this will make institutions more relevant beyond COVID-19.

Education System In Nigeria After COVID-19

Nigeria’s education system is still largely built around traditional pedagogical learning, which is more focused on the physical learning environment. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 has revealed the inadequacies of this mode of education.

Only 11 of the 170 universities in the country operate a distance learning platform while most of the institutions remain poorly equipped. The low level of infrastructural development in Nigeria, in terms of energy and internet connectivity, also continues to constitute a setback for the adoption of virtual learning in the country.

Primary and secondary school education in Nigeria has also been negatively impacted by the lockdown imposed on schools. Although some schools have explored several mediums to keep their students engaged during the lockdown, many students are disadvantaged due to the prevailing inequality in the socio-economy.

Students whose parents are unable to provide them with the requisite technology tools may not be able to participate. In addition, people living in rural areas, where connectivity is poor to nonexistent, are also affected.

BMW Drops UFC Star Israel Adesanya As Brand Ambassador Over Rape Comment

Brand Spur
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BMW Drops UFC Star Israel Adesanya As Brand Ambassador Over Rape Comment

Nigerian-born UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has been dropped as BMW brand ambassador.

Brand Spur Nigeria learnt that Israel Adesanya who was to be unveiled on Monday, March 29, 2021, as a brand ambassador to German vehicle manufacturer, BMW was shelved following his rape comment aimed at middleweight contender, Kevin Holland earlier this week.

Replying to recent insulting comments made by UFC Vegas 22 headliner, Holland on a since-deleted Instagram story, Adesanya said; “Bro, I will f*cking rape you“.

In a statement released to Herald, BMW said; “Due to the comments made by an athlete (Israel Adesanya) online, we have reviewed our pending association with said athlete and we have decided not to push forward with a specific ambassador for the brand at this time in New Zealand.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for sport in New Zealand, Grant Robertson addressed the recent comment made by Adesanya, detailing how flippant comments about rape should never be made.

“We have to take rape seriously, it’s not an issue that anyone should be making jokes or flippant comments about at all,” Robertson said during an interview with Radio New Zealand. “I’m sure Israel (Adesanya) understands that, I believe he has deleted the tweet (sic) in question. It will be up to the UFC as to what they do.“

In a statement released via his official Twitter account, Adesanya apologised for the comment on Instagram.

“Last weekend fight talk escalated to a point in which I crossed the line,” Adesanya wrote on his official Twitter. “I understand the gravity of this word and how it can affect and hurt other people apart from my opponent, although that was NEVER my intention. I am still to growing (sic) under the spotlight, and I take this as a lesson to be selective with words under pressure.“

As of writing, the UFC has yet to address the comment made by Adesanya, and it’s currently unknown if he will face any disciplinary action.

Ogun Governor Reveals When Steady Water Supply Will Be EFfective

Brand Spur
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Ogun Governor Reveals When Steady Water Supply Will Be EFfective

…Pays Outstanding Salaries, Tasks Water Corporation To Redouble Efforts

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun has announced to the people of the state when regular and improved water supply would be restored.

Brand Spur Nigeria learnt that Dapo Abiodun during a stakeholders meeting on Saturday at the statehouse assured that as soon as the ongoing rehabilitation work on a dam at Arakanga waterworks is completed in June 2021 water will be restored to the state and its environs

Abiodun who just signed the payment of salary arrears for the State Water Corporation staff also expressed concerns over the nonavailability of uninterrupted pipe-borne water supply in the state capital.

Image
Governor Dapo Abiodun in a meeting with the management of Ogun State Water Corporation-Brand Spur Nigeria

 

He disclosed that he had directed the management of Ogun State Water Corporation (OGSWC) to come up with other water production and distribution infrastructure financing gaps for the government’s intervention

Having identified lack of maintenance of water production and distribution infrastructures as a critical challenge across the state, Dapo tasked the management of the OGSWC to come up with immediate, medium, and long-term solutions with costs and timeframe within the next one week with a view to addressing the problem.

While expressing his displeasure at the State Water Corporation’s high monthly overhead cost, which according to him, “does not reflect with its revenue generation”, Abiodun charged the Corporation’s management to redouble its efforts by ensuring that water is restored to all parts of the state without any delay.

