2016 Etisalat Pan-African Prize for Literature: Call for Entries

LAGOS, Nigeria, June 6, 2016/ -- Etisalat has announced its call for entries to the 2016 edition of the Pan-African Prize, Etisalat Prize for Literature (http://Prize.Etisalat.com.ng). This is coming just a few months after the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Fiston Mwanza Mujila won the 2015 edition of the Prize with his first novel, Tram 83. Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher, who made this disclosure on Wednesday at a press briefing in Lagos, also announced the Judging Panel for the 2016 Etisalat Prize. The panel comprises Nigerian novelist and poet, Helon Habila, as the Chair of Judges, South African writer and activist Elinor Sisulu and Ivorian writer, Edwige Rene Dro as members. The Chair of judges was present at the briefing as well as two of the Prize Patrons: renowned literary icon, Prof. Kole Omotoso and awards-winning author, Dele Olojede. Mr. Willsher, while speaking about the uniqueness of the Etisalat Prize, said it is designed to serve as a leading platform for the discovery and encouraging of creative writing talents as well as the celebration of literary arts by African writers. “We are delighted to champion the cause for celebrating the richness and strength of African literature. Etisalat Prize for Literature is about discovering and bringing to the world stage the many creative talent Africa boasts of. The Etisalat Prize is about creativity, excellence, empowerment and reward; it is about celebrating our African diversity in very innovative ways through various forms of art, literature being one of them”, he said. Willsher added that only books by debutant writers published not later than 24 months before submission, will qualify for entry. “They must also be by registered publishing houses not less than six years as incorporated publishers with registered ISBN Number or the equivalent, and who must have published a minimum of six authors. All entries should be accompanied by seven copies of the book entered along with an acceptance of our publicity terms. A publisher may submit a maximum of three books. The rules and guidelines for entry are available athttp://Prize.Etisalat.com.ng, he said.   Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Etisalat.

Focusing on only the “Big” in Big Data Could Reduce the Competitive Advantage and Opportunity it offers Organizations in Egypt

By: Lee Miles, general manager, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, Red Hat

Photograph: attached

Over the last decade or so, the promise of big data has reignited new opportunities for innovation that have led to a favourable position for IT and the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Some say big data has re-labelled the “I” in CIO to “Innovation.” In many organizations, the CIO is now truly considered to be part of the elite C-suite of executives, thanks in large part to the insights that IT can now deliver to the business in terms of identifying new business models, lucrative customer segments, and problematic products and processes. In other words, big data can make IT matter.

The use cases for big data technology, within and outside the enterprise, are growing in volume and variety. Within the enterprise, many use cases are focused on increasing profitability and operational efficiency, including identifying wasteful expenses and improving security. The most meaningful use cases may be found outside the enterprise in philanthropic organizations, non-profit entities, and even some government bodies. Commercially, there are many developments around wearable technologies. As people use wearable technologies like Apple Watch, there is an opportunity for online shopping, banking, and other services to be enhanced and personalized for users. Enterprises and marketers can gain better understanding of customer behaviour, as these devices can provide an enormous flow of data.

Data may become a big differentiator for Egypt as the country embarks on its digital transformation journey. Analyzing big data—including often-overlooked “dark data” (as Gartner defines it - ‘information assets that organizations collect, process and store in the course of their regular business activity, but generally fail to use for other purposes’) can yield valuable insights that enterprises can use to improve business.

Data, data everywhere. 

Every time a person swipes a credit or debit card, digital information is released and this information can be analysed by online retail stores to gauge customer interests and send out ‘push notifications’ with personalized offers that might be attractive to customers.

In healthcare, big data is being used to cure diseases, predict epidemics, and improve quality of life. Wearable devices, such as Fitbit, Jawbone and other health monitors, can transmit real-time data, including activity levels, nutrient intake, and other health indicators that doctors can use to diagnosis and treat ailments. On a macro level, information from devices can be fed into a general public healthcare database and analysed in order to find patterns and remedies for medical conditions. These are only some examples of the invaluable importance of big data and analytics and their potential benefits and impacts.

Irrespective of geography, industry or company size, in many organizations, the modern CIO's role is closely tied to being able to extract actionable insights and quantifiable business value from enterprise data. For companies that spent a good part of the last two decades optimizing business processes, the playing field may now be levelled and transitioned to a future focus on data.

The secret to extracting value from big data 

Deriving value from analytics requires organizations to prepare data for use, but today’s explosion of data volumes, types and sources makes this challenging.

But before big data is used, the organization needs the right foundation to have confidence that the data is comprehensive, reliable, and timely. A foundation that enables the enterprise to easily integrate traditional data management technologies, like data warehouses and databases, with new ones like Hadoop and Spark; adapt to changes in the competitive landscape, emerging technologies, and changes in business operations; and avoid becoming locked in to any one approach or vendor’s stack. If the foundation is weak, no amount of investment in analytics software may be able to compensate for it.

