Ligali was recognised for his astute leadership and outstanding contributions to the growth of Zain Nigeria, and development of telecommunications in Nigeria, as well as for being the face of the industry within a short time of coming into the telecommunications business.

According to the Board of Trustees of Telecom Awards, his philosophy of constructive engagement with government and lawmakers on the issue of Quality of Service led to a moratorium for operators, which has resulted in significant improvements.

Ligali made headlines and drew public acclaim early this year, when he apologised to customers for poor quality of service and committed to immediate and accelerated network expansion to remedy the situation. He was also honoured for “not only keeping his word, but leading his company, Zain Nigeria, to become the fastest growing with over 200 per cent increase in base station and switches, and a corresponding increase in network capacity.

The Board of Trustees of Telecom Awards praised Ligali’s leadership, saying “since he took over the reins of Celtel (now Zain) a year and half ago, he has re-invigorated operations and galvanised the workforce into committing to reclaiming the top position in the telecommunications industry.

“Zain’s active customers, it further stated, “have increased from 5.4 million in May 2006, to over 15.5 million and the company currently ranks strong second (and contending No. 1) in the highly competitive Nigerian telecommunications market, with a vision to become number one by 2011,” the statement said.

Profile

Bayo Ligali, 52, has over 15 years top management experience, having held various executive positions within the Unilever Group. Prior to his appointment as CEO of the Zain Nigeria, he was the Managing Director of Dangote Pasta Plc. A Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, he is also an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Via: ITNews Africa

Globacom has received three awards at the annual Nigeria Telecoms Awards, organized by Logica Communication, publishers of Telecom News, an industry review magazine.

The awards are:

• Best Telecoms Company of the Year


• Best Mobile Company of the Year


• Best Telecoms Investor of the Year

With these three awards, Globacom, which operates in the fixed, mobile, broadband and international gateway communications sub-sectors, sits atop the industry in terms of overall performance.

According to the report compiled by Phillips Consulting, Globacom was named Telecoms Company of the Year because of its integrated operations, which have seen the company consolidating on its mobile and fixed services, while laying optic fibre cables across the country to provide infrastructure for broadband data and voice communications.

As Telecoms Investor of the Year, the company was rated high for its recent international rollout in Ghana and Benin Republic. Also, its submarine cable project running from Lagos to the United Kingdom through the West African coast, was also listed in the consideration.

As Best Mobile Company of the Year, Globacom was noted for its value-added services, fast rollout and quality of service, which is attested to by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Via: ITNewsAfrica

Is it possible to start an online business in Nigeria without spending a kobo? Yes, it is possible. That title is not an exaggeration, neither is it a false claim. Anyway, if you think it is false, just spare 3 minutes of your time and I will convince you otherwise.

Steps To Starting A Simple Online Business

First, I assume that you already have access to internet. After-all, without internet access, you won’t be reading this except you’re reading a printed copy, in that case, you need to consult a relative or friend that has access to the internet. Okay, you need just three things:

1. A website – A domain name or URL that people can type into a web browser and get to you.

2. An E-mail – An electronic mail box where people can send messages to.

3. A quality product or service to market – Something that has VALUE. Anything offered to meet a NEED! The need can be physical, emotional, or even imaginary. A visitor is the one that determines his or her need. It is your job to either satisfy the need or provide relevant information on how it can be satisfied.

Using a Blog to Start an Online Business

The simplest example of an online business I can think of is a blog. A blog is a web-log or electronic diary being maintained online. A blog can be as simple and informal as a scrapbook where you write anything that appeals to you. It can also be an online-asset that generates millions of naira for you annually.

A blog as an online business may provide products or services (either produced by the website owner or being marketed on behalf of the producer) for visitors to the website to buy. However, majority of blog do not sell product or service directly, instead, they provide free information just like the local TV that air their programs freely. Such bloggers make money by displaying advertisement from sponsor to their visitors, just like the commercial breaks on TV.

Starting an online business using a blog is much more simpler than setting up any other kind of online business. This site you are on is a very good example of a blog that is an online business. The web-address of this blog is http://www.startupsnigeria.com Anytime this URL (also known as domain name) is typed into a web browser, it will lead you straight to this site and not another site. Please, note that the name StartupsNigeria.com is not free, it is paid for, I don’t know how much Loy paid, if you’re curious, ask him

Also, the blog is hosted by a webhosting company. The webhosting company is responsible for ensuring that the content published by the webmaster of StartupsNigeria is always available on the Internet 24/7 all year round. Note: This service is not free.

