Coca-Cola Stages Coke Studio Concert at CRUTECH

 Last weekend will remain evergreen in the minds of the students of Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) when beverage giant, Coca-Cola organized another fun-packed edition of Coke Studio concert headlined by R&B singer, Mr May D as well as fast rising hip hop artistes, Tekno and Selebobo.

According to the Brand Manager, Colas, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Olufemi Ashipa CRUTECH marked the seventh university campus to experience the Coke Studio concert. He said the essence of the concerts was to bring the excitement of the televised Coke Studio music sessions right to the youths, the primary focus of the platform.

Speaking on the CRUTECH leg of the concert, Ashipa said, “What we witnessed here was amazing. Their orderly conduct and participation was very impressive. One could tell from the level of the excitement that the students were pleased the Coke Studio concert”. He added that the concerts and the music platform is truly celebrating and promoting the continent’s music industry.

The student having a great moment

Just as witnessed in other campuses, the Coke Studio concert at CRUTECH also provided a coveted opportunity for some of the brightest talents from the institution to perform and get the chance to collaborate with the established artistes on stage. The concert also featured dance competitions with students carting away Coca-Cola branded gifts as well as enjoying refreshing ice-cold Coca-Cola.

Guinness Received the Award for the Manufacturing, Production and Industry awards

R-L: Controls Compliance & Ethics Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Debola Falade receiving the  Manufacturing, Production and Industry award  from Director, Risk Management, Central Bank of Nigeria, Folake Fatogbe at the 2014 Nigeria Risk Award Ceremony that held on Wednesday November 5th,2014 at Civic Center, Lagos.

L-R : Controls Compliance & Ethics Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Debola Falade, Director, Risk Management, Central Bank of Nigeria, Folake Fatogbe and Head, Enterprise Risk Management, Nahco Aviance, Ona Peters at the 2014 Nigeria Risk Award Ceremony that held on Wednesday November 5th,2014 at Civic Center, Lagos

JWT SA appoints Kershnee Pillay as Managing Partner

JWT SA has appointed Kershnee Pillay – a former client lead director at MindShare World SA and media manager at Nestle SA – as managing partner at JWT Johannesburg.

Pillay, 34, will report to Jim Faulds, CEO JWT South Africa and bolster the rapidly developing South African management team with key strategies in consolidation and scalability of brand campaigns.

Commenting on the hire, Faulds said, "JWT has been investing in Africa since 1927 and our clients have big ambitions for the region. Over the last three years we've come a long way in positioning ourselves to best service those client needs in today's constantly changing business environment. It was imperative therefore that we bring in a managing partner for Johannesburg who could drive not only results, but future growth for the team. Kershnee's pioneering ideas in managing media production and campaigns at Mindshare and Nestle are a perfect fit with JWT's vision and mission."

"I am thrilled to be joining JWT at this time. Not only is the agency celebrating 150 years in the industry, but our region's consumers have made a quantum leap in their media consumption habits in only 10 years - from no media to mobile media with tailor made content," Kershnee explained.

MTN's ‘I Don Port’ Earns DDB Lagos Loeries Award

DDB Lagos, a foremost agency in Nigeria’s marketing communications field and a creative powerhouse for Casers Group, has once again won a Loeries Silver Award in recognition of the very publicised and applauded MTN Saka Campaign in the Integrated Campaigns Category.

According to a statement, this award is the second most important award to be given at the Loeries and carries prestige recognisable across the continent.

The campaign for MTN Nigeria, ‘I don port,’ which featured leading actor and comedian, Hafiz Oyetoro, a.k.a. Saka, was awarded both Best Telecom Advertising Agency of the Year and The Best Telecom Advert of the Year at the annual Nigerian Telecom Awards last year.

The campaign has now received international acclaim. When MTN’s Mobile Number Portability advertising campaign broke across various media channels in 2013, many could not believe that Saka, who earned his popularity by featuring in various advertising campaigns for a rival network, ported to MTN. Immediately, newspapers and the social media were alive with stories and speculations about how the campaign was conceived and executed. It was ingenious, and had all the elements DDB Lagos is famous for when it comes to creative communication solutions – simplicity, surprise and a smile.

Intel Capital Invests $62M in 16 Innovative Companies

Intel Capital, Intel Corporation's global investment organization, yesterday announced at the Intel Capital Global Summit investments in 16 technology companies. Totaling approximately $62 million, the investments cover a broad spectrum of innovative technologies.

"Intel Capital invests in the technology continuum that runs from wearables and the Internet of Things to big data analytics – and everything in between, including silicon, smart devices, PCs, the cloud and datacenters," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. "We are focused on helping innovative companies develop across this technology ecosystem, and we expect to invest a total of $355 million this year."

