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E-Business

Innovectives Partners Mastercard on SME-in-a-Box Cashless Solution

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Innovectives Limited, Nigeria’s fintech firm has said it is excited to work with the amazing team at Mastercard and partner fintechs to unlock rapid growth through digitization for small businesses in emerging markets with SME-in-a-Box cashless solution.

Innovectives Partners Mastercard on SME-in-a-Box Cashless Solution

Mastercard has launched a new low-cost payments solution that enables small business owners to move their businesses online and accept a range of digital payments from their customers.

The “SME-in-a-Box” solution is powered by Mastercard’s payment technologies and that of its StartPath fintech partners, including onboarding technology provider Signzy and Mastercard’s network of Tap on Phone partners.

It is also powered in Nigeria by leading fintech, Innovectives.

The solution will aid small and micro merchants across the country in expanding their customer base via digital platforms and enable sustainable revenue growth.

The unique offering enables business owners to access a wide range of financial services quickly and easily through a single intuitive app compatible with all Android mobile devices.

The app’s functionality supports contactless payments, Quick Response (QR) code payments, and can generate e-payment links for remote payments.

The platform can be leveraged by partners including banks, Payment Service Providers and Mobile Network Operators through application programming interfaces (APIs) or a white label app to rapidly take the solution to market

Olubusola Osilaja, group executive director, Platforms and Partnership – Innovectives said, “Merchants across emerging markets are the backbone of these economies and are eager to do more. However, many of them are limited in accessing supportive financing and business support. In combination with the impact created due to the pandemic, the need to support SMEs is more stringent than ever before.

“We are leveraging our strength in banking, payment and lending technologies, along with a deep understanding of retail merchant networks to deliver SME-in-Box. We are excited to work with the amazing team at Mastercard and partner fintechs to unlock rapid growth through digitization for small businesses in emerging markets,” Osilaja said.

Mastercard has made a global commitment to bring 1 billion people into the digital economy by 2025. This includes 50 million small businesses and 25 million women entrepreneurs.

As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mastercard has pledged $250 million in financial, technology, product, and insights support over the next five years to small businesses across the globe, supporting the financial security and vitality of businesses and their workers.

SME-in-a-Box offers a low-cost acceptance service that can run on smart phones and is powered by Mastercard Payment Gateway Services. It also delivers speed and simplicity with remote digital onboarding services from Mastercard’s StartPath partners.

In addition, through its Simplify Commerce offering, Mastercard will enable SMEs with a plug-&-play e-commerce store builder with an instant online checkout. SMEs can access a virtual card and get access to business tools through Mastercard’s partner ZOHO as well as get access to educational tools. These capabilities have been packaged as a bundled solution combined with special incentives to drive adoption and support business owners to tackle challenges during COVID-19.

Gaurang Shah, senior vice president, Product Management, Digital Payments & Labs, Middle East and Africa – Mastercard, commented: “The SME market represents 90 per cent of businesses in Nigeria, and has been deeply impacted by the pandemic.

“We recognize the overwhelming pressure that small business owners are currently facing and are committed to supporting them through COVID-19 and beyond by bringing our tools at a low cost and rapid time to market. The SME-in-a-Box offering provides SME owners with a quick and simple way to digitize their business and build a platform for sustained future growth.”


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E-Business

Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

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By Nancy Werteen

When you get anti-hacking advice, you’ve probably heard “Don’t use a simple password,” or “Don’t plug in that USB you found on the ground.”

Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

But there’s one form of hacking that doesn’t always require a computer, and it costs businesses about 4.88 million dollars a year.

Modern hackers aren’t trying to get into your computer; they’re trying to get into you.

“They’ll try to learn about you a little bit, and they’ll try to use that information against you to try to get you to complete some action, maybe to send somebody some money,” said Kevin Moran, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Cyber Security and Privacy Cluster, University of Central Florida.

IBM calls this human hacking, because it exploits human error instead of system error.

“With people just being busy and maybe not very carefully checking some of the emails or the phone calls that they get, can be something unfortunately that people can fall victim to,” said Moran.

Also known as social engineering, this often takes the form of phishing, where the hacker tries to “fish” the information out of you by impersonating family, friends, or even your bank.

