When driving, the main distraction culprit is your phone. This is not good when it comes to your safety. However, with the help of google assistant, you can perfectly handle any kind of distraction without necessarily touching your phone. Here is how. 

N.B: You can launch Google Assistant by long pressing the home button.

Searching for and Playing Music

These days, most people play music in their cars from their phones, not the radio. But if you’ve ever searched for music on Spotify (or Google Play Music) then you know it involves typing in a search and browsing through albums and playlists. Doing this while driving is nearly impossible. Google Assistant makes the process of launching a song as simple as asking out loud. All you have to do to get this working is set up your favourite music service in Google Assistant:

Launch Google Assistant and tap the blue drawer icon.
Click the three-dot Menu button and choose Settings.
Select Music
Link your favourite music service and set it as the default.
That’s all it takes. The next time you want to listen to music in your car, just say “OK Google, play [artist, album, song, or playlist].” Google Assistant will use your default music service, but you can append “on Pandora” or similar to use another.

Google Assistant will automatically launch the app and start playing your requested music.

Making phone calls

If there’s an emergency or you have no choice about making a phone call, don’t pick up your phone to start dialling. That increases your odds of having an accident significantly. Instead, simply say “OK Google, call [contact].” Keep in mind that holding a phone conversation is still a form of distracted driving. It isn’t nearly as dangerous as holding your phone and typing, but it’s still proven to reduce your reaction time while driving. If you must make a call while driving, do it using Google Assistant, and do so sparingly.

Checking and Sending Messages

Typing a text message is one of the most dangerous ways to use your phone while driving. Usually, your attention is on typing for much longer than five seconds.

Google Assistant makes it extremely easy to send a text message to anyone in your contact list by saying “OK Google, send a message to [contact name]”.

The name of the contact you speak should match a single contact in your contact list. If there are multiple people with the same name, you’ll have to tap the name you want, so try to make sure all contacts have a distinct label.

Google Assistant will call up another window and ask you to speak your message. It’ll then type it up for you and send it off. You don’t have to glance at your phone once.

Launching GPS navigation

Google Maps is another one of the many Google services integrated with Assistant. There’s no reason that you need to type addresses into Google Maps while you’re trying to drive. Like other tasks we’ve mentioned, Google Assistant makes it easy to find your way anywhere. Leave your phone in the cradle, and just ask it how to get to your destination with a “Navigate to [location]” command. Google Assistant will locate the business or address you’ve stated, and automatically open up that route in the navigation view. The key here is to make sure you start the statement with “navigate.” Make sure the location name is something Google can identify in your local area.

Other things you can do with Google Assistant:


Turn on Bluetooth: If your phone audio connects to the car with Bluetooth, this command will come in handy.
Turn volume to [percentage]: You can adjust your phone volume to any level using your voice.
How is traffic on the way to [destination]: Learn how heavy traffic is and how long it’ll take you to get to your destination.
Where is the closest [business]: Find the nearest gas station, grocery store, restaurant, or any other business.
When is my next event?: Be prepared when you get to work or school by having Google Assistant prep you for your first calendar event of the day.
Create appointment [event name] for [date and time]: Google Assistant will create whatever event you’ve described at the time and date you set.

Source: https://innovation-village.com/how-google-assistant-can-keep-you-safe-in-cars/

This idea might appear odd to some people but the reality is Apple, as a group of individuals, designs and makes products that they love to use. Unlike other device makers, Apple follows a tightly focused approach than a ‘something for everybody’ approach, which focuses on quality and overall user experience. This also means that the majority of the product lines are targeted at the high-end category.

Apple’s products integrate well

Apple also makes sure each of their products integrates well in terms of both software and hardware. The specs and features of Apple devices may not be apt to do a whole lot of tasks; they, however, do well at what they are meant to including a specific set of tasks while being consistent and handy.

Apple’s products delight customers

Customers of Apple love products as such as iPhone and MacBook because of design and aesthetics of both hardware and software. This is why people are willing to pay a premium for it. Apple, on the other hand, continues to charm its customers with its incessant innovation in product design and functionality.

Apple lets their customers advertise

Apple customers flaunt their iDevices more than anything else and this is the best thing for Apple to have. The craze and excitement that Apple product launch manages to garner every year speak volumes about their products and why people buy them. Each and every Apple customer is a great advertiser himself of Apple products.

Apple’s strategy that always works

Everything that Apple does is thought through. From design to the new feature to packaging, Apple does it differently. Above all, they strategise on everything they do and every decision they make. The company focuses on innovations of their R& pipeline into single releases annually, rather than spreading them out over a few models. This is what gets them the craze and excitement that they want to see.

Apple’s experience is immersive

Apple provides insanely incredible customer experience. Right from buying products to using them in replacing defective products, Apple continues to pursue you to go for its products.

Source: https://innovation-village.com/five-reasons-why-people-love-apple-products/

Android is an extremely powerful operating system that can be used for much more than just your regular social media use, WhatsApp and calling. Unlike iOS, Android is infinitely customizable and is a very capable and powerful OS that can be used for so much more. Here are awesome things you can do with your Android Phone that you may or may not be aware of:

Compass and barometer

Your Android smartphone is packed to the gills with various sensors like an accelerometer, a compass, a proximity light sensor and even a barometer! They work seamlessly across various functions of your smartphone but you can also access them independently by downloading applications such as Smart Compass.

Voice search with the screen off

Most Android smartphones let you voice search by saying “Ok Google” from anywhere on the operating system. Some phones like the Moto X also have a dedicated listening core that allows you to use the “Ok Google” command even when the screen is off! Apple implemented the same recently with “hey Siri”, but that only works while the Phone is charging. How to turn on “Ok Google” always detection-Google settings > Search and Now > Voice > OK Google Detection > Always on and flip the switch

Remote lock or wipe your lost phone

In case you keep on losing your smartphones, Android has you covered. Google has a great feature called Android Device Manager that allows you to track your phone and wipe/reset it if you lose it. Just enable Android Device Manager in Settings > Security > Device Administrators and access the site on your computer if you ever lose your phone.

Scan barcodes/ Documents

Your Android smartphone has a camera at the back which you use to take photos of your food to post online. It can be used for much loftier and productive purposes as well. You can use the rear camera as a barcode scanner and document scanner easily by using apps such as ‘Barcode scanner’ for the former and ‘CamScanner’ for the latter’ Apart from these, there are a plethora of apps on the Google Play store which can be used for the same.

Access Chrome tabs from other devices

So you’re jealous of your Apple friend who brags how all of Apple’s products work seamlessly with each other. How all of his internet tabs sync across his iPad, Mac and iPhone. Well, Android allows you to do exactly the same with Chrome. Just log into Chrome with your Gmail ID across all your devices and your tabs, history, bookmarks will sync across all of them. The icing on the cake is the fact that while your Apple friend is limited to his Apple devices, Chrome is available across multiple platforms. Whenever you open a new tab in Chrome, you will see the Recent tabs option at the bottom right, where you will be able to see the tabs open across all your devices.

Fitness tracker

Do not own a fitness tracker but still want to flaunt all those steps you took today? Don’t fret, do you own an Android smartphone? It can very well do the same thing! Your Android device is chock full of sensors such as an accelerometer, a compass, a gyroscope and even a barometer (in some)! This means you can track your daily activities such as walking, running and even sleeping through special apps.

SOurce: [url] https://www.techawk.com.ng/2019/01/17/six-awesome-things-you-can-do-with-your-android-phone/[/url]

Growsel, the award-winning nonprofit agricultural crowdfunding organization that connects underserved Base of the Pyramid smallholder farmers with lenders across the globe, and winner of the 2018 Visa Everywhere Initiative Award for Financial Inclusion (Sub Saharan Africa edition), has received a software donation from Oracle NetSuite Social Impact for growing social enterprises. With the strength of NetSuite, Growsel will be able to operate more efficiently, freeing up resources to help it focus on its core mission of connecting underserved smallholder farmers with lenders around the world.

Reacting to the donation, Jerry Oche, Founder/CEO of Growsel Microfunds Inc., remarked that “the NetSuite Social Impact software donation will surely help us cut down our administrative overhead, considering our lending portfolio which is growing rapidly, just like our community of smallholder farmers that are being administered around the world.”

Since its founding in 2017, Growsel has facilitated the connection of more than 200 smallholder farmers with over 1300 lenders, while profiling and verifying about 1.2 million smallholder farmers available for crowdfunding through its field partners in remote communities, particularly in West Africa. In pursuit of its mission of changing lives, creating opportunities connecting underserved smallholder farmers with lenders around the world, in a bid to alleviate poverty, Growsel empowers smallholder farmers through agricultural crowdfunding in developing economies, working with the assistance of local field partners and trustees.

