Konga, Nigeria’s leading e-commerce group, has officially kicked off its highly anticipated annual Konga Yakata Black Friday sale.

Launched on Friday, November 1st, and running through November 30th, 2024, this year’s Yakata sale brings unbeatable offers across all Konga subsidiaries, including Konga Online, Konga Retail, KongaPay, Konga Travel and Tours, Konga Health, and Konga Logistics.

Regarded as the “Biggest Sale of the Year,” Konga Yakata Black Friday offers consumers the opportunity to enjoy up to 85% discount on a wide range of products across categories, including groceries, phones and accessories, home appliances, fashion, and beauty.

This year’s campaign brings significant relief to shoppers as Konga aims to help Nigerians navigate current economic challenges.

As a trusted and authorized retailer of leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Konga provides shoppers with unmatched access to genuine products from renowned brands such as Starlink, L’Oreal, Apple, Samsung, Philips, Zinox, Nokia, Hisense, Oppo, Infinix, Lenovo, and HP.

Consumers can expect not only the convenience of authentic goods but also a distinct pricing advantage on these premium brands.

The Yakata campaign also supports Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by driving consumer demand through nationwide awareness and promoting e-commerce adoption.

Konga has invested significantly in creating awareness for Yakata, enabling more Nigerians to leverage online shopping for their essential needs and lifestyle desires.

The deals do not end on Konga.com alone. Through its subsidiaries, Konga is offering exclusive deals to customers during the Yakata period:

• Konga Travel and Tours affiliates and top clients should look forward to perks including free weekend hotel accommodations, and a zero-service charge for corporate clients who book travel during the Yakata campaign.
• Konga Health is offering exciting discounts on renowned brands like CeraVe and on your favourite beauty and health products. Customers can also use your favourite Konga Health influencer’s voucher code to unlock even more exclusive deals and freebies! Stay tuned to Konga Health’s social media pages for the latest updates and announcements.
• KongaPay is offering shoppers who use KongaPay for purchases on Konga.com will receive a 10% discount, with additional benefits like 10% off on bill payments including electricity, cable TV, and data. Users who maintain a savings balance of at least NGN 50,000 are eligible for a 15% annual interest rate. As part of a special promotion, shoppers who use KongaPay also stand a chance to win cash prizes in a 100k giveaway. To qualify, customers simply need to download the KongaPay app and create an account in minutes.
• Konga Logistics offers delivery at competitive, discounted rates. Konga Logistics also ensures a seamless shopping experience with reliable and affordable delivery options for all purchases made during the Yakata season.

The Konga Yakata Black Friday campaign is a unique opportunity for Nigerian consumers to access premium products at unbeatable prices, while also benefiting from Konga’s trusted logistics and payment solutions.

Shoppers are encouraged to visit Konga.com to take advantage of these exceptional offers throughout November.

Bamboo, the investment platform enabling Africans to invest globally through real-time access to global markets, has announced the launch of its remittance app, “Coins by Bamboo.”

Backed by the Canadian Money Service Business licence, the new remittance app, available on the Google Play and Apple stores for download, will enable Nigerians in the diaspora to make faster, more secure and cheaper money transfers to loved ones from the convenience of their mobile phones.

The Y-Combinator-backed company was founded in 2019 as the first online brokerage service to connect Africans with the US stock market, allowing those across the socioeconomic bracket to buy and trade global stocks on the Bamboo app.

Coins by Bamboo is an extension of the brand ethos of Bamboo which is to give Africans the ability to invest in anything from everywhere. It further reflects the company’s commitment to democratising wealth building and facilitating meaningful investments in local communities as well as Africa’s future.

Having successfully scaled the Canadian vetting process to acquire an MSB licence, Bamboo is certified to offer remittance financial services to a high standard of regulatory and operational compliance.

The company is also able to take advantage of lessons it’s learnt connecting Africans with global asset classes to bring cost savings that are crucial for the millennials and Gen-Z who have migrated to Canada over the last ten years but still maintain strong ties to their home country.

Speaking on the announcement, Richmond Bassey, Co-founder and CEO of Bamboo says, “We are thrilled to officially launch “Coins by Bamboo” to the public. “Coins” is a logical evolution of our core values – providing an opportunity for Africans to participate in the global investment economy.”

Bassey continues, “We believe that one of the most preferred and important investments of Africans is in other Africans – investing in people and their futures through human capital development; and we want to contribute to making this a seamless process.

