Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Video - AI-powered phone helps Nigerians with visual impairment access information



Artificial intelligence (AI) is making a positive impact on the visually impaired community in Nigeria, as they now have access to information through AI-powered mobile phones, even without an internet connection.

CGTN

Related story: App in Nigeria is saving lives by connecting people to pro bono legal services

 

 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Nigeria demands Binance disclose top users, executives remain detained

Nigeria is actively seeking information from Binance regarding its top 100 users in the country and all transaction history spanning the past six months, according to a Financial Times report.

This news overlaps with the revelation of the names of the two executives from the cryptocurrency exchange who were detained two weeks ago: Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of investigations, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the crypto platform’s regional manager for Africa, the Wired reported Tuesday.

Last month, Gambaryan, who was a former crypto-focused U.S. federal agent, and Anjarwalla had their passports confiscated and have been held in confinement at a government facility in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. Their detainment is part of Nigeria’s broader crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges, coinciding with questionable efforts by the government to revive the naira, the country’s national currency.

Before their detention, Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, and Anjarwalla, a dual citizen of the U.K. and Kenya, responded to an invitation from the Nigerian government to discuss Binance operations and the restrictions imposed on the cryptocurrency exchange.

Nigeria’s central bank had expressed concerns about the loss of tax revenue from unregistered crypto exchanges. Additionally, it accused Binance of operating illegally and facilitating “illicit flows from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” amounting to $26 billion. As a result, the detained executives may face charges related to currency manipulation, tax evasion and illegal operations, per a Bloomberg report.

However, according to their families, none of the executives have been formally charged with any criminal offenses as of Tuesday. The Financial Times reports that Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency was granted permission to detain both Binance executives for 14 days, which concluded on Tuesday. A proposed hearing to extend the court order is scheduled for Wednesday.

In response to this heightened regulatory scrutiny and contentious negotiation tactics in Nigeria, Binance discontinued its naira (NGN) services last week.

Nigeria’s request for Binance’s top users in the country is the new focal point in negotiations between the largest crypto platform and Africa’s top crypto market. Just last week, local reports claimed that Nigeria’s parliament threatened to issue a warrant of arrest for the company’s executives and summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng to provide explanations regarding investigations into the company’s alleged involvement in money laundering and terror financing.

Meanwhile, documents reviewed by FT reveal that Nigeria, through its national security adviser, has requested that Binance address any outstanding tax liabilities.

By Tage Kene-Okafor, TechCrunch

Related stories: Nigeria plans clampdown on Binance, other crypto firms

Nigeria detains Binance executives in cryptocurrency crackdown

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Video - 5G network subscriptions in Nigeria increased to 2.3 million in December



Despite this growth, 5G comprises just over 1 percent of Nigeria's total active telephone service subscriptions, with 2G still dominating at 58 percent. Industry experts argue that the higher cost of 5G-enabled devices remains a barrier to wider adoption.

CGTN

App in Nigeria is saving lives by connecting people to pro bono legal services

In October 2021, Shola Usman was arrested and held without charge for eight months in a prison cell in Mabushi Police Station in Abuja, Nigeria. Four months later, a court ordered that assets worth millions of naira (1USD= 908 Naira) belonging to the 44-year-old mother of six be confiscated while she was in arbitrary detention. She had not appeared before a judge.

It was not until June 2022 that she was released from custody on bail, after Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police was made to intervene through an official petition by her lawyer.

Usman, an agricultural entrepreneur who farms staples like rice and maize and sells them to wholesalers and retailers, was accused of defrauding the wife of a powerful politician. She denied all accusations, but still paid the price.

“The politician,” Usman told Quartz, “had the money to drag me from court to court, and used his influence to obtain a court order to freeze my bank accounts, claiming that I committed fraud.” She did not wish to reveal the identity of the politician for fear of further reprisal.

Nigeria, which ranked 150 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2022 corruption perception index, see graft as resulting in the “perversion of justice, wrongful convictions, and acquittals of guilty parties,” according to the International Bar Association, a 75-year-old organization that aims to protect and advance the rule of law globally. In a recent report, the association said that corruption “weakens the judiciary and other law enforcement agencies, as corrupt officials can be easily manipulated or bribed,” compromising the delivery of justice.

Furthermore, official statistics by the Nigerian Correctional Service indicate another fault with the rule of law in Africa’s most populous country: In 2023, 69% of the 77,849 inmates in Nigeria were pre-trial detainees, including Usman, who was held in a police station for eight months. Based on this fact, Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police intervened to order her release.

In 2017, human rights lawyer Nelson Olanipekun set out to fix this. He established Citizens Gavel Foundation for Social Justice (Gavel), a civic tech organization aimed at improving the pace of justice delivery through the use of technology. Gavel focuses on indigent victims of injustice and uses an online platform to connect inmates trapped in a judicial limbo with lawyers willing to help.

“The initiative was born from a personal experience a long time ago when my father desperately needed legal aid but was only able to get it through a lawyer who had volunteered to stand in for him,” Olanipekun told Quartz.

