This Bank Branch Is Now Closed!

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June 23, 2018

In the return of the Tally Numbers, I noted how Nigerian banks have worked hard to move customers away from banking halls only for the customers to return because of service related issues. Yes, the customers come to fix issues they encountered in the digital channels. Certainly, the banks are working hard in challenging environments and we must commend them: they run generators, hire private guards, make boreholes, etc. But at the end, they have to send tax money to the government.

The redesign to digital is global because the future of banking is digital. And software will eat the world, they say. In the UK, since 2015, retail banks and building societies have closed (or will do so) 2,868 branches by the end of 2018. HSBC, NatWest, and Lloyds Bank top the lists with the most closures.

Banks are finally moving toward a digital future. Banks have been focused on enhancing their digital channels for some time, but it seems these efforts are now translating into meaningful changes. For example, BBVA recently announced that it aims to convert 50% of its customers to mobile banking by 2019, meaning that it many of its branches would likely be redundant by then.

And other banks have stated that they are focusing their investments on digital innovation to overhaul their services, which is likely to lead to fewer physical touchpoints for consumers. Moreover, this is a trend that is not limited to the UK, but is something that we are seeing all over the world. This could indicate the beginnings of a shift toward a cash-free society in the future.

The Opportunity

Digital certainly has immense opportunity in Nigeria. The glory will come via a truly pan-African digital remittance/transfer banking product which is agnostic of location or currency in Africa. Nigerian banks must play roles in that redesign including the emerging blockchain and cryptocurrency areas.

The Blockchain Future

The digital strategy must include how Nigeria could build a blockchain economy through a Central Bank of Nigeria blessed Nairacoin. It is very evident that cryptocurrency is becoming what many never imagined: decentralization may be on paper as actual technical capabilities are making few players lords over networks with quasi “regulatory” power. One of those new “regulators” is China-based Bitmain which controls most of the hardware and software tools for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The promise of Bitcoin has always been about decentralization. No Federal Reserve (or central authority of any kind) was established to govern it. Despite that vision, Bitcoin does have its own 800-pound gorilla in the room.

Beijing-based Bitmain Technologies controls much of the infrastructure underlying bitcoin. The company, still 60% owned by its two founders, booked $2.5b in revenue last year – an extraordinary feat for a company founded in 2013 the same year as Coinbase). The company is now considering an IPO at a valuation north of $10b.

Bitmain is the leading producer of ASICs (“application specific integrated circuits”) and produces 80% of the world’s bitcoin mining hardware. The chips are incredibly powerful for the brute-force calculations that miners perform. The hardware is also used to power neural networks, challenging NVIDIA’s GPU as the incumbent hardware.

On top of its hardware dominance, Bitmain controls the two largest mining collectives (BTC.com and Antpool) which together have about 40% market share. The success of Bitmain has led many to question whether bitcoin is decentralized after all. (Source: Fintech Collective newsletter)

All Together

We would see branch closures at faster rate in Nigerian banking in coming years. There is certainly no other alternative if they hope to be competitive. Yet, we would also see more investments in non-digital platforms as I noted in what Diamond Bank is doing via human-platform banking.

Fast-forward, the bank is at a new game: human-platform banking. People call this agency banking. That is fair, but for me, it goes beyond agents if you read one of the key components of the CLOSA account …

So, we would see many branches disappear in our cities and neighborhoods. Yet, at the same time, banks would need many people to reach new customers as they pursue financial inclusion and deepen retail banking. Interestingly, a key component of this human-platform banking is anchored on digital tools which make it possible for associates and partners to connect from the “fields” into bank ecosystems at scale.

The irony is that as Nigerian banks close branches, they would create more non-digital jobs as digital technologies help them to pursue markets and territories they have ignored for years. The world has five hundred years of records: when new consumer technologies penetrate at scale, good things always happen on human welfare and standard of living. Say it another way, more opportunities emerge even though there may be labour displacement. So, let us not be fearful of the branch closures. Those farmers,artisans, villages etc banks are reaching will expand and make up for the losses associated with the branch closures.

