Telecom
12 Konga Shoppers for all-expenses paid Knowledge weekend with Ekeh, Zinox boss

As part of efforts to empower budding entrepreneurs with the right business success tips and strategies to create new wealth in the 21st Century, 12 lucky shoppers on Konga will be hosted to an all-expenses paid weekend mentorship programme with Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh.
The free mentorship programme is an initiative of Konga Kares, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Konga Group.
To qualify for selection, shoppers are expected to have made purchases on the Konga platform – www.konga.com between December 1st, 2022 through January 31st, 2023, with the names of winners to be announced every Monday starting from January 2nd, 2023 and final list of winners to be published on the Konga website and on other major news media channels on February 6th, 2023.
Also, details released by Konga Kares indicate that beneficiaries will be selected randomly, although shoppers who have a higher frequency or volume of purchases on Konga stand a better chance of being selected for the much-anticipated mentorship programme.
Two shoppers will be selected from each of Nigeria’s six geo-political zone to ensure equitable distribution of participants, while also assuring that no region is left out from the high-impact sessions.
Lucky beneficiaries will enjoy an all-expense paid weekend retreat with Mr. Ekeh, a Forbes Best of Africa Leading Tech Icon. The major theme of the programme will be – The New Mega Wealth. In addition to an opportunity to spend time engaging Mr. Ekeh on his entrepreneurial journey, the 12 selected shoppers will also be exposed to healthy living tips, a finishing school, gym/aerobic sessions, deeper insights on the pitfalls confronting contemporary businesses, the new avenues to create sustainable wealth, how to navigate the prevailing tough business climate, as well as direct, one-on-one feedback sessions with Mr. Ekeh.
Konga Kares recently signed a five-year partnership with Mr. Ekeh to run the mentorship programme every November to January, with higher incentives for selected participants each year. Meanwhile, selected shoppers also stand a chance to receive a gift at the end of the mentorship programme, courtesy of the Zinox boss.
‘‘Wealth is a right in the 21st Century. There is no reason to be poor if you have the right mentality and willing to work smart and upgrade your knowledge. Through this programme, we intend to support and raise more confident, certified billionaires that will create future wealth,’’ revealed Mr. Ekeh.
‘‘I will be engaging a total of 12 selected shoppers, two from each geo-political zone. If you are selected and above the age of 60, you can nominate another person.
‘‘Each shopper selected shall go home with a powerful gift. So, I advise interested participants to start shopping. The more you shop, the better your chances of being selected,’’ he concluded.
Participants for the all-expenses paid weekend mentorship programme will be selected based on orders placed on Konga between Thursday December 1st, 2022 and Tuesday, January 31st, 2023.
Few facts about Leo Stan Ekeh
Leo Stan Ekeh, Africa’s leading serial digital entrepreneur is founder and Chairman of over seven leading tech companies across multiple verticals in the ICT sector and with several successful businesses in four continents. He also holds the record of delivering the biggest tech project on the African continent.
Mr. Ekeh is a most distinguished African ICT personality with numerous awards and recognitions to his credit. He pioneered Desktop Publishing and Computer Graphics, the region’s first locally assembled and internationally certified computer brand, e-Commerce, Biometric revolution for elections, WiMax, ICT products & solutions distribution, amongst others in Africa.
For his incisive entrepreneurship and as a pride to modern Nigeria, Mr. Ekeh has been honoured by two Nigerian Presidents with highly coveted National Awards; namely the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) and ICON of HOPE Award in 2003 and 2001 respectively by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Also in November 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari honoured him with the National Productivity Merit Award (NPOM) for his sustained leadership in the area of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
A first-rate Indian trained economist and Forbes Best of Africa Leading Tech Icon with over 60 national and international awards, including four Doctorate degrees (Honorary) to his name, Mr. Ekeh has remained in the forefront of enthroning digital democracy, inspiring many budding entrepreneurs and promoting gender empowerment in Nigeria and beyond, while also touching many lives through the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation.
Telecom
PAT Taps Osi as CEO

Pan African Towers (PAT), a Nigerian infrastructure provider serving 9mobile and Spectranet, has appointed Echezona Osi as chief executive officer.

