Author: ITPulse

By Calum Handforth Entrepreneurs, and owners of informal small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – many of whom are women – represent a crucial, and sizeable, component of many economies. This is particularly the case in Nigeria, where SMEs are believed to constitute more than 90 per cent of all businesses in the country. Although these enterprises play an important role in society and the economy, their potential is often constrained by a lack of meaningful identification (ID). In particular, business owners find it difficult to highlight the legitimacy of themselves and their firms, and to demonstrate their trustworthiness and credibility.…

By Nika Naghavi This blog is the first in a two-part series on the State of Mobile Money in Sub-Saharan Africa. Earlier this year, we published our annual State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, which revealed that most growth in mobile money accounts came from Asia, with 90 million new accounts opened in 2018. Despite this incredible growth, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicentre of mobile money. So, why is this the case? Mobile money is the leading force for financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa According to the latest Findex report, in Sub- Saharan Africa, the share of adults…

A Cyber security expert, Mr. Remi Afon, has faulted the move by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) to charge Nigerians, who make online payments via bank cards 5percent Value Added Tax. An online newspaper, had quoted the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Mr. Tunde Fowler to have said that from early next year, it will appoint banks as agent to deduct 5 percent VAT from everyone who gives instructions for service for purchase online. “We are thinking that maybe early next year, we will advise banks to start deducting five percent VAT for all online purchases…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says there is no room for cybercrime, hate speech and fake news on the Internet it wants, urging Nigerians against an activity that qualifies as such. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, gave the warning in a keynote address with the theme: “The Internet We Want and the Role of the Regulator”, at a social media summit in Kano yesterday. He noted that the Internet is a powerful tool for citizen engagement for any nation towards achieving greater socio-political and economic posterity in a country, and as such should not be leveraged…

Huawei announced its business results for the first half of 2019: CNY401.3 billion in revenue, a 23.2 percent increase over the same period last year. The company’s net profit margin for H1 2019 was 8.7 percent. According to Huawei’s Chairman, Liang Hua, operations are smooth and the organization is as sound as ever. With effective management and an excellent performance across all financial indicators, Huawei’s business has remained robust in the first half of 2019. In Huawei’s carrier business, H1 sales revenue reached CNY146.5 billion, with steady growth in production and shipment of equipment for wireless networks, optical transmission, data…

The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has again stressed the need for the creation of Interconnect settlement scheme for the country’s telecom industry. The call is coming on the heel of a reported N10 billion interconnect dispute between MTN and Globacom, two of Nigeria’s biggest Mobile Network Operators. Reports emerged during the weekend that MTN activated a partial restriction of call termination from the Globacom network, claiming that Globacom owed it over N7 billion in accumulated interconnect debt and has not shown any commitment to off-set the debt, despite several meetings to resolve the dispute. But responding to…

Financial adviser, JP Morgan has been rated top in the top 10 global Merger & Acquisition financial adviser league table in the Information and Communications Technology sector for the first half of 2019. According to GlobalData, a data analytics company, the rating was done based on deal value in the first half of 2019, disclosing that the New York-based financial institution took the top spot with a deal value of US$130.0bn for advising on 33 deals. Bank of America Merrill Lynch finished in second position with 25 deals worth US$90. 3bn and Goldman Sachs at third position with 34 deals…

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has extended the filing of the initial data audit report by data controllers and processors by three months. The government agency for IT clearing in Nigeria says the extension follows a series of appeals from data controllers. NITDA, had based on article 4.1(5) of the NDPR requires Data Controllers to submit an initial audit report within six months of issuance of the Regulation (which lapsed on 25th July, 2019). But in a statement signed by its Director General, Dr. Isah Pantami, NITDA noted that this extension period would elapse on Friday 25th October,…

With cybercrime on a meteoric rise, organizations in 2019 have to pay extra attention to increased cloud security, vulnerable Internet of Things networks, and phishing practices A recent report on cybercrime estimated that hackers could have made as much as45 billion from their illicit activities in 2018. The staggering number is yet another wake-up call for organizations worldwide to take their cybersecurity measures seriously and pivot them around three main trends of 2019. These are the cybersecurity trends that are must-know for any organization this year. Increased Attacks on Clouds. The rise of cloud computing as a go-to network infrastructure…

Latest report from GlobalData, a data and analytic company has revealed that the biggest regulatory threat, big tech companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook will face in the coming years is data privacy. The report believes that big tech companies persistently evaded any form of accountability for data breaches, election manipulation, obstruction of justice, promotion of terrorist material, fake news, and online abuse perpetrated through their own internet platforms. “Once deemed consumer champions, Big Tech now appears to be the new dark side of capitalism, arguably presenting a bigger risk to society than bankers were in 2007. Public outrage at…