THANK YOU FOR 2018, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dear Customer,

What a year it has been! As I reflect on the events that have shaped our 2018. Oprah Winfrey once said, Luck happens when preparedness meets opportunity. Indeed we have been very lucky! Opportunities were timely! Although some events took us by surprise, while others came naturally, the bulk of it was in-line with our commercialisation drive!

In this letter, I will take you on a journey through our 2018. Exploring each quarter to showcase those little events that are having major impact in our future!

First Quarter 2018 : (JAN – MAR)

In January, I announced the year’s theme! This came with a reinforcement of our core values. In the opening session, I stressed the importance of PARTNERSHIP. We cannot do it all by ourselves! Therefore, we need PASSIONATE individuals who are focused on digitalising West Africa. Together, we can PROACTIVELY deliver innovative solutions. In an effort to reinforce these values, we launched our BurnsleyTech branded shirt.

Second Quarter 2018 : (APR – JUN)

We were mostly occupied with our Driver Improvement Monitoring and Security Solution following the series of dialogue with Total Nigeria PLC. We were invited to their corporate office in Victoria Island to showcase this technology. Our DIMSS solution enables the monitoring of a vehicle by combining GPS system with on-board diagnostics to record – and map – exactly where a car is and how fast it is travelling, and cross reference that with how a car is behaving internally.

We secured very strong partnerships to ensure the delivery of our solution. In the United States, we partnered with Davis Instruments a leader in Vehicle Instrumentation. Davis has more than twenty years experience in building and maintaining vehicle monitoring technology. We needed their expertise and knowhow to ensure a quality product.

Germans are highly skilled in engineering design. This was a major deciding factor in sourcing our on-board monitors. We reached out to faytech, a designer of touch screen monitors. As an added advantage, the company combines it’s german engineering with Asian manufacturing abilities to deliver monitors that are cost effective. A perfect combo!

Third Quarter 2018 : (JUL – SEP)

BurnsleyTech Academy took centre stage during the Third quarter! The Academy provides an opportunity for students, graduates and professionals to develop their business, professional and entrepreneurial skills.
Operating as a platform, we partnered with the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Association of Consulting Engineering in Nigeria, and Digivate360 to host seminars, workshops, short courses and skills programmes, which were developed to meet the specific requirements of the target audience. You can see some of the programmes we hosted in our Newsroom.

We hosted our flagship summer school programme in August. An avenue we use to “catch them young“, and give participants an introductory insight into the possibilities of Information Technology. The summer school runs through the month of August, and is open to anyone aged 8yrs and above. Participants are split into different classes depending on their age bracket. Therefore, you are sure to learn at your own pace.

Fourth Quarter 2018 : (OCT – DEC)

A quarter to inspire Africa’s Infrastructural Development. Afristructure Magazine, a publication by GambetaNews.com launched its maiden online edition. This was followed by an online partnership with dmg World Media Dubai Ltd to co-promote the biggest construction conference in East Africa – Big 5 Construct East Africa Conference.

Following on the huge success of the conference in Nairobi, we proceeded to launch our innovative Multi-Service Digital Kiosk at the Port Harcourt International Science and Technology Expo. The solution is composed of different devices that help to automate processes such as the payment for utilities, identification of customers and the dispensing of SIM-CARD, LOYALTY CARD or other type of general-purpose cards in a self-service mode.

To round up the year! I treated the BurnsleyTech team to a vacation in the heart of Nigeria’s Tech ecosystem – Lagos. Which is rapidly evolving into the silicon valley of West Africa. While in Lagos, we explored the social and tech ecosystem. We adventured into the Lekki Conservation Centre to get on the longest canopy walkway in Africa.