Category: e-Business

IMO State government has launched the Connect Imo Project aimed at ensuring quality broadband coverage and extension of telecommunications services to villages, communities and towns in the state.

Making this known at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Stakeholders’ Engagement meeting in Owerri, the state capital, the Commissioner for Digital Economy and e-Government, Dr. Chimeizie Amadi, said the step would bolster quality service delivery, economic property and good governance.

“The administration is collaborating with some telecommunication companies and service providers to deepen broadband penetration in unserved and underserved areas with weak or no telecommunication/Internet coverage in the state.”

As part of the aggressive drive for broadband penetration Amadi, who represented Governor Hope Uzodimma on the occasion said the governor has signed an Executive Order No 002, 2020 significantly reducing Right of Way (RoW) charge in the state from N4, 500 to N145 per metre in tandem with the Federal Government harmonisation policy.

“This is in bid to create a friendly business environment that will drive broadband penetration, spur tech driven investment, job and wealth creation in the state,” he said.

He added that the state government has created a one-stop-shop for issuance of RoW to pave the way for a dig-once policy.

the establishment of regional IT hubs in the state.

NITDA Director-General/CEO, Kashifu Abdulahi said the agency has implemented some people-oriented programmes such as the National Adopted School for Smart Education (NASSE), National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA), Digital Literacy Capacity Training for Persons Loving with Disabilities, support for ICT Innovations hubs, development state IT policies, among others.

However, he said there was the need to restrategise in the face of new challenges and opportunities that the Digital Economy ecosystem affords. “Therefore, the NITDA strategic roadmap and action plan (SRAP), 2021-2024 has been conceived to provide direction for the organisation and a sound platform for mitigating the foreseen and unforeseen threats to the Digital Economy ecosystem.

“In keeping with our value of innovativeness, we have constantly rethought our ideas, systems, and processes and have been wary of providing old answers to new problems.

“We, therefore, hope that the whole programme of stakeholder engagement across the country will provide fresh understandings and ideas on how we can deliver more impactful value to Nigerians.”

Abdulahi, who was represented at the event by NITDA Zonal Director Babajide Ajayi, said during the 21-year journey, NITDA had to look at its mandate, reset its vision and invigorate its mission.

“We have moved from being a highly centralised organisation to a functionally decentralised institution. Our aspiration is to be an organisation closer to the stakeholders.

“We are also increasingly becoming a process-driven, data-dependent and results-oriented organisation. Our strategies and choices are pursued while always ensuring financial prudence-even in the most turbulent times and ensuring that we meet the objectives of a national IT Governance, foremost of which is delivering value to our stakeholders.”

For the President, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, software is eating the world economy.

“We are working with software to get young people key into this new world. He said that more and more major businesses and industries are being run on software and delivered as online services – from movies to agriculture to national defence. Many of the winners are Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurial technology companies that are invading and overturning established industry structures.

“Over the next 10 years, I expect many more industries to be disrupted by software, with new world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing the disruption in more cases than not.

“We have the responsibility to bring transformative change to our young people to invest in them and if we fail, we have failed the future generation,” he said adding that with proper regulation, Nigeria can grow its economy to world standard through software development programs.

In his presentation entitled: “Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan: NITDA in focus and Digital Governance in the 21st Century: Imperatives of Standards and Guidelines in ICT Policy Implementation,” the Acting Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy Department, Dr. Aristotle Onumo, said the inflation rate at 20.77 per cent and unemployment rate at 33.3 per cent all high could only be brought down through digital innovations. “It is not going to get better soon, only digital innovation can get us out of our woes,” he said.

According to him, by 2030, the population of global human talent shortage will be more than 85 million people or roughly equivalent to the population of Germany. “This talent shortage could lock in about $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual revenues,” he said.

He said the way to key into this and tap the revenue is through digital commerce where according to him the sector had already provided about 87 platforms, which had employed about N2.9 million people in the country.

At the end of the programme, stakeholders resolved, among other things, the urgent need to create more awareness and publicity of NITDA programmes to encourage massive participation to gain tradition and visibility of NITDA activities.

Training for the finalists of the recently launched MTN Blow My Hustle initiative has commenced. The top 100 entrepreneurs with the most convincing business ideas were selected from the Photography, Edtech, Agriculture, Health, and Technology sectors. These virtual training are from industry professionals with wealth of experience in their various fields and are worth N28 million.

