Technology
AfCTFA Will Benefit FinTechs—FG Assures
By Adedapo Adesanya
Financial technology companies (FinTechs) will benefit massively from the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), says Nigeria’s National Action Committee on AfCFTA.
The team, which is in Lagos on a visit to sensitise stakeholders in the media, manufacturing, trade, and financial services sector, said the deal will help all members get preferential market access over non-members.
According to Mr Francis Anatogu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Sector Matters, the agreement hopes to create a single market for well-produced goods and services on the continent.
He added that the adopted multilateral contract will afford signatory countries access to a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion.
“With over 1.27 billion consumers and an aggregate GDP of $3.4 trillion, which AfCFTA is expected to help deliver, we are convinced that this will be a game-changer for the African business community, which Lagos state and Nigeria currently plays a leading role.
“We, therefore, encourage fintechs to take advantage of this initiative,” Mr Anatogu said.
Speaking on the timeline for the delivery of the deal, Mr Anatogu, who doubles as the Secretary of the National Action Committee, explained that it was a gradual process that would be delivered over time.
The AfCFTA agreement requires members to remove tariffs from 90 per cent of goods traded, allowing free access to commodities, goods, and services across the continent and the elimination of tariffs could boost trade in Africa by 15-25 per cent in the medium term.
Answering questions on the likely impact of this on the country’s revenue generation, Mr Anatogu explained that over time, the country would get on its feet as AfcFTA fits into Nigeria’s economic diversification objectives because it provides huge export opportunities on the continent for products manufactured in Nigeria and services rendered by local businesses.
He added that there was the situation of increased variety as imports become easier and cheaper, consumers will gain access to a variety of products that are inexpensive as tough competition will make countries produce more products they are most efficient at.
Lagos Commits to AfCFTA
The Lagos State Government on Tuesday pledged its readiness to AfCFTA after a delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of the state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja.
Mr Sanwo-Olu said, “I assure you that Lagos is not just the commercial or economic nerve centre by mouth, it’s also so that we can take that leadership role in the comity of states and lead effectively. We need to scale up infrastructure, capability to be able to take full advantage of what the entire African economy has to offer our country and state.
“With almost a billion population and a total Gross Domestic Product, GDP that is over 3 trillion I think it’s a ready-made market for us as a nation and in Lagos, in particular, to be able to take advantage.
“It’s no small feat being the largest cosmopolitan in Africa and we do not take it for granted, we know that we can be home to everybody and so we want to build that capacity which can only be possible if we have enough infrastructure and understanding what is expected of us.
“Over the weekend, we inspected the Lekki ports and see the things we are doing at the free trade zones. We looked at the refinery and fertilizer plants and all the opportunities that abound in the zone.
“Lagos indeed is getting ready because of the ports, which create about 20 to 30 per cent of GDP ( for big economies). Lekki port will open up Nigeria to international and African businesses more, both for import and export.
“The Apapa and Tincan Ports can only take 4,000 MTUs as the biggest vessel that can come there but the Lekki port, once completed by last quarter next year, is 18,000 MTU that’s about four times. This means that in both ways we can receive a lot more imputes and take more.
“So, mark to business will be quicker and faster and we see also developing the entire infrastructure that is required to do this business, road, power and extensive community engagement so that they are ready and able to take full advantage of the opportunity.
“We are happy it’s still a 5 to 10 years first phase, and we know that though we don’t have all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted, but in another 12 months, am sure Lagos will be fully ready. “We are also intervening in power, off-grid capacities, buying meters for our people so that we can be ready.
“This is the largest investment in fintech in Africa, we are not just collaborating with the private sector, we are also enabling startups on a yearly basis, we will approve another set for some of our tech startups, granting them funding as seed for them to come up with creative ideas, some of them even get international recognition, so we are getting ready on all platforms.
“We are building another terminal at the airport, thanks to the federal government, and this attracts a sizeable percentage of international travel.
“We are doing a 3000 kilometres metropolitan fibre optics connectivity to grid Lagos. Once we get this right. What is required for telecom companies, small businesses, to rise and use it for security, health services, education and other platforms that can be the future that we see?
“Our vision and programs sit with what AfCFTA is all about and we see your committee as partners. We want our people to think local but act global so they can have the opportunity to send their goods and products to every part of Africa and the world.
“We will work with your team, set up a local action committee where we can have a one-stop-shop for the private sector on information, guidelines, understanding what is expected of them so that this thing can take footing quickly and Nigeria can take its full benefit.
“We want others to enjoy the benefits, but we are not a big nation for nothing. We want to take the full benefits but also to open our markets for others to access.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An additional $200,000 will be invested in Artificial Intelligence (AI) media literacy initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa, TikTok announced during its third annual Sub-Saharan Africa Safer Internet Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
The platform hosted government officials, regulators, online safety partners and industry leaders for the event, reinforcing its commitment to collaborative approaches to online safety.
The funds will be provided in ad credits to help support local organisations in the region to expand AI media literacy.
This investment builds on the company’s initial $2 million AI Literacy Fund, launched in November 2025, which awarded 20 global non-profits to create content that boosts public understanding of AI.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, TikTok initially supported three organisations to advance digital literacy and combat misinformation.
“With the rapid advancement of AI, we are committed to educating our community online, so they feel empowered to have responsible experiences with AI, whether that’s as viewers or creators.
