Zenith Bank’s Tech Fair 2023 props up nee tech talents with cash prizes

The Third Edition of the Zenith Bank Tech Fair, themed “Future Forward 3.0”, which was held on November 23-24, 2023, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos has concluded. From the over 500 contestants that participated in the Zenith Hackathon (Zecathon), Sync, a team collaboration and workflow management platform that provides synergy, enables project management, task planning, messaging, payments, scheduling and people operations, emerged as the overall winner, taking home the grand prize of N20 million. This is in addition to a mentorship programme with…

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Tinubu replaces NCC, NIPOST, NIGCOMSAT’s bosses, reappoints NITDA, NTPC bosses

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday sacked the Chief Executive Officers of three agencies under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovations, and Digital Economy with immediate effect. The affected CEOs include the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta; the Nigerian Postal Service’s Sunday Adepoju; and Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited’s Tukur Funtua. The President made this known through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints new leadership across the communications, innovation, and digital economy sectors.’ He listed the new CEOs as Aminu…

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Musk rolls out new AI company to rival ChatGPT

ChatGPT now has a new formidable competitor as inventor, Elon Musk has finally rolled out a new AI company called xAI. “The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe,’ Musk stated on the company website. Musk, who has hinted for months that he wants to build an alternative to the popular ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot, announced the formation of what he’s calling xAI, whose goal is to “understand the true nature of the universe.” On a website, xAI said its team will be led by…

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See new codes as MTN, Glo, Airtel others unify shortcodes

Telecommunications operators in Nigeria have commenced the hamonisation of shortcodes across all networks in response to an order from the Nigeria Communications Commission. The announcement, which was made, in Lagos by the umbrella body, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the hamonisation was pursuant to a regulatory modernisation initiative by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). ALTON Chairman and Head of Operations, Gbenga Adebayo and Gbolahan Awonuga respectively, in a statement, said the harmonisation of shortcodes is aimed at implementing a streamlined process for common shortcodes across…

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Ovia leads IT experts to Zenith Tech fair

The Second Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, themed “Future Forward 2.0”, will be held on Tuesday, November 22 and Wednesday, November 23, 2022, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. daily. Conceived in the mould of global technological events such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and EmTech Asia, the fair will showcase leading technology innovations that cut across different aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence, Computing, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Robotics, Big Data, FinTech, Augmented Reality, Data…

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5G key to Africa’s economic growth -MTN Boss

Ralph Mupita the Chief Executive Officer and President of MTN Group, says 5G holds the key to Africa’s economic growth and development. Mupita said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos. “It is important that we emphasise how using 5G for business-to-business applications and margination would be the catalyst for Africa’s growth. “I think we will find in five years, maybe even sooner, that on the African continent, 5G is what would enable economies to accelerate their industrial development across the…

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Elon Musk seals Twitter deal, sacks CEO, others

Elon Musk took control of Twitter and fired its top executives late Thursday in a deal that puts one of the leading platforms for global discourse in the hands of the world’s richest man. Following the takeover, Musk tweeted that “the bird is freed,” referencing the company’s iconic avian logo. He wasted no time sacking chief executive Parag Agrawal, as well as the company’s chief financial officer and its head of safety, the Washington Post and CNBC reported citing unnamed sources. Agrawal previously went to court to hold the Tesla…

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NASENI ready to partner MEMMCOL on prepaid meters, says EVC Haruna

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is set to partner with MOMAS Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Limited on tackling the metering challenges in Nigeria’s power sector. This consensus was reached when the executive vice chairman of NASENI, Prof. Mohammed Haruna led a delegation to the company’s head office located in Orimerunmu town on Lagos Ibadan expressway, in Ogun State. In his remarks, Haruna said the NASENI was ready and committed to partnering with the company in areas of meter installation, training design, maintenance, amongst others. “It is…

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Why Glo, 9mobile miss out of 5G auction

Globacom and Emerging Markets Telecommunication Service Limited are set to miss out on the deployment of Fifth Generation network for at least two years as the Nigerian Communications Commission qualifies MTN Nigeria Plc, Airtel Networks Limited and one new player for its 5G auction. The NCC announced on Thursday only three qualified bidders met its criteria for the licensing process for the 3.5 gigahertz spectrum which is required for 5G deployment. These three companies paid at least $19.74m each in order to qualify, it was learnt. In a statement, the…

