Technology
Osinbajo Advocates Closing Entrepreneurial Gap with Technology, Innovation
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, has reiterated the need to close the entrepreneurial gap with the rapid growth of innovation and technology recorded over the years globally.
This was the view of the Vice President in a pre-recorded speech at a weekend ceremony in Lagos to mark the 20th anniversary of Interswitch, a leading fintech company in Nigeria and Africa.
He said there are even more exciting new frontiers to be explored and harnessed by Nigeria’s talented and enterprising young entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the ceremony Saturday evening, Mr Osinbajo noted that “as innovation and technology open exciting new frontiers in medicine and healthcare, we can rest assured that Nigeria will not lag behind.”
Noting that “innovative disruptions thrive on natural and human occasioned gaps within the system,” the VP added that many of such are in Africa.
According to the Vice President, “this is why our continent is undoubtedly the next and possibly the last frontier.”
“All across the continent, there are yawning gaps waiting to be plugged by innovative ideas and entrepreneurial efforts. It is exciting to see how sprightly young people, particularly, are rising to the challenge and the accelerated pace of creative disruptions in their wake,” he added.
Speaking further on the incredible talents and potential of Nigeria and Africa’s young people to drive socio-economic growth, the VP stated that, “in 2021 alone, African tech startups raised over $ 4 billion in funding, with over 564 startups across the continent solving critical problems in almost every sector.
“Within the next two decades, Africa’s workforce will be the largest in the world. They are skilled, and they are coming. As a result, more innovative disruptors will yet emerge to plug more of these gaps.”
Mr Osinbajo further said the President Buhari administration would continue to provide the enabling environment for young entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive.
“Our responsibility as a government has been to meet them halfway and perhaps outpace them with corresponding creativity in the provision of forward-thinking regulatory frameworks and adequate infrastructure. I can assure you that no effort is being spared in this regard.
“Nevertheless, there is still so much to be done; and a lot of ground to cover. I have no doubt, though, that we are up to the task,” he emphasised.
The VP observed that “it is through innovative disruptions that humans have managed to resolve their most complex challenges and stay ahead of the survival curve.
“Oftentimes, these ideas are championed by mavericks who find better, safer, and more cost-effective ways for us to live, do business, and govern; slight tweaks that improve our overall experience, and complete overhauls that lead us into new paths altogether.”
On what he described as ‘two rigorous decades of accelerated change,’ since Interswitch was founded 20 years ago, he noted that it was “incredible that what began as a novel idea to facilitate seamless payments across Africa has in barely two decades become something of an icon of technology and innovation literally pioneering Africa’s ongoing Fintech revolution.”
The Vice President described Interswitch “as a leading company at the forefront of agency banking and financial inclusion in Nigeria,” which “also operates the largest and fastest growing private sector-led domestic card scheme in the world.”
He further noted, “It is, therefore, a testament to the quality of the talent and courage of the founders of Interswitch that they saw the future clearly and predicted the potential of a nascent technology for scale and application.”
Situating Interswitch further in the innovative disruption that has since transformed Nigeria’s fintech space, Mr Osinbajo recalled that “in 2002, only 569 million people were connected to the Internet worldwide. Nigeria, as a whole, had less than 200,000 people with Internet access. In fact, PayPal, one of the pioneering electronic payment companies in the internet age, was barely four years old at the time.”
Since then, Africa’s domestic e-payments market has grown by 20 per cent annually in the last two years and is projected to hit around $40 billion in 2025, the Vice President said.
“It is estimated that around half of all future digital payments will come from Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya, with Nigeria experiencing the fastest growth at 35 per cent per year. A lot of this is, of course, owed to the trailblazing efforts of Interswitch. Your rapid expansion, already serving customers in over 23 African Markets, is an ample demonstration of growing vitality.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The co-founder of a freight logistics firm, Kobo360, Mr Obi Ozor, is back at the company after he stepped down in 2023 to become the Commissioner for Transportation in Enugu State.
He has reacquired shares of the company from investors, excluding the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which reaffirmed its commitment to supporting entrepreneurs driving innovation and development in Africa, according to a mail to TechCabal, which reported the news.
Recall that earlier, Kobo360 raised about $79 million from investors, including Juven, a spinoff from Goldman Sachs, IFC, and TLcom Capital.
However, due to its business model, the organisation has struggled to remain in business, forcing its lenders to cut off credit support, which has affected its operations.
The firm has experienced cash flow issues, which have made it impossible to pay truck drivers on time, resulting into declining trip volumes and sharp decline in revenue to keep operations going.
TechCabal reported that a former employee of Kobo360 claimed that truck drivers are paid upfront but had to wait 30 to 90 days for manufacturers and distributors to settle invoices.
“Our partnership with these banks was three-way, so tensions on the bank’s side led to us losing access to our customers’ domiciled accounts. These were major clients, and losing their business significantly reduced Kobo360’s trip volume, revenue, and overall growth,” the source was said to have stated.