In the past week, the participants who have undergone training in Digital Marketing and Financial Management for MSMEs have been equipped with the technical know-how and relatable models for business growth that they can implement in their businesses going forward.  Digital skills are essential for life, and are the backbone of SMEs; the significance of financial literacy and management as a business owner in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised either.

In the coming days, course modules on sustainable business strategies, website development, business legal obligations, personal branding strategies and elevator pitches will also be explored; providing proper insights for thriving businesses.

According to the SME skills reports, digital immaturity and financial constraints are the third and fourth challenges faced by SMEs, while mismatched training and poor access to guidance are the first and second. To ensure seamless connectivity for the finalists, MTN provides each participant free daily data allocation to access the training.

After the sessions, the participants will still have access to mentoring, even if they don’t meet the top 20 finalists. From a holistic perspective, MTN Nigeria is committed to empowering youths with grants and the capacity building needed to achieve goals and thrive.

Experts say the speed of technology evolution is faster than that of law. This is more so as the world is daily inundated with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, edutech, nanotech, biotech, robotics, and fintechs that challenge the status quo. LUCAS AJANAKU writes on the need to deepen the regulator’s collaboration and partnership with the judiciary.

MODERN governments sit on a tripod stand of the executive, legislature and judiciary. Though independent and act as checks and balances on one another, they are united by the overarching goal of ensuring good governance and preservation of the fundamental human rights of the citizens.

Though the judiciary has demonstrated courage so far in serving justice in matters that had to do with emerging technology, more still needed to be done in the area of forensic digital evidence.

On October 25, last year, there was a landmark ruling by an Abuja Federal High Court that overturned an interim order which directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to unfreeze the bank accounts of a Nigerian financial technology (fintech) platform Risevest. In August, the CBN had secured a court order to freeze the bank accounts of fintech firms, Risevest, Bamboo, Trove and Chaka, for six months because they were involved in speculative activities that contributed to making the naira weaker to the United States dollar.

The presiding judge, Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo, in his judgment held that the CBN could not rely on a mere circular to freeze the bank accounts of a company using its accounts to trade in cryptocurrency.

“Being unknown to law, circulars cannot create an offence because it was not shown to have been issued under an order, Act, Law or Statute,” the judge said.

This Risevest win had come a month after the Federal High Court gave a similar order that the bank account of fintech stock trading app, Bamboo, be unfrozen.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it is committed to preparing the judiciary for the avalanche of litigations that will definitely arise from the deployment and use of these emerging technologies.

This commitment seems to be in sync with the Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) 2020-2025 of the Commission which had a five-Point Agenda, especially the last pillar, which is Facilitating Strategic Collaboration and Partnership to deepen the ICT sector for more opportunities.

Acting Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy Department, National Information Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Aristotle Onumo, said the inflation rate at 20.77 per cent and unemployment rate at 33.3 per cent all high could only be brought down through digital innovations. “It is not going to get well soon, only digital innovation can get us out of our woes,” he said.

According to him, by 2030, the population of global human talent shortage will be more than 85 million or equivalent to that of Germany. “This talent shortage could lock in about $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual revenue,” he said.

Pursuant to collaboration, the Commission assembled the leadership of the judiciary for 18th workshop for judges in Lagos to enable them to be part of Information Communications Technology (ICT) trends, whose impact has affected global justice dispensation.

With the theme: “The Digital World and the Future of Adjudication,” judges from the federal and state high courts, and appeal courts attended the workshop.

Chairman, NCC Board, Prof. Adeolu Akande, urged the senior members of the bench to make greater contributions towards ICT development.

He said the judiciary remained the bedrock for any civilised society, adding that there was need to equip judicial officers with the requisite skills for effective adjudication, especially in the digitised world, where the rate of technology development is fast ahead of laws.

“The increased reliance on telecommunications, as well as the growth experienced in the sector, has introduced some issues of legal connotation which will be deliberated upon by various experts during this workshop. One of such issues is the ownership of online content and materials.

“So, it is envisaged that with the increase in the amount of online content, as well as the economic value attached to it, there will be a rise in conflicts as to ownership of online content and materials.

“It is necessary that your lordships are well prepared for the imminent increase in litigation in this area. Furthermore, with an increase in the number of transactions and businesses taking place in the online space, it is also expedient for your lordships to be exposed to the peculiarities of adjudicating conflicts in this era of digital presence and online identity,” he said.

