WIZGUY69:

What's the next thing to discuss on our agenda now?

- Traditional arts and crafts that are indigenous to each community in Yorubaland;

- Different mass community schemes that have succeeded in different parts of the South-West (e.g. Ondo State’s Safe Motherhood Programme tagged the “Abiye Initiative” which has been adopted by the World Bank as a model for achieving maternal health goals);

,

JUST A FEW YEARS AGO:

Africa's Hottest Tech Startups: Twinpine

Oduntan Odubanjo, a 28 year-old Nigerian Computer engineer is the co-founder of Twinpine, a startup Pan-African mobile advertising network which is currently generating a lot of buzz in Nigeria’s advertising and technology circles. In less than a year of setting up operations, Twinpine has already cornered lucrative accounts like MTN, Nokia, Google, Pepsi and Autodesk, among several other local companies. Twinpine doesn’t create the ads for mobile phones; it provides a way for those ads to be viewed on websites via mobile phones.

Odubanjo runs his company from its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. A few months ago, he opened another office in Nairobi, Kenya and he is planning to venture into Johannesburg and other major African cities. Twinpine is profitable, but Odubanjo declined to divulge just how profitable it is.

He recently explained his business model to me, walked me through his start-up story and gave me a glimpse into Twinpine’s big picture.

What Is Twinpine?

Twinpine is a mobile advertising network focused on Africa. It is different from other mobile advertising networks because we focus on the tangible value for advertisers and publishers on our network. We dont just serve impressions we work to deliver conversions and revenues to them respectively.

Recount your startup story


The journey for Twinpine so far has been very fast paced and exciting. Beyond trying to turn a profit, we are on a mission to propagate the message of mobile advertising. We have invested in events and initiatives that will expose and educate people on the potential of mobile marketing. One of these saw the sponsorship of the IEEE student professional awareness program last year at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. Its been an amazing journey filled with a great deal of learning, operational innovation and sense of achievement.

Explain your business model to my grandma. How does Twinpine work, and how do you make money?

Twinpine was founded to enable brands and businesses effectively reach their target audience with their message using the mobile advertising channel. We achieve that by aggregating the leading (in terms of brand and traffic) mobile sites and applications and advertise on them for our clients. That way, we also help our publishers make money by doing a revenue share with them on the advertising we place.

How many users do you have so far? Name some of the more prominent ones.

I’m glad to share that we have run campaigns for leading brands from the likes of MTN, Nokia, Google, Pepsi, Autodesk to fast growing companies like Jobberman, Wakanow.com, Vconnect and Jana. We also work with over 20 local and international digital advertising agencies to develop mobile advertising campaigns across Africa.

On the publisher side of the space we have leading local publishers in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana including Guardian, Vanguard, Jobberman, Businessday, Complete Sports, Standard Media, Daily Nation and Ghanaweb. We also work with international publishers like Opera, Eskimi, Ubersocial, Ebuddy,

Twinpine has delivered marketing goals from brand awareness to application downloads, event registration, product launch and site traffic boost.

Nigerian named among top American Cardiologists


A top Nigerian cardiologist based in New York, Dr. Oluyemi Badero has been named among the top interventional cardiologists in the United States, according to a prominent rating organization for the medical profession here.
Castle Connolly, the organization which publishes an a leading annual publication of distinguished US doctors has listed Badero among the top US doctors based in the New York metro area which includes New York, New Jersey and Connecticut states.

The publication which is the 15th edition and dated 2012 was released recently, reporting that Badero, who earlier had been named among top US cardiologists, is one of the interventional cardiologists to reckon with in the US. Interventional Cardiology is deemed a rarefied specialty in medical practice, and fewer African-Americans and blacks are qualified in that field.

Commenting on his listing this year by the Castle Connolly list regarded as eminent among US medical professionals, Dr. Badero said the recognition will further spur him to do more and do better, adding that “I feel highly honored.”

Badero is among a handful of US Black doctors and Nigerians on the Castle Connolly list. Some of the other Nigerian doctors who have featured on the list include Professor Ferdinand Ofodile, Dr Ola Akinboboye and Dr Chukwuma Okadigwe.