Growsel has selected Oracle NetSuite to support its fast-growing need for a comprehensive and cloud-based international Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution. Growsel will utilize Oracle NetSuite to automate many of its day-to-day business tasks, reporting and accounting needs. Through a comprehensive ERP platform, Growsel will have the ability to expedite the entry and validation of expense reports for dozens of globetrotting employees, add automation and efficiency to the organization’s lending and expense categorization, as well as access tools with greater reporting and analytics capabilities.

Previously time-consuming tasks will be streamlined to greatly reduce time spent on reporting by staff. Growsel will be able to better manage its internal processes on a departmental basis, while also providing a secondary view to donor and lenders of the organization. With access to multiple reporting methods in real-time, Growsel staff will be able to utilize tools and features that obtain lending funds, borrowers request and operating budget status at a glance.

“We value the work Growsel is doing to create a lasting change in the agricultural community,” David Geilhufe, NetSuite Senior Director and Social Impact Leader. “For over 10 years we have aimed to help more organizations do good, better. It’s through donations like these that we hope the NetSuite platform will empower organizations like Growsel to take its mission further.”

Source: https://www.techawk.com.ng/2019/01/17/growsel-receives-software-donation-from-oracle-netsuite-for-its-agric-crowdfunding-program/

LinkedIn is a business social network and the place to be if you’re looking for a new job or curious as to what happened to the guy who used to sit next to you in the office. If someone looks at your profile, it’s usually because they are interested in you at a professional level – so you want to know, right?

Occasionally, though, you’ll discover that the person who viewed your profile has hidden their identity. So you know someone’s looking, but not who. It’s annoying, but it is also possible to see why that might appeal to some, such as those headhunting for a role or cross-referencing your CV to your public persona.

https://innovation-village.com/how-to-view-a-linkedin-profile-in-anonymously/

If you are productivity obsessed and want a more joyful and efficient life; it starts with good habits. You have to prepare a sensible routine for success: plan your day, wash your face, early to bed, early to rise, etc. If you have an iPhone and you’ve updated to iOS 12, you can streamline those routines on your phone across apps, and maybe even create new habits. You can do this with the help of Shortcuts. You can choose to prompt the shortcut with custom Siri command, like “Hey Siri, get me ready for bed. You can do all kinds of things with Shortcuts. Here’s how you can use the feature for bedtime, work, school, and anywhere else you could use a few more seconds, and more peace of mind.

Just ask Siri

You can use some shortcuts without downloading the Shortcuts app. Navigate to Settings > Siri & Search to see suggestions for simple shortcuts, like “Edit Bedtime” or “Show weather in Lagos.” Some apps are already optimised to work with Siri Shortcuts. For example, if you have meditation app Headspace, you can add the shortcut “Open today’s meditation.”

Mix it up

If you want to create more complicated tasks across apps, download the free Shortcuts app. Once you’ve opened it, you’ll see two tabs. The Library tab contains all the shortcuts you’ve added or created. The Gallery tab suggests Apple’s pre-created shortcuts. The Gallery, explore some of the more complex shortcuts, like “Home ETA.” This shortcut integrates features from Maps, Messages, and Contacts. If you start the shortcut, it uses your home address and estimated arrival information from Apple Maps. Then, it generates a text updating a contact (a roommate, a parent, a partner) with your ETA. “Brush Teeth Timer” is a simple one. It lets you break down the actions that make up this shortcut: When you first start the shortcut, your phone shows an alert that says “Get your toothpaste!” Then, a timer is set for 60 seconds, then your phone vibrates and displays the notification “One more minute!” Another time is set for 60 seconds, your device vibrates, and you get one last notification: “All done!”

https://innovation-village.com/how-to-use-your-siri-shortcuts-to-automate-your-daily-routines/

It is January and this is the time to start saving early for your next vacation if you are a travel freak. Maybe you have a dream destination, but you can’t quite save up enough for travel costs. Or maybe you can get yourself there, but you’d have to live on bread and water for the entire trip. If your vacation expenses are just out of reach, a few adjustments can help you put aside more cash and reach your goal. Jumia's hotel & flight marketplace, shares ways to start saving early for your upcoming vacation.

Figure out how much money you need

Before you can even plan how to save for a vacation, you should calculate how much you plan on spending. While you won't be able to do an exact calculation, you will be able to estimate your average expenses by researching your destination. This can give you a good idea of what you will need to save every month. Everyone travels differently, so no two numbers will be alike. You'll want to determine how cheaply or luxuriously you'll want to travel in the new year in order to figure out how this will fit into your monthly budget.

Start a monthly budget

If you don’t currently have a monthly budget, it might be time to take a hard look at your spending. Evaluate how much you spend each month on necessities like rent and discretionary purchases like movie tickets. Then, set a reduced monthly spending budget and put the money you save in your vacation fund. Even after you take your trip, you might want to stick to your budget and keep saving.

Open a bank account

If your travel fund is mixed with your general savings account, you should open a dedicated savings account just for travel. It will be easier to put aside money specifically for vacation, and you’ll be less likely to dip into the fund for other expenses.

Get a side hustle

If you need to boost your vacation savings quickly, a temporary side hustle can help get you there. If you own a car, you can drive for Uber or Taxify, join the Jumia JForce or do some freelance work. Just make sure to funnel your extra earnings directly to your vacation savings.

Stay focused and inspired

Keep feeding your desire to travel. Travel planning can be daunting and a lot of work and, if your friends and family aren’t that enthusiastic about it, it can be a little depressing because the support you’re looking for isn’t there.

Retailers, manufacturers, and consumers should get ready for another disruptive year in the retail marketplace. This is because eCommerce is growing and changing at a rapid pace especially in emerging economies.

If you want to continue boosting sales and conversion rates over time, it’s important to stay ahead of the latest online shopping trends. In this article, we’ll cover 6 top trends for eCommerce in 2019.

Mobile/App-only Transactions

With the increased number of eCommerce penetration in Nigeria and Africa at large, mobile eCommerce is expected to get faster and seamless. According to the Jumia Mobile Report 2018, 79% of users used their mobile phone, 18% used desktops and a mere 3% used tablets to access Nigeria’s no 1 shopping destination.

Hence, it should be a little surprise that mobile e-commerce is about to get much faster and more fluid as eCommerce firms blur lines between sites and apps. So, expect the Jumia app to be super fast this year. Most transactions, especially the super amazing deals will happen only on the mobile. The apparent benefit of shopping on a mobile App is that you spend less data to make your purchases, compared to buying directly on the websites via mobile.

Social commerce becomes more popular

Since Jumia pioneered eCommerce in Nigeria, it has been a reliable means of buying items online. Another interesting dimension to eCommerce is the use of social media to transact business and there is no gainsaying that many young Nigerians have been very successful in marketing their businesses via social media. Even eCommerce businesses are not lagging behind as they now have active social media accounts for not only interacting and marketing products, but to perform real-time transactions. And this is what is expected to trend this year as consumers will be able to buy directly on social media platforms.

Voice search

Businesses do not joke with Google as it is very key to sales and turnover. They now optimise their services to appear top in search engines. The next phase is voice search. As Google Assistant and Alexa become more popular, voice search on mobile devices is being used more often to make purchases. Optimising your eCommerce shop for voice search can position your business to receive more traffic in 2019. For best results, be sure to mirror the language your target customers actually use.

Machine learning

AI-based eCommerce is still in its early development in Nigeria, but 2019 is definitely the time to begin utilising its potentials. Unlike simple automation, advanced machine learning allows you to deeply customize how individual users experience your brand. Beyond personalising specific fields according to customer data, email marketing campaigns can be triggered by patterns of customer behaviour such as purchase history. For example, if a customer habitually orders a product every few months, the system can send reminder emails prompting future re-orders.

Artificial intelligence

The rise of conversation AI (commonly known as chatbots) is one of 2019’s most popular eCommerce trends helping brands interact with customers at scale. In addition to answering common customer questions, messenger bots are also able to facilitate the buying process for online shoppers. This eCommerce trend provides massive value to busy consumers who demand immediate answers, regardless of the time of day or the platform they choose to contact AI.

Jumia’s marketplace for restaurants has launched a late-night delivery service to enable customers to order food up until midnight. The Managing Director of the company, Guy Futi disclosed this at a press conference held at Krispy Kreme, Victoria Island, Lagos.

"We introduced the late-night delivery service to accommodate customers who order food at night. The late night delivery combined with initiatives like greater customer accessibility, more payment options, more locations, lunchtime deals, seasonal deals and new related products (Jumia Party) has led to over 120% increase in the volume of orders," Guy said.

Speaking on efforts to ensure quick delivery of foods ordered on the platform, Guy, who was recently appointed the Managing Director of the marketplace said: "We have made it possible for orders to be picked up by the rider closest to a restaurant's location. With this, we can deliver orders to the customer's doorstep within 40 minutes and interestingly, the delivery process can be tracked right from the time when the customer places the order to the moment the order is delivered."

