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Strong Corporate Governance, Ethics are at the Heart of MainOne’s Success – Abimbola

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Solanke Abimbola
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In this interview, MainOne’s Chief Financial Officer, Solanke Abimbola discusses the company’s success over the past decade, expansion plans and projections for 2021 while noting that adherence to corporate governance principles and ethics have been key to the company.

MainOne celebrated its 10 anniversary this year, and the company has been recognized for the leadership role it has played in the expansion of Internet access in Nigeria. What are your projections for the ICT industry and MainOne in 2021?

We are pleased that for a company that is only ten years in operation, we have had such impact on Internet access across the West African region.  In 2021, we anticipate that more people will migrate online, businesses will adopt cloud-based solutions to improve operational efficiency and data consumption per capita will increase, resulting in the growth of infrastructure requirements.

To meet the increase in demand across the various market segments, we are expanding our terrestrial fiber footprint across the region and we are making additional data center investments including the expansion of our MDXi facility in Lekki, Lagos,  and construction of a new data center facility in Appolonia City, Accra Ghana which will be ready for service in the first quarter of 2021. In addition, we expect to continue to see increased growth and investments in the start-up and innovation ecosystem which are driving locally relevant content and applications.

One of the factors that has distinguished MainOne over the years is the kind of products it brings to the market. What are the recent products you have developed, and what philosophy underlies product development at MainOne?

Our strategy remains enabling businesses and retail ISPs in the West African region with broadband infrastructure solutions to serve their end users and customers. This is built on the significant investments we have made in building out world class infrastructure across the West African region, whether via our Connectivity, Colocation, Cloud or Managed services.

We are a company of many firsts and most recently we announced the launch of the first locally available Microsoft Azure Peering Service in West Africa. This service provides enterprises using Microsoft Cloud services with a secure high-performance experience relative to what is currently available in the market.

What should we expect from MainOne with your new investments in data centers in Nigeria and Ghana?

We want to continue to consolidate our leadership position in the data center space across West Africa. In addition to our existing facilities, the new facilities will also be carrier neutral secure facilities which will allow customers the capacity and flexibility to adapt to market changes especially during these challenging times of a Pandemic and recession.

The data centers provide the highest quality of services to allow our colocated customers run their businesses online with 24X7 operation of a data center.  They cater to the increasing demand for colocation and interconnection services we are experiencing from multinationals and local businesses seeking shared services facilities for their ICT resources in world class facilities.

The success of MainOne in the last decade is predicated on its Corporate Governance stance. What is your position on the Accounting Separation Framework (ASF) directive issued by the NCC this year?

MainOne has built a strong reputation of good Corporate Governance and take pride in our compliance practices. We have worked with our regulator’s directives on Corporate Governance and hold ourselves out as a role model and advocate for Nigerian companies in our industry. We think the ASF initiative by the NCC is laudable and long overdue to enhance fair competition in Nigeria’s telecom industry but only if the guidelines are transparent, objectively applied, and implemented.

Have you had issues with reporting your financials in the past, and how have your stakeholders responded to issue of disclosure?

MainOne is a private company but we have an open record of compliance with all our statutory filing obligations since inception with the various relevant agencies including Federal and State Tax agencies, the Corporate Affairs Commission, NCC and also the FRC among others. We have had no issues with reporting our financial statements in the past and we have consistently disclosed information to both shareholders and regulators when required. Of course, as a private company we do not publish our financial information in the public domain.

MainOne is administered from its headquarters (in Lagos), but the company is not solely a Nigerian company. How are the component units administered?

MainOne is a multi-national company, with our Group holding company registered in Mauritius. The group includes subsidiary companies in the various countries in which we operate including Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Portugal. Our Group operational headquarters is based in Lagos Nigeria and the company is also majority owned by Nigerian investors. We are proud to be a Nigerian owned multi-national company.

What is your stance with respect to regulations, policies and corporate governance in the countries where you operate?

MainOne conducts its business in an ethical manner and one of our core values is integrity. Our business is focused on doing well and doing good as Africans for Africa in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations in countries in which we operate.  Obeying the law, both in letter and in spirit, and ensuring regulatory compliance is a critical performance measure for the entire company and an area in which we have performed well.

We have invested significantly in regulatory and compliance frameworks and ensuring that we adopt international best practices in meeting all compliance requirements.

What are your expansion plans for 2021? Any plans for Cameroon? Any challenges on the road there?

In 2021, we plan to explore further opportunities to expand in Francophone West Africa e.g. Niger and Mali, while we continue to drive plans to further expand in our existing countries i.e. Nigeria (Lagos), Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire.

In Burkina Faso, we have partnered with the World Bank to provide bulk connectivity services to a consortium of operators through the PAV – Burkina Cooperative.

With regards to Cameroon, we have extended our submarine cable to Kribi and partnered with Cameroon Telecommunications Corporation (CAMTEL) to accelerate broadband access and expedite penetration in that country and into neighboring Central African countries.

In the past, issues with taxation and Right-of-Way clearances encumbered broadband deployment, especially in Nigeria. Have they all been resolved? What has changed in the last half decade?

Major improvements have been made in the region especially in the last couple of years with regards to Right of Way challenges. However, there are still some lingering issues. Early this year, Ekiti and Kaduna State governments reduced the cost of Right of Way charges and several other states followed suit.

We believe these moves will help accelerate the deployment of fast and efficient infrastructure in these states though these conditions are not sufficient for the level of investment required.

Challenges remain in terms of infrastructure sharing arrangements and also the need for policy consistency over time that will encourage companies to make these long-term investments. As soon as we tackle these issues effectively, we will be able to realize our vision to diversify from oil and create a digital economy.

Tell us about the developmental impact of your services. What have you seen change in the lives of people and organisations as a result of your services?

Our biggest achievement to date is building the pioneering international backbone that reduced the cost of connecting our region to the Internet by orders of magnitude thus enabling access for our citizens.

We have provided wholesale Internet services to over 10 West African countries and Internet penetration in our region has grown from less than 10% to approximately 40% today.

Today, we have 6 cables landing in Nigeria and the country is ranked 7th globally in terms of Internet population. In addition, we have played a major role in enabling the start-up ecosystem in Nigeria which is now ranked #1 in sub-Saharan Africa and which has relied on the critical technologies we have deployed to drive their business models.


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MTN Mulls AI Tech to Protect Infrastructure as Cable Cuts Hit 13,000 in 18 Months

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MTN Nigeria has said that there are plans to deploy an artificial intelligence (AI) technology to monitor and protect its fibre optic cables across the country.

MTN Mulls AI Tech to Protect Infrastructure as Cable Cuts Hit 13,000 in 18 Months

Yahaya Ibrahim, chief technical officer (CTO), MTN, said the technology will detect vibrations, identify the cause, and alert relevant personnels.

According to Ibrahim who spoke during a session for the ongoing MTN Media Innovation Progamme, the proposed innovation comes amid concerns over the growing spate of telecoms infrastructure vandalism, which have led to multiple cable cuts, and the destruction of towers.

This, he said, would enable the company to promptly deploy agents to the site.

The system is being developed in collaboration with Huawei Technologies.

Providing data on fibre cut incidents in an email correspondence, the CTO said MTN recorded over 9,000 cable cuts in 2024.

He said 4,700 cables were destroyed as at the end of June 2025 alone, bringing the total to about 13,700 incidents in 18 months.

A breakdown of the incidents by zone showed that about 2,500 cuts occurred in northern Nigeria, 2,800 in south-west, while 3,500 were recorded in the south-east and south-south regions combined.

“If we look at the cuts per region, the Southeastern and South South states have more cuts and this is where we have the most hotspots for Fibre and site vandalism,” Ibrahim said.

“Akwa Ibom, Abia and Rivers stand out in states. While in specific locations Omoku and Egbema stand out for fibre vandalization.”

The MTN official said vandalism and road construction account for 69 percent of total cable cuts across the country.

Ibrahim said the incidents often disrupt services, with an average downtime of 15 hours recorded per month.

“Some regions are higher than others,” he said.

“All services will be down, that means no one will be able to use any services.

“We spent N17.6b in 2024 and budget for 2025 based on PO issued for maintenance and relocation is N26.3b.”

In addition to the expenditure, MTN is said to also conduct route patrol, route monitoring, and construction bypass — which involves the creation an alternative route that allows for the temporary or permanent relocation of essential resources around a construction site.

Ibrahim said the telco also invests in having a diverse route for resilience, relocation of fibre, holding stakeholder engagement, and working with communities for policing.

The technical officer confirmed that there are collaborations in place with state and federal authorities to secure fibre routes.

 

 

 


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NASENI and BPP Forge Nigeria First Alliance to Champion Local Goods and Services

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National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) on Monday, 28th July 2025, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the implementation of “Nigeria First” Policy on Procurement, projects and other related matters.

The Nigeria First Policy is an initiative of the Federal Government, aimed at promoting Nigerian-made goods, services and utilization of Local content, infrastructures and other value chain.

As part of the Renewed Hope Agenda initiative of the Government, the policy seeks to encourage local production and consumption of Nigerian goods or services, also to support Nigerian business and entrepreneurs, foster economic growth and development, reduce dependency on imported goods and to promote Nigerian culture and identity. Also, by prioritizing local content, the policy aimed to create jobs, stimulate economic activity, and increase Nigeria’s global competitiveness.

