Author: ITPulse

The combination of Accenture Ventures, Susa Ventures and TLcom Capital has invested a $3.5million seed raise in Nigerian fintech platform and Open Finance (API Economy) pioneers, Okra. While TLcom Capital is an existing investor in Okra, which has invested $1m pre-Seed round last year, the recent investment bringing Okra’s total funding at seed to $4.5m was lead by US-based Susa Ventures, with newly joined Accenture Ventures. ITPulse can understand that the capital will be deployed to expand Okra’s data infrastructure across Nigeria. Speaking on the investment, Fara Ashiru Jituboh, Okra co-founder and CEO/CTO says, “We build the tools that businesses…

Mr. Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Nigeria’s first and only neutral IXP, will chair NITRA TECHNOLOGY FORUM 2021 which is slated to hold on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos. The event will gather industry stakeholders in the Cloud hosting services and Data Center to discuss issues around the growth of data hosting, preservation and utilisation in the country. The NITRA TECHNOLOGY FORUM with its Theme: Achieving 30% Growth In Local Cloud Hosting By 2024, will also discuss challenges and solutions to factors mitigating against effective domiciliation of our locally-generated data. According to the…

Canon Central & North Africa (CCNA) has signed four new value business partners in key African markets as part of efforts to strengthen its footprint across the continent. In a press conference today, the company said the partnership is in response to key findings from the first-ever Middle East and Africa study on the State of the Printing Industry, which was conducted by Canon in conjunction with print industry news leader ME Printer in mid-2020. “Findings from our study highlights the growth of digitisation accelerated by the pandemic but also, significantly, indicates an evolution in customer demand, which points to a range of untapped growth opportunities…

The Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Efosa Idehen has highlighted some of the measures the Commission has taken to engage telecom service providers with regards to unlimited data bundles. In a short video posted on the Commission’s official social media platforms, Mr. Idehen noted that NCC has continued to engage service providers to ensure that unlimited data bundles are not capped. This engagement, according to him is coming owing to the complaints by some telecom consumers that the service providers do cap the unlimited data bundle to 6gigabytes per day, even when such information…

The Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) issued in 2019 has created a sector valued at N2.2 billion, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mal. Kashifu Inuwa has disclosed. The DG, who disclosed yesterday in his remark celebrating NITDA’s 20th Anniversary, also stated that the regulation has created over 2,686 new job roles in the industry with the licensing of 72 Data Protection Compliance Organizations (DPCOs). “We licensed 72 Data Protection Compliance Organizations (DPCOs), created over 2,686 new jobs roles in the industry, developed a Nigeria’s new data protection sector valued at around 2.2 billion Naira,” he…

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) presently boasts of 1, 560 demand-specific intervention centers spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country, ITPulse understands. These demand-specific intervention centers, which started with just ten (10) Rural Information Technology Resource Centre (RITC) across the country’s six Geo-Political zones in 2007, have experienced consistent increase owing largely to NITDA’s focus on developing the Information Technology Sector. The number increased to 17 in 2008, 58 in 2009 and 119 in 2010. Today, in an attempt to bridge the digital divide, provide an enabling environment and strengthening the tech ecosystem and increased awareness…

The Nigerian e-commerce sector is a much-touted lucre that has attracted a number of players. The growing interest is buoyed by the rise in a youthful population, growing smartphone and internet penetration, the aspirational mindset of the average Nigerian and expanding consumer power. At present, e-Commerce spending in Nigeria is on the rise. Research estimates indicate that current spend on e-Commerce is at $12 billion, with the figure expected to rise higher and even projected to reach $75 billion in revenues per annum by 2025. Despite the allure, the reality of cracking e-Commerce in Nigeria and in Africa, by extension,…

Firstbank, West Africa’s premier financial inclusion services provider has upgraded its website at https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/, with new features that are streamlined to deliver seamless banking and technology solutions to its customers across the world. Announcing this in a statement, the bank said the new website is configured with modern design and improved functionality that eases customer experience whilst carrying out various activities on the site, including electronic banking. “As one of the key contact points to existing and potential customers, the Bank’s website remains a gateway to our business, supporting our unique value propositions and financial services solutions. As such, we…

By Martin Ekpeke The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta and other heads of sister agencies under the Ministry, today hailed the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was established on the 18th of April 2001, following the Federal Executive Council’s approval of the National Information Technology Policy in March 2001. Consequently, the National Assembly passed into law the NITDA Act, 2007, which mandates the Agency to regulate, develop, and…

Mr. Jide Ayegbusi , the Founder of Edusko, a Lagos-based EdTech startup will by tomorrow April 20, 2021, at the Fidelity SME Forum LIVE on Radio shares his experience on how he is improving access to quality education through technology. According to Fidelity, Mr. Ayegbusi shares his profound insights and experiences on “Using Ecommerce Concept to Disrupt Education – The Edusko Innovation.” “Join us on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, for another stimulating edition of the Fidelity SME Forum LIVE on Radio as Mr. Ayegbusi shares his profound insights and experiences on “Using Ecommerce Concept to Disrupt Education – The Edusko Innovation,”…