By Dipo Olowookere

A financial technology firm, Rillet, has completed a $70 million Series B funding round led by a16z and ICONIQ and other investors to revolutionise accounting with Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The company is expected to develop an AI-powered accounting software and AI-native ERP (enterprise resource planning) platform to replace 20th-century accounting software.

The fresh funding package is coming just 10 weeks since it raised $25 million from Sequoia, bringing the total funds to $100 million in 12 months.

The accounting industry is facing a major talent crunch, with 75 per cent of accountants expected to retire in the next 15 years. At the same time, 80 per cent of routine financial operations could be automated according to Accenture.

Rillet sits right at this crossroads, creating a new platform shift in how humans and AI work together in finance. The result is transformative: finance teams get more done with fewer people, while shifting their focus from manual grunt work to strategic analysis that actually moves the needle for their business.

The plan by Rillet is to expand its AI capabilities and deepen integrations across the financial technology stack. The team’s ultimate vision extends far beyond automation; they’re building towards a collaborative platform where AI agents and human expertise work together to transform how businesses understand and manage their financial performance.

Rillet starts with native integrations, which enable structured data to flow into their smart general ledger. AI is then applied directly within the system, empowering finance teams to collaborate in real time, automate workflows natively and get insightful reporting the moment something happens, not days or weeks later.

“Finance teams deserve the same AI advantages that have revolutionized sales, engineering, and legal,” the General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Alex Rampell, stated.

Also, a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Seema Amble, noted, “Rillet is delivering that transformation by rebuilding ERP infrastructure specifically for the AI era. We’re excited to support their vision as they scale to serve the next generation of high-growth companies.”

“In our view, Rillet is not just modernizing accounting software, it’s redefining what finance teams can achieve when freed from outdated systems.

“Their AI-native approach can give companies a clear edge: faster insights, leaner teams, and smarter decisions. We believe Rillet will become foundational infrastructure for the next generation of category-defining businesses,” the General Partner at ICONIQ, Seth Pierrepont, said.

The chief executive of Rillet, Nicolas Kopp, said, “As US CEO of N26, I experienced firsthand how frustrating it was to wait weeks for critical business metrics.

“My finance team was world-class, but simple requests took weeks because the systems were stuck in the past. I knew there had to be a better way.”

By Dipo Olowookere

The chief executive of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Dinesh Balsingh, has expressed the desire of the company to double its investment in the country in its current financial year in a bid to further improve customer satisfaction.

At a parley with media executives at Radisson Hotel Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, he disclosed that the telecommunications firm would invest more in infrastructure and others to ensure customers, especially data consumer, continue to get value for money.

Mr Balsingh noted the exponential explosion of data usage across Nigerian cities, particularly Lagos, as rapid urbanisation, digitisation, and mobile-first lifestyles continue to drive bandwidth consumption at unprecedented rates.

“Cities like Lagos are growing at lightning speed—more people, more businesses, more devices. At Airtel, we recognise that data is the new oxygen. That’s why we’re investing heavily in 5G and fibre to build a smart, scalable network that can carry the weight of Nigeria’s digital future.

“This isn’t just about faster internet; it’s about enabling education, healthcare, commerce, and opportunity through reliable, high-capacity connectivity,” the Airtel Nigeria chief stated.

“Airtel Nigeria is responding with cutting-edge solutions to power the future of digital connectivity in urban areas as well as hard-to-reach areas across the country,” he added.

With the introduction of 5G-ready technologies and aggressive fibre rollout in major urban areas, he stated, Airtel is ensuring that Nigerians are not left behind in the global digital economy, stating that the company’s evolving network infrastructure is designed to serve the needs of modern consumers who demand high-speed, uninterrupted access to online services

Mr Balsingh also disclosed that the organisation was making efforts to reduce its energy costs by embracing green energy to power its base stations and other infrastructure across the country.

During the media engagement, which had in attendance business editors, brands and consumer editors, ICT editors, and capital market editors from legacy print and the digital press, Mr Balsingh provided insights into the strategies deployed by the organisation to address Nigeria’s growing telecom and technology ecosystem.