Sodhani's announcement came at the opening of the 15th annual Intel Capital Global Summit. The venture capital industry's premier networking event convenes more than 1,000 founders and CEOs from Intel Capital's global portfolio, Global 2000 business executives, and industry influencers for two days of company building. This year, the invite-only event featured distinguished speakers including former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, Stanford President John L. Hennessy, record-setting polar explorer Ben Saunders and former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt.

The founders of the newest portfolio companies run the gamut from 13-year-old Shubham Banerjee, who has invented low-cost Braille printers for the blind using Legos* and Intel® Edison chips; to Sundari Mitra, a 25-year semiconductor industry veteran who is now running her second startup; to Earnest Earon, a rocket scientist whose new company uses unmanned aircraft and cloud-based software to perform data analytics for agricultural, emergency response and other uses.

Glo-sponsored African Voices to feature Nigerian scientist

Cable Network News (CNN) International’s frontline magazine programme, African Voices, will feature renowned Nigerian female scientist, Prof. Francisca Nnenna Okeke, as its next star guest .

The 30-minute Glo sponsored programme which runs on CNN International will be telecast at 3.30 p.m. on Saturday and at 4.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Viewers can also watch the show during the repeat broadcasts on Monday at 3:30 a.m., 11.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m., on Tuesday at 5.30 a.m. and on Wednesday at 10.30 a.m.

The programme is sponsored by national telecoms operator, Globacom. Okeke is a professor of physics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and was the first woman to Head of Department of Physics and Astronomy from 2003 to 2006 She was again the first female Dean, Faculty of Physical Sciences, 2008 to 2010, and the first indigenous female Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University.

GTBank LFDW: Uplifting Africa's Fashion, Corporate Brands Beyond The Continent

Primarily, Fashion show, also known as runway shows, are used to present a designer's last collection in the form of an elaborate visual statment.

Recently, the 2014 Guaranty Trust Bank Lagos Fashion and Design Week (GTBank LFDW), came to an end in Lagos, a metropolitan island that features an interesting mix of people, cultures and is fast becoming the melting pot for business in Africa.

LFDW is a multiday fashion event platform that aims to drive the Nigerian and ultimately, the African fashion industry; by bringing together buyers, consumers and the media to view the current collections of African designers in the fashion capital of Lagos, Nigeria.

Participants, designers and visitors alike had another opportunity of experiencing art the African way as the Week gave maximum exposure to everyone within and beyond their industry circle and also open gateways for more business opportunities.

Afrobeat Legend Femi Kuti Signs New Management Deal With Chocolate City

Femi Kuti

Chocolate City has announced it has signed on four times Grammy nominee and Afro beat superstar, Femi Kuti, for an exclusive management deal.

This signing comes in the wake of Femi Kuti’s 7th studio album release, No Place For My Dream.

Chocolate City’s General Manager, Aibee Abidoye, commenting on the development said: “We love good music at Chocolate City and are big fans of Femi Kuti and his works. This deal marks another significant milestone in Chocolate City’s development as the leading entertainment company in and around Africa.

“The Afrobeat genre has found new interpretation through Femi’s prolific body of work and we believe that through this partnership, we will not only revive the afro beat genre as a movement locally, but also ensure that it is well positioned internationally and hopefully, we can finally bring home that much deserved Grammy.”

Femi’s first record was released in 1995 by Tabu/Motown, followed by the release of Shoki Shoki under MCA four years later, which garnered widespread critical acclaim. In 2001 he collaborated with American artists, Common and Mos Def in a project, Fight to Win, and toured the United States with Jane’s Addiction.

Africa Intelligence gives a new visual identity to its confidential newsletters

With restyled logos, more dynamic lay-outs and better defined sections, the Africa Intelligence web portal (http://www.AfricaIntelligence.com) has modernised its five confidential newsletters: West Africa Newsletter, The Indian Ocean Newsletter, Maghreb Confidential, Africa Energy Intelligence and Africa Mining Intelligence.

The new design has been conceived for reading on computers and tablets. Emphasis has also been put on inter-activity, with numerous articles in the newsletters linked to complementary content on the Africa Intelligence portal. The logos have been produced by Aurélien Meunier of the Nooga agency and the lay-outs by editorial design agency Rampazzo & Associés.

The new visual identity of the confidential newsletters is part of a full digital conversion process started 18 months ago by publishing company Indigo Publications. After launching a mobile application in May, a completely new version of the Africa Intelligence portal will be put on line at the start of 2015.

Jovago.com Expands Into Bus Partnerships to Provide More Accessible Hotel Booking Services to Nigerians

Jovago, www.jovago.com – Africa’s largest online hotel booking platform has announced partnerships with nationwide bus transport companies in Nigeria in order to make hotel bookings accessible to travelling Nigerians.  

