Author: ITPulse

In an effort to align with the federal government’s target of achieving 70 percent broadband penetration in five years, MTN Nigeria has decided to launch what it tagged ‘Home Broadband services. The idea, according to MTN is to expand broadband services to millions of homes across Nigeria, which currently boasts of approximately 44.3 percent internet connectivity, whereas other African countries, such as South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya, are at 68, 74, and 48 percent internet penetration, respectively. “At MTN, we believe that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life; hence our investment in industry-leading connectivity operations,” noted Hassan…

Konga, Nigeria’s leading e-commerce giant and Med-Direct Community Pharmacy, a 21st Century online retail pharmacy have announced a partnership to support the free delivery of highly discounted, quality drugs and medications to millions of Nigerians nationwide starting from Monday, August 15, 2022. The project, a humanitarian initiative will be executed under the auspices of Konga Kares, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Konga Group, through which it has identified with and empowered critical segments of the population in need of a helping hand. Through this initiative, Konga Kares and Med-Direct Africa are hopeful of crashing the cost of…

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mal. Kashifu Inuwa has reiterated that he will continue to give the necessary support to the Lagos tech startup ecosystem in a way that will enable the ecosystem to grow and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economy. The NITDA DG, who stated this during a dinner meeting with some key stakeholders of Lagos Ecosystem, including representatives from Microsoft, MasterCard, Norebase, among others, noted that this is important in view of the fact that Lagos State has continued to maintain itself as a viable community with the strongest unicorn of innovation in…

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has reshaped industries, from healthcare to finance, but building effective AI models remains a complex and resource-intensive endeavor. Traditionally, data scientists have poured hours into fine-tuning algorithms, selecting features, and adjusting hyperparameters, those critical settings that dictate a model’s behavior, to achieve optimal performance. As the demand for AI solutions surges, however, this hands-on approach is proving unsustainable. Harrison Obamwonyi, a visionary data scientist, has long advocated for a more efficient way forward: Automated Machine Learning (AutoML) and hyperparameter optimization. These innovations are not mere tools; they’re transforming the very nature of AI model…

Stakeholders in Blockchain Association of Nigeria (SiBAN) has announced that all arrangements to hold its inaugural Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Conference billed for the 6th of August, 2022 at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, has been concluded. Speaking recently to the media on the upcoming event, the President of SiBAN, Mr. Senator Ihenyen disclosed that the conference which will be a hybrid event is part of the association’s commitment to educating users and members of the public about blockchain technology, promoting its adoption by both private and public bodies, ensuring consumer protection and helping them safeguard against scams, while also working…

As part of efforts toward the protection of the telecom industry, which contributes impressively to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami has insisted that Nigeria will no longer import telecom products and services that can be manufactured locally. The Minister, who was speaking at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE), 2022 held at the Landmark Centre in Lagos, said this will heavily reverse the trend of importation of all types of telecommunications products, especially where production in Nigeria is possible. “Government had put efforts towards the…

Kaspersky experts have recommended four ways organizations can keep away from phishing scams following the continuous increase in the number of attacks in Africa in the second quarter of 2022. Carefully looking at the address bar before entering any sensitive information, such as your login details and password. If something is wrong with the URL (i.e., spelling, it doesn’t look like the original or it uses some special symbols instead of letters) don’t enter anything on the site. If in doubt, check the certificate of the site by clicking on the lock icon to the left of the URL. Not…

In comparison with the previous quarter – where the company’s security solutions detected 10,722,886 phishing attacks in Africa in Q2, Kaspersky analysis has revealed that attacks related to data loss threats (phishing and scams/social engineering) increased significantly in Africa in Q2 2022. According to Kaspersky data, attacks related to data loss threats have grown by 234% in Africa in the second quarter of 2022. For Africa, Kenyan users have been influenced the most by this type of threat: there were 5,098,534 phishing attacks detected in 3 months – a growth of 438% when compared to the previous quarter. It was…

Juniper Research has revealed in its new report that digital wallet users will exceed 5.2 billion users, representing over 60percent globally by 2026, as digitisation accelerates the cashless transition. The new figure is a growth from 3.4 billion in 2022; representing strong growth of over 53percent. “These rapidly growing markets represent a significant opportunity for digital wallet vendors, but they must work intelligently to maximise their position. A highly competitive wallets’ landscape means that vendors must differentiate themselves by integrating machine learning to provide spending insights and introduce new services such as wealth management to add value,” Research co-author Damla…

The Nigerian government through the Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS), which is domiciled in the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), yesterday in an attempt to strengthen indigenous participation in the telecom sector hosted the maiden edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content EXPO (NTICE 2022). The 2-day ongoing event happening at the Landmark Centre in Lagos is coming following the phenomenal growth in telecommunications with Nigeria seemingly playing more of the consuming role rather than producing. Giving his welcome address at the event, which attracted participation from indigenous and international Information and Communications Technology players, the Executive…