Telecom
Earnipay Restates Bold Ambitions for the Financial Wellbeing of Salary Earners Across Nigeria
Against the backdrop that salaried employees often run out of money between paydays or are in a fix when the money they have can’t take care of pressing needs and bill payments, earned wage access and financial service provider, Earnipay, has doubled down on its bold moves to drive employee wellness through its innovative and flexible on-demand access to earned salaries and the new addition of financial education product; MINT and savings opportunities.
L-R: Adedotun Adegbite, Marketing and Comms Manager, Busayo-Onome Oyetunji, Chief Operating Officer, Nonso Onwuzulike, Chief executive Officer, Chioma Nwandiko, Product Manager, Joshua Ajayi, Chief Technology officer, all from Earnipay, during an interaction with journalists in Lagos on Wednesday.
Given that most employees when hamstrung financially resort to either borrowing, taking a loan, or requesting a salary advance and the attendant challenges that go with these problem-creating options that include exploitative interest rates, embarrassment from loan sharks and predatory payday lenders or going down the rabbit hole of further debts, and a plummeting of salary advance schemes, Earnipay enables employers to offer employees access to their earned salaries instantly at any time without making changes to their existing payment process nor any cost whatsoever.
For as low as 250 naira only, Employees are able withdraw up to 50% of their daily earned salary or as accrued at the time of access, at any time of the month and at no interest to them.
Addressing a news conference on the giant strides made by the organization, Earnipay founder and CEO, Nonso Onwuzulike said, we are ensuring salary earners have a better control of their finances by developing a network of tools and an ecosystem that enables them to reduce the time to access money, and make better decisions on how they spend, save and invest. With Earnipay, Payday is any day – he buttressed.
He furthermore expressed his firm’s dedication to ensuring financial wellness for all income earners in Nigeria while adding that the organization has provided up to 100m naira of flexible salary access to employees since launching in January and expects to provide their services to 200 thousand employees by the end of 2022, thus positively contributing to Nigeria’s socio-economic agenda.
“We are ready to go all the way with employers to improve the livelihood of their employees and ultimately facilitate a better employee-employer relationship”.
Employers need to build their reputation as businesses that care and the imperative to demonstrate this empathy is premised on the fact that the traditional payday structure has become largely ineffective in employee welfare and development. Earnipay empowers businesses to attract and retain top talent in an increasingly competitive employee marketplace, improve team’s productivity and eliminate the financial stress that holds back employees from performing optimally on their jobs without any disruption to payroll structure and systems.
Chief Operating Officer, Busayo-Onome Oyetunji noted that the company has over 40 employers that it is working with and glowing testimonials of how this revolutionary product has helped individuals in their time of dire need.
“Top management and HR leaders share the exciting testimonies of their employees upon using Earnipay, they are pleasantly surprised at the extent of value they get from using Earnipay, it has become an essential tool for everyday living ” she quoted.
She further stressed, in the growing age of employees wanting more from their employers by being an important part of their lives and Employers looking for ways to improve their reputation and contribute to the wholeness of their employees, Earnipay comes as a reliable and trusted solution. “What is wholeness without financial wellness”
Earnipay which started as an idea in July, 2021 with an initial team of 3, launched in January 2022 and has since raised $4 million in seed financing led by early-stage venture capital firm Canaan, with other participating investors that include XYZ Ventures, Village Global – A seed stage firm backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Reid Hoffman, Musha Ventures, Voltron Capital, Ventures Platform and Paystack CEO Shola Akinlade.
Nokia has introduced the FastMile Gateway 4, a new 5G indoor gateway designed to deliver high-speed internet throughout the home, powered by Wi-Fi 7 technology.
A gateway is a device that connects to a 5G network and provides high-speed internet access to homes or businesses.
The disclosure was made in a statement by Nokia, which highlighted that the device features high-gain antennas and dual-band Wi-Fi 7 to optimise coverage and boost connection speeds.
The FastMile Gateway 4 supports four carrier aggregation and up to 300 MHz of bandwidth, helping operators improve network efficiency while ensuring seamless connectivity for users.
The new gateway is powered by Nokia’s Corteca software, which enables cloud-based Wi-Fi optimisation and supports industry-standard EasyMesh technology for better network management.
To simplify installation, the device comes with a mobile app that helps users identify the best location for setup.
With the FastMile Gateway 4, Nokia expands its 5G fixed wireless access portfolio, offering multiple Wi-Fi 7-enabled models to support different operator and consumer needs.
The launch underscores Nokia’s commitment to advancing 5G home connectivity, providing faster and more reliable internet solutions.
Shiv Putcha, director for Research and Consulting at GSMA Intelligence, stated, FWA has proven to be a spectacular hit in driving broadband access in the last mile around the world.
He said, “However, there are numerous end users, many with potentially unique requirements that need servicing. Nokia has the broadest portfolio today, with multiple FastMile gateway products that combine 5G FWA with dual-band WiFi 7 indoors.
