Apple has a better positioning in the world of web business. It owns the iOS store and that means it is a very  major gatekeeper in the digital economy. Its business model is to sell proprietary hardware like iPhone packaged with exclusive software systems.. Because it does not rely on advertising for revenue, Apple runs a playbook where privacy is strong for those customers who have paid through subscriptions or bought the fashionista hardware products.

Facebook, on the other hand, depends on advertising revenue. To make that business work, it needs to “invade” users’ privacy. By giving out that privacy, users get Facebook for “free” since advertising subsidizes most services within Facebook ecosystems.

Everything looks balanced until when you see how Apple is making it harder for Facebook to have access to the data it needs to stay in business. Apple in this fiesta bowl does not care since it is making a business decision, as the world knows that there is no core principle here, since in China Apple is violating all the codes it is preaching it is protecting in America. For example, it moderates apps, deletes the ones the government does not want, etc.

The latest is that Facebook is facing real challenges from the Apple world and Mark Zuckerberg was quoted as saying, “We need to inflict pains”. Yet, I do not see the kind of pains Facebook can inflict on Apple since the social media giant has no leverage in any aspect of Apple’s business. Before Mark executes this playbook, does anyone know how it can do this to Apple?

In private, Mr. Zuckerberg was even harsher. “We need to inflict pain,” he told his team, for treating the company so poorly, according to people familiar with the exchange.

It wasn’t the first time—or the last—that Mr. Cook’s comments and actions would leave Mr. Zuckerberg seething and, at times, plotting to get back at Apple. The escalation of grievances erupted late last month in a rare public tit-for-tat between the two tech giants that laid bare the simmering animosity between their leaders, who exchanged jabs about privacy, app-tracking tools and, ultimately, their dueling visions about the future of the internet.

I am not sure Mark has any leverage against Apple whose luck continues; this week, North Dakota politicians spared it a scare.

Apple just landed a monumental victory. In a case that sparked controversy in the tech realm, the North Dakota state senate voted down legislation that would have forced app stores to let software developers use their own payment processing software. Other states, including Arizona and Georgia, have proposed similar bills in an attempt to limit Apple’s power. Critics of these efforts argue they would “destroy the iPhone as you know it,” while those pushing for regulation, led by Fortnite’s creator Epic Games, claim Apple’s policies “stifle innovation and subject mobile developers to crippling restrictions.”

Tekedia Mini-MBA Begins, Registration Continues, Tekedia Hub

Greetings. Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 4 has started. Professionals from at least 36 countries joined us for this edition. This year, Tekedia Institute will graduate more learners than any university or training institution in continental Africa. Also, more companies are projected to attend our programs than any organization in Africa. From Cameroon to Ghana to the United Kingdom to Nigeria, and beyond, our Institute is providing an ecosystem to co-share, co-learn and advance. Here are some testimonials after just Week 1 for the 12-week program.

“Am very impressed by the quality of facilitators and level of knowledge they are sharing with us. Top notch!!!. I have been motivated to watch and follow through from the start (Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe) to the end (@Bola Adesope). Believe, this course is worth taking. Am looking forward to spending more time on this platform in the subsequent module. #Building a community of Innovators. Thank you.” – Niwa

“I enjoyed the Design Thinking class. It is very detailed, the case studies make it even more interesting. I have had Design Thinking classes before now, but this is the first time any facilitator will be breaking it down this much. Thank you, Mr. Aderinola Oloruntoye.” – cerio

“I really enjoyed the Innovation and digital transformation lessons. really detailed and motivating” – ever
(Sources: LinkedIn, Board

Registration for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 4 continues; the program ends in May. Register here.

We also report that Tekedia Institute has signed a partnership with a Lagos-based financial institution to offer a zero-interest education loan to our members; full details coming. Even though we awarded dozens of scholarships in this edition, through generous support from Owotuga Foundation, David Onaolapo, etc, we have hundreds of pending requests. This initiative will help us make quality education accessible to more people.

