In business, whether you are managing finances or launching a new product or service, managing a project is unavoidable. Many people today are confused as to what a project and as a project manager, I have been asked many times what I do. I will try to answer these questions by introducing you to the world of project managers.

Trevor L. Young in his book titled “How to be a Better Project Manager” defined project management as the dynamic process, conducted within a defined set of constraints, that utilizes the appropriate resources of the organization in a controlled and structured manner to achieve some clearly defined objectives identified as strategic needs.

As a project manager, you have a task or set goal(s) to achieve. This task can be further broken down to several units, needing different resources and being handled by the different people possibly specialized in a task. A task can simply be referred to as a project. When you do the job of coordinating resources and work personnel into achieving set tasks, you are the task manager, better referred to as the project manager.

Who is a Project Manager?

Wikipedia defined the role of a project manager as the following :

1. a professional in the field of project management

2. having the responsibility of the planning, execution and closing of any project

3. a person responsible for accomplishing the stated project objectives

4. often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing

5. bridging the gap between the production team and client, so he must have a fair knowledge of the industry he is in so that he is capable of understanding and discussing the problems with either party

Project Management Institute (PMI), which is one of the world’s largest not-for-profit membership associations for the project management profession, defined who project managers are as:

1. People who are organized, passionate and goal-oriented. Project managers understand what projects have in common, and their strategic role in how organizations succeed, learn and change

2. Project managers are change agents. They make project goals their own and use their skills and expertise to inspire a sense of shared purpose within the project team. They enjoy the organized adrenaline of new challenges and the responsibility of driving business results.

3. Project Managers work well under pressure and are comfortable with change and complexity in dynamic environments. They can shift readily between the “big picture” and the small-but-crucial details, knowing when to concentrate on each.

4. Project managers cultivate the people skills needed to develop trust and communication among all of a project’s stakeholders: its sponsors, those who will make use of the project’s results, those who command the resources needed, and the project team members.

5. Project Managers have a broad and flexible toolkit of techniques, resolving complex, interdependent activities into tasks and sub-tasks that are documented, monitored and controlled. They adapt their approach to the context and constraints of each project, knowing that no “one size” can fit all the variety of projects. And they are always improving their own and their teams’ skills through lessons-learned reviews at project completion.

Webopedia defines a project manager as an individual who is responsible for the planning, organization, resource management, and discipline pertaining to the successful completion of a specific project or objective. This position may refer to a temporary endeavor containing an end coinciding with the end of the assigned project, but can also be a semi- permanent or permanent position.

There are various definitions to the role of a project manager and no one definition fits all. The project manager is expected to be the master of all processes on every project. The project manager is key to the success of every project as he is expected to be able to see the big picture more than all other resources working on the project. The project manager talks and takes decision from the big picture and his job is not to allow individual work roles hinder or disrupt the joint roles in achieving the project.

In the next article, we’ll look at how to manage the constraints of the project management triangle.

[Source credits: Wikipedia | Project Management Institute | Webopedia]

Navigating the journey between idea and pay day is no easy feat when you consider that Angry Birds was Rovio’s 52nd game or that Konga was not an overnight success. Frankly, for startups, the failure rate is higher than the success rate.

While most people argue that the reason why most startups fails is because of a lack of funding, business professionals and venture capitalists say otherwise.They are of the opinion that there are other things a startup entrepreneur needs to worry about before money comes – the idea, its potential, the target audience and go-to-market strategy being part of them.

READ: LEARNING FROM FOUNDERS – SIM SHAGAYA’S STORY

Why then do startups fail? Here are a few reasons why:

1. The idea adds no value

Your startup idea may sound nice but is it a business opportunity? Maybe the idea does not exactly make money but what problem are you solving by making people use your website, application or solution? Are you saving time, energy, efforts or costs? Are you providing entertainment or information for your customers?

It was significant value that made Facebook acquire Instagram, a company valued at half the price, running $2.7 million in losses, with 27 employees and no single profit in its 551 days of existence, $1 billion.

2. There is no market for your product

The size of the market shows the potential for growth, expansion and improvement of a product. This is something investors look out for in a startup. Products should be built not just because you understand codes, but because your market needs it.