On what to expect in 2019, the Head of Marketing and Vendor Success for the Marketplace, Chioma Odimegwu said that operational efficiency will be an integral part of the company’s focus in 2019.

Her words: "In 2019, we are looking forward to welcoming a new and exciting restaurant/vendor on board within the month. We will also be engaging new partnerships across other industries to provide added value to customers, onboarding more restaurants with longer and later open hours, more focus on corporate catering offerings, encouraging closer relationships with our customers and restaurant vendors."

Jumia's hotel & flight marketplace has announced that booking for four and five-star hotels peaked during the just concluded Black Friday which ran between November 2nd and November 30th, 2018.

The Managing Director of Jumia’s hotel & flight marketplace, Omolara Adagunodo made this announcement during a press conference held at Krispy Kreme, Victoria Island, Lagos, to review the outgoing year and to disclose the plans for 2019.

“We recorded over 50% increase in 4 & 5-star booking during Black Friday because we crashed the prices by almost 80% and overall booking grew by 20% year on year compared to black Friday 2017", Adagunodo said.

Speaking on the performance of flight for the year under review, Adagunodo said: "There was a 300% growth in flight business because we innovated and partnered with the likes of Amadeus, Kiwi.com and Air Peace among others. I must also mention that we have the Best Available Rates as we hit 61% in BAR for 2018."

For corporate booking, the managing director said: “We established a robust corporate team fully dedicated to our corporate clientele and I can tell you that corporate bookings and transactions increased by 50%. Despite this, it has not stopped us from pushing retail sales."

Looking forward to the upcoming year, Adagundo disclosed the marketplace is planning to work on value-added services to drive value for the growing clientele, seal key partnerships to drive online and offline sales and offer a full bouquet of travel solutions to include cruises, visas, concierge and ground transport.

During this festive period, the hospitality industry is very busy because it is the festive period and many people intend to move from point A to point B without any stress. Travel agencies are busy booking hotels and flights, the airport will be flooded with people waiting to catch their flight and your fellow travellers aren’t always patient.

For Nigerians who are planning to fly to their destinations and are yet to book their flight, there are certain things they have to know so they won't have any issues with their flights. A travel agent like Jumia's hotel and flight marketplace has put systems in place to ensure that all bookings are done without any hassles. So, there are certain things to have at the back of your mind when booking your holiday flights. This will enable you book your flights with ease.

Set price alerts

By looking for flights early, you are not required to buy a ticket today because your prices will only go up if you wait until the last minute to buy. If you're not ready to buy a ticket today, you can set a price alert that will notify you when a ticket price increases or decreases. Ticket prices can fluctuate on a daily basis, even a small drop can result in large savings if you need to buy a ticket for each member of your family.

Airfare usually fluctuates

One of the things that many travellers have complained about is that airfares are unstable and usually fluctuate. The price of a flight from Lagos-Enugu maybe 50k now and when you refresh your web browser, it is either the price has increased or decreased. When the price reduces, customers are happy and vice versa. Whatever the case may be, you should book your flight asap. But to be on a safe side, you can book your flight on Jumia's hotel and flight marketplace months before the exact date to fly.

Book at the right time, fly at the right time

Sundays and Mondays are supposedly the best days to book the cheapest flights, and Fridays are the worst. And when you’re sitting there on a Monday morning, scrolling through your private browser for holiday deals, try to book your flight for a Tuesday or Wednesday, because these are apparently the cheapest days to fly out.

Book early

Being an early bird when it comes to flight booking is one of the best things you can do for yourself. It takes off the stress and hassles of booking at the last minute and also ensures that you are booking at the best and most affordable price.

Don't fear travel package

A site like Jumia's hotel and flight marketplace offer travel packages that include your hotel as well as airfare, there are times when the actual travel package is cheaper than the roundtrip ticket to your intended destination.

The 2nd edition of Jumia’s Africa Hospitality Report looks at the 2017/2018 trends in the continent ’s tourism, travel, hospitality and aviation industries. It sheds light on the impressive growth that Africa ’s travel and tourism industry has recorded through in 2017 and 2018 with an increase in international arrivals. The Jumia Hospitality Report further underlines the industries’ contribution to the economy, underlying challenges and the potential for future growth, as African tourism becomes of age.

“The African market for online travel is still nascent with undoubted prospects. We are proud to once again produce a comprehensive report that highlights the diverse aspects of both the hospitality and aviation industries in Africa. This has been made a success by the input of our partners,” remarks Joe Falter, CEO of Jumia Travel & Food.

Full report here

Although the continent receives only 5% of all the international arrivals, Africa’s travel and tourism industry continues to record impressive growth over the years. In 2017, the continent hit a 63 million high in international tourist arrivals as compared to 58m in 2016 (+ 9% vs 2016). As a result of affordability and ease of travel, domestic travel is growing in Africa, recording a high of 60% in local spending as compared to 40% in international spending.

The UNWTO’s Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili explains the change in domestic travel landscape in Africa, noting that “people’s movement is no longer a luxury set aside for the few with high per capita income but a basic need for the ever-increasing majority of the middle class who create and shape the future generation entrepreneurs. A growing middle class is a sign of a robust economy. The existence of domestic tourists who have more money to spend at their disposal and thus willing to travel more has led to the mushrooming of low-cost airlines, upward growth of bed capacity in main cities, flourishing of the so-called shared economy etc”.

The AU e-Passport and the creation of visa upon arrival, e-visa and visa-free travel for African citizens in line with the concept of unrestricted movement of persons, goods and services across the countries remains a strong driving factor to the growth of domestic travel. Africans now do not require a visa to travel to 25% of other African countries, can get visas on arrival in 24% of other African countries, while still a dominant 51% of African countries need Africans to have visas to travel.

The report also breaks down the percentages of the various sources of traffic on Jumia. The high record in the mobile as a source of traffic is perhaps as a result of the increasing adoption of smartphones in Africa, which stands at 34% in 2018. 61% of the travellers are using a smartphone to book their hotel or flight on Jumia Travel. The African traveller still opts to Pay-at-Hotel as the mode of payment (65%) in 2018, even as the trust for Credit & Debit Card increases to 21% from 15% in 2017.

Africa’s Aviation Industry

Africa’s air passenger traffic share is only 2.2% of the world total with 88.5 million passengers in 2017, an increase of 6.6% from 2016. It is expected to grow by 4.9% annually over the next 20 years, creating enormous opportunities for the continent’s airlines to grow.

Addressing how to competitively position Africa’s airlines in the global aviation market, IATA’s Special Envoy to Africa on Aeropolitical Affairs Raphael Kuuchi stipulates that “the sustainable growth of African airlines traffic lies in removing the bottlenecks to effective connectivity, lowering industry operating cost and developing commercial cooperation among airlines. With the assurance of safety, security, competitive operating environment, ease of market access and visa facilitation, Africa’s share of passenger traffic will exceed 320 million by 2037,” he concludes.

The difference between a small business or startup and a successful and profitable company typically boils down to time and experience. But, there are certain factors that play a big part in how those companies grew to be successful — things like timing, having the right people, focus, and intensely hard work. Remember that every big company was a startup at some point.

Even though, statistics and researchers tell you that the odds are stacked against you and the probability of failing is high, there are plenty of opportunities to succeed.

The story of how Jumia started as a startup in Nigeria, conquer the many challenges in the most populous country in the world, expanded to other African countries to the extent that it has been tagged by many as 'The Alibaba of Africa' is one that should inspire every entrepreneur. The eCommerce company has empowered, employed and contributed to the African economy since it birthed in Nigeria.

So, for entrepreneurs who are looking at scaling and taking their business to the next level, here are some of the ways to overcome these challenges.

Keep processes as simple as possible

Complexity slows businesses down and inhibits growth. It requires more meetings, more explanation, more refined communication with the customer, more people in the workflow, and more cogs in the machine. As businesses grow and scale, the key dynamic that slows progress and, at the extreme, impairs a business, is the effect of complexity. Complexity rears its head as products evolve, organisations grow, and business strategies change. Therefore, the bosses in charge of growing companies need to be aware of the impacts of growing complexity and take actions to continuously simplify the operations and strategy of the organization.

Win the love of your customers

While customer acquisition is important in any business, you need to focus on the customers you have so that you can win their love. Customer perceptions can make or break a business. If you deliver quality experiences, products, and service, and you make every effort to delight your customers, then they’ll sing your praises. When you delight your customers, and they share that delight, your business will grow. Winning the love of your customers doesn’t have to be a time-intensive operation and you don’t have to completely restructure your business model. You just need to operate in a way that anticipates their needs and stays with them beyond the point where they make that first purchase.

