250,000 IT, telecoms professionals too small for Nigerian ICT landscape

The 250,000 IT, telecoms professionals in Nigeria, constitute only 40 percent of the actual figure needed, and are inadequate for a market and population of over 170 million people.

This was the summation of experts in business, legal and ICT sectors across Nigeria and India that gathered in Mumbai, India, at the 2015 Indian Nigerian Business Forum (INBF), organised by the law firm, Perchstone & Graeys in collaboration with the Federation of India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), last week

Theodora Kio-Lawson, Editor, Law Business, BusinessDay, who just came back from India, gives a brief-by-brief analysis of the events that transpired at the two-day meeting.

The event, where BusinessDay newspaper was highly represented, Gerald Ilukwe, managing director/CEO, Galaxy Backbone, an ICT provider for the Federal Government, said the Nigerian ICT industry was fast changing, and thus a new kind of partnership was required, beyond the export of offshore products and services to localised investments.

“Local demand will increasingly be met by local supply, as multinationals like Microsoft, IBM and SAP are no longer the ‘Go-To’ companies here. The market and its needs has expanded beyond these ones,” he said.

Ilukwe, who spoke on the theme, ‘Information and Communications Technology: Attaining Global Competitive Advantage,’ said a number of factor, such as Nigeria’s large local market, the innovation in financial services, as well as increasing investor activity – local and foreign, could enhance and see to the development of ICT in Nigeria. Others such as the absence of skilled manpower and best practices, low technology adoption in organisations and insufficient enabling legislation, could be clog in the wheel of this progress, he posited.

Also buttressing this point, Bismark Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, noted that recent challenges in the oil and gas sector underscored the need for Nigeria to diversify its economy, with ICT serving as the driver of this process.

To him, ICT has the potential of being Nigeria’s largest revenue earner, as the development of the ICT sector will lead to the transformation of other sectors.

“The industry, between 2012 and 2014, created over 12 million job opportunities, while attracting over $6 billion within this period. In 2016/17, Nigeria will experience a high investment in technical know-how in ICT, education, healthcare and agriculture; all of which will be thriving industries in the next couple of years with the support of multinational interests,” he said.

Speaking about the potentials of the IT industry in India, B. Gopalakrishnan, associate vice president, HCL Learning and Enterprise Solutions Limited, disclosed that in the last year, India’s IT sector contributed 8 percent to the GDP, employing more than 10 million people.

“Today, India is estimated to employ 3 million people, while indirect job creation is estimated at 8.9 million. Experts forecast that the industry will reach revenue of $300 billion in 2020,” Gopalakrishnan said.

Also agreeing with the above, Dinesh Madhavan, director, healthcare services, HCG, Enterprises, who also addressed the challenges and benefits of ICT from a healthcare perspective, informed the audience that ICT could be a great enabler for Nigeria’s healthcare sector, if advanced technology was adequately utilised.

Such examples, according to him, will include Cloud-based Virtual Health Records, on-the-go information on Immunisation, Tele-medicine (i.e. Tele-radiology, Tele-pathology, Tele-ICU, Tele-nursing, Tele-pharmacy, etc).

To read more, 250,000 IT, telecoms professionals too small for Nigerian ICT landscape

Taken from BusinessDayOnline

 

SERIOUS BUSINESS: Agriculture is vital

People are our most important resource and have to be fed. Agriculture is a science which guides farmers as they cultivate the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food and other products for local and tourist consumption. Agricultural goods can be grown for export, to reduce the massive agricultural import bill and contribute to net foreign exchange earnings.

Locally-grown agricultural produce is more easily quality controlled and gets from farm to table in a much shorter time than imported produce. Many locally-grown products reach the consumer at a cheaper price than imported products and selected products provide our full complement of nutrients. 

Why then do we not have a comprehensive coordinated programme for agricultural development in the Caribbean rather than a piecemeal approach by territory. 

