This post came about from two completely different trains of thought. The first was a post Ndubuisi Ekekwe did in 2018. ‘The Best Possible Business Idea in Nigerian Telecom for Entrepreneurs’

These were the posts I liked from Prof. the most, where he wrote very detailed business analysis of multifaceted circumstances and issues, from a position of impartiality and no personal interest.

I reflected on how things have changed since then… firstly in the extent to which business affairs issues have moved on, and secondly the noticeable reduction in Prof’s fielding of this kind of content on LinkedIn.

These days, his time on the platform seems more limited, and his plate seems full with covering the standard announcements for Tekedia Institute, and doing the needful for the promotion of Tekedia Capital Start-ups.

The second train of thought concerns a poll post from one Clare Caroll who posed a question about what LinkedIn is.

Which I answered like this:

Ultimately it doesn’t really matter how you identify with any product in the ‘Universal Metaverse’

The important thing is that people have a strategy.

While it is important for everyone, it is probably even more important for the young and ‘yet-to-achieve’ because there is so much life ahead, and that is a life that needs a concious effort to self-manage.

This means time spent online should have strategic objectives.

Gaining traction online in itself isn’t an objective. It does not project you forward. It needs to be part of an ‘aggregation strategy’

Aggregation is about consistently doing something which in itself doesn’t generate value, but which then makes something else possible, which is the one that finally delivers the value.

Trying to build huge numbers of connections, and then get loads of followers with the aim of becoming an ‘influencer’ with no ‘aggregation strategy’ plan in place may be a fools errand.

Generic ‘influencing’ is now a ‘Red Ocean’ pursuit. I’ve picked four people to make an illustration. I’ve deliberately avoided celebrities of such profile that their achievements would completely eclipse any additional benefit they could get from online media exposure, such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zukerberg, Richard Branson, Michael Dell, Alan Sugar etc.

The featured folk have all invested somewhere between six and twelve years to get their networks to where they are.

There is a great example from Ndubuisi Ekekwe on how Tiktok entered the market and found a USP over existing players in the segment. If your ‘aggregation plan’ has a dependency on weight of numbers then you may equally need to find a USP to outflank competition. On numbers alone, there are so many that are light years ahead, and they are accelerating away from us at exponential rates. Relative relevance on numbers alone, a 5000 LinkedIn network now will have lost 90% of its relative relevance by the time it is at the invitation threshold of 30k, and a 50k network will see a comparable collapse by the time it is 100k

‘Influence’ is rapidly translating from a sellers market to a buyers one UNLESS a very unique USP set can be applied just like Tiktok.

You will also need to build in some flexibility. Keep abreast of new developments in different parts of the Metaverses. Clare Caroll mentions the new ‘Creator Mode’ coming to LinkedIn

Career coach Martin Buckland often warns of behavioral changes that can suggest people have become desperate for a job. Employers often chase what they can’t get, and run a mile from anybody that has an odour of desperation. He says we need to be consistent.

But we also need to define what consistent means.

Returning to the earlier part of this piece, I bring a reprise on the change in Ndubuisi Ekekwe’s contribution behaviour. I may notice these changes but I am not privy to his ‘endgame strategy for your participation in the online metaverses’ The contribution behaviour may not be the endgame strategy itself but just symptoms of it. Sticking to the plan and being consistent may involve an evolution of contribution behaviour.

We also have SMO (Social Media Office) Regimes in global companies that we may serve or work with from time to time. An endgame strategy will need to be sufficiently robust to absorb changes in contribution behaviour dictated by different SMO regimes that we may flow though.

Summary:

1. Have an endgame strategy for our participation in the online metaverses
2. Develop, know and understand our aggregation plan
3. Be flexible enough to absorb technical changes in metaverse elements and contribution behaviour modifications as a result of changing SMO regimes we flow though.
4. Do not get caught up in a humdrum like chasing of metrics.
5. Set  achievable goals that support continuity – be an eternal flame, not a firework.

Ref:

linkedin.com/posts/ndubuisi-ekekwe-36068210_the-lesson-from-tiktok-on-facebook-and-mr-activity-6830583984037117952-CHNv

linkedin.com/posts/clare-carroll-digitalmarketing_contentangel-digitalbyclare-ugcPost-6866363578375528448-M8Ie

www.tekedia.com/the-best-possible-business-idea-in-nigerian-telecom-for-entrepreneurs/

Apple on Wednesday announced Self Service Repair, which will allow customers who are comfortable with completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts and tools, for the first time.

Right-to-repair has been a controversial topic, for years, with repair shops and lobbyists advocating reforms that will enable individual iPhone or Mac owners to fix their devices while Apple kicked against it, citing concerns about the safety of third-party parts.

