Technology
SimbaPay, Interswitch Launch SMS-Powered Remittances Chatbot

By Dipo Olowookere
London-based digital money transfer provider, SimbaPay, has announced the launch of an AI (Artificial Intelligence) powered chatbot service which now makes International money transfer (remittance) possible with only an SMS.
The SimbaPay chatbot will also enable 24/7 instant customer service for its customers across Africa and Europe.
“We’re thrilled at the prospect of the chatbot service resolving most customer enquiries instantly at any time of day or night” said Daniel Howard, CTO for SimbaPay. “Another major objective we achieved with the chatbot service is that it also works without internet. This means customers with a mobile phone, even a basic phone without internet access, can access the SimbaPay chatbot using SMS.”
Speaking on the Interswitch partnership with SimbaPay, Paul Mwaura Ndichu, CEO Interswitch East Africa (K) said, “Interswitch is proud to be associated with a company as innovative as SimbaPay which is continually looking to improve and expand its product offering. We will continue to collaborate in development of products and services that contribute to expansion of the fintech space”.
Together with Interswitch, SimbaPay’s B2B division offers its instant remittance technology to banks & telcos who want to provide their customers with a modern digital remittance service.
SimbaPay platform senders can now send money with just an SMS. All they require is the recipient’s phone number and the chatbot will automatically obtain the recipient bank account or mobile money details.
With this launch, recipients of money transfers from SimbaPay now also have the flexibility of choosing whether to get their cash delivered to their Mobile Money wallet (e.g. M-Pesa, MTN Money, Airtel Money) or their bank account.
In some instances, recipients may not have a smartphone or internet data bundles or airtime credit. To address this, the SimbaPay chatbot is accessible through free of charge SMS.
Some of the banks that offer SimbaPay powered remittance services have millions of customers and therefore receive a high volume of enquiries. The chatbot provides the scalability to handle thousands of customer enquiries per hour.
The SimbaPay chatbot service is also accessible on SimbaPay’s social media channels including Facebook. Popular enquiries that are now resolved by the chatbot include exchange rate queries, how to send money instructions and coverage enquiries.
Last year SimbaPay was nominated as the Best Remittance Service in Africa at the Digital Impact Awards Africa. In consideration of its social impact, this month SimbaPay was selected to receive investment from Katapult, a Norwegian based social impact fund.
In 2016, SimbaPay was selected as one of 10 companies to join the first ever Barclays Accelerator powered by Techstars in Africa. The app continues to disrupt the cross-border remittance industry with its focus on Financial Inclusion, extreme speed and convenience.
How SimbaPay Works
To send money via SimbaPay, customers living in activated African & European countries simply download the SimbaPay app from the Apple AppStore or Google Play. App users can then proceed to securely make money transfers straight from any smartphone, tablet or computer.
Together with Interswitch, SimbaPay’s B2B division offers its instant remittance technology to banks & telcos who want to provide their customers with a modern digital remittance service.
Technology
IBM to Exit Nigeria, Others from April 2025 Amid Low Sales

By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the global tech giants, International Business Machines (IBM), is planning to quit a few markets in Africa from April 1, 2025.
According to reports, IBM will leave Nigeria, Ghana and other key African markets because of its declining sales in the region.
The company has struggled to impress consumers because of stiff competition from rivals like Dell, Huawei and others with attractive products.
Its operations in Nigeria and other African countries will now be handled by MIBB, a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate, Midis Group.
MIBB will sell a wide range of IBM products and services in Africa like software, hardware, cloud solutions, and consulting services.
IBM has had a significant presence in Nigeria for over five decades, playing a crucial role in the country’s technology landscape.
The company provided infrastructure and consulting services to key sectors, including banking, telecommunications, oil and gas, and government.
Technology
50% Tariff Hike to Trigger Investments in Telecom Sector—ATCON

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) says the increase in telecommunication tariffs by 50 per cent will boost investment in the sector.
ATCON President, Mr Tony Emoekpere, said the public concern was natural and expected, especially when considering the economic realities of many Nigerians.
He, however, described the increment as an investment in the future of Nigeria’s digital economy, citing its numerous benefits.
“For years, telecom operators have operated under immense financial strain due to foreign exchange fluctuations, high energy costs, multiple taxation, and rising infrastructure expenses.
“These challenges have made it increasingly difficult to expand network capacity, improve service quality, and bridge the digital divide.
“Without adjustments in pricing, Nigeria’s digital infrastructure would risk stagnation, making it harder for the country to compete in the global digital economy,” Mr Emoekpere said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.
He said the adjustment was not just about pricing but ensuring enough resources to maintain and improve the quality of services Nigerians rely on daily.
“This tariff increase is an investment in the future of Nigeria’s digital economy, as it will enable operators to expand 4G and 5G coverage across more locations, particularly the underserved areas.
“This increment will bring about the upgrade of network sites to ensure better reliability.
“It will also enhance broadband speeds to support businesses, education, fintech, telemedicine, and other critical digital services.
“At the end of the day, the success of this move will be measured by real and tangible improvements in quality of service with faster internet speeds, fewer dropped calls, and wider coverage, leading to the digital transformation we all desire.
“That is the ultimate goal, and the telecom industry is fully committed to delivering on this promise,” Mr Emoekpere said.
According to him, the tariff hike is necessary, being the only viable option to ensure the right investments guarantee good quality service.
He added that the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) had recognised that sustainable pricing was crucial for long-term network investments.
He, however, stated there were still other pressing industry challenges that must be addressed if the government would truly support digital transformation.
“The focus should also be on simplifying Right of Way (RoW) permits to speed up fibre deployment.
“It should also be to fully enforce Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) protections to stop vandalism of telecom assets.
“Again, we should emphasise the reduction of the multiple layers of taxation that telecom operators face at federal, state, and local levels, and provide incentives for rural broadband expansion to ensure digital inclusion across all communities,” Mr Emoekpere said.
According to him, the positive news is that the issues are at different stages of being solved.
He noted that if the recent successes like the resolution of the USSD debt issue were anything to go by, “We are optimistic that the current administration will make progress in these areas as well.
“This should not stop us from remembering that consumers have a right to demand better services.
“The tariff increase should come with a visible improvement in quality: faster speed, wider coverage, and greater reliability.
“From all indications, the telecom operators are geared toward meeting these expectations, and the NCC has set clear quality service targets,” Mr Emoekpere said.
Technology
Nigeria’s Digital Quality of Life Index Declines to 100