There’s also baiting, where the hacker baits you with something of value. Remember the Nigerian prince scam?

That’s a famous example of baiting. There’s also pretexting, where the hacker will claim the victim has already been hacked, and that the hacker can fix it if you just send over your passwords. So, what can you do?

“Just as a rule of thumb, instead of clicking on links and emails, just go to the website yourself. And that will prevent, a lot of these types of attacks from happening,” explained Moran.

Phishing can take many forms.

Spear phishing targets people with access to confidential information, often to get access into an entire business, and whale phishing targets CEOs or political figures.

Search engine phishing is when hackers create fake websites promising services or goods you’ll never receive.

Angler phishing is when hackers create fake social media accounts impersonating famous people or companies.

Finally, vishing and smishing is phishing done through phone calls and texts respectively.

 

 

 

 

 


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FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform

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Federal government  has said that it has successfully captured 59,786 inmates, representing approximately 74 percent of the total prison population into the National Identity Number (NIN) database.

FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform

This figure is based on a total of 80,879 inmates across 256 custodial centres across the country.

Abubakar Umar, spokesman, Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Deputy Controller of Corrections, who made this disclosure in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, dismissed recent media reports alleging that the NIN registration had yet to begin in custodial centres.

Umar described such report as misleading, inaccurate, and not representative of the current situation.

According to Umar, the NIN registration exercise within the correctional facilities was ongoing and has achieved substantial progress.

He credited the achievement to collaboration between the NCoS and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which has enabled successful enrollment of majority of inmates into the national identity database.

According to him, “As of June 7, 2025, a total of 59,786 inmates, roughly 74 percent cent of the total inmate population have been captured on the NIMC platform,” Umar said.

“Efforts are ongoing to register the remaining inmates, and necessary mechanisms have been established to ensure the seamless completion of the process.”

He emphasised that the assertion that NIN registration has not started in custodial centres was factually incorrect and overlooks the extensive work already carried out.

The Service reaffirmed its commitment to integrating all inmates into national data systems, including NIN registration, as part of broader efforts to support rehabilitation, reintegration, and digital inclusion for individuals in custody.

Umar also urged media outlets to confirm their information with appropriate authorities before publication to prevent the spread of misinformation that could undermine the Service’s progress and public understanding.


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NIMC Denies Blocking Police Commission from Verification Server

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has clarified that all its verification service platforms remain fully functional and accessible to all authorized partners, including security agencies.

NIMC Denies Blocking Police Commission from Verification Server

Abisoye Coker-Odusote, DG, NIMC

In a statement on Thursday, the Commission firmly denied claims that it had denied the Police Service Commission (PSC) access to its verification server.

Dr. Kayode Adegoke, head of Corporate Communications, NIMC, described the reported “inability of the Police Service Commission to access the NIMC verification server” as misleading and inaccurate.

He suggested that any challenges faced by the PSC may be due to internal issues within the commission itself, not from NIMC’s end.

The statement reads: “To set the record straight, the NIMC granted verification access to all Nigerian Police formations for the verification of the National Identification Number (NIN). The NPF, PSC and other security agencies have been enjoying uninterrupted verification services for over five years.

“NIMC has provided top-notch verification services for recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, as conducted by the PSC and at no time have there been any complaints or issues regarding NIN Verification by the NPF or PSC.

“The Commission has a robust and harmonious working relationship with the Nigerian Police Force and the Police Service Commission. The Information Communications and Technology (ICT) department of the Nigeria Police Force is actively managing the long-standing verification and integration service between the NIMC and all Nigeria Police formations.Entertainment tourism packages

“NIMC will continue to provide flawless verification services for the purpose of recruitment, security mapping, cybercrime control, and any other security matters.

“The framework by which NIMC provides services to the security agencies was recently restructured for standardization and effective implementation, following consultation with the Office of the National Security Adviser, and NPF has confirmed the verification services have continued to be available. We therefore believe that any service interruption experienced by PSC may be due to internal matters.

“NIMC is committed to providing excellent verification services to the PSC, NPF and all its partners but the terms and conditions inherent must be adhered to for uninterrupted flow of service.”


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