A developer can think of cool apps to create but you need to consider the users first. The idea to create an app for old women to select groceries and send their requests to their children who will buy might be an idea, but how many grandmothers are willing to learn how to use an app to select groceries when they can simply call?

While there may be a market, is the size of the market large enough to attract huge investments? How accessible are they? Can they afford your product? Which industry or market is waiting to be explored?

3. You don’t understand your market

So there are people who would use your product, but do you know how the people operate? Do you know the opportunities and challenges that exist in the market you have chosen? While you are focusing on your ‘killer’ product, investors are also investing in you and your abilities to assess the market. If you are creating a disruptive product, how does the conventional method work? How strong is the competition? What does the barrier to entry look like? You are more likely to succeed if you understand how the market works.

 4. Nobody knows about your product

Having the perfect product is not enough, you need to promote it. Your marketing strategy is key to the success of your product. As they say in advertising, ‘Creating a product without promoting it is like winking at a lady in the dark. You are doing all you can to get her attention but she has no idea what you are doing.’

Successful entrepreneurs know that a fantastic promotional strategy is not only about big budgets for marketing and advertising, you can bootstrap your way through. Create inexpensive opportunities for gaining new markets, views and reviews, and content marketing will gradually create a chain of loyal users.

READ: THE HANDSHAKE BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

5. You don’t understand the financial implications

Entrepreneurs are interesting. We are passionate about our ideas and can go for months without the possibility of profit, but people who will work with you and investors are not charity organisations. Every startup needs to take a long look at the figures around their idea and make hard decisions.

It’s not about having so much money to throw around, it is about understanding how money moves and how you’ll hold up if the funds don’t come in time. How will you manage if you needed to spend money before the product is made? What are your operating costs? How will you manage your working capital? If you hate figures, get someone who doesn’t mind them to be a co-founder.

6. You are not passionate enough

If you don’t enjoy what you do, you won’t last long. Passion is a powerful fuel, especially when profit seems like a long range shot. Startups are run on a lean and mean budget, it is going to be more difficult if you are not passionate about your work.

Investors can smell passion a mile away. Passion will ensure you give your best when the funds are not smiling at you. Even when you succeed and the money begins to roll in, passion, will ensure you do not go on a spending spree forgetting the start-up you helped create.

 Not all startup entrepreneurs that follow textbook rules succeed but it will certainly improve their chances. You can reduce the odds by doing an analysis of your own business model, the market, your strengths and weaknesses and the ability to promote it to your target audience.

Now over to you, what other things do you think cause startups to fail?

Speaking on the 2012 World Blood Donor day, the Nigerian Minister of Health said, “In Nigeria, we are currently faced with a situation, whereby 60 per cent of all blood donations are from commercial donors, 30 per cent from family replacement and only 10 per cent are from voluntary donors.”

To save lives and mark the 2013 World Blood Donor Day, One Percent Project with a set of brilliant programmers, software developers and media professionals, have committed three days to building an app that makes it easier to give and receive blood in Nigeria. The hackathon, tagged #Hack4Health, will culminate in an event on Sunday, June 16, 2013, where the general public and the press will be asked to attend the unveiling of the app.

Only about 54% of the blood needed in Lagos is collected and only 10% is collected from volunteer blood donors.

According to Oo Nwoye, the hackathon coordinator, “Access to safe blood in Nigeria needs urgent attention, and we are using web and mobile technology to facilitate this, while raising societal awareness of the benefits of donating.”

About 10% of all HIV cases are caused by unsafe blood transfusion.

According to Temie Giwa, Director, One Percent Project, “We think it’s important to make it very easy for people to give blood, and this hack will build an app that would do just that.”

Blood from 100% voluntary donors — people who donate blood for free — can save thousands. But Nigerians hardly donate blood voluntarily. One pint of blood donated can save three lives.

This event is supported by dozens of Nigerian techies and health activists, volunteering their skills and time to make this work. It is also supported by the kind hearted participation and charity of the CcHub, Audax Solutions, and Hellofood.