Speaking at the  MoU signing ceremony which took place at the Headquarters of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) office in Abuja, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said, with the signing of MoU and implementation of the Nigeria First Policy, 80% of challenges faced while trying to convince investors and foreign partners would have been solved, as Nigeria will cease to be dumping ground for foreign goods, while focusing on promotion of Nigerian products, goods and services.

Halilu said that with support now coming from BPP, the over 50 market ready NASENI products will be off the shelves and gain patronage of Nigerians, adding that NASENI has gained for the country over 2 billion dollars from its recent partnership activities with China alone.

“One thing that is clear when I took over the leadership of NASENI was the determination to move the Agency from just producing prototypes to commercialization of its technologies and products, this was complemented by the turn around which we did in rebranding the Agency.

“We have 50 market-ready Nigeria branded products. NASENI is building the biggest renewable energy park in Nasarawa and has entered into partnership with Abuja Technology Village to boost Technology Transfer and innovation, enhance local manufacturing capacity, transform NASENI’s research-focused installation into full production facilities, promote national brands and local production”, he further explained.

Buttressing the partnership between NASENI and BPP, he said that it is expected that the policy would have transformative impacts on Nigeria’s economy and human capital development, aligning with national goals for industrialization, youth employment, and economic diversification. “This also shows that our efforts are not in vain:”

Earlier in his speech, the Director-General of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Dr. Adebowale Adedokun said that the MoU between BPP and NASENI offers a structured bridge between production and procurement and how to take locally made solutions off the shelves and to place them at the center of public service delivery, which aimed at aligning Government policies with national priorities as well as giving practical force to the Nigeria First Policy.

According to him, “NASENI’s innovations, from tractors to tablets, from surveillance drones to solar backup systems, will now be actively prioritized in the procurement plans by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. We are institutionalizing a framework that makes local options not just preferable, but the default option before all others.

Specifically, he said further that with the signing of the MoU, the “BPP will now integrate NASENI’s Product catalogue into the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal, NOCOPO, and therefore encouraging other MDAs to follow suit”

He noted that the “Nigeria First Policy is not an act of protectionism, but an act of patriotism grounded in performance, and it is targeted at fastracking Nigeria’s industrial revolution”. He remarked that “NASENI has invested in quality assurance. Its products are certified by national institutions such as SON and NAFDAC. This means NASENI’s offerings will now be visible, verifiable, and measurable across all MDAs. First, we are integrating NASENI’s catalogue into the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal, NOCOPO. Between January and June this year alone, NOCOPO’s enhanced price intelligence has helped Nigeria save over 173 billion naira, 155 million dollars, and 1.7 million euros.”

While calling on all MDAs to follow NASEN’s footprint in promoting Made in Nigeria products, he said that the BPP’s revised threshold is now five billion naira for goods and ten billion for works, meaning that MDAs can act faster, while they continue to strengthen post-review and audit mechanisms.

He emphasized that the role of BPP is to ensure that these standards are rewarded with access, and that MDAs no longer look outside when the best is being made inside. “For the avoidance of doubt, let me say here that we will be backing this commitment with reform actions”.


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Treepz Launches in Canada, Secures University of Toronto-Supported Program as First Corporate Travel Client

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Treepz, Africa’s fast-growing corporate mobility technology company, has expanded its operations into Canada, marking a significant milestone in its global strategy. The announcement was made at Brampton City Hall, Ontario, with full support from the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown.

The event, which featured key stakeholders and dignitaries, included the official announcement of Treepz’s partnership with the African Impact Initiative, a University of Toronto-sponsored program. Under the agreement, Treepz will provide comprehensive travel logistics—including flights, accommodation, experiences, and ground transportation—for program participants visiting four African countries: South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda.

Speaking at the launch, Mayor Brown described the expansion as “a proud moment for Brampton,” lauding Treepz’s founders for creating a brand that has served over six million customers since its inception in Nigeria in 2019. He added that Treepz’s ability to manage mobility in Lagos, one of Africa’s busiest cities, is a testament to the strength of its operational capacity.

Onyeka Akumah, Treepz Founder and CEO, expressed gratitude to city officials and program partners, noting that the move solidifies Treepz’s role as a globally recognized African brand.

“This launch is a strong statement of intent, not just for Treepz, but for all African startups. We are proud to be serving clients in both Africa and North America,” he said.

Treepz’s entry into Canada was supported by several Canadian organisations, including the World Trade Center’s TAP program, the Black Entrepreneurship Alliance, and the BHive Program.

It follows Treepz’s participation in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator in 2021, which played a pivotal role in its expansion roadmap.

The launch signals a new era for Treepz’s operations and marks a historic moment for African-led innovation in the global travel technology space.


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