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Google to Invest $1bn in Nigeria, Others for Digital Transformation

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By Sodeinde Temidayo David

Global technology company, Google LLC, is set to invest $1 billion in Nigeria and other African countries in the next 5 years to support the continent’s digital transformation.

Google said the investment will also include landing a subsea cable into the continent to enable faster internet speeds, low-interest loans for small businesses, equity investments into African startups, skills training and more.

This is in a bid to enable fast, affordable internet access for more Africans, building helpful products, supporting entrepreneurship and small business, and helping nonprofits to improve lives across Africa.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Google and Alphabet, Mr Sundar Pichai, who confirmed this investment drive, noted that the company was building global infrastructure to help bring faster internet to more people and lower connectivity costs.

He added that through a Black Founders Fund, Google will invest in Black-led startups in Africa by providing cash awards and hands-on support.

According to him, this is in addition to Google’s existing support through the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, which has helped more than 80 African startups with equity-free finance, working space and access to expert advisors over the last three years.

The subsea cable is set to cut across South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria and St Helena, connecting Africa and Europe.

According to the managing director for Google in Africa, Mr Nitin Gajria, it will provide approximately 20 times more network capacity than the last cable built to serve Africa.

It is projected to create about 1.7 million jobs in Nigeria and South Africa by 2025 as the digital economy grows.

“This will lead to a 21 per cent reduction in internet prices and increase internet speed in Nigeria and almost triple in South Africa,” said Mr Gajria.

Google also announced the launch of the Africa Investment Fund, where it will invest $50 million in start-ups across the continent providing them with access to Google’s employees, network, and technologies to help them build meaningful products for their communities.

The company added that it will additionally disburse $10 million in low-interest loans to small businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, to alleviate hardships brought about by the Covid pandemic.

This will be done in partnership with Kiva, a San-Francisco based non-profit lending organization, as it pledged $40 million to non-profits improving lives in Africa.Africa with partners like Airtel, MTN, Orange.

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Hadron by Tether Integrates Chainalysis

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Hadron by Tether

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Hadron by Tether has set a new standard for compliant tokenization with the integration of Chainalysis’ compliance and monitoring tools.

This upgrade brings institutional-grade oversight to Hadron by Tether by further strengthening its position as a trusted and regulation-ready marketplace for token issuance and asset management.

With this, the system can now monitor transactions to flag suspicious activity and enable ongoing compliance, and also streamlines onboarding and due diligence processes.

“With Hadron by Tether, we’re building the gold standard for compliant, secure, and scalable tokenization.

“By integrating Chainalysis directly into the platform, we’re offering institutional-grade transparency, compliance, and risk mitigation without compromising on decentralization or control,” the chief executive of Tether, Mr Paolo Ardoino, said.

“Chainalysis has always believed that trust is the foundation for the future of digital assets.

“We’re proud of this work with Hadron by Tether that will bring digital assets and blockchain technology to more institutions and organizations underpinned by our technology and blockchain intelligence that make the solution ready for a compliance-first world,” the chief executive of Chainalysis, Mr Jonathan Levin, stated.

Designed for institutions, corporations, and governments, Hadron by Tether enables the creation, management, and deployment of tokenized assets such as stablecoins, bonds, funds, and commodity-backed tokens across multiple blockchains.

With the integration of Chainalysis, participants now gain access to enhanced risk detection, real-time transaction monitoring, and full Know Your Transaction (KYT) support – ensuring adherence to global regulatory standards from day one.

This latest enhancement follows Tether’s broader commitment to security and accountability. As the issuer of USD₮, the most widely used stablecoin in the world, Tether has collaborated with over 255 law enforcement agencies across 55 countries and helped freeze more than $2.7 billion in illicit assets to date.

The same compliance ethos is now embedded in Hadron by Tether, empowering asset issuers to operate with confidence in an increasingly regulated environment.

The Chainalysis integration represents a major step in making Hadron by Tether not only a powerful platform for tokenization, but also a future-proof infrastructure layer for digital assets.

Tether previously announced it had adopted Chainalysis’ ecosystem monitoring solution to enhance surveillance across secondary markets and bolster compliance across all Tether tokens.

Now, those same advanced tools are directly accessible to Hadron participants, reinforcing a unified compliance standard across Tether’s expanding digital asset ecosystem.

