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E-Business

Abubakar says Galaxy Backbone Position to Lead Digital Inclusion

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Galaxy Backbone Limited was uniquely built as a national resource to lead country-wide digital inclusion drive, says Professor Muhammad Abubakar, the MD/CEO .

Abubakar was a guest speaker at the 2020 EKO-KONNECT Users Conference in Lagos.

He was represented by the General Manager, Customer Operations & Services at Galaxy Backbone, Mr. Frank Ugbodaga, who delivered his paper on ‘Development of ICT Infrastructure for National Education Research & Learning’.

Galaxy Backbone, an agency under the Federal Ministry Of Communication & Digital Economy, was established in 2006 based on the need for the government to pursue a coordinated and harmonized approach to information and communications technology acquisition, operation and use in the public sector.

He said that the recently signed joint venture agreement between Galaxy Backbone Limited and the Eko-Konnect Research and Education Initiative (Eko-Konnect) is a testimony to the robust backbone network the Company has built to foster connectivity, research and education which are critical elements of economic development.

The collaboration was expected to boost reliable high-speed connectivity, access to research outputs, teaching, and learning materials for tertiary education in Nigeria.

Prof. Abubakar said that Galaxy Backbone, wholly-owned enterprise of the federal government, will continue to leave up to its mandate by providing ICT infrastructure and services to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as tertiary institutions.

He said that as the largest public sector backbone  provider, the Company is a giant in collaboration and aggregate partnerships for value addition and digital services which will support and help actualize the 8 pillars of the National Broadband Policy designed by the Honourable Minister Of Communications & Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami.

“Galaxy Backbone Limited has robust infrastructure. Today, we account for 13% of all fibre optic cables laid in Nigeria which is around 37,000 kilometres. Therefore, Galaxy Backbone is positioned to support rapid development of ICT infrastructure for education, research and learning hence the partnership with Eko Konnect.

“GBB represents a ready-made backbone which the government and private organisations can leverage. We also represent the platform for linking national, regional and global research network and knowledge clusters. So, we are happy to be part of the arrangement.

Galaxy Backbone has agreed to provide datacentre services and a fibre-optic cable transport network through which Eko-Konnect would interconnect campuses and provide a number of, “above the net” scholarly communication services including a real-time collaboration platform, trust and identity framework, develop relevant cloud services and pilot a shared research product repository.

In the first project commencing immediately, the joint venture will establish the hubs in Enugu and Awka, interconnect nearby institutions in Eastern Nigeria to peers in the Lagos area and environs, and counterparts in the global research network through the West and Central Research and Education Network (WACREN).

Prof. Charles Uwadia, Chairman, Eko-Konnect Board of Trustees, welcomed the collaboration saying “This development gives the much-needed impetus to the several initiatives providing services for research and education communities in Nigeria.

Eko-Konnect is a community-driven initiative which promotes the establishment of research clusters in geo-political regions of Nigeria, interconnected via a backbone to provide the high-speed networks that are essential for sharing, accessing and processing the high data volumes generated by research and education communities.


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E-Business

African Startups Raised $345m in Funding in May

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African startups raised more than $345 million across 65 deals in May, more than double the amount raised in the same period of last year, according to a report by Briter, a research and business intelligence firm.

The report disclosed that both the number of deals and participating companies declined, confirming a growing trend of fewer companies raising funds in larger sizes.

It said fintech attracted the highest share of funding in May, accounting for 34 percent of the total, while cleantech followed closely, driven by a debt deal from Sun King. The company raised $80 million (in local currency) to expand clean energy access in Nigeria.

“Equity remains the primary instrument in terms of total value. There’s no doubt about it; in fact, equity deals with disclosed amounts captured more than half of the total funding volume in May.

“However, debt financing is increasingly proving its weight. Although it accounted for only 8 percent of all deals, it represented 32 percent of the total funding, highlighting the typically larger size of debt transactions. With the rise of specialised vehicles targeting early-stage businesses, debt is becoming an increasingly important part of Africa’s innovation funding landscape,” it said.

Briter’s report added that grants continued to play a vital role in early-stage support, especially in the education technology (EdTech) sector. The Mastercard Foundation led the pack in grant activity, funding a new cohort of EdTech innovators in Nigeria and Kenya. Each selected startup is set to receive $100,000 in grant funding, in addition to mentorship and business development support.