He stated that the Commission conceived the idea of the forum, as part of its strategic partnership and collaboration, as a forum to further build the capacity of the distinguished judges with insights on these emerging issues in telecommunications.

“Hopefully, this workshop will illuminate these challenges and proffer ways to meet the dynamics of the changing times. I, therefore, enjoin you to freely make contributions and raise issues that would assist the commission in coming up with adequate regulatory measures that would enhance development in the communications sector of the economy. We assure you that every view expressed would be respected and considered in this regard,” he said.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, commended the Commission for the annual forum and restated the commitment of the judiciary to use technology for justice dispensation as well as support a more robust legal ecosystem for sustaining socio-economic growth through telecoms sector.

Represented by Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the CJN said through the use of ICT, the judiciary has improved, not just in judicial administration and services, but also in infrastructural development.

Ariwoola said regardless of the benefits of digitalization, there are bound to be liabilities and risks involved with its introduction and usage. He highlighted such risks as cybercrime, data piracy, and hacking, among several others.

“Our judicial system has been challenged with delays in dispensing justice. However, with the introduction of ICT into the judicial space, many of the difficulties associated with the conventional methods are gradually being dispensed with,” he said.

Justice Ariwoola said the path to effective and efficient justice delivery lies in the collective ability to continuously improve the nation’s justice sector with the use of ICT tools.

“The judiciary is committed to achieving lasting structural and ethical reforms that would reposition it to adequately meet the aspirations of court users and the public for the reliable, effective and efficient administration of justice through the use of ICT,” he said.

Danbatta said the new Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) 2020-2025 embodied several innovative elements deliberately designed to re-invent and transform the telecom ecosystem within the context of regulation.

“We have taken cognizance of the several notable advancements in the Nigerian telecommunications industry within the last five years, as well as the current global realities such as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Strategic Plan (2020 – 2023), the Commission’s Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 for a digital Nigeria, the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government.

“Thus, the new plan has been guided by and aligned to the NNBP (2020-2025), the NDEPS (2020-2030), the SMP (2020-2024), the ITU Strategic Plan and the ERGP of the Federal Government,” he said.

He said the new SVP 2021-2025 has five items namely: Organisational Renewal for Operational Efficiency and Regulatory Excellence; Facilitating the Provision of Infrastructure for a Digital Economy which fosters National Development; Promoting Fair Competition, Inclusive Growth, Increased investment and Innovative Services; Improve Quality of Service (QoS) for Enhanced Consumer Quality of Experience (QoE); and Facilitating Strategic Collaboration and Partnership.

He pointed out that to ensure strong commitment to its implementation, the new SVP also has inbuilt initiatives, key performance indicators developed from inception and activities tied to an implementation responsibility matrix.

“It also incorporates timelines and a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism. It is equally outcome-based and recommendation-driven with follow-up actions to guide the Commission in operationalising the plan and assessing its performance over time,” he said.

Though the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has scored itself high in its determination to deepen financial inclusion across the country through various policies, there is a need for the financial services sector regulator to do more if its new 95 per cent target will not remain mere wishful thinking. LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

The atmosphere was serene while the audience listened with rapt attention. Clutching the microphone to deliver the keynote, Mrs Aishah Ahmad, Deputy Governor the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the financial inclusion drive of the apex bank has significantly improved as the country has achieved 64 per cent of the vision.

She said: “While financial inclusion continues to improve, Nigeria is currently at 64 per cent. The CBN has set additional target and that is to achieve 95 percent by 2024.

“Financial technology and digital banking are increasingly disrupting traditional banking and opening innovative avenues of distributing and delivering financial services.”

At a forum, the 2022 International Financial Inclusion Conference organised by the CBN and its partners within the financial inclusion governance committees with “Financial Inclusion for all: Scaling Innovative Digital Models” as theme  with over 5000 participants from at least 78 countries around the world, the issue of how to deepen the financial inclusion was clinically dissected.

New policy drivers

Launched during the forum were seven key policies and products that would enable the achievement of 95 per cent Financial Inclusion in Nigeria by 2024 such as the revised National Financial Inclusion Strategy (3.0), the Strategy for Leveraging Agent Networks for Women’s Financial Inclusion, the National Fintech Strategy, the Payment System Vision (PSV) 2025, the Nigeria Financial Services Maps, the CBN Regulatory Sandbox and a Fintech Bridge between the CBN and the Central Bank of Egypt.