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MEMMCOL trains 600 youths on meter installation, maintenance

Momas Electrical Meters Manufacturing Companies Limited (MEMMCOL) Metering School says it has trained about 600 Nigerian youths on meter installation and maintenance in the last 20 months. Kola Balogun, chairman, MEMMCOL, made this known in an interview with journalists over the weekend in Lagos. Balogun noted that inadequate manpower was one of several factors responsible for the metering gap in Nigeria. He said: “From January 2020 to Aug. 2021, we have trained over 600 candidates from across the country and they have been very useful to the metering process. “We…

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FirstBank boosts Mobile Banking with novel LIT

In furtherance of its commitment to spearhead value-driven mobile and digital banking in Nigeria, First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced the launch of the LIT Application, created to revolutionise the culture and experience of mobile banking in Nigeria.  The state-of-the-art banking app is the first of its kind in the industry, exposing customers to a wealth of opportunities to promote their safety, convenience whilst ensuring they are at an edge in today’s digital banking world. It is a mobile banking app developed and owned by the Bank and configured with…

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FG/Twitter War: Nigeria loses N7.5bn in 3 days

The suspension of Twitter, a leading micro-blogging platform, has begun to take its toll on struggling Nigeria’s economy, leading to a loss of N7.5 billion in the past three days. Nigeria’s decision to suspend Twitter, at first indefinitely but later temporarily, could backfire for the government and cost the country economically in terms of new investment into its technology sector. The ban may threaten Nigeria’s status as one of the best-performing African countries in attracting investment for technology start-up businesses.x According to NetBlocks, a watchdog organisation that monitors cyber-security and…

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NCC demands Nigerians to submit phone identity numbers

The Nigerian Communications Commission has said Nigerians will have to submit the International Mobile Equipment Identity of their phones to it from July. The regulatory body said this in the commission’s Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration. The NCC’s move to start the implementation of the Device Management System (a Centralised Equipment Identity Register) has the backing of the Presidency. A portion of the policy said, “Accordingly, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has directed that the Device Management System should be implemented within three months.” The NCC…

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Africa Fintech Foundry to boost innovation and ‘Techpreneurs’ with 2021 ‘accelerator’ programme

Africa’s foremost innovation hub, the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), has opened up its registration portal for the 2021 Accelerator program. The initiative, which is being executed in partnership with Access Bank Plc, seeks to fast-track the growth of the best start-ups operating within the African technology ecosystem. The ‘Accelerator’ programme will fast track and assist the selected start-ups to navigate issues such as start-up pricing and competitiveness, creating endearing customer experiences, support and retention, hiring and people management, scaling for growth and  product development cycle fundamentals amongst others. Speaking at…

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9mobile emerges 9ja Super Brand for August

The leadership of BrandEscort has nominated  Nigeria’s most customer-focused telecommunications company,  9mobile  as its #9jaSuperBrandOfTheMonth for August. 9mobile was nominated  for launching a campaign that promised to reward 90 lucky customers with N1 million daily. The company  at the launch of the campaign also promised give out smartphones every hour for 90 days and a grand prize of N10 million at the grand finale of the campaign tagged Mega Millions. Chief Executive Officer, 9mobile, Mr. Alan Sinfield, emphasized that the promo was one of the company’s ways of supporting and giving back…

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UBA’s Business Series host Aitel boss

In its continuous attempt to support the growth and sustainability of small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria and Africa, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc will be hosting the UBA Business Series on Tuesday, June 30, 2020. The UBA Business Series, which is held quarterly, is a capacity building initiative where leading business leaders share insights on best business practices on how entrepreneurs can build a sustainable business empire especially in the challenging business environment in Africa. In this edition, which will be held via Microsoft Teams, UBA will…

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9mobile names Sinfield as new CEO