Badero’s training in Africa was noted in the publication, as he graduated with an MBBS in 1984 from the then University of Ife. However it added that Badero had two residency programs in the US both at the State University of New York between 1990-1994. It was also highlighted that Badero had two post-residency fellowships at SUNY and Yale, between 1994-1998.

Besides, the publication also noted his three levels of America medical board certifications in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology.

The publication stated that the process of selecting the top doctors "begins with the identification of a selected pool of board-certified physicians from the total numbers of doctors practicing in a given area." The process involves a survey of already distinguished and leading physicians and hospital CEO's and medical directors, who are asked to nominate top doctors on an annual basis.

Moreover, it is noted that selection is predicated on an extensive nomination procedure and a set of standards "which each nominated doctor was required to meet ie respect of their peers and academic excellence."

Specifically the nominees are asked to suggest names of doctors, "especially those to whom they would refer their patients and their own family members." The publication noted that only doctors who deliver outstanding patient care" are chosen

Badero, who has also won acclaim in the community both Nigerian and American communities including US churches, one of which awarded him “The Knighthood” by Knights of Columbus, an organization of the Catholic church. He was inducted into Knighthood by Knight of Columbus and earned the admirable title of "Worthy Sir Knight, Dr Oluyemi Badero"

Besides, his private practice, Dr Oluyemi Badero, a board Certified Interventional Cardiologist was the Chief of Cardiology at Saint John’s Episcopal Hospital, South Shore, New York between 2003 and 2007, and also Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, at the State University of New York Health Sciences Center in Brooklyn. He is the President and CEO, Cardiac Specialists of Brooklyn, LLC


Few years ago, the 108th session of the US Congress praised Badero’s “outstanding accomplishments in the field of medicine,” and “one of the very few African-American specialists in his field.”

In that Congressional Record submitted by US Congressman Ed Towns, it was stated that “Badero has reached the highest levels of medicine in our country, all the way from Nigeria, and he has used his expertise to improve the lives of his community.”

Badero himself noted that “when you are devoted to do your very best, the recognition will come,” he says adding that “if you seek the kingdom of excellence, everything else will follow.”

According to him however, “success is what you do to others, not just for yourself.”

Badero who is in his early 50s, was also listed among the top 50 US and Canada-based Nigerians recognized by Nigerians abroad during Nigeria’s 50th independence celebrations in 2010.

Whathaveidone:


That's even the unforunate aspect of the whole thing.Even when you mail them to unban you, they don't respond.This is all i see whenever i get banned

That anti-spam BOT na bastard!

It banned me for advising Emperor Ademusiwa9 to reduce his intake of gbana on one of his stup!d threads.

It also banned me for taking a swipe at I$hil0ve's virginity status.

I really need to know how it works...

Whathaveidone:


Nothing for now other than this .Dance jor!

kikikiki
oya! omo Yoruba ni mi o....... swagger...........

CabbieAC:
Eleko is this ashiwajufoward your alternate moniker?

No, no be me

AshiwajuFoward:
Omo Forest Reserve, Ogun state.

Fantastic ! Breathtaking !! Beautiful !!!

Ogun has a lot of Tourism Potentials. The state can generate a lot of revenue from that sector.
Please can you help us get pictures of : Ebute-Oni Beach, Iwopin Beach and Tongeji Island ?

.

Ritchie... Am feeling you man. I don't know if you can post something about smile internet & spectranet.
Do you know them


Laudate[/b]don't know much about crafts o, guess I will be watching from back.

Whathaveidone:




Egbon mi you fall my hand yesterday oo.You didn't anchor the Yoruba hour .I was expecting you to mention everyone

I am sorry.I TOLD YOU ABOUT MY DUEL WITH TIME BUT I TRIED TO GIVE THE ANCHORING TO SOMEBODY ELSE BUT THEY WERE KIND OF "EHN MI O LAGBARA E"..
IT IS BIG UPS FOR YOU.

Musiwa419:
Fantastic ! Breathtaking !! Beautiful !!!

Ogun has a lot of Tourism Potentials. The state can generate a lot of revenue from that sector.
Please can you help us get pictures of : Ebute-Oni Beach, Iwopin Beach and Tongeji Island ?