FASMICRO Celebrates 7 Years of Intel FPGA Partnership

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Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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June 22, 2018

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In 2011, after a technical presentation in Johannesburg (South Africa), a man called me and told me “You blew me away. What can I do for you?” As he was finishing that sentence, he handed a card.

I simply replied “Can I get Altera Partnership from you”. (He was a Vice President in Altera, a global leader on FPGA, a special type of microprocessors. Intel Corp later acquired the firm for close to $16.7 billion.)

The man asked for my card. I gave him. Few days later, Altera contacted my Fasmicro. Over days, we were appointed Altera Africa partner. Today, there are only two companies in Africa that do what we do for Intel FPGA in Africa: Fasmicro and one South African firm.

Tomorrow is the 7th year of this partnership. My team has been to all parts of Africa helping clients fix frictions in their FPGA businesses. We remain the only certified institution in West Africa and one of the two in continental Africa.

We would continue to support clients as they solve the hardest FPGA problems. Please note that Fasmicro offers 15% discount on all Intel FPGA systems as an authorized partner.

Buhari New Appointments – Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Polytechnics, Education

By

Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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June 22, 2018

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Buhari New Appointments — Mr. Buhari, President of Nigeria

President Buhari approved the renewal of the tenure of three chief executive officers, four new non-executive directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and two new Chief Executive Officers for some federal agencies, as follows, Premium Times reports.

(a). Renewal of Appointments:

1	Federal Polytechnic, Unwana Afikpo, Ebonyi State	Dr. Ogbonnia Ibe-Enwo	Rector	Second and final term of Four (4) years, with effect from 7^th August,2018
2	Federal Polytechnic, IIaro, Ogun State	Arc. Olusegun Olarenwaju Aluko	Rector	Second and final term of Four (4) years, with effect from 25^th September, 2018
3	National Institute of Construction Technology, Uromi, Edo State	Engr. (Prof) SundayOhousi Onohaebi	Rector	Second and final term of Four (4) years, with effect from 25^th July, 2018

New Appointments:

(b). The new appointments are:

S/N	ORGANIZATION	APPOINTEE	DESIGNATION	EFFECTIVE DATE
1	Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)	Adeola Adetunji	Non-Executive Director pf the CBN	Initial Period of Four (4) years, with effect from 7^th June, 2018
2	Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)	Prof. Mike I. Obadan	Non-Executive Director of the CBN	Initial Period of Four (4) years, with effect from 7^th June, 2018
3	Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)	Prof. Justitia Odinakachukwu Nnabuko	Non-Executive Director of the CBN	Initial Period of Four (4) years, with effect from 7^th June, 2018
4	Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)	Prof. Ummu Ahmed Jalingo	Non-Executive Director of the CBN	Initial Period of Four (4) years, with effect from 7^th June, 2018
5	University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital	Prof. Abdullahi Dasilva Yusuf	Chief Medical Director	Initial Period of Four (4) years, with effect from 19^th June, 2018
6	Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Enugu State	Dr. (Mrs) Pauline N. Ikwugbu	Provost	Initial Period of Four (4) years, with effect from 19^th March, 2018

Beyond CVs and Profiles – Webinality is Critical for Jobseekers and Consultants

By

Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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June 22, 2018

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If you are running a consulting business, your digital personality footprint is very critical. You win customers and audition for jobs even when there is none before you. It is called thought-leadership. It means you must work to be known for something. It demands domain messaging over rambling across topics. Are you known for tech/business thought-leadership or someone that writes on business, technology, gender women rights, sports, politics, medical activism, etc? Indeed, any topic online makes it to your feed.

People who make decisions on where to spend money want consistency and certainty. They want to come to your feed expecting to see a sustained messaging. When I hired our first team member in our Design Center in Nigeria, it was through Facebook when I was there. Somehow I saw his posts and we connected. For over 4 weeks, he (largely) only posted things on embedded systems/electronics. Nothing else bothered him; he was simply into electronics. He is now our Electronics Business Engineering Manager. He would do his job even if no one pays him – he really likes electronics.

That connects to those looking for work. You cannot be a great Business Strategist if a search in your name cannot turn up an article on that. That webinality (your digital personality) is what many would look to hire you. While your CV remains important to connect in some cases and perhaps apply for jobs, when it comes to some experienced jobs, many would expect to see what you have done in the past. They typically check online.

