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Telecom

Data Centre Stakeholders Rally Behind Telecoms Sector Sustainability Forum 4.0

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The fourth edition of the Telecoms Sector Sustainability Forum (TSSF 4.0), organized by Business Remarks and themed “Mainstreaming Data Centres in the Nigerian Digital Economy,” is set to take place on Thursday, October 5th, 2023, at “The Colossus Hotel,” Opebi – Sheraton Link, Ikeja, Lagos State.

This landmark event is poised to bring together Data Centre operators, regulators, industry players, stakeholders, and enthusiasts under one roof to delve into the pivotal role of data centres in the evolving landscape of the Nigerian digital economy.

Distinguished speakers scheduled to address the forum include; Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, who will deliver the Keynote address, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner at the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), is also slated as a keynote speaker.

Other Speakers include; Engr Ikechukwu Nnamani, Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Data Centres, who will serve as the Lead Speaker, Dr. Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centres and Smith Osemeke, Managing Director of Unitellas.

The event will tackle the ever-expanding data centre market, fuelled by a surge in investments, the rapid growth of cloud and content providers, on-premises migration to cloud/colocation facilities, the blossoming fintech and e-commerce sectors, and the insatiable demand for data.

According to market reports, the global data centre market was valued at $187.35 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $517.17 billion by 2030, registering a remarkable CAGR of 10.5% from 2021 to 2030. The Nigerian data centre market is set to outpace this growth with a projected CAGR of 23.24%.

Furthermore, reports highlight a significant data centre shortage across the African continent. Presently, there are only 86 colocation data centres in 15 African countries, with the majority concentrated in the Big Four—South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya.

Speaking about the event, Bukola Olanrewaju, the Convener and Managing Editor of Business Remarks, emphasized the pivotal role data centres play in the digital era. Beyond data storage and accessibility, they underpin the digital world, fueling economic growth, environmental sustainability, and data security.

Olanrewaju highlighted the exponential growth of data centres across Africa as evidence of the continent’s determination to embrace the digital age, underscoring the need for robust infrastructure.

TSSF 4.0 aims to address Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and accessibility challenges, fostering a sustainable and inclusive economic environment. The forum will provide a platform for stakeholders to address industry challenges, identify growth opportunities, and navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Moreover, Olanrewaju noted that the demand for data centre space is poised to soar across multiple sectors, including technology, telecoms, banking, financial services, insurance (BFSI), healthcare, transportation, and heavy industries.

Echoing expert opinions, Olanrewaju emphasized the strategic significance of data centres in propelling Nigeria’s digital economy towards sustainable growth. “To secure a prosperous future and advance the nation’s digital economy agenda, we must turbocharge Nigeria’s digital infrastructure,” she added.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

Telecom

NITDA Pledges to Foster Innovation with Cloud Infrastructure and AI Applications

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National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has reaffirmed its dedication to fostering an innovative ecosystem that balances regulation with industry growth. The agency is investing in cloud infrastructure, data classification, and AI applications to establish Nigeria as a leading digital hub in Africa.

Kashifu Inuwa, NITDA’s Director General, emphasized this commitment while speaking at the Africa Hyperscalers Digital Infrastructure Outlook 2025. The event gathered industry experts to explore Africa’s role in the expanding global AI-driven infrastructure boom.

In his remarks, Inuwa highlighted NITDA’s dual regulatory framework: rule-based regulation, involving strict compliance guidelines, and non-rule-based regulation, which allows for industry-led innovation with established benchmarks.

“Before we regulate anything, we need to be aware of the landscape, we need to be intelligent, we need to have data and make sense out of that data, we need to be dynamic because technology is fast-changing and we need to develop that agility within the regulatory framework,” Inuwa stated.

He also discussed the Cloud First Policy, introduced in 2019 to discourage excessive reliance on physical data centres. This policy encourages government agencies and private businesses to leverage cloud computing and digital solutions. Initially, businesses were granted waivers to use public cloud infrastructure, but NITDA is now pushing for local data centres to enhance their capabilities.