This approach has not produced a sustainable solution in the last 70 years since the Report of West India Royal Commission, also known as The Moyne Report, was published at the end of the Second World War. Many billions of dollars of national and donor funds have been wasted.

Although not formally trained in agriculture science, I have been associated with the full spectrum of agriculturalists and the agricultural sector for my entire professional life and I am still involved in one way or another.

Having been trained as a Mathematician, Statistician and Operations Research scientist in Jamaica, Wales and at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, I interned as a Biometrician at Rothamsted Research, formerly known as Rothamsted Experimental Station, which is the longest running agricultural research station in the world, providing cutting-edge science and innovation for nearly 170 years.

The establishment of the Biometrics unit at the Faculty of Agriculture at University of the West Indies at St. Augustine Trinidad (1968) was my first professional assignment and it is still in op-eration today under the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute. 

I was President of the Caribbean Agro-Economic Society, the Barbados Society for Technologists in Agriculture and am currently Chairman of the recently launched Global Business Innovation Corporation, which encapsulates the key components of the Caribbean Food Business Innovation Revolution.

In addition, I was an avid vegetable gardener at least twice in my life, have been involved in many agricultural development consultancies and given advice to many post graduate agricultural students over the years. 

To read more, SERIOUS BUSINESS: Agriculture is vital

Taken from The Barbados Advocate

St. Lucian to lead Caribbean Development Fund

BARBADOS TODAY – The Barbados-based CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) has a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who will lead that organisation through its second funding cycle, 2015-2020.

He is Rodinald Soomer, an Economist, who was previously employed in the Division of Economic Affairs with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, from May 2005 to August 2015, where he headed the Economic Development Policy Unit.

Soomer holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and a Masters Degree in Economics from Britain’s York University with a specialization in Project Analysis, Finance and Investment.

His management responsibilities with the OECS included oversight of regional sector programmes in agriculture, tourism, statistics and e-government, and a lead role in the preparation of a regional growth and development strategy.

Soomer started his career with the Government of St. Lucia in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Environment, where he served for 12 years from 1986 to 1998. During that period, he managed many multi-year programmes of development assistance from major donor and technical assistance agencies, including the British Development Division/DFID (now UK AID), the European Union, Kuwait Fund, Commonwealth Secretariat, Organization of American States (OAS), the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

To read more, St. Lucian to lead Caribbean Development Fund

Taken from St. Lucia News Online

Combating challenges of poor data-driven agriculture

Information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as mobile phones, satellite data and the like – are transforming agriculture. With gadgets, such as mobile phone, computers and others, farmers receive data on crop prices and market information.

They also enjoy stable year-round prices, while eliminating middlemen and lowering transaction costs.

One farmer who is benefitting from accessing data online  is the Chief Executive, Hastom Global Services Limited, Mr Debo Thomas.

He is into cashew and plantain farming in Ogbomosho,  Oyo State. Thomas accesses data on commodity prices, and other agricultural services through his smartphone and tablet. For him, information and communication matter in agriculture. Whether for those growing crops, raising livestock, or fish farming. This is because farmers seek information from one another and from other stakeholders across the value chain.

Apart from personal contacts, Thomas has used his phone to seek information on the most effective planting strategy, where he can get improved seedlings and feeds, and how he can acquire farmland. With data gleaned from his phone or laptop, he is on top of the situation as up dated agric information helps him to cope with market changes.

He has witnessed the power of the mobile phone and how people are using it to improve communication in agriculture and rural development. New mobile applications are also being used to provide timely information to farmers. Thomas said the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) can improve smallholder farmers’ income and increase agricultural productivity. This is because increasingly affordable connectivity and tools, especially mobile phones, as well as advances in data storage and open access, have made ICT relevant to agriculture. Providing such knowledge though challenging, he noted helps  farmers to be in business.