He also spotlighted several other advancements such as the Airtel Business Network as a Service (NaaS) solution to boost Nigerian enterprise; collaborations with Starlink and OneWeb to deepen data coverage in remote areas; self-service customer experience products; AI-enabled user data and privacy protections; and the ongoing cashback programmes offered on the Smartcash mobile app.

Other programmes highlighted by Mr Balsingh and his team included Airtel’s groundbreaking AI-powered Spam Alert Service, which currently flags about 30 million spam SMS messages monthly; the NXtra Data Centre, which is set to go live in 2026 as the largest data centre in Nigeria; and the scale of education support projects like the N1 billion investment in the federal government’s Three Million Technical Talents (3MTT) initiative, Adopt-a-School, and the Reimagine Education programme which currently benefits over 1.5 million Nigerian learners of which over 880,000 are public elementary school pupils across the 1,450 Airtel/UNICEF schools nationwide.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has launched its new guidelines on corporate governance for the telecommunications industry.

The guidelines, which build on previous regulatory efforts, aim to enhance transparency, accountability, and resilience within the country’s rapidly expanding telecommuncation landscape, according to the Executive Vice Chairman, Mr Aminu Maida, on Wednesday, stressing that the initiative goes beyond mere compliance.

“Today’s launch is not just about compliance. It is about sustainability of networks and businesses, of investments and innovation, of customer trust and national development,” he stated.

He highlighted that robust corporate governance is essential for leaders to make sound capital allocation decisions, manage risks effectively, safeguard data, attract long-term financing, and deliver reliable services, particularly in an era marked by cyber threats, energy constraints, and rising stakeholder expectations.

Mr Maida recalled the initial voluntary code introduced in 2014 which m transitioned to a mandatory regime in 2016, leading to the Nigerian Corporate Governance Code 2018 which has now evolved.

The latest 2025 guidelines are the result of extensive public consultations in 2023 and 2024, designed to integrate global best practices with Nigeria’s unique operating environment.

“We all know that there is a world and there is Nigeria. We always have our peculiarities in Nigeria. This is indeed very timely,” Mr Maida noted.

The EVC presented evidence from a comprehensive analysis conducted across licensees, which correlated strong corporate governance with superior financial performance, service quality, and regulatory compliance.

“The results were clear and compelling. Firmly strong corporate governance consistently demonstrated superior performance across all of these dimensions,” he affirmed.

“The winners in the market today, whether we like it or not, are there because of strong corporate governance. Good corporate governance is not merely a regulatory requirement. It is a strategic imperative for business success and long-term sustainability”, he asserted.

Key provisions of the 2025 guidelines include: Mandating balanced composition, separation of Chairman and CEO roles, and requiring sector-specific expertise in ICT and cybersecurity on boards.

The new guidelines introduces robust controls on related party transactions, mid-year and annual board-certified compliance reports, and a designated regulatory officer role for timely and accurate filings.

It also emphasized systematic identification and mitigation of material risks, including operational resilience, supported by empowered internal audit functions.

The new guidelines requires ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) reporting, with a focus on customer welfare, energy efficiency (including renewables at network sites), supply chain integrity, and community impacts. It also escalates sanctions for persistent material non-compliance to protect consumers and maintain market confidence.

Mr Maida said these provisions will be implemented in phases, starting with priority license classes.

He pointed out several reasons why strong governance is central to sustainability, including enhanced network reliability and customer trust, reduced cost of capital and increased investment confidence, improved regulatory and social license, bolstered operational resilience and climate readiness, and disciplined innovation.

He urged the licensees and industry partners to embrace the new guidelines.

“Do not view these guidelines as a burden. See them as a toolkit for creating sustainable value for your investors who benefit from stronger returns and lower risk, for your customers who benefit from better quality, security, and transparency. And internally for your people who thrive in ethical, high-performing institutions,” he explained.