Echezona Osi
Adefolarin Ogunsanya, company’s, board chairman, explained in a statement that Osi would succeed Oladipo Badru, whose tenure lasted nine months in acting CEO position. Osi has more than 28 years of experience in the telecommunications sector across various regions of Africa.
Prior to his appointment as CEO, he had served as the head of network deployment at Airtel Nigeria, operations director and chief technical information officer at MIC Tanzania, chief technology officer roles at IPT PowerTech Nigeria, Rhino Niger Networks and Biswal Nigeria.
He obtained a degree in electrical/ electronic engineering from the University of Benin and a postgraduate diploma in data science and business analytics from the University of Texas.
Telecom
NCC Introduces N10m Licence Fee for Bulk SMS Service

Companies sending bulk international text messages, also known as Application-to-Person (A2P) messages, will now have apply for a licence that costs N10 million.
This is part of new rules introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) aimed at cleaning up the system, fighting fraud, blocking spam messages and stopping money from leaving the country unchecked.
These A2P messages are the kind customers get from banks, online stores, hospitals and political campaigns, automated texts sent from apps to their phones.
According to the commission, the bulk international text message system has been poorly regulated, allowing misuse and invasion of privacy.
“The International SMS Service Ecosystem in Nigeria has not been fully brought under regulatory control. It has been observed that the excessive use of the Short Message Service has led to fraud, spam and illegal activities,” the NCC said.
The regulator warned that without action, the problem would worsen as more people use mobile phones and digital services.
To solve this, the NCC is creating a central platform, or gateway, through which all international bulk text messages must pass through.
The agency said this would help to monitor messages in real time, ensure proper fees are paid, and make sure the money stays in Nigeria where it can contribute to the economy.
As part of the incoming change, service providers must follow strict rules, including strong data protection, spam filters, and message encryption.
Also, they must also work with local mobile networks and make sure all messages come from a verified sender
The NCC warned that any message without a proper sender ID will be blocked and not delivered to users.
To protect users from unwanted texts, the new rules say companies must get clear permission before sending any promotional content.
The rule also says people must also be able to choose whether they want to receive such messages or not.
Companies are now required to keep records of all messages for at least six months and must clearly state all charges involved.
The NCC said fees for help requests, cancellations, or service info must be transparent and not include hidden charges.
The commission will issue licences to several providers to encourage healthy competition but may limit new licences if needed.
Only companies that show they can stop fraud and safely deliver messages will be allowed to operate. They must also regularly report their message traffic and finances to the NCC.
It warned that any company that breaks the rules risks getting fined, suspended, or having its licence revoked.
Offences like charging illegal tariffs, ignoring security rules, or avoiding taxes will be punished, the NCC said.
The commission added that the new rules follow the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 and support the federal government’s goal of strengthening cybersecurity and controlling Nigeria’s digital space.
The framework will also be reviewed from time to time to keep up with new technology and market trends.
Telecom
MTN Nigeria Targets $1Bn Cloud Market with Largest Modular Data Centre

MTN Nigeria has launched what it claims is the country’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, marking a bold push into the country’s fast-growing cloud market and taking aim at global giants such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.
The shift comes as demand for cloud services in Nigeria soars — driven by the uptake of mobile apps, fintech tools and e-learning platforms — while foreign providers have become costlier in the wake of the naira’s sharp devaluation.
“This is one of the biggest data centres in West Africa and probably one of the biggest in Africa,” said Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.
He described the new Tier III-certified facility, with locally hosted cloud services, as “transformative for the technology ecosystem in Nigeria and very supportive of the federal government’s agenda”.
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms provider, has so far invested $120m in the first phase, delivering an IT load of 4.5MW. A second phase, set to double capacity to 9MW, is budgeted at $135m.
“We already have data centres that are running our existing capacities,” Toriola said.
“We will go to 9MW in short order, possibly 14MW, and we can expand even further.”
He said the facility would allow local hosting for tech developers, large enterprises including banks and oil companies, and government agencies — markets long dominated by foreign cloud providers.
“Multinational companies such as Netflix, Facebook and Instagram can also host a lot of their data here. That improves the quality of service and reduces the cost of storage,” he added.
- Broadcasting2 days ago
Nigeria Week Ahead: Inflation, Oil and Naira in focus
- News2 days ago
EFCC: Accusations Against Our Chairman Are Baseless and Misleading
- Telecom24 hours ago
MTN Nigeria Targets $1Bn Cloud Market with Largest Modular Data Centre
- Telecom24 hours ago
NCC Introduces N10m Licence Fee for Bulk SMS Service
- E-Business1 day ago
Firm Highlights Top Risks of Quantum Computing
- General News1 day ago
AM Best Reaffirms Stable Outlook for Cyber Insurance Market
- Telecom24 hours ago
PAT Taps Osi as CEO
- General News24 hours ago
Burna Boy Distances Himself from Meme Coin, Labels Crypto as Fraud