Technology
Four Nigerian Techpreneurs Narrate Journey to Success to CNN
By Ahmed Rahma
A global news platform, CNN, has given entrepreneurs in the technology industry in Nigeria an opportunity to showcase what they have to the world.
CNN, through its programme called Inside Africa, profiled some innovators, entrepreneurs, tech trailblazers and artistic visionaries shaping the future of the African continent.
Four start-ups stars; Olatunbosun Tijani, Odun Eweniyi, Chika Madubuko and Joel Kachi Benson, shared their journey into the space on the show.
Tijani, who spoke about his inspiration, hub’s strategy and latest project on the programme, was named one of the 100 Most Influential People on the continent by New Africa Magazine.
The Nigerian-British entrepreneur is the co-founder and CEO of Co-Creation Hub, a pan-African innovation enabler that works at the forefront of accelerating the application of innovation and social capital for a better society.
About his inspiration, he said, “Science and technology can leapfrog development across Africa and there are so many smart people on this continent, we just need to build a platform that will enable them to create.”
Discussing the strategy of the Hub which has partnered with a healthcare logistics company that delivers lifesaving blood, a digital security platform promoting internet safety, and Google-sponsored ‘Pitch Drives’ that help introduce African start-ups to Asia, Tijani said, “I believe that Africa is going to be a lot stronger if we start to see the continent as one.
“How do we leverage the expertise and resources that you may find in a country like Kenya and lay eyes on the creativity and energy that you find in Nigeria?”
Speaking on his latest venture, the STEM café, an imaginative space dedicated solely to children, the brain behind one of Africa’s biggest networks of tech talents said, “I want to help build a generation of people in Africa with a strong belief in science, people that are comfortable in science, that can apply science to change things. So, it’s a maker space for kids.
“It’s a space where we don’t use curriculums. It’s a nonlinear way of teaching so we actually don’t teach but we encourage kids to build.”
Featured next was one of the founders of PiggyVest, a financial technology company that is teaching young people the value of their money, by helping them to save it, Eweniyi.
“PiggyVest is an automated saving and investment platform that helps young Nigerians put aside little amounts of money daily, weekly or monthly towards their targets or their responsibilities and eventually gives them access to micro-investments to get competency returns,” he explained.
According to Eweniyi, PiggyVest now has more than two million registered users despite the impact of COVID-19 on the economy stating that she remains committed to her original the mission of helping people save small in order to achieve big results.
“Whether we’re in a crisis or out of a crisis the mission remains the same, to get them to a place where they are financially free with the power to continue to manage their finances,” she said.
The third techpreneur that was introduced was Madubuko, the co-founder and CEO of Greymate Care.
This healthcare start-up is a pioneer in providing on-demand care in Nigeria and the CEO detailed the concept, narrating that, “Before Greymate Care was launched, you would normally find someone who was a caregiver or an auxiliary nurse signing up with the hospital or an agency, but then they stayed for so long without jobs.
“With Greymate Care they got more jobs quickly, and they got the appropriate jobs that matched the kind of services they could provide.”
Madubuko’s company is one of many start-ups revolutionising the healthcare industry. She speaks about differentiating her product. “I knew we had to be very innovative, we have to make our processes different, we have to differentiate ourselves in the market. We added a training curriculum, which was the best in Africa, training our caregivers to make sure that they can provide adequate care to our service users.
“Running background checks on our caregivers to make sure that service users feel safe letting them through their door.”
Finally, Inside Africa meets documentary filmmaker Benson, the founder and CEO of VR 360 Stories. Benson works as a virtual reality storyteller.
Speaking about his first experience of using a gadget, “I think it was February 2018 that I wore a headset for the first time. And my experience was a Coldplay concert. It was like I was there.
“And I remembered what the guy was trying to tell me two years before about putting viewers in the midst of the action. All I could see was the IDP camps that I’ve been filming in northeast Nigeria, the places that I had been to, and that I felt I did not properly express with my 2D camera. You know, what a tool for storytelling.”
Benson’s 360-degree immersion into the lives of internally displaced people was a first for a Nigerian filmmaker and it influenced another project focusing on the families of the Chibok schoolgirls.
He recalls the aims of the film, “With the Daughters of Chibok, what I wanted to do was to take people to Chibok and show them this reality that was almost unreal. It’s so far away, so distance, we’re so detached from the story. I wanted to put people in that space. But I also wanted to amplify the voices of these women that I saw.”
Nigeria’s techpreneurs are innovators across multiple fields of industry and are putting in the hard work to build businesses that both help and inspire.
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.