The following is the schedule of events:

The Hackathon

Date: Friday, June 14, 2013 to Sunday, June 16, 2013

Time: 9am – 5pm

Venue: Co-Creation Hub, 294 Herbert Macaulay Rd, Lagos, Nigeria

The Public Presentation of LifeBank, a blood donation app

Date: Sunday, June 16, 2013

Time: 4pm – 6pm

Venue: Audax Solutions. Plot 24, Block 113, Adebisi Ogunniyi Crescent Lekki Phase 1, Lekki

To register, visit here

Invited Guests

Bloggers, print and television media personnel, social media practitioners, and everyone interested in health/blood donation and technology.

About One Percent Project

One Percent Project is determined to reduce maternal and child mortality by improving the supply of safe and accessible blood in Nigeria. We aim to help Nigeria reach 100% volunteer blood supply by 2020.

Since we launched in May 2012, we have planned and implemented three blood drives in two universities in Nigeria, launched a map of all blood donation centers, and introduced a blood donor database with hundreds of Nigerians who pledged to become blood donors. So far, we have collected 754 pints of blood, enough to save about 2,262 lives.

Our goal is to build an organization that makes it convenient for one percent of Nigerians to routinely donate blood.

Nigeria’s number 1 online retailer, Jumia.com.ng, has in typical fashion attained yet another landmark in its 1 year of providing Nigerian shoppers with their best-in-class shopping experience. Coming from their launch in June 2012, jumia.com.ng has achieved the feat of over half a million friends on the social media platform Facebook, reportedly the fastest achievement in fan-base recorded in this part of the world.

The Jumia Nigeria fan-base is spread across its ‘Jumia Fashion’ page for lovers of fashion looking to get information on latest trends and great deals on their favorite fashion items and the ‘Jumia General Merchandise’ page that offers its fans the exclusive opportunity to know more about the latest mobile, computing, household appliances etc with chances to win various giveaways through recurring trivia on the page by Jumia.com. One more fascinating thing about the pages is the connection Jumia.com.ng has established with its customers through its first class customer service and one on one interviews with various staff using this platform.

Quoting the Jumia co-founders Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Afaedor, “It’s amazing how our numbers have grown geometrically across board in just 1 year of operations. We have ceaselessly achieved various milestones, an indication of our dedication to our customers, excellent customer service, large assortment of products and our excellent service deliveries across the nation. First it was our website becoming the 4th local content site in Nigeria and today we have a family of over half a million active and loyal customers on Facebook. This just goes a long way to tell how Nigerians are embracing the concept of online shopping and above all the best-in-class premium service we are bringing to them. We can only continue to prove to Nigerians our commitment to delivering smiles to them like we have done in our 1st year, with the best in online shopping experiences yet to come”

Reiterating this, Opeyemi Adetomiwa, Community Manager at Jumia Nigeria said, “This just goes to show the acceptance of our brand by Nigerians, the people have shown they love Jumia.com and our offering. Through social media we have given the customer a voice where their feedback matters a lot to us. This experience isn’t easily put in words, you should like the page yourself to understand how active and loyal our customers are, they are engaging all the time”.

The Jumia.com social media platform is another avenue where customers communicate with its staff to clarify and get more info about whatever they need to know about products/service, get info on the latest and best offers on the site, as well as win lots of give-aways.

About  Jumia Nigeria

Jumia.com.ng, is the leading and most trafficked e-commerce website in Nigeria selling a broad range of products including fashion, consumer electronics and home appliances, mobile devices, books, baby’s toys and gifts, fragrances, beauty products, games, and event tickets. More at jumia.com.ng

Put more appropriately, PriceCheck is an e-commerce business which enables users to compare prices and products while they are still trying to decide what to buy. It has been crafted in such a way that the customer can then visit the choice shop site by clicking on the offer. From there, it takes them directly to the page where they can purchase the product they have chosen. Comparison shopping provides users with the platform that helps them to make easier purchasing decisions based on personal needs and requirements.

PriceCheck is owned by MIH Internet Africa (a part of the Naspers Group) based in Cape Town, South Africa. They have gathered together details of thousands of books, DVDs, electronics, games, cameras, music, and more on the portal. All you have to do is type in whatever you are looking for and you will be shown all the online retailers that sell the product, and how much they are charging for it.

