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E-commerce Staking Big on the Future of Africa’s Economy

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The reaction that trailed the entry of e-commerce into the African market is still fresh in memory for those conversant with events in the industry. The negativity was strong enough to put off timid investors.

The naysayers had all available indexes to be right: a continent with over a billion people, majority of whom live in rural settlements with low internet connectivity. The infrastructure needed for such a digital-based venture isn’t commonplace on the continent.

Ten years down the line, the sturdy investors are still in business. E-commerce has since proven its viability on the continent, with a customer base that keeps growing every year.

The activities are also spreading into rural communities as investors swarm the continent. From the humble beginning of B2C, the culture is fast spreading into the informal retail market. According to Per data from research consultancy, Briter, B2B ecommerce ventures in Africa secured more than $256 million in disclosed funding in 2021.

Statista Digital Market Outlook said e-commerce penetration rate in Africa will continue to increase, and by 2025 reach around 40%. The overall African market is projected to reach $180 billion by 2025.

“E-commerce brands have always staked big on the future of Africa since their first entry about a decade ago. The odds were there but they saw the potential. The exploit of e-commerce forerunners has encouraged several other investors to venture into Africa. Now the B2Bs are taking it further,” said industry expert and analyst, Samuel Elegba.

One of the innovative B2B platforms leading the impact on the Nigerian retail market is Alerzo. “We empower retailers in the informal sector through our ecosystem of digital products, so they are equipped to run profitable and sustainable businesses.

“We’re focused on supplying much-needed products to informal retailers without the usual stress and dangers involved. With our services, we have improved the profitability of over 80,000 retail owners,” said Chief Executive Officer of Alerzo Limited, Adewale Opaleye.

Speaking further, Elegba explained that the impact e-commerce brands have on businesses in Africa is conspicuous and will play a crucial role in the future of Africa’s economy.

“They are providing a platform for SMEs to thrive. And given the crucial roles of the SMEs to the global economy, investment of e-commerce firms in this sector makes them a critical part of every digital conversation and projections across Africa.

“Some will still want to talk about whether they are profitable or not. But don’t forget that the investors had made a standpoint from inception: their aim was to drive acceptance based on impact, and the rest will fall in line. And as we can see, every region in Nigeria and Africa is feeling the impact of e-commerce.”

The growing rate of investment in e-commerce across Africa is good for the future, especially for SMEs. With partnerships, collaboration and continuous innovation, e-commerce firms are not only improving business activities and productivity, but are staking big on the digital future of Africa’s economy.


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E-Business

Transcorp Hotels Delivers Stellar H1 Results, Declares Over ₦1Bn Dividend

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Transcorp Hotels Plc has delivered a stellar performance in the first half of 2025, recording a 60% year-on-year surge in revenue to ₦47.57 billion, up from ₦29.72 billion in H1 2024. Gross profit climbed 71% to ₦36.21 billion, maintaining a strong 76% margin despite inflation and operational headwinds.

The hospitality giant, a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc, also announced an interim dividend payout of ₦1.024 billion — offering ₦0.10 per 50 kobo ordinary share to shareholders.

In a bold move, the company unveiled Nigeria’s largest corporate venue — the 5,000-seat Transcorp Centre — staking its claim as the new leader in event hospitality. Chairman Emmanuel Nnorom described the results as proof of Transcorp Hotels’ transformative strategies and unwavering investor commitment. MD/CEO Uzo Oshogwe attributed the success to relentless execution and a resilient business model.

Transcorp Hotels, renowned for iconic assets like Transcorp Hilton Abuja and its digital platform Aura, says it isn’t just leading Nigeria’s hospitality sector — it’s redefining excellence across Africa.


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Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

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Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

 

China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.

The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.

“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.

The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.

It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.

Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.

Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.

A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.

“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.

Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.

Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.

It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.

Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.

 

 

 


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NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.

NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”

The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.


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