General News
How to Build More Connected & Inclusive Cities

By Carlos Menendez,
Carlos Menendez is president, Enterprise Partnerships, for Mastercard. In this role, Mr. Menendez is responsible for expanding the company’s operations globally with partnerships in the Smart Cities, Retail, Travel and Banking space. In this piece, he looks at ways to build more connected and inclusive cities.
When thinking about the cities of the future, I know that they will be more connected, and I strongly believe that they must be more inclusive.
We can’t have the Internet of Everything without the Inclusion of Everyone. Already today, a growing number of cities are using smart technologies to better connect people to places and to each other – and more importantly also connecting people to opportunities for better and safer lives.
Unfortunately, what still causes a significant amount of friction in our cities and prevents inclusive growth is the dominance of cash. In fact, close to 85 percent of all consumer payments in the world are still done with cash or checks.
This means that far too many people are trapped by default in an informal economy. They lack the financial services to guard themselves against risk, save for themselves, plan for their children’s futures, and build better lives.
Two years ago, Mastercard set a global goal to bring 500 million people into the financial mainstream by 2020. And we’re well on our way to doing that.
In just a few short years, we have helped connect more than 300 million people through partnerships with banks, governments, retailers, and NGOs.
We’re also working with our partners to enable and grow 40 million small merchants and micro-entrepreneurs because it’s not just individuals that are too often trapped in a cash economy – stores lose billions of dollars every year to leakage and theft.
Success Factors For Future Interconnected and Inclusive Cities
It’s no secret that the world is becoming more urban. The UN estimates that within the next generation, the number of people living in cities will jump from 50 percent today to almost 70 percent.
Already today, cities are grappling with the challenges that come with their growth. Congestion, pollution, and poverty are features of many of the world’s major cities, and it will take a collaborative effort by the public and private sector to meet these challenges.
We have seen progress, and there are some common themes around how we can leverage technologies and partnerships to move toward more connected, more inclusive cities.
Transforming Public Transportation
The key approach is to tackle those sectors in our cities that have high levels of everyday cash usage, and one of these areas is mass transit.
About 65 percent of all urban transportation is still paid in cash, which adds up in significant operational costs to transport providers and puts drivers and passengers at risk of getting robbed.
In over 100 cities around the globe (including London, Singapore, Bogota and New York), Mastercard users are paying their train or bus fare simply by tapping their card or swiping their phone.
Only a couple of weeks ago, Sydney became the first city in Australia to introduce contactless payments for public transport – no more queuing in front of tickets booths, topping up cards, or fumbling for cash.
In London, already 40 percent of daily pay-as-you-go journeys on the city’s underground, buses, and commuter rails are paid by contactless cards/phones – which has dropped Transport for London’s cost of selling tickets from 14 to 9 percent of the fare and has saved them over 100 million pounds in cash related costs.
Once payments are digitized, data insights help city governments better understand and connect with their citizens. In Chicago for example, UI LABS, is bringing technology and transportation providers together to find ways to better balance transit supply and demand across a city.
When people use their cards for public transport, this can help form a habit of paying electronically in shops and stores as well which can be a critical factor for enabling broader financial inclusion.
For instance, those living in a cash economy face significant risks when it comes to putting away money for savings. This lack of savings then makes it challenging for people to access lower priced weekly or monthly tickets, instead of more expensive daily tickets.
This is why a few weeks ago, the Government of Mexico City announced its plans to launch a debit card that can be used for both transit payments as well as every day purchases, and potentially social disbursements.
Empowering Small and Micro Businesses
Another critical angle to building more inclusive cities is to focus on the role of small businesses and how to connect them to electronic commerce.
In most parts of the world, small businesses account for well over 90 percent of all enterprises. However, small and micro entrepreneurs have historically been underserved when it comes to their ability to accept electronic payments. For a small market vendor, bigger tickets and additional sales from someone using their card instead of cash are important steps on the economic ladder, which are typically followed by better access to credit.
There are various ways to address this. One is by turning a seller’s mobile phone into a payment terminal. Masterpass QR, which is already available in eight countries in Africa and Asia, is a new electronic payment option that lets customers pay for goods and services from their mobile phones by scanning a QR code displayed at a store’s checkout.
In Kenya, Mastercard is partnering with Unilever to simplify the way smaller stores order and pay for their goods with a wholesaler.
Today, this is a very cash intensive process. Digitizing this process will give small entrepreneurs better access to funds, facilitate inventory ordering and management, and provide better sales insights about their business.