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Zoho Unveils New AI Assistant for Zoho Creator

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By Aduragbemi Omiyale

To facilitate faster, simpler, and more intelligent app building, Zoho Corporation has launched new services and features within its low-code application development platform, Zoho Creator.

The new Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistant, CoCreator, can be used to build applications by using voice and written prompts, process flows and business specification documents.

In a statement to Business Post on Monday, the global technology company said this milestone reflects its commitment to investing in AI capabilities that offer real-time, practical, and secure advantages to business users.

Powered by Zia, CoCreator drives shorter go-to-market timeframes and democratises app creation for users of varying  skill levels—all without requiring add-ons to a customer’s existing subscription.

Zia has served as a bridge across Zoho’s entire product suite, including Creator, since its launch in 2015.

As AI becomes increasingly central to business operations, Zoho’s complete ownership of its tech stack and deep AI integration provides customers with a higher level of contextual AI across all company workflows compared to competitors. This empowers users with a system that truly understands their data and anticipates its usage.

Among the newly-launched capabilities is the Idea-to-App Generation feature, allowing businesses to utilise ZohoAI or OpenAI to develop full-fledged applications including contextual integrations, automations, permission sets and insightful dashboards.

By using text or voice prompts, process flow diagrams, or systems documentations like software requirement specifications (SRS), Creator will provide domain-specific suggestions, ideas for relevant fields, and modules tailored to a customer’s business

Contextual component generation AI enhances existing applications by offering prompt-based form generation. Zia also proactively suggests contextual fields within forms, a functionality missing from many low-code development platforms.

Developers of all skill levels can generate and optimise code blocks contextually within apps using Zia’s prompter, and also annotate existing code blocks for future maintenance.

Further advancing business capabilities, users can rapidly transform unstructured data from various file types and databases into custom applications and remove inconsistencies using the AI-driven data cleansing and modelling feature.

Additionally, the newly-introduced AI Skills enables businesses to build apps with specialised skills that interpret natural language instructions in the business context and automate complex chains of actions intelligently. This feature is currently available in early access and will be widely available from June 2025.

“Since we introduced Creator in 2006, our mission has been to make app development simpler and faster, without compromising on functionality.

“AI now takes us to the next level, shortening the time from an idea to an app.

“Today’s announcement significantly raises the baseline on speed of quality app creation with deep capabilities, without adding costs,” the Country Head for Zoho Nigeria, Mr Kehinde Ogundare, stated.

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The Unsung Heroes of Fintech: How Creatives Are Driving Growth and Trust in the Financial Industry

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Unsung Heroes of Fintech samuel olaniran

By Samuel Olaniran

Many experts have highlighted the growing impact of creatives—especially those in product and brand design—across the financial industry, and how their work helps financial companies build trust, communicate value propositions, and drive growth.

These creatives shape the overall product and visual identity of financial brands, creating not just logos, colour schemes, and layouts, but also cohesive design systems that convey professionalism and reliability. This is crucial because trust is vital in finance. A strong, consistent brand and product design helps customers feel secure and confident in their financial decisions.

In digital platforms, product designers improve user experience. They ensure mobile apps, websites, and other tools are not only visually appealing but also functional and easy to navigate. A smooth, intuitive interface encourages users to engage more, making digital banking and investing more accessible to a wider audience. This can drive growth, as people are more likely to trust and stick with platforms that are easy to use.

Brand and product designers also simplify complex financial data through infographics and visualizations. Finance can be overwhelming, but clear visuals and product-led storytelling make it easier for customers to understand. Infographics turn complicated reports into digestible, engaging content, which can help customers make better financial decisions.

Marketing in finance also relies heavily on thoughtful brand design. Designers create visually appealing campaigns that catch the attention of potential customers. Whether it’s an ad on social media or an email newsletter, well-crafted design helps companies stand out and build a strong online presence.

In a competitive industry like fintech, where innovation is key, product and brand design can be the difference between success and failure.

As financial institutions grow globally, product designers help adapt their offerings and messaging to different cultures. By adjusting colours, symbols, and user interface elements to fit local preferences, they ensure financial products are accessible to a wider audience. This helps companies expand into new markets while keeping their brand relevant and consistent.

Looking ahead, the role of product and brand designers will only become more important. Their creative work is key to building trust, improving user experience, simplifying data, and leading marketing efforts. As finance continues to evolve, their role will remain essential in helping companies grow and connect with customers.

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