General News
M-KOPA Expands to Nigeria, Appoints New Country General Manager
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M-KOPA, the leading connected asset financing platform, today announces it has officially expanded to Nigeria. To lead the Nigeria team, M-KOPA has named Babajide Duroshola as the new General Manager.
A part of the tech company’s broader expansion strategy, the move into the Nigerian market signals M-KOPA’s focus on offering millions of underbanked customers across Sub-Saharan Africa access to life-enhancing products and services such as smartphones, solar lighting, energy-efficient televisions, fridges and digital financial services via its financing platform.
The company recorded pilot sales of over 20,000 devices in Lagos, and is rapidly expanding into states across the country, including Oyo. M-KOPA has partnered with Airtel and Samsung to enable access to smartphones and broader digital connectivity.
Through M-KOPA’s pay-as-you-go financing model, customers have instant access to quality 4G smartphone handsets, while building ownership over time through flexible micropayments.
Mayur Patel, M-KOPA’s Chief Commercial Officer, added, “Nigeria is an exciting market for M-KOPA to be expanding into. It presents an opportunity for us to bring the power of our financing platform to serve more underbanked customers, who otherwise would not readily have access to smartphone devices.
Additionally, through our strategic partnerships and end-to-end solution, we are best positioned to address mobile operators’ key challenge to convert consumers from 2G/3G networks to 4G.
“We’ve had great success in our pilot by combining the best of what we’ve built as a multi-market company with a willingness to localise and adapt our offering to the unique needs of Nigerian consumers.
“As we scale our presence across the country, we are excited to welcome Babajide on board. He is an exceptional leader with broad cross-functional experience and the ideal candidate to drive the growth of our team in Nigeria as we expand M-KOPA’s footprint on the continent.”
Having worked across startups, technology, banking and consulting for over a decade, Babajide joins M-KOPA from motorcycle ride-hailing platform SafeBoda Nigeria, where he was responsible for the overall business as Country Director.
His career before SafeBoda included Community Manager, Technical Talent at Andela. As Country General Manager, Babajide will be responsible for leading M-KOPA Nigeria with a rapidly growing team of 50 people, expanding partnerships and scaling operations across the country.
Commenting on his new role as General Manager, Babajide Duroshola said: “Already, we have seen firsthand in Nigeria how smartphone financing is a driver of business growth and by increasing access to life-improving devices, M-KOPA has been able to deliver enormous opportunities for innovation and tangible impact within the communities it works. It is a great honour for me to be joining and advancing M-KOPA’s mission in Nigeria and I look forward to being an integral part of such a talented global team”
Founded in 2011, M-KOPA pioneered and kick-started the wider pay-as-you-go solar market in Kenya. In 2019, M-KOPA launched smartphone financing and has since expanded to one of the world’s most advanced connected asset financing platforms.
To date, the company has provided over $400 million in financing that has enabled over 1 million customers to access their products and services, and sold over 1 million PAYG solar systems and 500,000 smartphones to customers in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
General News
FG Targets $30Bn through Raw Materials Digital Platform
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Chief Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, said the Nigeria Raw Materials Management Information System (RMMIS) and Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) will attract $30 billion in investments over the next decade.
Chief Nnaji made this known in Abuja while unveiling the data application, saying the system will empower industries, reduce unemployment, and create opportunities across various value chains.
The minister added that the initiative can increase semi-processed mineral exports to $9 billion by 2030 and strengthen research and development in the country, if properly aligned with national industrial policies
“It will also Attract investors, potentially bringing in $30 billion in investments over the next decade through efficient resource management; and finally, it will Strengthen research and development, helping scientists and industrialists explore new product innovations and optimize material use.”
“The RMMIS is a national digital repository of real-time, accurate, and accessible data on Nigeria’s raw materials. This platform will Empower manufacturers with reliable data for local sourcing, reducing import reliance and boosting domestic production” Nnaji explained.
He further added that with accurate data, the agriculture, mining, and manufacturing sectors can maximize raw material use, fostering job creation and boosting investments by $20 billion in the next decade.
“This will conserve foreign exchange reserves, potentially saving $10 billion annually while strengthening the naira” he added
The minister explained that successful implementation of RMMIS requires collective effort urging government agencies, researchers, private sector players, and development partners to actively engage, contribute data, and utilize insights to maximize the system’s impact.
In his presentation, the key note speaker and minister of trade and investment, Senator John Owan Enoh said that data is critical for Nigeria’s economic development.
He added that there is nothing that attracts investors like adequate data, stressing that the raw materials research and development council will continue to fuel industrialisation in the country and beyond with adequate data of raw materials.
Sen. Enoh therefore pledged the commitment of the trade and investment industry in the achievement of the set goal.
On his part, the Director General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, Professor Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Munonso said the Nigeria Raw Materials Management Information System (RMMIS) is the first of its kind in the history RMRDC subsector.
He said it is a robust technology driven decision platform designed to enhance data driven decision making, facilitate research and development in the country.
The DG added that it covers all critical and strategic raw materials comprising agricultural, solid minerals.
