Author: ITPulse

Nigeria has witnessed the first best STEM female student in Nigeria, following the conclusion of the fourth edition of the InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition, a CSR initiative of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce company, Interswitch. Orevaoghene Whiskey aged 16 of Top Faith International School, Akwa Ibom State won the grand prize of N7.5 million in scholarship, among other exciting prizes, making her the first female winner of the national competition show in its four-year television run. Coming in second and third place were Adesayo Elumaro of The Ambassadors College, Ota, Ogun State, and Precious Akinyemi of Rhema Chapel…

By David Afolabi Imagine a world of software development projects gone rogue. Features are built in isolation, dependencies clash, deadlines slip, and budgets balloon. Stakeholders are confused and frustrated, and ultimately, the entire initiative grinds to a halt. This chaotic scenario is precisely what a Technical Program Manager (TPM) exists to prevent. The TPM is a strategic leader that bridges the gap between technical execution and business objectives. Unlike a Project Manager (PM) who focuses on a single project’s delivery, a TPM oversees a broader program encompassing multiple interconnected projects. They also differ from other Product Managers and are contextually…

Some cybersecurity experts have called for some form of regulations that will make organisations report cyberattacks, stressing that underreporting of cyberattacks is one of the major challenges hindering the fight against cyber threats in Nigeria. Speaking at the Nigeria 2023 Cybersecurity Perspective, a webinar organized by ISC Nigeria Chapter, Mr. Remi Afon, Founder of Lynsec Cybersecurity Solution, argued that there is a lack of transparency in reporting cybersecurity breaches. This, according to him has remained a significant challenge. Mr. Remi Afon, who is the immediate past President of the Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), also noted that while…

Nigeria is a study in contradiction. It has the largest proven gas reserve in Africa yet faces a significant challenge in providing access to gas for a majority of its citizens and businesses. On top of this, it occupies an unenviable position as one of the top seven gas-flaring countries in the world, according to the World Bank. The tale would be unbelievable if it was fiction. Sadly, the reality is grim. Oil-producing companies burn off millions of cubic litres of natural gas during oil production. They use a fancy term, gas flaring, to describe it. It doesn’t however take…

The best Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) student in Nigeria that will emerge from the InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition will earn a whopping N7.5 million university scholarship for a five-year period. Apart from the scholarship, the best student will also receive a brand -new laptop and a monthly stipend, while the second-place winner will go home with an N4 million scholarship spread over a period of three years, a brand-new laptop, and a monthly stipend. The third-place winner gets an N1 million scholarship spread over a period of one year, a brand-new laptop, and a monthly stipend. It is…

Cross River has emerged as the second state in Nigeria after Kaduna and the first in the Southern Part of the country to commence the delivery of medical commodities via drones. The facility which was commissioned by the Executive Governor of the Cross River State will deliver several medicines and vaccines to over three hundred health facilities thereby removing access challenges within the state. According to General Manager, Catherine Odiase, Zipline is a mission-driven company founded on the belief that every person has the right of access to reliable, high-quality healthcare. “We believe that more efficient, effective, and data-driven global…

January is renowned for being a month of extremely slow days, mounting bills and a long, grinding wait for payday. This is often the case for folks in paid employment.    However, the difficulties that traditionally accompany the month of January impact entrepreneurs or those in business as well. Usually, discretionary or disposable income is often limited and tightly guarded, with many potential customers trying to wade through to the end of the month after the customary lavish spending that trailed the previous year-end festivities.   With the current fuel scarcity plaguing most parts of Nigeria burning deeper holes in…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week issued Interswitch the Payments Service Holding Company (PSHC) License, making the financial technology and integrated payments solution provider one of the inaugural licensees by the CBN in this category. The PSHC regulation requires companies with existing or prospective operations across multiple license categories to set up a payments service holding company (PSHC). The activities of each of the PSHC subsidiaries operating within those respective licensing regimes are clearly delineated, for clearer accountability, effective risk management and the enablement of better regulatory oversight by the CBN. Meanwhile, a statement from Interswitch has outlined…

According to the World Economic Forum, artificial intelligence (AI) can contribute up to USD 15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. However, in Africa, AI market growth has stagnated. Estimated at USD 870 million in 2021, with marginal growth forecasted until 2024. It has been argued that continents in the Global South will continue to benefit less from AI than those in the North. Oxford Insights highlights this because governments require the appropriate environment to support AI development – including adequate data infrastructure, and an innovative vision to implement progress at the state level. Nonetheless, AI is of imperative…

The technology world was on fire about the latest artificial intelligence demonstration by OpenAI in the waning months of 2022, ChatGPT. It is truly a remarkable achievement, an artificial intelligence (AI) that you can have a conversation with and ask to do everything from writing essays to code computer programs. As a computer security expert, I immediately did what comes naturally to people like me, I tried to hack it. Could I get it to do something bad, something malicious? Could this be abused by criminals or spies to enable new types of cybercrime? The answer of course, like most…