Kobo360 began operations in 2017 and hoped to cut inefficiencies, reduce empty return trips, and improve pricing transparency through technology by matching truck owners with businesses needing to move goods.
But these goals have not been sustained because of the challenges the company faced.
Mr Ozor later stepped down for a political appointment in Enugu State. He was replaced by Ciku Mugambi, who later stepped down last October after the company continued to struggle to remain afloat.
This may have forced Mr Ozor to return to the organisation to salvage the situation.
According to TechCabal, IFC believes the situation is not beyond repairs.
“The challenging macroeconomic environment has created headwinds for startups across emerging markets, including in the logistics sector.
“The IFC remains committed to supporting entrepreneurs driving innovation and development across the continent,” it told the news platform.
By Dipo Olowookere
About $10 million has been attracted in investment by FairPlay from JPMorgan Chase, Infinity Ventures and Nyca Partners.
Infinity Ventures, whose founding team previously led PayPal’s Corporate Development and Venture efforts, brings deep expertise in identifying and scaling innovative financial technologies.
The chief executive of FairPlay, Mr Kareem Saleh, believes the funding support “not only validates our mission but also enables us to help more lenders and insurers make decisions that benefit their businesses and their customers.”
He noted, “This investment from a leading group of investors and financial institutions underscores the growing importance of AI safety in the banking and insurance sectors. We’re thrilled to have the support of such prestigious investors as we enter our next phase of growth.”
The firm received these fresh funds after it posted a threefold increase in business in 2024, demonstrating robust market demand for its Artificial Intelligence (AI) safety solutions.
FairPlay’s tools help companies using AI to make high-stakes decisions about consumers’ lives identify and correct blind spots in their decisioning systems.
Its customers find that the product increases revenue, enables them to stay compliant with regulations, and improves financial health outcomes for consumers.
This new funding will accelerate FairPlay’s mission of building fairness infrastructure for the Internet, thereby creating greater safety for all consumers in today’s race to AI adoption.
“FairPlay’s innovative fairness-as-a-service approach has demonstrated remarkable traction in the market. We’ve been particularly impressed by the calibre of institutions adopting FairPlay — including several of the top banks and Fortune 500 companies—because of its robustness and ability to deliver results faster.
“We believe FairPlay’s technology will become a tool for many institutions using AI to make important decisions,” a partner at Infinity Ventures, Jay Ganatra, remarked.
“FairPlay has built an impressive set of products to help its customers evaluate their models, broaden credit access, and strengthen the financial services ecosystem so that institutions of all sizes can adopt responsible AI practices,” the Head of Impact Finance and Advisory at JPMorgan Chase, Shuman Chakrabarty, commented.
“As early investors in FairPlay, we’ve watched the company consistently execute on its vision. Their impressive growth validates our long-standing conviction in both their mission and their ability to deliver pioneering AI solutions to the market,” a partner at Nyca, Jeremy Solomon, noted.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Group Chief Human Resources Officer of Interswitch, Mr Franklin Ali, has called for the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make work easier by boosting operational efficiency and driving economic growth.
Mr Ali, at the 2025 InnovateAI Conference Lagos held at the Landmark Centre, Lagos, submitted that, “The AI economy is a gateway to the knowledge economy, and it is imperative that we embrace this shift.”
“While AI adoption in leading economies like America and China remains below 50 per cent, these nations are at the forefront of AI advancements.
“To compete globally, Nigeria must prioritise reskilling and upskilling its workforce, fostering a mindset shift, and equipping professionals with core and enabling skills such as data literacy, JavaScript, and other technical competencies,” he further stated during a panel session titled AI and The Future of Work in Nigeria.
The Human Resources expert while emphasising the importance of targeted learning and problem-solving at the event themed Scaling AI Adoption in Nigeria: Catalysing Cross-Sectoral Innovation and Fostering Inclusive Growth, informed the participants that, “AI is not just a buzzword; it is a tool for solving real-world problems.”
“For instance, traffic congestion in Lagos is a challenge that can be addressed through AI-driven solutions.
“However, adept use of AI technology requires a deep understanding of core tech skills in areas like natural language processing, robotics, and machine learning.
“We must learn AI not for the sake of it but to solve specific problems that impact our society and economy,” he noted.
This year’s conference had Interswitch Group as a Platinum Sponsor for the second consecutive year, reinforcing its commitment to advancing AI-driven innovation across Africa.
By collaborating with key stakeholders and fostering industry-wide conversations, Interswitch aims to drive AI-powered innovation that will propel Nigeria’s digital economy forward.
As a pioneer in Africa’s fintech space, Interswitch remains dedicated to championing initiatives that harness technology’s transformative potential to unlock new opportunities, stimulate economic growth, and elevate user experiences.
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