Beach
is Ogun state accessible to Atlantic ocean?

superduperjay:
This our people sef are very somehow. OMO FOREST RESERVE dosent even have a website or a call contact for information. What is the job of the commissioner of tourism? Because things like this are too small for the governor to be called upon. Yorubaland is quite peaceful and promoting tourism shouldn't be a poblem for us.

I often wonder if some of our administrators are dunderheads or something. I wonder what the Ogun state commissioner(s) of Tourism have been doing.
A friened of mine who once visited the Ebute-Oni Beach and the Iwopin Beach told me about how lovely those beaches are. I did a google search but i couldnt find anything tangible; no pictures, no website where potential tourists can access info

tupacshakur:


That anti-spam BOT na bastard!

It banned me for advising Emperor Ademusiwa9 to reduce his intake of gbana on one his stup!d threads.

It also banned me for taking a swipe at I$hil0ve's virginity status.

I really need to know how it works...

Brev, it is not always antispam bot, the mods edit people's posts sometimes, add bots to them, then submit the posts again. These folks are sly loool.

@Ritchiee

Impressive profiles. It seems a lot of young Yorubas are into tech. That is the future and where the money is.

WIZGUY69:



Beach
is Ogun state accessible to Atlantic ocean?

Actually it does. If you look at the map it's clear to see that the SW is blessed with 3 access-points to the Atlantic -- Lagos, Ogun and Ondo. Ogun has plenty of access-points to the sea either through lekki lagoon, lagos lagoon, the bight of benin or several smaller creeks

WIZGUY69:
Ritchie... Am feeling you man. I don't know if you can post something about smile internet & spectranet.
Do you know them


Laudate[/b]don't know much about crafts o, guess I will be watching from back.

SMILE is India’s largest consortium of companies engaged in the e-commerce and ITES sector and Spectranet is an Internet service provider which offers cable broadband services to residential and business customers across India.It also offers communication solutions to enterprise.The Company is headquartered in Gurgaon and is currently providing its Internet services in Delhi/NCR,Mumbai,Chennai,Banglore and Pune. They are licensed to provide internet, national long distance and international long distance services pan India.The company has been operating since 2000.Both are practically an Indian thingy...

Whathaveidone:



kwara state is not part of the south-west for now but i have a question for you


Are you the one on your profile?

Yoruba is majority in Kwara State. Yoruba is spoken all over the land, even by the minorities - Borgu and Nupe. On the southern bank of River Niger at Jebba the throne and stool of the town is an Oba.

When we continously project and remind everyone that Yoruba is synonymous with SW we are in effect saying Kwara is not one of our States. If Kwara was on the eastern side instead of North, the way we exclude them politicaly...Ibo would already have occupied, changed the language and gained at as their land.

If this thread is seriously pushing Yoruba interest then all lands of Yoruba must be included. On the other hand, if this is just about SW, then remove Yoruba from title. SW is by default a Yorubaland.

Lets not be lazy about titles and labels. Welive in a fast and transparent world.....if we ourselves do not see Kwara or Yorubas of Kogi as part of us then we cant fight when others refer to them as Hausa territory. Modify the title of this thread and start including statistics in Kogi and Kwara.

Shymm3x:


Brev, it is not always antispam bot, the mods edit people's posts sometimes, add bots to them, then submit the posts again. These folks are sly loool.

@Ritchiee

Impressive profiles. It seems a lot of young Yorubas are into tech. That is the future and where the money is.

You are on point,man.The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.

MayorofLagos:


Yoruba is majority in Kwara State. Yoruba is spoken all over the land, even by the minorities - Borgu and Nupe. On the southern bank of River Niger at Jebba the throne and stool of the town is an Oba.

When we continously project and remind everyone that Yoruba is synonymous with SW we are in effect saying Kwara is not one of our States. If Kwara was on the eastern side instead of North, the way we exclude them politicaly...Ibo would already have occupied, changed the language and gained at as their land.

If this thread is seriously pushing Yoruba interest then all lands of Yoruba must be included. On the other hand, if this is just about SW, then remove Yoruba from title. SW is by default a Yorubaland.