CBN Governor, Godwin Mr. Emefiele who chairs the National Financial Inclusion Steering Committee pointed to CBN’s long-standing effort to achieve the financial inclusion targets through creating enabling environments and providing support.

He said: “From 2012 to date, over 59 policies and initiatives have been implemented by stakeholders to achieve the objectives of financial inclusion. These policies and initiatives cut across the banking sector, the insurance sector, the capital market sector and the institutions responsible for infrastructural development for financial inclusion in Nigeria. We have prioritised financial inclusion through our invention for over four million smallholder farmers and SMEs creating over two million jobs. By the end of 2024, we aim to be at 95 per cent rate of financial inclusion in Nigeria”.

Mrs. Ahmad said the conference was held at a critical time in Nigeria’s Financial Inclusion journey. “Nigeria is indeed at an important tipping point for financial inclusion. At no time has there been a prevalence of an enabling regulatory environment, proliferation of digital technology, innovation and collaborative platforms between the public and private sector – all strategic levers required to scale financial inclusion in Nigeria.”

She also stressed the role of policymaking in advancing Financial Inclusion in Nigeria during plenary.

United Nations Secretary-General Special Advocate (UNSGSA) on Inclusive Finance, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, in keynote, highlighted the role to be played by the new National Financial Inclusion Strategy in providing a genuine chance for improving livelihoods, such as strategies leveraging the National Insurance Number, Bank Verification Number (BVN) among other policies.

The conference featured nine plenary sessions including Scaling Digital Models for the Last Mile, Catalysing Global Partnerships for Financial Inclusion, Country Experiences, Expert Dialogue on Women’s Financial Inclusion, Fostering Partnerships for Inclusive growth amongst others. Four breakout sessions focused on Digital Infrastructure, Data Privacy & Consumer Protection, Deepening Digital Financial Services and Strategies for reaching Youth & Rural Areas. Speakers cut across global policy makers and business leaders including Dr Alfred Hannig, Executive Director AFI, Ambassador Chad Blackman, Special Adviser to the DG ILO, Mrs Elsie Addo- Awadzi, Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana, Mr Folashodun Shonubi,  Deputy Governor Operations, CBN, Mr Herbert Wigwe, Managing Director, Access Corporation and Professor Olayinka David-West of Lagos Business School, and others.

Managing digital payment risks

To manage risks involved in digital payment, Mrs. Ahmad had called for enabling competition in the Fintech sector so as to facilitate digital financial services more.

‘Therefore, policy direction focus will further innovation through investment, licensing new participants while clarifying and refining the regulatory frameworks in other to identify, calibrate and manage the emerging risks by increasing strength building in the financial system

“Studies show that Nigeria regulatory landscape of the payment system is well developed, more work however must be done in implementing these regulatory frameworks particularly establishing full engagements.

“This is absolutely required to harness the benefits of digital financial services while addressing the risks posed by leveraging new technology and business delivery,” she said, adding that payment system transformation will play a key role in meeting aspiration a wide spectrum of stakeholders in the financial system mechanism and customers will enjoy more efficient services at more favourable prices.

Among the dignitaries in attendance were President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Mohammad Musa Bello,  Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha; the Minister for Communication and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami; the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen; the Minister for Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, and former Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi,.

Also in attendance were financial sector regulators such as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Femi Lijadu; Managing Director of the NDIC, Mr Hassan Bello; the Commissioner of NAICOM, Mr Sunday Thomas; Board Members of the CBN, and the Chief Executive Officer of Brittania-U Nigeria Limited, Mr. Uju Ifejika, amongst others.

The IFIC 2022 conference agenda included the first Financial Inclusion Awards Dinner with ‘Celebrating Champions of Inclusion’ as them. Nine deserving institutions and one individual were recognized for their contributions to advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria through a rigorous nomination and selection process supervised by PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC). The winners included Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFINA) who won the Financial Inclusion Innovation Award and Access Bank and Jaiz Bank who won the national women’s financial inclusion award and the inclusive bank of the year award respectively. TeamApt, Remita,  Interswitch, E transact, Lapo MfB and Ms Modupe Ladipo also took away awards.

The conference also showcased 20 fintech and start-up companies at its Innovation Labs exhibition focusing on various solutions targeted at facilitating payments, digitizing informal financial services platforms and bridging the financial inclusion gap.

Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM), ASUS, has said Nigeria remained central to its operation in Africa.