Multilaterals also made a strong showing in May, it said. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, issued a $179.6 million guarantee to CleanTech firm KOKO Networks. The support will help scale its clean energy solutions across Kenya.

“This deal not only demonstrates growing international confidence in African climate ventures but also signals a promising pathway for other asset-intensive startups in clean cooking, agriculture, and renewable energy,” the report said.

From a geographic perspective, Egypt emerged as the continent’s fundraising powerhouse for the month, contributing 51 percent of all funding raised. The country recorded 12 deals across equity, debt, and bond instruments. Notably, FinTech platform MNT-Halan raised $50 million through a bond issuance, further illustrating the diversification of capital-raising mechanisms in the region.

Outside Egypt, funding was distributed across Africa’s three other key markets, which are Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, with limited activity recorded in countries such as Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and Uganda, each registering between one and three deals.

In terms of exits, the African tech landscape continues to mature. Three companies—Baobab+, Qardy, and Shopa—were acquired in May, bringing the total number of exits this year to 22. This already surpasses last year’s count for the same period. Qardy was acquired by Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) in a disclosed deal valued at $23 million, the report added.

 


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Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

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By Nancy Werteen

When you get anti-hacking advice, you’ve probably heard “Don’t use a simple password,” or “Don’t plug in that USB you found on the ground.”

Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

But there’s one form of hacking that doesn’t always require a computer, and it costs businesses about 4.88 million dollars a year.

Modern hackers aren’t trying to get into your computer; they’re trying to get into you.

“They’ll try to learn about you a little bit, and they’ll try to use that information against you to try to get you to complete some action, maybe to send somebody some money,” said Kevin Moran, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Cyber Security and Privacy Cluster, University of Central Florida.

IBM calls this human hacking, because it exploits human error instead of system error.

“With people just being busy and maybe not very carefully checking some of the emails or the phone calls that they get, can be something unfortunately that people can fall victim to,” said Moran.

Also known as social engineering, this often takes the form of phishing, where the hacker tries to “fish” the information out of you by impersonating family, friends, or even your bank.

There’s also baiting, where the hacker baits you with something of value. Remember the Nigerian prince scam?

That’s a famous example of baiting. There’s also pretexting, where the hacker will claim the victim has already been hacked, and that the hacker can fix it if you just send over your passwords. So, what can you do?

“Just as a rule of thumb, instead of clicking on links and emails, just go to the website yourself. And that will prevent, a lot of these types of attacks from happening,” explained Moran.

Phishing can take many forms.

Spear phishing targets people with access to confidential information, often to get access into an entire business, and whale phishing targets CEOs or political figures.

Search engine phishing is when hackers create fake websites promising services or goods you’ll never receive.

Angler phishing is when hackers create fake social media accounts impersonating famous people or companies.

Finally, vishing and smishing is phishing done through phone calls and texts respectively.

 

 

 

 

 


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FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform

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Federal government  has said that it has successfully captured 59,786 inmates, representing approximately 74 percent of the total prison population into the National Identity Number (NIN) database.

FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform

This figure is based on a total of 80,879 inmates across 256 custodial centres across the country.

Abubakar Umar, spokesman, Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Deputy Controller of Corrections, who made this disclosure in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, dismissed recent media reports alleging that the NIN registration had yet to begin in custodial centres.

Umar described such report as misleading, inaccurate, and not representative of the current situation.

According to Umar, the NIN registration exercise within the correctional facilities was ongoing and has achieved substantial progress.

He credited the achievement to collaboration between the NCoS and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which has enabled successful enrollment of majority of inmates into the national identity database.

According to him, “As of June 7, 2025, a total of 59,786 inmates, roughly 74 percent cent of the total inmate population have been captured on the NIMC platform,” Umar said.

“Efforts are ongoing to register the remaining inmates, and necessary mechanisms have been established to ensure the seamless completion of the process.”

He emphasised that the assertion that NIN registration has not started in custodial centres was factually incorrect and overlooks the extensive work already carried out.

The Service reaffirmed its commitment to integrating all inmates into national data systems, including NIN registration, as part of broader efforts to support rehabilitation, reintegration, and digital inclusion for individuals in custody.

Umar also urged media outlets to confirm their information with appropriate authorities before publication to prevent the spread of misinformation that could undermine the Service’s progress and public understanding.


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