“We are partnering with trusted local organisations that communities already know and rely on, because their expertise and deep local connections are essential to making AI literacy programs truly impactful,” the Global Head of Partnerships, Elections and Market Integrity at TikTok, Mr Valiant Richey, stated.
Earlier, the Head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa at TikTok, Ms Tokunbo Ibrahim, said, “As we host the 3rd Annual Safer Internet Summit here in Kenya, our mission is clear: to share learnings, insights, tackle common challenges and collaboratively advance actionable solutions that protect citizens online.
“By bringing together a diverse coalition of policymakers, tech innovators, and creators, we are ensuring that the conversations we have at this Summit are all-inclusive and lead to a more resilient digital landscape.”
The summit featured expert panels and discussions on critical topics, including TikTok’s Trust and Safety efforts, protecting young people online, and policy frameworks for responsible AI governance.
A key highlight of the event was showcasing how TikTok uses AI to transform how people share their creativity and discover new passions, while ensuring the community remains safe through transparent and responsible AI practices.
The platform also shared more about how recent advancements in AI are helping the platform moderate content faster and more consistently at scale, by improving automated moderation and empowering human teams with better moderation tools.
With over 100 million pieces of content uploaded daily to TikTok, these advances, which work alongside human moderation teams, are helping get violative content down faster, reducing the likelihood of the community seeing it.
According to the latest Community Guidelines Enforcement Q3 2025, TikTok removed over 14 million videos across Sub-Saharan Africa, with 96.7 per cent detected and removed proactively using automated technology, underscoring TikTok’s commitment to proactive moderation and swift action.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The winners of the Technovation 4.0 Hackathon, themed The Wicked Hackathon, organised by Interswitch, have been given N10 million in cash prizes for their efforts.
At the one-day finale event, which took place on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at the Interswitch Innovation Lab and Co-Working Space, the money was shared among the top teams whose innovative solutions stood out during the rigorous multiple phases of the competition.
Team Quickteller Fashion emerged as the overall winner, securing the grand prize of N4 million for a solution that impressed judges with its originality, practicality, and strong strategic relevance. Team Kampe claimed second position with N2.5 million, while Team Stable placed third, receiving N1.5 million. Up to N300,000 worth of cash prizes were also awarded to the fourth, fifth and sixth qualifying teams.
For nine months, cross-functional teams from across the organisation collaborated to conceptualise, validate, develop, and refine solutions, moving from raw ideas to minimum viable products (MVPs) with ready-to-market potential and deployment across the business.
The atmosphere at the grand finale reflected that of preparation and anticipation as the top 9 teams presented their innovations through live demonstrations and detailed pitches, fielding questions from a distinguished panel of judges before the top three winners were selected. Each presentation highlighted rigorous validation processes, thoughtful market considerations, and a strong emphasis on measurable impact.
While many of the solutions remain confidential due to their strategic relevance, the diversity and depth of ideas showcased during the hackathon’s final underscored the organisation’s growing culture of intrapreneurship and structured innovation. The projects illustrated how technology-driven thinking can unlock efficiencies, strengthen operational capabilities, and open new pathways for growth across the digital payments and commerce ecosystem.
“Technovation continues to reflect who we are as an organisation, bold, forward-thinking, and deeply committed to building impactful solutions from within. Over the years, we have seen ideas conceived during this programme evolve into meaningful capabilities that strengthen our ecosystem.
“The passion, discipline, and ingenuity demonstrated by our teams this year reinforce our belief in the power of African innovation to solve complex challenges and shape the future of technology on the continent,” the Chief Innovation Officer for Interswitch, Ms Adaobi Okerekeocha, stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The language support for its AI Search features has been expanded by Google, with the inclusion of Yoruba and Hausa in Nigeria.
This is part of a broader effort to make AI more inclusive across the continent, with support now extending to a total of 13 African languages.
Under the AI Overviews and AI Mode, speakers of both Nigerian languages can utilise AI-powered Search experiences in their mother tongue for quick summaries and conversational exploration.
This means existing AI features in Google Search are now accessible to people like the student in Kano asking a question in Hausa, and the trader in Ibadan seeking advice in Yorùbá.
By addressing language barriers, this update ensures that technology reflects the identity and culture of the people it serves. With this expansion, more people can now use AI Mode to ask complex questions in their preferred language, while exploring the web more deeply and naturally through text or voice.
The 13 languages now supported across Africa include Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Hausa, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, Yorùbá, and isiZulu.
These languages were chosen based on the vibrant search activity across the continent, ensuring that our AI experiences reach the communities that need them most.
Commenting on the development, the Communications and Public Affairs Manager for Google in West Africa, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, said, “Building a truly global Search goes far beyond translation — it requires a nuanced understanding of local information.
“With the advanced multimodal and reasoning capabilities of our custom version of Gemini in Search, we’ve made huge strides in language understanding, so our most advanced AI search capabilities are locally relevant and useful in each new language we support.
“This is about ensuring Nigerians can converse with Search in their mother tongues, making information more helpful for everyone.”
To use AI Overviews and AI Mode in the local language, users must open the Google app on an Android or iOS device, or via the Web. They are required to tap on AI Mode within the Search experience. Thereafter, they can type or speak the question in their preferred language, such as Hausa or Yorùbá, and let the AI guide the journey.
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