Emirates revamps corporate loyalty programme with 'Emirates Business Rewards'

... to provide more value added incentives for business travellers

Emirates has revamped its corporate loyalty programme, Emirates Business Rewards, to provide greater value and added features for customers. The new programme has been simplified and made more competitive to allow for easier redemption and upgrades even on last minute bookings.

One of the biggest features in the newly improved programme is the ability to use Business Rewards Points to book any commercially available seat at any time giving members cash-like convenience. Emirates  is the first and only airline in the region to offer such flexibility as part of its corporate loyalty programme – improving cost-effectiveness for business travel.

Emirates recently commissioned an independent survey on the perception and habits of over 800 business travellers and decision makers of business travel in the UAE[i].  The key findings reiterate the need for cost effectiveness and flexibility in corporate travel which resonates with the new features of Emirates Business Rewards. According to the survey, the top 3 factors considered for airline selection were fare (30%), flight timings (26%), and value for money (23%).

Emirates Business Rewards will satisfy customer needs and provide value-added benefits catered to organizations of any size, charities and clubs. In addition to allowing redemptions for any seats, there is also greater flexibility when it comes to earning and redeeming the Business Rewards Points.

According to the survey, respondents most commonly book business travel online directly with the airline (29%). Smaller organizations were even more likely to conduct bookings directly online with more than 50% of their corporate travel booked this way. With less reliance on third party booking agents, Emirates Business Rewards has enhanced user-experience with easy-to-use customer dashboards. These include tools to manage and book services for employees, and monitor the savings accumulated so far on the programme.

Enrollment has also been simplified regardless of organization size. The introduction of the ‘Guest Traveller’ function means that organizations can include non-company persons, such as consultants, or clients who travel on behalf of the organization, and still earn Business Rewards Points.

While the programme will continue to provide value and service to key industries such as Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Trading and IT, the simplified system and unlimited employee enrollment will also allow other industries with a large labour force, such as the construction industry to benefit from the programme.

Lagos set to close over 10,000 illegal private schools

Dr. Oluranti Adebule, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, has announced plans to shutdown 10,444 private schools operating illegally in the state.

The deputy governor made the disclosure at the 3rd quarterly stakeholders’ forum of private schools owners held at the state Secretariat, Alausa in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday.

As revealed, only 4,556 were duly registered and approved, out of the 15,000 private schools operating in the state.

She said: “Government is not comfortable with our discovery that over 15,000 private schools are operating in the State and only just 4,556 are approved and registered; Let me state it clearly, henceforth, Lagos State Government will no longer allow private schools that are not duly registered by the Lagos State Ministry of Education to operate in the State, their operation becomes illegal henceforth in the State.”

Adebule said the state government has also concluded plans to embark on enumeration of all registered private schools operating in the state from September 26, 2016.

“The enumeration exercise is aimed at providing the State government with accurate data and necessary information on private schools so as to set effective quality control mechanism in place and monitor compliance,” she stated.

The deputy governor who announced that a total of 119 prospective school owners who applied for registration had been granted provisional approval having met the guidelines set by the State government, warned that schools not registered or approved by the State Ministry of Education would not operate.

She stated that some schools failed to take advantage of the easy registration procedure put in place by the State government.

McKinsey research shows big opportunities ahead in Africa

Acha Leke, Senior Partner, McKinsey Johannesburg

Although Africa's growth has slowed, the long term fundamentals are strong, big business opportunities lie ahead and the overall outlook is positive.  These facts are contained in the latest McKinsey Global Institute Report just released today titled, Lions On The Move II: Realizing The Potentials of Africa's Economy. 

According to the MGI’S new report, four fundamentals are likely to underpin Africa's economic growth.  Firstly, Africa has the fastest urbanization rate in the world. Over the next ten years, 187 million more Africans will live in cities—equivalent to half the US population today. Secondly, it has the biggest working-age population in the world of 1.1 billion in 2034—larger than in either China or India. Thirdly, it has the largest reserves in the world of many key natural resources (e.g., 60 percent of the world’s unutilized but potentially available cropland, and the largest global reserves of vanadium, manganese, and many others). Additionally, Africa has the chance to leapfrog old technologies using mobile and digital (e.g., penetration of smartphones expected to hit 50 percent in 2020 vs. 18 percent in 2015).

The new MGI report confirmed that spending by consumers and businesses in Africa today totals $4 Trillion. By 2025, the total could be $5.6 Trillion. Household consumption is expected to grow by 3.3% a year and reach $2.1 Trillion by 2025. The total could be $5.6 Trillion, reflecting an expanding African consuming class. Business spending is expected to grow from $2.6 Trillion in 2015 to $3.5 Trillion by 2025, and Africa has an opportunity to nearly double manufacturing output from $500 Billion today to $930 Billion in 2025. AFRICA’S economies are no longer a story about exporting commodities- but about tapping into vibrant domestic demand. Accelerated industrialization could lead to a steep change  in productivity and and the creation of 6-14 million stable jobs over the next 10 years.

Acha Leke, a McKinsey Senior Partner and Report Co-author, said: “Our new research shows how in coming years Africa will benefit from strong fundamentals including a young and growing population, the world’s fastest urbanization rate, and accelerating technological change. These will help drive rapid growth in consumer markets and business supply chains, and will offer opportunities to build large, profitable industrial and services companies.  "Tapping Africa’s consumer markets will require companies to have a detailed understanding of income, demographic, and category trends. Thriving in business markets will require businesses to offer products and develop sales forces able to target the relatively fragmented private sector. But what our research also shows is how much work needs to be done both by companies themselves and by Africa’s governments to translate opportunity into tangible economic benefits.” To make the most of the opportunities, Africa needs more large companies. MGI’S new database of Corporate Africa, shows that the continent has 700 companies with revenues of more than $500 million, of which 400 companies have revenues of more than $1 Billion. AFRICA’S companies are growing faster and are generally more profitable than their global peers.  "Africa’s top 100 companies have achieved success by developing strong positions at home, staying the course to build their businesses over decades, integrating what other companies would usually outsource, and investing in building and retaining talent. Further success is possible in six high-potential sectors with high growth, high profitability, and low consolidation. These are: wholesale and retail, food and agro-processing, health care, financial services, light manufacturing, and construction."

Governments need to play a stronger role in unleashing renewed dynamism. Six priorities emerge from this research.  Firstly, mobilize more domestic resources, taking bold steps to mobilize more of its own funding to finance development. Secondly, aggressively diversify economies, encouraging growth in high-potential sectors in close cooperation with business, based on a clear understanding of their countries’ comparative advantages. Then accelerate infrastructure development and deepen regional integration.

Additionally, create tomorrow's talent, ensuring that educational and training systems build work-relevant skills, and that students are aware of, and encouraged to enter, these vocations and that the private sector builds on best practice. Finally, ensure “healthy” urbanization, so that cities grow with the infrastructure required to make the biggest positive economic and social impact possible. Delivering on these six priorities will require the vision and determination to drive far-reaching reforms in many areas of public life—and capable public administration with the skill and commitment to implement such reforms.

ENDS