Lets not be lazy about titles and labels. Welive in a fast and transparent world.....if we ourselves do not see Kwara or Yorubas of Kogi as part of us then we cant fight when others refer to them as Hausa territory. Modify the title of this thread and start including statistics in Kogi and Kwara.

Ododo oro ni yen!

Nice one, Mayor baba!

OP, if there's a way you can modify the title, then do so.

Nigerian Native, Agbede Owns Biggest Black Engineering Firm In The US - Career


Montana was not what Robert Agbede had in mind. A Nigerian native, Agbede long wanted to move to America, and in January 1976, he got that chance. He excelled in science and math at a private American high school outside his hometown of Lagos, and universities offered scholarships: Stanford, Penn State and the Colorado School of Mines, among others

Agbede chose Montana Tech in Butte because the school would let him start at once.

″I wanted to leave so bad,″ said Agbede, whose father died when Agbede was 8, leaving him to head the household that included his mother and three younger brothers. ″I had been taking care of my family. It was time to leave and enjoy myself.″

When he arrived in Montana, Agbede stared at the bleak, frozen landscape and wondered if he'd made a mistake.

″I had black platform shoes, a two-piece suit, bell bottoms. I grew a big afro. That was the era of 'Shaft,' and I learned how to walk like 'Super Fly,' ″ Agbede recalled. ″But I didn't even have a coat. Of all the places I could have picked... .″

Better days awaited him.

Agbede today heads Chester Engineers Inc., headquartered in Moon. On March 31, the National Society of Black Engineers will present him with its 2012 Golden Torch Award for Entrepreneur of the Year. The society said Chester Engineers is the largest black-owned environmental and engineering design company in the United States and the largest water and wastewater treatment plant design and management company in Western Pennsylvania.

″Every so often, I ask myself, 'Why me?' ″ Agbede said.

His unlikely rise strikes longtime friend Glenn Mahone, senior partner at the Downtown law firm Reed Smith, as mythical. In any good story, Mahone said, the hero comes from nothing. He embarks on an arduous quest, ends up in a strange, foreboding land and overcomes the odds through sheer determination.

″For a black guy from Lagos, looking like Shaft, to end up in Butte, Montana -- I mean, Butte, Montana! -- and eventually buy Chester Engineers? That takes courage, and it takes confidence,″ Mahone said.

Agbede spent six months in Butte before his uncle, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, convinced him to transfer.

″They said 'Pittsburgh is the smoky city,' but it was heaven to me,″ Agbede said. ″I loved it. My reference line was Butte. I said, let me get out of Butte, and I just left. I had an AMC Pacer, one of the worst cars ever, and I just left it there. In Pittsburgh, the cup was half full.″

In 1979, he graduated from Pitt with an engineering degree and entered the doctoral program while working for the research arm of the National Coal Council. Through most of the 1980s, he worked as an engineer with Babcock Co., and in 1987, his life changed, he said.

U.S. Steel called, seeking help with reducing dust from the longwall mining machine at its coal mine in Alabama, he said. The Mine Safety and Health Administration threatened to close the mine if U.S. Steel couldn't fix the problem.

″They asked how much I would charge to help,″ Agbede said. ″I didn't know; I said $1,000 because that number sounded nice to me. They agreed, and I came down for the weekend.″

In a Birmingham hotel room, Agbede could not sleep that night.

″I left the television on, and there was Jimmy Swaggart,″ Agbede said. ″He was on one knee, he was crying and saying, 'Lord, I have sinned; forgive me.' Well, I got down on my knees, too, and I prayed: 'Lord, don't use all your energy on Jimmy because I need your help, too!' ″

Underground the next morning, he quickly determined how to fix the dust problem, he said. Agbede designed a device he called a scrubber, which uses water sprayers to remove dust. He patented the design, one of several patent notices framed in the Chester Engineers offices.

″We walked out of the mine, we were wearing coveralls and gear, everyone was celebrating, and I was walking like Rambo,″ Agbede said.

Two days later, U.S. Steel asked for a proposal to work on seven other problematic mines, Agbede said. He was unsure whether he wanted to start his own business.

