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 Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have introduced new rules that will ensure faster refunds for failed airtime and data purchases, following rising consumer complaints over debits without value.
Under the new rules, refunds are expected to be completed within 30 seconds, except where a transaction remains pending, in which case the resolution can take up to 24 hours.
The new framework, contained in a statement issued by NCC’s Head of Public Affairs, Ms Nnenna Ukoha, on Thursday, targets unsuccessful transactions linked to network downtime, system failures and human errors that affect subscribers nationwide.
According to the statement, the guideline was developed after months of joint engagements involving telecom operators, banks, value-added service providers and other industry stakeholders.
The NCC said the framework brings the financial and telecommunications sectors up to speed on how failed transactions are handled and resolved.
“These engagements were prompted by a rising incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value and experienced delays in resolution.
“The framework represents a unified position by both the telecommunications and financial sectors on addressing such complaints.
“It identifies and tackles the root causes of failed airtime and data transactions, including instances where bank accounts are debited without successful delivery of services,” she said.
Under the framework, Ms Ukoha said mobile network operators and banks are bound by a service level agreement that clearly defines their roles in transaction processing and refunds.
She emphasised that operators are also required to notify customers by SMS on the status of every airtime or data transaction.
The rules also address erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and instances where transactions are made to the wrong phone number.
On her part, the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs Freda Bruce-Bennett, said the framework also introduces a central monitoring system to improve oversight.
She said the dashboard will be jointly managed by the NCC and the CBN to track failed transactions, refunds and breaches of service timelines in real time.
“We are grateful to all stakeholders, particularly the CBN and its leadership, for their tireless commitment to resolving this issue and arriving at this framework,” she said.
The official said failed top-ups are among the top three complaints received by the commission, adding that implementation of the framework is expected to begin on March 1, subject to final approvals and completion of technical integration by all operators and banks.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government is in advanced talks with Google for a new undersea cable to strengthen the country’s digital connectivity and resilience.
The country wants to augment existing undersea links with Europe, said the chief executive of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, as per Bloomberg on Tuesday.
Mr Inuwa said this was necessary at this time, calling Nigeria’s current reliance on cables that follow the same path “a single point of failure.”
Google earlier this year said it plans to expand its digital presence significantly in Africa with the development of four new strategic subsea cable connectivity hubs in the north, south, east, and west regions of the continent.
Already, Google is investing $2.1 million to accelerate Nigeria’s artificial intelligence (AI) growth, aiming to create one million digital jobs and bolster the country’s expanding technology economy.
This is aligned with Nigeria’s National AI Strategy, which is expected to play a meaningful role in the nation’s broader digital transformation. Projections indicate that AI could contribute up to $15 billion to Nigeria’s economy by 2030.
The fund will support partnerships with local organisations. To achieve these aims, the funding will support partnerships with local organisations working in digital skills development and cyber security.
The investment further signals global trust in Nigeria’s technology sector and underlines the nation’s role as a leader in Africa’s digital transformation. As new opportunities emerge, Google believes it support is set to help shape Nigeria’s economy and its place on the global technology stage.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An agreement for a satellite-to-mobile service that will benefit millions of people in Africa has been entered into between Airtel Africa Plc and SpaceX.
This service is through the introduction of Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity across all the 14 markets of Airtel Africa that serve 174 million customers.
Through this partnership, Airtel Africa customers with compatible smartphones in regions without terrestrial coverage can have network connectivity through Starlink, which is the world’s largest 4G connectivity provider (by geographic reach).
The satellite-to-mobile service will begin in 2026 with data for select applications and text messaging.
This agreement also includes support for Starlink’s first broadband Direct-to-Cell system, with next-generation satellites that will be capable of providing high-speed connectivity to smartphones with 20x improved data speed. The rollout will proceed in line with country-specific regulatory approvals.
Airtel Africa is the first mobile network operator in Africa to offer Starlink Direct-to-Cell service, powered by 650 satellites to provide seamless connectivity to its customers in remote areas.
The partnership reinforces Airtel Africa’s commitment to bridge digital divide and offer seamless connectivity to its customers.
Airtel Africa and Starlink will continue to explore additional collaboration opportunities to further advance digital inclusion across the continent.
“Airtel Africa remains committed to delivering great experience to our customers by improving access to reliable and contiguous mobile connectivity solutions.
“Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell technology complements the terrestrial infrastructure and even reaches areas where deploying terrestrial network solutions are challenging.
“We are very excited about the collaboration with Starlink, which will establish a new standard for service availability across all our 14 markets,” the chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, said.
Also commenting, the Vice President of Sales for Starlink, Ms Stephanie Bednarek, said, “For the first time, people across Africa will stay connected in remote areas where terrestrial coverage cannot reach, and we’re so thrilled that Starlink Direct-to-Cell can power this life-changing service.
“Through this agreement with Airtel Africa, we’ll also deliver our next-generation technology to offer high-speed broadband connectivity, which will offer faster access to many essential services.”
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