“It also contains both technical and investment information and covers more than 17,000 data points based on raw material occurring across every party of the country,” he added.
General News
Africa’s Startup Funding Increased by 240%
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Nigeria and other African startups are off to a bright start as funding into the ecosystem rose by 240 percent year-on-year to $289 million in January 2025, compared to the corresponding period of 2024.
In January 2024, African startups raised $85 million. However, this performance in January 2024 made it the second-best January for startup funding since at least 2019, falling behind only the January 2022 period during the peak of the funding boom, according to ‘Africa: The Big Deal,’ a funding tracker.
The funding tracker noted, however, that equity financing dominated the fundraising landscape, accounting for over 90 percent of the total amount raised at $262 million, which is a leap from the figure in January 2024. It also marks the second-highest January for equity fundraising in the past six years.
Africa: The Big Deal noted that the four largest deals in January 2025 came from the big four (Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa), and they accounted for about 60 percent of the total funding raised across the continent.
The Big Deal said, “PowerGen, an energy-focused startup, raised $50m+ to establish a scalable platform for distributed renewable energy solutions across Africa, LemFi (Fintech) secured $53m to further expand into Asia and Europe.
“Naked, an insuretech firm, bagged a $38m Series B to automate and expand its product offering; and Enko Education secured $24m to keep expanding its network of African schools.”
Notably, three of these deals highlight a growing trend of African startups expanding their operations beyond the continent.
Experts believe the performance in January 2025 signals a promising wave of funding in Africa’s startup ecosystem, which faced significant funding challenges in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, African startups only got less than 1 percent of global funding, with $1.5 billion in equity raised.
Davidson Oturu, general partner at Nubia Capital, noted that Nigerian startups have significant opportunities to position themselves better for funding in 2025.
He said, “The funding landscape for African startups is evolving, and 2025 will likely see a mix of challenges and opportunities. Foreign investors will remain significant players, but global economic pressures may lead them to be more cautious and selective. Startups will need to demonstrate strong fundamentals, scalability, and the ability to solve real problems to attract their attention.
General News
MTN Increases Data Prices Amid NCC’s 50% Tariff Hike Approval
![MTN](https://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MTN-2-1.jpg)
MTN, Nigeria’s largest telecommunications operator on Tuesday commenced implementation of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s approved tariff hike by increasing its data prices.
A check by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) using the *312# code on the MTN network showed the revised MTN data prices.
For the monthly plans, MTN 1.8GB now goes for N1,500, replacing the previous 1.5GB plan priced at N1,000; the 15GB plan now costs N6,500, a rise from N4,500.
The 20GB monthly plan has been adjusted to N7,500, up from N5,500, among others.
Text messaging on the network has also increased to N6.00 reflecting the 50 per cent hike, while hike in voice calls rates are yet to be ascertained.
Other mobile operators comprising Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile are yet to update their data prices as at the time of filing this report.
Some subscribers, who spoke with NAN, said they were surprised by MTN’s haste in implementing the tariff increase.
An Educationist and MTN Subscriber, Mrs Halima Balogun, lamented MTN’s haste in adjusting its tariff.
Balogun said that other networks were yet to implement the hike.
“We, the subscribers, are yet to come to terms with the announcement of proposed hike, only for the increase to be implemented.
“I was about purchasing my 1.5GB at N1000, only to discover that it has been increased to N1,500, this left me stranded because I had planned on spending only N1000.
“It would have been ideal if we were given a week’s notification before the new prices were made public to enable one to be prepared,” she said.
A 200-level Student of University of Lagos, Mr Edoziem Olunwa, described the increased MTN tariff as frustrating.
Olunwa said that the increase was coming at a time when things were becoming increasingly difficult, even as students.
“As a Computer Science student, I was struggling to help myself with the 20GB which was N5,500 but the additional N2000 is like a burden.
“Over the weekend, there was outage on the network, which was addressed but could still be better. These are the things we want the network to address,” he said.
Another Subscriber, Mr Abdulwahab Fatoki, expressed optimism that the increase would herald effective and efficient service.
Fatoki said that from the day the announcement of the proposed tariff hike was made, it was obvious that there was no going back so the best bet was to be prepared.
All the subscribers, however, expressed optimism that with the increment there would also be increased quality of service.
All efforts to speak with MTN officials before filing the report failed.
NAN reports that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry’s regulatory body had approved a maximal increment of 50 per cent tariff adjustments to operators.
The Commission said its approval, though less than the 100 per cent hike demanded by operators, was in response to prevailing operational costs.
It said that its decision was pursuant to its power under Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 (NCA) to regulate and approve tariff rates and charges by telecommunications operators.
The NCC said that, while recognising the concerns of the public, the decision was made after extensive consultations with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors.
“The NCC recognises the financial pressures faced by Nigerian households and businesses and remains deeply empathetic to the impact of tariff adjustments,’ the NCC said in a statement.
It noted that these adjustments would support the ability of operators to continue investing in infrastructure and innovation, ultimately benefiting consumers through improved services and connectivity.
The NCC added that consumers would benefit from better network quality, enhanced customer service, and greater coverage within the country.
(NAN)
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