Goldman Sachs has unveiled a product which makes it possible for anyone with $1,000 to invest via its automated platform. No matter how you see it, this is a new playbook: GS has seen the power of volume. Yes, the company which used to serve extremely wealthy people is now competing for $1,000 from mainstream America. It tells you the redesign which is happening in the markets. With information asymmetry well diminished, those rich people may not need those expensive products from Goldman Sachs.

A case in point: why pay investment bankers so much to take a company public when web companies can be independently assessed on how they are doing? In the past, investment bankers were evidently key to serve as buffers. But today, from Alexa, from apps downloads, and other secondary data, investors can make sense of the health of a business without the old high priests like GS guiding them. That explains why most of these firms disintermediate Wall Street banks, and go straight to the trading platforms on IPO days.

Yes, they do not need anyone to explain anything to investors because they are already known!

So, with that reality, GS has to move to the mass market, offering products like checking accounts, credit cards (via Apple), and other things you would not have expected from this iconic American bank. If you look at at very well, it is responding to a changing market condition. And that condition requires that a $1,000 portfolio is part of the future of Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. took another step toward going mainstream, launching an investing app for customers that want to put at least $1,000 to work.

Investors using the service, which went live Tuesday, can put money into automated portfolios rather than individual stocks and bonds, according to the company. The move expands the Marcus platform, which also offers a high-interest savings account.

Goldman, which has traditionally served a wealthier client base, is taking steps to broaden its reach through new digital products. The investing platform features exchange-traded funds that focus on traditional stock and bond benchmarks, impact investments and smart-beta products designed by Goldman.

The advisory fee is 0.35%, according to the Marcus website. The move comes as the New York-based company inches closer to also providing a checking account through Marcus, with the goal of collecting more than $100 billion in consumer deposits

You might have seen that video (below) where Ethiopia paid for heavy (cargo) rail well below what Nigeria paid for the light rail per mile. The light rail should even be cheaper, but here, Nigeria was paying more. Before you shout at Buhari, this grand corruption happened before him. How did we know? The Chinese company during its earning disclosed how much it was paid for the Nigerian budget. Like the old Israeli cybersecurity contract which we were told was $300 million only for the Israeli’ firm to disclose $30 million in its report, nothing will change. This happened a long time before the current admin or the one before it.

People, Nigeria’s problem is NIGERIA and not China, USA, UK, Israel, etc. In short, these guys may come to Abuja, get a contract of $30m, go home, and someone will change it to $300M without their knowledge!

It is on that I share this letter from Kehinde Beyioku to the world’s finest innovator, Elon Musk. This is his conclusion: “Perhaps we could outsource our road construction to The Boring Company, thankfully then we can use one-third of the budget, and complete the projects in one-eight the duration proposed.” Of course, that Musk is asking for 1/3 of the budget does not mean that Nigeria will pay only that!

For over 20years we have the power plants to generate about 12,500MW of electric power but have been on a maximum cap of 4000MW and we need an estimated 180,000MW of electric power to completely service Nigeria. The fact is that the maximum we ever generated was 5150MW in 1980. We have the resources needed in abundance, we have a lot of gas, we have so much sun that could power states but somehow due to the “complexity of power” and the “rocket science” involved that cannot be solved by “mere mortals” for 20 years we have not been able to “launch into space”. What greater “rocket science” could there be Elon?

Dear Elon,

I know you co-founded the boring company but I promise not to bore you with pleasantries, I would go straight to the point. I chose to write this letter to you because you are a “rocket science” man and I would be talking a lot about “rocket science” in this letter as it relates to my dear country; Nigeria.

I wish your rocket science was the same definition as ours in my country, I mean you launched Space x project and successfully launched a rocket into space that could be re-used and it took you less than 10 years to figure out how to make it work. That is genius, a feat that must be celebrated, a laudable achievement but as I said earlier in my country that is really no “rocket science”.

