In a bid to combat the rising threat of counterfeit medicines in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector, experts highlight the adoption of blockchain technology as a game-changer.

CEO of Hyperspace Technologies, Oluseyi Akindeinde, asserts that blockchain will play a pivotal role in securing pharmaceutical products through serialization and verifiable security features.

Akindeinde explains that the integration of encrypted non-fungible token (NFT) tags into pharmaceutical products will create unique identities, enhancing security.

“These NFTs protect information with special codes, ensuring only authorized individuals with the correct code can access details, fortifying digital assets on the blockchain.

“The magnitude of the counterfeit drug issue is underscored by Goldstein Market Intelligence’s forecast, estimating a staggering $5.3 billion impact on the pharmaceutical sector this year”.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control recently destroyed over N500 million worth of fake and expired drugs in Abuja, including psychoactive substances and controlled drugs seized from hawkers.

The United Nations reports that substandard drugs in sub-Saharan Africa contribute to 500,000 deaths annually.

Notably, fake antimalarial drugs account for 267,000 deaths, while substandard antibiotics for severe pneumonia lead to 169,271 deaths.

Hyperspace Technologies’ CEO emphasizes the role of smart contracts on the blockchain, describing them as unchangeable lines of code.

“Each pharmaceutical product receives a unique identification tag within a smart contract, making manipulation impossible. Customers can easily verify product authenticity by scanning with smartphones, presenting a promising avenue to significantly reduce the risk of counterfeit drugs”.

Adewale Kayode, Director and Team Lead at Sirfitech, adds that blockchain offers authentication and transparency across the entire supply chain, from raw materials to manufacturing.

He envisions a decentralized identity (DiD) accessed via a web3 wallet, creating a barcode that, when scanned, instantly indicates the drug’s authenticity without revealing sensitive data.

“Blockchain technology, with its ability to provide a secure and transparent framework, emerges as a crucial tool in safeguarding the integrity of pharmaceutical products, combating the devastating consequences of counterfeit drugs on both lives and the industry”, He Concluded.

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By As-sayyidul Arafat

TECHDIGEST – I’m sure you might have heard the phrase, “99% of NFTs have no utility”, well that is true. A lot of Non Fungible Token (NFT) projects claim to have utility; meanwhile, they are just selling us Jpegs.

We are still scratching the surface in the NFT ecosystem, i.e. we are at the kindergarten stage; if we compare it to human development stages, we are at the buy-to-resell stage. Just like any other innovation, there are stages for its adoption.

The internet was introduced on January 1, 1983. Mobile phones and social media changed how people use the internet, and they also gave people a new way of connecting, thereby growing its worldwide adoption to 11%. The same goes for cryptocurrency since the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009; there has been asymmetric growth. 2021 records the ATH. This is because of its adoption by different companies worldwide.

Answering the Million-Dollar Question
Now replying to the million-dollar question, how to be the 1%. Just know that the value of NFT is built on 3 things:

Utility
Community
Culture

Utility

The NFT use case has gone beyond pixelated punks and apes to real-world utility. Utility NFTs have already made their presence felt in business and popular culture. And NFT collections that were initially launched without utility are increasingly evolving into utility NFTs.

For example, the well-known Bored Ape Yacht Club first launched as nothing more than a series of NFT images. Since then, Bored Ape NFTs have become access passes to exclusive events such as parties and offering rewards such as being able to mint new NFTs.

In the future, they could replace everything with NFT school textbooks, tickets to sports shows, music concerts, house deeds, etc.

Community

A community is a group of people who share something in common. Community is the benchmark to measure how successful your platform is. A strong community attracts investors to your project.

Strong community leads to:

Generation of demand
Free Marketing
Experienced members educate newbies about your project
So do make sure to invest in it.

Culture

Connecting NFT with cultural heritage, and creating that sense of familiarity, will increase the project adoption.

The people buying your NFT are not driven by a desire for “consumption”. Instead, they want to hold a particular piece of culture that can be tangible or intangible, although it may be very diverse but has something in common.

So after knowing the 3 kings that determine the value of NFT, let’s talk about how to create an NFT that will be a hit.

Hundreds of NFTs launch weekly, but just a few survive, with many failing before they kick off. So what are they doing wrong?

The most common mistakes you should avoid when starting an NFT project

To keep sailing in the right direction, here are some mistakes you need to avoid making as you take on that NFT project

Don’t just run off to create an NFT immediately if you have an idea. Research, consult and develop.

Trying to Make Money Too Fast: if you are trying to create an NFT for quick money, rethink because there is no remedy for your disappointment. Create value first, and people will buy.

Marketing: After the mint, don’t just relax and expect cash inflow. You are competing in a market where thousands of projects are trying to gain attention. So push your project out there. As the saying goes, use 40% of your time to create the project and 60% of your time to promote it.

If you need a marketer for your project, contact As-sayyidul Arafat on LinkedIn or Twitter to avoid making this mistake.

Over-promising on the roadmap: don’t promise what you cannot offer. Your audience will be satisfied if you deliver what you promised. A disappointed audience equals an unsuccessful project.