With massive agric data coming electronically to farmers, young  people ,Thomas  said,  are attracted to agriculture and are establishing  ventures that could revitalise rural neighbourhoods. Thomas has been able to sell large acres of farmlands and help major investors to  establish agribusinesses across Oyo State. With ICT technologies, Thomas interacts profitably with farmers and other stakeholders and leverage a whole range of technologies to improve farming practices and effectiveness.

He believes that provision of agricultural services through ICTs could be a game changer that will attract young people to farming. He explained that having better market information would help young farmers to decide what to plant and where best to sell it is important. While the government may not be able to attract everybody to farming, he noted that youths who decide to go into farming can serve as good ambassadors for farming, aided by the increased use of ICT that creates a more favourable image of farming activities.

He however, lamented that farmers in the rural areas are cut off because of no internet connection. For him, lack of connectivity means that they may be unable to market their products sufficiently or access market data or agricultural research provided through online and telecommunications platforms.

He is of the opinion farming policies should be part of a wider agenda for rural development by creating an enabling social environment with services to make rural areas good places to live in. Thomas said agricultural technologies and innovations are important for rural development and food/nutrition security.

Besides, the sector needs better policies to attract young people to stay in the rural areas, in addition to providing better infrastructure and internet. He sees data driven agriculture as vital for youth employment and food security. He believes once farmers have the information they need to improve their productivity, access to financial transactions, they will be able to make much money from farming ventures.

Therefore, the government must promote suitable agricultural technologies that can be used by farmers and agro-entrepreneurs boost food production and development.  From mobile technologies that easily connect markets to agricultural products, to identifying agricultural value chains, stakeholders believe the agriculture sector must  of a necessity identify ways   of scaling up existing technologies to connect farmers to opportunities  and investors.

To read more, Combating challenges of poor data-driven agriculture

Taken from The Nation

‘Strong ICT sector will drive national development’

Business, legal and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts across Nigeria and India say the ICT industry has the potential of being Nigeria’s largest revenue earner, noting that the development of the sector will lead to the transformation of other sectors.

Speaking at the 2015 Indian/Nigerian Business Forum (INBF), organised by the law firm, Perchstone & Graeys, in collaboration with the Federation of India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Gerald Ilukwe, former CEO/managing director at Galaxy Backbone, an ICT provider company for the Federal Government of Nigeria, said the Nigerian ICT industry was fast changing, and thus a new kind of partnership was required beyond the export of offshore products and services to localised investments.

Ilukwe, who discussed the theme, ‘ICT: Attaining Global Competitive Advantage,’ explained that a number of factors could enhance and see the development of ICT in Nigeria. This includes, Nigeria’s large local market, the innovation in financial services, as well as increasing investor activity – local and foreign, others such as the absence of skilled manpower and best practices, low technology adoption in organisations and insufficient enabling legislation, could be a clog in the wheel of this progress.

He said: “Local demand will increasingly be met by local supply, as multinationals like Microsoft, IBM and SAP are no longer the ‘Go-To’ companies here. The market and its needs have expanded beyond these ones.”

Buttressing this point, Bismark Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, noted that recent challenges in the oil and gas sector underscored the need for Nigeria to diversify its economy, with ICT serving as the driver of this process.

“The industry between 2012 and 2014 created over 12 million job opportunities, while attracting over $6 billion within this period. In 2016/17, Nigeria will experience a high investment in technical knowhow in ICT, education, healthcare and agriculture; all of which will be thriving industries in the next couple of years with the support of multinational interests,” he said.

Dinesh Madhavan, director, healthcare services, HCG Enterprises, who also addressed the challenges and benefits of ICT from a healthcare perspective, informed the audience that ICT could be a great enabler for Nigeria’s healthcare sector, if advanced technology was adequately utilised in the sector.

Such examples, according to him, would include, Cloud-based Virtual Health Records, on-the-go information on immunisation, Tele-medicine (i.e. Tele-radiology, Tele-pathology, Tele-ICU, Tele-nursing, Tele-pharmacy etc.)