″I never prayed that hard in my life,″ he said. ″I called them and said, 'I need an advance' -- I was trying to make them tell me no. They said, 'How much?' and I said $17,500. They said, 'OK, go pick it up at Ross Street.' I went to pick up the check, and that's how I got started.″

He bought gear, rented an office in Monroeville and started Advance Technology Services Inc. The company grew steadily, and in 2003, Agbede bought Chester Engineers from U.S. Filter Co. Chester was founded in Pittsburgh's North Side in 1910. Today, Chester Engineers has offices throughout the country and does projects around the world. Agbede spent 225 days on the road last year.

He won't release financial numbers, for competitive reasons. He wouldn't even say how many people he employs.

He is more forthcoming about his efforts to help students. Agbede has not forgotten his roots. He established the Robert O. Agbede Scholarship at Pitt to help black students pursuing engineering degrees and has given more than $3 million in other endowments.

His desire to give back is one reason former WQED President George Miles Jr. took a position as chairman of Chester Engineer's board of directors when he and his wife planned to retire to Florida. Miles knows little about engineering, both men acknowledge, but Agbede wanted him as a mentor and moral compass.

″A lot of people work and make a lot of money, and then later on, they realize that their lives made no difference at all,″ Miles said. ″I'm about trying to make a difference. So is Bob. This company, if we're successful, we're going to make some money. But we're also going to make a difference. ... Bob takes that seriously.″

Today, Agbede's engineering firm is the largest African-American-owned firm of its kind in the United States.
http://www.africanoutlookonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4070%3Aachiever-nigerian-native-agbede-owns-us-largest-black-engineering-firm-&catid=99%3Aoutlookscroller

.

Whathaveidone:




Hahaha ibinu ni eleko gbe wa lote yi ooo ko saburu

I was very specific with it though when i said "for now". Kwara state is not part of the DAWN project and and statistics that come from kwara are not included as south-west stats

I have no doubt that Kwara state is Yoruba land but the "Yoruba" aspect of the title has to do with success stories since we had to include Yorubas in the diaspora.The "Southwest" aspect of it is just about development of the south-west.

As per the emboldened,Like is said earlier,there's no where you check for statistics that include kwara as part of south-west statistics except if you can provide us with one. You still haven't responded to me on what i should change the thread title to

Bro,change the title to YORUBA COMMONWEALTH:HOME, ALL OVER THE WORLD AND SPACE.

Ritchiee:
SMILE is India’s largest consortium of companies engaged in the e-commerce and ITES sector and Spectranet is an Internet service provider which offers cable broadband services to residential and business customers across India.It also offers communication solutions to enterprise.The Company is headquartered in Gurgaon and is currently providing its Internet services in Delhi/NCR,Mumbai,Chennai,Banglore and Pune. They are licensed to provide internet, national long distance and international long distance services pan India.The company has been operating since 2000.Both are practically an Indian thingy...

I think the Smile (4g) laudate is referring to is the South African-owned one: http://smile.com.ng/#page

They actually launched there West Africa operations at Ibadan about 2 years ago.

.

Nigeria has only one university in Africa’s top 10 list



Again, Nigerian universities fail to make world’s top 1,000 list July 22, 2015

Only one Nigerian university ranked among world’s top 800


Only one Nigerian university has made it to the list of top 10 African universities, a rating that has six South African schools.

In a ranking released Tuesday, Nigeria’s University of Ibadan came a distant eighth on the top 10 list, beaten by schools from South Africa, Kenya and Egypt.

With its performance, the University of Ibadan naturally came tops as Nigeria’s best, according to the research conducted by Journals Consortium.

The result shows how the Nigerian education system struggles against its African peers.

The ranking was based on research publications and citations from 2010 to 2014 as well as visibility on the Internet, Journals Consortium said.

The University of Cape Town in South Africa was graded the continent’s best while Cairo University in Egypt came second.

Another South African institution, University of Pretoria, ranked third while the University of Nairobi, in Kenya, ranked fourth.

University of South Africa was ranked fifth leaving Witwatersrand University at the sixth position and Stellenbosch at seventh.

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, came 13th in Africa – apparently Nigeria’s second best.

While the University of Ibadan started off as University College in 1948, the University of Nigeria was founded in 1955 and was formally opened in 1960.