Stay tuned in to your business

As you grow your business, one of your goals should be hiring smart, talented people to handle various tasks. As a business owner, you can’t be involved in everything, so it’s important to delegate and let other, better-suited people handle the work. But that doesn’t mean you should step back and tune out. Just because it’s being handled, doesn’t mean you’re not involved. When you stay tuned to your business and are aware of your surroundings, you’ll better anticipate the need for change and adjustment and be able to quickly pivot and adapt when the time comes.

There are no shortcuts in scaling

As your business begins to grow, you may be tempted to make cuts and take shortcuts in order to reach your next goal faster. There’s no more surefire way to cripple your business than to cut corners and try to take the easy path to success. Every action you take now has repercussions later. When you take shortcuts, you make compromises. You compromise your ethics, your values, and the integrity of your business — often at the expense of the customer and your employees. The rule of thumb is for you to do the job.

Ask for help

Too often, entrepreneurs view asking for help as a sign of weakness. They think that asking for help means they’re somehow exposing their vulnerability. The most successful entrepreneurs didn’t become effective leaders because they were good at bossing people around or because they had all of the answers all of the time.

In this digital age, online marketplaces have been thriving, and have been a great place for independent retailers and vendors to sell more of their products and also build their brand.

A company like Jumia, Nigeria's no 1 shopping destination has made it easier for retailers to sell online via its marketplace. Today on the platform, there are thousands of vendors selling a wide variety of products and services that are leveraging on the Jumia platform to get Return On Investment. The process for signing up is seamless.

Despite this, there are still a handful of Nigerians who are still contemplating signing up to a marketplace. Below are some of the reasons you need to sign up now.

Increase sales

Who doesn’t want to increase their sales and profits? Well, taking advantage of e-commerce (selling online) can do just that. If you have inventory that isn’t selling take it online, there is great potential to increase your sales.

New customers

Selling online is a great chance to expand your presence and reach more customers. 80% of people who use the internet are shopping and by listing on a marketplace you can get your products in front of those shoppers. So if you want to go where people are shopping, the marketplace is an easy way to do that.

Sense of community

When you sell on a marketplace you become a part of a community filled with other independent sellers, vendors and retailers. But it’s not just other sellers, it gives you a chance to build a following of customers that are both local and global. You can also use marketplaces as a way to connect with other sellers that are similar to you or sell locally like you.

Increased Reach

So many Nigerians own smartphones that are internet enabled and a significant number of them use it to shop online. So just think about that for a second. You have the ability to reach millions of people daily. This is a good way to grow your business.

Low cost

There are going to be fees associated with using marketplaces to list your products but they are generally low, and they can cost you less than holding excess inventory.

Dozens of free spa and travel tickets to be won; concert tickets giveaways; and free data and party packs
Lagos, Nigeria; 05 December 2018: Jumia Nigeria has announced the commencement of its end of year campaign aimed towards encouraging Nigerians to shop for the Christmas season. Tagged ‘Jumia Christmas Sale’, the campaign which will run till the 16th of December only on the Jumia App, will offer free spa and travel tickets courtesy of Jumia Travel, concert tickets courtesy of Jumia Party; party packs courtesy of Jumia Food, and free data courtesy of Jumia One, to Christmas shoppers on Jumia.

In addition, Jumia is introducing a first-of-its-kind 1 day shopping event on the 12th of December as the finale sale of the year, dedicated to offering 12 mega flash sales, starting from 12 midnight (Wednesday 12.01am). Shoppers will have the opportunity to buy some of their most wanted items on their Christmas wish list at extremely low discounts. Jumia’s 12/12 will also offer shoppers 12 treasure hunts at 99% off with 5 Iphone XS for N4,200 at midnight, range of home/cooking appliances and a chance to hunt their 13th month salary worth N100,000 on the day.

The itinerary for the campaign was disclosed at the Jumia corporate office in Ikeja by the chief executive officer, Mrs Juliet Anammah. She identified some of the brand partners for the campaign to include: HP, Intel, Huawei, Midea, and TCL.

"Christmas is the time for Nigerians to celebrate with family and friends. They desire to have everything they want to have a joyous and exciting Christmas. To make this wish become a reality, Jumia has stocked a large collection of gift items, appliances, groceries, clothing, and Christmas decorating ornaments at the best prices in collaboration with our partners. This is in a bid to ensure that shoppers enjoy convenience, quick delivery and best price throughout the Christmas period. It does not only ends there, but every Jumia shopper will also stand a chance of winning amazing free gifts for themselves," she said.

Olamide Amosu, Head of Engagement Marketing Jumia Nigeria who also provided more details about the campaign, said: “Christmas is all about giving and sharing. In line with this, there is something to win for shopping on Jumia throughout the period of the Christmas sale campaign. Some of which are free shopping vouchers, return ticket to Accra, tickets to Simi Live in Lagos courtesy of Jumia travel, 100 packs of food courtesy of Jumia food, free airtime courtesy of Jumia one and a lot more via the Jumia app."

Jumia’s promise is to offer Nigerians everything they need for Christmas on its platform with a 7 days free returns window on all orders placed on Jumia.

Capital is the livewire of any business, especially for startups and established small businesses. Hence, they are always seeking for some additional funding that is too small for an angel investor to get a return for their effort. Banks also think it's not worth their time. That's where peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is working to fill that lending gap. This model may be a solution for many small businesses that are struggling with just tapping smaller funding amounts.

Peer-to-peer lending involves borrowing money from your peers, including other business people and investors who are interested in relatively small financing amounts. It has been taken a notch higher with fintechs entering the fray. Small business owners and startups can now borrow millions of naira at flexible interest rates.

Why Consider Peer-to-Peer Lending
There are many reasons to consider a P2P loan, but the most compelling is that you do not require a collateral. Also, lower interest rates tend to be available, depending on your loan amount and loan term, because the peer-to-peer lenders operate with low overhead. You can repay the loan early and not have to contend with any prepayment penalties. Since it is an online lending environment, you'll also enjoy faster approval and no paperwork except for a few online forms and a digital signature.

What To Look Out For
In Nigeria today, there are so many P2P lenders. Entrepreneurs have a potpourri of options to select from. You need to consider what this type of funding requires of you in order to optimise the benefits.

Some of the things that a good P2P lender must have include: easy access to working capital, quick registration, low-interest rate, collateral-free, and flexible repayments plan within 1-6 months. All these aforementioned are what makes Jumia Lending very unique. Jumia Lending is an initiative that gives you the opportunity to grow and expand your business by granting you access to fast and easy short-term working capital.

As an entrepreneur looking to expand the horizon of your business, you can sign up to sell on Jumia and after 6 months of uninterrupted sales on the platform, you will qualify to apply for Jumia Lending. In fact, before you even qualify for the loan, you will experience a significant increase in sales because you are leveraging on the wide reach of Jumia.

Using P2P Lending Strategically
With these benefits and considerations in mind, it's important to look at using P2P lending in a strategic way.

Determine which P2P lender is best for you. Check reviews and get peer recommendations that relate their experiences with a P2P lender, from application to pay off.

Consider all other lending options that are available to you. Do a comparison to see which lending option offers you the best rate, terms, and amount for what you are looking to accomplish with your funds and the state of your business.

Don't borrow money just to borrow it (or spend it just to spend it). Create a clear plan and disciplined approach to using the funds that will make the money go the distance. That means looking at the ways you can use the least amount possible through a lean startup strategy.

December is here and a good number of people love the last month of the year regardless of their religious beliefs. This is because there will be quite a handful of holidays, a lot of giving, gifting and sharing not only by individuals but also by corporate organisations and the ambience will be celebratory.

Interestingly, gifting has become a trend for the yuletide to show appreciation to clients, loyal customers as well as groom or nurture relationships for the upcoming year. And corporate organisations and individuals are constantly searching for affordable and convenient ways to gift without breaking the bank. eCommerce is the solution.

Convenient Christmas Gifting
eCommerce has already disrupted the way Nigerians make their purchases. Across the country, you will find not only millennials but also digital immigrants ordering items on Jumia, Nigeria's no 1 shopping destination.

Corporate gifting is not an exception here as organisations can outsource their gifting plans to an eCommerce company like Jumia. Jumia, in turn, takes the responsibility of delivering the best gifts notwithstanding if it is modern or traditional, at the most affordable price. Beyond this, Jumia assists you with the choice of product, discount requests, ensure availability and delivery. This will enable organisations to focus on offering sterling services to client and customers during the whole yuletide.

Alternatively, organisations can sign up to Jumia Corporate in which they will get the highest level of support/dedicated account manager, fast shipping nationwide, electronic invoicing, exclusive offers (employee incentive solutions, rewards solutions), effective return policy, access to express delivery options and largest assortment of products in Nigeria with over 2,000,000 products.

Gifts for Christmas
Christmas gifts can either be traditional or modern depending on who you are giving. However, in Nigeria, the most shared Christmas gifts include rice, oil, hampers and promotional/customised gifts which you can buy on Jumia. Whatever the gifts you are giving, the most important things is for you to personalise it.

