Diageo To Help Mitigate Climate Change In Smallholder Farms In Africa

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Diageo To Help Mitigate Climate Change In Smallholder Farms In Africa

Diageo has invested £450k in three innovations, each intended to lessen and monitor the impact of water and climate crises in Africa.

The three challenges are focused on water, carbon and biodiversity impacts, and are part of Diageo’s Sustainable Solutions to help the company reach its sustainability goals by 2030.

Smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to weather changes and water scarcity arising from climate change. Diageo is building resilience in its communities and monitoring its farming programmes to preserve natural resources as part of its global agenda.

Kirstie McIntyre, global sustainability director at Diageo, said: “Our next Sustainable Solutions round will create action for innovators around the world to help save lives and livelihoods in the countries and communities most at risk”.

The action plan aims to discover and develop innovators and technology that can help to achieve these sustainable goals. Current pilots include the development of a coating to make glass thinner without losing its strength to reduce emissions and the resources needed.

The pilots will be taking place in East Africa and if successful will be rolled out across Diageo’s smallholder farmer network in Cameroon, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Tanzania, Turkey, Seychelles, South Africa and Uganda.

“Globally, we have unpredictable weather with increasing droughts and floods and a gap in our agriculture monitoring capabilities. Soil moisture monitoring must be improved so we can look at where we can improve soil water holding capacity, supporting our farmers to maintain a steady farming cycle and income,” added John Cant, head of Diageo Sustainable Solutions.

Content Is King – Only If It Lands

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Content Is King – Only If It Lands

A robust content strategy has become more crucial than ever for raising awareness, turning leads into customers, driving sales, and realizing ROI. From larger organisations with complex digital screen networks spanning diverse scales and geographies to SMEs and home-based enterprises, a sound content strategy entrenches your business objectives by creating awareness, marketing your products, and keeping your customers informed.

CEO of leading tech communications firm, TQ Group, Elbé Smith believes that content is one the most important ingredients in driving engagement between customer and product and creating a positive user experience with your brand.

With over 90% of information transmitted to the human brain visually, organizations in sectors like corporate, finance, retail, and mining are increasingly realizing the value of visually pleasing digital content and sophisticated multi-media audio-visual campaigns.

“The Covid pandemic has accelerated the 4IR and as a result, today’s consumers are digitally and visually sophisticated. This means that communications firms are seeing the need to take their content offerings up a notch,” says Smith. “Cutting-edge content, informed by data on how, when and for how long viewers engage with the screen or piece of content, has given companies greater awareness of customer intent at various touch points along the sales journey. This lets them tailor compelling content that resonates at each stage of interaction, driving conversions and meaningful positive engagement with the brand, and leaving customers with a lasting positive impression,” she says.

Detailing the impacts of modern analytics techniques and their integration into the world of communications, Smith explains that Anonymous Viewer Analytics, or AVA, has been around for some time. “Ever more sophisticated analytics systems and facial recognition tools are driving the effectiveness of in-store screens and helping organizations to better understand their customers and the content that they want to watch,” says Smith.

“While traditional AVA lets you know the age and gender demographics of your viewers, more sophisticated sensing technologies – such as those that track eye movements and measure engagement with content – really shifts the needle as far as knowing who is watching what piece of content and for how long”, says Smith. She adds that combining these insights with smart content triggering software means that only the most relevant content is being served to the viewer. “There is no longer any reason to serve up redundant or unwanted messaging,” Smith elaborates.

Veterans of Africa’s communications world, the TQ Group produces and manages the content, scheduling and technical infrastructure for over 3,700 in-store screens across the African continent, with notable clients including parastatals, major banks and NPOs. “Our approach combines creativity and storytelling with data and analytics to develop content across the digital spectrum, including in-store screen networks, social media platforms, workplace apps, and the like,” Smith concludes.

Negative Performance Persists In Local Bourse

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Negative Performance Persists In Local Bourse

The Nigerian All Share Index extended its negative streak, falling by 0.09% to close at 49,599.73 points at the end of yesterday’s trading session. The Performance was due to profit taking in large-cap stocks such as NB (-0.10%) and UCAP (-0.83%). Consequently, the YTD return decreased to 16.11% as market capitalisation fell by ₦24.38 billion to close at ₦26.75 trillion.

The sectoral Performance weakend marginally as three of the five indices under coverage declined while the industrial index closed flat. The Oil & Gas index, the biggest loser, fell by 0.32% on OANDO (-1.92%). The Banking and Insurance indices, followed suit, declining by 0.30% and 0.03% on FIDELITYBK (-0.87%) and AIICO (-1.82%) respectively. Conversely, the Consumer Goods index, the only loser, rose by 0.10% on DANGSUGAR (+0.30%).

Investors’ sentiment strengthened as the market breadth increased to 1.00x from 0.61x. This was illustrated by the advance of 16 stocks, led by PZ (+9.76%) and NPFMCRFBK (+4.58%) and the decline of 16 stocks, led by CHAMS (-10.00%) and FCMB (-8.02%). Activity level weakened as the total volume and value declined by 7.23% and 38.79%, as investors exchanged about 128.94mn units of shares worth over ₦1.67bn.

We expect positive sentiment to return in the next trading session as the equities market still presents decent opportunities for investors chasing positive real returns on investments.

Fixed Income

There was mixed sentiment across the bond yield curve as two of the four bond yields under coverage inched higher while the FGN-JAN-2026 and FGN-JUL-2030 bond yield closed flat. The yields on the  FGN-APR-2023   and  FGN-MAR-2024 bond papers advanced by 2bps and 8bps respectively.

The Treasury bill yields for the 91, 182, and 364-day papers closed flat at 11.53%, 6.49% and 6.78% respectively.

We expect market activity to be influenced by the liquidity levels in the financial system. 

  • Negative Performance Persists in the Local Bourse, NGX ASI Sheds 11bps
  • Mixed Sentiment across the Bond Yield Curve
  • Positive Performance in Global Stocks
  • Brent Crude Closes @ $89.83
  • Negative Performance in African Stocks

Digital Marketing In Africa: Bringing Much-needed Skills To Nigerian Youth

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Digital Marketing In Africa: Bringing Much-needed Skills To Nigerian Youth

There is a huge demand for digital marketing skills around the world, hardly surprising in a vastly online world, in which the majority of people are considered to be permanently plugged in. In essence, if you’re not marketing to people digitally, you’re not really marketing to them at all. Considering this, it is astonishing just how big of a skills gap remains.

Prior to 2020, we already witnessed a wide digital marketing skill gap, and this has only increased in recent years thanks to the rapid digital transformation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, according to research by Salesforce and Rand Europe, the skill divide is so large that it could cause 14 G20 countries to lose out on US$11.5 trillion in cumulative GDP growth.

Africa is not excluded from this growing divide either. Despite difficulties ascertaining the precise figures on digital marketing within Africa, it is worth noting that research from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) shows that some 230 million jobs across the continent will require digital skills by 2030.

However, thankfully, within that same skill gap, there is a significant opportunity for young Africans and Nigerians. If young professionals are equipped with the necessary skills to succeed, especially within digital marketing, doors will begin to open for them. This will enable them to not only guide domestic businesses through their digital marketing transformations, but also become significant players on the global digital stage.

The Importance of Digital Marketing Skills

In order to understand the scale of the opportunity, it’s worth remembering that Nigeria’s GDP, already the largest in Africa, is set to reach US$450 billion in 2022, having returned to a growth trajectory post-COVID-19. Furthermore, increasingly large proportions of that economy are also either wholly digital or digitally enhanced. In fact, digital revenues in the country are expected to hit US$16.43 billion by 2025, up from US$11.38 billion this year.

Moreover, it is also worth noting that only 51% of Nigeria’s population currently have internet access. However, as the infrastructure for connectivity becomes more ubiquitous and prices fall, that number will grow rapidly, and it is anticipated that 35 million additional Nigerians will be online by 2026.

