Genius movie maker Mr. Tyler Perry gives some insights on how he arrived where he is today. Follow his advice in the below video and you will be successful. I am a firm believer. ENJOY

Nigeria has withdrawn $2 billion from its crude oil savings for ‘various projects’ and distributed more money in October to the three tiers of government than the previous month, said the minister of state for finance on Monday.

Yerima Ngama told reporters that N615.76 billion was distributed from federal accounts to the three tiers of government for October, up from N611.5 billion in September.

“We also released a total of $2 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to the various arms of government for completion of various projects,”  he said, following a meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

HARD TIMES: Though relatively wealthy in terms of resources, life can be tough for the average man on the street in Nigeria

Africa’s largest crude oil exporter saves money over a benchmark price into the ECA to cushion against future price shocks. The account contained $7 billion in April but this had declined to $5 billion by October, prior to the latest withdrawal announced on Monday.

Gross revenues for October fell to N788.55 billion , from N924.52 billion the previous month, the accountant general said. The decline was due to a fall in oil output from the Bonny terminal after a pipeline leak.

SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS

Mumzy Cards is set to change the way Nigerians shop internationally

Nigerians can now shop directly from their favourite retailers in the UK and the US with the Mumzy Gold Card, a prepaid MasterCard

 LAGOS, NIGERIA, November 21, 2011— Finally! The easy solution that Nigerian online shoppers have been waiting for is here. Shoppers can now purchase their favourite brands easily with a prepaid MasterCard from Mumzy Cards. No more shipping hassles, no more third party inconveniences, and no more payment limitations. Mumzy Cards, a division of Mumzy Ventures Limited officially announces its launch to the e-commerce world and the general Nigerian, UK and American public. The Mumzy Card is a prepaid MasterCard for online transactions and it gives online shoppers access to discounts from the biggest online retailers in the UK and America like Gap, Amazon, Selfridges, Wal-Mart, Marks & Spencer, Argos and many more. Mumzy card holders can now shop with a UK or US billing address.

“You will never have to reveal your personal or financial details when you use a Mumzy Card online. The power is now in your hands to shop direct.” – CEO, Mumzy Ventures, Ota Obiekwe.

 In five easy steps you can get your Mumzy Gold Card this holiday season. Go to www.mumzycards.com/applynow , fill out an online application, pay your application fee, pick up your Mumzy Gold Card from a Lagos or Abuja office, register your card on the website to activate it, receive your activation details and your card is ready for loading.With your Mumzy Gold Card you can get online from Nigeria and shop away, goods are delivered to Mumzy Errands; Mumzy Errands consolidates your shopping and delivers them straight to your doorstep (You will incur separate shipping and handling charges for international delivery). Easy does it!

Holiday Special!- The first 100 people to apply for a Mumzy Card this holiday season will get £10 off the regular application fee of £40. This holiday season, the cards are ONLY £30 for the first 100 people to apply.

ABOUT MUMZY CARDS

Mumzy Cards is owned and registered to Mumzy Ventures Limited, UK and Mumzy Errands Limited, Nigeria. Mumzy Cards are a suit of shopping club membership cards, also offering a prepaid solution for online transactions only. It offers a fast and simple way to shop for items online with thousands of UK and US online stores. Each membership card is registered to Mumzy Ventures Ltd in the UK or US. With your card, you can get access to several online discounts from reputable online retailers. When you sign up for a Mumzy Gold Card, you also sign up to receive instant discounts and sales notifications. The Mumzy Gold Card is accepted wherever you see the MasterCard sign online.

For more information on Mumzy Cards please visit: www.mumzycards.com . Shoppers can e-mailinfo@mumzycards.com or call UK:  0208 123 1720 NG: 0816 591 6240.

According to Nigerian entertainment Today, rapper Naeto C spent the recent Eid-El-Kabir holidays in Benin locked in a hotel room in an attempt to avoid the wrath of show from the organizers he had differences with.

According to Ehiglad, organizers of the show, they had approached Naeto C last month to perform at a gig called Love Concert 3 in Benin. The show which took place on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at the very popular night club Hexagon, was headlined by Terry G and featured other Nigerian acts like Sound Sultan, Gandokiand Bovi.

A friend of the organizer of the show, Edo based entertainment boss Andy Bello said Naeto C settled for a performance fee of N500,000. In addition, his flight to and fro Benin was also to be taken care of. Bello says the performance fee was then paid in full.