Its Head, PC Business, System Business Group, English Speaking Africa, Simplice Zaongo, who spoke on the side of the ASUS Intel Performance Day at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge, on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, said Nigeria remained at the centre of ASUS operation because of its huge market, the tech hubs in the country and amazing tech-savvy youth population.

Zaongo said the company has continued to help develop the local digital skills manpower of the country by training locals who in turn become engineers to fix faulty products at the various service centres across the country. He said after sales service remained central to the operation of the company.

Also speaking, ASUS East EMEA General Manager, Jeff Lo, said the company is well prepared for the future. According to him, ASUS is very motivated. “We are well prepared for the future. We know our jobs and are prepared to innovate,” he said.

He highlighted the fact that its 2022 line up of Zenbook and Vivobook thin-and-light laptops now offers more high-performance EVO models than ever, thanks to brilliant engineering and the outstanding characteristics of the latest 12th Generation Intel H-Series CPUs, with their thermal design power specifications (TDP) of up to 45 watts. With these innovations, even affordable everyday laptops such as Vivobook 14X/15X OLED (X1403/1503) now deliver significantly more performance than was possible in previous generations.

He said: “The innovations that ASUS engineers have implemented in our latest laptops, working together with our partners from Intel, has enabled us to deliver these incredible products for 2022. Their work on cooling technologies and chassis craftsmanship is a very important but challenging task. Sometimes the improvements are invisible to customers, but they help us deliver amazing performance while keeping our laptops compact and light, which is exactly what customers are expecting from their next laptop.”

According to him, the extra performance on tap from these powerful CPUs — up to 2.5X faster than the previous generation of ASUS laptops — means that users can enjoy enhanced productivity, creativity, gaming and entertainment, in laptops that are no larger than their predecessors.

He said the preference of users for thin and light laptops is increasing year by year, and solving the problem of how to improve performance levels without increasing size is a big engineering challenge. The 2022 ASUS consumer laptop portfolio uses innovative solutions to achieve these goals, including ultra-efficient and quiet cooling systems such as ASUS IceCool, AAS Ultra and 3D vapor chambers; AI-enhanced software; and precision craftsmanship. Moreover, the superb power efficiency of the 12th Gen Intel Core processors means that users can enjoy all these performance benefits while still enjoying an extended battery life that’s comparable to existing models.

The latest 12th Gen Intel Core processors deliver more performance with better power savings than ever before, thanks to their hybrid design with its mix of high-performance cores and power-efficient cores. These cores share computing tasks intelligently to improve gaming, streaming and multitasking performance, and their power efficiency makes them ideal for delivering high performance in the thin-and-light form factor that users increasingly prefer.

A powerful laptop, he said, offers longer-term benefits to users, too. The typical lifespan of a consumer laptop can be anything up to seven years, and as operating systems and software evolves to become more demanding, users need a laptop that has plenty of power in reserve. With a TDP of up to 45 W — up to 3X more than older generation laptop CPUs — the H-Series CPUs offer plenty of future-proofed horsepower.

“To achieve maximum CPU performance in a thin-and-light laptop, it’s vital that the CPU is kept cool, and this is where slim designs can fail to deliver. The latest ASUS Zenbook and Vivobook laptops feature upgraded cooling technology, including new ASUS IceBlade fan designs, dual heat pipes, improved multi-vent airflow control, and — in the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED and Zenbook Duo 14X OLED models — a 3D vapor chamber and the innovative Active Aerodynamic System Ultra (AAS Ultra) mechanism.

“The 3D vapor chamber is an ASUS innovation that curves the vapor chamber to achieve a better fit with the motherboard components than a standard flat vapor chamber. AAS Ultra raises the rear of either the keyboard or the secondary touchscreen to increase airflow out of the chassis by up to 30 per cent.

“Thanks to these cooling innovations, ASUS engineers can use top-of-the line components such as the Intel Core i9 CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU into very slim laptops without having to worry about heat dissipation,” Lo explained.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, will on November 24, 2022, in Abuja, preside over the commencement of landmark broadband initiatives to be implemented by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to accelerate broadband penetration in Nigeria and advance the course of digital economy projections for the nation.

The event will witness the award of contracts for the provision of broadband infrastructure for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), as well as for tertiary and higher institutions of learning across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Pantami is also billed to present a book, SKILLS RATHER THAN JUST DEGREES, authored by him, with a foreword written by Brad Smith, President, Microsoft Corporation.

