Nokia Launches Affordable G21 Smartphone in Nigeria

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 Aduragbemi Omiyale If urgent steps are not taken, Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, believed to be worth about $75.6 billion, could be at risk because of the widening skills gap. This was the submission of a renowned telecoms policy enthusiast, Mr Omobayo Azeez, at the just-concluded second edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE 2023) organised in Lagos by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). In his keynote address on Bridging Skills Gap to Accelerate the Indigenous Telecoms Development, Mr Azeez argued that the rising skills gap in the country was becoming a challenge to the sector. He posited that

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

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 Dipo Olowookere Union Bank of Nigeria Plc will now operate under new owners, Titan Trust Bank Limited, after the payment of N191.4 billion for the acquisition of the old generation financial institution. The deal was concluded on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Monday with the purchase of 27.34 million units of Union Bank shares at N7.00 each in an off-market transaction. The share price of Union Bank closed flat today at N6.25. Recall that in December 2021, it was reported that the two-year lender was planning to buy an 89.39 per cent stake in the 104-year-old

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to give back ground after moving sharply higher over the course of the previous session. Renewed concerns about the U.S.-China trade war may weigh on the markets after a report from Bloomberg said President Donald Trump?s administration is holding off on decisions about licenses for U.S. companies to restart business with Chinese tech giant Huawei. Trump previously said his administration would make ?timely licensing decisions? but has reportedly decided to delay the decisions in response to China halting its purchases

By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke The power of social media cannot be underestimated by any serious brand or organisation especially when it has to do with customer satisfaction and engagement. It has completely changed interaction with customers. So, how has social media revolutionised customer service? Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency shares the ways or how this is happening. Public and open interaction with customers Today, customers can have public and open interaction with any brand whether they have complaints or not. There is nothing that is hidden anymore. Variety of options Customers do not need to dial any number to

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has warned Nigerians to be on high alert for the Marburg Virus detected in West African neighbour, Ghana. The NCDC urged Nigerians to adhere strictly to preventive measures like avoiding non-essential travel to locations where the outbreak is reported for the moment; avoiding direct contact with blood, saliva, vomit, urine, and other bodily fluids of people with suspected or confirmed Marburg virus disease; and avoiding the animal reservoir (fruit bats), other sick animals. Other measures include ensuring all persons with the symptoms described above are promptly taken to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation, Ulla Tørnæs, yesterday met with Burkina Faso’s Minister of Economy, Finance and Development, Rosine Sori-Coulibaly. The meeting was the newly appointed minister’s first meeting with a foreign minister, thus affirming the special partnership between Burkina Faso and Denmark, which so far has lasted for over 30 years. “The Minister of Economy, Finance and Developments visit confirms the close cooperation between Denmark and Burkina Faso on development and stability in Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel region. Since the popular uprising in October 2014, Burkina Faso has, despite the fact that the country

By Adedapo Adesanya American retail giant, Amazon, is looking to hire 55,000 staff globally for corporate jobs and roles in robotics, research and engineering as it further expanded its footprint. About 40,000 jobs will be in the US, with 2,500 in the United Kingdom and the remainder mostly in India, Germany and Japan. This was disclosed by the company’s chief executive, Mr Andy Jassy, who explained that Amazon needed more hands to keep pace with the expansion of its retail, cloud computing and advertising arms. “Amazon continues to grow quickly, and relentlessly invent across many areas,” he said in a

By Adedapo Adesanya  Kaspersky has contributed to INTERPOL’s Africa Cyber Surge Operation (ACSO) by sharing data comprising indicators of compromise (IoCs) on various cyber threats and types of cybercriminal activity targeting African countries, including Nigeria. This evidence provided the grounds for a series of operational and investigative activities against the threat actors behind the cybercrimes and their malicious infrastructure. The threat intelligence data was shared with INTERPOL as part of the agency’s long-standing Gateway project, which encourages the partnership between law enforcement and private industry players to accumulate threat data from multiple sources, enabling police authorities to prevent attacks. Based

By Adedapo Adesanya A 10-man team has been inaugurated by the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) with a task to come up with measures to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. According to Mr Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of NITDA, the committee will also be charged with providing insight for the government on how to provide an enabling environment for startups. Not restricted to startups, the committee will extend its tentacles to small and medium scale businesses, and the technology ecosystem in general. The committee comprises some carefully selected brightest minds in technology, entrepreneurship, the media,