For us, this new app further ignites our mission to democratise access to investment opportunities for Africans by fostering social impact and opportunities to invest in the wellbeing of those who matter the most to them.”

Bamboo is also partnering with several charitable foundations including Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), Chess2Slums and Bethesda Home For The Blind to make it easier for Nigerians in the diaspora to donate to causes and projects that they care about.

According to the World Bank, remittance flows to sub-Saharan Africa peaked at $54 billion in 2023 and remittance via formal channels is projected to reach $283 billion by 2035. Yet, SSA continues to have the highest average remittance cost at about 7.9 per cent to every $200 compared to the global average of $5.

Historically, Nigeria dominates the remittance sector, sometimes accounting for up to half of the region’s inflows. With emigration at an all-time high, there remains a growing demand for affordable and accessible digital remittance solutions necessitating the birth of Coins by Bamboo.

The new app will offer competitive rates comparable to their counterparts, in addition to offering customers the unique opportunity to directly donate to a curated list of charities. It will be initially available to Africans in the Nigeria-Canada corridor before expanding to the United Kingdom.

For many in Africa, the remittance industry is a crucial lifeline. By addressing the high fees and complex transfer processes, Coins by Bamboo is offering a more streamlined and cost-effective alternative that benefits both senders and recipients.

Nigeria has reportedly invested $40 million in intercept technology and $583 million on public surveillance, according to a new report by Spaces for Change (S4C), a civil society organization.

So-called intercept technology and surveillance allow legally sanctioned official access to private communications, such as telephone calls or e-mail messages in a bid to enhance national security, prevent crime and aid criminal investigations.

Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, executive director of S4C, said that “The Nigerian government has allocated approximately $40m for intercept technologies and an estimated $583m on public surveillance projects with Chinese tech firms.”

Ibezim-Ohaeri, spoke at the West Africa Civil Society Week held in Abuja with the “Leveraging Technology for Civic Engagement and Social Change in West Africa”

At the event held in collaboration with Civic Space Resource Hub, West Africa Civil Society Institute and the Ford Foundation, Ibezim-Ohaeri stated that this expenditure prioritised security over essential public services like education and healthcare, raising questions about the government’s commitment to human rights.

With lawful interception (LI), law enforcement authorities, in response to a warrant from a judge, can perform interception, simply by applying a ‘tap’ on the telephone line of the target, making it possible for security agencies in Nigeria to listen to terrorist and criminal cell phone calls and gather communications intelligence on their dark activities.

But Ibezim-Ohaeri said her organization’s report emphasised the historical context of surveillance in Nigeria, linking colonial practices to modern state surveillance tactics.

Ibezim-Ohaeri noted, “Colonial authorities established a framework for surveillance that persists today, where security agencies continue to repress dissent and monitor civic actors.”

Key findings from the report indicated that the military regime significantly intensified state surveillance, enacting laws that curtailed press freedoms and facilitated the harassment of journalists and political activists.

“Just as the U.S. expanded surveillance post-9/11, Nigeria mirrored this response after the 2011 UN building bombing,” she remarked, referring to legislation that broadened surveillance powers under the guise of national security.

The report outlined how civic actors and opposition politicians are often the primary targets of these surveillance initiatives.

“Evidence shows that state governors have acquired surveillance technologies to monitor political rivals, demonstrating the pervasive nature of these tactics,” Ibezim-Ohaeri explained.

Furthermore, the report highlighted that most surveillance technologies used in Nigeria are imported from countries like Israel, China, and the United States, emphasizing the risks posed by dual-use technologies that can be repurposed for oppressive measures.

“The dual-use nature of these technologies significantly contributes to their unchecked proliferation, often leading to abuses by both state and non-state actors,” she stated.

Despite existing legal frameworks, the report criticised the inadequacy of regulatory controls over surveillance technologies.

“While laws exist to govern surveillance, their enforcement is weak, creating a fertile ground for abuse and misuse,” Ibezim-Ohaeri cautioned.

In light of these findings, the report called for urgent reforms, including improved regulatory oversight and transparency in the procurement processes for surveillance technologies.

“We need a commitment to human rights that begins at the production stage, ensuring that surveillance technologies do not infringe on civil liberties,” she said.

Llawful interception (LI), in response to a warrant from a judge, lawful interception is performed simply by applying a ‘tap’ on the telephone line of the target, making it possible for security agencies in Nigeria to listen to terrorist and criminal cell phone calls and gather communications intelligence on their dark activities.