How it started

PriceCheck was thought up in 2006 by Kevin Tucker, a local internet buff in South Africa. He knew that with more South Africans opening up to the advantages of online shopping, a price comparison portal would just be the right ticket. This led him to create a place that brought bargain hunters to within clicking distance of the retailers who could offer them the best deals. It wasn’t long before retailers also saw the advantages. By becoming a part of PriceCheck, they could ensure that their products were seen by thousands of new buyers.

Peculiar Problem It Solves

PriceCheck allows you to run relevant search, with comprehensive product listings, from trusted brand names. With credible vendors, wide ranging reviews and a highly effective price comparison technology, it provides a great place whether you are doing some shopping online, hunting for a bargain, or just comparing prices.

Unique Feature

You can compare prices, read product and retailer reviews, or charge directly to the checkout page, knowing that you found the best deal on the web. It’s growing success as a mobile price comparison tool is based on its ability to seamlessly integrate into the shopping and buying experience.

Potential Coverage

The PriceCheck app took off in South Africa, but with the value it could offer, it had the potential to expand worldwide. Already launched in Nigeria about two months ago, they are looking to launch in Kenya and Ghana towards the end of the year. The PriceCheck app It is currently available in the Android Play store, Blackberry App world, and on iTunes for the iOS platform. Having won the Blackberry International app of the year in the last awards, PriceCheck has exhibited enough potential to indicate that it indeed adds value to its many users.

Critique

Presently they offer two great features on mobile – most popular products and best of mobile web options. But it must be mentioned, that as much as it offers people the platform to compare their prices and make their own decisions, it should also be able to extract top positions from the reviews and do a kind of rating with them. This would come in handy in a situation where people do not have the time to go through all of the reviews. They could also make the shops aware that they are working out a rating scale based on direct customer feedback and nature of reviews coming in on the portal.

Conclusion

In the production of goods and services, the slogan has always been about finding a need and filling it. It pays when you find a game changer that adds enough value to users. It also gives them a profitable pedestal to leverage off, while making better buying decisions.

As Andre de Wet, GM of PriceCheck, said after the app won the Blackberry International app of the year, “What is most gratifying is that users chose an app that makes a difference to their lives. Not a social or chat app, but one that helps them make better buying decisions. The fact that a South African app won, demonstrates what I have always believed – Africa is leading the way in terms of useful, elegant and technically sophisticated mobile application development.”

During the Reinvent fashion show, Jumia Nigeria will be showcasing its topmost fashion brands and outfits ranging from tops, dresses, formal/casual wares, shoes etc. It is going to be a showcase of the best of fashion in Nigeria from the foremost online retailer with undoubtedly the largest assortment of fashion brands. The event will be organized like the popular runway shows where top models will be clothed in Jumia outfits but this time and for the first time in Nigeria, it will be held on the popular picture sharing social media site, Instagram.

Speaking about this event, Raphael Afaedor and Tunde Kehinde; Cofounders of Jumia said that “Reinvent is another novel initiative from Jumia to showcase our wide array of top quality and world class fashion brands available to all Nigerians. Following the 500k milestone we achieved on Facebook and other strides we have accomplished on other social media platforms, it was expedient for us to explore other social networks and as a company that is keen about ingenuity, we decided to launch our Instagram account with this fashion show to allow Nigerians around the world view our latest and best fashion items from the comfort of their homes.”

Re-iterating this, Wale Adetula, the Head of Offline Marketing at Jumia Nigeria said “As a company that has led the pack in innovation and excellent customer service, we couldn’t think of a better way to launch our Instagram account than to host Reinvent; something that has never been done before in Nigeria. We would like to use this opportunity to implore all Nigerians to join us on Instagram and be part of history.”

About Jumia Nigeria

Jumia.com.ng, is the leading and most trafficked e-commerce website in Nigeria selling a broad range of products including fashion, consumer electronics and home appliances, mobile devices, books, baby’s toys and gifts, fragrances, beauty products, games, and event tickets. More information jumia.com.ng

Geeks, Have A Seat.

