The Minister of agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, complains of Nigerians who order pizzas from London and get them delivered by British Airways the next morning.
Unfortunately for me, I am yet to taste the London pizza!
Have you used BA as UberEats for pizza from London to Lagos? Hahah.
Citibank is launching a payment unit in the likes of Paypal, Stripe and Worldpay to better compete with these native digital companies. Yet, Citibank will need to rely on MasterCard to make this happen, and that can be a source of friction on customer experiences. Yet, the fact is this: the way customers relate with banks is evolving and Citibank understands that redesign. It is taking action to secure its future.
Citigroup is launching a new payments unit that will offer merchants consumer payment options such as credit cards, digital wallets, and direct bank account transfers.
Citigroup is reportedly partnering with payments firms including Mastercard for the new offering. Mastercard will provide some of the back-end connections and processing for merchants, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In this Tekedia Daily, I explain the implications on why we will see drastic changes in the payment ecosystem over the next few years especially now that Apple has introduced the next big thing: number-less, CCV-less, and non-expiry credit cards.
As always, why should my debit card expire when my bank account has no expiration date? I am happy Apple is providing a new thinking into this, by making it clear, that the plastic which derives its life from the bank account has no reason to have any expiration date. Yes, even though we now use the date for security authentication, that is not enough justification to have expiring debit cards – the CCV is just good enough for security if that is the motivation.
I do hope the new adjustment, triggered by Apple, will become the industry standard in coming years. And as that happens, I expect many fintech entities to redesign their technologies and architectures.
Few weeks ago, I received a Notice that a court had ordered a meeting for Access Bank shareholders. In that meeting, we would vote for the “merger” of Access Bank and Diamond Bank. Of course, there is nothing really a “merger” in this: Diamond Bank logo will exit, forever. That vote had come and gone – the shareholders approved the merger of Access Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc, both Nigerian banks.
Also, weeks ago, a Diamond shared his experience working in Diamond Bank. Jaja’s experience was similar to mine – I enjoyed every day I worked in Diamond Bank. Without the Bank, I am not sure I will be where I am today. It opened a world without limitation. In short, even when I left, the Bank remained diamond for me.
How could I forget that my house at Ohafia was built when I was at Diamond Bank? When I get distress calls from people asking for financial help to pay bills when their wives deliver a baby at a hospital I will remember that thrice Diamond Bank paid for me, from ante-natal to post-natal with superior treatment. I never paid hospital bills and they even pay a little sum to cater for out of pocket drugs that I bought when I wasn’t treated in a hospital (Medical off the shelf). I became a chartered certified accountant (ACCA) while working for the bank. I bought three cars in seven years while working for the bank, that is excluding the one paid for that I never got. During my wedding, they sent two vehicles to convey colleagues and my wedding gifts.
Diamond Bank was the only company I had ever applied or interviewed for a job in Nigeria. The ones before it came without interviews or even applications. I admire the bank, as as I had documented in my First Day in America piece.
My kinsman used to be Diamond Bank’s Chief Operating Officer and had returned home with some company booklets while I was in the university. I read the Diamond Integrated Banking System (DIBS) and an “electronic card” which the bank had created. In my college final seminar, I presented on the DIBS, Nigeria’s greatest banking product, and added biochip to the card element to make it fanciful. A UK professor (via Institution of Engineering and Technology, formerly IEEE) had just sent me a magazine which contained an article on implanting electronics in human bodies for security and electronic payments. The seminar was well received by Prof M.C. Ndinechi who supervised it.
In Nigeria, one bank gave us a Perception Demand product. Diamond Bank’s DIBS (Diamond Integrated Banking System) was a peerless product when it was invented in 1990s. It ushered modern banking in Nigeria by making it possible that you could deposit money in one bank branch and operate the account in any of the same bank branches. That innovation, in my opinion, is the greatest product in the history of Nigerian banking. Yes, DIBS is the All-Time Greatest Banking Product in Nigeria. It was built on perception demand construct.
Besides the booklets, I had consulted a former staff of the bank (named Tom O.) who was a Master’s degree student in FUTO when I was preparing for the seminar. While consulting him, he dropped some hints about the bank: he would be working over the weekend and would be unavailable to assist on my questions. I was intrigued: you are doing master’s degree and you are still working in a bank! Simply, I knew I could work in the same bank, earn degrees while also earning salaries. That was why I decided that I would explore to work in the bank.
Later, Tom explained that if I could get into Diamond Bank, I could do my master’s degree while keeping my job. Then, I knew that was the company for me: continue my passion on education while securing the financial needs. Good people, as Tom said, Diamond Bank did pay for my degrees along with many technical certifications.
I am not sure of any greater company in the world than Diamond Bank. But I understand that change happens. Yes, it does. But no matter what – I want to say Goodbye to Diamond Bank. You lived a truly good life. The memories of climbing a fuel truck on a weekend to make sure we have diesel to power our systems remain. The memories of sleeping in NEPA office to ensure they do not cut-off Diamond Bank line during diesel scarcity remain. In those moments, we emerged as leaders, textured with excellence and capabilities.
This morning, I have moved all my shares in Diamond Bank [which was bought never to be sold] to charity.
I thank the legendary founder, Pascal Dozie, for raising a generation of young people through the bank. The bank served the nation. I am confident that the Diamond Bank’s original mission which I memorized while in training school will somehow remain, within Access Bank: “to create a unique International Bank focused on providing creative solutions to customers’ business problems, with an absolute commitment to quality.” The logo may dim but the excellence in the hearts of men and women will live forever, Goodbye Diamond Bank.
