E-Business
Empowering Women for Trade Through Digital Technology
A report by PriceWaterCoopers has said that women account for 41 per cent ownership of micro-businesses in Nigeria, with 23 million female entrepreneurs operating in the segment.
The United Nations Informal Sector Development and the Bank of Industry statistics stated that women constitute a higher number of Nigeria’s informal workforce found in agriculture, food and beverages, retail, textiles and cross-border trade.
World Bank’s Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, Mari Pangestu, not long ago disclosed that trade has been an engine of poverty reduction over the past 30 years and that trade can expand women’s role in the economy, as well as reduce gender gap if women are given more opportunities.
Globally, technological advancement is lifting many more women out of poverty, helping them climb up the career ladder and assume leadership roles across different spheres through acquisition of flexible career skills as well as achieving a work-life balance.
In Nigeria, for instance, B2B e-commerce platforms are emerging as a strong force for bolstering the growth of the Nigerian informal retail segment.
In response to the rising global advocacy for equal opportunity for women in the tech space, Alerzo, a business-to-business e-commerce platform has been promoting technology as a potent tool for gender parity by building technology products that alleviate the burden of informal retailers, majority of whom are women.
By expanding access to an array of tech solutions, the B2B e-commerce platform and others are enabling women operating in the largely female-dominated Nigeria’s $100 billion informal retail segment side-step limiting barriers that previously inhibited their capacity, growth and sustainability.
The significance of women was further amplified at the recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) Public Forum 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland, with submission that adoption of digital technology for trade was a factor for achieving economic integration and sustainable development on the continent.
The forum in particular harped on the peculiar challenges that African women encounter in relation to harnessing the potential of digital innovations, and advocated increased commitment to advancing the cause of women in the tech space.
For instance, President of Borderless Trade Network (BTN), Dr. Olori Boye-Ajayi, while stating that her organisation collaborates with various agencies to support women and make trading and businesses easier for them by leveraging technology, emphasised the need to create fair opportunities for women in trade, especially in accessing digital tools.
Some of the challenges retail and micro businesses in Nigeria face generally include access to the market to source their wares as they have to travel and transport purchased goods from distant market or wholesale depots.
Many of them move around with huge cash making them susceptible to robbery attacks and other associated dangers of road travel.
Also, lack of access to funds to expand their business, absence of book-keeping and financial advice, inadequate transport and other infrastructure to support business sustainability are part of the challenges they go through. In addition to high operating costs, small retail businesses also struggle to cope with difficult social and economic terrain.
The many ways Alerzo enables Nigerian retailer include: the Alerzoshop app which allows retailers to conveniently order for goods and make payment via Alerzopay.
For retailers who are not tech-savvy, there is an option to order via a USSD code or WhatsApp. The delivery of the goods is done at no cost to the retailers.
By investing in over 400 vehicles and 20 warehouses over the last three years, Alerzo has provided warehousing and fulfilment solutions to suppliers, and delivered ordered goods at zero cost to thousands of retailers in difficult-to-reach locations across Nigeria.
‘‘For the past two years, we have delivered to informal retailers at no cost. With our delivery services, retailers save time, energy, and resources that they would have otherwise expended in restocking.
“These benefits have resulted in our retailers reducing their two to four times a week restock trips to zero,” Alerzo Group Chief Executive Officer, Adewale Opaleye, enthused.
“On our Alerzoshop retail app, we have a vast assortment available to our customers to choose from, and we offer free delivery in all the 13 states we’re currently operational. We have changed the landscape for them (retailers) through on-time delivery.’’
In an ecosystem susceptible to adulterated and substandard consumer goods, Alerzo tech solutions also assist both informal retailers and consumers in accessing authentic goods at the right price.
Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of Interior, has announced the launch of an Online Visa Approval Center to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks and reduce corruption in the visa application process.
Commissioned by the President in December, the new system ensures that applicants no longer need to visit a visa office, know anyone in the system, or lobby for approvals.
At a stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on the implementation of the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2025, yesterday in Abuja, Dr. Tunji-Ojo said the visa is considered a very important document by the government because it is an instrument of migration management and an instrument of economic development.
The minister explained that Nigeria has to strike a delicate balance between national security and, of course, the ease of migration.
“And we think that it’s something that we can do and something we will do.
“We don’t have a physical Visa Approval Center. If you apply for a Nigerian visa anywhere in the world, you do so online. We process it here in Nigeria, and if approved, you receive your e-visa in your email,” he explained.
To enhance efficiency, the government has set a 48-hour deadline for processing e-visas.
“It is unprofessional and unacceptable for the Nigeria Immigration Service not to approve or provide feedback within 48 hours,” the minister stated.
“It breaks my heart that people need to lobby to even get visas to Nigeria. It shouldn’t be so. It shouldn’t be.
“For anybody that is qualified, for anybody that wants to do legitimate activities in Nigeria, such people should be able to come to Nigeria easily. And this is why we are opening our space. Mr. President is interested in foreign direct investments.”
