Telecom
How Winners emerge in Data Science Nigeria 2019 Intercampus Machine Learning bootcamp

Kazeem Hakeem, a graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University and Obinna Onuoha, also a graduate of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, have won scholarship for their Master of Science (M.Sc) programmes at Stellenbosch University, South Africa courtesy of the Data Science Nigeria (DSN) intercampus Machine Learning BootCamp 2019 prize.
Microsoft (4Afrika) and BlueChip Technologies Limited, respectively, presented the awards to the duo at the grand finale held on November 23 at the University of Lagos (Unilag).
Data Scientists used to work predominantly in the tech industry at companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and LinkedIn, but in the last few years, nearly every industry has begun to realize the value of utilizing their data in strategic decision-making.
The fields of telecommunications, banking, e-commerce, medicine, retail, construction, and transportation/mobility are all facing massive increases in their need for data scientists.
The supply of skilled applicants, however, is growing at a slower pace. Taking the bull by the horn, Data Science Nigeria (DSN) has rolled out a roadmap to raise 1million Data Scientists, particularly in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the next 10 years.
As part of this commitment to make Nigeria the Data Science Hub in the world, DSN launched the first Artificial Intelligence Book for Nigerian Primary and Secondary Schools at its 2019 AI Summit in Lagos.
DSN also conveyed the Intercampus Machine Learning Bootcamp with 26 international and 13 local experts on ground to tutor the 230 participants.
Rising Odegua won Retina-AI’s Best Postal Award; University of Lagos emerged AI School of the Year; Rising Odegua and Adeola Lawal won Terragon Group’s Mr & Miss Algorithm Awards.
Speaking to journalists immediately after collecting award, Kazeem said, “So, I started preparing early enough with the support of my Friend Obinna; who would always call and sent me materials to read. He was always there to follow up with me.
Sarah Adigwe receiving her prize from MainOne
“I have always wished to get a Masters Degree in Data Science or Artificial Intelligence. So, I am saying a big thank you to DSN”.
To Obinna, “Last year, I qualified for the bootcamp and got inspired. I went back to learn more. This year, the qualification process was crazy. To make it to the bootcamp, we had to build an algorithm to predict the staff that would get promoted for a particular company using data.
“During the bootcamp, we had a quiz competition and the top two students were picked and it happened that was one of them.
“I can’t really say this is how I feel because the whole thing is just overwhelming. The first thought that came into my mind was to call my mum”.
Dr. Olubayo Adekanmbi, convener, Data Science Nigeria, explained that the bootcamp was one of the means to harness talents and build a formidable Data Science community in Nigeria.
He said, “If we do not address AI capacity today, we may go into another cycle of what I call digital slavery because we do not have skills that makes us capable in developing solutions that solve our problem.

Cross section of tutors
“So this is the responsibility that we have carried out as data scientist and of course we are supported by many organization including Microsoft, Retina-AI, Softcom, Bluechip Technologies, MainOne, Carbon, Terragon, Axa Mansard. Facebook, Carbon, BigML and GRID3/Flowminder UK also sent in their expert”.
Continuing with the awards, Raheem Nasirudeen won Axa Mansards’ Best Participant in the Insurance Kaggle Competition prize while Sarah Adigwe won MainOne Best Female Data Scientist award.
The Chief Semantic Architect / Knowledge Engineer at Cymantiks Nigeria Limited, Mr. Emeka Okoye and Acting Director, Centre for Information Technology and Systems(CITS), University of Lagos, Dr Victor Odumuyiwa; the CEO & Co-Founder, Octave Analytics, Blessing Oladeji, and Bayo Aderibigbe, were among those recognised with ‘Industry Support Award’.
The CEO, Terragon Group, Elo Umeh while commending DSN for the efforts to harness talents in the ecosystem, said, “Essentially, it was very much important for us to participate in this DSN AI Summit and the bootcamp.
Dr. Olubayo Adekanmbi, Convener of DSN addressing the participants
It has been very rewarding for us because we have been able to see the great work going on at DSN. We thought it would also be a way for us to contribute to the growth of the industry.
As an emerging space in Nigeria there is a limitation of talents.
“So, at the DSN bootcamp a lot of talents have been identified and that is why Terragon Group is sponsoring two people to Tunisia; these are part of our efforts to support the talents grooming process to develop the ecosystem”
We see a great future for Africa – Microsoft
On his part, Developer Audience Lead for Africa, Microsoft, Lawrence Muthanga said, “We see a great future for Africa. We have a lot of problems and data. What we lack are people who will sit in-between the two; knowing the problems and see the solutions from the data that are being created. With the skills that we have seen here, we are about to see a great change on the Continent”.
Solving local challenges
CEO, BlueChip Technologies Limited, Kazeem Tewogbade, explained why they are supporting DSN thus, “…we care about creating awareness. If you start early (from the University) to gain knowledge, the better of you becoming a specialist. So, if you come to the industry it will be easier for us to bring you in.
“Data Science is an ‘application technology’. In other words, you can apply it in any human endeavour like climate impact, banking, telecoms, even in government, either to optimise or improve the system.”
Speaking on why MainOne rewarded the ‘Best Female Data Scientist, the Company Product Manager, Mojide Aluko, said, “MainOne is a believer in developing the capacity of young Nigerians. MainOne believes that one of the greatest potentials Nigeria have is her people. With a population of about 200 million we understand that these people will be the wealth-builders of the nation.