Choosing the right big data solution only solves one part of the problem. Another challenge can be finding the right skills in the IT group to manage new big data workloads and applications. Since business Intelligence and data warehousing were older models and analysis was done on structured and historical data, a data analyst typically would look at data from a single source. Today, big data analysis involves real-time analysis of both structured and unstructured data, data-at-rest and data-in-motion. This gives rise to the role of the data scientist with the ability and acumen to examine data from several sources, spot trends and provide unique insights that can offer businesses a competitive advantage.

Organizations in Egypt should keep in mind the five key traits of an effective big data deployment:

1. Open - big data workloads and technologies are quickly evolving. Architectures should be built with interoperable, modular blocks so big data products can work with other solutions in the datacenter.
2. Agile - A nimble infrastructure lets enterprise IT respond to competitive threats, changes in industry trends, and consumer behaviour. Solutions should be chosen with easy scalability and deployment flexibility to help build apps and integrate data sources with extreme flexibility.
3. Secure – Securing big data workloads that support the IT governance standards of the enterprise. Solutions should help normalize the security models used across the datacenter, giving a simple yet holistic view of role-based security to data and apps.
4. Cloud-ready - Big data deployments can span physical, virtual, and private-, public-, and hybrid-cloud environments. Your organization should be able to manage data and building apps across all environments should be done seamlessly.
5. Cost-effective – Investing in open source solutions can help free up valuable resources to help enterprises focus on more valuable tasks and support the business by discovering better ways to engage customers.

In running big data applications, organizations in Egypt need to invest in aggregating data from social media in order to understand public sentiment towards their company, among other use cases. In addition, the governments and enterprises should understand that big data holds tremendous potential in the development of smart cities and revolutionizing industries such as healthcare, retail, oil and gas, banking, and telecommunications.

Making prudent technology decisions and building on open and agile, and technologies that can help organizations scale efficiently as their needs evolve. “Open” and “open source” are two terms that are more relevant and critical than ever before, especially as they relate to big data.

New Oceania Cruises® Sirena to Join Canyon Ranch SpaClub® at Sea

DUBAI, UAE – JUNE 6, 2016 – Canyon Ranch®, the life-enhancement brand that has built a devoted global following for nearly 40 years, is expanding its oceanic wellness offerings with its latest spa extension, SpaClub® at Sea aboard the newest ship of Oceania Cruises®, Sirena. The addition of SpaClub® facilities on Sirena extends the partnership between Canyon Ranch and Oceania Cruises to all six of the cruise line’s elegantly appointed mid-sized ships, and brings the award-winning Canyon Ranch SpaClub® at Sea portfolio to 19.

Operating the spa, beauty, salon, wellness and fitness amenities on board, SpaClub® guests on Sirena will experience an array of signature Canyon Ranch offerings through an extensive treatment menu. Services includes 40 indulgent body and spa treatments, fitness classes ranging from aerobics to yoga, consultations with fitness professionals, and innovative health and wellness presentations that enrich the luxury cruising experience. SpaClub® guests can also enjoy an aromatic steam room, thalassotherapy pool and private sundeck.

The 684-passenger Sirena is the sister ship to award-winning Regatta, Insignia and Nautica ships and will feature the finest cuisine at sea, including two new specialty restaurants: Tuscan Steak and Red Ginger. The Sirena will also offer award-winning Canyon Ranch cuisine selections on each menu that allows guests to eat sensibly without sacrificing flavour while at sea. Before entering service, the ship underwent an extensive 35-day, US$40-million refurbishment to deliver the signature Oceania Cruises elegance and style.

The maiden voyage for Sirena departed on April 27th, 2016, and was an incredible 14-night cruise from Barcelona to Venice. During its inaugural season, the ship will sail on Mediterranean and Caribbean itineraries featuring a mix of classic destinations and exotic new ports of call.

For more information, you can visit: http://www.canyonranchdestinations.com/sea/oceania-cruises/. 

Ramadan Consumer Behaviour Study 2016

Price offs and discounts to attract 78% of consumers in the UAE,  Egypt and Saudi Arabia to spend more on food and drink this Ramadan

72% claim they won’t be travelling anywhere during the Holy month

Cairo, Egypt - Monday 6 June 2016: Fresh research from YouGov in the lead up to Ramadan 2016 shows that over half (53%) of consumers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will spend more money during the Holy month, of which  93% expect to increase their spend specifically on regular household items such as food, drinks and groceries.

The initial outputs from the Ramadan Consumer Behvaviour study, which will continue to run throughout Ramadan and Eid to capture the changing habits of consumers across a number of different product groups,  found that the increase in expenditure will come predominantly from an increase in the consumption of food and drink. Due to the perishability of these items, consumers are likely to buy them regularly rather than in bulk and therefore price offs (43%) and discounts (35%) are the most appealing promotions for 78% of consumers in all three countries. Offers related to bulk purchases have higher appeal for personal care and household care products.