A major milestone for NITDA was its successful engagement with global hyperscaler providers, including Google Cloud, which pledged to collaborate with local data centres to drive cloud adoption and establish a hyperscaler data centre in Nigeria. This follows a meeting between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Paris, where the President shared his transformative ambition for Nigeria.

To further drive cloud adoption, NITDA is finalizing a framework that will mandate data classification, ensuring that certain data categories remain within Nigeria. This move is expected to attract more cloud service providers and bolster the country’s digital sovereignty.

Emphasizing the importance of AI applications, Inuwa disclosed that NITDA is prioritizing AI to enhance governance, regulation, and service delivery. He asserted that AI can revolutionize governance and business operations by automating processes, enhancing regulatory efficiency, and developing knowledge management systems.

Dr. Nadu Denloye, Co-founder of Telnet Nigeria Limited, also spoke at the event, highlighting Africa’s remarkable digital transformation driven by connectivity advancements, cloud adoption, data centres, AI, and a growing digital-native population. She expressed confidence in crafting solutions to drive Africa’s digital growth.

Other notable panelists included Dr. Ayaotunde Coker, CEO Open Access Data Centres and Chairman of the Africa Data Centres Association; Johnson AgboGbua, CEO of Kasi Cloud; Obinna Isiadinso, Data Centres Global Sector Lead at International Finance Corporation; Kazeem Oladepo, Chief Operating Officer at IHS; and Abibat Kazeem, Commercial Director at Bayobab.

This commitment by NITDA underlines its dedication to advancing Nigeria’s position as a digital leader in Africa through innovative solutions and strategic regulations.


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Visa Launches Report on Digital Payment Landscape in Nigeria, Shows Positive Outlook

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Visa, a global leader in payments, today announced the launch of a new report, ‘Value of Acceptance: Understanding the Digital Payment Landscape in Nigeria,’ which highlights substantial growth potential for digital payments, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In Nigeria, digital payments are proving beneficial for surveyed SMEs, with nearly 90% believing that it boosts revenue and customer footfall. This growing confidence in digital transactions, especially cards, is coupled with a desire for further digitization, with 76% of cash-only SMEs planning to invest in new payment technologies.

The study also reveals that more than half of merchants already prefer digital payments, with 44% reporting lost sales due to customers’ lack of cash and 62% expressing concerns over fraud risk associated with cash.

Nigeria’s Digital Payments Momentum

An overwhelmingly positive outlook on digital payment investment emerged in the report, with 83% of merchants surveyed seeing this as a crucial component for growth, boosting sales, reducing fraud, and enhancing convenience among customers,
“Nigeria’s digital payments landscape is rapidly evolving, with a growing inclination towards digital transactions,” stated Andrew Uaboi, Vice President & Head, Visa West Africa.

“This transformation not only holds the promise of bolstering SMEs prosperity but can also help the economy to thrive.

“At Visa, we look forward to working together with our partners to further drive this transformation, enabling individuals, merchants, and businesses to grow and participate in the digital economy.”

Addressing Challenges to Unlock Full Potential

Unlocking digital payments’ full potential in Nigeria will require confronting key challenges. There is an overarching need to enhance financial literacy and raise awareness about the benefits of digital payments while also incentivizing their usage among customers.

With 76% of cash-only SMEs surveyed intending to get a point-of-sale (POS) device in the near future, an opportunity emerges to accelerate adoption through simplifying onboarding.

In addition, improving infrastructure to counteract concerns around payments failures (42%) can enhance confidence in digitization. To address fraud concerns, educational campaigns are vital to highlighting the robust security features of digital payments, especially the lower fraud risk associated with card payments.

Visa’s established cybersecurity capabilities can be instrumental to building trust across the digital payments landscape in Nigeria by helping to harness confidence across both the SME and consumer segments.

The Broader Value of Digital Payment Acceptance

Digital payments are crucial for Nigerian SMEs for a number of reasons including – boosting revenue through an increasingly cashless customer base, improving customer satisfaction with faster payments, and reducing operational risks by minimizing cash handling. Digital transaction records also provide valuable data that facilitate access to financing and stimulate growth.