Using FREE Resources to Start an Online Business

Like I promised, you can start a business without spending a kobo. That means, you can get a business set up online without paying a kobo. All you need to do is set up a business blog with free resources. For example, www.blogger.com and www.wordpress.com will provide you with a website free of charge.

Any of those two big websites will give you a free sub-domain name and a free web hosting plan. Please, note I said sub-domain name! Yes, the free URL will be something like www.mysite.blogspot.com or www.mysite.wordpress.com.

I highly recommend getting a free sub-domain name and free hosting from www.blogger.com. All that you will be required to do is visit the website and create an account with Google (the account comes with a free Gmail email address) and you are good to go. If you need any assistance setting up the blog, you can contact me.

Get A Quality Product or Service to the Market

Millions of people surfing the internet are looking for ways to satisfy their needs. While many are searching for free solution, some are willing to pay. So, invariably if you can provide the solution to those needs or information on how the solution can be gotten, then people will be willing to pay you. Simple, isn’t it. However, that is where the problem lies. Whose need are you going to satisfy?

This is the most difficult aspect of starting an online business. It is at this point that a lot of newbie online entrepreneur fail. Instead of asking, What need am I going to provide solution for? They ask What product or service should I market? Please note that success in online business is dependent on people’s needs being met. You can’t become successful by cajoling or deceiving people to buy products or services that you think are fantastic. Once they discover that it does not meet their need, they will blacklist you. So, the issue is You must identify a NEED you want to help people satisfy and it must be something you are PASSIONATE about (sometimes, it takes time to identify this).

Let’s use my blog, Nigerian Entrepreneur as an example. I am passionate about Nigeria and Nigerians. I have identified that there is a need to educate Naija brothers and sisters on how to start and run an online business from Nigeria. So, I have a blog that talks about that. Please note that I did not start my blogging career with that website, I actually did some trial and error blogging for about six months (in the process learning from mistakes and accumulating experience). I actually did that using the same free resources I recommended above. One of those trial and error blogs eventually generated the fund that I used in purchasing the present website name and hosting.

Recommended Action Plan

1. Make a list of your personal interest, hobbies, things you don’t like, things that infuriate you, things you wish for etc.


2. Having made the list, ask yourself, out of this lot, which are the five I am most passionate about.


3. From the five, ask yourself, which one can I talk about, argue about and work on tirelessly for six months none stop.

If you carry out that exercise, you will have at least a good guess of what you can blog about. Next create a blog by registering with www.blogger.com. Make the blog a personal online diary, and start writing to it everyday for about a month. Feel free to write about other things beside the main topic of interest, as you do this, start visiting and socializing online with other bloggers.

Very soon, you will discover if you are truly passionate about your chosen topic or you have something better. Within three to six months, you would have acquire enough skill online to make a good choice on a niche (a category of peoplersquo;s need) you want to concentrate on. Then you can open another blog and concentrate on developing that one into an asset. By that time, you may opt to spend some little amount of money on domain name and hosting package (don’t get scared, the cost is less than the amount you currently spend on drinks and snacks every month, N550 will get you a good package, ask Loy).

I hope this post have provided you with an insight into the possibility of starting an online business as a Nigerian without spending kobo. The post was not meant to answer all your questions, it is just an introduction to a topic that cannot be exhausted in a day. For more suggestions, you can visit my website Nigerian Entrepreneur. If you need further assistance, I am willing to hold your hand and guide you step by step until you have a blog you can proudly call your own. The service for now is free, maybe I may charge some consultancy fee in the future (just kidding) ;-).

If you have a question, I suggest you post it in the forum at www.naijaecash.com/forum. That way, the answers provided will be documented for other newbies that may have similar questions. This is better than writing emails to me. Wishing you a successful venture online. Cheers, Tony.

The article shares 10 tips on how you can successfully do a demo for your startup and possibly get funding for your project. They are:

1. Show your product within the first 60 seconds

2. The best products take less than five minutes to demo

3. Leave people wanting more.

4. Talk about what you’ve done, not what you’re going to do.

5. Understand your competitive landscape–current and historical.

6. Short answers are best.

7. PowerPoint bullet slides are death.

8. How to use this new device called the phone.

9. How to handle questions you don’t know the answer to.

10. Always confirm the time of your meeting/call, and always be 15

minutes early.

