Telecom
TeamApt’s Dennis Ajalie Highlights Importance of Collaboration in Digital Payments
TeamApt Ltd’s Managing Director, Dennis Ajalie, has said that fintech companies and banks play very complimentary roles in deepening payment products and services for users while acknowledging that at certain times those roles might have been misunderstood.
L-R Chief Product Officer, Frank Atashili; Managing Director, Dennis Ajalie and Chief Technology Officer, Emeka Awagu all, from TeamApt Ltd, at the Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH) Conference 2024 which held in Lagos recently
A subsidiary of Moniepoint Inc, TeamApt Ltd, facilitates payment processing across many industries while enabling reliable payments for banks and their customers, while reducing operating costs.
Mr Ajalie added that the industry’s regulator, Central Bank of Nigeria has delineated what each entity should do and how they should function in creating a successful payment ecosystem that protects consumers and enables businesses, which he admitted to be complementary and not competitive.
He made this point while participating as a panelist at the annual conference of the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) conference in Lagos with the theme, “Payment System Vision 2030: Navigating Contemporary Issues in Driving Future Growth”.
Other panelists at the session include: Partner, Digital Engineering, Deloitte, Oluwole Oyeniran; Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo; Chief Executive Officer, Emtech, Carmelle Cadet; Chief Operating Officer, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Dr. Mohammed Jiya. The panel discussion focused on “Digital Payments and the National Digital Economy Framework (NDEF).”
Formed in July 2008, CeBIH seeks to achieve the primary objective of driving the adoption of electronic banking services in line with global practices by serving as a forum for Heads of e-Business/e-Payments in Nigerian deposit-money banks to share ideas and experiences, as well as advocating for the use of the right technologies, policies, standards, innovation and public awareness in creating a financial services landscape that works for all.
This year’s event, which had Moniepoint Inc as a Premium Sponsor, demonstrates the financial giant’s avowed commitment to create a safe, transparent and secure digital payments ecosystem for all Nigerians.
The moderator, Founder, aCubed Limited, Wunmi Ogunbiyi, opened the panel discussion by highlighting the session’s focus on providing clarity on the real issues that matter to everyday Nigerians when it comes to digital payments, such as high fees that burden users unnecessarily, lack of accountability in digital transactions, bridging the gap in digital literacy to empower all Nigerians and navigating the challenges of our evolving financial ecosystem.
Touching on the imperative of borderless transactions and the solutions for implementation with respect to the framework, Ajalie said, “Borderless transactions have to happen, because we’re becoming more interconnected by the day and by the minute. We still have a lot of siloed implementations among key stakeholders and unless we recalibrate our systems, borderless remains beyond our reach and a mirage. There’s the fierce urgency of now that demands that we find solid ways to interconnect, and once we’re able to interconnect within ourselves, reconcile properly, especially on the local front, then we can present a single, unified front that will enable us to push transactions and receive transactions from outside. We cannot go forward without fixing these internal challenges.”
Wrapping up his thoughts, he reiterated the need for industry-wide collaborations in fighting the menace of fraud, “If we able to all share information and collaborate seamlessly, we’ll find out that it becomes disinteresting for these bad faith individuals to use the collective technology commonwealth that we have all built to commit nefarious activities. So, it goes back to collaboration among fintechs, the banks, NFIU, infrastructure providers, the telcos, and switches. We’ve all got to come together to say, enough is enough and that this present situation threatens all of us rather than just one of us.”
The panel stressed the necessity of working together to create adaptable, inclusive, and easily accessible payment solutions that cater to the diverse and expanding Nigerian population. Such systems, they argued, would stimulate economic growth. Additionally, given the regulators’ active efforts to combat fraud, the panel emphasized the importance of every ecosystem member, including consumers, taking responsibility to eliminate fraudulent activities.
Hotspot, Nigerian last-mile connectivity and tower operator, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium led by Clear Blue Technologies, solar-power company to deploy 312 solar powered mobile sites across Nigeria.
Under the deal signed earlier this week at Mobile World Congress 2025, the sites will feature Clear Blue’s Illumience Smart Power solar solution designed for telecoms infrastructure.
The Clear Blue consortium also includes Empower New Energy, which provides clean energy project financing across Africa, and Netis, which specialises in operating and managing telecom infrastructure and will the installation, operations, and maintenance services for the project.
Miriam Tuerk, CEO, Clear Blue, said the consortium has the expert skills and capabilities to quickly design, build and operate the network, solar power and tower sites.
“As everyone active in the telecom market in Africa is aware, it is a difficult operating environment with challenging TCO targets. And yet, it is probably the largest untapped telecom market in the world with significant growth potential”, said, Morenikeji Aniye, CEO, Hotspot.