At her arrest, Usman alleges that policemen raided her home and took two vehicles, then stormed her mobile shop and warehouse, and carted away merchandise and thousands of sacks of produce.


Stranded in a legal purgatory, Usman told Quartz she “endured inhumane treatment while in detention,” including getting hit on the head, and was left to bleed for days, and being “blackmailed” and “hounded by the politician’s loyal policemen.”

Quartz reached out for comment to officers at the Mabushi Police station where Usman was held. The reporter was told that officers are not at liberty to speak to the media and advised to file an official request for comment, which could take months to respond to.

In comments made last year, Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police vowed to punish erring police officers who fail to abide by the law enforcement mandate and uphold the constitution. But the country’s war on terror has often led to a culture where excessive use of force is rampant.

These slow processes and limited access to justice are what inspired Gavel, says Olanipekun.

After resigning from a career as a corporate lawyer, Olanipekun started spending his days visiting prisons and police stations, where he spoke to people who were unjustly detained in an effort to help secure their release by representing them in court, he recalls.

But even before he started Gavel, which operates in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Olanipekun dabbled in pro bono work.

He remembers the case of three orphaned young boys in a remote village in Anambra State in southwest Nigeria, who vandalized the roof of the house they inherited from their parents to prevent their uncles from taking the building.

“This was between 2011 and 2012. They were underage and didn’t know what to do when their uncles had them arrested,” says Olanipekun, who attended every court hearing in the boys’ case until he managed to get them out.

A 2023 field study by The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL), an international non-government organization committed to people-centered justice, found that 81% of Nigerians experienced at least one legal problem in the past year, with many facing multiple problems mostly related to disputes with neighbors, domestic violence, land disputes, crime, and housing issues.

“The difficulty in gaining timely justice in Nigeria was what inspired Gavel and later [the] Podus application which launched in 2021,” says Olanipekun.

“Podus connects any person in need of legal aid with an available pro bono lawyer near them so that in the shortest possible time, they can get justice,” he explained.

The simple interface, which started as a mobile application before shifting online as a web app, requires complainants to sign up, then fill out an online form where they select one of nine categories including rape, extortion, domestic abuse or defamation, select the region, then describe details of their case and add their name and contact information.

Clients are then connected to one of Gavel’s network of 200 volunteer lawyers in their vicinity all over Nigeria, who take on their case in return for appearance fees and stipends to cover basic costs, which Gavel pays through funds donated by sponsors, partners, and agencies like Osiwa, Luminate, Civic Hive, Trust Africa and BudgIT. Partnering lawyers are thoroughly vetted through an extensive examination of their record as human rights advocates and their contribution to their local bar associations.

According to Adewole Ibukun, Head of Procurement at Gavel, the organization has helped release over 5,000 pretrial detainees.

“Many of them were remanded in custody because they didn’t have a lawyer,” Ibukun told Quartz. “Others are summarily locked up by police for crimes they did not commit, in which case Gavel facilitates their bail.”

A 2021 Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) report about Nigeria’s human rights record over the last two decades supports Ibukun’s statements.

The report highlights unlawful detention as a persistent human rights violation, whereby “citizens continue to be unlawfully detained under harrowing pre-trial detention for years without formal charges being brought against them,” noting that Nigerian police routinely charge suspects with grave offenses to detain them while making little effort to investigate or prosecute the cases.
 

A tech-assisted lifeline at a critical human moment

Gavel’s services were a lifeline for Shola Usman, who,, had lost access to her bank accounts and was forced to borrow to stay out of prison. Usman herself — a wealthy business owner — doesn’t technically fit the traditional profile of Gavel’s pro bono clients. But the company made an exception, as she had been left with no access to her own funds.

“A friend sent me the link on WhatsApp and as soon as I created my case I was assigned to Barrister Oluwaseyi Arowosebe. Gavel has been supporting me since August 2022,” said Usman.

Despite its complexity, Usman’s case appears simple compared to that of Daniel Jagaba, a 51-year-old father of three who was falsely accused of rape in 2017.

Jagaba, who was precariously employed in menial work like house-painting and carpentry, was released soon after his arrest for lack of sufficient evidence.

“But the police officer who was investigating the case rearrested me and demanded a bribe of 50,000 naira [equivalent of $137 at the time] to grant me bail,” Jagaba told Quartz. “When I failed to raise the money, I was kept in pre-trial detention pending the transfer of my case to an appropriate court.”

When the case was filed at a High Court, the trial lingered between 2018 and 2019. Then, the covid pandemic broke out, delaying proceedings another two years, Jagaba said, at which point the case was moved to another high court presided over by a new judge who restarted the trial.

“I was in prison when the Gavel team visited to offer their pro bono services. My lawyer had abandoned me after stripping me of what little money I had, so I asked for their help and told them my story,” he said.

“When Gavel eventually started to follow up on my case, the corrupt prosecutor, who I found out while in detention had conspired with the policeman, stopped attending the court hearings,” Jagaba said.