The list of projects for the various geopolitical zones that are set for launch were recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), after presentation by the Minister. The projects are expected to be completed within six months, from the date of the award.

Well-known tech companies have been selected through a transparent tendering process by the NCC for the implementation of the strategic projects.

The event is expected to attract multi-stakeholders from the academia, technology enthusiasts, including prospective start-up companies, fintech organisations and other interested sectors, whose activities are billed to energize the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030.

The provision of broadband infrastructure for the MSMEs in Nigeria, and for tertiary institutions across the six geopolitical zones of the country will add the necessary fillip towards achieving the major objectives spelt out in the NDEPS 2020-2030.

The Lagos Digital Summit, a gathering of digital communication adopters, professionals and enthusiasts for the accelerated development of their businesses and the attainment of consistent value-add to various sectors and spheres of existence in Nigeria, is set to return for its 6th edition.

Organised by Mustardels Media and Expoze Nigeria, the summit, has “Scaling Businesses leveraging Digital Technology”, is set to hold on Friday, 25th November 2022 at The Zone Tech Park, Gbagada Lagos by 10 amand will focus on the use of digital technology to increase sales or revenue in a fast-evolving digital world.

The event will feature a keynote address by Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of Big Cabal Media as well as panel sessions featuring Nkem Onwudiwe, Founder, Her Network; Tunde Onakoya, Convener, Chess in Slums; Samuel Sokale, Head of Strategy and Marketing, Majeurs Chesterfield; Onyedikachim Nwankwo, Head of Product Marketing, Flutterwave; Sherif Lanre Akinpelu, Deputy Director, Strategy and Planning at SPV Communication; Adebayo Jacobs-Amoo, Founder, MyLibri Books; Muyiwa Aleshinloye, Director, Digital and Media at Publicis Groupe; Dotun Oloyede, Managing Director, Rolad Properties; Seun Adeola, Growth Operation Lead, Shara Nigeria; and Chiderah Monde, Curation Desk Lead, Twitter.

Over 1,000 attendees are expected to attend the event which boasts of a keynote address, two-panel sessions and one fireside chat.

Summit Convener, Adewale Adetona expressed delight about the conference.

“We are excited to bring back the Summit this year and it’s expected to be the biggest yet.  We are motivated by the zeal to see entrepreneurs, tech and media enthusiasts take advantage of digital technology to scale their businesses.

“The use of digital technology cannot be overemphasised and we look forward to welcoming everybody as we are set to make their attendance worthwhile through engaging discussions, valuable insights and transformative ideas that would emerge from the summit, ” he said.

With two business-focused panel sessions on the importance, effect and effective use of digital technology in scaling businesses for economic development, Lagos Digital Summit 2022 promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn firsthand from experts in the industry.

The Lagos Digital Summit 2022 is FREE to attend and supported by Rolad Properties, MyLibri Books, Amber Drinks, Publicity House Africa, and Brand Communicator.

Regardless of the scale of the business, cyber crooks remain undaunted, looking at potential preys to fleece. Lucas Ajanaku writes on how small businesses can mitigate losses to cyber thieves.

The statistics are worrisome. At least, one in four companies globally have suffered a data breach that cost them $1 – 20 million or more in the past three years

Four in five organisations state that a comparable and consistent format for mandatory disclosure of cyber incidents is necessary.

One in four companies (27per cent) globally have suffered a data breach that cost them between $1million and $20 million or more in the past three years, according to PwC’s annual Global Digital Trust Insights Survey, which surveyed more than 3,500 senior executives across 65 countries.

Figures  from Kaspersky shows that cyberattacks on SMEs have increased by 89 per cent this year. Perhaps more damning is the report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  that Nigeria has lost $500 million.

Worried by this trend, MTN Nigeria, at the weekend, hosted SME owners to a cybersecurity awareness event in Lagos.

Delivering his keynote, co-founder of DigitalEncode and Chief Visionary Officer at DigitalEncode, Dr. Peter Adewale,

gave insights on the importance of cybersecurity and best practices in cybersecurity.

He said: “There is no better time to talk about cybersecurity than now because we live in a digital world, and the reality is that COVID-19 has accelerated the usage of technology for everyone. Events like these are necessary because we need to create situational awareness about the risks of cyberattacks. It is important to build capacity and train people because people are an essential part of cybersecurity, and you can’t go wrong when you train people.”