Emo-Umeh-l-presents-Mr.-Agorithm-award-to-Rise-Adegun-support-by-Dr.-Adekunmbi-scaled
“Therefore, we need to develop the capacity of these people, especially the girl-child because MainOne also recognises that empowering a woman is a means to improve the family and the society at large.
“We are happy to associate with Data Science Nigeria (DSN) because we have seen the strives they have achieved in a matter of years”.
DSN is the fastest growing and the most organic, energetic Data Science Community- Retina-AI
The CEO, Retina-AI, Dr. Stephen Odaibo gave an assessment of DSN growth, describing them as fastest growing and the most organic, energetic Data Science Community in the world.
In his words, “So, in terms of Data Science Nigeria, I came in from Houston and have been involved with the team for a while, and in my assessment, DSN is the fastest growing and the most organic, energetic Data Science Community in the world. It is also a very organised, clearly focused idea in terms of the roadmap.

Cross section of participants
“The growth recorded has been strategic. Now, with the launching of the book on AI and python programming for elementary and junior secondary school students in Nigeria by Olubayo Adekanmbi, it is the first in Africa and one of the reference books in the world; only India and China have similar books in the past.
“That shows you that this is a movement in the right direction and when you look at the people the pre-qualification challenge that was done last year with 530 registrations, it is an exponential growth compared to 200 of last year.
“The impacts will continue to grow, especially with the AI invasion.
The data scientist role has evolved over the years. Ten years ago, the job title “data scientist” had just emerged, although companies had been working with data long before then.
Today, data scientists are doing the work of data analysis, management, and visualization, combined with statistics, engineering, and project management. Massive quantities of data are readily available, and data scientists can use machine learning models and statistical tools to draw inferences from the data.
Telecom
Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

Telecommunications operators have resumed full SIM swap and related services following a four-week nationwide outage linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)’s migration to a new verification platform.
The outage rendered millions of subscribers unable to perform SIM-related tasks such as swaps, replacements, and activations.
Operators in the industry say the disruption began on June 26, 2025 when telcos temporarily halted SIM registrations and swaps due to unforeseen technical challenges during the transition to NIMC’s upgraded identity verification system.
The migration was mandated to enhance the integrity and efficiency of national identity management but caused major service interruptions across all Nigerian networks.
However, July 21, both MTN and Airtel confirmed via their social media handles that SIM swap services have now fully resumed.
MTN announced: “SIM swaps have now resumed. We can confirm that NIMC services are fully operational and appreciate their support in the migration to a new platform for NIN verification services for the telecommunications industry.
In a public update issued via its MTN Nigeria Support handle on X (formerly Twitter), MTN confirmed that SIM swaps have now resumed.
Telecom operators complained that the portal was unreliable or inaccessible, which resulted in the suspension of SIM swaps, number porting, and new SIM registrations, even though NIMC maintained that the platform was operating as intended.
Unexpected technical difficulties arose during the switch to the new platform, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.
Real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and network migration was impacted by these issues.
“Unexpected technical difficulties have surfaced, impacting real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and porting, following a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission mandating Mobile Network Operators to transit to a new identity verification platform,” ALTON stated in a previous joint statement signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, and Damian Udeh, publicity secretary.
Telecom
Nigeria, Others Achieve 84% Adult Mobile Phones Penetration