Did he really call his mom right after receiving the slap? That's not 10/10 o

Naeto C and two crew members landed in Benin on the day of the show and even tweeted about it. ‘In Benin with the crew, Gandoki has kept me laughing 4 3hrs, my ribs are sore lol’, Naeto C tweeted.

It was time for the rapper to perform but he refused to leave his hotel room. “When the time came to perform, the rapper told us that he wouldn’t step out of his room if he hadn’t been paid the return ticket fees for him and his crew. In addition to that he also said that he wouldn’t be granting any interviews as that was not part of their initial agreement”, Andy Bello says. He also stated that they pleaded with Naeto C and a comedian popularly known as Gandoki offered to pay N50,000 to assist them but he turned it down. The show was forced to go on without Naeto C because all effort to get him to perform at the concert proved abortive.

A source who attended the show said Naeto C never showed up at the club. ‘We partied till around 4AM, he never showed up’.

The show ended a few minutes past 5AM and the organizers who were furious at this point marched towards the Wesley Hotel situated at No. 2 Aguele Street, Off Aikhionbare Street, G.R.A., Benin City, (a call was made to the official phone number gotten from the hotel’s website and it was confirmed that Naeto indeed lodged there).

‘When we got there and tried gaining access to the rapper’s hotel room, we met it locked. The hotel management confirmed the rapper and his crew were still inside the room and after a while, the organizers requested the hotel manager bring the master key’.

The manager of the hotel Mr Wesley brought the master key which was used to open the door. The organizers barged in and confronted Naeto. One of the organizers then slapped Naeto C. The rapper dazed, was said to have calmly replied “I’m a simple guy, let’s try to work it out”.

Naeto C was then escorted by soldiers to a nearby ATM where he was asked to withdraw money in a bid to return the performance fee. We hear Gandoki also supported in paying back the money. The organizers have stated that Naeto C refunded the performance fee.

But it didn’t end there as a another source stated that a colonel and few other soldiers later stormed the hotel, arresting the hotel manager the said Mr Wesley and the show organizer. It is believed that Naeto C had placed a call to some in high authority who in return sent the security operatives. How true this is, we can’t really tell as at the time of this report.

Naeto then filed a complaint claiming he lost $6,000 and a BlackBerry Bold 9900. we found out that the organizers were subsequently released on bail.

But one of the performers at the concert who would rather remain anonymous says the story is not entirely true. ‘Yes Naeto C didn’t perform but I’m not quite sure if he ever got paid N500,000 initially. And his money and phone were truly stolen. I witnessed what happened. They are lucky Naeto isn’t suing them’, the source says.

Speaking with Nigerian Entertainment Today, Naeto C who’s signed to Storm Records, says he has nothing to say about the matter. ‘I can’t disclose information because of the involvement of all other parties’.

Sound Sultan also refrained from many any comments. He told them to ask Naeto C himself.

Africa.comDEALS visit: www.deals.africa.com

If you’ve ever used or heard of GroupOn, or Social Living, or any of such daily deals companies, and you happen to be an African or have an interest in anything African, then you might want to check out Africa.com Deals

Africa.com’s online social buying site targets Africa and the African Diaspora which is a significant and growing market.

West Africa’s largest commercial airline, Arik Air has signed up, and discounted airline tickets will be offered on Africa.comDEALS

Africa.comDEALS will provide significant discounts on a variety of products and services of importance to the million or more users who visit Africa.com each month. Categories include discounted air fares to Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and other African destinations; hotels, car rentals, traveler’s health insurance, international calling cards, cellphones and cellphone services,
money transfers, theater/music/sports events, museum memberships, subscriptions, fashion, restaurants, wine, food (coffee, chocolate, etc.), even hair styling.

However, Africa.com offers many other services outside of the deals, its a fast growing website focusing on all things related to Africa.

Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke, “Africa.com’s mission is to change the way the world sees Africa and to be the online platform for that change. Recognizing the strong ties that Africa.com’s visitors have to the continent and all things African, it was only natural that we would design a group buying site to bring amazing bargains on the things that mean the most to them.”

How does it work?

•Go to the site (deals.africa.com), enter your e-mail, and the deals will start flowing.

•If you feel like it, tell us the types of deals you’re most interested in, and we’ll do our best to create them for you.

•There’s absolutely no cost to join, AND if you sign up during the months of August and September, you’ll be entered to win your choice of a free pair of tickets from New York to Nigeria on Arik Air or $500 cash!

Five time African Footballer of the Year, Samuel Eto’o is  heading to Russia to complete his move from Italian side, Inter-milan, to Anzhi Makhachkala. The move will make him the highest paid soccer player in the world. Anzhi would also pay Inter a €21 million transfer fee.

Anzhi spokesman Alexander Udaltsov confirmed Eto’o would receive €30 million over his three-year contract.

At 30, the Camerounian footballer is set to perhaps end his career in Russia, having played at club level for some of the best teams in the world, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Inter-milan

via ESPN

The fastest growing airline in Africa, Arik Air, is stepping-up its game. In an attempt to continue to position Arik Air as the prefered brand for Nigerians, both locally and internationally, Arik Air recently enlisted former Miss World, Agbani Darego, as their new Brand Ambassador.

The unveiling ceremony at the Arik Air office in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria

The unveiling ceremony took place at Arik Air’s head office in, Ikeja,  Lagos, Nigeria.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Arik Air’s Managing Director, Mr. Chris Ndulue, said the event was a major step in the process of development of Arik as a brand.

“This is one of the many steps we are taking to develop Arik Air to a brand that meets the aspirations of Nigerians. We want to ensure Arik becomes a world class airline that we promised at the commencement of operations in 2006,” Ndulue stressed.

He disclosed that one or two more brand ambassadors would be unveiled soon and gave an insight into what informed the choice of the personalities so chosen. “We have chosen people who have distinguished themselves in their field of endeavour. These are people who have gone outside the shores of Nigeria to prove that they are world beaters. That’s why we are starting with Agbani.”

Agbani, in her response, said she was honoured to be Arik Air’s first ambassador and promised to promote the brand to the best of her ability.

She elaborated: “I’m very excited to be a member of the Arik family. I fly the airline frequently and I must confess that it is unique, and I’m also proud to be part of this experience.”

via/ ARIK AIR

Last week, I wrote about the possible gold mine/rush the tech and web industry could turn out to be in West Africa (see article here). I mentioned a few tech start-ups in Nigeria which caught my attention. Here’s one of them:

In a society where access to organized information can be an almost near impossible feat, whereyoudey.com is proving to be something of a saviour and an innovation leading company in the nation of Nigeria.
Established mainly as a business directory, whereyoudey.com exploits all avenues to reach its target audience. By using the Web, Mobile and hard copy print directory (that you can subscribe to) whereyoudey.com sends out a strong message that it is equipped to meet the ever growing demands of a teeming Nigerian population.
So how does whereyoudeywork.com? Well it depends on how you are accessing it.
Web
If you are using the web Go to www.whereyoudey.com, and use the search box by entering the name of the type of business (Caterer) that you’re looking for as well as the name of your city( in Abeokuta). The search tool will then automatically generate listing of businesses that offer the service and not only that Whereyoudey.com takes the uniqueness of its service one step further by providing directions to the business, hours of operation, the businesses website, discounts and other services offered by the business as well as ads associated with the business.

Mobile
Are you on the move? No worries, just text type of business (Barber) and desired city (Uyo) to 33812 and get similar results like you will get if you do the search through the whereyoudey website.

Print
It’s a well-known fact that it will take quite a while for print media to be obsolete andwhereyoudey.com gravitates towards this opinion by providing a platform for people who don’t have access to internet and mobile phones.

Whereyoudey.com print offers a comprehensive listing of all businesses in your city as well as coupons and the current promotions being run by these businesses. A Subscription to Whereyoudey print means that you will get updated versions delivered periodically to you.

The extent to which whereyoudey adds value can be highlighted in its classified placement option on the website. Whereyoudey features a section called iDey, which allows users to create classified adverts. These adverts can be placed at the same cost of sending a standard SMS message.

Conclusion
For businesses in Nigeria, there are many advantages of placing an advert withwhereyoudey.com. To name a few, it is encouraging to know that whereyoudey provides users with an address, hours of operation, keywords related to the listing as well as the location of the listing via Google Maps, features businesses or events in relates searches on search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo, allows business owners or event organizers to upload previously owned video ads, allows businesses to show case current promotional and discount offers and caters to people who have no access to technological platform like web and mobile phones by providing a printed directory.

As a wave of new tech start-ups lead the trend in creating innovative services that will aid business and economic growth in Nigeria, whereyoudey.com is definitely making a statement of intent towards the cause. Its unique selling position and its ability to aid the economic prosperity of individuals in a thriving economy of Nigeria is a testament to this.

Banky W and Sasha P have been chosen by Samsung as Ambassadors of the brand in Africa. To commemorate the endorsement both artistes have released a song called “Me and my Samsung” in which both artiste displayed their vocal and lyrical abiity.

Banky W broke the news of the Samsung endorsement to friends on Facebook

You may listen to the theme song here, aptly titled: “Me and my Samsung”

Download audio file (SAMSUNG-BANKY-W-SASHA.mp3)

Sasha and Banky W can't hide their excitement.

 

Pirated Copies of software - sells for as low as $1 equivalent in Nigeria

About a month back, while browsing tech blogs I found myself reading a story on TechCrunch, a look at the tech and entrepreneurship scene in Nigeria.

Despite the unflattering tone of the story by Sarah Lacy, which seemed condescending, she made some valid points regarding the insanely high unemployment rate (over 20% according to reports) and its connection to the 419 email scams Nigeria is known for in the developed world – unfortunately. (Read Sarah’s story here)

The “app store” reference and comparism of the “computer village” in Lagos, which was compared to Shenzhen’s SEG Electronics Market in China, got my attention. I’ve had to conduct business in the computer village during a recent visit to Lagos,  and that got me thinking and guessing how large the software piracy business in Nigeria is and other developing and underdeveloped countries.

A screen-shot of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) website

I couldn’t believe how much money is being lost (or made depending on which side you are) in the software piracy business in Nigeria alone. Here’s what I found out:

According to a new report from the Business Software Alliance (BSA), $59 billion worth of software was stolen across the globe in 2010. Software piracy rates continue to rise in Africa with nations, such as Zimbabwe, maintaining rates of 91 percent.

The Business Software Alliance published the 2010 Global Software Piracy study recently and the numbers are quite troubling for the software industry. Nigeria, Zambia, Cameroon and Algeria all maintain piracy numbers of 82 percent at a total commercial value of more than $300 million. Other countries, such as Libya, Senegal, Kenya and Tunisia have their figures between 72 percent and 88 percent.
Egypt and Morocco have one of the lowest software piracy rates of 60 percent and 65 percent.

With the continued increase in computer useage in Nigeria and other developing countries, the piracy issue doesnt seem to have an end in sight. Microsoft and other tech giants simply can’t compete in the “computer village” where a copy of Microssoft office retails for 150 Naira ($1) – How do you compete with that?

To under stand my reference to "Pirate Bay," Read this or  visit PirateBay.COM 

via/ Digital Journal,  and BSA

Location of Lekki Free Trade Zone

A new, incredible venture is taking place for the new generation of emerging entrepreneurs, and it is all taking place in the Lekki Free Trade Zone. The Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) continues to attract more local and foreign investors as Lagos state government seeks to improve the state of infrastructural facilities in the Zone.  Apart from the industrial component, The LFTZ strives to be a new modern city which includes residential accommodation, business centers, a financial hub and tourism activities.  This city will closely model the development that occurred in Dubai, which is now one of the most visited cities in the world, and Lagos State wants to be next on that list.  The LFTZ will be built along a coastline which will contain a port to make the LFTZ the shipping hub of West Africa.(Photo on the Right)

Among other entities of the Lekki Free Trade Zone, a proposed international airport not too far from the zone will service the logistical needs of corporate businesses.  The Chinese have played a major role in developing the first phase by assisting with certain infrastructure such as, a power plant, sewage systems, a water treatment plant, as well as the construction of roads.  So what does all this mean for Nigerians in the Diaspora or even Nigerians at home?  Well I can say this area has many incentives that may spark your interest to do business in this area.  The idea is that anything coming into the zone is duty free and investors do not have to pay taxes.  Companies can be 100% foreign owned, foreign exchange controls WILL NOT apply and investors will be able to easily move their capital and profits overseas.  With this, for those of you who may want to bring business to Lagos but are afraid of the erratic power supply, the LFTZ will have its own independent power plant which will feed power to this area 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  Mrs Olusola Oworu, Special Advisor to the Lagos State Governor on Commerce, spoke about this project and said,” This is a developing country and the opportunities are limitless. We have identified our needs, especially in the area of infrastructure, and are ready for business. The returns are also very attractive”.  Many foreign companies already have shown interest and it has not even finished production yet.  So for those that are interested in investing in Africa this will be a key move to make for future advancement.

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