Tips For Giving The Best Christmas Gifts
Choosing effective and impactful corporate gifts for your clients and customers is not as difficult as many believe. Just follow these few tips and get the best gifts.

(a) Don't buy gifts that will end up in the trash: most companies have the basics handled. The world has gone digital, and your clients don't need a calendar to put on the wall near their desk. Unless they are a car enthusiast and you gave them images of their favourite automobiles, it's not likely that they'll hang your company calendar next to their desktop.

(b) Personalise it: you should try to include your business name on your corporate gift. There are no problems with a branded gift so long as it is tactful and provides value at home or in the office.

(c) Do think of something your client will appreciate: be thoughtful. Developing a rapport with your clients is important throughout the year. Use the holidays as an opportunity to let them know you were listening.

The Managing Director of Jumia's hotel and flight marketplace, Omolara Adagunodo has said that collaboration and innovation will strengthen and improve Nigeria's travel industry.

She stated this at a panel discussion convened to discuss Technology Trends: Tomorrow's Tech for Today's Travel at the 2nd edition of the Nigeria Travel Week held recently at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Adagunodo who was joined by co-panelists from Amadeus, Phillips Consulting, Ringier Digital Marketing (RDM), Business Travel Management and UrWorld Sim noted that technology has disrupted the travel industry and travel businesses in Nigeria must innovate and collaborate to ensure that they stay or remain relevant.

"We see technology innovation such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, chatbot, machine learning and virtual reality being deployed to enhance the travel experience. In fact, some people are now talking about self-driving mobile hotel rooms as the future of the hospitality sector. To prepare us for the present and the future, we must collaborate in today's business environment to enable us to share data, learn and scale."

On what Jumia's hotel and flight marketplace is doing to collaborate and deplore technology, Adagunodo said: "We recently partnered with Amadeus to launch the first flight marketplace in Africa. We have plugged into the deep data and technology of Amadeus to deliver the online choice and marketplace experience that travellers love. The result of this partnership is that our customers are offered the most affordable flight rates."

Online merchants and consumers alike expect online buying and selling to be easy, efficient, and safe. eCommerce transactions trigger automated processes that involve financial players: banks and fintechs. New technologies have already simplified and smoothed business-to-business and business-to-customer experiences with mobile payments and e-wallets.

As e-payment becomes popular, there are so many challenges in the Nigerian e-payment space which needs to be addressed. The onus is now on providers to provide peer-to-peer payments beyond traditional banking models and to facilitate a cashless society that can enable any purchase seamlessly. Below is a list of some of the challenges in online payments in Nigeria and how to overcome them.

Card data security
Customer and card data security is a top priority for any e-payment company. Any exposure or breach of data lead to crises. Preventing online payment security issues is a must for anyone doing business online. This is why banks and fintechs spend a huge chunk of their profit on securing their systems to prevent any data breach. Prevention is better than cure!

Multi-currency and payment methods
Global eCommerce means accepting a variety of payment methods and currencies. Electronic payments such as e-wallets, mobile payments, and credit/debit cards help online merchants compete in international markets by allowing their customers to pay in their native currencies. For merchants, multi-currency, cross-border transactions can require new bank accounts, new business entities, and new regulatory hurdles in each national market. Selecting a payment service provider with the necessary infrastructure already in place can provide effective, and immediate, solutions to those problems. A merchant can easily collect payment in one currency and credit the merchant account in its home currency.

Fraud and chargebacks
This is the number one challenge in the e-payment space in Nigeria. So, as e-commerce expands, opportunities for fraudulent misuse of payment networks and data theft grow right alongside. For this reason, customers are advised to use a secure e-payment platform to guarantee data safety and security. This is why Jumia, Nigeria's no 1 shopping destination is the platform Nigerians can make their eCommerce purchases without any data compromise. The eCommerce platform payment gateway is secured and to reinforce this perception, it introduced Jumia Pay. Jumia Pay allows every shopper on the Jumia website to shop conveniently and make secure online payments. The site employs state of the art technology and procedures to protect customer's online transactions. Chargebacks, in addition to being costly, can damage business reputation. While chargebacks do sometimes happen for legitimate reasons, the use of customer service practices based on know-your-customer principles, and merchant accessibility, can substantially reduce or eliminate chargebacks.

Technical integration
Online payment systems run across hardware and software platforms. Credit card-affiliated payment processors, while more secure, can be expensive for online retailers. Added to the expense is the lack of interface between processing systems—it may be difficult or impossible for some fintechs to link with other systems, resulting in processing and payment delays, lost transactions, and expensive fees. In true real-time processing, a combination of features, including integrated systems and gateways, addresses liquidity issues minimises delays while preserving online transaction integrity.

With the rate or speed at which the internet or World Wide Web is revolutionising the world and Africa, you would think everyone is already online. This is not the case especially in Africa and many emerging economies. A report by Internet World Stats says that Africa remains the least connected continent. Africa’s broadband household penetration accounted for 36.1% as at June 2018, far behind the worldwide average of 55.1% (North America - 95.0%; Europe - 85.2%, Middle East - 64.5% and Asia 49.0%).

This reveals that quite a handful of people in Africa notwithstanding whether they are inhabiting urban or rural areas are still offline. Despite these figures, it does not disregard the fact that internet usage is growing especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

This rapid internet growth can be observed in the ballooning of eCommerce in countries like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa ably pioneered by Jumia. Many now order or book items, food and hotels online. This is definitely for those who are online.

The question now is what happens to those who are offline? Don't they purchase groceries, household items and use hotels? Yes, they do. They will probably visit brick and mortar stores to buy these items and use these services which is obviously very inconveniencing.

Expectedly, since they are offline, they are not supposed to enjoy the benefits of eCommerce. This is also wrong because being offline does not mean you won't relish these services from Jumia and others. If they are ignored or neglected because they are offline, the truth is eCommerce sites will be losing out on people who have the purchasing power but whose undoing is that they are offline, which is in most situations no fault of theirs.

What is being done to sell to people who are offline?

What An eCommerce platform selling to Africans who are offline? It is impossible. Well, as Jumia continues to innovate to satisfy and meet customer demands, it has over the years sold to customers who are offline across its different markets in Africa.

Jumia has set up customer adoption centres (boutique-style booths) with laptops and tablets, where prospective shoppers can navigate its online marketplaces, guided by company representatives. Those who are offline can easily walk into these customer adoption centres to place and process their orders. The booths are situated in strategic locations.

JForce, a similar program, already in place, has salespeople going door to door with Wi-Fi-connected tablets. The top JForce performers can become regional and neighbourhood “captains,” which lets their clients place orders and receive customer service and delivery directly from them. It allows agents to become entrepreneurs effectively operating their own online retail business right from home.
With these painstaking efforts, Jumia has been able to extend the convenience of eCommerce to many offline folks.

At present, online consumers are far more demanding than those in previous eras. This is simply because they want their orders to be delivered as fast as possible. It, therefore, follows that online marketplaces are left with no choice than to ramp up their delivery capacity.

The supply chain or logistics of any online marketplace can make or mar such a platform especially if they are always experiencing logistics nightmare which might lead to late order delivery. Definitely, the customer will be unhappy. Thus, as eCommerce is growing and disrupting the economic landscape across Africa and the world, so is logistics changing to meet the delivery demands of the 21st-century consumer.

To ensure a seamless delivery, Jumia Services, which is the arm that handles logistics in the Jumia ecosystem came on board. Today, Jumia Services with operations in 12 African countries, and over 50 logistics partners delivered over 10 million packages in 2017, over 250 pickup locations and 10 large warehouses. This is all in a bid to ensure that orders are delivered at the customers across the continent.

When you compare this to what happened in the past, you will observe that the idea of logistics has drastically changed. Then, the goods you bought can sit in the warehouse for days before it is even shipped and it will never be delivered at the agreed duration. You have to accommodate delays. But as eCommerce became the trend, logistics had no choice than to change. Indeed, Jumia has innovated and with Jumia services, logistics are better managed and handled.


eCommerce and Logistics
Logistics and distribution networks have considerably evolved over the last couple of years. From the moment electronic commerce was introduced, everything changed, including logistics. To be more precise, traditional logistics chains are basically outdated. Retail models do not imply any more freight moving from one distribution centre to the other. This takes a considerable amount of time and does not provide insight into product inventory.

The growth of eCommerce management has led to the redefinition of logistics functions to include: e-fulfillment centres, parcel sortation centres, parcel packaging, order tracking and much more.

