The harsh economic climate in the country is having its toll on the telecommunications sector. The earnings of telecommunications operators dipped significantly as over 60 million telephone lines became inactive at the end of the second quarter.

The Guardian learnt that the fall in the industry’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), among other factors, might have contributed to the slide in service providers’ earnings within the period.

ARPU is a measure used primarily by consumer communications and networking companies. It is defined as the total revenue divided by the number of subscribers.

The index, according to a source in the Ministry of Communications, who spoke to The Guardian anonymously, dropped sharply from N3,000 in 2001 to N500 in 2016, due mainly to the dwindling disposable income of subscribers amid the harsh economic climate.

This figure was corroborated yesterday by an official of a leading telecommunications company, who disclosed that ARPU has been on the decline in the last one year.

The official said: “For instance, in January and July 2015 it fell by 21.7 per cent and 15.7 per cent, a pattern that repeated itself in 2016.”

As a result, the about 62 million lines, which went dead, due to current economic challenges, might have cost the quartet of MTN, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat a revenue of about N31 billion within the period under review.

This is a statement from Nokia after NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) closed its office over non renewal of its license in Nigeria.

LAGOS, Nigeria, 08 September 2016 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/-  Following the closure of the Nokia office office lin Lekki, Lagos, Nokia will like to assure all stakeholders that  “The temporary closing of our administrative office in Lagos is an important matter to us. We continue to closely collaborate with NCC and are accelerating our efforts to quickly regularize our licence. We remain fully committed to delivering world-class connectivity solutions to the Nigerian market and positively contributing to the country socio-economic development.” According to a Nokia Regional official .

IBM Tuesday announced the appointment of Ernest Oladipo Faulkner as Country General Manager, IBM Nigeria.

He succeeds Taiwo Otiti who served as Country General Manager, West Africa, since 2010.

Faulkner will be responsible for IBM’s overall business in Nigeria with a focus on deploying IBM’s advanced technology capabilities in Cognitive, Cloud Computing, Big Data and Analytics, Mobile and Security to solve current and future needs of institutions in key economic sectors across the country.

He will also provide leadership for IBM’s relationships and Corporate Social initiatives in the Civil Society, ICT and Academic communities. With over 25 years of regional experience, Dipo has been leading IBM’s Global Business Services for Central & West Africa and helped develop strong client relationships in the region.

Faulkner holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and an Advanced Management Program Certificate from Institute de Empressa (ie), Madrid Spain.

The ECOWAS Commission and the Tony Elumelu Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for collaboration to deepen and amplify both institutions’ efforts in supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as promoting entrepreneurship and wealth creation.

The MOU, which has been endorsed, is for a period of two years. It allows both organizations to leverage their respective capacities and sharpen their focus on entrepreneurship as a tool of development.

Specifically the collaboration will help to:

• Formalize and instill competitiveness in the West-African entrepreneurship ecosystem by developing and implementing a Regional Strategy and Charter to promote best practices in MSME governance, better access to finance, access to regional and international markets, and capacity building.
• Advocate for improvement in the enabling business environment for SMEsthrough joint organization of workshops along sectoral lines to promote business and investments, and harmonize policies and fiscal issues that create an enabling business environment.
• Spread and strengthen the philosophy of Africapitalism by socializing it with key stakeholders.
• Provide research opportunities in data analysis and gathering on the state of West African SME landscape
• Teach Entrepreneurship in the ECOWAS region, including Africapitalism as a study in the national education curriculum (starting from primary school) of ECOWAS member states.

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A newsletter from the Tony Elumelu Foundation on organizing Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum.

We are pleased to inform you that the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum 2016, will hold in Lagos, Nigeria from Thursday 27- Saturday 29, October 2016.
The TEF Forum is an annual gathering of selected entrepreneurs and key stakeholders within the African entrepreneurial ecosystem. This year we host our second class of 1,000 emerging entrepreneurs from 54 countries in Africa to forge partnerships, share insights and receive foundational information to help their businesses thrive.
The TEF Forum is the premier international platform for African entrepreneurs to form business partnerships with Pan-African and global business leaders, policy makers and investors. It will promote continent-wide integration by creating a Pan-African entrepreneurship ecosystem that fosters creativity, innovation, collaboration and trade among entrepreneurs all across Africa.
The TEF Forum will convene African and global leaders to engage with African entrepreneurs who are developing innovative entrepreneurial solutions to Africa’s economic challenges and change the African narrative. Through this forum, policy makers and the international development community will recognise and embrace entrepreneurship, as the new model for the development of Africa and beyond, as we shape the local, national, regional and global agenda for the growth of African entrepreneurship through public and private cooperation.
It is the hallmark of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, our 10-year, $100 million commitment to identifying, training and funding 10,000 African entrepreneurs.
Please do save the date. A formal invitation will follow.