Interswitch Retains ISO 22301 Recertification for BCM

New search trends released by Google show that search interest in AI has reached an all-time high in Nigeria. The trends show that people have searched for AI more than ever in 2023 so far, with interest rising 310% since last year, and by 1,660% in the last five years. Google’s research also revealed the top trending questions being asked about AI across Nigeria. Here, Google West Africa Director, Olumide Balogun, answers some of the most frequently asked questions. What is Artificial Intelligence and how does it work? AI is a type of technology that can learn from its environment,

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said Nigeria now ranks seventh in terms of mobile phone usage globally while it takes the 11th spot in terms of internet penetration. The NCC Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Umar Danbatta, disclosed this while speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on emerging technology forum for the telecommunications industry in Abuja on Thursday. Mr Danbatta, who was represented by Mr Abraham Osahadami, the NCC’s Head of Spectrum Database Management, said 82 per cent of the country’s 200 million+ population are telecom subscribers while just 29 per cent

The pinnacle of technological innovation and thought leadership, Art of Technology Lagos (AOT), returns for its fifth edition, AOT 5.0. With an unwavering commitment to progress, this year’s conference dives into two crucial pillars that are shaping Lagos’s future: “The Creative Economy” and “A Digital Lagos.“ Curated by the Eko Innovation Centre in collaboration with the Lagos State Government, AOT 5.0 promises to be an unparalleled gathering of visionaries, industry leaders, and changemakers. Lagos’s creative economy sector is a dynamic force that fuels the state’s economic growth, encompassing diverse industries such as film, music, fashion, design, and advertising. This ecosystem

By Adedapo Adesanya Website hosting infrastructure company, WhoGoHost, has acquired SendChamp, a Nigerian cloud communications startup that powers online messaging for African businesses to deepen its value offering for its customer base. The deal sum was not announced, but the acquisition is part of WhoGoHost’s strategic plans to evolve from domain-hosting to serve businesses and institutions in the African market. According to a statement, SendChamp will continue to operate as an independent product as it transitions to new ownership. However, in the near future, its products and services will become accessible via the WhoGoHost integrated platform. The reason for this

By Dipo Olowookere The gross earnings of Fidelity Bank in the first half of 2020 rose to N10.5.8 billion from N103.7 billion in the same period of 2019. This was as the interest income rose to N87.1 billion from N84.3 billion, while the interest expense reduced to N39.3 billion from N48.9 billion, leaving the net interest income at N48.3 billion in H1 2020 as against N36.9 billion in H2 2019. In the results released on Thursday, the fee and commission income decreased to N9.5 billion from N13.1 billion, while the fee and commission expense increased to N2.8 billion from N2.4

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Shareholders of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc are gearing up for the payment of N2.95k interim dividend to them by the company. This was proposed by the board of the telco when the half year financial statements of the firm were released last month. The interim dividend was precisely declared on July 24, 2019 for the period ended June 30, 2019. In the notice released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), MTN Nigeria had said the qualification date for the payment was Thursday, August 8, 2019, with payment date fixed for Friday, August 16, 2019. Another company paying

By Ahmed Rahma The 283 per cent increase in the revenue of myFanPark, a platform launched to transform the way fans connect with local stars, has triggered the curiosity of a Silicon Valley-based celebrity engagement platform, Starsona Inc. It was gathered that Starsona was impressed with myFanPark’s 492 per cent rise in the number of users and a 959 per cent surge in total orders, with demand for certain talent increasing by 500 per cent. As a result, the US-based company made efforts to work together with myFanPark through a merger so as to grow the higher and offer more

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A man known as Mr Osho Aluko-Kola has been conceited and sentenced to nine years imprisonment by a court in Lagos for diverting shares of an investor worth N206.5 million. At the ruling on Wednesday, Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja found the 65-year-old man guilty of conspiracy and theft. It was gathered that on July 2020, the convict was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside six companies Centurion Registrars Limited, United Securities Limited, Evolution Construction Engineering Design Limited, Cities & Towers Logistics Limited, Continental Exim Nigeria Limited,

By Adedapo Adesanya The importation of smartphones into Nigeria declined by 13.6 percent between January and March, following an early hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the largest phone maker, China. This was disclosed in the June 2020 report by the International Data Corporation (IDC), which showed that Nigeria’s feature market suffered a 12.5 percent quarter-on-quarter decline in shipments of the gadget in Q1 2020. According to the report, the smartphone market is experiencing a hard time because China, where the majority of the global phone manufacturers have their plants, was the epicentre of the virus and, therefore, had to

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities recorded a third consecutive growth on Monday to open the week positive after a 0.31 percent at the close of business. This was boosted by buying interest in banking stocks led by Access Bank, which sold 37.8 million units worth N408.6 million, while Zenith Bank trailed with 35.0 million units valued at N790.4 million. GTBank traded 33.6 million for N1.2 billion, FBN Holdings transacted 22.8 million shares worth N171.9 million, while UBA exchanged 18.1 million equities valued at N160.7 million. However, on the gainers’ chart, Total Nigeria claimed the top spot after gaining N10 to

By Dipo Olowookere Treasury bills yields appreciated yesterday by 0.35 percent as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) resumed its sale of the debt instruments via the Open Market Operations (CBN). During the exercise, the apex bank sold N172.7 billion worth of the OMO bills to investors, more than the N130 billion it auctioned. It was observed that market players were more interested in the long-dated bill during the sale. The bank had auctioned N80 billion worth of the 331-day instrument, but it received N204.55 billion, with N117.34 billion eventually allotted. The rate cleared at 12.89 percent. Of the N20

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has presented a budget estimate of N102.55 billion to the state’s House of Assembly for the 2017 fiscal year. During his presentation, the Governor said the budget has N57.4 billion allotted for recurrent expenditure, while N45.2 billion is earmarked for capital expenditure. According to him, the budget proposal is 3.14 percent less than the N106 billion proposed for 2016. He explained that his administration gives priority to overheads and personnel costs rather than infrastructure development that will boost its economic development. The Governor said that the 2017 appropriation bill, titled ‘Budget