Author: ITPulse

Backbase, a global leader in AI-powered banking platforms, in partnership with African Banker magazine, has released a landmark report titled “The State of AI in African Banking 2026: The Reality of Banking in the Agentic Era.” Serving as the first systematic assessment of the return on investment (ROI) for artificial intelligence within the continent’s financial sector, the report reveals that African banks remain firmly committed to AI adoption. However, the sector is rapidly shifting into an “accountability phase,” where corporate boards are actively demanding proof of financial returns. Drawing from an extensive survey of 277 senior banking executives across 37…

By Gloria Onosode For generations, conventional financial advice has treated debt like a trap — a final, desperate resort for emergency cash or a slippery slope toward financial instability. But as Nigeria’s economic terrain evolves, this defensive mindset is changing. Progressive business leaders, entrepreneurs, and forward-thinking individuals are realizing that it can be an important financial tool for achieving personal or business objectives when used responsibly and within one’s repayment capacity. To build a sustainable financial future, we must change our relationship with credit. Borrowing shouldn’t be a cycle of survival; it should form part of a broader financial plan…

By Epiphanus Obia  When you ask the average Nigerian to name the companies behind their bank transfers, their ATM withdrawals, or the OPay wallet on their phone, you will mostly hear two names: Interswitch and OPay. Between them, these two companies move billions of naira daily and carry a combined valuation north of $3 billion. What almost nobody mentions is the company that fathered both of them and then stepped quietly out of the frame. That company is Telnet. Telnet Nigeria Limited has been operating for more than three decades, founded by the late Dr. Burian Carew on a simple,…

By Martin Ekpeke The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued 46 Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) licences in a strategic move to deepen market competition, drive digital inclusion, and expand mobile access across the country without requiring new operators to deploy heavy infrastructure or own spectrum. To ensure the sustainability of these new market entrants, the telecom regulator has also initiated a comprehensive review of the business rules governing MVNO operations. The announcement was made during the MVNO Business Rules Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum in Abuja, where industry leaders, host network operators, and regulatory officials gathered to address emerging operational challenges…

By Martin Ekpeke Nigeria’s digital economy has long stood at a critical crossroads. On one side lies immense potential, driven by a tech-savvy youth population, massive volumes of peer-to-peer digital transactions, and the rapid adoption of blockchain technologies. On the other hand, lies the persistent drag of regulatory fragmentation, where overlapping mandates between agencies created systemic vulnerabilities, financial leaks, and an open playing field for predatory, unregistered operators. But with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signing the Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, last week, Nigeria has taken a decisive step to eliminate those vulnerabilities. Rather than adding bureaucratic…

By Epiphanus Obia Nigerian poet and editor Adedayo Agarau has launched an interactive online calculator that estimates how much purchasing power Nigerians have lost since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, transforming inflation and cost-of-living data into personalized digital “Renewed Hope Payslips.” The tool, hosted on the 1000reasons.vote platform, asks users a few questions about their income before generating an “Invisible Deductions” statement that estimates how rising prices have affected what their salaries can buy over the past three years. Agarau announced the project on X over several posts this week, describing it as a tool that shows…

The Abuja-based commerce platform now enables SMEs, freelancers and merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments alongside traditional payment methods. Siiqo, a Nigerian commerce platform that helps small and medium-sized businesses build online storefronts, manage sales and accept payments, has announced the launch of cryptocurrency payment support across its marketplace. The new capability enables merchants selling digital products, professional services and physical goods to receive payments in digital assets alongside existing fiat payment options. The launch comes as cryptocurrency continues to gain traction across Nigeria’s business ecosystem. According to Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Nigeria remains among the world’s leading markets…

Google has upgraded its AI-powered research assistant with new document analysis capabilities that could help users spend less time reviewing lengthy reports, research papers and other complex documents, while rebranding the tool from NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook. The company announced on Thursday that Gemini Notebook can now use what it calls a secure cloud computer to write and run computer code on users’ uploaded files. In practical terms, this allows the AI to do more than summarise documents or answer questions. It can perform calculations, analyse spreadsheets and datasets, identify trends, compare information across multiple documents and generate richer outputs…

By Epiphanus Obia  X has removed nearly 4,000 accounts from its creator revenue-sharing program and detected 1.5 million duplicated posts in a fresh crackdown aimed at ensuring more advertising revenue goes to original content creators rather than users who rely on engagement bait or recycled content. The measures, announced on Thursday by X Head of Product Nikita Bier, introduce tougher enforcement against two practices the platform says have undermined the creator ecosystem: repeatedly posting messages designed to artificially boost engagement and republishing other people’s content with minor edits to earn revenue. Under the new rules, creators who post engagement-soliciting messages…

The National Population Commission (NPC) has launched an online platform for registering births and deaths nationwide, marking Nigeria’s transition to a fully digital civil registration system. The commission stated that the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) platform became operational on July 1, 2026, allowing Nigerians to register births and deaths online, thereby reducing the need for physical visits to registration centres. Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, NPC Chairman, Dr Aminu Yusuf, said the initiative is designed to modernise civil registration and improve the availability of accurate population data for national planning and policy formulation. “It is…