Not forming the right team: Assemble the right people for each job. Instead of getting worked up and including all your friends, this is not a healthy move for your project.

How to create an NFT that will be a hit

To create a hit project, you have to consider the following:

Knowing your audience

Who is your audience? Build your product so that your audience can enjoy it. They decide your profit and success.

If you know who is likely to buy your NFTs, it will be easier for you to reach them.

Since there is a wide variety of NFT communities online, knowing your audience will help you be more strategic about your promotion, as against having to spam your NFTs everywhere.

Community

Every project can survive with a strong community. Your community is what will ultimately determine the success of your NFT project.

Creating a strong community takes work. Here are a few tips on how to go about it.

Hire a professional to help you.

Use social media to grow your community.

Build incentives.

Collaborate with other projects and influencers.

Reward your active users.

Gas fee

Knowing the perfect blockchain your project will launch is essential. Ethereum gas fee is high, but blockchains like Solana and Polygon have cheap gas. All these are things you consider. Is your audience ready to pay for a higher gas fee?

You can still launch on the Ethereum blockchain and bypass the gas war through early rewards, stealth drops, and mint passes.

Marketing

Most people buy into your project confidently, believing the price will increase, so you must make it so. Getting new people to buy into your project is the only way to do this. This is where marketing comes to play.

Here are marketing strategies you can trust:

Be consistent on social media. You can also run a social media campaign.
Host Giveaways (whitelist, cash, etc.).
AMAs.

Post sneak peek.

Share the long-term goal.

Don’t wait a few weeks to launch before marketing your project. Start the marketing at the initial stage.

Work with professionals

To get the best results, working with people who know what they are doing is better. Remember, it is not a friend and family project. For you to create an NFT project from scratch, you need the following;

An artist
A software engineer
A Discord moderator
A Marketer
A social media manager

Conclusion

So when you get an idea for an NFT project, before you begin your research, talk and get the right people involved, look out and avoid making the same mistake other projects made.

As-sayyidul Arafat is a Strategic Growth Marketer who is passionate about growth. He scales up business through awareness and retention.

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TECHDIGEST – The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT), in line with its mandate, has rolled out some advisories in the first few weeks of the year 2023 as cyber threat actors continue to devise means of compromising their targets.

The latest of such advisories urged users to be mindful after attackers use Microsoft OneNote attachments in phishing emails that infect victims with remote access malware, which may allow hackers to remotely access vital information on victims’ devices.

The Team advised users not open files from people they do not know, not to click ‘OK’ and immediately exit the application if they receive a warning that opening an attachment or link can damage their computer or files and to promptly share an unknown email they believe to be genuine with a security or Windows administrator to assist in determining whether the file is secure.

It had recently advised people not to open attachments in suspicious emails and to only purchase or download applications from official websites in response to the discovery of phishing malware that can gain unauthorized access to sensitive user data and download further malware.

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The team reported that cybersecurity analysts at ASEC (South Korea’s cybersecurity emergency response centre), discovered a NetSupport RAT malware being distributed by threat actors from a phishing website disguised as a popular Pokemon card game.

The malware is a remote access tool that easily controls its victims’ Personal Computers and may allow the attackers to remotely control the compromised computer’s mouse and keyboard, access the system’s file management and history and even execute commands allowing them to install additional malware.

According to the researcher, the CRAFTED website that spread the malware is still online. It claims to be home to a new NFT card game built around the Pokemon franchise, offering users strategic fun together with NFT investment profits.

In a related advisory, following the discovery of several phishing apps on the Google Play Store, NCC-CSIRT had also advised users not to give out sensitive information through untrusted platforms.

NCC-CSIRT’s advisory on the discovery said the apps, which have been downloaded 450, 000 times in total, can be games or investment services, but that they are designed to steal sensitive user information.

While some of the malicious apps have been removed, others are still active on the store, with the affected apps listed as Golden Hunt, Reflector, Seven Golden Wolf Blackjack, Unlimited Score, Big Decisions, Jewel Sea, Lux Fruits Game, Lucky Clover, King Blitz, and Lucky Hammer.

According to the advisory, after installing and opening the app, it will contact a remote server which will reply with instructions on what to do. These instructions typically include phishing pages that will be displayed to unsuspecting users to collect their sensitive information.

Meanwhile, NCC-CSIRT also advised users to update their Galaxy App Store following the discovery of multiple vulnerabilities in the Samsung Galaxy App Store Application can lead to unwanted app installations and code execution. It disclosed that Ken Gannon, a cybersecurity researcher from NCC Group, discovered the vulnerabilities in the Galaxy App Store application on Samsung devices that are running Android 12 and older.

The CSIRT is the telecom sector’s cyber security incidence center set up by the NCC to focus on incidents in the telecom sector and as they may affect telecom consumers and citizens at large.

The CSIRT also works collaboratively with ngCERT, established by the Federal Government to reduce the volume of future computer risk incidents by preparing, protecting, and securing Nigerian cyberspace to forestall attacks, and problems or related events.

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