Major eCommerce Logistics Challenges

In Nigeria, there are quite a number of challenges facing logistics in the country despite the countless opportunities provided by eCommerce. Some of the challenges include (a) Ineffective home numbering: the fact is, if a location is ineffectively numbered, there will be delays in order delivery. Although, the Lagos State Government has made efforts in numbering houses as it did in 2012 when it numbered no less than 1.2 million houses in the state, there is still the need for another round of numbering which should be done with the aid of technology. Regardless, eCommerce platforms like Jumia and others have been delivering orders 8 hours a day and 5 days a week. (b) Infrastructure: roads have improved over the years. However, more needs to be done to improve roads in certain parts of the country.


The Future of logistics
Undeniably, as electronic commerce continues to grow, logistics will also grow in tandem. Today, some eCommerce companies are experimenting and contemplating employing drones for last mile deliveries. Furthermore, as the autonomous or self-driving vehicle technology becomes more sophisticated and satisfy the five stages of autonomous driving levels, eCommerce companies can use them to deliver orders. These smart cars will further reduce delivery times and data can easily be gathered.

“Visa on Arrival Will Boost Inbound Tourism Revenue” - Jumia MD

Lagos, Nigeria; 21 November 2018: The managing director of Jumia's hotel and flight marketplace, Omolara Adagunodo has urged the federal government through the Nigerian Immigration Service to extend visa on arrival (VOA) to international tourists trooping into the country for leisure.

Adagunodo who stated this at a recent tourism conference in Lagos said: "Foreign investors or business persons of international repute, executives of multinational companies and members of government delegations are all eligible to apply for Visa on Arrival but not international tourists who are coming to explore Nigeria's rich destinations and spend money.”

Adagunodo who commended the efforts of the federal government in making the visa application process seamless emphasised that from the numbers available to Jumia via the Jumia Hospitality Report 2018, there are tons of people who are willing to visit the country if the provision for visa on arrival can be extended to international tourists.

"We discovered that there was an increase in the number of international arrival in 2017. Unlike in 2016 where the country recorded a low influx of international tourists due to the security issues orchestrated by the terrorist group, Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria, the country welcomed 1.065 million international tourists, generating over N278 billion in revenue. According to forecast, Nigeria would have played host to 1.067 million foreigners by end of 2018.”

"These numbers simply show that there are so many people who are willing to visit Nigeria and we strongly believe that if the federal government's visa on arrival policy accommodates international tourists, these figures will be met and surpassed. It will not only boost tourism but also improve tourism's contribution to Nigeria's economy,” she added.

It is noteworthy to add that countries like Ethiopia and Botswana recently announced that they will introduce visa on arrival at the point of entry. Botswana will offer tourist’ visa at the point of entry, effective 24th November 2018 while Ethiopia started issuing visa on arrival to all African travellers starting November 9, 2018.

Adagunodo emphasized that the introduction of the visa on arrival for international tourists will further help Nigeria meet the 2020 deadline set by the African Union for visa-free travel for African citizens within their own continent.

About Jumia

Jumia aims at creating a connected digital Africa to improve people’s lives through the internet and technology. Our mission is to connect African consumers and entrepreneurs to do better business together. Jumia has created a sustainable ecosystem of digital services and infrastructures through online and mobile marketplaces and classifieds to expand your horizons, now partnering with more than 50,000 local African companies and individuals. Founded in 2012, with a presence all over Africa, the group has MTN, Rocket Internet, Millicom, Orange & Axa as investors.

Once you decide that you want to sell online, the first question that you have to answer is where. There are a lot of options. You can either go for one or more of the innumerable sales channels that make up the online retail system, or fly solo and open up your own online store which will cost you more money.

There are a handful of online marketplaces out there. But a particular one that stands out is Jumia, Nigeria's no 1 shopping destination. What does Jumia as a marketplace offer you? (1) Jumia lets you create product catalogues (2) Jumia provides you with a customer base (3) Jumia acts as a middleman during the transaction (4) Jumia assists you with the logistics part of the process.

In return for this service, the online marketplace takes a certain percentage commission from each sale. You also have to adhere to the rules and guidelines, and they have the power to penalise you if you don’t. Essentially, the store might be yours, but it’s their mall. Let us look at the prerequisites for choosing an online marketplace.

How to Choose Where to Sell Online

Analyse your product

If you are just a retailer, it is advisable you list your products on an online store, especially in popular product categories like phones, electronics and apparel. These are high volume markets, with a massive demand and a supply that just barely matches it. Subscribe to a marketplace which is popular for selling products in your category.

Logistics support

Logistics is very key to an online marketplace. In recognition of this and to provide sterling and smooth order delivery, Jumia introduced Jumia Services. Some of the services offered by Jumia Services include receiving vendor drop-off packages and collection of packages at the vendor location, consignment storage and order processing from the dedicated warehouse, order processing for e-commerce vendors and delivery to the buyer’s home, office or its network of pickup stations among others. If a particular sales channel is inept in providing logistical assistance around the area where your warehouses are situated, you will be in a tight spot.

Marketplace popularity

eCommerce players such as Amazon, Walmart and locally in Nigeria, Jumia are the heavy weights in today’s online retail market. The top few sales channels generally are the consumers’ first choice when it comes to shopping online. Subscribing with one or more of them will provide you access to a huge chunk of customer base.

Competition

The other side of the coin is the immense competition that one finds on these huge online marketplace. There are multiple sellers jostling together for the same product, differentiated only by little things like product descriptions, photographs and seller ratings. It sure is a tough market.

Subscription cost

Different marketplaces have different subscription costs and commission plans. In return, they also offer different essential and optional services. It is better to shortlist a few channels and then carefully go through their specific plans to choose the ones that you want to go for.

The Nigerian financial sector has significantly grown in leaps and bounds; thanks largely to technology. Currently, the services of banks have been automated. Customers are no longer required to visit their brick and mortar branches to perform any transaction.

With their smartphones, they can process local and international transactions. These are exciting times for the Nigerian banking sector as the long hours spent at the bank has been greatly reduced.

It has even gotten more interesting since the entry of fintechs (financial technology) into the banking game in Nigeria.

As a result of technology, fintech platforms such as Jumia Pay and others are disrupting the way banking business is done, that it now seems like the banks are playing catch-up.

Fintech, according to Investopedia "is used to describe new technologies that seek to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. At its core, fintech is utilized to help companies, business owners and consumers better manage their financial operations, processes and lives by utilising specialised software and algorithms that are used on computers and, increasingly, smartphones.”

Although Nigerian banks are exploring and exploiting fintechs to improve their services, they are not taking advantage of it as quickly as the private firms whose services are entirely online.

Key Services Offered by Fintechs

The edge that fintechs like Jumia Pay and others have over the banks are in the services they both offer. Many Nigerians and businesses are trooping to fintechs because of the flexibility of their services. This does not necessarily mean that they have abandoned the banks.

There are some key services that make fintechs stand out or unique. They include (1) eCommerce payment: online retailers can now seamlessly pay for their orders, thanks to the payment gateway service offered by fintechs. To make payment easy for its millions of customers, Jumia, Nigeria's no 1 shopping destination launched Jumia Pay. This has enabled every Jumia customer to pay for transactions across the Jumia ecosystem (flight, hotels, food, production services among others. It is secure, flexible and offers seamless checkout experience. And you will even get 5% off for using Jumia Pay. (2) Loans: When it comes to loans, the fintechs are far ahead of banks. Without a collateral, you can apply for a loan and receive it within 24 and 48 hours. They also have a flexible payment plan. As an entrepreneur, you may need a loan to shore up your business, you can apply for Jumia loan and you can go and sleep because the repayment plan is the best in the Nigerian fintech world. (3.) They also provide mobile money transfer and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data Services.

Collaboration or Competition?

The no love lost relationship between Fintechs and Banks can seemingly be compared with that of traditional media and internet (social media).

Many of the traditional media in Nigeria have evolved and now have an online version of their publication as well as social media accounts. This has ensured that they remain relevant and they are not entirely overshadowed by the online news media.

In fact, some of them have moved their entire publication online. And it is working for them. Hence, they do not see social media or the internet has a competition. Rather, they see it as a tool to enhance their services.

This is exactly what banks need to do. There is no competition between fintechs and banks. Fintechs are only utilising the tech machinery available to them faster than the banks. There is nothing wrong with a bank owning payment gateway as long as they get CBN's approval.

Even though they are already collaborating, it needs to be taken a notch higher. For example, the fintechs still need banks to keep all payments made using the payment gateway and of course banks will charge interest for keeping the money. Therefore, it is better for them to collaborate rather than compete.

Collaboration is also important in fighting the challenges facing the banking industry. The foremost challenge among others is fraud. The CBN recently reported that there were 20,768 reported cases of fraud and forgery (attempted and successful), valued at N19.77bn in the review period, compared with 16,762 cases, involving N5.52bn and $ 0.12m in the corresponding period of 2017. It is not gainsaying that fintechs are disrupting the Nigerian banking industry. Regardless they need to work together and collaborate to take the industry to the next level.

