Ndubuisi Ekekwe had since resigned from Kobo360 board.

Kobo360, the African technology logistics platform, has launched a new app built to boost speed and efficiency in the transportation market. Developed to ensure transparency is at the core of the platform, with a suite of unique product features, the app has been in beta for three months, seeing over 1,800 downloads with over 10,000 drivers expected to migrate over to the new platform in the coming weeks.

Focused on simplifying processes between truck drivers, cargo owners and recipients, as well as bringing enhanced transparency to the bidding and procurement of trips, the app was unveiled at Kobo360’s launch event in Lagos and attended by key stakeholders and tech influencers in the Nigerian tech scene.

The Kobo app, an intelligent logistics application is available on Android for both drivers and customers, and includes the following innovative features;

First-of-its-kind bidding tools for drivers and customers to assess the price of a trip before selection – a unique product feature not found on any other transportation app in the world, not even Uber!
Digitised way bills with automated invoices after completed trips.

• Real-time visibility on cargo and trucks as well as enhanced reporting and analytics.

• A customised dashboard and multi-language functions to facilitate intra-African trade.

Kobo360 CEO Obi Ozor says: “The Kobo App has been built to make the business of doing business, easier, faster, more efficient for our customers. We partner with trusted shippers and carriers to handle their most important and immediate FTL freight needs and this app will wrap the entire process in secure, innovative and world-class technology this is not found anywhere else in the world.”

Tosin Adesipe Kobo360 Head of Tech adds: “Business on the continent is powered by mobile – especially logistics, where the cargo is literally on the move; our clients and drivers are too. We have spent months building and refining the Kobo App with the specific needs of our customers and drivers central to our design process. Our job is to ensure that they are able to execute their business requirements quickly, securely and on-budget. This new app, and the product features that we have developed, are the very best piece of apparatus to enable them to move cargo around the continent”.

The launch of the app is the latest in a line of recent successes for the company. Kobo360 were recently named “Disrupter of the Year” at the Africa CEO Forum awards, and have expanded into  Togo, Ghana and Kenya. To date, Kobo360 has moved over 260m KG of goods, serviced over 1,339 businesses and has aggregated a fleet of over 10,000.

The new app can be downloaded from the Google Play store.

By  Nnamdi Odumody

Franchise quick service restaurant giant McDonald’s is acquiring AI-powered personalization platform, Dynamic Yield, for over $300million. Dynamic Yield will still operate as an independent entity, but its technology will be deployed in McDonald’s locations across the United States of America.

McDonald’s announced that it’s acquiring artificial intelligence- (AI) powered personalization platform Dynamic Yield for over $300 million, sources told Wired.

Dynamic Yield will continue to operate as its own company, but its technology is expected to be brought to 1,000 McDonald’s locations in the next three months, and all 14,000 US stores as well as its international restaurants over time, giving McDonald’s more ability to adapt and personalize its customer experience.

With this acquisition McDonald’s will be flexible on its menu presentation to drive sales and improve its customer experience by leveraging Dynamic Yield’s technology and data. McDonald’s will be able to utilize the customer data better, offering personalized services to the customers. The restaurants could eventually recognize license plates and consider purchase histories for a more personalized experience.

These insights will be deployed through the restaurant’s drive-thru menus and self-service kiosks. The digital interfaces will now change their product offerings, and how they present them will be based on data-driven insights. In a pilot test in Miami, the insights include making recommendations for products customers might want to add to their orders, while also displaying the popular items at a location.

A dynamic menu will also help McDonald’s optimize its operations. In the event that a drive-thru is moving slowly, the menu can highlight simple items to help get it’s processes back on track, and it can promote complex and expensive products when the drive thru is running smoothly.

Tastee Fried Chicken, Mr. Biggs and Sweet Sensation which are the leading quick service restaurants, in Nigeria, should leverage artificial intelligence to improve their customer experiences. Adopting AI can help them offer personalized meals to diabetics, vegetarians, and other customers who are abstaining from consumption of high calorie diets. By using data, which they might have collected from customers, they can optimally serve these customers and improve their businesses.

How Data is Enabling Personalization for Immersive Customer Experience

When the CEO of one of the finest banking institutions in Nigeria starts writing politicians, directly, congratulating them, for winning elections, you will agree that everything is not normal. That Innoson Motors will take over GTBank is fake news (sure, Daily Post reported it). But what is not fake news is that GTBank is losing a battle with street fighters. It is better for GTBank to fight Toyota than fight Innoson Motors because even EFCC has no solution on these rugged Nigerian businessmen. Last time I checked, the judge threw out a case against Innoson Motors because its Chairman refused to attend the hearing, and EFCC has been unable to bring him to court. Simply, EFCC gave up and now GTBank thinks it has a chance!

Innoson Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s indigenous vehicle production company, has instituted a move to take over Guaranteed Trust Bank, GTB, following a ruling by the Supreme Court over the bank’s N8.7 billion indebtedness to the company.

The company’s chairman, Chief Dr Innocent Chukwuma, made the move through a “Writ of FiFa taken over Guaranty Trust Bank PLC for and on half of Innoson Nigeria Ltd” as a result of the Bank’s indebtedness to Innoson Nigeria Ltd.

In a landmark decision on February 27th 2019, the Supreme Court had dismissed GTB’s appeal marked SC. 694/2014- against the judgment of Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division.

Innoson Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s indigenous vehicle production company, has instituted a move to take over Guaranteed Trust Bank, GTB, following a ruling by the Supreme Court over the bank’s N8.7 billion indebtedness to the company.