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, ABU, ranked 18th in Africa and third in Nigeria, while the University of Lagos ranked 20th in Africa, and fourth in Nigeria.

Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, ranked 24th in Africa, and fifth in Nigeria while University of Benin ranked 27th in Africa and sixth in Nigeria.

University of Ilorin was rated seventh best in Nigeria but 31st in Africa while the University of Port Harcourt ranked eighth in Nigeria, and 36th in Africa.

Nnamdi Azikiwe University stood at ninth position in Nigeria, and 42nd in Africa, leaving the University of Calabar as 10th in Nigeria but 43rd in Africa respectively.

“University of Ibadan has always maintained that rank status from as back as I know, and am proud to be a product of that University,” Bayo Aladejo, an alumnus of the University of Ibadan said.
What is wrong with our educational system for God's sake?

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/186292-nigeria-has-only-one-university-in-africas-top-10-list-south-africa-has-6.html

Whathaveidone:




I love the emboldened but space? anyways I'm considering that.Let's see what others have to say about this

i endorse his suggestion

Whathaveidone:




I love the emboldened but space? anyways I'm considering that.Let's see what others have to say about this

Don't you believe there could be a Yoruba in space?Remember Oduduwa....lol

[size=18pt]Leadpath (Nigerian Tech Accelerator) is Building the Next Big Thing in Nigeria – Olumide Soyombo[/size]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLdloP_3wiw



Olumide Soyombo, Leadpath Nigeria CEO, recently made our list of ten most influential people driving technology and e-commerce in Nigeria. In an interview with BNreport, Soyombo spoke about his work with startups at Leadpath Nigeria.

BNreport: What motivated you to start investing in startups in Nigeria with Leadpath?

Soyombo: I moved back to Lagos in 2007 and started a Tech startup of my own with a co-founder, Kazeem Tewogbade, in 2008 called Bluechip Technologies. Luckily, we had someone who believed in us and seeded our company. We built Bluechip Technologies over the years into a leader in the Enterprise software space and one of the leading Oracle partners in Africa. Towards the end of 2013, we started seeking out ways to invest in the consumer tech space and bring our experience in the enterprise software space to bear in working with some select companies with the same focus. Our motivation was to replicate some of the successes we have had with Bluechip with these companies and grow them into large players in their own right.

BNreport: Leadpath is actually the first accelerator to launch in Nigeria. Where do you hope to be in the next five years?

Soyombo: We do believe that have the huge addressable market and improving enabling environment that affords us the opportunity the build the next big thing. We hope that the companies we will be investing in with our initial seed fund will go along to raise further investments and achieve the growth potential we identified at the seed round.

BNreport: What have been the most onerous challenges you have faced setting up Leadpath and nurturing your startups?

Soyombo: The biggest challenge still lies around capacity building. Being a good developer doesn’t mean that you will make an excellent entrepreneur. And in many cases many developers around have an overstated false sense of their actual ability. So we focus both providing technical support and importantly mentoring the startup founders in the world of entrepreneurship.

BNreport: You really have some promising startups in your portfolio e.g. PushCV, Simer, RSVP, Uregista, Afriqbuy.com etc. What is the story so far with your startups? Could you share some figures?

Soyombo: Some of the startups have accelerated with different paces and outcomes . It is still early days with most of them but we do have some of the startups inking very interesting contracts. For example, one of the startups with a seed round of about $30k has gone ahead to sign a deal with one of the commercial banks that’s in multiples of that seed round.

BNreport: You announced that you said $1.5 million to invest in the startups via Leadpath. Could you share how startups can position themselves to attract investment from local and international investors?

Soyombo: Startups need to have started something. No one will typically invest in an idea or a concept in your head, especially when you have no track record. We need to see that you have made some sacrifices already and you have the staying power to push along once investment comes in.

http://bnreport.com/tech/leadpath-is-building-the-next-big-thing-in-nigeria-soyombo/

Ritchiee:
Don't you believe there could be a Yoruba in space?Remember Oduduwa....lol

[img]http://4.bp..com/-Ir5DN_7mwzw/UngEwcH7ppI/AAAAAAAAOpg/cTPq2iBdjWg/s1600/ti.gif[/img]