Succumbing to users’ demand, Apple is making available repair parts for customers. The service will be available first for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups, and soon to be followed by Mac computers featuring M1 chips, Self Service Repair will be available early next year in the US and expand to additional countries throughout 2022, the company said.

Apple has more than 5,000 Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) and 2,800 Independent Repair Providers, who have now been joined by customers to access repair parts, tools, and manuals.

Apple said the initial phase of the program will focus on the most commonly serviced modules, such as the iPhone display, battery, and camera. The ability for additional repairs will be available later next year.

“Creating greater access to Apple genuine parts gives our customers even more choice if a repair is needed,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “In the past three years, Apple has nearly doubled the number of service locations with access to Apple genuine parts, tools, and training, and now we’re providing an option for those who wish to complete their own repairs.”

Biden’s administration and the watchdog, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have upped the anti-monopoly ante, a signal Apple seems to have caught to bend its rigid repair rules.

Apple builds durable products designed to endure the rigors of everyday use. When an Apple product requires repair, it can be serviced by trained technicians using Apple genuine parts at thousands of locations, including Apple (in-store or by mail), AASPs, Independent Repair Providers.

Self Service Repair

However, the self-service repair poses a challenge for individual users without repair certification, who may want to fix their devices at home without contact with Apple. To address this challenge, Apple provides the guidelines below.

To ensure a customer can safely perform a repair, it’s important they first review the Repair Manual. Then a customer will place an order for the Apple genuine parts and tools using the Apple Self Service Repair Online Store. Following the repair, customers who return their used part for recycling will receive credit toward their purchase.

The new store will offer more than 200 individual parts and tools, enabling customers to complete the most common repairs on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.

Self Service Repair is intended for individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices. For the vast majority of customers, visiting a professional repair provider with certified technicians who use genuine Apple parts is the safest and most reliable way to get a repair.

Apple did not say how much the repair parts will cost. However, the move is suggesting that the smartphone maker is increasingly compromising its rigid rules to avoid a penalty from the FTC.

Every great project was at a time an IDEA. And every great company had a launch date – the very day it began. 

I challenge you to give that IDEA  its First Day!

Yes, it takes the First Day – just the first day for that promise to become a reality. Open that shop, that website, etc and put that signpost “we’re open for business”, and let it fly.

Happy First Day – welcome to markets!

A week after both Airtel and MTN were granted approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to operate a payment service bank (PSB) via Smartcash Payment Service Bank Limited, Airtel Africa Plc has announced that it has been granted approval-in-principle by the CBN to operate as a super-agent in Nigeria.

The telecom company announced this on Monday, explaining in a statement on the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX), that Airtel Mobile Commerce Nigeria, its subsidiary will operate the agent banking license.

Super agents are companies approved by CBN to recruit agents for agency banking, such as financial services within communities on behalf of banks to deepen financial inclusion.

Airtel explained in a statement that super agent license, which is different from the PSB, gives it the opportunity to carry out financial services on behalf Nigerian banks.

“The super agent licence is distinct from the Payment Service Bank (PSB) licence for which it received approval in principle on 4 November 2021.

“The PSB licence is required for Airtel to be able to provide financial services in Nigeria such as accepting cash deposits and carrying out payments and remittances, issuing debit and prepaid cards, operating electronic wallets, and rendering other financial services.

“Under the super agent licence, we would be able to create an agent network that can service the customers of licensed Nigerian banks, Payment service banks and licenced mobile money operators in Nigeria.

“Final approval of the super agent licence is subject to the Group satisfying certain standard conditions,” it said.

The federal government of Nigeria, through the CBN, has been working on policies that will facilitate financial inclusion in the country. Among them is the issuance of financial service licenses to qualified telecom operators.

Despite Nigeria’s fintech boom, the African largest economy still has a wide gap of about 40 million people who lack access to financial services. With this gap, telcos, with their huge customer-base that covers even the rural dwellers, are being selected to offer financial services to the underserved.

The Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, Segun Ogunsanya said Airtel is working to meet all the requirements for the license.

“I am very pleased that Smartcash has been granted an approval in principle to operate a service bank business in Nigeria. We will now work closely with the Central Bank to meet all its conditions to receive the operating licence and commence operations.

“The final operating licence will enable us to expand our digital financial products and reach the millions of Nigerians that do not have access to traditional financial services.

“I am looking forward to working closely with the Government, the Central Bank and traditional financial institutions to expand financial inclusion and meet the evolving needs of our customers and the economy.“

Depending much on the success of Airtel and MTN, It is expected that more companies in the telecom industry will be approved to offer financial services soon.