The reality is that small businesses in Nigeria need to be better informed about the dangers and threats they face because they are often the target of these attacks, as they often lack the resources to invest in a cybersecurity team.

Speaking at the event, Nkiruka Joy Aimienoho, Associate Director, Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Resilience, PwC, said: “It is important that SMEs start to take cybersecurity seriously; they must imbibe this culture because cyber-attacks can happen to anyone. Events like this are important because they raise awareness and remind people that they must be cyber-aware.”

The event had as theme “Building a Cybersecurity Intelligent Quotient”.

MTN’ said it is its commitment

to sensitizing SME owners and the general public on the dangers of cyber-attacks and how to mitigate such attacks.

Also speaking on the occasion, Senior Manager, Information Security,  MTN Nigeria, Anietie Jude, said: “We are delighted to be hosting this event because we want to improve the safety of Nigerian lives and businesses, cyber security is everyone’s business  and we need to ensure everyone is cybersmart.”

According to report, the percentage of cyberfleecing rises to one in three (34per cent) for companies surveyed in North America, with only 14per cent of firms globally reporting that no data breaches have occurred during the period.

Despite cyber attacks continuing to cost businesses millions of dollars, fewer than 40per ceny of executives surveyed say they have fully mitigated cybersecurity risk exposure in a number of critical areas.

This includes, enabling remote and hybrid work (38per cent say the cyber risk is fully mitigated); accelerated cloud adoption (35per cent); increased use of internet of things (34per cent); increased digitisation of supply chain (32per cent) and back office operations (31per cent).

For operations-focused executives surveyed, cybersecurity of the supply chain is a major concern.  Nine in ten expressed concern about their organization’s ability to withstand a cyber attack that disrupts their supply chain, with 56per cent extremely or very concerned.

Mandatory disclosure of cyber incidents is favored.

Four in five organisations (79 per cent) surveyed state that a comparable and consistent format for mandatory disclosure of cyber incidents is necessary to gain stakeholder confidence and trust. Three-quarters (76 per cent) agree that increased reporting to investors will be a net benefit to the organisation and entire ecosystem.  Further, the same percentage agree that governments should be expected to use the knowledge base from mandatory cyber attack disclosures to develop cyber defence techniques for the private sector.

While there is a clear preference for mandatory disclosure of cyber incidents, fewer than half (42 per cent) of executives surveyed are fully confident their organization can provide required information ance Services Leader, PwC Nigeria said: “Data breaches are a pervasive threat in today’s digital world. As cyber threats continue to increase in frequency and sophistication, a holistic approach to cybersecurity has become a top priority for C-suites and boards. Companies are strengthening their cyber defenses and regulators are applying pressure to improve cyber resilience and build public trust. It’s clear from our survey that a higher level of public-private collaboration is needed to address the increasingly complex cyber threat landscape  – companies are calling for increased information sharing and transparency as well as a consistent format for mandatory disclosure of cyber incidents.

Most organizations are increasing cyber budgets.

The majority of executives surveyed said their organizations are continuing to increase their cyber budgets – 69% said the budget increased in 2022 and 65% plan to spend more on cyber in 2023.  Increasing budgets reflect the fact that cybersecurity tops the agenda for resilience planning.  According to the survey, a catastrophic cyber attack ranks higher than global recession or another health crisis for organizations’ resilience planning.

Concern with cyber extends to the top of organizations.  Most CEOs surveyed are planning to ramp up action to address cybersecurity in the coming year – 52% said they will drive major initiatives to improve their organisation’s cyber posture.  Many CFOs surveyed are also planning to increase  their cyber focus, including cyber technology solutions (39%), focus on strategy and coordination with engineering/operations (37%) and upskilling and hiring of cyber talent (36%)

It’s not hard to see why cyber continues to move up the corporate agenda. The cost of cyber breaches goes much further than direct financial costs, according to marketing-oriented execs surveyed. The range of harm organizations have experienced due to a cyber breach or data privacy incident over the past 3 years include loss of customers (cited by 27%), loss of customer data (25%) and reputational or brand damage (23%)

Femi Osinubi concluded: “Despite all the progress that organizations have made in improving their cybersecurity programs, our survey shows there is a lot more to do. There are three things that need to be put in place to keep pace with digital transformation and help build public trust: a strategic risk management program, continuity and contingency planning, and clear, consistent external reporting.