The meeting was also attended by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Shuaib Salisu, Chief Economic Adviser and Commissioner of Finance, Dapo Okubadejo, Special Adviser, Water Resources and Board Chairman, Ogun State Water Corporation, and the General Manager of the Corporation.

External Referential Data Is Crucial In Managing Master Data

Dun and Bradstreet
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External Referential Data Is Crucial In Managing Master Data

…True Wisdom Is Knowing What You Don’t Know

What Is External Referential Data?

Traditionally, referential data is defined as a superset from which information is derived to complete a study, task, or goal. Think back to school and writing a research paper. Your teacher or professor expected a bibliography or works cited section at the end of your paper.

This helps substantiate any claims or points you made in your work. It could be a list of books, publications, interviews, or websites that helped you cohesively bring together your research work. External referential data for master data is very similar to this. It is a collection of data curated by an authority external to your organization or enterprise.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

The value proposition of using external referential data boils down to the age-old lessons of teachers ranging from Confucius to contemporary speakers like Jim Rohn.

According to Confucius, “True wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.” Rohn adds urgency to this sentiment when he notes, “What you don’t know will hurt you.” Not knowing or not being able to fact-check your internally generated data could provide you incomplete – or worse, incorrect – data for decision-making.

Gartner noted that, on average, companies take, a $15 million annual hit attributable to poor dataExternal Website. Opens New Window. To add urgency to the matter, Gartner also found that 60% of companies do not measure the financial impact of poor data.

Being able to enrich your organization’s data with timely, trusted, and relevant referential data from an external authority will increase ROI and add credibility to your master data. Below are the reasons why.

Having trusted sources of external referential data makes data upkeep predictable and sustainable.

The 3 R’s of Referential Data

Relevance – Your organization’s master data gains significance when updated, validated, or enriched by well-curated external referential data. Take customer name and address data, for instance. Many questions could arise upon the provision of this valuable pair of data attributes: Is the postal code provided correctly for tax purposes?

Are we working with a branch or a headquarters? Is this customer still in business? Under what other names do they do business? External referential data providers like Dun & Bradstreet can provide answers to these questions (and more) and deliver a competitive advantage to your data users.

Attributes like the “Out of Business” indicator and the various “Doing Business As” fields available can provide answers to, if not guidance on, these questions. Using referential data, not only will you be able to add more intelligence to the customer record through the enrichment of firmographic attributes and hierarchy, but you will also be able to validate the completeness of internally generated data.

Reduces burden in maintaining data – Imagine if your customer master file relied completely on internally generated data. Your customer analytics would be short-sighted and quickly become outdated. Why? It’s not enough to get the data right upon entry – it also needs to be sustainably maintained. Chances are that data maintenance would be quite reactive and dependent on manual updates.

Having trusted sources of external referential data makes data upkeep predictable and sustainable. These are the initial benefits of consuming relevant and curated data from an external source. Not only will your data have a wider scope of coverage (depending on your need), but you can also reduce manual errors, aged data, and misinformation by bringing in external referential data either via a batch process or API technology.

Either way, it significantly reduces the hardship of manual data stewardship. As a result, you will realize the benefits of automation, speed, and predictability through economies of scale. Be it via matching, periodic data refresh, or data recertification, Dun & Bradstreet will be able to reduce the burden of managing your master data assets.

Reliability – In problem-solving, it is said that two heads are better than one. With data management, it’s no different. The more qualified sources you get for your data, the better validation gets. This is a key role of external referential data. Being able to infuse your customer master file with data from reputable vendors and sources should increase your users’ confidence in the data. Referential data removes the guesswork. Authoritative sources provide strength for the data, so it can be used contextually to prove theories and settle arguments.

For example, segmentation exercises use firmographic data such as employee total, annual sales, and industry. These are typical data attributes that can be ingested from an external vendor or partner on a defined schedule. If you source this data from regarded experts, the due diligence already performed by its curators increases the data’s reliability.

The benefit of the increased dependability of your data is passed to the segmentation practitioners who need the data. This is one of the biggest reasons why long-term clients trust Dun & Bradstreet’s Data Cloud. On top of removing the guesswork in business processes by making them data-driven, their curated data is a cornerstone in building data reliability within the enterprise.

