Technology
Interswitch Tasks Women to Challenge Norm in Tech
By Adedapo Adesanya
Leading Nigerian digital payment and commerce solutions company, Interswitch Group continued to show its support for women in tech as it commemorated this year’s International Girls in ICT Day by encouraging young girls to challenge the norm and tap into the many potentials of the sector.
In a chat through Instagram Live to celebrate this year’s event themed Girls in ICT: Inspiring the Next Generation, Interswitch reached out to hopefuls by inspiring them through two women making strides in tech who shared their stories.
Miss Eddidiong Asikpo and Ifeanyichukwu Onwurah, pioneers in changing the norm shared stories of their career trajectories from young girls in science to now full-blown women in ICT during the chat, regalling viewers on how they are changing the narrative in a field that is regarded as male-dominated.
Using their stories filled with good and bad, they encouraged girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), painting the many profitable and fulfilling future that the sector had to offer.
Miss Edidiong Asikpo, Software Engineer at Interswitch, and anchor of the live session began the session by reiterating that the ICT Day was created to encourage girls to consider careers in ICT.
She shared her experience on how transitioning from Medicine to Tech.
“I never wanted to become anything technical. I applied to study Medicine and Surgery in the university. When that did not work out, I started at Innovation Hub at Akwa Ibom to learn Application Development. Tech started to become cool because I thought I would start doing what the big boys at Facebook do.
“Indeed, tech has afforded me access to greater opportunities and contributes to making life better,” she said.
She further added that for the next generation to be brought into tech universe, they would need to be intentional about it, by searching for opportunities and being open to mentorship.
This is one of the many roles Interswitch currently plays, and is willing to continue to play, in raising the next generation of tech girls and women who’ll make disruptive impact in the tech space.
On her part, Miss Ifeanyichukwu Onwurah, Senior IT Service Management Analyst atInterswitch, talked about her journey into tech as a rough one and described it as “Failing forward”.
“At some point in the university, I lost enthusiasm. I failed a lot, struggled through school and didn’t quite understand my purpose. All I wanted to do was look pretty in a pretty job”, she said.
This soon started to change – “After training school, I was deployed to the Tech Department where I struggled in my mind again, for nine months. However, Tech has turned out to be the best decision that I ever made.
“I was inspired by my Group Head, who answered all my questions and helped me through a mind switch. So, I made up my mind not to be defined by my school grades and this drove me to be better at my work. Seven years later, I’m no longer where I used to be and it has been an exciting journey so far.”
Both ladies concluded by encouraging young girls to pursue their tech dreams with grit and deliberateness. They also admonished parents to support their girls by providing useful learning resources especially in their formative years.
Interswitch through this initiative and many more is challenging gender bias and pushing for gender inclusion in the tech space. To bring in more women into the tech space, the service through InterswitchSPAK and STEMLIKEAGIRL Initiatives is pioneering the change.
The InterswitchSPAK Annual Science Competition is one of the ways through which Interswitch creates an equal opportunity environment for more girls to chart a career path in ICT. Since the start of the competition in 2018, there has been an impressive Increase In the participation of girls.
International Girls in ICT Day is an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) initiative and global movement, to encourage girls and young women to consider studies and careers in ICT. It is annually celebrated on the Fourth Thursday of April.
Choosing between a VPS and a dedicated server can be complex. They run apps and webpages. But they operate differently. Understanding the difference between VPS and dedicated server solutions will help you prevent complications and save money later on. In this text we will explain everything in detail with examples from actual life.
VPS vs Dedicated Server: What Actually Sets Them Apart
One physical machine is divided into multiple virtual servers by a VPS. Through virtualization software, each user receives a portion of resources that are separate from those of other users.
A dedicated server operates in a different manner. One user owns a single physical machine. No neighbors, no sharing, simply complete hardware access.
This is the core of the vps vs dedicated server debate. Shared hardware means lower costs, while full ownership means more raw power. Finding the best vps hosting service often comes down to how well a provider balances performance with fair pricing on shared resources.
| Factor | VPS | Dedicated Server |
| Resource allocation | Shared pool, virtualized | 100% dedicated hardware |
| Performance consistency | Possible noisy neighbor effect | Guaranteed, stable capacity |
| Scalability | Instant resize | Requires hardware upgrade or migration |
| Cost | Lower entry price | Higher fixed cost |
Performance, Cost and Control: Where Each One Wins
In terms of raw performance, dedicated servers are superior. Each gigabyte of RAM and each CPU cycle are part of a single project. There is no competition for resources.
Flexibility is where VPS excels. It takes minutes, not days, to scale up. Pricing stays lower too, since costs get split across multiple users on the same hardware.
Shared hardware limitations rarely cause problems for smaller projects. Providers like Antihost allocate resources fairly, so performance stays steady even during traffic spikes. The gap only really matters once traffic gets heavy and consistent.
The contrast of vps vs virtual machine is also confusing people often. A VPS is a virtual computer in a technical sense, but it’s rented from a hosting company, rather than running on your own hardware.
Matching the Server to the Project: Real Scenarios
A dedicated server is rarely required for a small business website. A VPS can easily manage moderate traffic while maintaining low expenses.
A growing SaaS product usually starts on a VPS and expands as the user base grows. This adaptability is more crucial in the early stages than brute strength.
A database-heavy application benefits from dedicated hardware once query volume reaches a certain level. In this case, the lack of resource sharing and a constant disk speed are essential.
A game server depends on low latency and steady performance. Many game servers run fine on VPS today, especially with modern hardware. As David Heinemeier Hansson put it: “Personal servers have gotten really scarily quick, inefficient, and personal internet connections rival what we connected data centers with just a decade or two ago.” That shift makes VPS a stronger option than it used to be.
Here is a quick breakdown of what typically fits best:
- Small business website: VPS, for cost and simplicity
- Growing SaaS product: VPS, then scale to dedicated later
- Database-heavy app: Dedicated server, for consistent speed
- Game server: VPS, unless player counts get very large
Summary
In every situation, neither choice is superior to the other. Everything impacts the optimal selection, including the scale of the project, traffic patterns, and all growth plans. Scale from what works now when the numbers really demand it.
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.