Unemployment is a gunpowder that Nigeria is currently sitting on and if it explodes, it will affect everyone. There is the urgency to tackle the problem. The government is doing its best to provide gainful employment for her teeming population. But, the fact is the government cannot do it alone. All hands must be on deck.

This unemployment merry-go-round has to stop. It has already been proven time and time again that entrepreneurship is the way to go if the country is serious about solving the problem. Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching and running a new business, which is often initially a small business. The people who create these businesses are called entrepreneurs.

Unemployed Nigerians need to look beyond applying for jobs and waiting for the government for largesse and start doing something for themselves. That is the only way they will earn the standard of living they so desire.

Jumia started as a small business where you can order household items. Today, Jumia is a billion dollar African ecosystem. Through Jumia, millions across the continent have been empowered and are now earning money to cater for themselves. From Nigeria where it started to Kenya, Morocco, Cameroon, and South Africa among others, the stories are the same. Young people are making money by joining the Jumia J-force.

If you are unemployed and want to become an entrepreneur, then you should join Jumia J-force where you have the title of 'Jumia Sales Consultant'. You make commission selling items supplied by Jumia. Your efforts are rewarded: the more you work, the more you make commission selling items supplied by Jumia. You earn money even shopping for yourself on Jumia. It even gets better because you require zero capital to start which is the bedrock to earn. This is just one of the many ways Jumia is complementing government efforts in tackling unemployment.

Other ways to escape unemployment through entrepreneurship include:

Think outside the traditional money sources

You are fortunate to have a rich array of alternative funding for fledgeling businesses in many markets. Foster relationships between venture capitalists, incubators, business angels and a host of up-and-coming accelerators and crowd-funding platforms. Create a community that is easy for everyone to access.

Entrepreneurship training

Entrepreneurship training is not where it is supposed to be today. Nigerians have to disabuse the thought that white collar jobs are the only way to survive. No, you do not. In between the time you are searching for jobs, you should go learn a handwork or during your NYSC, be part of their youth empowerment programme. It will really help you in the long run.

It is never too late

It is never too late to be an entrepreneur. If you have an idea you have been brooding on for years, gather your trusted friends, share your ideas with them and work very hard to ensure that you bring the idea to fruition.

In Lagos alone, there are thousands of restaurants. These restaurants are regularly looking for creative ways to attract customers to patronise them. Unknown to them, some of these customers do not have time to visit these restaurants. Don't they eat? Of course, they do!

The fact is they have turned to online food marketplaces like Jumia's food ordering platform and others to order their meals. The advantage here is that the food is delivered to their homes and offices at the quickest time. This means the earnings of restaurants yet to sell on Jumia will be affected as more and more Lagosians and Nigerians turn to online food marketplaces.

This does not have to be your restaurant. Online food marketplaces like Jumia's food ordering platform and others are on the ground to inject convenience in the restaurant business and help them make more money. Jumia's food ordering platform is the most convenient online food ordering site, connecting people with the best restaurants around them. You see only the best are on Jumia's food ordering platform and if you are one of the best, you really have to sign up your restaurant.

While some restaurants see online food delivery platforms as competition, restaurants like Yin Yang Express, Roadchef, The Place, KFC, Drumstix, Bukka by Choice, Beleful, and Johnny Rockets among others have already signed up to Jumia food marketplace. And from reports, the partnership or collaboration is working. Everyone is happy.

Regardless, there are still a whole lot more restaurants that are struggling and still do not want to signup to online food delivery platforms.

If you recall an article titled dear QSR, take your menu online, take your menu online to become a sustainable business written by Olukayode Kolawole, he urged QSRs to sign up on Jumia and specifically challenged the management of Tantalizers to sign up all their restaurants in the 3 key cities (Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt) where it operates between now and December. He added: "Let’s begin to measure the impact and track progress in terms of sales 12 months afterwards." We are yet to hear from the management of Tantalizers.

There is no need for any restaurant to be sceptical about doing business with online food marketplaces. This is because there will come a time when all orders will be online and even if a restaurant builds its own food ordering marketplace, it may begin to deal with challenges that Jumia has already managed. It is either the restaurants shape in and grab the lifetime opportunity of signing up your restaurants. It is a win-win situation.

Lagos, Nigeria; 13 November 2018: The Managing Director of Jumia's Hotel & Flight Marketplace, Omolara Adagunodo has applauded the Lagos State House of Assembly for passing the bill to establish the Lagos State Tourism Promotion Agency.

Adagunodo stated this while speaking to some stakeholders within the industry at a tourism roundtable in Lagos.

"Lagos is a tourism hub and it is high time the state had a robust agency to promote tourism. The recently passed bill setting up the Lagos State Tourism Promotion Agency and Connected Purposes is arriving at the appropriate time when tourism's contribution to the national economy is evolving and dedicating an agency to the promotion of tourist hubs in Lagos will undoubtedly increase tourism contribution to the economy," Adagunodo said.

She added: "The bill will further boost the status of the state as a one-stop destination for local and international tourists and help in the promotion of various destinations and attractions in the state including the National Theatre, Lekki Conservation, Badagry, and Tarkwa Bay Beach among many others."

The 54-section bill spells out some of the objectives of the new agency: "Promote, market and develop the state domestically and internationally as a major tourist destination by highlighting its uniqueness and assisting the development of its tourism products and services. Develop and promote the state as a premier travel and tourist destination; attract and increase tourist arrivals and direct tourism investment and identify and develop potential tourism destination in the state."

While encouraging Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to assent to the bill as soon as possible, Adagunodo urged other state houses to take a queue from Lagos and begin the process of setting up a tourism promotion agency.

The Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Mrs Juliet Anammah has described the recent tripartite motion by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) on the urgent need for government to develop a framework to regulate the activities of eCommerce platforms in Nigeria, as a round peg in a round hole. She assured the government that Jumia will continue to offer necessary supports to ensure such framework is developed with the purpose of protecting unsuspecting shoppers online.

Anammah who made the disclosure in an interview with the Lagos studio of the China Global Television Network (CGTN), said: “we’re committed to helping government agencies understand how ecommerce operates. Even though it’s a section of retail, it is still a sub-sector of the total retail market. Because it is digital, there are some differentiations; we’re committed to helping government understand how that operates, how it has advanced in other countries, and what is coming ahead, because regulation isn’t just about constricting, it’s about supporting.”

“So the government wants to support it so it can grow in a way that is positive for the economy and the consumers. We share a lot of information, we’ve had sessions with CPC, we have an ongoing collaboration with SON, and many other agencies just to make sure we are constantly giving as much information as possible to assist them in shaping the right policies for the industry. In some respects also, we have participated where there are some legal frameworks to give our opinion on what we think based on what we see happen in other global environments relevant to ecommerce and Nigeria. We give recommendations and engage one-to-one with relevant agencies,” she added.

The motion to develop a framework for regulating eCommerce in Nigeria was moved at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, with the theme: “The Role of Standards and Quality Regulation in Electronic Commerce,” organised by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

“The need for a regulatory framework was borne from the need to improve the level of customers’ trust, and ensure quality for the money spent in the sub-sector,” said, the Director-General of SON, Chief Osita Aboloma.

It is worthy of note to mention that Nigeria is not the only country contemplating putting in place a framework for regulating the over US$13 billion worth industry. The government of India, for instance, is planning to bring in an e-commerce law and a sector regulator to effectively deal with all aspects of online retail. Some of the key provisions of the draft policy include: large eCommerce firms should phase out discounts within two years; eCommerce companies have to store consumer data within India; independent eCommerce regulator will deal with consumer complaints, compliance with FDI caps; and tax incentives for data localization and infrastructure status for data centres.

Although some of the salient features of the India ecommerce regulatory framework might not be directly applicable to Nigeria, it is expected that the government agencies vested with the responsibility of developing this framework should review countries with existing regulatory framework and rely on the recommendations of local eCommerce operators, such as Jumia.

The African business terrain is quite tough. It is not for the weak, but for the persistent and dogged. This is exactly the story of Jumia which started in Nigeria in 2012. Today, Jumia is not just an eCommerce company, it is a marketplace and an ecosystem spanning 14 African countries and offering premium services (shopping, food, flight, hotels, and production services etc). From Jumia's success in Africa, there are so many things small Nigerian businesses can learn.

Identify new market opportunities and diversify

The reason why Jumia is called an ecosystem is that it identified new market opportunities and built them into viable businesses. This enabled the eCommerce company to diversify. So, when new competitors arrive and circumstances change in the retail marketplace, Jumia is quick to adapt. Take Jumia One for instance, which is an all-in-one app for all digital services you might have needs for. Instead of downloading a different app for each digital service you use, you can simply download Jumia One and perform all your transactions on the app.

