In celebration of World Intellectual Property Day coming up 26 April 2018, the United State Embassy (Nigeria, Abuja FCT) organized a film show on 23 April 2018, titled Illicit: The Dark Trade. The film show provided a disturbing, engaging, and enlightening insight.. Read more
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Updates & Headlines
December 30, 2017
WIPO establishes External Office in Nigeria: A Boost to Diversification and Innovation in Nigeria
It has been about 2 years now the word has been going round that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) plans to establish an External Office in Nigeria. Last week, what had been going around came around when WIPO and.. Read more
Updates & Headlines
November 18, 2017
Chinua Achebe: Google Doodle for Guru of African Prose
On the day Chinua Achebe would have gotten a cake on his 87th birthday—16 November, the guru of African Prose got a doodle from Google. Doodles are changes made to the Google logo to celebrate anniversaries, holidays, and the.. Read more
Updates & Headlines
October 30, 2017
COSON Week 2017: This Event will be Explosive!
Nigeria’s collecting society for the musical industry kicks off tomorrow with COSON Week, her annual event from 29 October–4 November 2017.
IP & IT Advocacy
Updates & Headlines
August 19, 2017
China’s new “cyber court” hears its first case—an intellectual-property case.
In the face of rising internet disputes following today’s explosion in e-commerce (as it has also been in most countries), China needed 3 things. China needed 3 things. One, China—with her eyes constantly on the ball of world-economic leadership—needed a faster dispute-resolution.. Read more
Updates & Headlines
July 16, 2017
10 Nominees for the 2017 Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA)
Africa needs to unlock her untapped potentials by spurring and supporting innovation. Across the continent, Africans are telling some of the most amazing stories–stories of innovation and technology providing solutions and driving growth and prosperity in Africa. This is what the 2017 Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) taking place at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra, Ghana, will be all about.
Updates & Headlines
June 27, 2017
Omobola Johnson’s TLcom raises $40 million seed funds for tech entrepreneurs across Africa
Dr Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s former Minister of Communication Technology and now Lead Partner of TLcom, says TLcom has raised $40 million seed funds to grow technology-enabled services and entrepreneurial innovations across Africa.
According to Dr Omobola Johnson, the seeds funds will provide both funding support and business development models to help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses.
TLcom is an international venture capital in Lagos, Nairobi, and London that help African entrepreneurs work closely with portfolio companies and access a network of global investors, technology experts, and advisors.
The target fund is $100 million. This fund is with the African Development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank (EIB), and African, American, and European corporate investors and family offices such as FBN Capital and Founder of the Stanford’s SEED Institute, Bob King.
“It’s a great initiative”, says Senator Iyere Ihenyen, Lead Partner of Infusion Lawyers. “Mobile penetration is growing fast in sub Saharan Africa. Investors are taking advantage of this growth by investing in African businesses in commerce, education, finance, health, and other sectors that mobile technology can change fast.”
But will TLcom’s seed fund really benefit Africa or just investors? “I think it’s a win-win situation. The investment is going into African businesses solving problems in Africa. This will help create jobs and achieve economic inclusion.”