General
Tunde Onakoya Emerges Business Insider Social Entrepreneur of the Year
By Adedapo Adesanya
The convener of the Chess in Slums Africa initiative, Mr Tunde Onakoya, has emerged as the winner of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award organised by Business Insider Africa.
The inaugural Business Insider Africa Awards recognised outstanding business leaders across Sub-Saharan Africa who have been instrumental to the growth and advancement of the region’s economic landscape.
There were 55 nominees, including some of the continent’s top business leaders, achievers, and innovators across various industries and sectors who have made noteworthy contributions to their various communities through charitable works and leadership roles.
After two weeks of intensive voting from people around Africa and beyond, 11 outstanding leaders emerged winners across each of the award categories, the organisers noted.
The recognition for Mr Onakoya comes at a time when he is getting recognition for his works to take children off the streets and provide them with a platform through chess among others.
“Although the NGO is barely two years old, its impacts are already being felt, even as leading global media companies such as Reuters and DW have taken note,” the organisers noted.
Embattled Flutterwave CEO, Mr Olugbenga Agboola, currently embroiled in a scandal revolving around unfair practices with the unicorn, emerged the winner of the Tech Investor of the Year Award.
Besides his current job at Flutterwave, he is also a notable investor in the African startup space. He recently partnered with Norrsken House to launch a $200 million fund to support growth-stage African startups.
Novelist, Ms Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie won the Creative Leader of the Year Award.
Business Insider Africa remarked that she is “one of the finest writers the world has seen in a long time, Adichie has written many best-selling and award-winning novels. Be it in Half of a Yellow Sun or Americannah; her stories are known to tackle societal issues, albeit in a refreshingly entertaining literary manner.”
Other winners were Ms Olajumoke Kujero who emerged winner of the Marketing Professional of the Year Award. She is the Head of Marketing at Jumia Nigeria, a role she has held since March 2020. Prior to working at Jumia, she worked as the Head of Marketing at Wakanow.
Mr Andrew Takyi-Appiah won the Fintech Leader of the Year Award. He is the co-founder and Managing Director of Zeepay, a Ghanaian fintech startup established in 2016. Prior to that time, he worked at UT Bank Ghana as a General Manager. He has held several other high profile positions in top firms, including PwC Ghana, PwC UK, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and GTBank.
Mr Onyeka Akumah was awarded the winner of the Internet Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He is a Nigerian serial entrepreneur and the Co-Founder/CEO of Treepz – one of Africa’s largest shared mobility companies.
“Over the years, Onyeka has partnered with other entrepreneurs to launch several businesses, including Farmcrowdy – Nigeria’s first digital agriculture platform. Today, he sits on the board of leading tech startups across Africa and North America while constantly seeking ways to impact African youths through media and technology,” his winning profile reads.
Former Special Assistant to President Goodluck Johnson, Mr Reno Omokri was conferred as the winner of the Business Influencer of the Year Award. The UK-trained Nigerian lawyer was noted as a very active and influential voice across social media platforms, especially Twitter, where he discusses various topics, from career tips to business and the economy.
Mrs Tara Fela-Durotoye was crowned the winner of the Entrepreneurship Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Mrs Durotoye is a Nigerian beauty entrepreneur and the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of House of Tara International. She built the company from scratch into one of Africa’s most notable beauty brands. And in return, she has been recognised for her audacious entrepreneurial spirit,” her profile read.
Mrs Eunice Ajim was regaled as the winner of the Tech Serial Entrepreneur of the Year Award. She is Founding Partner at Ajim Capital, an early-stage fund targeting African startups. Prior to starting the company, she worked at Apple as a product consultant and held various positions at Texas-based OpenTeams.
Mr Gregory Rockson emerged as the winner of the Young CEO of the Year Award. The Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of mPharma, an Africa-focused health tech startup started the company in 2013 and has served as its CEO since then.
The organisers remarked that, “Under his leadership, mPharma has raised about $88.2 million from investors and expanded operations to Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Gabon, Rwanda, Malawi and Ethiopia. Besides his work at mPharma, Gregory Rockson is also the Executive Chairman at Halsons Limited. The Ghanaian national is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Westminster College.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Osun State Government has announced plans to institute legal action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following an alleged freezing of the state’s bank account, describing the action as unlawful and capable of disrupting governance.
The Governor of the state, Mr Ademola Adeleke, through the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Oluwole Jimi-Bada, made this disclosure on Wednesday.
According to the statement, Governor Adeleke has directed him to challenge the anti-graft agency’s decision at the Federal High Court.
It was widely reported that the anti-graft agency issued a “Post No Debit” directive to the management of First Bank, where the state’s accounts are domiciled, effectively restricting transactions.
He argued that while the commission has the authority to investigate financial records, it cannot freeze a state government’s accounts without first obtaining a court order.
“I have the mandate of the governor to proceed to the Federal High Court to challenge this move. EFCC can investigate the accounts, but it can’t freeze the accounts without an order of court.
“This step will affect government running, but we will challenge the move and ensure that the agency acts within the ambit of the law,” Mr Jimi-Bada said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Sola Ogungbile, alleged that police officers stormed the main branch of First Bank in Osogbo and arrested some members of the bank’s staff.
Mr Ogungbile maintained that Governor Adeleke was not deploying state resources for his re-election campaign and urged the EFCC to consider the potential impact of its actions on public services and the welfare of residents.
Governor Adeleke had earlier raised concerns over an alleged plan by the EFCC to freeze all Osun State Government accounts, including those of senior government officials.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr Kolapo Alimi, the governor described the reported move as unlawful and politically motivated.
He alleged that the planned freezing of the accounts was intended to cripple government operations ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Governor Adeleke further insisted that there was no legal justification for freezing the state’s accounts, arguing that the EFCC lacks the authority to take such action against a state government without due legal process.
The EFCC had not issued an official response to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
