E-Business
From Farming to Forex: How Technology Has Changed the Face of Investing

By Nikola Grozdanovic, Senior Writer at FXTM
Not too long ago, when an individual wanted to save or invest money, they were limited to a handful of options. In the early days of our ancestors, farming and land underpinned wealth and a bank account was considered a luxury.
Even after industrialization took hold, we were still fairly limited; with most individuals opting to invest in a bank account, property or even in a box under the bed.
Information around investing was scant and financial education required a huge commitment of time and resources. If we wanted financial advice we had to rely on advisors (if we could afford them), community members, or go it alone.
Nikola Grozdanovic, Senior Writer for FXTM, a global award-winning forex broker, explores how our options have become significantly broader in terms of the types of products we can invest in and the way we do it.
We can now participate in anything from Forex trading to buying Crypto Currencies with our mobile devices or a laptop.
Technology has allowed people to get completely involved with the process of investing, from choosing a portfolio of shares to becoming a forex trader.
However, we are still a long way from a world where everyone can participate in the formal financial arena.
According to Worldbank.org, two billion people worldwide do not have a bank account or access to a financial institution via a mobile phone, or any other device.
However, between 2011 and 2014, 700 million adults became account holders, and the unbanked population fell by 20%, down from 2.5 billion.
The growth of mobile technology, and the fact that mobile phones are becoming cheaper, has helped literally billions to have access to products and services that they were previously excluded from.
Technology has influenced almost every aspect of our lives, but perhaps the most useful of the developments are in the financial space. We not only have access to many more investment options, we even have robots that can make decisions for us, fondly known as Robo- Advisors. They are not actually robots but clever computer programmes that ask you about your life, income and investment attitudes – and based on your answers, they will generate a report that suggests suitable investment options for you. Lukman Otunuga, a Market Analyst at FXTM says “When trading the foreign exchange market, investors can use Expert Advisor which are programs that allow automation of the analysis and trading. Forex brokers have recognised that novice traders have the desire to trade, but lack experience.”
An Expert Advisor (EA) is essentially an automated trading algorithm that allows traders to code the parameters of their trading strategies.
These highly complex but simple-to-use tools assist traders to refine their trading strategies and gain a greater potential advantage over the markets. Traders that have opted to use EAs have honed their skills over time and eventually become strategy managers, allowing suitable traders alike to copy their trades for a fee.
Copy trading as it is called, is a form of social investing. It allows traders to build a network of followers in which they would share market projections to create trading strategies. Followers can duplicate trades made, while onlookers could receive first-hand insights into how trading strategies are formed.
This creates a hybrid scenario for an investor – using both technology and another human to help them invest. There has been a long-standing debate about whether humans or machines are better suited for making investment decisions or delivering a service.
However, the key argument here is not who delivers a better service but rather, how the service deals with human behaviour. Human behaviour is random, but by employing big data analytics and algorithms we can spot trends and discard the noise that can undermine decisions.
The real power of technology will come when it is seen not only as a mechanism for enabling access to services, but when it facilitates a positive user experience and drives meaningful engagement with the vendor. In other words, the technology enables a more social and human experience.
Nigeria has a rich history of social investing. Collective investment schemes known as eSUSU are known to almost all individuals who want to save for a goal. Over 70% of people in emerging markets do not have a formal bank account, so they have devised their own ways to save money.
The most popular are the Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs). They function by taking monthly deposits from each member of a group and then payout the entire amount to one member of the group. The recipient of the collective sum is based on a predetermined rotation, ensuring each participant will eventually receive a payout.
It is estimated that over 40 million people in Nigeria participate in some form of social investing. Of course, when there are humans involved with money there is always a margin for error; blind trust that the people handling your money will play by the rules is a default – a condition of participation.
Banks have seen the enormous potential of getting these informal savings plans onto a technology platform and have invested significant capital to achieve this.
While technology has changed the face of investing and allowed more people to engage in the formal financial sector, we are still a long way from full inclusion.
Accessibility and knowledge still remain a major obstacle for the bulk of emerging market individuals. Institutions fully recognise that optimising the technology experience is key to seamless service delivery and the much-desired total customer experience. This explains the huge investment in IT infrastructure by financial institutions in recent times.
Otunuga says “all financial service industries have raised their games in the technology space. FXTM has spent a lot of resources on their mobile trading apps and we invest heavily in keeping up to date with innovations in the industry. Reliable, fast and engaging technology is what keeps our clients coming back and we are acutely aware of the role it plays in our success as a broker.”
We will continue to see rapid growth in financial technology, but it would and should not come at the expense of the individual. In fact, the smart money will be on solutions that seamlessly embrace and involve the user for the benefit of both parties. It is an exciting time for both the consumer and the service provider, and it would seem that the only barriers we now face, exist within the limits of our creativity.
E-Business
NIPOST in Intensive Care, Needs Reforms Need to – Kekemeke

Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) is in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and needs urgent reforms to revive it, according to Isaac Kekemeke, board chairman of the service.
Kekemeke, who spoke at a workshop organised for NIPOST staff in Abuja yesterday, added that it is now time to go the whole hog to reform and make NIPOST fulfill its destiny to compare and compete favourably with multinational postal agencies.
“The approach may not be palatable at all times but we need to take the tough but necessary decisions to exit the intensive care unit. We are either out of ICU in good health or head for the morgue. NIPOST either functions effectively now as a commercialised state operator or gets privatised, so that myself, the PMG, and a good number of you risk the loss of our jobs,” the chairman said.
No doubt, he added, “Change is not always easy as many loathe change because of the uncertainty it brings but it is in my place to urge you all to embrace the change we advocate.”
E-Business
Internet Society Announces Peering Fellowship

The Internet Society’s six-month Fellowship Peering program continues to help make internet access affordable, dependable, and resilient. The program, according to the global charitable organisation, is targeted for fifteen professionals in the peering and interconnection sector.
“It offers a unique opportunity to build the skills, knowledge, and networks necessary to improve local Internet infrastructure and policy,” according to the site’s description.
The fellowship participants will participate in a comprehensive curriculum that includes virtual training sessions, collaborative forums, and technical and advocacy-based instruction on routing, Internet Exchange Points, and policy.
The fellowship culminates in attendance at a global peering event, which provides direct experience and networking opportunities with important voices in the Internet community.
The fellowship enhances participants’ impact in their particular nations by developing engagement with seasoned professionals and boosting regional and global collaboration. The program invites fellows to return to their communities prepared to expand interconnectivity, improve policy conditions, and make a meaningful contribution to the development of the Internet ecosystem.
Applicants must have at least three years of Internet experience and be based in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, or Asia-Pacific.
Eligibility also required proper travel documentation and availability to attend important events such as African Peering and Interconnection Forum, Latin American and Caribbean Network Operators Forum, or Peering Asia, as well as a commitment of roughly four hours per week over six months.
E-Business
SERAP Calls for Withdrawal of Nigeria’s Data Act Amendment

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called for the withdrawal of the amendment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 because it seeks to regulate the activities of bloggers operating within the territorial boundaries of Nigeria.
The organisation in its letter urged Mr Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, and Mr Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to “immediately withdraw the repressive bill.”
The titled A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to Mandate the Establishment of Physical Offices within the Territorial Boundaries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media Platforms and for Related Matters among others intends to regulate bloggers, including by requiring all bloggers to register local offices and join recognised national association for bloggers.
Currently, the bill has passed its first and second reading in the Senate.
In the letter signed its deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP asked Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas “to ensure that any amendment to the Nigeria Data Protection Act promotes and protects the rights of bloggers and other journalists and does not undermine the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.”
It demanded an end to “the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on the rights of Nigerians online and Internet-based content.”
In the letter dated April 12, 2025, the group said, “This bill is a blatant attempt to bring back and fast-track the obnoxious and widely rejected social media bill by the back-door.”
“If passed, the bill would also be used to ban major social media platforms—including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, and independent bloggers if they ‘continuously fail to establish/register and maintain physical offices in Nigeria for a period of 30 days.
“Lawmakers should not become arbiters of truth in the public and political domain. Regulating the activities of bloggers and forcing them to associate would have a significant chilling effect on freedom of expression and lead to censorship or restraint.
“Should the National Assembly and its leadership fail to withdraw the bill to regulate the activities of bloggers, and should any such bill be assented to by President Bola Tinubu, SERAP would consider appropriate legal action to challenge the legality of any such law and ensure it is never implemented in the public interest,” the organisation warned.
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