Anticipate customer needs in advance

Jumia has always done a great job of innovating with new products, services, and tweaks to their business model. Being customer-focused allows you to be more innovative. You are always ahead because you listen and engage with customers. The need for convenience when it comes to shopping birthed Jumia and it has since evolved into a giant African eCommerce company.

Offer great customer experience

Jumia recognises that customers are king. Customers are the fulcrum of its business. And as such it has a very strong customer service team that engages with customers both offline and online. As a small company, your customers are sacred, you must do everything to make them happy. This is because the success or failure of your business is in their hands.

Deliver more value than your customers expect

Customers are insatiable. You cannot meet all their needs. However, you must meet a majority of their needs if you want them to return. The value they derive from using your service will determine if they would come back. In the case of Jumia, customers have a 7-day return window to return any product as long as it meets the terms and conditions of the return policy. If it does, you will be refunded your money.

You have to take risks in order to excel

Being regarded as the Alibaba of Africa is not a day's job or a child's play. A lot of risks have been taken to ensure that Jumia remains the market leader in eCommerce not only in Nigeria but also in Africa. While others have fallen by the roadside, Jumia is waxing stronger and is regarded as Africa's first unicorn.

Exactly one week after the launch of its Black Friday campaign, Nigeria’s number one online shopping destination, Jumia has revealed that lower price point Asian smartphones remain the most searched items by Nigerians across desktop and on the Jumia mobile App.

The Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Mrs Juliet Anammah explained that the lower price point smartphones continue to drive demand and purchase.

“We are not surprised by these trends because, in the last 3 years, we have observed an interesting trajectory of our mobile phones category. In 2014, the average price of smartphones was US$216. It dropped to US$117 in 2016, and dipped further to US$100 in 2017,” Anammah stated.

Earlier in 2018, Jumia had predicted in a mobile report that by the end of the year, the average price of smartphones will dip a bit further considering the fact that there are new smartphone brands entering the market. “Asian mobile brands continue to build on their Africa-specific strategy by introducing lower price points’ smartphones adapted to the profiles of African users,” she added.

It will be recalled that the Chief Transformation Officer, MTN Nigeria, Olubayo Adekanmbi predicted at the launch of the Jumia mobile report earlier in the year that the preponderance of low-cost smartphones and the drive towards aspirational self-enhancement, coupled with exciting mobile operator-led propositions will continue to drive smartphone penetration, with many first-timers finding a compelling reason to pick up low-priced smartphones or second-hand smartphones.

On the mobile App, some of the most searched smartphone brands in chronological order included: Infinix hot 6, Tecno, iPhone, Gionee, and Samsung, while on desktop, in chronological order, included: iPhone, iPhone 6, Gionee, iPhone X, Itel, Tecno, Infinix, iPhone 7, Infinix Note 4, and Samsung.

Other most searched items across desktop and the Jumia mobile App included: refrigerators, washing machines, human hair, shoes, bags, sewing machines, Indomie, generators, PS4, blenders, gas cookers, wristwatches, rice, and rechargeable phones.

Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs), are now strategic and essential for accelerating economic growth in Nigeria. SMEs constitute about 90 per cent of all the businesses in Nigeria, creating more than 80 per cent of employment in the region.

The contributions of SMEs to the Nigerian economy cannot be overstated. The scale of this transformation should not be undermined.

Supporting SMEs in Nigeria to flourish is crucial because it creates a growing middle class with disposable income, in relation to market opportunities for new investors.

SMEs have been playing a vital role by investing in community projects and financial support to charity organisations, enabling further development beyond their own ventures.

One thing is clear: whether it’s a small barber shop or a dry cleaning shop down the street, small and medium-sized businesses drive the national economies. Given the potential of SMEs to unlock Nigeria's economic growth, one of the challenges, however, is access to credit. Addressing the challenge has been a priority for the government as well as private organisations for several years.

Organisations such as Jumia are making efforts to promote the growth of SMEs in Nigeria. The ecommerce giant has over 1.2 Billion consumers and 15 million SMEs to serve across Africa, including Nigeria. To accelerate the growth of the SMEs, Jumia has opened up its platform for them to reach more customers than they would have if they were not registered. These SMEs have not only created jobs for themselves but have employed more hands because of the increased orders they receive through Jumia.

Furthermore, to address the credit challenges some of these SMEs encounter, Jumia introduced Jumia Lending. This enables SMEs to get flexible, non-collateral and low-interest credit. This has in no small measures helped these SMEs overcome their liquidity problems and stay afloat.

This reveals that private sector assistance has played a crucial role in promoting the growth of SMEs in Nigeria.

Nigeria, in particular, has made great strides towards helping SMEs. The country has supported SMEs through financial assistance and skill training and these could transform the economic activities in the country, spearheading economic growth across the continent.

Technology is forcing both developed and emerging economies to innovate. The cashless society is one such innovation.

Cashless society according to Wikipedia describes an economic state whereby financial transactions are not conducted with money in the form of physical banknotes or coins, but rather through the transfer of digital information (usually an electronic representation of money) between the transacting parties.

The Beginning of the Cashless Society Drive

In Nigeria, the cashless society drive began in 2012. In order to limit the liquidity in circulation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says that cash-based transactions should not exceed N500,000 for Individuals and N3,000,000 for Corporate bodies. The CBN added: "Our economy uses too much cash for transactions for goods and services, especially for buying and selling. This is not how it is done in other progressive countries of the world where there are other payment options such as Debit and Credit Cards, Bank Transfers, Bank Direct Debits, Automated Teller Machines ( ATMs), and even Mobile Money. These achievements have been brought about by the changing needs of their people, competition among banks, and other companies, including changes in technology. Our major focus is to increase the volume of all available payments instruments in Nigeria."

The Phase 1 of the scheme took off in Lagos on January 1, 2012, while additional states, namely Abia, Anambra, Kano, Ogun and Rivers States, as well as Abuja, were involved in Phase 2, which commenced on October 1, 2013. Phase 3 which is the final phase of the policy’s implementation commenced in the remaining 30 states of the federation on July 1st.

In other words, the cashless society has been managed and implemented for six years now. Six years down the line, is the Central Bank of Nigeria winning the cashless society war?

Is Nigeria Winning the Cashless Society War?

Despite the fact that Nigerians struggle to accept change, a good number of them, especially in the urban and semi-urban areas have wholeheartedly embraced the cashless society scheme. This is probably because they have no choice. You can say that the country is winning the cashless society war in urban areas.

Currently, you will find an average Nigerian or a market woman with an ATM card. To offer this more credence, data from an e-payment channel report in a series from the NBS, produced in collaboration with the CBN, reveal that 457 million transactions valued at N32trn were recorded on the channels in Q1 2018 and the NBS data also show that 54 million PoS transactions were recorded in Q1 2018, representing increases of 13% q/q and 101% y/y.

Furthermore, with a smartphone, you can use either Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) or mobile app to perform banking transactions at any time of the day. Again, the NBS report reveals that mobile payments recorded 15 million transactions valued at N329bn (US$1.07bn) in Q1. The value of the transactions grew by just 21% y/y and accounted for only 3.3% of total electronic transactions.

Off the cashless society policy, a notable achievement is the rise of digital payment gateways. Some of them include Jumia Pay, and others.

Owned by Jumia, Nigeria's No.1 shopping destination, Jumia Pay enables Nigerians to make secure online payments while shopping on Jumia platforms. The payment gateway uses state-of-the-art technology and procedures to protect your online transactions. Interestingly, you get guaranteed 5% cashback for using Jumia Pay.

By the same token and in line with the cashless society policy, millions of customers who shop on Jumia, or book hotel and flights, or order food from their favourite restaurants now enjoy the services of Jumia Pay. This is because they can now pay for their transactions using Jumia Pay.

In addition to this, customers will enjoy 5% off all their orders on Jumia. If you combine this with the amazing Black Friday discounts Jumia is offering, customers will definitely save a lot of money whenever they shop on the ecommerce platform. The key reason for doing this is to encourage Nigerians to settle transactions through the use of digital payments rather than via cash.

Unequivocally, the painstaking efforts of the CBN in implementing the cashless policy are truly paying off. However, there is quite a lot to that still needs to be done. Many in the rural areas are yet to be reached.

They largely still use cash that is not even kept in the bank. This means there are still millions of unbanked Nigerians out there. The cashless society campaign needs to be taken to their doorsteps. Importantly, the cashless society message should be available in local languages. Ultimately, the CBN has to take a look again at the fees banks charge customers. Understandably, banks need to cover their costs and expenses but it should not be at the expense of their customers.

Sweden is the most cashless society on the planet, with barely 1% of the value of all payments made using coins or notes last year. Nigeria is nowhere near Sweden. But we are on the march towards a cashless society. The country only needs to integrate more inhabitants of rural areas into the scheme, effectively regulate banks and fintechs and continue to push the cashless society campaign.