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Emerging Technologies Can Drive Africa’s Digital, Financial Inclusion—Ogunsanya

Published

1 year ago

19/10/2023

Paul Kagame Segun Ogunsanya Emerging Technologies

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The chief executive of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, has challenged the telecommunications industry in Africa to leverage emerging technologies to enable all people in the continent to connect, engage and transact with the rest of the world.

The Airtel Africa chief said, “The telecom industry is in a unique position to make it easier for people to enter the digital world by deploying these technologies.

“This is through significant investments in building digital highways across the continent while creating a vibrant mobile money ecosystem.”

“Through collaborations with equipment manufacturers and other key stakeholders, we can put smart devices in the hands of every African,” he further said at the just concluded Mobile World Congress in Kigali, Rwanda.

He cited Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) as a powerful tool for predicting customer behaviour and deepening insights about customer needs and preferences.

According to him, an opportunity also exists in intelligent connectivity, a concept that foresees the combination of 5G, the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence to accelerate technological development and enable new disruptive digital services.

He argued that a significant proportion of Africa’s young population still remains unreached with 59% smartphone penetration and only two out of ten Africans have a mobile money wallet.

Emerging technologies can be used in AI-aided e-learning to design the best curriculum based on students’ learning abilities; e-health to improve patient monitoring and more efficient health facilities; Agritech that uses AI and connectivity in crop disease detection tools; and financial inclusion, by triangulating the digital highway, unified payment system and intelligent mobile wallets.

The technologies can be used in smart cities for safe communities and efficient public utilities; development planning to predict population movements and help governments in designing urban and rural development; and smart metering for accurate measurement of usage, enhanced sustainability and improved customer experience. Biometric technology can be used for authentication, privacy, access control and non-repudiation.

Airtel Africa is rolling out 5G network across its 14 markets in Africa with the aim of facilitating a digitally connected world and unlocking a broad range of opportunities. The firm has also recently announced a collaboration with the Government of Rwanda to provide over 1 million people in the country with affordable high-speed, cutting-edge LTE smartphones.

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Modupe Gbadeyanka

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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General

The LOGIC Church Plans ‘Jesus + Nothing Worship’ for Good Friday

Published

2 hours ago

13/04/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

On Friday, April 18, 2025, all roads will lead to the headquarters of the Love of God in Christ (LOGIC) Church in the Lekki area of Lagos State for an uplifting evening dedicated to expressing the message of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ in music.

The day, which is Good Friday, has been set aside to celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the cornerstone of Christian faith.

Christian faithful from across the global will gather for the hybrid programme tagged Jesus + Nothing Worship, a platform that provides worshippers an opportunity to connect with the essence of the Gospel in worship.

Soul-lifting singers expected to minister on that day include Neon Adejo, Greatman Takit, Victor Thompson, Timi Dakolo, Samuel Giveson (SMJ), Noble G, Steve Hills, and Lily Perez.

Others are Joxie, Anderson Qozan, Pastor Victor Paul, EmekaSongz, Flo, Dorcas Moore, Magpsalms, Mera Owili, Gerald Bishung, Phebe Lion, and the vibrant Evolution Children’s Choir.

The Lead Pastor and Apostolic Head of the LOGIC Church, Apostle Flourish Peters, while commenting ahead of the event, said, “As a Christocentric faith community, this event is a great way to celebrate the gift of Christ, who laid down his life for our redemption. Good Friday is a great time to have a worship celebration like this.”

“Nothing speaks to the culture of a people like the music they listen to. Jesus + Nothing Worship will contribute to shaping and mainstreaming a culture of christocentric worship, where the Gospel of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection is platformed through worship,” he added.

General

SERAP Calls for Withdrawal of Nigeria’s Data Act Amendment

Published

3 hours ago

13/04/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called for the withdrawal of the amendment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 because it seeks to regulate the activities of bloggers operating within the territorial boundaries of Nigeria.

The organisation in its letter urged the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, to “immediately withdraw the repressive bill.”

Business Post reports that the titled A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to Mandate the Establishment of Physical Offices within the Territorial Boundaries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media Platforms and for Related Matters among others intends to regulate bloggers, including by requiring all bloggers to register local offices and join recognised national association for bloggers.

Currently, the bill has passed its first and second reading in the Senate.

In the letter signed its deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP asked Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas “to ensure that any amendment to the Nigeria Data Protection Act promotes and protects the rights of bloggers and other journalists and does not undermine the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.”

It demanded an end to “the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on the rights of Nigerians online and Internet-based content.”

In the letter dated April 12, 2025, the group said, “This bill is a blatant attempt to bring back and fast-track the obnoxious and widely rejected social media bill by the back-door.”

“If passed, the bill would also be used to ban major social media platforms—including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, and independent bloggers if they ‘continuously fail to establish/register and maintain physical offices in Nigeria for a period of 30 days.

“Lawmakers should not become arbiters of truth in the public and political domain. Regulating the activities of bloggers and forcing them to associate would have a significant chilling effect on freedom of expression and lead to censorship or restraint.

“Should the National Assembly and its leadership fail to withdraw the bill to regulate the activities of bloggers, and should any such bill be assented to by President Bola Tinubu, SERAP would consider appropriate legal action to challenge the legality of any such law and ensure it is never implemented in the public interest,” the organisation warned.