Almost two thirds (59%) of consumers in Egypt expect to  spend more overall during the Holy month, followed by 56% of consumers in Saudi Arabia and 46% in the UAE.  Most consumers in all three countries (68%) expect to cover the extra cost using their regular income, whilst 29% will dig into their savings.

The top products consumers intend to increase their consumption of during Ramadan are dates (73%), Laban (62%), Yogurt (61%) and powdered soft drinks, squashes and cordials (all 53% respectively).

Given the attraction of promotions/offers during Ramadan, the findings show that consumers are less likely to be brand loyal when it comes to food and drink products. 40% of respondents overall claim they will always buy from brands that have the best offer/promotion irrespective of who makes them. Marginally fewer will stay loyal to a select set of brands and only buy from those that have the best offer/ promotion among them (38%). 22% will always stay brand loyal whether there are offers and promotions or not.

Commenting on the findings, head of consumer research for YouGov in MENA, Pranay Dandekar said, “It is evident that although there is an increase in consumption and expenditure during Ramadan, consumers’ purchase patterns differ according to the type of product they are buying which impacts the offers they look out for. Brands need to take cognizance of this fact and design the right promotions tailored to specific product categories  in order to stand out from the crowd and win the fight for consumer attention”.

The research also looked at consumers’ intended travel plans during Ramadan and Eid in 2016. When asked if they expect to travel during Ramadan, 72% of respondents claimed they don’t have any travel plans at all, predominantly because they prefer to spend the Holy month in their country of residence (63%).

Respondents in Egypt (69%) and Saudi Arabia (66%) claimed they prefer to stay in their home country the most, compared to the UAE (52%). The second highest proportion of respondents in all three countries claimed they won’t be travelling because they have work commitments (17%). This was most prevalent in the UAE (23%), compared to 16% of respondents in Egypt and 12% in Saudi Arabia.

Despite low levels of travel during Ramadan, 43% of respondents in all three countries expect to travel during Eid this year. Of those that are travelling, 56% intend to travel within their home country compared to 30% who intend to travel aboard. The most appealing promotions for travelers during Eid are discounted promotional offers on flights (62%), followed by discounts on hotel stays (57%).

FXTM Chief Market Strategist at FXTM Hussein Sayed comments on Pound knocked down, Yellen next in focus. In today’s note:

The Pound was knocked down by more than 1% against USD in early hours of Asian trading session after The Daily Telegraph released a survey of nearly 19,000 subscribers showing that 69% are intending to vote for a Brexit at the June 23 referendum. This was the most shocking survey released so far, and with only 18 days until the referendum the GBP is extremely sensitive to opinion polls. Yougov and TNS online polls didn’t help either as both revealed the leave campaign has picked up momentum and lead over remain voters. It is becoming extremely worrying for financial markets and expect more sterling losses if polls continued to indicate a Brexit lead. From a technical perspective GBPUSD imminent support stands at 1.4330, however don’t expect the pair to respect any technical or fundamental indicator as polls will continue to dictate the move until June 23.

Last week’s U.S. non-farm payrolls report sent markets through a roller-coaster. Only 38K jobs were added to the economy versus expectations of 164K, this was the fewest number of jobs since September 2010, and to add salt to the wound, April figures were revised down by 37K jobs to 123K. Unemployment rate fell to 4.7% from 5% which seemed to offset the NFP weakness, but that was mainly due to Americans dropping from the labor force. In short this was a terrible report and Fed officials who spent reasonable efforts to readjust market expectations would probably need now to readjust their language.

When the Fed increased rates for the first time in a decade in December 2015 the last 3-month average jobs added to the economy was 241.3K.  The 3-month average jobs heading into 14-15 June Fed meeting is 115.6K, not even half the number seen in Q4 2015. Markets now are pricing less than a 4% chance for a hike in June and around 30% for July.

With only some tier-two economic data on the U.S. calendar the week ahead, all eyes will be on Chair Janet Yellen. Her speech today will be the only key event to change market sentiments, she can either stick to her opinion that rates will rise in the coming months or acknowledge that the labor market is deteriorating and therefore a cautious approach is required. If she sounded less worried on latest NFP report the U.S. dollar will bounce back, but don’t expect to recover all of Friday’s losses as investors likely to remain skeptical ahead of next Fed meeting.

Japanese policy makers who were counting on tighter U.S. monetary policy to weaken the Yen are extremely disappointed. Yen strength has become a nightmare for Japans businesses and USDJPY which lost more than 3.3% last week is only 100 pips above May 3 low. It only requires another wave of volatility across equity markets to send the pair below 105.50.