GTBank – settle Innoson Motors and move on. You are not helping your brand on this street fight. Premium Times has some contents on this also [pardon my excessive copying]..

On Friday, Innoson claimed its Chairman, Innocent Chukwuma, has been mandated to “take over” GTB after the supreme court dismissed GTB’s appeal against the judgement of the appeal court in Ibadan.

“The Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Dr. Innocent Chukwuma, OFR has through a Writ of FiFa taken over Guaranty Trust Bank PLC for and on behalf of Innoson Nigeria Ltd as a result of the bank’s indebtedness to Innoson Nigeria Ltd,” the statement said.

“In a landmark decision on February 27th 2019, the Supreme Court of Nigeria dismissed GTB’s appeal — SC. 694/2014 — against the judgment of Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division.

“The Court of Appeal, Ibadan division had in its decision of 6th February 2014 dismissed GTB’s appeal against the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division.

“Thus, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division which ordered GTB by way of Garnishee order absolute — to pay N2.4billion to Innoson with a 22% interest, per annum, on the judgment sum until the final liquidation of the judgment debt. Rather than obey the judgment of the Court of Appeal, GTB approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision,” the auto firm said.

The company in its statement said a ruling delivered by Supreme Court Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour dismissed GTB’s appeal and thus affirmed the concurrent judgment of both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division.

The ruling, it said, ordered GTB by to pay N2.4 billion to Innoson with a 22 per cent interest, per annum, on the judgment until the final liquidation of the judgment.

“The Judgment debt of N2.4bn has an accrued interest as at today of about N6,717,909,849.96 which results to about N8.8 billion,” the statement said.

“Based on the Supreme Court’s decision of 27th February 2019 the counsel to Innoson, Prof McCarthy Mbadugha ESQ, had approached the Federal High Court, Awka Division for leave to enforce the judgment having obtained certificates of Judgment from the Ibadan Division of the Federal High Court.”

Mr Chukwuma, the founder of Innoson Motors, dragged GTBank to court in 2011, alleging arbitrary charges levelled against him and a string of bank accounts he held at the bank. But GTBank later counter-sued, saying it was Mr Chukwuma who allegedly falsified bank and shipping documents to obtain tax waivers from the Nigerian government.

The bank subsequently referred the matter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-graft office filed criminal charges against Mr Chukwuma at a Lagos court. Last month, he was declared wanted for failing to appear for arraignment in the matter, which is still proceeding separately from the N14 billion arbitrary charges lawsuit currently at appellate levels.

Mr Chukwuma denied the allegations of doctoring shipping documents, saying the matter had previously been investigated by the EFCC and the police both of whom cleared him of any wrongdoing.

He accused GTBank of using law enforcement agencies to hound him and cripple his business, a claim the bank also denied.

Efforts to get GTB’s reaction to the latest development were unsuccessful as of Friday evening.

By Nnamdi Odumody

Around one, in every eight essential medicines, in lower income countries, may be of low quality or an outright fake. Substandard and fake drugs, don’t just fail to treat disease, they can prolong illness, heighten the risk of treatment failure, poisoning, and severe drug interactions. The implication is monumental risk to life. Also, fake drugs can contribute to antimicrobial resistance, posing a threat to the effectiveness of future treatments.

A near death experience, after consumption of fake drug 15 years ago in Ibadan, prompted Adebayo Alonge to embark on a mission, aimed at preventing loss of lives, due to fake drugs. Deaths attributed to fake drugs are common experiences in Nigeria and other developing countries. Adebayo, on his mission, studied Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan, emerging the best graduating student. Over the years, he has gathered experiences in business, developing projects worth over $180 million in consulting, pharmaceuticals and technology startups before founding RxAll with Amy Kao and Wei Liu in 2016. The technical capability and business exposure will certainly cushion him to build a category-king business in this domain. Nigeria cannot wait!

Our platform uses a proprietary molecular sensor device with a cloud-based IP-protected AI algorithm and database of spectral signatures of drugs- both prescription and recreational- to carry out non-destructive drug authentication.

We work with drug regulators and other stakeholders to reduce branded drug counterfeiting and ensure that patients receive high quality authenticated drugs. Pharma manufacturers increase sales and patients have better access to high quality drugs.

RxAll is a hyper spectral platform which leverages artificial intelligence and blockchain technology for drug quality authentication and tracking. It uses a proprietary molecular sensor device (RxScanner, the world’s first drug authenticator), with a cloud based IP protected AI algorithm and database of spectral signatures of drugs, both prescription and recreational, to carry out non-destructive drug authentication.

They work with drug regulators and other stakeholders to reduce branded drug counterfeiting and ensure that patients receive high quality authenticated drugs. The platform enables patients to buy high quality drugs from trusted offline-pharmacies, who use their AI-enabled inventory software, to ensure availability. Also, they pool the procurement of their network pharmacies, enabling patients to get the lowest prices. This makes patients save time by ensuring they don’t leave the confines of their homes to get high quality non-counterfeit products. Also, ‘’telepharmacare’’ is available on demand.

It offers an alternative sales channel for pharmacies that need an omnichannel sales strategy. The RxAll AI-inventory software is provided free of charge.

RxAll won the 2019 Hello Tomorrow Prize of 100,000 euros for Best Early Stage Startup beating 4500 contenders from 119 nations. Hello Tomorrow is a world’s deep Tech Conference for scientists, technologists and their enablers. They are currently operational in Canada, China, Myanmar, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria.