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Nigeria, Russia’s Trade: LCCI Launches e-Commerce Platform
The Lagos Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has recently launched an e-commerce platform to foster closer cooperation between Nigerian entrepreneurs and their Russian counterparts
President of LCCI, Mrs Nike Akande, said at the launch tagged: RuNiTrade, in Lagos, that it would boost trade between the countries.
Our correspondent reports that RuNiTrade platform is a collaboration between the chamber and Trail Trans Logistics Group of Companies in Russia.
RuNiTrade is designed for Nigerian and Russian business communities to buy and sell their products to each other.
Akande said, “the Nigerian and Russian economies have similarities in some ways. We are both oil producing countries, also rich in natural gas.
“But the Russian economy is of course a much bigger economy and more advanced technologically.
“With the development in the oil and gas sector, the need to diversify our economies cannot be more urgent than now. I believe that increased trade will enhance economic diversification.
“We can benefit a lot from Russian technology in many fields. There are also tremendous opportunities for cooperation and investment relations in infrastructure development, especially power and engineering.”
She stressed that there was great value in deploying technology to promote trade because e-commerce had gained wide acceptance in our retail trade sector.
She said Nigeria had a lot to offer in business and economic relations because its economy offered the largest market on the African continent.
“Our GDP of over $500 billion is the largest in the continent. We are richly endowed in natural resources; our macroeconomic fundamentals are still strong despite the current global issues with commodity prices.
“We have one of the most enterprising people in the world and our democracy is stable”, Akande said.
Managing Director, Trail Trans Logistics Mr Umem Sampson, said the platform was designed to deepen the quantum of direct trade between both countries.
He said most of the goods from Russia to Nigeria were from intermediary countries thereby making the volume of trade between both countries low at about 300 million dollars.
“The major benefit of this platform is that companies in both countries can directly communicate, negotiate and reach a business deal using this e-commerce platform.
“It will also help to establish good perception, harmony as well as trust between Russian and Nigerian businesses.
“RuNiTrade platform is fast, secure and efficient as a gateway for export in a one window operation”, Samson said.
President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pskov, Russia, Mr Vladmir Zubov, said the platform was a necessary tool for business community in Russia and other developing countries.
“This project gives participants the opportunity to promote new products and the collaboration will be a bold step for trade development, investment and international relationships between our countries”, Zubov said.
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Nigeria Set To Host International Conference On Biotechnology
The Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof Abdullahi Mustapha, has disclosed that Nigeria will be hosting International Conference on Biotechnology in June.
Mustapha, who made the disclosure recently in an interview with The Tide’s source in Abuja, said the conference would take place in June, adding that the agency was determined to introduce new things for the benefit of Nigerians.
“That is why we are organising this international conference where people across the globe will showcase what they are doing in their various countries in biotechnology. NABDA will also showcase what we are doing and had been doing to engage all our people in the country”, he said.
According to him, the conference would offer a platform where industries, private organisations, universities and others would have the opportunity to showcase their works.
The Director-General said the conference would be tailored around environment, industry, agriculture, genomics and bioinformatics as well as health.
Mustapha disclosed that he had inaugurated a committee toward organising the conference, adding that it had started work.
“The Nigerian policy on biotechnology was prepared in 2000, and I have seen that its about time to effect a change.
“This is imperative because the world is moving fast from what was regarded as the norm to a certain level of precision and accuracy in terms of investigations and deliverables”, he added.
He continued that Nigeria could meet up with advanced countries’ biotechnology as it could boast of scientists and experts.
“Whatever document we are going to produce is going to look at Nigeria and its projects in the next five to 20 years. This policy is what will drive Nigeria’s biotechnology to success”, he said.
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Expert Tasks Female Journalists On Content Creation
A digital media expert, Mr. Chimodo Paul, has charged female journalists in Rivers State to generate good contents in order to carve a niche for themselves in journalism.
He gave the charge at a one-day capacity building workshop held last Thursday, at the NUJ Press Center, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
The workshop, tagged, “Maximizing New Media Platforms: Upscaling Digital, Entrepreneur Skills of Journalists”, was organised by the Step-up for Women in Journalism Initiative (SWIJ), with support from Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Rivers State Council.
Paul urged the women to upscale their digital skills in order to enable them improve their career prospects and earning potentials.
He expressed dismay that ego had prevented some veteran journalists from upscaling their digital skills, which, he said, had deprived them from reaching their full potentials and becoming visible in the present new media era.
He also urged those stucked in old fashion media to start maximizing the social media tools.
The women was further challenged to invest in themselves by acquiring good digital gadgets, subscribe to online trainings, sponsor their good contents on social media platforms.
“Most journalists do not know how to maximize the new media platforms yet. Ego and pride is not allowing them to learn digital tools. This is the major reason they are where they are and it’s not helping to build and improve professional competence in this new media era”, he said.
He insisted that journalists must identify the social media tools that aligns with their line of job and build presence on it to gain from opportunities that abound from such tools.
“Social media has made it easier for journalists to collaborate on stories with other journalists, photographers, and videographers. Collaborations can help journalists reach a wider audience, tell more complex stories”, he stated.
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Expert Wants Telcos To Prioritise Improved QoS
A Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy Advisor, Mr. Jide Awe, has urged telecommunication operators to give priority to improving Quality of Services (QoS).
Awe, who is also the Founder of Jidaw.com, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos State, recently.
He said it was necessary to improve the current poor QoS using strategic investment in infrastructure to support current and future needs.
Awe said the future needs included increased number of users and increased traffic volumes of transactions among others.
“Customer journey has evolved significantly over the years, largely influenced by the advancements in telecommunications technology.
“Customers now expect seamless and uninterrupted connectivity across multiple touchpoints, be it through their smartphones, laptops, or Internet of Things (IoT) devices”, he said.
Awe also noted that the telecoms industry was plagued with right-of-way charges, multiple taxation, and insecurity of telecoms infrastructure.
According to him, addressing these challenges is essential for consumer protection to ensure QoS standards are met, and that consumers receive the promised level of service quality.
The policy advisor added that solving the issues would also help in promoting affordable broadband services.
On the role of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) as a regulator, he said the NCC needed to adopt an innovative, supportive, and visionary regulation approach that appreciated the importance of innovation and expansion.
“As new technologies continue to emerge, regulation cannot afford to be static. NCC should inculcate a spirit of innovation and growth in the sector.
“Innovative regulation helps to cultivate an environment that attracts investment to propel sectoral growth. Investor-friendly initiatives, simplification of regulations, strategic and disruptive thinking/approaches are crucial”, he said.
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