Jagaba’s Gavel-appointed lawyer made several attempts to strike down the case for want of diligent prosecution, until Jagaba was finally acquitted and discharged in October 2022.
 

A path to change

Lawyer and Gavel’s legal representative in Abuja, Abioye Mosunmola, cites procedural bottlenecks as a reason behind the slow legal processes.

“Judges still write in longhand during court proceedings, and there are many other outdated practices,” Mosunmola told Quartz.

“Gavel’s tech initiatives propose the infusion of tech into court processes to make it easier for lawyers to carry out their legal tasks, and for judges to dispense justice,” Oluwaseyi Arowosebe, a lawyer and consultant with Gavel, told Quartz.

“The police arbitrarily arrest innocent citizens and detain them for weeks and months without a remand warrant and without charging them to court,” said Arowosebe. “Corrupt judges sell justice to the highest bidders, and innocent people are robbed of their fundamental human rights by state actors who have no respect for the rule of law.”

In a collaboration between Gavel and the National Judicial Council (NJC) in 2022, the Oyo State Judiciary deployed the Nigeria Case Management System, a web platform that seeks to automate case flow management in the courts to facilitate the safe electronic exchange of documents between the different court levels.

In Lagos, Gavel partnered with the Lagos State Ministry of Justice to deploy the Justice Clock, which gives complainants access to their case files and legal advice online.

But these initiatives are no panacea for the country’s systemic challenges to the rule of law.

The corruption and dysfunction that plagues Nigeria’s legal system has been thoroughly documented, in particular the human rights violations committed by the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian police tasked with fighting violent crimes.

In October 2020 the #EndSARS campaign in which Gavel took part, saw at least 56 people killed by excessive use of force by the police and military, leading to the disbandment of the unit by presidential decree within days.

But other pro-democracy actions were met with resistance, according to Nelson Olanipekun, Gavel’s founder, citing his organization’s recent bid to report what it calls“compromised” Court of Appeal judges to the National Judicial Council (NJC), the constitutional body responsible for disciplining errant judges.

Quartz received a copy of the NJC’s acknowledgement that it had received Gavel’s Nov. 28 petition regarding the “recklessness and gross abuse of the revised judicial code of conduct for judicial officers” in Nigeria, informing Gavel that “action is being taken.”

“Yet despite the assurances, the NJC still promoted the accused judges to the Supreme Court,” said Olanipekun.

“The repressive nature of state actors is one hell of a problem to contend with,” said Olanipekun.

This story is published in collaboration with Egab.

By Chidi M. Nwachukwu, Quartz

Related story: Set them free! The judge who liberates Nigerians forgotten in jail

Binance to halt naira services amid ongoing regulatory probe in Nigeria

Binance will discontinue its naira (NGN) services in response to heightened regulatory scrutiny in Nigeria, it said in a blog post today. The cryptocurrency exchange will begin delisting any existing NGN spot trading pairs by Thursday, March 7. It advised users to withdraw, trade, or convert their NGN assets into crypto before the service discontinuation. Any remaining NGN balances in users' spot and funding wallets will be converted to USDT on Friday, March 8, it noted.

By Wednesday, March 6, Binance will also delist NGN services on its auto-invest tool and remove the currency from the list of supported payment options on Binance Pay.

This development follows recent regulatory actions by the Nigerian government, which imposed restrictions on both local and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance. As a result, users have encountered accessibility challenges on the Binance website.

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the country's apex bank, said Nigeria was losing out on taxes from unregistered crypto exchanges and accused Binance of facilitating "illicit flows from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify" to the tune of $26 billion.

What followed was the reported detention of two Binance officials after they were invited to Nigeria to discuss the regulatory restrictions. According to Bloomberg, the officials were held because Binance was operating illegally in Nigeria. The detained officials may allegedly face charges related to currency manipulation, tax evasion, and illegal operations, although formal charges have not yet been filed.

Several reports indicate that the Nigerian government, alleging Binance's involvement in manipulating foreign exchange rates through currency speculation and rate fixing, intensified its scrutiny of the platform by requesting nearly $10 billion in compensation. However, both Nigeria and Binance have refuted these claims regarding the fine.

The ongoing legal dispute between the world's largest crypto platform and Africa's top crypto market is still unresolved. Recently, Nigeria's parliament exacerbated the situation by threatening to issue a warrant of arrest for the company’s executives. Furthermore, they summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng to provide explanations regarding investigations into alleged involvement in money laundering and terror financing, as reported by local sources.

By Tage Kene-Okafor, TechCrunch

Related stories: Nigeria Summons Binance CEO Over Alleged Terror Financing

Video - Nigeria detains Binance executives

Monday, March 4, 2024

Businesses in Nigeria turn to Moniepoint instead of traditional banks

Chidi Ebule keeps at least 10 payment machines on the check-out counter of his grocery store in Lagos, so his customers can use cards from any bank or fintech company they prefer. But in recent months, he has needed to use only one machine for most transactions: the one provided by local fintech major Moniepoint.