“Clear Blue brings an innovative technology and service capability which, together with an innovative business model and structure, enables us to deploy and operate these sites while meeting stringent service and TCO targets.”
Clear Blue noted that the deal is subject to final contract negotiations and signatures.
Assuming everything goes according to plan, Hotspot will roll out the solar-powered sites at the end of this year.
Technology company, Globacom, has been experiencing substantial increase in the adoption of its Bulk Data services by enterprise clients. This surge reinforces the appeal of Glo’s innovative data solution among corporate organizations, schools, and tertiary institutions.
Glo’s Bulk Data offering is a user-friendly self-service portal that enables enterprise customers to gift data to other customers. This feature allows sponsors to allocate specific data amounts for free navigation of mobile apps or websites, with the sponsor covering the costs.
The service is particularly beneficial for educational institutions, which can purchase the Schools’ Bucket Data plan for students’ academic usage, valid for 90 days.
The Gifted Data Plan on its part, is available for a 30 days validity and offers flexibility, allowing sponsors to gift data to multiple Glo subscribers in various sizes, ranging from 200MB to 10GB, depending on the Pack the Gifting customer has subscribed to.
Sponsors can also customize SMS notifications to beneficiaries, setting Glo’s product apart from others in the market. Beneficiaries can easily check their balance by dialing *127*0# on their devices.
Glo’s Bulk Data service has become an attractive solution for enterprise clients seeking efficient data management, thanks to its flexibility, customization options, and user-friendly features.
The Bulk Data service is designed specifically for bulk data buyers, including corporate entities, schools, and tertiary institutions.
MTN Nigeria, one of Africa’s leading ICT companies, has partnered with automobile giants, Nord and GAC Motors to reinforce its commitment to its local content policy and support made in Nigeria products.
MTN
This partnership involved the procurement of a combined total of 33 cars for MTN’s customer-facing teams in Lagos and the North, including 22 locally assembled vehicles from Nord and GAC Motors, highlighting a strong commitment to local manufacturing. The additional purchase of 11 other cars further strengthened this operational initiative. These cars, essential tools of trade, play a key role in MTN’s customer engagement strategy, allowing their teams to commute to the field easily to deliver on targets.
In July 2021, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) established the Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NIDOTS), an office charged with the primary responsibility of ensuring the promotion of indigenous content in the Nigerian telecoms sector, through the enforcement of the Nigerian National Local Content Policy. This national policy serves as the framework for MTN’s local content commitments, supporting the Nigerian Federal Government in developing sustainable local societies, while championing digital and financial inclusion.
At a handover ceremony held at MTN’s Lagos Headquarters, Lynda Saint Nwafor, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, expatiated on MTN’s content policy and the relevance of this partnership. “At MTN, we maintain a stance on promoting local content development in Nigeria by enabling local supply chains through local procurement.”
Saint Nwafor further detailed how this partnership supports MTN’s logistics model: “We had some challenges over the years. The logistics model we initially wanted to adopt didn’t work, so we had to revert to the old model.
“This model allows our sales and client success teams to better commute to customer locations.”
MTN Nigeria remains committed to creating shared value and playing a positive and meaningful role in creating a sustainable and inclusive country.
Wema Bank Battles to Recover N888.3m which Allegedly Vanishes in Shocking System Glitch
Hotspot, Clear Blue Consortium Ink MOU for Solar-Powered Mobile Sites
NELFUND, NIMC to Roll Out Biometric G2P Cards for Students
NITDA Identifies Key Barriers to Cybersecurity in Nigeria
Microsoft Develops AI Reasoning Models to Rival OpenAI
Fidelity Bank Raises ₦232Bn in First Phase of Capital Raising
Schmidt, Ex Google Chief Says AI Risky in Terrorist Hands
KongaFM Basks in Rave Reviews from Nigerians
GSMA Launches Innovation Fund to Boost AI Solutions in Emerging Markets
FG Order MDAs to Close Commercial Banks’ Accounts, Enforce TSA Policy
Telecom2 days agoCustomers to Receive 5GB Free Data on New Glo e-SIM
E-Business2 days agoStealer Malware Leaked over 2m Bank Cards – Report
News2 days agoAirtel Africa, Mastercard Launch New Digital Payment Solution for SmartCash Customers
News1 day agoFG Lists Simon Ekpa, 16 Others as Terrorism Financiers, Freezes Accounts
Broadcasting2 days agoTariff Hike: FG Drags MultiChoice to Court for Ignoring Regulatory Directives
Telecom2 days agoMTN Nigeria Leads Africa’s Digital Revolution: Highlights from the Omniverse Summit 2025
Telecom2 days agoMTN Nigeria Showcases Groundbreaking 5G Innovations @Omniverse Summit 2025
General News2 days agoDG NITDA Reaffirms Commitment to Research and AI-driven Solutions