It is therefore clear that there remains plenty of room for growth within Nigeria’s economy, and in parallel, it will become increasingly important for both multinationals and homegrown businesses to market themselves online. That in turn makes it critical to not only foster, but also grow digital marketing skills, and ensure that those companies have the best possible on-the-ground support.

The Youth Opportunity

Fortunately, Nigeria already benefits from a booming young population, with an average age of 18, and many of which are digital natives, having grown up with mobile phones, and access to the internet. Therefore, having already been indoctrinated into the digital world, they are unafraid of technology, understand its potential to connect people with brands, and are eager to expand their knowledge.

Therefore, by equipping Nigeria’s youth with in-demand digital marketing skills, it is possible to not only ensure success for business marketing, but also that these young professionals get the chance to enter high-growth industries with the promise of economic advancement.   This is undoubtedly critical in a country where unemployment for people aged 15 to 24 is as high as 53.4%.

Nevertheless, in order for any digital marketing skills initiative to make a tangible difference, it cannot be solely focused on providing young people just general skills. Thus, instead must ensure that everyone has the relevant skills needed to effectively market to people across the world’s leading digital platforms, including Twitter, Snapchat, and Spotify.

This notion is in fact at the core of our commitments at Aleph Group. Our Digital Ad Expert Programme aims to educate, certify, and connect thousands of Africans with the digital skills needed to succeed in a rapidly digitizing economy.

Our aim is to create a generation of young people that are capable of driving their local digital economies to the next level.

Beyond Marketing

It is, of course, important to consider the additional benefits of these skills, as they will not only serve individuals who choose to pursue careers in marketing. In fact, the skills and certifications provided may also complement entrepreneurial enterprises or symbolize a diving board into the broader digital landscape, and thus, ultimately result in added developers, technicians, and well-rounded generalists crucial to building the digital economy.

The digital opportunity in Nigeria is massive, it is, therefore, crucial that the country’s young generations are given the best possible chance to embrace it, and therefore equipping them with essential digital marketing skills may well be the best place to start.

How To Get Payments Across Africa With Ecobank Group’s RapidCollect™

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How To Get Payments Across Africa With Ecobank Group’s RapidCollect™

With only one account, business customers can receive funds instantly from their clients in their home country and across Ecobank’s pan-African network; Ecobank business customers can now make instant automated reconciliation leveraging Ecobank’s trusted technology

The leading pan-African Banking Group, Ecobank Group, has simplified collections across Africa through RapidCollect™. RapidCollect™ enables Ecobank’s business customers to receive payments from their clients in their home country and across Ecobank’s network of 33 affiliates, instantly and at a lower cost than any other current cross-border solution.

RapidCollect™ caters for the needs of business customers across Africa, as the continent is at a unique point in its history. Immense trade, investment and economic growth opportunities are driven by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)’s creation of a single African market. The Economic Commission for Africa has forecast that the AfCFTA will boost intra-African trade by about 40%.

Josephine Anan-Ankomah, Group Executive, Commercial Banking, Ecobank said “With the African Continental Free Trade Area offering untold trading growth opportunities for Africa’s businesses, it is imperative that the payment and collection infrastructure proactively caters for the needs of our continent’s small and medium-sized businesses by facilitating their cross-border trade.

Ecobank’s Rapid-Collect™ further advances our determination to remove intra-African trade barriers by providing a fast, innovative, secure, hassle-free and reliable collection solution for our SME customers which leverages the collective scale and strength of our 33-country pan-African network”.

Isaac Kamuta, Group Head, Payment services, Cash Management and client access, Ecobank Group added: “The launch of RapidCollect™ reaffirms our leadership as the Best Bank for Cash Management in Africa. It provides a fast, innovative, secure, and reliable solution for our customers which leverages the collective scale and strength of our 33-country pan-African network.

“Our customers only need an Ecobank account in their home country – rather than needing an account in every country in which they trade. It removes the delays previously inherent in cross-border business payments and addresses the issues created by fluctuating forex rates.”