“I try to use another POS [point of sales] machine, [but customers] will say, ‘Please don’t put my card in that. Use Moniepoint,’” Ebule told Rest of World. “The customer knows there could be an issue when you use the other [terminals], and he does not have power over the bank.”

Moniepoint’s light-blue payment machines have become ubiquitous across Nigeria — from megastores in Lagos to roadside shops in Kano. Shoppers prefer it to other options because Moniepoint offers a lower-than-average transaction decline rate and instantly reverses transactions in case of failed payments. The Lagos-headquartered company, founded in 2015, has expanded its footprint across the length and breadth of Nigeria, and is now available across all 774 local governments in the country, according to its website.

“Merchants don’t care about lofty claims about financial inclusion. All they want is to see their transactions have gone through and get the instant payment alert,” Nchedolisa Akuma, senior fintech analyst at market intelligence firm Stears, told Rest of World. “Moniepoint appears to be quite intentional about market intelligence and gathering real-time market intel, which made them quite nimble.”

In 2023, Moniepoint reportedly recorded 5.2 billion transactions, worth over $150 billion. The same year, it ranked second in the Financial Times’ list of Africa’s fastest-growing companies. By January 2024, around 2.3 million businesses were using Moniepoint’s payment machines, a company representative told Rest of World. The bulk of Moniepoint’s earnings come from the transaction charges on its point-of-sales machines and its online payment gateway. It also has a microfinance bank license and offers business loans.

When it first launched, Moniepoint was named TeamApt, and built software for traditional banks. In 2019, it obtained a government license for agency banking — a model that allows companies to act as intermediaries between banks and their customers.

“We just felt that banks are not executing these things the right way, and can we get into this space and execute it right?” Tunde Olofin, managing director of Moniepoint’s banking arm, told Rest of World.

So far, Moniepoint has raised over $57 million from investors such as QED Investors, Quantum Capital Partners, and Global Ventures. The company’s growth is aided by its network of more than 600,000 on-the-ground “business managers,” who earn commissions for onboarding business owners to the platform and distributing the POS terminals, Olofin said.

In early 2023, when Nigeria experienced an acute cash crisis after the government changed the currency’s design, Moniepoint came to the rescue of many small businesses.

Oberry Agamah, who owns a phone accessories shop in Lagos, told Rest of World she started using Moniepoint’s payment machines during that time. The ones provided by other banks could not process transactions smoothly, she said, due to the pressure on the country’s banking infrastructure.

Before she began using the Moniepoint machines, Agamah’s business suffered: She struggled to process customers’ transactions, and had to deal with shoppers who bought goods and disappeared after making unsuccessful digital transfers.

“Before, receiving transfers in our normal accounts was hell — they wouldn’t go in time, and customers were going away with our money,” Agamah said. “The experience with Moniepoint is very nice, and it has made my business very easy in the aspect of receiving transfers, and I receive [them] very fast.”

Moniepoint’s systems are designed to expand based on the volume of transactions, Solomon Amadi, the company’s vice president of payment infrastructure, told Rest of World. “Many of the other players in the industry don’t have a lot of control over their core banking, [but] we do … and we have optimized that process well enough that the customer is priority,” he said.

In June 2023, Moniepoint’s closest rival in Nigeria was Chinese-owned fintech OPay — backed by SoftBank Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital China. OPay had a 37% share of the Nigerian point-of-sales agents network, according to the Nigerian Financial Services Report. Moniepoint came in second with a 20% share.

But Moniepoint is better placed than its rivals because of the bouquet of financial services it offers, Olaoluwa Oyedele, vice president of growth and product at Lagos-based fintech startup Earnipay, told Rest of World.

“Moniepoint has a couple of license categories that allow them to do different things,” Oyedele said. “They have a microfinance bank license which allows them to collect deposits, and a payment terminal service provider license which allows them to issue POS terminals. With these two license categories working hand-in-hand, they can target offline payment businesses or industries. That is where they have built a very impressive distribution network. The offline payment, for context, is the biggest payment opportunity in Nigeria.”

Moniepoint’s business managers — well-known members of local communities who serve as liaisons between the company and its users — are central to its growth, Edidiong Uwemakpan, vice president of communications, told Rest of World.

To build this network, “we studied a number of informal networks in the country … [including] the National Union of Road Transport Workers, churches, and people with branches everywhere,” Uwemakpan said. “How are these people able to collect money from everyone and balance their books? Because at the end of the day, what we were building were human branches across the country.”

The business managers don’t get a salary but receive a sign-up fee of 8,500 naira ($5.44), and monthly commissions on the transactions made through each POS terminal they manage.

“If you work hard and make enough people sign up for POS, you are in business, you are in money,” Fabusoye Tolu, a Moniepoint business manager, told Rest of World. “You earn commissions, and that is even far better than earning a salary because if you earn a salary, it will be capped at a particular figure. With commissions, your earnings do not have a limit.”

Tolu declined to disclose how much he earns from commissions, but said he often targets big businesses that generate high cash flow so that he can earn more at the end of the month.