Partnering with Governments
Like businesses and individuals, governments make and receive payments. And many governments around the world choose electronic methods for things like procurement, social benefit payments, or tax collection. Electronic payments are not only more efficient and more transparent, they’re also a great way to lead by example.
At Mastercard, we have partnered with over 60 governments globally to deliver more than 1,600 scalable cashless programs in various cities and communities around the world.
In the Middle East and Africa, we have joined forces with public institutions on solutions that link a government identity with payments and enable people to become financially included on a massive scale. In Egypt, the government plans to extend financial inclusion to over 54 million citizens through a digital National ID program.
But what’s most important for many people, is that this may be the first time they see their name printed on a financial instrument. This gives them a financial identity, and it may give them the first chance to move out of the cash economy into the formal economy.
Technology as the Great Enabler
Simplifying access to public transport, empowering small and micro businesses, promoting cashless programs – what these three areas have in common is that technology works as a great enabler. While the know-how exists to solve many of the world’s most pressing problems, no one can meet these challenges on their own.
It takes partnerships across businesses, governments, NGOs and academia to advance more connected and more inclusive cities – and to build healthier, safer and more prosperous communities.
General News
Appeal Court Nullifies Registration of ‘KPMG Professional Services’

The court of appeal in Lagos has asked the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to revoke the certificate of registration of “KPMG Professional Services”.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, the appellant court granted the reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against CAC and KPMG Professional Services.
The judgment was read by Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, the judge.
The two other judges are Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and A.M. Talba.
In 2002, KPMG Professional Services was registered as a company with CAC despite the existence of KPMG Nigeria, comprising its audit, tax, and consulting arms.
The KPMG Nigeria has long been registered in Nigeria before 2002.
KPMG Audit was registered in 1969, KPMG Tax Consultants in 1990, and KPMG Consulting in 1969.
Displeased with the registration of KPMG Professional Services, KPMG Nigeria approached the federal high court.
The consulting firm had argued that the name “KPMG Professional Services” was deceptively similar to its long-established identity.
In 2005, the lower court dismissed KPMG Nigeria’s case, citing an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte as reason the company could no longer assert rights to the name.
The lower upheld the second respondent’s (KPMG Professional Services) counterclaim and ordered that KPMG Nigeria’s name be struck off the CAC register.
The lower court had premised its decision on newspaper articles stating that KPMG Nigeria reportedly merged with Akintola Williams Deloitte.
Delivering the judgment, Bayero ruled that the lower court erred by relying on newspaper articles to ascertain that KPMG Nigeria allegedly merged with another company.
The judge said the documents showing the alleged merger were not presented before the lower court, and the form of the alleged merger could not have been known.
“In any event, the only branch of KPMG, if any, that entered into a merger with Akintola Williams as stated in the newspaper articles 18, is KPMG Audit,” the judge ruled.
“The other spheres were totally unaffected. It would therefore be wrong to state that the merger (which has not been shown to this Court) of KPMG Audit with Akintola Williams means all the other areas of business, including KPMG Consulting and KPMG Tax Consultants, also ceased to exist.
“Even if the Appellants (KPMG Nigeria) had ceased to do business as the Court seemed to have held, the 2nd Respondents (KPMG Professional Services) should not have been carrying on business until the Appellant’s certificate of registration is withdrawn or set aside.
“They cannot use the name until the Appellant’s certification of registration is withdrawn or set aside. They cannot use the name until the name is removed from the 1st Respondent’s (CAC) Register of Names.
“The 1st Respondents can only assign the name to the 2nd Respondents after first taking it away from the Appellants.”
The court ruled that CAC erred by registering KPMG Professional Services despite the existence of a business name, which is already registered.
The judge reversed the earlier ruling of the lower court and reaffirmed the primacy of statutory protection for existing business names under Nigerian corporate law.
General News
Air Peace Launches Abuja–London Heathrow, Gatwick flights October 26

Air Peace has announced the launch of direct flights from Abuja to London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, with operations scheduled to begin on October 26, 2025.
The airline said in a statement on Sunday that round-trip fares for the Abuja–London service will start from N1m, making it the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct connections from the capital to both of London’s major international airports. This was contained in a press release issued on Sunday by the airline’s spokesperson, Efe Osifo-Whiskey.
“Direct international flight services from Abuja to both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports, effective October 26, 2025.
“Air Peace becomes the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct services from Abuja to both of London’s major international airports, further solidifying its role as a leader in regional and intercontinental aviation.
“Travellers originating from any of Air Peace’s domestic destinations across Nigeria can now book through fares via Abuja to either Heathrow or Gatwick using a single ticket, eliminating the need for multiple bookings or baggage re-checks,” the statement read.
Similarly, the new route opens convenient access for inbound passengers from the UK to cities across Nigeria.
“Travellers from London can access multiple destinations across Nigeria using a single Air Peace ticket through Abuja every morning. These destinations are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Warri, Owerri, Kano, Yola, Gombe and Asaba, for now. Other destinations will be added later,” Osifo-Whiskey stated.
Air Peace is also offering what it describes as unprecedented value in pricing and service.
Osifo-Whiskey said, “It provides a distinct competitive advantage, enabling passengers to travel between Nigeria and the United Kingdom with greater ease, efficiency, and value, due to the possibility of choosing multiple cities entry and exit points.
“Has the cheapest fares ever, starting from only 1 Million Naira round trip. Huge baggage allowance.”
The Abuja–London launch comes months after the airline began Lagos–London Heathrow flights, which started earlier in 2024.
General News
Prateek Suri CEO Maser Meets Zambia’s Education Minister to Propel Student Housing and Education Projects

Prateek Suri, CEO of MASER and recognized as the richest Indian entrepreneur in Africa, was welcomed this week by Zambia’s Education Minister, Hon. Douglas Munsaka Syakalima, for a high-level meeting in Lusaka that focused on student housing and broader education infrastructure initiatives.
The meeting, held at the Ministry of Education’s offices, opened with warm greetings and a presentation by Mr Suri detailing Maser’s plans to support Zambia’s rapidly scaling education sector. Suri, who led Maser to become Africa’s seventh unicorn, emphasized the company’s commitment to infrastructure that benefits students, educators, and communities across the continent.
Minister Syakalima underscored the urgency of addressing Zambia’s student accommodation gap, citing the country’s expanding net enrollment and the need for safe, affordable housing for tertiary students. Under his leadership, the Government has embarked on a bold infrastructure agenda: over 82 secondary schools already completed, 46 set to be finished in 2025, and 120 new institutions under construction, alongside 169 ECE hubs and 145 satellite centers to reach underserved areas.
During the meeting, Suri shared Maser’s vision for modern student housing built through public–private partnership models. He outlined a multi‑phase plan utilizing sustainable building design, digital infrastructure, and vocational training facilities integrated into these campuses. “Zambia’s youth deserve world-class learning environments,” Suri remarked. “Maser is prepared to leverage its experience to co-create impactful educational infrastructure.”
Minister Syakalima responded positively, stating, “We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with Maser. The CEO’s entrepreneurial success and the company’s commitment to Africa’s education development are exactly the kind of partnership we need to scale our infrastructure goals.”
Beyond housing, the dialogue extended to opportunities in blended learning, vocational skills, rural outreach, and digital inclusion. With Zambia implementing its forward‑looking 2023 Education Curriculum this year—including early childhood, primary, and Form 1 levels—the minister highlighted the need for supporting infrastructure at all levels to enable effective rollout.
Under Minister Syakalima’s tenure, the education sector has seen notable progress: 4,200 new teachers hired recently, bringing the total teacher workforce to over 40,000 in three years; strengthened focus on foundational learning via teacher training programmes like the “Catch Up Programme”; and ambitious expansion of school infrastructure across Zambia’s provinces.
Maser, co‑founded by Prateek Suri, transformed from an African startup in consumer electeonics and large infrastructure projects into a multi‑sector unicorn operating in real estate, renewable energy, mining and education technology. Its rapid rise and African focus have made Suri a leading figure in bolstering India–Africa economic relations.
As the richest Indian in Africa, Prateek Suri’s influence spans beyond business success—it represents growing bilateral investment aimed at credible, sustainable societal impact. His partnership with Zambia’s Ministry of Education signals a new era of cross-border collaboration in education infrastructure.
With both parties committing to inclusive planning and scalable implementation, the Maser‑Zambia dialogue could mark the beginning of transformative initiatives: from affordable student housing to cutting‑edge learning facilities, vocational training hubs, and digital classrooms.
In closing remarks on the significance of this dialogue, Suri stated, “Education infrastructure is the foundation for future growth. Our partnership with Minister Syakalima and the Government of Zambia is a testament to collective investment in youth, equity, and sustainable development.” Minister Syakalima echoed this optimism, saying that with strategic public–private investment, Zambia’s education sector is poised for a significant elevation.
This meeting lays the groundwork for collaboration that bridges government strategy and corporate innovation—ultimately aiming to empower Zambia’s students and accelerate national development.
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