While cash is still seen as quick and convenient, cards offer an advantage across expense tracking, spending encouragement, and enhanced security. Meanwhile, mobile and digital wallets offer an innovative and competitive edge. Promoting the adoption of preferred methods, particularly card payments, is crucial for driving growth.

Beyond direct benefits, digital payment adoption drives economic growth and financial inclusion, by connecting the unbanked to the formal financial system and enabling access to savings, credit, and insurance.

Research shows that the transition to the digital economy can generate 1-2% annual GDP growth; a mere 1% increase in card usage generates an average $67 billion annual increase in goods and services consumption across 70 countries and territories.

Visa: A Partner in Driving Digital Payment Adoption

Visa is uniquely positioned to support Nigeria’s transition to a more digital economy. As a trusted advisor and partner, Visa offers a range of capabilities to help governments, financial institutions, businesses, and technology providers enhance their digital payment acceptance maturity.

Visa’s suite of solutions includes programs for specific merchant segments, innovations like Tap to Phone, Contactless Payments and Click to Pay, and resources educating businesses about the benefits of digital payments.

About the Visa Value of Acceptance report

Visa’s ‘Value of Acceptance: Understanding the Digital Payment Landscape in Nigeria’ report, conducted by 4Sight Research & Analytics, examines the current state of digital payment acceptance, exploring both opportunities and challenges. The findings are based on face-to-face interviews with 250 SME owners/managers who are key decision-makers with respect to day-to-day business decisions.


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Gombe Commissioner of Police Visits GBB Command Centre, Strengthens Collaboration on ICT-Driven Security Solutions

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L-r : Ibrahim Bello, Regional Coordinator, North East, Galaxy Backbone(GBB) Limited, CP Bello Yahaya, Commissioner of Police, Gombe State. During the tour of GBB's state of the art Safe City, Command Centre in Gombe.
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Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited welcomed the newly appointed Commissioner of Police for Gombe State, CP Bello Yahaya, on a courtesy visit to its North East Regional Office and Safe City Emergency Command Centre.

This visit underscored the growing synergy between law enforcement and technology-driven solutions in strengthening security operations and fostering digital transformation in the region.

During the visit, CP Bello Yahaya was received by Mr. Ibrahim Bello, Regional Coordinator of GBB North East Regional Office, alongside key members of the GBB team.

The engagement provided a platform to explore strategic collaborations aimed at enhancing security infrastructure, digital transformation, and capacity-building initiatives for the Gombe State Police Command.

The Commissioner was taken on a guided tour of the Safe City Emergency Command Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that forms a critical part of the National Information and Communications Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB) project.

The centre plays a pivotal role in improving security architecture across Gombe State and the North East region, leveraging cutting-edge surveillance systems, real-time monitoring tools, and integrated emergency response mechanisms.

With its advanced Unified Communications System, security analytics, and digital emergency response coordination, the Safe City Command Centre provides law enforcement with real-time intelligence, proactive threat detection, and seamless inter-agency collaboration, enabling a more effective and responsive approach to public safety.

CP Bello Yahaya expressed keen interest in leveraging ICT solutions to strengthen policing efforts, emphasizing the importance of technology in modern crime prevention, data-driven policing, and crisis management.

He highlighted the need for enhanced digital transformation, improved connectivity, and expanded training programs to equip officers with the necessary skills to operate effectively in a digitally evolving security landscape.

Galaxy Backbone reaffirmed its commitment to supporting law enforcement agencies, government institutions, and critical stakeholders through innovative ICT solutions, secure cloud infrastructure, and digital training programs.

By providing access to high-speed connectivity, cybersecurity frameworks, and cloud-powered command centres, GBB continues to drive the adoption of smart policing solutions and enhanced security management across Nigeria.

The visit concluded with a shared commitment to deepening engagement between Galaxy Backbone and the Gombe State Police Command, focusing on optimizing digital transformation initiatives for law enforcement efficiency, expanding the scope of ICT-driven surveillance and emergency response systems and strengthening training programs for officers to enhance digital skills and operational effectiveness.

As Nigeria’s leading digital infrastructure provider, Galaxy Backbone continues to shape the future of public safety, digital governance, and cybersecurity, ensuring that law enforcement agencies have access to the best tools to protect lives and property.

 


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