By Ope Adetayo, rest of world

Related stories: Video - Nigeria caps foreign exchange position for banks

Central bank of Nigeria to replace policymakers as shakeup continues

Nigeria Summons Binance CEO Over Alleged Terror Financing

Binance troubles in Nigeria take yet another turn. After authorities blocked the exchange’s website, shut down its P2P marketplace, and detained two of its executives, the government is now looking to summon Binance’s CEO, Richard Teng, over allegations of terror financing and money laundering.

Nigeria Issues Ultimatum to Binance

Local news outlet Punch reported that Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Binance’s CEO to appear before the committee on or before Monday, March 4.

The regulator’s summoning follows recent allegations of suspicious funds flowing through the exchange’s Nigerian arm in 2023. Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso highlighted that $26 billion had passed through Nigeria via Binance in 2023 from unidentified sources and users.

Chairman of the Committee on Financial Crimes, Ginger Onwusibe, warned that the committee will invoke its constitutional powers if Binance’s CEO, Richard Teng, refuses to appear before the court. Despite repeated invitations, Teng has been unwilling to address the Nigerian government’s concerns regarding compliance with its business and financial laws.

Onwusibe emphasized the committee’s commitment to fighting financial crimes, citing the constitutional mandate to protect Nigerians and the country’s finances.

The allegations of terrorism financing, money laundering, and tax evasion, amongst others, leveled against Binance are damning enough. At this material time, we need all the tax dollars to block the leaks and channels to financing terror.” he added.

Onwusibe concluded by urging Binance to fulfill its obligations, including paying taxes and establishing a physical office for citizen complaints.

Why This Matters

Binance has been under intense scrutiny over the last year from regulators worldwide. Its regulatory woes in Nigeria could further complicate its operations and raise questions about its compliance.

By Insha Zia, DAILYCOIN

Related stories: Nigeria demands $10 billion from Binance in damages

Nigeria detains Binance executives in cryptocurrency crackdown

Nigeria plans clampdown on Binance, other crypto firms

Friday, March 1, 2024

Video - Nigeria detains Binance executives



Two senior executives of Binance flew to Nigeria following the country's decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites. But they were detained by the office of the country's national security adviser and their passports were seized following their arrival in the country.

CGTN

Related stories: Nigeria demands $10 billion from Binance in damages

Nigeria detains Binance executives in cryptocurrency crackdown

Nigeria plans clampdown on Binance, other crypto firms

MTN Nigeria posts ₦137 billion loss amidst naira devaluation

MTN Nigeria faced a challenging year in 2023, as the telecoms giant reported a loss after tax of ₦137.0 billion, a huge contrast to the ₦348.7 billion profits recorded in 2022.

The net foreign exchange loss for 2023 compared to 2022 was N740.434 billion, showing a YoY increase of +804.93%, as opposed to N81.822 billion in the previous year. However, revenue grew by 22.7% from N2.01trn to N2.47trn.

This is contained in the company's audited financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023.

According to Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria CEO the telecom giant witnessed a very challenging operating environment characterised by rising inflation, currency devaluation and foreign exchange shortages, complicated by geopolitical disruptions and cash shortages in Q1.

The financial statement revealed that MTN's services revenue grew by 22.4%, driven primarily by data revenue growth of 39.8%. Voice revenue was up by 9.7%.

The company sustained robust commercial momentum in its connectivity business and platforms, fueled by the expansion of its user base, reaching over 4 million subscribers in 2023 and elevating the total base to 79.7 million. Data subscribers for the company increased by over 5 million to 44.6 million, which helped to drive total data traffic growth of 44.9%.

Dividend payment:

On 27 July 2023, the company's Board of Directors approved interim dividends of N117.48 billion for the year ended 31 December 2023 (Interim 2022: N113.99 billion). The interim dividend were paid out of interim profit made during the same period and represents N5.60 kobo per ordinary share on the issued share capital of 21 billion ordinary shares of 2 kobo each for the period ended 30 June 2023.

Given the significant currency devaluation and its impact on the retained earnings, the Directors will not be recommending a final dividend payment, in view of the resulting loss for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Fintech revenue

This increased by 2.4%, led by Xtratime (our airtime lending product), which rose by 2%. However, despite the challenges from the NIN requirement for KYC introduced in Q4 by the CBN, we added 3.3 million active wallets in the year to 5.3 million. This helped to drive MoMo PSB revenue, which rose by 8.1%.

Active mobile money (MoMo PSB) wallets increased by 163% to 5.3 million, powered by 326,000 MoMo agents, and 324,000 merchants in its ecosystem.

Outlook

MTN says it expects 2024 to be a challenging year due to the rising inflation and devaluation of the naira. In January 2024, the inflation rate reached 29.9%, while the exchange rate has further devalued to N1582/$ as of 26 February 2024. "This is anticipated to put additional pressure on consumers, the cost of doing business and further potential forex losses," it said.

