MainOne Provides High-Speed Internet Access at Lagos Isolation Centres

By Adedapo Adesanya Data and AI technology company, Flapmax, has announced 12 startups selected for the second cohort of the FAST Accelerator startup programme, created in partnership with Microsoft to help strengthen and scale Africa’s digital ecosystem. Following the conclusion of its 2-week Online Bootcamp, which saw 60+ tech companies participate in intensive online training with experienced mentors, FAST Accelerator’s cohort of 12 startups will progress to a 5-week comprehensive acceleration experience in Silicon Valley, California, starting in October. Speaking on this, Mrs Mame-Fatou Gueye, SME Program Manager, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office, said, “Microsoft believes that African startups and small

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A 10-week equity-free accelerator for African startups designed to tutor participants on how to use artificial intelligence to solve local challenges has been introduced by Google. The initiative is called Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First. It recognises the transformative role AI is playing across the world, innovating industries and reimagining the realms of possibilities. It also highlights the significant contributions of African startups in addressing some of the region’s most pressing challenges through the use of AI. A statement from Google disclosed that application for the programme has commenced. It is for startups up to series

By Adedapo Adesanya Social messaging platform, WhatsApp, has introduced a feature that lets users create groups on the instant messaging app without needing to name them. This is a new option open to users, a change from the norm as users are required to name the groups they create on the messaging app. The announcement was made by Meta’s chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Mark Zuckerberg, on his Facebook page and Meta’s Instagram channel on Wednesday. According to him, the feature will help users now be able to create a group, even if they have not decided on a topic

By Adedapo Adesanya After a three-year hiatus, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has moved to restart the Delta-2 project, a technology transfer programme between Nigeria and the Czech Republic. The Nigerian agency and its Czech equivalent, the Technology Agency of Czech Republic (TA-CR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014 in Prague on critical areas of technology transfer and innovations, which resulted in the co-funding of the Czech-Nigeria Bilateral R&D project on the Delta-2 Programme. The programme started in 2020 but got stalled. Now, NASENI, in a statement, said the project may soon continue as the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) on Tuesday disclosed that 77 oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria currently owe the country $6.48 billion (N2.7 trillion), which can be used to service Nigeria’s debt. In a statement issued in Abuja, the agency’s Executive Secretary, Mr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, noted that the debts, which were identified in its 2019 Oil and Gas Audit Report, arose from the failure of the firms to remit petroleum profit tax, company income tax, education tax, value-added tax, withholding tax, royalty and concession on rentals to the federation account. Giving a breakdown

By Dipo Olowookere The 6th World Hydropower Congress (WHC), a multi-stakeholder forum bringing together leaders and specialists with hydropower-related responsibilities from government, industry, finance, United Nations agencies, academia and civil society, is to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from May 9-11, 2017. Organised by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) with the support of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union Commission (AUC) and other partners, this high-level event will chart the course for hydropower development and operation over the next 10 years, aiming to ensure reliable and resilient water and energy systems in the world and to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A deal meant to make lovers of quality pizzas have the food item promptly delivered to their doorsteps has been signed between Jumia and Pizza Hut. Managing Director of Jumia’s food marketplace, Mr Guy Futi, explained that the partnership is expected to boost operational performance and last mile delivery in Nigeria. Addressing newsmen at a press conference held at Pizza Hut in Lagos, Mr Futi said, “As the premier food delivery business in Nigeria, we are opening up our platform to enable our customers to order pizza from Pizza Hut while ensuring that it is delivered at

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Wednesday, June 28 and Thursday, June 29, 2023, have been declared as public holidays for this year’s Eid-El-Kabir by the federal government. A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Ms Oluwatoyin Akinlade, said Muslims and all Nigerians were charged by the government to make sacrifices for the growth and development of the country. While felicitating with the Muslim Ummah at home and in the diaspora,” the government expressed hope that “the prayers and sacrifices that come with this great celebration, as well as the message of Eid-ei-Kabir, will bring about peace, unity

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc has announced changes to its corporate logo and product packaging. A statement signed by the firm’s Secretary, Mrs Oluwayemisi Busari, on Tuesday, August 8, 2017, explained that, “These changes were premised on the need to re-position the Honeywell brand in order to achieve greater alignment with its vision and strategic objectives, and will entail unifying all the Honeywell brands under a single, contemporary Masterlogo and also redesigning and modernizing product package across the B2B and B2C ranges.” Honeywell Flour Mills Plc is a major flour milling company in Nigeria and

By Dipo Olowookere Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed in its latest data that activities of Niger Delta militants on oil installations in the region caused a decline of about $447 million in foreign exchange inflows from $1.4 billion in September to $957.3 million in October 2016. It was revealed that the total outflows also decreased during the period, dropping significantly by $1.44 billion from $2.46 billion to $1.02 billion during the same period This caused a decline in oil production to about 1.6 million barrels per day as against the budgeted production volume of 2.2 million bpd. At

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Chief Executive Officer of 9mobile, Mr Boye Olusanya, has disclosed that the Nigeria’s innovative and customer-friendly telecommunications company has zero tolerance for fraudulent and unethical activities. Mr Olusanya said 9mobile, which was recently rated as Nigeria’s number one Mobile Network Operator with clearest voice quality and overall best telco by P3 Communications, will continue to work hard to protect its subscribers and give them quality services. P3 Communications is the largest European and international leader in mobile telecoms benchmarking. “At 9mobile, we continuously review our internal control and processes to protect the business as well as the

By Adedapo Adesanya In line with the latest directive by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), tenants will now have to pay six per cent stamp duty on all tenancy and lease agreements. In a notice to landlords and property agents signed by the tax agency’s Director of Communications and Liaison Department, Mr Abdullahi Ahmad, on Wednesday, it said the funds are expected to be remitted by landlords in order not to run afoul of the Stamp Duty Act. This simply means that the responsibility of collection and remittance falls on the landlord or agent in charge of the property