Amazon Ring has appointed Ashour Corporation FZE, a Dubai-based company with majority stake by Nigerian-born tech billionaire and Forbes Best of Africa Leading Tech Icon, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, as authorised distributor of Amazon Bell products in West Africa.

The agreement was signed last week between the top management of Amazon Ring LLC and  Ashour Corporation FZE, Dubai.

Ring LLC is a home security and smart home company owned by Amazon. The company manufactures home security products that incorporate outdoor surveillance cameras, including Ring video doorbell, smart doorbell and smart cameras. Ring LLC also provides video footage from its cameras and data from its Neighbours App to law enforcement agencies on request. These simple to install and cost friendly security products are global number one products for homes and offices, with little or no maintenance cost and come with additional warranty.

Ashour Corporation FZE, Dubai was incorporated in 2004. The company has been involved in the deployment of major satellite projects in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Libya, Iraq, Pakistan, Africa, etc and biggest partner of iDIRECT USA in UAE and major partners of TerraSat, Norsat, Misshinbo, Actox and Jubiter Microwave, among others.

VP Business Development, Middle East and Africa, Ring LLC, Mr. Mohammad Hoda, who  confirmed this development, said the company was excited to sign a partnership with Ashour Corporation and by extension, TD Africa, because they have the right credentials for Amazon’s standard.

‘‘We are really excited to partner with a company with global reach to deliver genuine products into the West African countries at this time of global security challenges. Ashour Corporation will work with TD Africa to develop our products in Nigeria and other countries in Africa. It is also into ICT products distribution and services. We shall be launching in Nigeria, Ghana and other countries very soon through Ashour.

Despite its ban by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adoption of crypto has been phenomenal in the country. It is projected that by 2030, its adoption could reach 100 per cent. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that in a cash-strapped economy such as Nigeria’s, the government should take another look at the blanket ban on crypto.

Millions of investors have been drawn to cryptocurrency by the prospect of rising prices. To this end, a growing number of young global investors see cryptocurrency as a viable alternative to gold, the world’s oldest safe-haven asset. A recent CNBC Millionaire Survey indicated that 83 per cent of millennial millionaires held cryptocurrency.

Currently, there are around 20,000 cryptocurrencies offered with over 300 million users globally. 48 million of these users are from the African Continent. Crypto’s potential to bridge the economic divide, serving personal and entrepreneurial demands such as remittance, e-commerce, payments, wealth preservation, and social good, is a significant reason for its growing popularity in Africa.

Despite this, African countries have taken a significantly different stance toward cryptocurrency than most other governments around the world. Nigeria and Kenya are two countries in this region that have decided to prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies or have issued warnings and in some instances outright bans to their banking systems about the risks associated with using them. Yet, Nigeria’s enthusiasm knows no bounds, and it is anticipated that the country could reach a rate of 100 per cent adoption by the year 2030. Other countries such as South Africa are simultaneously supporting the exchange of digital assets.

Cryptocurrency regulation has grown in popularity over the years. Globally, 33 countries regulated cryptocurrency in 2018. As of 2021, this number had risen dramatically to 103 nations.

Ban or iron-clad regulation?

According to the Head of Compliance for Africa, at Luno, Johan Hetzel, there are three crucial measures that authorities should consider before implementing stricter or blanket legislation on the industry.

Regulatory framework

According to Hetzel, through virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs), there has been an inflow of $105.6 billion into Africa, the world’s smallest crypto economy, from 2020 to 2021. This suggests that VASPs could prove beneficial to the economies that permit them. “When we look at how countries regulate VAs and VASPs globally, trends show five factors that are considered in this process,” he said. These, according to him,  include the legal status and environment of VAs and VASPs in a country. That is, are there any legal restrictions that apply to the use and operation of VAs and VASPs?

Another is the regulatory framework within a country. That is, what are the rules that apply to the VA and VASP industry and how this is regulated?

Registration and licensing requirements within a country; market surveillance, anti-market manipulation frameworks in place; and anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter proliferation financing (AML, CTF and CPF) requirements that are applicable to the industry as well as the focus on consumer protection.

That is customer due diligence (CDD / KYC) requirements, monitoring customer transactions and behaviour, screening, marketing and advertising requirements and associated controls.

Regulatory frameworks developed on the back of these factors prove to be more beneficial to the local market and encourage partnerships between the VASPs, financial institutions and regulators, whilst promoting the innovation that the VA and VASP industry presents.