The company has so far partnered with over 20 bus transport agencies including Ekene Dili Chukwu, Izuchukwu Transport Nigeria Limited and has also kicked off a white label partnership with one of Nigeria’s largest bus transport companies – God Is Good Motors, making Jovago.com their official hotel partner. Nigerians visiting the God Is Good Motors website http://hotels.godisgoodmotors.com/ can now easily find and book from over 200,000 hotels around the world and over 5,000 hotels in Nigeria.

God Is Good Motors on the partnership with Jovago.com. According to Ibemere Samuel, Director, Corporate Communications/Strategy, God Is Good Motors Limited, “We have realized that a lot of Nigerians are moving online to transact businesses, this is why we have created a standard website which would be easy for customers to book bus tickets from. With the Jovago partnership, our passengers can now also find their hotels easily, making their trip as seamless as possible.”

With the partnerships, Jovago.com aims to cater to the diverse Nigerian travel markets which prefer land travel and are largely offline. According to Marek Zmyslowski, Managing Director of Jovago.com Nigeria, “This is a great achievement for Jovago.com. As the leading hotel booking site in Nigeria, we aim to meet all our travelling customers wherever they may be, especially while they are in the booking process, hence making hotel booking service even more accessible.”

The Journey so far on the Lamudi's #LivingWhereILive Campaign

Over 50% of the population in Nigeria live in urban communities, with an expected growth of 3.75% per year. It is believed that by 2020 the country will see an urbanization rate of 61.6%.

The #LivingWhereILive community campaign was launched to promote a sense of pride in cities across the country. Created, and backed by global property portal Lamudi, the campaign takes preference in showcasing the country as a new port for investment, business, or a new home.

Micheal Nwughala, Social media manger Lamudi Nigeria and campaign organizer said ‘already in its first month, the campaign which took the social media scene by storm is awakening the pride that Nigerian’s have in their various communities’. #LivingWhereILive simply indulges people to snap and upload pictures of all that is vibrant, positive and fascinating in their communities. 

With so many pictures taken from all over Nigeria. Here are some of our favorite entries.

Join the competition now, Lets experience where you live! Remember, your picture could win your community school a photo studio.

Visit Lamudi Nigeria on Facebook to share your photos, or alternatively, join the campaign by posting your community photos on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #LivingWhereILive. 

Individuals stand a chance of winning Android smartphones for the most likes and shares to their photos, while communities with the most likes, votes and shares for their photos get a state of the art photo studio in a school in the winning community. The winners will be announced in 27^th of November 2014 during our one year anniversary celebration. 

For further information on the competition please visit: www.lamudi.com.ng/journal/livingwhereilive and www.lamudi.com.ng/urban-galleries

The Goal Attainment Made Easy (Game) Holds 2014 Conference

CHAMP Limited, a Nigerian based Human Capital Development firm in partnership with Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) and British High Commission is set to hold this year’s high-powered Africa's #1 Conference on Workforce Productivity tagged The GAME2014 Conference.

The Goal Attainment Made Easy (GAME2014) conference which will commence between Thursday 20th November and Saturday 22nd November, 2014 at the prestigious Civic Center in Victoria Island will be graced by the crème la crème within and outside Nigeria. The theme for this year is "The Making of Most Valuable Players”.

This is an initiative created and packaged to provide a great opportunity for professionals to learn and work and to re-ignite the spark of productivity in the workforce of organizations across Africa. The conference will be featuring career sessions, health sessions, financial management, general presentations, exhibitions and women-focused empowerment segment/awards.

Speaking with the Convener of the conference, Abiola Salami , he said “ we are so delighted to organize this year’s conference that started in 2012 with less than 30 young professionals which by 2013, grew to us hosting over 300 young professionals and this year, we are proud to be hosting about 500 professionals with some finest corporate leaders, respected politicians and thought leaders as faculty”

Date Of 2015 Cup of Nations Tournament Will Not Change - CAF

Despite the outbreak of Ebola across Africa, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed it will not change the dates of its 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

The body has called on host nation Morocco to make a final decision about staging the event by November 8.

The 2015 edition of the tournament is scheduled to take place in Morocco from January 15 until February 8 but Moroccan authorities have been seeking a postponement of the event due to the outbreak of Ebola, which has so far claimed almost 5,000 lives – mostly in Africa.

South Africa, along with six other African countries, is said to have been approached by CAF to stage the tournament should Morocco withdraw its hosting rights.

However, African football’s governing body has now confirmed it will not alter the dates of the 2015 tournament and Morocco should declare its position by this weekend. The governing body outlined its position in a six-point plan in a statement issued today (Monday).