The following are some suggestions on how to build a professional online persona:

Presence: Open at least one social media or blog account.

Specialize: Define an area of interest and build around it. A five-minute online search should reveal what you represent. You need to differentiate yourself and showcase your core skills and unique capabilities to potential hiring managers.

Accuracy: Always remember that once that post goes online, you may not control who sees it. Make it accurate – always, otherwise, you will destroy your persona.

Comprehensive: While blog should be short, once in a while, develop comprehensive articles in your field and post them online. It could mean expanding a class project you worked on, adding more contents, and fully proving your expertise. Half-baked contents will not take you too far.

Judgment: What you post or share online defines who you are. Your profile defines your values, interests and reliability. For employers, they want reliable team leaders and you must not offer less in your web personality.

Vertical Integration: Seek to connect with people ahead of you professionally while building a horizontally network.

Generosity: Share and exchange good ideas. Invite people to your network and be generous to promote good ideas from others. Write professional reviews on books, journals and articles. In no distant time, people will reward you.

Policy Matters: If you are working, ensure you adhere to policies on using the company’s name online. There is a threat that you could be a source of data leakage that can hurt a place you work. Your profile must not be another portrait of your employer – you must be wise to separate both, where necessary.

Continuity: Professional online branding is a continuous work-in-progress that requires constant tune-ups of networks, contents and profiles. It must be constantly nurtured.

For consultants, it is largely a requirement that the entity or person has demonstrated thought-leadership in a specific area one is seeking advisory opportunities. Big name consulting firms do just that if you check their websites.

For you – the small player – your blog integrated in your company website could be it. I have suggested that beginners should have a web space (we have support in case you need a free web hosting). We want you to improve your digital personality: it does unlock opportunities even when you are not paying attention. With no ambiguity, it would help your consulting and job-seeking endeavors, if you manage it professionally.

Webinality = Web + Personality

[APPLY] VC4A Unveils Funding for African Startups – $250K to $5M

By

Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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June 21, 2018

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APPLY.

VC4A is calling for disruptive African scale-ups looking to raise between $250K and $5M. An exclusive Series A Venture Showcase will take place in Cape Town on November 12, 2018, as part of the annual Africa Early Stage Investor Summit.

The 2017 event showcased 20 scale-ups as part of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit, resulting in a number of Series A deals totaling over $12M. Building on this success, the ‘VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A’ positions deal ready companies as a central component of the annual meeting of Africa investors. This is an exclusive opportunity for selected entrepreneurs to introduce their companies at once to everyone who’s anyone in Africa’s early-stage investment space.

VC4A works closely with the Africa investment community to refer candidates to the showcase, involving investors in both the screening and selections process. Participating investors work with the selected companies to prepare their participation in the showcase, and to ensure the companies are representative of the best investment opportunities coming up from across the continent. The showcase sets the stage for deal making with Africa’s leading entrepreneurs and investors coming together to scale up the best companies.

The summit brings together the leading angel networks, VC funds, impact investors, accelerators, corporate venture divisions, industry associations, and public sector agencies. The 2017 edition welcomed over 300 investors from prominent African angel networks and VC funds, such as Singularity Investments, Accion, Knife Capital, Ventures Platform, TLCom Capital, Blue Haven, 4Di Capital, Lagos Angel Network, SABAN, AngelHub Ventures, Teranga Capital, Outlierz, Algebra Ventures, Grey Elephant Ventures, Ringier, GSMA, Orange Digital Ventures.

Selected entrepreneurs get all expenses paid trip to Cape Town on Nov 9-16 to deliver their pitch on the main stage of the Summit and engage with interested investors during the deep-dive sessions. The program offers two days of networking opportunities at the Summit, including the Speaker Cocktail and Industry Leaders Dinner, as well as opportunities to attend and pitch at partner events AfricaCom (https://TMT.Knect365.com/africacom) and AfricArena (https://AfricArena2018.com)

Interested entrepreneurs are invited to apply HERE (https://goo.gl/ZxnqJa) before August 20th.