Technology
Ghanaian Female Entrepreneur Rides High in Geospatial Technology
By Roger A. Agana
Ghanaian female entrepreneur and winner of the Technology and Innovation category at the 2018 “40 under 40” Awards held in Accra last October, Mrs Akua Aboabea Aboah-Baffoe, has become a household name in the deployment of Geospatial technology.
Mrs Aboah-Baffoe, Executive Director of Sambus Geospatial Limited (SGL), formerly a part of the parent company (Sambus Company Limited, which was formed in 1987), deploys Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to provide location intelligence solutions to governments and its agencies, telecommunication, NGOs, educational, mining, agrobusiness, financial institutions and oil and gas companies and similar agencies both locally and internationally.
GIS is a computer software system for capturing, storing, checking and displaying data related to positions (location) on the earth’s surface. It includes data on people, landscapes, vegetation, streams, house addresses, as well as other vital geographical information systems.
SGL is the sole distributor of ESRI software, ENVI software and Trimble hardware, with exclusive representation in Ghana, Nigeria, The Gambia, Gabon and Liberia.
The company with many years of experience in the region has given West Africa an edge in the implementation of accurate locational and digital data solutions to support and empower decision making.
The feat attained by the 31-year-old mother of two comes to demystify the myth surrounding female entry into science and technology in the West African region, which has largely been a male-dominated field.
She believes this will therefore encourage more girls to pursue science education to break new fronts in order to contribute their quota towards the socio-economic development of the country.
In an interview granted to ‘The Spectator’, one of the weekly newspapers belonging to the state, the Executive Director of SGL urged women to strife to veer into male-dominated fields.
“I want to see more women in this field. Not just women, but women who understand what they want to do. There should be willing to do what men are willing to do,” she said.
On current efforts by the Ghana government to encourage girls’ education in the sciences, she urged various institutions and the people to support the agenda of establishing a digital economy to help address some of the challenges facing the country.
Sambus Group, located at Osu, a suburb of Accra was originally established by the father of Mrs Aboah-Baffoe, Mr Samuel Kenneth Aboah, in 1987 with a variety of businesses but she took an interest to establish SGL Limited after the passing of her dad in 2013.
With her drive, SGL now has an office in Abuja, Nigeria, which was set up in 2016. Sambus has grown steadily and currently has a staff strength of 40 employees and continues to deploy advanced tools and software to gather and map out geographical data on the physical assets and infrastructure of their clients to help them make informed decisions.
The company, she emphasized recorded its highest performance in 2018 with an overall growth of 30 percent. She attributed part of their success story over the years to team work as well as the contribution of their business partners, in making SGL the market leader in the GIS field accounting for over 90 percent of GIS software sales in Ghana and about 75 percent of the market in West African.
The Executive Director is optimistic the company will apart from its reliable partners in Nigeria, Gabon, Liberia and The Gambia expand to other parts of the world to “touch the lives of people.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Aminu Maida, has reemphasised the need to protect the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure, especially fibre networks, noting that damage to fibre networks carries significant economic consequences.
Speaking virtually at the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Critical Conversation Forum on Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) in Lagos recently, he described FTTH as a critical enabler of Nigeria’s digital future.
“FTTH is uniquely positioned to meet Nigerians' next phase of data demand. The quality of our broadband will increasingly shape the competitiveness of our businesses, the growth of our digital industry and the opportunities available to our citizens,” the NCC chief stated.
“We must uphold deployment standards. Nigeria needs fibre that is properly installed, properly documented, and properly protected,” Mr Maida further said at the event themed Fibre to the Home in Nigeria: Addressing Challenges, Strengthening Standards and Ensuring Sustainable Deployment.
During a panel discussion titled Policy, Governance and Regulatory Alignment, the Deputy Director of Strategic Business Initiatives at ipNX, Mr Segun Okuneye, highlighted the need for stronger collaboration across the telecommunications ecosystem to unlock the full potential of fibre broadband in Nigeria.
According to him, sustainable fibre deployment extends beyond technology and investment to include policy consistency, stakeholder alignment, infrastructure protection, and shared responsibility.