Alan Sinfield has emerged the first substantive Chief Executive Officer  of 9Mobile, since its name was changed from Etisalat. Sinfield succeeds Stephane Beuvelet, who had been in acting capacity since November 2018 after the reshuffling of the company’s management. Let’s look at the pedigree and experience which Sinfield brings to bear in his new position. Alan Sinfield can be considered a hybrid executive, combining experience and expertise from the Telecommunications industry, as well as the banking industry. His banking career started with a management trainee program at Bank of America, where he rose through…

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Even as the dust are yet to settle on 5G, China kick-starts development of 6G technology

China has officially begun the research and development of 6G technology. The news came less than a week after the country rolled out its superfast 5G network.  The country’s Technology Bureau has formally set up a team of experts to work on the next-generation mobile internet connection, state media said today. A total of 37 telecommunication specialists drawn from universities, institutions and corporations are on the panel, which is tasked with laying out the development of 6G and proving the scientific feasibility of it. The country’s Technology Bureau has formally set…

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MEMMCOL to DISCOs: Close 5million metering gap

Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Limited has said there is a need to close the skills gap in the power sector as more than one million meter installers are required for the success of the Meter Asset Providers scheme. The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, MEMMCOL, Engr. Kola Balogun, said this on Tuesday at the graduation of the second batch of trainees from Momas Metering School, located in Mowe, Ogun State. He stressed the need to close the five million metering gap in the country. He said, “We discovered that there are…

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Don’t go there! FG stops MTN’s

The federal government has ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) to suspend the N4 per second imposed by MTN on subscribers to USSD access to banking services charges. The Minister of Communications Dr Ibrahim Ali Pantami gave the directive through a statement by his Media aide Uwa Suleiman on Sunday. The Minister said MTN should stay action on the matter pending when he is properly briefed on it. The statement reads: “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Communications has been drawn to the viral text message allegedly sent by the…

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5 Great things you can do with your Android phone

There’s a whole host of hidden features, in your Android phone, that you may not know about that can make your mobile experience a lot more fun. Android has a wide variety of models, and versions which makes it more difficult to find features that will be consistent across all devices but you could dig into the settings and tweaks available for your Android phone and you’ll find a host of clever features and useful tools. Here are five (5) tricks you could do with your Android phone: Find your…

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The Future Project and Microsoft Nigeria announces call for application for Accelerate the Economy through Youth in Enterprise

The Future Project in collaboration with Microsoft Nigeria today announced the call for application for accelerate the Economy through Youth in Enterprise (Accelerate LABS). Accelerate LABS is the activation of Small and Medium Scale Business Engines to accelerate economic development through enterprise development and technology. Through this intervention, the initiative will equip 2,160 youth across the six geo-political zones in the country to build socially inclined, high profit, and highly competitive enterprise capable of impacting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. “Microsoft, through our YouthSpark initiative seeks to…

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Internet subscribers hits 91.57m in June as Glo, 9mobile users decrease

The number of internet users in Nigeria’s telecommunications networks has increased to 91.6 million in June, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has said. The NCC made this disclosure in its Monthly Internet Subscribers Data for June 2017 on its website on Wednesday in Abuja. According to the data released, internet users increased to 91,598,757 in June as against 91,565,010 users recorded in May 2017, showing an increase of 33,747. The data also showed that the GSM service providers gained 33,747 internet customers after recording 91, 598.757 in June against 91,565,010…

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Breaking: Senate orders NCC to halt planned data tarrif hike

The Senate, Wednesday, ordered the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, to halt immediately, its planned hike in data tariff. The senate which mandated a Committee on Communication to carry out through oversight on the process to ensure that Nigerians are carried along in the process said it must ensure that Nigerians are not short changed by such hike. Describing it as a height of irresponsibility, the Senate which further mandated the Committee on Communications to investigate the allegations of failure of the service providers also said that “” It is very important…

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Interswitch buys over VANSO

Mobile and security focused financial technology provider, Value Added Network Solutions, VANSO, has announced the acquisition of 100% of the equity in the company by Interswitch Limited, pan-African digital payments and commerce company. With this development, the transaction will integrate the two businesses, and provide Interswitch with a market leading mobile banking and payments solution provider in Nigeria, while enabling Vanso to accelerate growth across an expanded range of geographies and products. Vanso’s existing shareholders will become shareholders of the Interswitch group, aligning the long term interests of both companies…

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