He said: “Electronic Health Records, which enables easy access of data to both patient and doctor, Drug Alerts, Emergency Care – M-Health, if implemented will see shorter turn-around times at the labs and hospitals. Telemedicine would also provide access to better healthcare quality in rural areas. T

“There will be electronic media used to impart awareness for various ailments, vaccinations and app/internet-based doctor appointments will see patients connecting to some of the best doctors around the world, no matter what part of the world they find themselves.”

The industry experts also revealed at the two-day event that the existing 250,000 IT and telecom professionals in Nigeria were nowhere near meeting the actual demands of the industry.

Taken from Businessdayonline.com

New minister meets agri groups

Newly appointed Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat is starting off his first full week in the position by meeting with key stakeholders in the sector. He said in an interview that he will he holding talks with officials the Agricultural Society of TT (ASTT), the Tableland Farmers Pineapple Association and the Sheep and Goat Farmers Association. 

The minister said he has plans to push the sector forward and wants to touch base with agricultural organizations to find out, among other things, the extent to which they use technology and modern procedures to conduct business.

Contacted for comment, spokespersons for some of the group’s Rambharat will be meeting with over the next few days had their own wish lists they wanted to share with the Minister.

Shiraz Khan, head of T&T Farmers’ Union, said he wants the new minister to address the issues of leases. Khan said many farmers are without leases—some have not received leases while others have not had their leases renewed. He said their is also need for a clear land use policy to promote agriculture, enhance food security and reduce the food import bill.

Ramash Ramsumair, chairman of the Table Pineapple Framers Association, wants to see more initiatives aimed at educating citizens to take an active role in agriculture. He said he wants to see every household involved in some level of food production as a means of reducing T&T’s high food import bill. 

He also plans to speak to the minister about declining pineapple production. Ramsumair said a few years ago 2000 acres of land under pineapple production but the figure dropped by 75 per cent over the past few years.

ASTT president Dhano Sookoo said she wants the new minister to look at realigning all of the institutions in the ministry and the sector because there are too many “square pegs in round holes.” She said urgent steps should be taken to develop the sector using modern farming techniques. 

“An aggressive drive is needed to encourage the export of local produce to fill the demand of the West Indian diaspora in North America, Europe and regional market,” Sookoo said.

Taken from Guardian.co.tt

Young to develop legislative agenda

MINISTER in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Stuart Young yesterday said he will push forward with several items on the Government’s legislative agenda, including measures to govern campaign finance reform.

Speaking moments after being sworn in at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, Young also noted the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Legal Affairs have now been merged with the Ministry of the Attorney General to form one “mega ministry”. 

“One of my major responsibilities is for us to deliver on the legislative agenda, campaign reform financing, local government reform, the new revenue authority – all of those massive projects and whistle-blowing legislation which Dr Rowley spoke about on the campaign,” Young, 40, said. 

“I am going to be moving as quickly as possible to get those things to Parliament. I have been mandated to get it done as soon as possible.” Minister of Agriculture Clarence Rambharat yesterday said a key matter to be addressed is squatting and it was likely to be looked at when the Cabinet formulates its legislative agenda. 

“Since 1981 we have a lot of land legislation,” he said, speaking after the same event. “As a Cabinet we have to look at the squatter issue. The list of sites we have to look at it. I know for a fact that the GIS mapping can show us the state of squatting.” In terms of the policy on squatting, Rambharat said a balance must be struck. “We know what the law is but it is a matter for the Cabinet in how we deal with it,” he said. “People squat because in many cases they cannot afford. 

A lot of them are hard-working people who have a desire to have a comfortable place to live and we have to strike a balance between their needs and the need of the State to have discipline in the use of the land.” Of squatting generally, he said, “It is very difficult to contain it. 

Each site has to be dealt with on its own in terms of their own circumstances. 

But the policy has to be one of being humane with people who have been there for a long time and have families. 

They have to be regularised, communities have to be brought up to standard, the lands have to be surveyed, the lands have to be sold to them. But we have to deal with new squatters at the same time.” Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Avinash Singh said he proposed to bring a youthful perspective to agriculture. 