Surfshark’s Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) 2024 ranks Nigeria 100th in the world. The study indicates how well the country is performing in terms of overall digital well-being compared to other nations. Nigeria drops by twelve places from last year, which reflects a lack of commitment to developing the digital landscape and positioning the country as a leader in leveraging technological advancements to improve citizens’ quality of life.
“In an election year like 2024, where the digital realm shaped political discourse and societal values, prioritizing digital quality of life proved to be more important than ever. It helps to ensure informed citizens, protects democratic processes, and fosters innovation. Our annual project helps to better understand where each county stands in terms of digital divide, highlighting where a nation’s digital quality of life excels and where further focus is required,” says Tomas Stamulis, Chief Security Officer at Surfshark.
Out of the Index’s five pillars, Nigeria performed best in e-security, claiming 76th place, but faced challenges in e-infrastructure, ranking 108th. The nation ranks 94th in e-government, 103rd in internet quality, and 106th in internet affordability. In the overall Index, Nigeria lags behind South Africa (66th) and Kenya (89th). Collectively, African countries lag behind in their digital quality of life, Nigeria taking 14th place in the region.
Nigeria ranks lower in e-government than 77% of the countries analyzed, with 93 countries above.
E-government determines how advanced and digitized a country’s government services are. A well-developed e-government helps minimize bureaucracy, reduce corruption, and increase transparency within the public sector. This pillar also shows the level of Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness a country demonstrates. Countries with the highest readiness to adopt AI technology are also ready to counter national cyberthreats. Nigeria ranks 94th in the world in e-government — six places lower than last year.
Nigeria is 76th in the world in e-security — three places lower than last year.
The e-security pillar measures how well a country is prepared to counter cybercrime and how advanced a country’s data protection laws are. In this pillar, Nigeria lags behind South Africa (75th) and Kenya (69th). Nigeria is unprepared to fight against cybercrime, the country has some data protection laws.
Nigeria’s internet quality is 25% lower than the global average.
- Nigeria’s fixed internet averages 39Mbps. To put that into perspective, the world’s fastest fixed internet — Singapore’s — is 347Mbps. Meanwhile, the slowest fixed internet in the world — Tunisia’s — is 14Mbps.
- Nigeria’s mobile internet averages 78Mbps. The fastest mobile internet — the UAE’s — is 430Mbps, while the world’s slowest mobile internet — Yemen’s — is 12Mbps.
Compared to South Africa, Nigeria’s mobile internet is 15% slower, while fixed broadband is 51% slower. Since last year, mobile internet speed in Nigeria has improved by 65%, while fixed broadband speed has grown by 55%.
The internet is unaffordable in Nigeria compared to other countries.
- Nigerians have to work 10 hours 43 minutes a month to afford fixed broadband internet. It is 46 times more than in Bulgaria, which has the world’s most affordable fixed internet (Bulgarians have to work 14 minutes a month to afford it).
- Nigerians have to work 2 hours 44 minutes 14 seconds a month to afford mobile internet. This is 18 times more than in Angola, which has the world’s most affordable mobile internet (Angolans have to work 9 minutes a month to afford it).
Nigeria is 108th in e-infrastructure.
Advanced e-infrastructure makes it easy for people to use the Internet for various daily activities, such as working, studying, shopping, etc. This pillar evaluates how high internet penetration is in a given country and its network readiness (readiness to take advantage of Information and Communication Technologies). Nigeria’s internet penetration is low (35% — 109th in the world), and the country ranks 102nd in network readiness.
On a global scale, investing in e-government and e-infrastructure improves digital well-being the most
Among the five pillars, e-government has the strongest correlation with the DQL index (0.92), followed by e-infrastructure (0.91).
Internet affordability shows the weakest correlation at 0.65.
METHODOLOGY
The DQL Index 2024 examines 121 nations based on five core pillars that consist of 14 indicators. The study is based on the United Nations’ open-source information, the World Bank, and other sources. Nigeria’s full profile in the 2024 Digital Quality of Life report and an interactive country comparison tool can be found here: https://surfshark.com/research/dql/country/NG.
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