Ndubuisi Ekekwe had since resigned from Kobo360 board.
Kobo360, the technology logistics platform, says it will soon expand its operations into Accra, Ghana and Nairobi, Kenya.
Kobo360 is a tech-enabled digital logistics platform that aggregates end-to-end haulage operations to help cargo owners, truck owners and drivers, and cargo recipients to achieve an efficient supply chain framework. Through an all-in-one robust logistics ecosystem, Kobo uses big data and technology to reduce logistics frictions, empowering rural farmers to earn more by reducing farm wastages and helping manufacturers of all sizes to find new markets. Kobo enables unprecedented efficiency and cost reduction in the supply chain, providing 360-visibility while delivering products of all sizes safely, on time and in full. The Kobo mission is to build the Global Logistics Operating System that will power trade and commerce across Africa and Emerging Markets
The announcement follows recent news that the company launched in Lome, Togo – home to West Africa’s largest shipping port, and sees a period of rapid expansion for the African start-up.
Backed by international and African investors, including International Finance Corporation [IFC], Y Combinator and TLcom, the move comes as Kobo360 seeks to build a global logistic operating system [G-LOS] that will power trade and commerce across Africa and Emerging Markets. Positioned as key trading and transport hubs on the African continent, the new territories have seen almost exclusively double-digit growth Togo (12%), Kenya (10%) and Ghana (7.9%), and Kobo is now strategically positioned to grow with them.
The company is currently rolling out a beta operation in Ghana, recording over 100 trips and collaborating with clients such Olam Ghana, and expects to test the Kenyan market further, in the coming weeks, where the team will meet with drivers and equip them with the tools they need to run trips effectively, while also imbuing our culture and brand affinity with the supply chain.
In Nigeria, Kobo360 has stood at the forefront of logistics, covering over 80% of the country and recording a 40% cost reduction in the supply chain. The company now plans to aggressively extend to other key markets and expects to be in nine African countries before the end of 2019.
Speaking from the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Co-founder and CTO of Kobo360, Ife Oyedele, said: “We estimate that Africa needs 10X the number of trucks to meet short-term commercial transport needs, since rail continue to underperform. Time, cost and quality are key drivers of success in logistics which is why we, at Kobo360, are building a global logistics operating system [G-LOS] that will ensure fast movement of goods at a lower cost for businesses across Africa.
“Kenya is the hub of East Africa, it is the most innovative market in Technology and if we win here, we have won across the region. From here we will expand to Uganda and Tanzania. By adding Ghana to our West African territories of Togo and Nigeria, we will link all the market to a Global Logistics System and this will help us to serve our customers across a seamlessly lined Pan-African market. By this we create value to our customers as we are in all the key countries in the continent”.
“Location is a critical factor in global logistics, and each African country we’ve chosen to expand into has its own value proposition. These markets are among the fastest growing economies and we want to grow with them by supporting the thousands of freight companies who require a safe, reliable and cost effective delivery of their goods to cargo recipients across the continent.”
To date, the company has partnered with global logistics brands including Dangote Group, DHL, Unilever and Lafarge and has moved over 297M KG of goods, serviced over 1,450 businesses and aggregated a fleet of over 10,000 drivers and trucks. Launched in 2016, with a vision to revolutionize the logistics value chain in Africa, currently estimated at $150 billion, Kobo360 won ‘Disrupter of the Year’ award at the Africa CEO Forum Awards – a recognition given to the CEO of a young African company within the budding tech sector on the continent.
Kobo360 efficiently connects end-to-end haulage operations to help cargo owners, truck owners and drivers, and cargo recipients to achieve an efficient supply chain framework. Through an all-in-one robust logistics ecosystem -reducing logistics frictions in supply chain via a combination of Internet of things (IOT), mobile technology and data analytics.
In less than six hours, Kobo360 matches a user’s request with a selection of quality trucks of all categories, anytime with service delivery guaranteed – no telephones, opaque pricing or expensive middlemen needed. Led by Kagure Wanmuyu, COO East Africa and Bilal Abdullah, COO West Africa, the team is also recruiting for top talent to join its new teams on the ground.
Kobo360 officially launched in Togo in March, where the company announced its affiliation with the Ministry and Office of Postal Affairs and Digital Economy, as well as the Mediterranean Shipping Company.
*I am in the Board of Kobo360
Guaranty Trust Bank has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election as the president of Nigeria. The letter which was addressed to the President, and signed by the bank’s CEO and GMD, Segun Agbaje, on behalf of the Board, Management and Staff of the bank, was made known to State House correspondents by Femi Adesina, the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja, on Tuesday. Part of the letter reads as follows:
Your re-election rewards a tireless commitment to serving the Nigerian people. It is also the greatest achievement of an exceptional campaign that demonstrated the strength and maturity of Nigeria’s democracy to the entire world.
In re-electing you as President, the Nigerian people have embraced change, hope and confidence in your leadership.
Undoubtedly, the trust placed in you for the second time by the citizenry will be a source of great inspiration to continue the good work which will steer Nigeria firmly on the path of development.
My comment: this is not typical. Most business leaders just tweet or release statements but never go the extent of writing directly the actors. This is another platform-banking from GTBank.