“I am elated I am very pleased, I am getting to work in my field agriculture,” Singh also said after the same event. 

“What I will be doing is bringing my youthful touch to agriculture. 

I want to dispel the notion that agriculture is for old people.” 

Taken from Newsday.co.tt

Here is your Government

PRESIDENT Anthony Carmona on Friday swore in members of Cabinet, as the Peoples National Movement begins the business of governing Trinidad and Tobago. There were several surprise appointments.

FORMER Member of Parliament for Point Fortin Paula Gopee-Scoon was the surprise appointment at Queens Hall, Port of Spain today, given the post of Minister of Trade and Industry.

Gopee-Scoon, a Foreign Affairs Minister in the Manning administration, had chosen not to offer herself for screening, making way for successful PNM candidate Edmund Dillon, who was the first minister to be appointed on Wednesday, given the crucial post of National Security Minister.

And relatively unknown Dennis Moses, was appointed to the position of Foreign Affairs and Caricom Minister.

President Anthony Carmona swore in the Cabinet which will begin governing the affairs of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Cabinet was sworn in four days after the People's National Movement (PNM) won the 2015 general elections, and two days after Dr Keith Christopher Rowley was sworn in as prime minister, Faris Al Rawi as attorney general, and Edmund Dillon as Minister of National Security.

The first Minister to be sworn at 10.12 a.m. was Clarence Rambharat, who was appointed Minister of Agriculture.

Rambharat, who was not successful in capturing the constituency seat of Mayaro, was one of five senators to be appointed.

The others were Dennis Moses, former PNM government minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, Clarence Rambharat, former President of the Public Services Association Jennifer Baptiste-Primus and Chairman of the PNM Franklin Khan, and former senator Avinash Singh.

Singh was the only of the five not appointed a government minister. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries.

One of the other surprises was the appointment of Nicole Olivierre, who was given the Ministry of Energy and Energy Ministries.

Colm Imbert, as the Express reported, was sworn in as Finance Minister. 

To see more, Here is your Government

Taken from Trinidad Express Online

LIFE AFTER BAUXITE: Agriculture, Manufacturing, ICT & Distribution Could Wake Up Sleepy Town

For some, it seemed inevitable, others expected it to last forever, but whatever their expectation, residents of Mandeville all agree that the 2009 closure of the Kirkvinebauxite plant was a body blow to the town and neighbouring communities.

Six years later, persons have started to accept that despite an estimated 30 years of bauxite not mined, it is unlikely that the Kirkvine plant will ever reopen, and Mandeville has to look elsewhere for its economic salvation.

For businessman John Minott, while the fallout from bauxite has been tremendous, opportunities remain for Mandeville to achieve economic growth.

"It is going to be hard to replace bauxite because bauxite was so huge in the parish. Not only did it employ a large number of persons but the spin-off was tremendous," noted Minott at a recent Gleaner growth and development forum in Mandeville.

"It will be hard to find any industry to replace bauxite, and I think we are going to have to accept that. However, there are opportunities ... such as farming, which we can expand and we could look at adding more value to that sector by getting some more agro-industry going," added Minott.

 Challenge:

He argued that the challenge was getting young people interested and to understand that there are opportunities in the central Jamaica town.

That's a view shared by Custos of Manchester Sally Porteous, and councillor for the Mandeville division in the Manchester Parish Council, Jones Oliphant.

Need for Investors:

Jamaica Labour Party caretaker for the town, Dr St Aubyn Bartlett, agreed on the need for investors, even as he pointed to distribution as one sector that could aid in that diversification and growth of the town.

To read full details: Life After Bauxite

Taken from Jamaica-Gleaner.com

Research and Markets: Trinidad & Tobago Telecommunications Market to 2025 - Analysis and Outlook of Mobile, Fixed Line and Broadband Sectors

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wjzfpd/the_future_of) has announced the addition of the "The Future of Trinidad & Tobago Telecommunications Market to 2025 - Analysis and Outlook of Trinidad & Tobago Mobile, Fixed Line and Broadband Sectors" report to their offering.