Through RapidCollect, Ecobank’s Commercial Banking and Corporate and Investment Banking customers benefit from the convenience of:

  • one account to receive business payments hassle-free from across our 33-country network
  • instant payments into their Ecobank account in their home country and across our network
  • automated reconciliation for our businesses with capabilities to integrate their billing system
  • secured transactions via Ecobank’s tried and trusted technology
  • easier cross-border payments to seize opportunities from the AfCFTA’s continent-wide single market

RapidCollect™ is available at Ecobank branches and it is already integrated into our digital channels. The solution is subject to the regulations in each country.

For further information, visit https://bit.ly/3AWpCFB

Mobile Robotics Market To Expand At A CAGR Of 21.40% From 2021 To 2030

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Mobile Robotics Market To Expand At A CAGR Of 21.40% From 2021 To 2030

Without human assistance, mobile robots (also known as mobile robotics) are employed in production and distribution facilities to pick, move, and sort things. Moving raw materials and produced items inside the facility is one of the many tasks mobile robotics can carry out thanks to their vision cameras, onboard sensors, facility maps, and warehouse execution software (WES).

Due to the numerous advantages that mobile robots may provide, including the ability to minimize product damage, lower labor costs, increase productivity, and automate procedures, they are widely sought. According to MRFR, the Mobile Robotics Market will expand at a CAGR of 21.40% from 2021 to 2030.

Market dynamics:

Businesses already benefiting from mobile robotics include automotive, food and beverage, transportation, and logistics sectors. To improve their material handling processes, warehousing and retailing enterprises are working with technology firms and suppliers of automation solutions. To supply automated material handling and sortation equipment to its clients in the industrial, transportation, and retail sectors, for instance, Tompkins Robots, a U.S.-based manufacturer of mobile robotics, teamed up with PULSE Integration, a WEPCO Company, in October 2019.

Recent development in the market:

In order to expand their warehousing operations, big e-commerce corporations are now concentrating on acquiring vendors of autonomous robots. Shopify Inc., a Canadian company that offers reliable tools for retail enterprises and a multi-channel commerce platform, acquired 6 River Systems, Inc in 2019. This U.S. company offers mobile robotics fulfillment solutions. The deal entails expanding Shopify Inc.’s Shopify Fulfillment Network to include 6 River Systems’ cloud-based software and collaborative mobile robots. In order to concentrate on automating various parts of e-commerce fulfillment, Amazon.com, Inc. finalized the acquisition of the American warehouse robotics start-up business Canvas Technology in April 2019.

A partnership between the American automation business Alert Innovation and the Japanese industrial automation company Murata Machinery, Ltd. was announced in August 2019. According to the agreement, Murata Machinery, Ltd. will transmit technical expertise on the Alphabot picking solution system to Alert Innovation, Inc. as a strategic partner. The cooperation also gives Murata Machinery, Ltd. the only right to design, develop, produce, and maintain systems based on Alphabot across Japan. Additionally, Alert Innovation has revolutionized supermarket retail by leveraging Alphabot technology in creating the new grocery store design known as NOVASTORE, allowing its consumers to access the requested items automatically by Alphabot.

As they are created to address specific issues related to traditional industrial contexts, mobile robots are integral to lean operations across a larger category of industrial scenarios. These robots are made to move around in naturally dynamic situations, like building sites. Robots working safely in these situations are positioned for tremendous economic potential as manufacturing facilities pursue leaner operations and thus become more dynamic. Additionally, autonomous robots enable production and warehousing facilities to automate processes without needing to change the current working environment.

Mobile robotics lacks a driver since each robot is steered along a predetermined course by sensors and software. Mobile robotics thus offers better tracking and dependability of material transportation. As a result, improved tracking, safety, and dependability are realized. To make effective judgments in urgent circumstances, the robots collect data via laser scanners, 3D cameras, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and wheel encoders.

Robots can effectively navigate and have the environmental awareness to avoid humans and other objects in their way. Mobile robotics with AI feature strategically positioned cameras that function like extended robot sensors. Mobile robots learn to alter their behaviour by gathering knowledge before approaching a specific location. This entails that they research activities and steer clear of potential hazards like heavy traffic during periods, such as when supplies are frequently delivered and transported by truck or when there is a lot of human interaction during breaks or shifts.