Via: TechCrunch

Image: Mashable

At last, Google has launched a google news site for Nigeria, thus allowing users to search and view news in localized editions, and helping dozens of African news sites make their stories available to users worldwide. Now, users can make local searches for a specific country and find them easily. 

Google News helps online news publishers take advantage of the huge opportunities the Internet offers. With more than one billion people on the Internet looking for information, it is easy to see why Google News brings real benefits to both publishers and users.

Google News also makes it easier for users to discover your site, it drives additional traffic to your site, and also provides new opportunities for online revenue. If you would like to make your news site more searchable, you can use tools such as Robot.txt and Sitemaps. Note: The technical requirements for inclusion in Google News are the same as inclusion in Google’s general index.

According to the Official Google Africa Blog, the technology company is excited about launching the first localized product for Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana, Uganda and Botswana, beyond their home page.

See the Google News for Nigeria at news.google.com.ng

Nigeriareviews is an online community where Nigerian consumers can share experiences and opinions of products and services theyrsquo;ve bought or used by writing reviews about them as well as rating them.

The site is Nigeria’s first dedicated consumer review site, providing consumers in Nigeria with reviews of products and services available in Nigeria, so that they can make more informed decisions when it comes to choosing and spending money on these items or services.

The idea of the site is to create a platform where Nigerian consumers can share experiences and opinions of products and services theyrsquo;ve bought or used, which can go a long way in helping the decision-making process of other consumers, when it comes to choosing a product or service.

For example, if I where to do a review about my first movie experience (Street Kings starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker) last Friday at Nu Metro Cinema located at Ceddi Plaza in Abuja, I would give a fair one, since towards the end of the movie, there was a momentary power interruption which even though came back after a few seconds disrupted the feel and action of the movie and made some people leave.

The site has several categories such as Arts amp; Entertainment, Finance, Internet, Telecoms, Travel, etc All reviews on the site are submitted by people who have had some experience with the items or services theyrsquo;ve used, which means that the site is totally consumer-driven and is set to become a major point of reference for consumers and suppliers alike, both individuals and corporate bodies.

The site is completely free to use, so you do not have to pay anything to signup, submit a review or read a review. There are many products and services already listed on the site, and users can suggest products and services not already listed for subsequent reviews. (Irsquo;ll suggest the owners of the site add Nu Metro Cinema in Abuja, at least for my personal movie experience there last Friday

Nigeriareviews.com strives to ensure that the reviews submitted are unbiased, fair and do not contain offensive content.

The survey will highlight the fundamental changes under way in the telecoms market through the eyes of the Technology Times Intelligence Unit complemented by analysts drawn from media, academia, ICT sector, financial services industry, government, regulatory agencies, NGOs, development agencies, among others.

The first edition of the review was published in 2007 in alliance with Nigeria’s BusinessDAY Newspaper. The 2008 edition will be expanded to be available in other newspapers, magazines, as well as digital and online formats of Technology Times on August 26, 2008 for free distribution to qualified recipients.

The title is: Inside The Teledensity Race: Review of the Post-Unified Telecoms Market.

The report will analyse current market developments, regulatory environment, trends and provide guidance on future outlook through the eyes of decision makers in the telecoms market, service providers, market watchers, regulatory agencies, lawmakers, consumer rights bodies, consumers, among others.

The Telecoms market in Nigeria has witnessed an impressive growth in the last few years. The second edition of the annual survey will also feature a spotlight on West Africarsquo;s emerging telecoms hotbed, Ghana.

Via: Technology Times

LinkSMS is a new Facebook application that allows friends and family send SMS anywhere in the world via Facebook. Developed by Twelfth Imagination courtesy of a Nigerian named Segun Okin and launched on Facebook on the 10th of July 2008, LinkSMS like the usual mobile phone and internet, connects users irrespective of their location, distance or mobile network.

How does it work?

Both the sender and the reciever is required to add the Link SMS application to his/her Facebook account. Also the LinkSMS Toll Free Service makes it possible for users to allow specific friends get in touch with them at no cost through the application.

Each message costs 1 SMS credit no matter the destination country. You can also share SMS credits with your friends. Upon adding linkSMS you will be given 4 free SMS credits and another 4 for every batch of 20 friends who install the application through your referral link.

Whatrsquo;s more?

Still keeping friends connected on Facebook, users can always contact each other even when they change locations or mobile numbers. All they need to do is change their registered number on the LinkSMS application and their friends can always reach them. SMS credits are also available for purchase.

Why I Use this Service?

Link SMS ensures user privacy since mobile numbers are never displayed.

African Trade Hub is hosted on a sub-domain blog called Bundublog, a new blog hosting environment for Africa, built on an Open Source platform. Bundublog.com forms part of the ldquo;Open Movementrdquo; by offering a ldquo;No Costrdquo; blog hosting environment for African blogs.

Greatly appreciated!

Unotech media, a leading Nigeria/UK-based web design startup is partnering with MobilePlus to deliver an interactive gameshow called TV Superfan, the first of its kind in Nigeria aired every Sunday on AIT - the African Independent Television.

Founded in 2002 as DOLADAMS TERRAIN by Mr. Dolapo Taiwo and Mr. Damola Taiwo, the site passed through a wave of branding revitalization that became UNOTECH MEDIA, and has specialised in designing and delivering cost-effective, tailored web sites for individuals and companies all over Nigeria and the UK.

The website offers dynamic news updates and RSS feeds, an updated portfolio showcasing some recent work in print, web design, identity and multimedia and a video profile.

We are really exited to finally launch our new website and also move into our new creative space,” said co-founder and creative director, Dolapo Taiwo. “Ever since rebranding our company from Doladams to Unotech media, we have felt compelled to develop a site that flows with the new web 2.0 trend. Similarly, we have always wanted to use a space that encourages a free flowing exchange of ideas and creativity.”

UnoTech Media has a Facebook fans site that connects web-savvy people together.

And you know what?

I kinda like the sitersquo;s catch phrase: ldquo;Someone or something that is worthy of noticerdquo;, which shows that StartupsNigeria is noteworthy!

Thanks to the site author for such a remarkable review!

Zain, the leading telecommunications group has announced it has re-branded its entire African operations from Celtel to Zain. The mobile solutions company services over 50 million customers in 22 countries across the Middle East and Africa.

What this means is that 14 African countries including Nigeria will immediately rebrand to Zain. Other country operators include: Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia as well as in Francophone countries such as Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, amongst others. Zain plans to launch its mobile operation in Ghana later in 2008.

Zain also announced the creation of the world’s first cross-continental borderless network, extending and linking its lsquo;One Network’ service between Africa and the Middle East. The new Zain brand has a vibrant and colourful identity to create ldquo;A Wonderful Worldrdquo; - a world linking two continents (Africa and the Middle East).

The lsquo;One Networkrsquo; service will be available to 500 million people stretching from the west coast of Africa to the Middle East, covering an area larger than the United States of America. Since it was launched on August 1, customers can make calls and send messages at local rates when communicating with a travelling Zain customer who will receive incoming calls free-of-charge and be able to make calls back home at local rates.

Whatrsquo;s more?

Another interesting thing about this service is that, pre-paid customers can top up their phones with recharge cards bought from either their home country or more than one million outlets available in one of the 15 lsquo;One Networkrsquo; countries. Then, the rsquo;One Networkrsquo; service is automatically activated upon crossing the geographic border into one of the countries, with no prior registration required or sign-up fee.

The Zain Group aims towards becoming one of the top ten global mobile telecommunications companies by 2011.

Via: Zain Press Release

NexiaCulture, formerly ng-nexus, is a professional networking site that offers Nigerian graduates and professionals the opportunity to interact with one another and make strong connections regarding job placements and entrepreneurial opportunities. I have reviewed the site earlier here.

The site is currently offering a free Nokia E65 mobile phone for a member that has 300 friends on or before September 30th, 2008. Obviously, the site is using this marketing strategy to penetrate into the overcrowded business of social networking in Nigeria.

With an Alexa traffic rank of 14 million, why shouldnrsquo;t the site give away a free Nokia phone to attract members?

But wait a minute!

This same strategy has been used by another professional networking site in Nigeria called proCareersNigeria. As a matter of fact, NexiaCulture did what some might call: Photocopying. The site has shown how desperate it could be by using a competition strategy exactly similar to that used by proCareersNigeria.com

See the competition pages for ProCareersNigeria and NexiaCulture. See also a snapshot below.

My take on this

I think that the site should be original if it wants to attract its own unique brand of members. Even if NexiaCulture got lsquo;copyrightrsquo; permission from proCareersNigeria, that doesnrsquo;t mean it should be careless about such a marketing strategy that might put off its members.

One word sums it up: Disappointing!

Just a quick post after a 1 month hiatus. Irsquo;ve been in Nigeria for a holiday, and it hasnrsquo;t been easy to get a steady wireless internet connection on my laptop. But now, I can work better. Yuppieeeeeee!!!!!!

The site has been around since May 2008 and has moved from a traffic rank of 24 million to about 400, 000, according to Alexa. StartupsNigeria gets reasonable traffic from Nigeria, UK and US amongst other countries. Below is the sitersquo;s Alexa stats:

Whatrsquo;s New?

StartupsNigeria.com will be reviewing technology/mobile news, products and services in Nigeria, in the areas of telecommunications, banking, etc. Also, Irsquo;ll be doing interview of startup founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, etc who are making an impact in their businesses.

But therersquo;s more to comehellip; 

The idea behind Nigeria.MySpace is not to have an operating system inside another operating system, or a browser inside another browser. Nigeria.MySpace is about centering the work and entertainment to a single place. The software removes compatibility issues between applications and operating systems.

With Nigeria.MySpace, you can:

- Work from everywhere, even with a full featured modern computer, a mobile gadget or a completely obsolete pc.

- Share resources easily between different work centers of a same company, or work from different places and countries on the same projects.

- Enjoy the same applications with the same open formats, while avoiding the usual compatibility problems between Office suites or traditional operating systems.

How does it work?

Just open a web browser, connect to your Nigeria.MySpace System and access your personal desktop and all your stuff just like you left it the last time you used your system. You can also use your Nigeria.MySpace in internet cafes, at school, at work or at home.

Update: Now you can access your desktop folders using your mobile phone. Simply point your mobile web browser to http://www.nigeria.ms/mydesk/mobile/ - from here you upload and download files - including pictures taken from your mobile.

You can sign up at Nigeria.Myspace and enjoy your work better!

Naija Lingo, Nigeriarsquo;s Online Slang Dictionary for Pidgin Words has just launched a forum for its members to discuss anything around naija slangs.

Naija Lingo is a new Web 2.0 site where you can discover Nigerian slangs and Pidgin English via an online dictionary for people who want definitions to Nigerian words or slangs, names and phrases, etc created by the people who know these slangs.

Word of the Day

whosai - never/impossible

With this forum, Naija Lingo members can discuss anything within four categories, namely:

• General - where people can talk about anything they are interested in, from world news to local gossip.


• Naija Talk - which is about things happening in Nigeria or Nigerian related information.


• Nigerian Pidgin English Words - where people can discuss the words on the site or
  
  even words outside the site; get peoplersquo;s opinions on what they mean. Itrsquo;s also a good place to ask about a word that is not on the site which you need its definition.


• Using Naija Lingo - where you can talk about the site (Naija Lingo); what you like about it and what you may not like as well as suggestions on improvements.

Naija Lingo currently has about 450 unique words contributed by over 100 “lexibutors”, as contributors of words are called on the site. In my opinion, this site is growing and has a reasonable traffic and would be one of the best Web 2.0 products that is bringing people together in Nigeria and around the world. 

If you like this blog, you can subscribe to the feeds. You can also save this article to digg, delicious, stumbleupon or sturvs.

Afrizi was initially launched last year as a city business guide before it was re-launched as a social networking site. The Alpha version was launched on the 4th of June, 2008. Afrizi attempts to connect Africans and friends of Africans within Africa and anywhere else in the world.

Like other social networking sites, Afrizi provides basic services such as photo sharing, blogs, discussions etc However, the site has added a feature called ldquo;ad placerdquo; which allows users to post free classified ads.

 

What is unique about Afrizi?

The site offers a unique service whereby users can generate income by promoting their own pages and attracting advertisers to place ads using the unique ldquo;URLrdquo; which is automatically allocated when users sign up. Other features of the site include a Public Trail that allows users to see what activities other users are engaged with in their network.

How does this work?

A user page ranking will automatically be generated to rate pages based on user activity through ldquo;Page Worthrdquo; – a page ranking system that uses a proprietary algorithm. The idea is to determine user pageworthiness and the value for which advertisers will be paying.

Whatrsquo;s my take on this?

 

Afrizi would become a very powerful social utility site where people can create networks, add value and have fun.

If you like this blog, you can subscribe to the feeds. You can also save this article to digg, delicious, stumbleupon or sturvs.

JustWebServices recently created a free product listing platform for Nigerians who are interested in ecommerce - buying and selling online. The site called nayourshop.com offers a decent, functional and easy platform to sell products at a very low cost or for free with the right convenience, speed and simplicity.

ldquo;Na Your Shoprdquo; which simply means ldquo;Itrsquo;s Your Shoprdquo;, is free to use and comes with standard functionalities but without the online payment features that usually come with eMarketing/eCommerce websites. Users can search for any product listed online and see the product being offered by different people at competitive prices. Users can also sell their products online in a simple and effective manner.

The company plans to release a complete mobile version of nayourshop.com in a few months. Also, a complete, simple and cost effective online payment system will be developed for Nigerian online buyers and sellers.

Whatrsquo;s my take on this site?

The site has a lot of potentials, only if it could introduce online payment features. Besides, it needs to stand out to be able to compete with other online marketplaces in Nigeria such as ebuynigeria.com

NaYourShop.com still lacks the look and feel of an eCommerce website. The sitersquo;s designers might want to include certain features that would make it seem like more like an eCommerce portal.

You can check back here for the latest info about this new web startup.

 If you like this blog, you can subscribe to the feeds. You can also save this article to digg, delicious, stumbleupon or sturvs.

Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria would soon be experiencing something we might call lsquo;realrsquo; broadband wireless connection. Abuja Connect is a new Broadband Internet Service Provider poised to launch from July 1. The site will be offering broadband wireless access to consumers and businesses in Abuja, and its surrounding areas using WiMAX technology.

Using WiMax technology, users on the network can move anywhere within the coverage without any network interruption.  That means that your connection works just fine, wherever you are, whether you’re still or in motion. To get connected, you will need their portable modems, depending on what bandwidth you choose. The modems come with Plug-and-Play technology, so you don’t have to install or download any additional software.  You simply plug and start to explore a whole new world!

The company offers different internet connection plans, namely:

• Connect Lite - ideal for users who wish to get connected during the day.


• Connect Nite - ideal for users who wish to surf the Net from evening till the next morning.


• Connect Always - provides users with a fixed 24-hour connection.

Other services include Domain Hosting, Domain Registration, Email, Media Streaming, IP Security, Video Conferencing, Enterprise Solutions, VoIP, VoD, DSL, etc

The site is poised to deliver uninterrupted internet access in Abuja using world class resources and innovative technology to create an impressive lifestyle product with an estimated target subscriber base of 35,000 in the first year of operations.

Before now, there has been other broadband wireless connection such as services provided by Starcomms Nigeria, Visafone, Multilinks Nigeria, Reltel Wireless, etc

         

Abuja Connect would provide easy access to data, video or music downloads, giving you the power to explore the real freedom of the Internet, handle business, and have fun!

If you like this blog, you can subscribe to the feeds. You can also save this article to digg, delicious, stumbleupon or sturvs.

Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria would soon be experiencing something we might call lsquo;realrsquo; broadband wireless connection. Abuja Connect is a new Broadband Internet Service Provider poised to launch from July 1. The site will be offering broadband wireless access to consumers and businesses in Abuja, and its surrounding areas using WiMAX technology.

Using WiMax technology, users on the network can move anywhere within the coverage without any network interruption.  That means that your connection works just fine, wherever you are, whether you’re still or in motion. To get connected, you will need their portable modems, depending on what bandwidth you choose. The modems come with Plug-and-Play technology, so you don’t have to install or download any additional software.  You simply plug and start to explore a whole new world!

The company offers different internet connection plans, namely:

• Connect Lite - ideal for users who wish to get connected during the day.


• Connect Nite - ideal for users who wish to surf the Net from evening till the next morning.


• Connect Always - provides users with a fixed 24-hour connection.

Other services include Domain Hosting, Domain Registration, Email, Media Streaming, IP Security, Video Conferencing, Enterprise Solutions, VoIP, VoD, DSL, etc

The site is poised to deliver uninterrupted internet access in Abuja using world class resources and innovative technology to create an impressive lifestyle product with an estimated target subscriber base of 35,000 in the first year of operations.

Before now, there has been other broadband wireless connection such as services provided by Starcomms Nigeria, Visafone, Multilinks Nigeria, Reltel Wireless, etc

         

Abuja Connect would provide easy access to data, video or music downloads, giving you the power to explore the real freedom of the Internet, handle business, and have fun!

If you like this blog, you can subscribe to the feeds. You can also save this article to digg, delicious, stumbleupon or sturvs.

Firstnaija.com is an online auction offering members a safe, reliable and efficient medium for trading or exchanging goods and services at auction. The site allows buyers and sellers to list their products, interact with each other to verify features of the product, terms of sale and complete the sale of good safely. 

Like Ebay, the site is a marketplace where the person with the highest bid for any particular item wins the opportunity to purchase the item at that price.

Firstnaija.com also offers proprietary systems, like the Firstnaija Escrow Services, Feedback System, Verification System and SitePay, which greatly reduce, if not totally eliminate, the risk of fraudulent activities on the site.

With Firstnaija, buyers canhellip;

- acquire brand new or second-hand goods inexpensively

- purchase non-critical supplies, e.g. stationery and office furniture

- acquire specialist, second-hand equipment inexpensively

- reduce the time spent on purchases by setting up automated searches and bid alerts

hellip;and sellers can:

- run their own online store

- convert old items (e.g. furniture, electronics, novels, old textbooks, etc) into cash

acquire new customers

- test new products and establish price points

- dispose of excess inventory quickly

- price according to demand and stock levels

- reduce sales costs by minimising marketing spend

- sell unwanted gift items easily and quickly

Users can register for free and can get a N1000 credit to start them off with site-related expenses such as SMS alerts or online store subscription.

If you like this blog, you can subscribe to the feeds. You can also save this article to digg, delicious, stumbleupon or sturvs.

Sturvs, the Nigerian social bookmarking site has launched a web search engine. The site which was a year old last month, has continued to impress us with exciting features. Sturvs, Nigeria’s first social bookmarking site, is a Web 2.0 sharing and voting website where users can share music, videos, articles, read news and also promote events and services.

The Sturvs Search Engine, which is on its beta version has a simple design like the Google Search page. The site’s contents and search allows users to search for Nigerian stuffs found around the Web, especially in Nigerian newspaper websites, social media sites such as Youtube, various Nigerian blogs and other places. Users get the very latest Nigerian content from all over the internet brought together in one place.

Last October, Sturvs launched the first ever Nigerian facebook application that now has about 100 daily active users. The site is owned by US-based Antigravity Inc.,

If you like this blog, you can subscribe to the feeds. You can also save this article to digg, delicious, stumbleupon or sturvs.

Here are the web startups and their rankings:

1. Nairaland - A discussion forum for Nigerians, which attempts to cover every topic from romance to entertainment, technology and business. (Ranked 13 out of 100)


2. NaijaHotJobs - A Nigerian community where you can find jobs, discuss employment trends and general topics making a buzz around Nigeria. (Ranked 36 out of 100)


3. NewNigerians - A forum for meeting Nigerian Internet Veterans and discussing topics from business to politics; from sports to relationships (Ranked 70 out of 100)


4. CareersNigeria - A weblog that publishes latest jobs, employment gist and careers opportunities in Nigeria for graduates and top candidates. (Ranked 78 out of 100)


5. AllJobsNigeria - A forum that publishes latest jobs, employment gist and careers opportunities in Nigeria. (Ranked 80 out of 100)


6. NaijaEcash - A personal blog of a Nigerian Entrepreneur that shares secrets about earning income online legitimately. (Ranked 99 out of 100)

Interestingly, most of these sites claim to be the Number 1 site/forum for Nigerians, Nigerian jobs, and Nigerian career community. That shows that each site understands that there is competition and thus, they must claim to be No. 1 in order to stay competitive.

However, Nairaland is the most popular Nigerian forum that brings Nigerians together to discuss issues, topics, etc. Careers Nigeria has proved its strengths (just a year old), in the business of providing job announcements, information, etc for Nigerians. Their forum has also done remarkably well in just about a few months.

Naijaecash, on the other hand, is the fastest growing web entrepreneurship blog in Nigeria. The blog which just started in March 2008 now has a traffic rank of about 53, 000, which I personally find amazing. (Irsquo;ve thought about asking the author in an interview how he accomplished this in less than 3 months). In a recent post, he points to Alexa as one of his traffic source.

So which of these Nigerian sites do you use?

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Here you gohellip;

ICAP

http://icapnigeria.com

They call themselves “the intellectual capital firm” with a mission to provide easy-to-use intuitive solutions for complex business processes. Their products and services include solutions that caters for organization’s HR needs, Management solutions for Educational institute, Media solutions and varied Business solutions.

WEBSOFT

http://www.websoft.com.ng

They provide Innovative web and mobile solution, and the list of their services include: Provide sms gateway, Website design, Web based applications, Web Hosting, Mobile Applications for PDAs

ALLIED SOFT

http://www.alliedsoftng.com

Allied Soft Limited is a technology company focused on people management and business software solutions. There flagship product, Xceed EPMS seems to be a pretty impressive application having managed to grab the HP Intergrity 64bit platform certification last year. It is a People Management Software that provides the tools to manage, measure, and reward individual and team contributions. Most of their solutions are deployed making use of Microsoft’s.Net platform.

PEERS CONSULTING

http://www.peersconsulting.com

They describe themselves as a professional services company, providing a varied range of services that can be catalogued under the following categorization: Information technology Consulting, Organisation amp; Personnel Administration, General Management Consulting. The company was established in 1996.

MTECH

http://www.mtechcomm.com

MTech, a technology firm providing first class services in data communications, focuses on mobile applications technology, using existing GSM networks and state-of-the-art mobile technology. Services provided: Multi-channel IT solutions, Interactive Marketing, Mobile Banking, and entertainment services which includes: Ringtones, Logo and Games.

PARA SYSTEM

http://www.parasystems.net

PARA SYSTEMS (NIG.) LTD. (PSL) is an IT solution Provider with business majorly in the area of software development, training, computer hardware sales, procurement, installation of systems, maintenance, repairs, networking and IT consultancy.

LABYET POLARIS

http://www.labyetpolaris.net/

If you are a microsoftee, then labyet ploaris could be a nice place for you to work. Relying heavily on the following technologies Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Back Office Server, Microsoft Visual Fox Pro, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Developer 2000, and Crystal Report Writer, the company provides services that enable their client to find suitable and well developed software for their business operations, to have foreign application software packages, properly customized to suit their operations and maximize the capabilities and capacity of software by providing proper documentation and adequate training for system managers and operators.

ETRANZACT

http://www.etranzact.com/Web/index2.jsp

Run by valentine obi, E-transact is Nigeria’s first online real-time payment system that allows account holders to pay for goods and services purchased from merchants, transfer funds to any bank account, cell phone, any card, pay bills, order products e.t.c. without stress. Services provided include: eTranzact payoutlet, mCommerce, eCommerce services, etranzact webAccess, B2B services, Telco services, ATM services etc.

SYSTEMSPECS

http://www.systemspecs.com.ng

SystemSpecs is the Developer of HumanManager, arguably the leading indigenous HR application in Nigeria today. The company started by John Obaro about 23 years ago, provides services that includes: Software Implementation, Training, Maintenance amp; Support, Application Service Provision, Data Security and Safety etc. Apart from all these SystemSpecs also run an academy: SystemSpecs Training Academy (STA) with a vision “To be the Software Training Institution of Reference In Africa”. Guess this could be a cool place to work.

DabarObjects

http://www.dabarobjects.com

DabarObjects is an Information Technology Consultant that specializes in the areas of Dekstop Application Solutions, Web and Internet Related Services and SMS Messaging Intelligent applications, with a mission : “To move your services forward by creating simple and good quality software” .

dabarObject is Java! And they are proudly so. If you love DUKE, then dabarObject might just be the place for you. DabarObject is the developer of (Boutick) a Boutique Management Software.

Via: [60minuteswiththegeeks]

Tru Spot!™ is a social music platform designed to support Nigerian artists, fans, local music and the entertainment world at large. The site is perhaps the hottest spot online where you can discover the latest and hottest music straight from Nigeria (or Naija, if you like).

Tru Spot! connects users who share similar tastes, bring the artists they love closer to them via interviews, chat sessions and more. The site also provides live and custom radio streams, music ringtones for your mobile phones, wallpapers and lots more.

The way it works

Music artists upload their tracks to Tru Spot! servers for their fans to participate in the music by listening to it, rating it, reviewing it, and sharing it. The whole idea is aimed at collectively building the largest African social music platform/community.

Tru Spot! also features artists, top singles, top videos, etc. Other features of the site include, forums, blogs, videos, radio, chat, events, etc and offers free MP3 and video downloads.

With the easy-to-customize radio module, music fans can play around with their favorite artistrsquo;s music right from their location, wherever they are in the world, and share the results and their reviews with everyone in Sturvs and elsewhere. The site has a cool design and look that keeps you coming back or staying on the site.

Tru Spot! was founded by Ikenna ldquo;IKErdquo; Orizu, together with a bunch of music-obsessed deejays, developers and creative professionals from around the world.

My take on this

Really, I could tell a site rocks by the look and feel of it. Irsquo;ve been playing around the site ever since I stumbled upon it, and Irsquo;m still digging it. Tru Spot! is truly the Nigerian Social Music Revolution!

Take my word!

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