“Achieving universal fibre connectivity requires more than deploying infrastructure; it requires sustained collaboration between operators, regulators, government agencies and host communities.
“When policies are aligned, deployment standards are consistently enforced, and critical infrastructure is protected, we create an environment where investment thrives and more Nigerians can enjoy reliable, high-speed broadband.
“At ipNX, we remain committed to working with all stakeholders to build resilient digital infrastructure that will support Nigeria’s economic growth for generations to come.”
Earlier in his welcome address, ATCON President, Mr Tony Emoekpere, underscored the strategic importance of FTTH in achieving the country’s broadband penetration targets while calling for greater public awareness around protecting communications infrastructure.
“This forum is critical because Fibre-to-the-Home is the technology that will enable the country to achieve full broadband penetration. We all depend on communication infrastructure, and it must be protected,” he declared.
Drawing a comparison with power infrastructure in the country, he added, “If somebody comes to your neighbourhood to tamper with your transformer or power cables, everybody will come out. The same thing needs to apply for communications infrastructure. When we see people damaging fibre cables, we should raise an alarm.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Thursday, July 23, 2026, provided an opportunity for financial services professionals to converge on Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, to brainstorm on ways to meet the rising customers’ expectations.
The platform used for this purpose was Core by Interswitch. It is part of the company’s broader commitment to strengthening Africa’s digital payments ecosystem by fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing and operational excellence across the financial services value chain.
At the event, participants, numbering over 400, also highlighted the growing importance of operational excellence in sustaining resilient payment infrastructure.
As digital financial services continue to expand across Africa, closer collaboration among financial institutions, fintechs and payment service providers will be essential to improving responsiveness, resolving operational challenges more effectively and delivering consistently reliable customer experiences.
The Executive Vice President for Operations and Technology at Interswitch, Mr Babafemi Ogungbamila, said the forum reflects the company’s belief that exceptional customer experiences are built not only on innovative technology but also on the expertise, collaboration and commitment of the professionals who keep payment systems running every day.
“Every successful digital transaction is powered by professionals whose work often goes unseen but is fundamental to building trust in digital payments. Core by Interswitch was created to recognise their contribution, strengthen collaboration across the industry and create opportunities for shared learning that ultimately benefit financial institutions and the customers they serve.
“As digital payments continue to evolve, investing in the people and processes that power the technology is just as important as investing in the technology itself,” Mr Ogungbamila said.
Beyond recognising the professionals whose work often goes unnoticed, the programme underscored the value of creating stronger connections across the payments ecosystem.
By creating a dedicated platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and professional development, Core by Interswitch aims to build a more connected community of payments operations professionals equipped to respond to the evolving demands of the digital economy.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
WhatsApp has been updated with a web calling feature, allowing users to now make and receive audio and video calls, both one-on-one and group, directly from WhatsApp Web.
A notice from the Meta-owned messaging platform disclosed that this feature works without the need to download any app.
It was disclosed that this update was made to WhatsApp to make it easier for users to make calls wherever they are and on whatever device, phone or laptop.
Users will have access to features available on their other devices, including screen sharing, reactions, and a dedicated Calls tab with full call history and favourites, all from their browsers.
WhatsApp noted that calls from this feature are end-to-end encrypted, with no time limits and at no cost, as it is the same private experience they expect from the platform.
WhatsApp has also been embedded with easy call transfer, enabling the movement of an active group call from one device to another without hanging up. Users can seamlessly transfer calls to WhatsApp Web or Desktop when they arrive home to collaborate on a larger screen – or vice versa.
The platform further said it now has QuickHD, which allows for an improved video experience at the beginning of a call. With QuickHD, users can now enjoy high-definition video immediately in the very first few seconds of the call.
In addition, it has launched noise suppression to remove the background noise around callers so their voices come through clearly to the person on the other end, even in loud or busy environments. This can be managed at any time in in-call settings.
WhatsApp said these features are rolling out gradually and will be available to everyone soon, expressing its desire to make WhatsApp calling simpler to use.