“This, combined with Corteca management software, will help operators cater to multiple segments of demand.”
Dirk Verhaegen, general manager of Broadband Devices at Nokia, stated, “Using Fixed Wireless Access to connect end customers to the internet requires more than just one type of device.
“Our extensive FWA portfolio gives operators access to a wide range of Wi-Fi 7 devices tailored to meet their unique and diverse needs. Our portfolio is even stronger with the addition of the new FastMile Gateway 4, giving operators another power option to deliver fast, reliable FWA broadband to customers – no matter where they live.”
The senate has called on the federal government to take urgent action to address the rising cost of data services in the country.
This was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC, Cross River South) during plenary.
Ekpeyong warned that the surge in data costs was a major setback for young Nigerians who depend on the internet for their livelihoods.
He argued that many young people use digital platforms for freelancing, e-commerce, content creation, and software development, making affordable internet access crucial to their economic survival.
“Telecommunication providers in Nigeria have recently increased the cost of data services by as much as 200%. A move that has placed significant financial strain on millions of Nigerians, especially young people who rely on the internet for their livelihood,” he said.
“Young Nigerians have embraced the digital economy, leveraging the internet for various income-generating activities including freelancing and remote work, direct marketing and social media management, e-commerce, content creation on various platforms, online training, software development, web design, mobile app creation, content creation of various platforms, online education, etc.
“The senate notes that young Nigerians have embraced the digital economy, leveraging the internet for their livelihood, leaving them heavily dependent on mobile telecommunications companies for internet access, and that the sudden and substantial increase in data cost threatens their economic survival and limits access to critical digital services.
“The senate is further concerned that the reasons provided by telecom providers for the data price hike, including high operational costs of favourable exchanges, are untenable, and appears that instead of addressing the root causes of the high cost of doing business in Nigeria, the burden is being unfairly transferred to end-users.
“Senate is aware that the high cost of doing business in Nigeria is driven by multiple challenges, such as increased operational risk and insurance costs.
“The senate believes that urgent government intervention is required to ensure that affordable internet access remains available to all Nigerians, particularly to the young Nigerians who are at the backbone of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“The senate accordingly resolves to urge the federal government to engage with telecommunication providers to review the recent increase in data costs and ensure the pricing remains fair and affordable for all Nigerians.”
Telecommunications operators had increased the cost of data and voice services following the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approval of a 50% tariff hike, implemented on February 11, 2025.
Contributing to the debate, senator Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central) described the motion as timely, lamenting that apart from the hike in cost of telecommunications services, there were also a hike in the cost of electricity tariff and DSTV subscription.
“Something needs to be done fast, to regulate the high increases. Citizens have no other way to seek redress,” Senator Umeh said.
Senator Sadiiq Sulaiman Umar (APC, Kwara North), also said, “It’s very important to regulate this social crisis.”
In its resolutions, the Senate also asked the federal government to provide an enabling environment for doing business, as well as address the avalanche of challenges threatening businesses in the country.
The Senate also asked the federal government to consider making provisions for free internet hubs for young people to enhance their socio-economic well-being.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the session said the resolutions if implemented would assist young entrepreneurs who use internet for various businesses to grow.
Driven to extend digital and financial inclusion across Africa, MTN Group and Airtel Africa have entered into agreements to share network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria, while ensuring compliance with local regulatory and statutory requirements.
These sharing agreements target improved network cost efficiencies, expanded coverage and the provision of enhanced mobile services to millions of customers, particularly those in remote and rural areas who do not yet fully enjoy the benefits of a modern connected life.
MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said operators on the continent were seeing sustained demand for data services: “As MTN, we are driven by the vision of delivering digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress.
We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets. To meet this demand, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers.
That said, there are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher efficiencies and improve returns.”
Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said: “As we compete fiercely in the market on the strength of our brand, services and our offerings we are building common infrastructure, within the permissible regulatory framework, to provide a more robust and extensive digital highway to drive digital and financial inclusion at the same time avoiding duplication of expensive infrastructure to drive operational efficiencies and benefits for our customers.”
The initiative is part of a growing global trend toward network sharing. By collaborating, telecoms operators can explore innovative and pro-competitive solutions to improve service quality while managing costs more effectively.
The sharing of infrastructure has the potential to enable the delivery of world-class, reliable mobile services to more and more customers across Africa.
Following the conclusion of agreements in Uganda and Nigeria, MTN and Airtel Africa are exploring various opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia.
Among the types of agreements considered are RAN sharing and those aimed at establishing commercial and technical agreements for fibre infrastructure sharing and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks.
MTN Group and Airtel Africa are dedicated to working with other mobile operators within the countries in which they have a presence to achieve the advantages of network sharing.
Throughout this process, the parties will continue to function as independent market entities and will compete freely in shared markets. This engagement does not preclude the parties from collaborating with other operators in any respective market.
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