By Adekunle Agbetiloye, Business Insider Africa

Related story: Video - MTN CEO resigns due to $5.2 billion fine imposed by Nigeria

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Nigeria detains Binance executives in cryptocurrency crackdown

Two senior executives at Binance have been detained in Nigeria as the country cracks down on cryptocurrency exchanges, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The executives flew to Nigeria following the country's decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites last week but they were detained by the office of the country's national security adviser and their passports seized.

Binance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The crackdown follows a period after several cryptocurrency websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the Nigerian currency, which has suffered chronic dollar shortages.

The naira's official exchange rate has been trading at levels close to the parallel market level after the currency was devalued last month, its second adjustment in less than a year.

Africa's largest economy has been experiencing crippling dollar shortages that have pushed its currency to record lows after foreign investors fled following a previous oil price collapse and introduction of capital controls in 2015.

Reuters

Related story: Nigeria plans clampdown on Binance, other crypto firms

 

 


Tuesday, February 27, 2024

The eco-entrepreneur sparking the electric vehicle revolution in Nigeria

Mustapha Gajibo is driving change in Nigeria with his groundbreaking company, African Motor Works. The entrepreneur is transforming Nigeria's transportation sector while focusing on affordability and sustainability.


"Our main reasons for building electric vehicles are the high cost of mobility, cost of energy and carbon emissions," Mustapha Gajibo, Founder and CEO of African Motor Works, tells SCENES.

The young business owner's interest in electrifying Nigeria's transport options was sparked by the constant problems with the country's electricity supply.

"We spent weeks, sometimes months, even up to a year without electricity. So that has really motivated me to come up with this company," explains Mustapha.

The start-up company manufactures 200 vehicles monthly and produces mass transit vehicles such as large buses, minibuses and tricycles. Each vehicle has a simple battery-swapping system and can be fully charged in less than 40 minutes.

African Motor Works employs 24 workers and plans to expand its workforce. According to the electric vehicle creator, building a solid team is the key to his company's success.

"I don't call them staff. I call them family. Whatever glory we achieve, we achieve together," says Mustapha.

The reputation of African Motor Works is gaining momentum in Nigeria, and Mustafa hopes his venture will inspire other manufacturers across Africa. He dreams of one day seeing his African vehicles driving through the streets of New York, Beijing and other cities worldwide.

By Gregory Ward & Hillary Ebele Nnoruka, EuroNews

Related story: Video - Nigerian engineering students build electric car

Friday, February 23, 2024

World's longest subsea cable spanning 45,000km has landed in Nigeria

Meta's 2Africa subsea cable, which is 45,000 km long, has reached the shores of Lagos State and Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria. The deep-sea cable project will connect 32 other African countries and directly support economic development in Africa, fostering further growth of 4G and 5G and increased broadband penetration to millions of people and businesses across the continent.Meta's 2Africa subsea cable, which is 45,000 km long, reached the shores of Lagos State and Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria.

The deep-sea cable project will connect 32 other African countries and directly support economic development in Africa.

It will also foster the growth of 4G and 5G and increased broadband penetration to millions of people and businesses across the continent.

Bayobab, a pan-African digital connectivity solutions provider, partnered with MTN Opco's to land the 45,000km subsea cable at Mopo-Onibeju Lekki area of Lagos, according to Guardian Nigeria. The Akwa Ibom phase of the project has landed in Ibeno in Akwa Ibom state, South of Nigeria and is handled by the Nigerian Equinix Company, MainOne.

CEO Frédéric Schepens said this landing represents the fourth in a series of six landings spanning five countries. Among these are three destinations in West Africa—Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d'Ivoire—as well as South Africa. He also noted that Nigerian service providers will obtain world-class capacity in carrier-neutral data centres or open-access cable landing stations on a fair and equitable basis.

"The 2Africa initiative is at the core of the work we do as Bayobab, with the ultimate goal of connecting Africa to the world and the world to Africa. We are eager to continue offering services that will expand the rapidly growing African digital economy and positively impact growth across the continent," he said.

Managing Director, Bayobab Nigeria, Josephine Sarouk, commented on the significance of the deep-sea cable landing, stating that arrival in Nigeria will supercharge Nigeria's digital economy, creating space for a vibrant ecosystem bringing digital services to millions of Nigerians in line with the government's vision for a thriving digital economy.

"Our investment in 2Africa is part of our commitment to our customers, bringing resilience to networks and capacity due to the growing demands for digital services such as Fintech, IoT, AI, and e-learning, which continue to revolutionise the way customers engage with services, fueling the demand for more data. This landing is further proof of our long-held confidence in the future of the continent," she said.

The consortium behind the 2Africa subsea cable is made up of several companies, including Meta, China Mobile International, MTN Global Connect, Orange, Vodafone, Egypt Telecom, Saudi Telecom Company, and the West Indian Ocean Cable Company. The deep-sea cable will go a long way towards transforming the region's connectivity landscape. 

By Victor Oluwole, Business Insider Africa

Related story: Meta launches Creator Lab in Nigeria

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

E-gates to be installed at all international airports in Nigeria

Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior has announced that biometric e-gates are currently being installed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and at the e-border data and control center at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters.


Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, honorable minister of interior, said e-gates will be installed across all five of Nigeria’s international airports, providing Nigerians with streamlined arrival while the e-border system will enhance national security.


As of February 19, four out of the planned 10 gates have been installed at the airport. It is expected that the remaining six gates will be operational before the end of the month.

Dr Tunji-Ojo said the new gates will reduce waiting times for arriving passengers. “With an impressive clearance time of just 30 seconds per individual, the gates are set to establish a new standard for efficiency in airport processing, comparable to global benchmarks.”

They are also designed to enhance national security by providing an additional layer of scrutiny for inbound travelers. “Through advanced biometric scanning and automated flagging systems, the gates will swiftly identify individuals of interest or those on watchlists, bolstering the efforts of the Nigeria Immigration Service to safeguard the nation’s borders,” the minister said.

In total, the nationwide project aims to deliver a total of 40 e-verification gates across multiple airports by the end of the first quarter. These installations will include 10 gates in Abuja, 17 in Lagos, five in Kano and four each in Enugu and Port Harcourt.

By Kylie Bielby, Passenger Terminal Today 

Related story: Video - Aviation sector sees record growth in Nigeria

Nigeria plans clampdown on Binance, other crypto firms

The Nigerian government is considering blocking the online platforms of Binance and other crypto firms to avert what it considers continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds, officials with knowledge of the policy option have told PREMIUM TIMES.

The recent unprecedented weakening of the Nigerian currency has seen the naira falling to all-time low of N1,800 to a dollar in the parallel market.

Presidency and regulatory sources say the government decided to move against Binance and other crypto firms following reports that currency speculators and money launderers were using them to execute criminal activities. Authorities believe the ‘criminal activities’ going on on platforms are contributing significantly to the weakening of the naira.

Binance, a digital assets platform, serves as a window for peer to peer transaction allowing users to advertise interest to sell or buy currencies of their choice.

In September 2023, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) placed a disclaimer on Binance Nigeria Limited, saying the platform was “neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal”.

Despite the warning by the regulatory agency, the firm continued its operation, attracting huge patronage especially among urban youths and suspected speculators and money launderers.

Aside suspicions of economic sabotage, officials also speak of national security concerns as the platforms are often patronised by other criminal groups including for payment of ransom.

Law enforcement sources say the digital asset platforms are also routinely deployed for manipulation of forex values through fake deals that serve to prop up values or cause a fall.

A source at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) involved in probing criminal complaint against digital asset platforms, who was however not authorised to speak to the press, described the process as a “sophisticated heist against the Nigerian economy”.


According to her, by allowing simultaneous opening of buy and sell windows for a single user, manipulators often fake interest to sell dollars which they then buy at a speculated rate to themselves through the buy window.


“This therefore gives the dollar a fake value against the naira which then sets a frenzy and mislead the market. This fake price is then often quoted by BDCs who raise their prices to meet the Binance benchmark even without any corresponding demand in that segment,” she said.

A senior executive at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) described as “troubling” the bearish downward trade of the naira against the dollar in the last 10 days, attributing it to artificial devaluation caused by the speculative sites.

“Through manipulative rent seeking, Binance’s global reach results in higher USD to NGN exchange rates often being used as a benchmark for currency trading, misleadingly devaluing the Naira in global markets.”

But he added that trading on the platform is encouraged by activities of money-launderers and terrorist financiers “who have no qualms with the arbitrage”.

“We started noticing this sharp trend from February 9, and since then it has caused significant devaluation of the naira against the USD. This is simply criminal,” he said.

Binance has had similar accusations of currency manipulation and unethical conduct leading to sanctions in many countries and an ongoing lawsuit in the United States.

If the government decides to invoke a ban on the digital asset trading site it would be treading the path of countries like Malaysia, France and Malta, among others.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) had announced Tuesday that it was joining forces with the Central Bank of Nigeria to clamp down on currency speculators and economic saboteurs.

The Head of Strategic Communication at ONSA, Zakari Mijinyawa, hinted in his Tuesday statement that individuals and organisations involved in wrongful activities in Nigeria’s Forex market would be identified, investigated and penalised.

Contacted on Thursday night on the planned clampdown on Binance and other crypto firms, Mr Mijinyawa said he was at an “important meeting”. He did not answer or return subsequent calls made to him.

Binance could not be reached Wednesday morning. Multiple calls to a customer service number listed for it rang out unanswered.

By Abdulrahman Abdulmalik, Premium Times

Related story: Video - Central Bank of Nigeria gives guidelines on cryptocurrency

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Video - Increased internet penetration in Nigeria linked to decline in poverty levels



The World Bank says increased internet coverage is helping in the fight against extreme poverty. It has invested over 700 million U.S. dollars across 11 digital development projects in the West African nation and other parts of the continent over the past six years.

CGTN

Monday, February 5, 2024

Video - Students in Nigeria showcase robotics prowess and tech innovation



The Nigerian AI-Robotics competition, which is now in its tenth year, is a hub of youthful brilliance, where students from public and private schools showcase their robotics prowess, creating a spectacle that goes beyond traditional education boundaries. The West African nation is tapping into AI-Robotics competition to nurture excellence in the field.

