Lexy Blog

  Lagos State has recorded twenty (20) suspected cases of Lassa Feveras at January 26, 2016, since the outbreak of the disease in the Country in November, 2015. Fourteen (14) suspected cases tested negative, four (4) suspected cases were confirmed positive of Lasssa Fever, while the results of two (2) suspected cases are pending. One (1) case was confirmed on the 15 th January 2016, two (2) cases were confirmed on 18 th January 2016 and one (1) case was confirmed on 26 th January, 2016.   In a statement sent to us by Dr. jide Idris, Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, t he Ministry has line-listed 537 contacts of the confirmed cases and 534 (99%) of the contacts are currently being monitored. "The last confirmed case was a 27 years old Lady, who travelled to Edo State on December 24 2015 and returned to Lagos on January 2, 2016. She became ill on January 14, 2016 and received care in one private hospital and three churches before she was referred on Ja...

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows rose by 36 per cent in 2015, reaching their highest levels since the financial crisis, according to a report out today from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which pegged the increase to a wave of cross-border mergers and acquisitions. The UN agency's latest Global Investment Trends Monitor shows that foreign investment totalled some $1.7 trillion and the that increased FDI - investment made by a company or entity based in one country, into a company or entity based in another country - in developed countries was the main factor behind the unexpected spike, with industrialized nations accounting for 55 per cent of global FDI inflows last year. Strong growth in flows was reported in the European Union (EU) as well as in the United States where FDI quadrupled, although from a historically low level in 2014. According to the report, developing economies saw their FDI reaching a new hig...

With more than 320 million active users, Twitter truly is a great marketing Tool if used correctly. It gives a marketer a platform to connect with the potential target audience. But a marketer needs to keep in mind a few important factors while working with twitter, otherwise it may lead to loss of brand image, followers and potential Customers. A few key points one needs to always remember while marketing on twitter. #1) Not having a twitter marketing strategy: “Oh! It’s just twitter, I need to just formulate 140 character marketing Messages for my Brand and schedule my posts.” This is probably one of the biggest mistake a twitter marketer can make. Twitter is about constant engagement and engagement can only happen if one listens to and understands what the audience wants. One tweet going viral doesn’t mean that all your tweets will go viral. It’s important to constantly record the metrics. One must always have a long term and a short term communication strategy for twi...

Africa’s first data-driven investigative journalism initiative launches $500,000 in grants and technical support for reportage that changes lives. The new impactAFRICA initiative will seek to support pioneering data journalism that tackles development issues, such as public healthcare, in six initial African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. “We will help newsrooms use data and digital tools to produce the type of hard-hitting reportage and compelling storytelling that shapes public discourse and gets the attention of policymakers,” says impactAFRICA manager Haji Mohamed Dawjee.  “This isn’t just journalism for the sake of journalism: we’re looking to change lives.” Dawjee was director of social media accounts at Ogilvy Africa before joining Code for Africa (CfAfrica) in December to run impactAFRICA. She also has previously served as deputy digital news editor at the Mail & Guardian in South Africa. The first of four imp...

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is experimenting with letting some smartphone users download apps directly from its search app,an attempt to make using Google on mobile quicker and easier. Google is testing the new app downloading shortcut, bypassing its Google Play app, on a small subset of people running its Android operating system, a typical approach when Google is working on new products. It is limited to the search app, and is not available on search results found at Google.com using a web browser. “We’re always experimenting with ways to provide the best search results and making finding the content you need as easy as possible,” a Google spokeswoman said. The company declined to say how many Android users were involved in the testing, or whether or not this would become a permanent feature for the Google Search app. Google’s experimentation comes as an increasing number of smartphone users aren’t turning to the web as the starting point for their digital lives, as man...

The Dangote Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a combined commitment of $100 million over the next five years (2016-2020) towards ending undernutrition in Nigeria. This commitment is expected to improve the lives of at least five million families by 2020 and was announced by Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Bill Gates today during a press conference in Abuja, Nigeria. Despite rapid economic growth, Nigeria is home to the highest number of stunted children in Africa and the second highest globally. Almost one in five Nigerian children is acutely malnourished and more than one in three children suffer from stunting. With its vital role in child health, growth and cognitive development, better nutrition will be essential to unleashing the potential of Nigeria's next generation. "Nutrition is one of the highest impact investments we can make in Nigeria's future growth and prosperity. We know that well-nourished children are more likely to grow u...

Coke's new ad campaign will unite Coca-Cola, Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, and Coca-Cola Life under one slogan. The "Taste the Feeling" campaign is part of an effort to combat the trend of declining soda sales, following consumers' health concerns about sugary drinks. The Wall Street Journal reported that Coca-Cola's sales (by volume) grew at just 1% in the first nine months of last year. The launch will replace the seven-year-old Coca-Cola "Open Happiness" campaign. The drinks company had a big reshuffle last year, which included a $3 billion cost-cutting plan. Chief marketing officer Marcos de Quinto announced the move in Paris on Tuesday. The first five TV ads can be seen in the playlist below: "Anthem" shows a series of different emotionally charged moments in which Coke is enjoyed, finishing with all the Coca-Cola products uniting under the red Coca-Cola disc. A further five video ads will be released later. Th...

Necessity is the mother of invention, and in Africa it has been the mother of innovation. While the continent is vastly different, the level of innovation has been interesting to watch, largely fuelled by the equalizing nature of technology and mobile telephony. Over the last 15 years, African economies have enjoyed growth above the global average. This has largely been fuelled by mineral agriculture, with growth linked to China's demand for raw materials. While this demand from China is now slowing down, the rise of African countries is a new story. It is estimated that in 2016, the African population will reach 1,069 billion people, the majority of whom are under 30. Africa has the highest rates of urbanisation; its poor infrastructure, which has previously hampered growth and development, is now a catalyst for innovation. The mobile phone in Africa has become a game-changer for the continent. According to Ericsson, the technology company, by 2019 there will be 9...

 Online marketplace, Kaymu.com.ng is relaunching its dormant affiliate program. This is a unique opportunity for rising entrepreneurs to generate income through our site, even if they do not have products to sell online. After signing up for the program, marketers are given access to a dashboard that allows them create a customizable link to share, banners to promote their personal Kaymu link, and an analytics system to monitor traffic and sales generated from the link. The program allows for marketers to pick categories they deem most beneficial, or most relevant to their audience. This is a good idea, because if I ran an online bookstore, I wouldn’t want to be promoting impertinent content. Affiliates can earn up to 7% commission from sales generated through their shared links. Interested publishers can sign up here, or send an email to affiliate.program@kaymu.com.ng for more information.