“The Future of Trinidad & Tobago Telecommunications Market to 2025 - Analysis and Outlook of Trinidad & Tobago Mobile, Fixed Line and Broadband Sectors”

Trinidad & Tobago Telecom report provides complete analysis and outlook of the country's mobile, fixed landline and broadband service markets. The research report gives you the yearly outlook of the emergence of demand for mobiles, fixed landline, broadband services and ICT goods trade. In addition, changing patterns, key strategies being opted by companies in current shifting industry scenarios are detailed in the research work.

Trinidad & Tobago Telecommunication industry is compared with peer markets to analyze the position of the country in the regional and global front. For detailed analysis of the market, key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of operating in the country are provided. Latest industry trends and drivers facing Trinidad & Tobago telecom markets are included to enable better understanding and evaluation of operating or expanding in the market.

Demographic and macro economic factors driving the telecom market in Trinidad & Tobago are also analyzed and forecasted to 2025 in the research work. Further, industry competition structure and profiles of leading five companies in Trinidad & Tobago telecom sector are analyzed in detail in the report. All latest developments and their impact on players in the industry are also provided.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Tables & Figures

2 Executive Summary

3 Trinidad & Tobago Telecom Market Analysis and Outlook to 2025

4 Trinidad & Tobago Telecom Market SWOT Analysis

5 Trinidad & Tobago ICT Goods Trade Analysis

6 Trinidad & Tobago Telecom Market Benchmarking

7 Trinidad & Tobago Demographic Forecast

8 Trinidad & Tobago Macro Economic Forecast

9 Trinidad & Tobago Telecom Industry Competitive Landscape

10 Business Profiles of Leading Telecom Companies

11 Appendix

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wjzfpd/the_future_of

Taken from Business Wire

Charting the digital Tide

On the second day of the Caribbean Tide conference, the discussions surged more determinedly into the territory inferred by an event that took its acronym from technology and innovation for the digital economy.

The three-day event, which ran from August 25 to 27 at the Hilton Trinidad explored many regional issues related to technology, but Wednesday morning brought regional bankers and ministers together to discuss ICT in regional governance and infrastructure, which are mission critical for any real growth in the archipelago.

The World Bank’s Doyle Gallegos discussed early findings from a global report exploring the “digital dividends” of the technology revolution. That report, Gallegos stressed, was still in the information gathering stage (http://ow.ly/RO1SE), and its findings are still incomplete. The findings on a global scale are what you might expect to find.

Internet use decreases market and non-market transaction costs, but the developmental consequences of that fundamental change have been, the World Bank is finding, counterintuitive. According to early data from the report, in the digital age, global productivity has dropped, global inequality has expanded and the share of elections that are free and fair has also declined.

Taking a hit are the analog economies of innovation, creating a situation in which ICT tends to deliver between four and six per cent of GDP and one to two per cent of jobs while gobbling up 15-20 per cent of investment capital, and tending to create digital monopolies. Mid-skilled jobs are shrinking in 20 of the 22 developing countries assessed for the report. If workers in that sector of the job market can’t upgrade their skills, they drift down to low-skilled work.

The dream of universal accessibility is on track, but only for voice and SMS messages, for which coverage is available for 6.8 billion people. Of an estimated global population of seven billion, six billion have no broadband, four billion have no Internet and two billion have no access to mobile phones.

Only 1.1 billion people in the world have access to affordable high-speed Internet access. This isn’t a problem for developing nations only. According to Dr Arunas Slekys who consults with Global VSAT, a satellite based Internet provider, 10-12 per cent of US citizens are underserved, a total of 10-12 million people who the provider works to reach using its technology.

To read more, Charting the digital Tide

Taken from Guardian.co.tt