Regional analysis:

Due to the substantial demand for material handling equipment from the established players in the manufacturing industry, Europe was the dominating regional market in 2019. It accounted for about 31.7% of the worldwide revenue share. Continued process automation in other industries and industry verticals will drive the regional market further. Autonomous mobile robots have been implemented in several production and distribution facilities across numerous geographies for various tasks, including selecting and packaging, transporting, and sorting products within the inventory system. In order to meet the demand for services, the transportation and logistics sector primarily focuses on using mobile robotics to expand its production and distribution activities.

Trading Forex safely: the ultimate checklist for choosing a Forex broker in Malaysia

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KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 7 September 2022 – Choosing a reliable broker to invest with isn’t always easy. Malaysian financial experts have outlined eight tips on how to find a trustworthy broker to start trading Forex.

Publiseer’s Books Will Be Distributed To An Additional Store

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Publiseer’s Books Will Be Distributed To An Additional Store

The digital distribution company, Publiseer, has begun distributing books of its authors to an additional store, Citeste.ro, which is a subsidiary of Voxa, a Romanian subscription mobile reading app for ebooks and audiobooks.

In November 2021, Publiseer began distributing its books to Voxa, and is adding Citeste.ro to its long list of bookstore partners. This means that all the books that Publiseer has distributed since its inception in August 2017, will also be sent to Citeste.ro, which uses the same financial terms as Voxa.

“The difference between Voxa and Citeste is that Voxa caters to individuals, while Citeste caters to institutions. However, they have the same financial terms,” says Chidi Nwaogu, one of the founders of Publiseer.

“Citeste was born at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its mission is to help students and teachers access educational books, both for school and for entertainment purposes.”

As of writing, Citeste.ro offers over 20,000 book titles from some of the biggest book publishers in the world, including Macmillian, Harvard University Press, and Oxford University Press. It also offers titles from other renowned publishers like Dorling Kindersley, Disney, and National Geographic. Initially offering titles in Romania, Citeste.ro is now offering titles in English as well.

Publiseer is a digital platform that helps independent and underserved African writers, musicians, filmmakers, and video game developers, typically those from low-income and disadvantaged communities, to earn above the minimum wage and live above the poverty line from the sales of their creative works.

Publiseer achieves this by helping them distribute, protect, promote and monetize their creative works worldwide, at no charge, with just a single click, and the digital platform shares in the revenue it generates for these creators, which in turn goes back into helping more creators in Africa.

So far, Publiseer has helped over 8,000 African creators from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, to distribute over 15,000 digital content, thus earning over $338,000 in revenue from nearly 80 million in downloads and streams since its inception in August 2017.

Top African Fund Managers To Support Africa’s Tech Innovation Boom

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Top African Fund Managers To Support Africa’s Tech Innovation Boom

From 12 – 16 September 2022, the Boost Africa Technical Assistance Facility and AfricaGrow Technical Assistance Facility will host 40 leading fund managers from select African investment funds for an in-person programme held at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

The aim of the program is to engage in dialogue and extend expertise in leading Africa’s exponential growth in the tech venture capital (VC) space.

The ‘Africa Venture Finance Programme’ is designed specifically for VC fund managers investing in early and growth-stage technology companies in Africa. The week-long course will focus on the sharing of best practices and peer-to-peer knowledge, and provide cutting-edge insights and learning opportunities in all relevant aspects of fund management.

In total, 15 funds will be represented, with participants including fund managers from AfricInvest, Knife Capital, TL Com Capital, Ventures Platform Fund, Janngo Capital, Atlantica Ventures and others. Reflecting the industry-wide need for improved women’s inclusion (https://bit.ly/3RG9wqa) at senior levels, more than half (62%) of participant fund managers are women.

Fund managers will also have the chance to interact with business leaders, industry experts as well as representatives from development finance institutions (DFIs) such as the European Investment Bank and DEG Invest.