With the Nigerian startup scene comes an establishment that, if well pursued, will banish the ‘oil-rentier economy’ that Nigeria is known for. By turning the knob in the hacker spaces and innovation labs, we can yank graduates off the unemployment lines. Take a look at Spark, a company with an amazing workforce that did not exist three years ago. Or take me for example, I quit a bank job as an employee stuck at entry grade level for three years to become someone who now employs six people.

READ: Jason Njoku’s SPARK Provides $1M To Build Nigerian Tech Companies

I have this theory where I think rather than wait for the large organisations like Dangote to absorb the thousands of unemployed graduates out there, the tech startup economy can play a part by employing a few people in multiples. I look at the Co-Creation Hub and other innovation labs and I see geeks glued to their laptop screens, developing ideas with unwavering fearlessness. Armed with lines of PHP and jQuery, a UX designer, or the ability to tweak samples of WordPress and Joomla, the geek arrives with his startup.

I can’t deny that it is a low-cost approach for geeks to run their own startup; the initial costs of development which inhibit the idea can be handled by personal skills. The main concern is emerging into the market and taking the giant leap that the idea deserves. Are geeks churning out amazing platforms that are taking the marketplace by storm? Are the codes enough to build a thriving startup or do the geeks need to take a seat and learn how businesses work?

READ: Learning From Founders Chapter One – Sim Shagaya’s Story

I have two observations about geeks running startups:

100% of Nothing

Most times, I see young technology entrepreneurs full of ideas, but they want to sprint alone. They have a ‘me’ mentality, wanting to own 100% of the business, forgetting that it doesn’t end with coding and doing a grand launch among peers. It is gradually becoming uncool to run a one-man show. Even though I don’t code, being the guy who seeks funds, does strategy, builds offshore and local relationships, and manages a data mining and visualisation team is already overbearing. Now add coding to that, it is impossible to reach a level of efficiency with a one-man army. It even gives no room for peer reviews that yield excellent product.

One tries to advise, but people are worried that the ‘usurper’ is interested in dividing the stakes. To me, ideas are worth a penny, execution is the big box. I will advise that geeks learn to collaborate in building platforms. Nothing is more amazing than two or more partners with defined responsibilities in a budding enterprise. Efiko is an ongoing example. As a geek, learn to conquer self and find team-mates who understand the power of marketing, strategy, building relationships, and teamwork Learn to find out the mentorship opportunities but be prepared to cede any 100% you intend to own.

The Footfalls

In the drive to develop innovations that awe the marketplace, there is a need for persistent focus. In the beginning, I find geeks refining their code in hopes that technology is enough. Most people abandon the core work to be done in their startup and are distracted with building websites. And who will blame them? They need to meet the basics of life and this new ‘idea’ of theirs is not yet money-spinning.

In the end, the ideas gradually suffer after the initial excitement tones down and the market fails to yield expected results. These geeks, lacking in good pitching abilities, have challenges in clarity as regards to monetization. So why would they be in a rush to seek angel investors? We need to focus on getting the individual the right kind of life to allow him pursue his passion with full vigour.

READ: Upping Our Collective Game

I had a conversation with a Nigerian ICT Ministry official in Kenya who said the first funds to YouWin awardees ended up filling personal ‘potholes’ and it was difficult to get rapid initial results. I will advise we strengthen partnership among geeks and the entrepreneurs as it concerns the tech ecosystem. We also need full-dedicated mentors in the space who follow geeks in their drive to scale ideas. In my discussion with the ICT Ministry Official, I discussed the possibility of starting fellowships strictly more focused on living standards to the developers.

This is the kind of pitch evangelised by Ashoka and Echoing Green Fellowships so we can have a Dangote, GT Bank Fellow in Healthcare Solutions or Elumelu Fellow in Traffic Applications and Robotics. The official promised a memo to the Minister on the fellowship; I hope it strikes gold.

Meeting And Background

Let’s get to know you

My name is Chukwuemeka Afigbo. I work as Program Manager at Google in the outreach team for emerging markets. I am based here in West Africa. I work out of Lagos but my activities take me around Africa and other emerging markets.

Can we know a little about your background?

I studied Electronic Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Immediately after school, I got to work in a startup called Socket Works and I was there for six years. I grew with the company from when it was just a couple of guys writing code in a parlour to when it became a company that cut across Africa with a project in Asia. I left Socket Works right about the time I got my Masters Degree in Technology Innovation Management from Carleton University, Canada. I joined Parkway Project in Strategic Business Development after my Masters and was there for about three years before joining Google.

When did you start programming?

I always had an interest in computers as a kid; I wanted to know how television, radio and other electronics worked. But I never had access to a computer until after my secondary school, in my entry year at Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, where I had the opportunity to do my internship in a company where they fix computers. That was my first time of actually touching a computer. There, I got to run commands on DOS but I did not get to the programming aspect then because it was like a spiritual thing or Greek language to me. But I could assemble a computer.

In my university, I came across a book, Learn GW Basic, that taught me basic programming language. It was like finding gold. I started reading the book and I didn’t have a computer to practice what I was learning, so I started writing my codes on paper to the extent that I could write complex on paper. I had an exercise book that I used to write my codes in with the hope that I would use a computer one day. It was a totally new challenge to launch a programming environment and to convert my code into software when I eventually got an assembled computer from Computer Village. I later graduated from Basic to C++.

When and how did you get your first computer?

I got my first computer in my final year in university. I gathered money from my little savings, got money from relatives and went to Computer Village in Lagos to buy an assembled computer. It was then I picked up Java.

Career, Startups, Entrepreneurship

What is your programming language of choice?

I won’t count myself as an active programmer now but I did J2ME (Java to Enterprise) during my time at Socket Works. That could have been my language of choice if I was asked then, but Python filled my request when I was looking for a language to knock things down and solve some algorithm problem.

Have you been part of any startups?

Yes, the first place I worked was a startup. I joined a month after the company started.

Why choose a paid job over entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is good, however my analysis of the situation today is that in Nigeria in particular, and in Africa in general, we do not yet have the critical mass of solid developers, developers that are at the stage where they can build something solid (production ready developers or employable developers). We don’t have the critical mass of such developers to satisfy the available startups, even though we don’t have enough startups and most of the startups in Nigeria don’t have capacity to employ and sustain ten programmers. Although, the crux of what I’m doing at my current job is to build the capacity for the startups in Nigeria and Africa.

Did you have mentors when growing as a developer?

I was fortunate because of my peers while growing up. We were a group of like-minded people and most of them were better than I. We were driven by the same passion. We didn’t discuss the latest cars, jeans or babes. We talked about the latest language, new APIs, SDKs and others. The group inspired me a lot but we didn’t really have mentors as the internet was at an early age; then, you could only check mails at cyber cafés, not like today that you can hook up with developers at Google, Microsoft, on Facebook or Google+/ Although, we have a senior mentor, Pius Onobhayedo.

You said most Nigerian developers are not employable, what do you think is lacking?

There are so many aspects. The truth is, a university graduate should be able to get a job based on what he learnt in school and should be able to start working on production codes that are going to be used by paying customers. But the average graduates of computer science cannot even pass the interview, not to talk of writing code that users will trust, codes that would not crash.

What we have now are cases of people who are passionate like we were in those days, who went the extra mile, bought books, burnt oil in the midnight, and got internet connection when there was none. That’s less than five percent of computer related graduates that have the skills. That’s the what, not the why. The why can be blamed on anything.

What is the way forward?

The techies/software developers have not earned the respect of the mainstream media yet. There are no Nigerian techies on the front pages of Nigeria newspapers, although there is a lot happening but the mainstream hasn’t noticed yet. And the mainstream can only take notice when there are billionaires and millionaires among techies who made their money purely from software, like Larry Page, and those would be able to speak for others. But now, software developers in Africa are seen as tools.

How soon do you think that would happen?

I am an optimist, so I think it can happen in the next three years. There are people who are moving in that direction.

Do you think there are roles the government could play in this?

Yes, there is always a role for government and they have already started playing it with iDEA. I think this is the first government that has actually done something in the software community. Although it’s a drop in the ocean but it’s a significant drop.

We also need to get the education system right so that we can produce skilled developers from our universities.

In your own view, what is the future of software development in Nigeria?

I am not a prophet, but Nigeria is a big and ripe market and a lot of foreign companies are already tapping into it from India, Europe, South Africa, US and even from Kenya. But no matter how much foreign knowledge, the fact remains that local knowledge is always relevant, there will always be an opportunity for local developers to cash in.

What would your advice be for a fresh graduate, entrepreneurship or job?

Unless he happens to be a very talented guy with a passionate idea that would go beyond money, I would advise him to go and find a job. Working somewhere should not be underrated, because that is where you get to learn and work with people who know more than you, and also learn about the whole functionality of a company from accounting department to human resources and still get paid.

What would your advice be for an entrepreneur?

Do it man! There is no time better than now where software guys command power.

Do you have 2 or 3 developers that you would like to give public kudos?

There are so many of them, but at the more experienced level we have Emeka Onwuka, Femi Taiwo, Kalu Okore, Chinedu Okafor, and many more. These are guys who understand the why and how of software development; they don’t just write codes.

What do you do for fun, when not coding or working?

I listen to music (mostly jazz), read, watch movies and sit with friends to talk about everything about nothing.

***

Join me next Wednesday for another episode of Developer’s Corner. Are you a Nigerian developer? My next stop may be you, so get prepared or hit me up at adewale@otekbits.com.

Led by BlackBerry Global Creative Director, Alicia Keys, the BlackBerry Scholars program will offer ten full, four year university scholarships to outstanding female candidates. The BlackBerry Scholars Program is available to women in Nigeria and will provide scholarships to outstanding applicants who are seeking degrees at accredited local colleges and universities in the areas of STEM across Nigeria.

READ: BlackBerry To Launch STEM Innovation Camps For Students

“Women are underrepresented in fields of science and technology, and we feel strongly that it’s time to drive a change,” said BlackBerry Global Creative Director, Alicia Keys. “It’s important to connect the dots for young women in secondary school and university, and show them that careers in science and technology are within their reach. And when women do land these jobs, it’s vital they receive the mentoring and support they need to advance in their careers. I’m proud BlackBerry is demonstrating leadership in women’s education, both in school and in the workplace, and giving back to its most loyal users in such a profound way.”

Applications are now open to candidates in Nigeria, who are interested in the scholarship,and will close at 10pm Western African Time on June 26th, 2013. The scholars will be selected by a panel of inspirational and accomplished women, led by Alicia Keys, who will recruit candidates based on their academic merit and passion for entering the mobile computing industry.

READ: BlackBerry Jam Sessions Continue To Roll Out In Africa

This scholarship program is the first step in BlackBerry’s long-term commitment and multi-tiered strategy to engage young women at every step of their education from secondary school to university, and as they rise through their careers. As more than 55% of BlackBerry customers are women, BlackBerry aims to champion this generation of female leaders as they strive to achieve their ambitions in this highly competitive industry.

For those interested application is now open and will close at 10pm Western African Time on June 26, 2013. For more information about the program, eligibility requirements, and how to apply, visit blackberry.com/scholars. You can also join the conversation on Twitter via the hashtag #BBScholars.

[Image Credit: CrackBerry]

READ: Co-Creation Hub: Figuring Out The Tech Landscape Together With Open Apps

OpenApps, a market intelligence system that aggregates Internet users behavior from multiple high traffic sources to support the development of intuitive digital businesses in Nigeria, seem to be doing very well, as the numbers have climbed by +400,000 (as at the time of writing) from when the tweet below went out 3 hours earlier.

1,058,852 collective visits, there you go – landmark!!! Get behind #OpenApps, we are on a mission. openapps.com.ng

— OpenApps (@OpenAppsNG) June 11, 2013

Interesting Stats

Device

Mobile and PC are at loggerhead for device, at 45% and 48% respectively, leaving a meagre 5% for tablets.

Operating System

Windows OS takes the lead at 40%, and that makes sense due to it’s PC dominance, and BlackBerry comes after with 14% – mobile dominance? Apple leads Android by 2% with a huge chunk of ‘Other’ OS with 33% (more analysis needed here)

Browser

Opera (assuming mobile) takes the lead on the browser front with 26%, while Firefox leads on the PC front, followed by Chrome, and then Internet explorer. Safari, Android, and BlackBerry pops up too in this space.

Get Involved

UPDATE: openapps crosses N2M visits as at 12 June 2013