Further, he said Nigeria is interested in partnering with the rest of the world to develop its economy but, “We can’t do that when we allow bottlenecks to hold us down. So these reforms, basically, are aimed at opening our space, enhancing national security, and we hope that the primary responsibilities of the visa scheme will be achieved.”
Kemi Nandap, controller general, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), said the NIS would fully digitize its e-visa platform and reduce visa classifications from 79 to 44 to enhance accessibility, transparency, and efficiency in the new visa policy.
She said, “At the core of this policy is the new e-visa platform—a fully digitized, centralized system that revolutionizes how foreign nationals interact with our country’s entry procedures. As part of this transformation, the Nigerian Visa Policy 2024 underwent a comprehensive review, resulting in a significant reduction in visa classifications from 79 to 44.
“These categories have been logically grouped to simplify procedures, reduce complexities, and greatly improve the user experience. Importantly, we have maintained the original purpose and intent of each visa class throughout this reform.”
Mr. Takao Shimokawa, director general, Economic Development Department at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has visited the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to discuss the forthcoming launch of the Nigeria-Japan Startup Hub Project.
Mr. Dejo Olawunmi, director of IT Infrastructure Solutions at NITDA and Mr. Takao Shimokawa, director general, Economic Development Department at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
This is in a strategic move to strengthen Nigeria’s startup ecosystem.
During his visit, Mr. Shimokawa was received by Mr. Dejo Olawunmi, director of IT Infrastructure Solutions at NITDA.
Their discussions focused on advancing technological innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, and enhancing venture capital development to support early-stage startups in Nigeria.
The Nigeria-Japan Startup Hub Project is designed to provide Nigerian startups with access to Japanese expertise, mentorship, and investment opportunities.
The initiative aims to create a collaborative environment where local entrepreneurs can scale their businesses by leveraging Japan’s advanced technology and business models.
By bridging Nigerian startups with Japanese investors and industry leaders, the project seeks to drive sustainable growth and innovation in Nigeria’s tech industry.
This partnership underscores the increasing economic and technological cooperation between the two nations, positioning Nigeria as a key player in the global startup landscape.
With the hub set to launch soon, stakeholders anticipate that it will provide critical resources for startups, enabling them to compete in the global market and contribute to Nigeria’s digital economy.
Kaspersky has identified and helped patch a sophisticated zero-day vulnerability in Google Chrome (CVE-2025-2783) that allowed attackers to bypass the browser’s sandbox protection system.
The exploit, discovered by Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), required no user interaction beyond clicking a malicious link and demonstrated exceptional technical complexity. Kaspersky researchers have been acknowledged by Google for discovering and reporting this vulnerability.
In mid-March 2025, Kaspersky detected a wave of infections triggered when users clicked personalised phishing links delivered via email. After clicking, no additional action was needed to compromise their systems.
Once Kaspersky’s analysis confirmed that the exploit leveraged a previously unknown vulnerability in the latest version of Google Chrome, Kaspersky swiftly alerted Google’s security team. A security patch for the vulnerability was released on March 25, 2025.
Kaspersky researchers dubbed the campaign “Operation ForumTroll”, as attackers sent personalised phishing emails inviting recipients to the “Primakov Readings” forum. These lures targeted media outlets, educational institutions, and government organisations in Russia.
The malicious links were extremely short-lived to evade detection, and in most cases ultimately redirected to the legitimate website for “Primakov Readings” once the exploit was taken down.
The zero-day vulnerability in Chrome was only part of a chain that included at least two exploits: a still-unobtained remote code execution (RCE) exploit that apparently launched the attack, while the sandbox escape discovered by Kaspersky constituted the second stage. Analysis of the malware’s functionality suggests the operation was designed primarily for espionage. All evidence points to an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group.
“This vulnerability stands out among the dozens of zero-days we’ve discovered over the years,” said Boris Larin, principal security researcher at Kaspersky GReAT. “The exploit bypassed Chrome’s sandbox protection without performing any obviously malicious operations – it’s as if the security boundary simply didn’t exist.
The technical sophistication displayed here indicates development by highly skilled actors with substantial resources. We strongly advise all users to update their Google Chrome and any Chromium-based browser to the latest version to protect against this vulnerability.”
Google has credited Kaspersky for uncovering and reporting the issue, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to collaboration with the global cybersecurity community and ensuring user safety.
Kaspersky continues to investigate Operation ForumTroll. Further details, including a technical analysis of the exploits and malicious payload, will be released in a forthcoming report once Google Chrome user security is assured.
Meanwhile, all Kaspersky products detect and protect against this exploit chain and associated malware, ensuring users are shielded from the threat.
This discovery follows Kaspersky GReAT’s previous identification of another Chrome zero-day (CVE-2024-4947), which was exploited last year by the Lazarus APT group in a cryptocurrency theft campaign.
In that case, Kaspersky researchers found a type confusion bug in Google’s V8 JavaScript engine that enabled attackers to bypass security features through a fake cryptogame website.
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