The World Bank has affirmed that 84 per cent of adults in low-and middle-income economies, including Nigeria, own personal mobile phones.
The bank in its Global Findex 2025 report said mobile phone ownership was widespread and nearly everywhere. It said data from the Global Findex 2025 Digital Connectivity Tracker, revealed that “86 per cent of adults worldwide, and 84 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income economies, own personal mobile phones.”
The report pointed out that mobile phones and the internet had become widespread and essential to daily life in every economy around the world.
A earlier overview had indicated that Nigeria had a high mobile phone penetration rate, with estimates around 85 per cent to 87 per cent in 2024.
This translates to over 200 million mobile connections, making Nigeria a leading market in Africa for mobile phone ownership and usage. While the overall penetration is high, there’s a growing trend towards smartphone adoption, with forecasts predicting over 140 million smartphone users by 2025.
According to DataReporter, a total of 150 million cellular mobile connections were active in Nigeria in early 2025, with this figure equivalent to 64.0 per cent of the total population.
However, note that some of these connections may only include services such as voice and SMS, and some may not include access to the internet.
There were 107 million individuals using the internet in Nigeria at the start of 2025, when online penetration stood at 45.4 percent. Nigeria was home to 38.7 million social media user identities in January 2025, equating to 16.4 percent of the total population.
These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Nigeria at the start of 2025, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours have been evolving over time, we need to dig deeper into the data.
According to the World Bank, “as of 2024, individual ownership of mobile phones reached 86 per cent of adults worldwide.
“For many people, barely an hour goes by without their using a mobile device to make a call, ext a friend, read the news, access business information, post a meme on social media, pay for something, play a game, engage with a colleague or a customer, or search for information.
“As access to and use of digitally connected technologies increase, people, businesses, and governments place an increasingly high priority on online interactions. “Digitally connected technologies have clear, well-documented benefits.”
It further highlighted that access to mobile phones and the internet was associated with reduced poverty, increased consumption, and more employment for individuals in lowand middle-income economies.
“Women also experience these benefits, as internet access enables access to flexible jobs3 and has been shown to increase female labor force participation. “Mobile phones also facilitate information sharing.
For instance, in agricultural contexts, farmers’ access to real-time prices and buyer demand data can inform their decisions on where to sell, enhancing market efficiency and reducing the distances they would otherwise travel to get the best return for their product and time.
“Internet access also helps create jobs and aids individuals and countries in exporting goods and services,” it added. The World Bank further noted that owning a mobile phone furthermore enabled financial access through mobile money and other mobile financial services.
It added that these financial accounts and services, typically offered by mobile network operators or fintech firms and accessed via networks of local agents, were associated with lower rates of poverty, increased consumption and savings,and greater resilience to economic shocks.
Telecom
Sophos Secures Leadership Spot in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that it has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP), marking the 16th consecutive time the company has received this recognition.
Sophos has been recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) since the inaugural publication for this category in 2007.
Sophos’ market-leading endpoint security solutions include Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X, Sophos Extended Detection and Response (EDR/XDR), and Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR).
Over 300,000 organizations trust Sophos endpoint security solutions to defend against cyberthreats, including advanced remote ransomware attacks and active adversaries.
Unique to Sophos, the solution includes adaptive defenses that automatically disrupt attackers by dynamically adjusting protection levels based on threat context.
“Sophos’ strength lies in its prevention-first strategy, designed to stop breaches before they start, adapt defenses in real time, and strengthen detection and response when it matters most,” said Kyle Falkenhagen, SVP, Product Management, Sophos. “We believe that receiving this recognition in the highly competitive endpoint security market for 16 consecutive reports reflects our relentless focus on developing innovative solutions that stay ahead of the global threat landscape and the adversaries we face every day.”
Sophos and Secureworks: The future of protection, detection, and response
Following Sophos’ acquisition of Secureworks in February 2025, combining two leading and complementary portfolios to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for small, midmarket and enterprise organizations.
Secureworks Taegis XDR customers can use Sophos Endpoint to elevate their cyber defenses, at no additional charge, delivering both improved protection and return on investment.
The integration of Secureworks also adds a new Counter Threat Unit (CTU) to the Sophos X-Ops advanced threat response joint task force, further expanding the rich threat intelligence that informs all customers’ defenses.
Backed by Sophos’ advanced security technologies and a broad network of intelligence contacts and partners, the CTU plays a critical role in identifying and tracking threat actors and analyzing anomalous activity, uncovering new attack techniques, threats, and major shifts in the threat landscape.
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