The African tech ecosystem has seen staggering growth in recent years, tripling in size from 2020 to USD 5.2 billion (https://bit.ly/3TJnglT) in 2021. However, the proportion of African-led start-ups receiving significant funding remains woefully low, remaining in the single digits (https://bit.ly/3KQNsHk).

In addition to its intrinsic benefit, locally-led leadership is critical in channelling VC investment towards innovations that effectively address challenges faced within and outside Africa. African start-ups have proven to be competitive, profitable, and world-class when equipped with support and expertise from investors and fund managers who truly understand their value and growth potential.

This programme therefore seeks to bring together African fund managers at the forefront of the continent’s unique growth trajectory, leveraging their own expertise as well as that of critical ecosystem stakeholders to usher in the African-led unicorns of tomorrow.

“The EIB is committed to supporting high impact innovation investment around the world. We are pleased to support the Boost Africa programme that is sharing investment best practice to strengthen the lasting impact of investment partners across Africa.” – Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank.

“We are incredibly excited to be convening a group of the leading African Venture Capital Funds for this course in Oxford. During the week, participants will engage with global VC experts, Oxford faculty and most importantly, each other. We are hopeful that the course contributes to a strengthening and connecting of the African VC ecosystem.” – Aunnie Patton Power, Program Director, Oxford Saïd Business School.

“Both AfricaGrow and Boost Africa aim to have a catalytic effect on the emerging African start-up ecosystem, by investing in and supporting VC funds in Africa. This week at the Oxford Saïd Business School is quite unique in bringing together 40 of Africa’s most relevant investors and will definitely help in furthering the conversation on how we can ensure the most promising founders on the continent have a fighting chance to start and grow their businesses.” – David van Dijk, Team Leader, Boost Africa Technical Assistance Facility.

The authors take full responsibility for the contents of this article. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Investment Bank.

Uber Announces New Mobility And Safety Features For Nigeria

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Uber Announces New Mobility And Safety Features For Nigeria

Uber has today announced a range of new products, updates, and features focused on travel, safety, and delivery across Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria.

General Manager for Uber SSA, Kagiso Khaole  adds, “Our aspiration is to move more people and goods to more cities, innovate new features and products, raise the bar on safety, explore categories beyond the food category and grow earnings opportunities.”

Taking the Uber experience into new cities

Uber is announcing its expansion into Owerri and Akure, now making Uber available in 11 cities in Nigeria and 18 cities across West Africa. These expansions signal more access to earning opportunities for drivers and affordable, convenient, and reliable mobility solutions for riders, at the tap of a button.

New product innovations

To help reduce costs for riders and increase demand for drivers, Uber is launching UberX Saver in Port Harcourt.

UberX Saver provides an avenue for drivers to earn more by raising the chances of trips even during off-peak times, so that they do not need to stop driving during less busy times.

After a successful rollout of Uber Connect in other markets in Sub-Saharan Africa including Lagos, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, Uber is excited to announce that users in Port Harcourt and Ibadan will soon be able to send parcels and goods from one consumer or small business to another.

Tope Akinwumi, Country Manager for Uber Nigeria says, “We are committed to Nigeria, which is a key contributor to the growth of our business in Sub-Saharan Africa. We’re passionate about helping people move and discover their city with ease and helping drivers increase earning opportunities.”

Taking a stand on safety

As ridesharing becomes a way of life for more people, Uber never stops raising the bar on safety and has a range of features that take advantage of the latest smartphone technology to ensure that riders and drivers feel safe.

Uber is announcing a collaboration with Sety to provide users with emergency assistance if required on a trip. Drivers and riders will have access to a vetted private security response unit, which is closest to their location, using a connected device.

Tope adds: “Our commitment to safety goes beyond the app. This is the reason we have partnered with Sety to provide on-demand security and medical responses.

Based on research, most riders seem to be unaware of the safety features available to them.. As a result, Uber is launching Safety Check-up across SSA which will encourage riders to complete their safety profile by turning on and utilising the available features such as Trusted Contacts, PIN verification and RideCheck.

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