Let me attempt to explain rocket science for you; there is a stretch of 129.9 kilometers (79.3 miles) to and from route we call Lagos-Ibadan expressway; the said road has been under repair (please note repairs not construction) since about 1999 and now 20years later it is still under repair, I must re-emphasize that the same repair that started in 1999 wasn’t completed and another one started, no! The road has not been fully repaired for 20 whole years! That’s “Rocket Science!”

Since I am on the issue of roads let me go further, a dear friend of mine Adeteju told me a story about when she was about to start Secondary School (you most likely know it as High School), the then government was beginning construction of a road from Ibadan to Ilorin and vice-versa (164.5km stretch), the then existing road was very narrow, bad and accident prone and her dad was very happy when the construction started saying “thank God this road is being constructed, this would ease your journeys to and from school, make it safer, shorter and less stressful” (Paraphrased), the road till date has not been fully completed, about half stretch of it was completed after a very long time and the stretch at the moment now needs urgent repairs less than a decade after it was constructed.

To put in context, my friend has since completed high school (6 years), completed her first degree (which for the Nigerian factor was for about 7years for a 5years course which is a 3years course in your country) and she also had a year gap between Sec School and joining University), she has completed her 1-year mandatory service and has been actively employed for well over 4 years. That is indeed some “Rocket Science”

Elon I am sure for the SpaceX project, from the start date of the project and company till present date you can give me in specific terms amount spent and also rough estimate of budget and projections of spending for years to come. For the two combined projects I mentioned earlier, well over $10billion has been spent so far with no cap as to what could be further spent, trust me for these two I mentioned, there is at least 1 similar case in the 36 States and Federal Capital Territory. In a nutshell, one of the “rocket science” in my country is road constructions and repairs. The science can be drilled further and we see at the base a distorted, corrupt procurement system.

I promised not to bore you earlier but since you are a huge player in the power sector under Tesla I thought to quickly mention another “science that has defied logic” as much as “space defies gravity” in my country. The rocket science of power generation, transmission and distribution.

For over 20years we have the power plants to generate about 12,500MW of electric power but have been on a maximum cap of 4000MW and we need an estimated 180,000MW of electric power to completely service Nigeria. The fact is that the maximum we ever generated was 5150MW in 1980. We have the resources needed in abundance, we have a lot of gas, we have so much sun that could power states but somehow due to the “complexity of power” and the “rocket science” involved that cannot be solved by “mere mortals” for 20 years we have not been able to “launch into space”. What greater “rocket science” could there be Elon?

Elon, I could go on and on about the impossible science of infrastructure, of the insurmountable health science, the inexhaustible education challenges and so on but I believe you already get the point. We actually need to start discussion on the real rocket science and need to leave the very basic discussion such as roads, power and health as they should be a given to any forward-thinking country. It took Japan 6 days to reconstruct a whole network of roads after the Tsunami, took Indonesia 8 years to journey from disaster to recovery. I would attempt not to even imagine such disasters happening in Nigeria.

I am actually writing to you because in your model I see a journey to recovery, in following closely your “rocket science” journey and experience we could rise from the ashes and build our Nation again. I believe you would say “If Nigeria is really important enough to us then even with the odds not in our favor (which I think they are) we must act”, and like you also say “The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability would occur”

Elon, thank you so much for your time and listening ears, I would write a follow up letter to my country Nigeria on the “Elon Musk model” we could adopt to be better for it but even as I prepare my case, dot my “I”s and cross my “T”s, I would be glad if you could share an advise or two on things that worked for you and how you would advise we plan and strategize out of this state we are. I really hope this was not boring (pun intended)

P.S: Perhaps we could outsource our road construction to The Boring Company, thankfully then we can use one-third of the budget, and complete the projects in one-eight the duration proposed.

Best Regards,

Kehinde Beyioku