CGTN

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Video - Central Bank of Nigeria gives guidelines on cryptocurrency



The Central bank in Nigeria has released guidelines for banks opening cryptocurrency accounts after it lifted its ban on crypto assets. However, there are calls for the government to embark on crypto-awareness campaigns among young people as a way to boost the economy. 

CGTN

Related stories: Central Bank of Nigeria Lifts Ban on Crypto Transactions

Video - Nigeria continues to record surge in adoption of cryptocurrencies

 

 

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Central Bank of Nigeria Lifts Ban on Crypto Transactions

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted a ban on transacting in cryptocurrencies.

At the same time, the bank said there is a need to regulate virtual asset service providers (VASPs), including cryptocurrencies and crypto assets, Reuters reported Wednesday (Dec. 27), citing a Friday (Dec. 22) circular issued by the bank.

The CBN imposed a ban on banks and financial institutions dealing in or facilitating transactions in crypto assets in February 2021 due to concerns over money laundering and terrorism financing, according to the report.

However, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria published regulations in May last year that aimed to find a middle ground between an outright ban and unregulated use of crypto assets, the report said.

In its circular dated Dec. 22, the CBN outlined guidelines for banks and financial institutions regarding the opening of accounts, designated settlement accounts, settlement services, and acting as channels for foreign exchange inflows and trade for firms transacting in crypto assets, per the report. The guidelines emphasize the need for VASPs to obtain licensing from the Nigerian SEC to engage in crypto business.

The circular also states that banks are still prohibited from trading, holding or transacting cryptocurrencies, according to the report.

Nigeria has witnessed a surge in cryptocurrency adoption, particularly among its young and tech-savvy population, the report said. Many individuals have turned to peer-to-peer trading offered by crypto exchanges as an alternative to traditional financial services.

The volume of crypto transactions in Nigeria grew by 9% year over year to $56.7 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, per the report, which cited data from blockchain research firm Chainalysis.

It was reported in October 2021 that despite the ban from their country’s central bank, people in Nigeria had turned to cryptocurrency to conduct business, send payments and guard their savings.

In November 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria said that it had no plans to make crypto part of its digital asset trading goals until regulators agree to standards that keep investors safe.

The commission said at the time that it would promote investment in “sensible digital assets,” with investment protection while also looking into blockchain technology to drive virtual and traditional investment products.

PYMNTS

Related stories: Crypto usage growing further in Nigeria

Video - Nigeria continues to record surge in adoption of cryptocurrencies

Thursday, December 14, 2023

Video - Artist Creates AI Fashion Show for Elderly in Nigeria



Images of African senior citizens walking the runway created a buzz on social media, eventually going viral. These AI-generated pictures challenged the typical depictions of elderly Africans, showcasing them in an empowering way. Karina Choudhury has the story. Camera: Samuel Okocha.

VOA

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Digital art thrives among crypto-curious Nigerian artists

Germany has agreed to return Nigeria’s looted treasure. Will other countries follow?


Monday, November 20, 2023

Nigeria in talks with Elon Musk to create jobs in Nigeria

The Federal Government of Nigeria has initiated discussions with Elon Musk's Starlink on setting up programs that will create jobs in Nigeria through local maintenance and production of its hardware.

The discussions happened on the sideline of the ongoing International Telecommunication Union-World Radio Communication (ITU-WRC) Conference in Dubai, with the Senior Director of Global Licensing and activation of SpaceX, Ryan Goodnight.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Sunday through his verified X handle.

The conversation focused on the possibility of Starlink creating a program to certify local installers and maintenance personnel in Nigeria, and contracts with hardware startups in the country to produce Starlink's repeater boxes locally.

What the minister said:

“Excellent conversation with Ryan Goodnight, Snr. Director, Global Licensing & Activation of @SpaceX on the sidelines of ITU-WRC 23, who shared that Nigeria is their biggest market in Africa. As demand for @Starlink continues to grow in Nigeria, we discussed connecting unserved and underserved Nigerians,” he stated.

“I also mentioned the possibility of creating thousands of new jobs in Nigeria through initiatives like a certified installer/maintenance programme for Starlink and working with hardware startups to produce repeater boxes locally.

“We intend to encourage every tech company to invest and deepen our tech ecosystem,” the Minister added.

When Elon Musk’s Starlink made its debut in Nigeria in January 2023, the next-gen satellite internet service provider promised to usher in a new era of high-speed internet connectivity in Africa's most populous nation. It also promised low-latency internet to areas where it is either unreliable or inaccessible.

In October, Starlink Nigeria reduced its hardware prices by 21% in its efforts to capture a larger portion of the Nigerian Internet Service Provider (ISP) market.

Following this reduction, Starlink's hardware is now priced at N299,500, down from its previous rate of N378,000. However, the monthly subscription fee of N38,000 has not changed. 

By Adekunle Agbetiloye, Business Insider Africa

 
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