Connect with us

E-Business

Microsoft, Fate Foundation & MaraMentors to Assist Youths via Cloudprenuer

Published

on

‎‎Microsoft Nigeria , Fate Foundation and Maramentors team during the announcement of Cloudpreneurship programme for youths in Nigeria, in Lagos, recently. ‎
Kindly share this post

The trio of Microsoft Nigeria, Fate Foundation and Maramentors, have aligned together to better the worth of many youths in the country.

According to Bureau of Statistics, over four million youths in Nigeria are out of school and without employment; hence the partners want to assist them using cloud technology.

After successful mentorship by Microsoft with support from Faith Foundation and Maramentors, successful candidates will becomes Microsoft cloud marketers.

The program is part of Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative launched about two years ago with the aim of creating 100,000 jobs for youths across Africa.

Speaking during a media parley in Lagos by officials of Microsoft Nigeria, said they unveiled Cloudpreneur, a startup academy to cater for the process with ISO 27018 Cloud Privacy Certification, even as the applications for the Cloudpreneur Project opened on March 20.

The application will be opened through April 19, 2015.

Kabelo Makwane, country managing director of Microsoft Nigeria, informed that at the end of the project, the 20 best performing participants will receive mentorship to manage their own profitable businesses based on Cloud technology.

Makwane said: “Microsoft is committed to improving youth skills for both entrepreneurship and employability across Africa. Our efforts in Nigeria started with the launch of the Employability Portal in 2013, which provides a platform for youth to learn leadership skills and network with other leaders.

“Now through the Cloudpreneur Project, we hope to enable and empower young business owners, so that they can contribute to the social and economic growth of Nigeria.”

The Project, the Microsoft Boss said, will be open to 1,000 applicants who have been in business for between one year and three years.

From these applications, 100 successful participants will be chosen.

These participants will receive a four-week long training on business management, including training on: sales, technology, entrepreneurship, marketing, communication and start-ups management.

Following this, 30 of these 100 participants will be provided with startup models and, finally, the top 20 performers will be mentored on how to build their own Cloud-based business.

“Cloud technology has the potential to transform competitiveness amongst startups and SMEs, which is why we’re encouraging adoption of the Cloud through this Project,” added Kabelo. “It delivers easier access to IT, slashes costs, improves productivity and enables more agile, innovative business models, where everything startups need can be accessed and done on the web anywhere, anytime and off any device.”

On her part, Habiba Balogun, executive director, Fate Foundation, said, “Fate Foundation is delighted to partner and support Microsoft in its Cloudpreneur initiative which aims to empower entrepreneurs in the Tech-related business to not only improve and hone their skills and knowledge via an intensive training under the assured guidance of Microsoft but also to be equipped to run successful businesses and create employment via Fate Foundation’s proven Entrepreneurship Training.

“Technological Innovation translated into economic activity is the future for Nigeria and we commend Microsoft for being part of enabling wealth creation in Nigeria.”

A similar initiative, known as the Cloud Startup Academy, was launched by Microsoft, the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Morocco and INWI in Morocco in June 2014.

The Academy takes 50 Moroccan women through a six-month programme, where they receive accelerated training on the Cloud to help them launched Cloud-based solutions.

While the Academy is open only to women – particularly young graduates and job seekers – the Cloudpreneur Project is open to both male and female startups across Nigeria.

“Mara Mentor is proud to bring our expertise in entrepreneurship support and mentorship to the Cloudpreneurs Project,” according to Hetal Shah, director of Operations at Mara.

“As an initiative focused on enabling, empowering and inspiring entrepreneurs, we believe this is an opportunity for young Nigerians in technology to get the training, support, and mentorship needed to build or grow cloud-based businesses.

“It is pertinent that young people embrace the culture entrepreneurship in line with global trends, and with increasing wave of cloud computing, Mara Mentor is happy to partner with Microsoft to empower cloud-based entrepreneurs and their ideas,” Shah added.


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

E-Business

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

 

China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.

The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.

“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.

The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.

It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.

Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.

Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.

A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.

“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.

Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.

Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.

It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.

Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.

 

 

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

Published

on

Kindly share this post

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.

NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”

The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

Published

on

Kindly share this post

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.

The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.

In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.

“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.

Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.

“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.

He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework.  He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.

According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.

Earlier in her opening remarks,  Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.

Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.

“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending