Centenary City Project Set to Boost Nigerian Housing Sector Nigeria, who has taken the position as the largest economy in Africa, is working on raising its global profile to new heights with the introduction of the Centenary City Project. On Tuesday, June 24, 2014 President Goodluck Jonathan preformed the ... STAFF WRITER · BUSINESS · FOOD · HEALTH DEC 02 201 Views Business Profile: Veggie Victory, Nigeria’s First Vegan And Vegetarian Restaurant Looking for a healthy vegetarian food choice? Look no further, as Veggie Victory, the first ever Nigerian Vegan and Vegetarian restaurant, located in Freedom Park, Lagos offers its customers a wide range of vegan and vegetarian meals that Dangote, First Bank On The List Of Top 100 Nigerian Companies The Federal Government of Nigeria on Monday made known the top 100 companies in Nigeria for the 2014 fiscal year. Dangote, First Bank, Chevron, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Flour Mills of Nigeria were some of the companies that makes the list. The government said the Top 100 Companies Award fixed for December 1, the first in the history of the country, was aimed at encouraging performing companies to further contribute to the economy in more significant ways. The Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, and Chairman of the selection committee, Mr. Jim Obaze, made the announcement while briefing journalists in Abuja about the award. Amazingly, he said a lot of companies sprang surprises by making it to the top 100. Some of these companies, according to him, are Dolphin Foods, Chi-Group, Mamuda Industries, Eko Supreme, Indorama Eleme Petrochemical Limited, Elizade Nigeria Limited, APN Terminal, UAC Plc, Bolawole Enterprises and Wemco Metal Products. According to Obaze, the committee considered a lot of criteria based on international best practices before the companies were “carefully” selected. He said the celebration of these companies would promote business enterprise in Nigeria, foster socio-economic development and improve the general well-being of Nigerians. He said that some of the criteria used were the amount of turnover, level of investment in the country, and number of jobs so far created in the economy. Others were the impact that the companies had had in the community, level of corporate governance and the amount of investments they planned to make in the nearest future, he added. He said, “In looking at the top 100 companies, there are international benchmarks as set by the International Integrated Reporting Council. “There are five of such benchmarks; the first one is to look at the strategic focus of the organisation. You look at the connectivity of information which is the second benchmark.” He also said some other things the group looks at are taxes paid over a period of time, the employment opportunities generated, and the level of investment in Nigeria as well as their contribution in area of social responsibility. He said since the private sector companies were creating wealth and jobs for the economy, they should be honoured for believing and investing in Nigeria. SMEs Will be More Productive When Internet Penetration Grows High” – Mr. Olayinka Oni, CTO Microsoft Nigeria The impact of IT infrastructure to the growth and the productivity of SMEs in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. We have seen upcoming sectors such as the e-commerce sector grow at a rapid rate in recent years. Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft Nigeria, Mr. Olayinka Oni believes that technology will continue to shape the interaction between businesses and consumers. He made known recently while speaking on the Mara Mentor Talk Show. Reiterating the implications of increased broadband penetration into Nigeria’s economy, he explained, “People will get a lot more with broadband technology especially through e-commerce which is said to contribute about 7% to Nigeria’s GDP Ericsson Mobility published a recent report, making it known that mobile broadband is becoming prominent in Sub-Saharan Africa as the region grows more and more reliant on mobile devices and the society embracing mobility. Since technology is here to stay and currently encouraged by the soaring internet penetration and mobile adoption rates, businesses in the Nigeria’s ICT sector have been able to leverage the unique advantages in IT infrastructure despite the challenges of running a business. Mr. Oni urged entrepreneurs to leverage the new trends in technology such as social media platforms, email marketing, online data and other collaborative tools that can help drive growth and cut overheads. He advised entrepreneurs to get used to the technologies that would grow their business while keeping an eye on online consumer behaviour and the latest trends in ICT. Concerning latest trends, Mr. Oni spoke on the adoption of cloud technology and advised that SMEs take precaution and use genuine software. Meet The Boss; Lucy Adi, Creative Director, Lavvida Lucy Adi is an RF Engineer with a major telecommunications company and the owner of Lavvida Global Services. Connect Nigeria had a chat with her on her brand, Lavvida and how she handles a 9-5 job with the demands of managing her business. CN: How did you come about the name, Lavvida? LA: Lavvida was derived from the popular Spanish phrase “viva la vida” which means “Live Life”. I tweaked the spelling a little to get “Lavvida”. I love the phrase because it says it all. “The purpose of life is to live it….” – Eleanor Roosevelt CN: What does this brand do and how does it solve people’s problems? LA: Our African inspired accessories showcase and promote the beauty of African fashion. These designs are in high demand by a lot of people. In addition, we offer training sessions and workshops, therefore promoting empowerment. We also assist people make their events successful and less stressful through our event websites and vendor sourcing. CN: Where was the idea for Lavvida birthed? LA: I had been thinking about starting a business long before I eventually launched the brand. I’ve always had a great love for entrepreneurship and I’m highly passionate so I decided to turn my passion into a paycheck. I did some research and lots of online training and also attended several entrepreneurship sessions and networking events. Lavvida was launched in December 2013 in Abuja and our services extended almost immediately after the brand was launched to provide nationwide and international services. CN: What are your services and how easy are they to market? LA: Lavvida offers 2 main services; designing and production of fashion accessories and also certain event services (vendor sourcing and event website design). Marketing our services has been great; we often market our services online and also get a lot of clients through referrals. CN: What would you term as your competitive edge? LA: Competence. CN: What are the challenges you face in the business terrain and how do you overcome them? LA: Juggling a business and a 9-5 job could be stressful but I try to overcome this with effective time management and strategizing. Above all, the passion and love I have for what I do keeps me going. CN: How do you handle competition? LA: I feel the most important thing is to focus on your target market and keep being innovative. Business Profile: NerdBevy Limited Are you looking for help with a particular technology issue or are you just trying to prevent a tech problem? NerdBevy is an IT company set up to proffer computer and technology solutions to small business owners, schools, institutions and private home users. With their technical expertise and their business sense, they create high quality integrated solutions and develop genuine partnership with their customers because putting the client first has been the cornerstone of their success. They provide services such as computer sales, computer accessories and hardware sales, and network infrastructure to include the physical and the wireless network infrastructure for offices, schools, institutions, hospitals and homes. They provide IT support for hardware maintenance, computer repairs, server configuration and upgrades, software upgrades, antivirus and security solutions. They also develop IT solutions to include website design, point of sale solution for supermarkets and intranet development. Contact them today: Main Office 44, Oritshe Street, Off Obafemi Awolowo way, Ikeja, Lagos. 080 5883 8909 081 8875 0140 Branch Office
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 12:34:02 +0000
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