Putting It Together

External referential data should be a crucial part of your master data strategy. When you put it all together (relevance, reduction of burden, and reliability), it removes the internal biases of your data. Essentially, an independent and consistent source of referential data provides a factual and demonstrated control to mitigate risks that make business decisions vulnerable.

Coronavirus Continues To Dominate Public Concerns – Ipsos MORI Issues Index

Brand Spur
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Coronavirus Continues To Dominate Public Concerns – Ipsos MORI Issues Index

The February 2021 Ipsos MORI Issues Index shows that Covid-19 remains the top concern among Britons. Around three-quarters (72%) cited the pandemic as one of their biggest worries – the same level of concern that has been recorded monthly since June 2020.

Concern about the economy and Brexit are jointly the second-biggest issues on 35% and 33% respectively. Economic concern has been at the same level since mid-2020, while the proportion of those mentioning Brexit as concern remains sharply down on the December 2020 score of 60%.

The proportion of the public mentioning concerns about pollution, climate change and the environment stands at 14% this month. Although this represents a doubling in concern since June 2020 (7%), the proportion of the public who see this as an issue remains half that observed in the final pre-pandemic wave of the Index (25% in February 2020).

Top ten for February 2021Three new codes have been introduced to the Issues Index this month, based on feedback from fieldwork in 2020:

  • Concern about mental health and personal well-being was mentioned by many participants during 2020. It debuts this month as the tenth-biggest concern for the country, on five per cent – although concern among 35-54 year olds is double that level (9%).
  • International trade and the UK securing trade deals have also featured strongly; this code scores three per cent this month
  • Food production and farming issues have also been mentioned over the year; a new code for these concerns scored less than half of one per cent

Mike Clemence, a researcher at Ipsos MORI, said: “February 2021 saw a continuation of long-running trends in public opinion. Despite advances with vaccinations, public concern is at a level similar to that recorded in June of last year. The economy and Brexit are the other chief concerns for Britons.

“We have added new codes to the survey this month to reflect new answers members of the public are giving our interviewers. Most notable is mental health, which was mentioned by five per cent as a big issue for the country”.

Technical Note 

Since May 2020 the Issues Index has been conducted over the phone; lockdown conditions mean face-to-face fieldwork is currently not an option for public opinion polling.

Mode effects should be kept in mind when comparing the new data points with previous months.

Ipsos MORI’s Issues Index is conducted monthly and provides an overview of the key issues concerning the country. Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative sample of 1,005 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain.

The answers are spontaneous responses, and participants are not prompted with any answers.

Ipsos MORI’s telephone omnibus was used for this survey. Interviews were conducted between 12 and 17 February 2021 across Great Britain. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.

Karl Toriola Acquires Shares of MTN Nigeria worth ₦108.2M

Esan Bolaji
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Karl Toriola Acquires Shares of MTN Nigeria worth ₦108.2M

Karl Toriola, a Non-Executive Director at MTN Nigeria has doled out a total sum of ₦108,223,641.00 (average) to purchase additional 679,370 stocks of the telecoms service provider.

This is according to a recent statement, signed by the firm’s Secretary, Uto Ukpanah.

MTN Nigeria Appoints Karl Toriola as CEO Brandspurng
Karl Toriola

The transactions occurred in twelve (12) tranches, with an average price of ₦159.3 and an aggregate volume of 679,370 units on the 24th of March 2020.

Breakdown of the transaction

  1. 1,000 Ordinary Shares at N158.80 per share
  2. 55,000 Ordinary Shares at N158.80 per share
  3. 44,000 Ordinary Shares at N158.80 per share
  4. 11,000 Ordinary Shares at N158.80 per share
  5. 47,504 Ordinary Shores at N158.80 per share
  6. 15 Ordinary Shares at N158.80 per share
  7. 400 Ordinary Shares at N158.80 per share
  8. 100,000 Ordinary Shores at N160.00 per share
  9. 41,081 Ordinary Shares at N160 00 per share
  10. 79,370 Ordinary Shares atN160 per share
  11. 100,000 Ordinary Shares at N160 00 per share
  12. 200,000 Ordinary Shares at N160.00 per share
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