E-Business
Microsoft Unveils Winners of Lumia 535 Dual SIM “Passion to Empire” Campaign
Microsoft Mobile Devices and Services unveiled winners of its entrepreneurship initiative, the Microsoft Lumia 535 “Passion To Empire” campaign, which kicked off Monday, February 16.
They are, Daniel Isa, Emmanuel Ugwueke, Emmanuel Okena, Godwin Benson and Jessica Yahaya.
Speaking at the prize presentation ceremony in Lagos, Joseph Umunakwe, general manager, Microsoft Mobile Devices & Services, described the “Passion To Empire” campaign as a demonstration of Microsoft’s commitment to helping Entrepreneurs translate their business ideas into reality.
Umunakwe said, “At the core of Microsoft is productivity. We are continually investing in building devices that enhance productivity to better lives. We are passionate about helping Entrepreneurs build capacity that sets them apart from their peers. Though, these five contestants won the prize money with the crop of young creative minds that entered for the competition and the wonderful ideas shared so far, the future is bright and I must say they are all winners in their own right.”
He revealed that, aside the prize money presented and the training program at the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) of the Pan Atlantic University in Lagos, Microsoft under the Cloudprenuer project would be offering the Top 1000 that are into technology business the opportunity of taking advantage of its cloud service at no cost.
He stressed, “We are building a total package to help them develop their business as well as give them visibility on the web.”
On the Lumia brand, Olumide Balogun , head, Marketing, West Africa, Microsoft Mobile Devices and Services, stated that the Lumia brand of phones are stylish and perfectly designed for entrepreneurs who want to do more on the go.
With thousands of entries received, Judges on the campaign, made up of top Nigerian beauty entrepreneur, Tara Fela-Durotoye, entertainment mogul and Founder of the Chocolate City Group, Audu Maikori and founding Partner of leading Careers and Jobs website, Jobberman, Opeyemi Awoyemi had an uphill task shortlisting for the Top 30. In the end, they settled for 15 contestants, given the incredible ideas that they could not push aside.
Speaking on behalf of the Judges, Tara said, “Lots of the ideas came from technology, but we also saw ideas from the Agriculture sector and services industry. Initially, the idea was to select the Top 15 to pitch their ideas, however, there were some good ones we could not push aside. The truth is that, Nigeria has a bright future with the kind of minds that we interacted with during the campaign.”
The winners got cash prizes of N3.5million each, including skills and acquisition training sessions at the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) in Pan African University.
Overwhelmed with joy, Ugwueke, an indigene of Enugu who lives in Nassarawa State where he has been running his engraving business in the last five years, said, “We have been doing this business manually since we started and because of this, demand usually outruns supply. With the prize money, I can get an Automatic engraving machine to run the business more efficiently and increase sales.”
For Benson, who is embarking on a Technology cum Education business, a majority of the prize money will be invested in marketing the “Tuteria” site which he added would go online in the coming weeks.
The 1st runners-up; Anita Ibekweh, Adeniran Olanikpekun, Ifeanyi Akosionu, Samuel Okoroafor, Mabel Okereafor, Gbolaro Victoria and Oscar Aniete were also rewarded with training sessions at the Centre.
E-Business
FG Mulls Fibre Optic Layout to Bridge Internet Gaps

President Bola Tinubu said that his administration has initiated a project to install fibre optic cables across the country, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
His plans were contained in a speech he delivered at a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of Democracy Day on Thursday, June 12.
He said the fibre optic layout is part of other projects being embarked on.
“In addition, we have embarked on an ambitious project to lay fibre optic cables across the nation, a transformative step toward bridging the digital divide and fostering greater connectivity.
“This initiative promises not only to enhance the speed and reliability of internet access but also to revolutionise how businesses operate, how students learn, and how communities stay connected,” Tinubu stated.
He maintained that by extending this critical infrastructure, his government is empowering entrepreneurs, enabling digital education, and providing the tools for our youth to compete in a globalised world.
In a most recent report on Internet connectivity, The ICIR pointed out how Nigeria has faced setbacks in its deployment of fibre optic cables and needs a transformation.
The challenges revolve around vandalism, inadequate coordination between road construction and telecom infrastructure, and varying right-of-way (RoW) charges across states.
Among industry experts, these issues impact network outages, increase repair costs, and hinder broadband expansion efforts.
It has also further threatened the digital economy, leading to slower Internet speeds, dropped calls, and unreliable connectivity among others.
E-Business
African Startups Raised $345m in Funding in May

African startups raised more than $345 million across 65 deals in May, more than double the amount raised in the same period of last year, according to a report by Briter, a research and business intelligence firm.
The report disclosed that both the number of deals and participating companies declined, confirming a growing trend of fewer companies raising funds in larger sizes.
It said fintech attracted the highest share of funding in May, accounting for 34 percent of the total, while cleantech followed closely, driven by a debt deal from Sun King. The company raised $80 million (in local currency) to expand clean energy access in Nigeria.
“Equity remains the primary instrument in terms of total value. There’s no doubt about it; in fact, equity deals with disclosed amounts captured more than half of the total funding volume in May.
“However, debt financing is increasingly proving its weight. Although it accounted for only 8 percent of all deals, it represented 32 percent of the total funding, highlighting the typically larger size of debt transactions. With the rise of specialised vehicles targeting early-stage businesses, debt is becoming an increasingly important part of Africa’s innovation funding landscape,” it said.
Briter’s report added that grants continued to play a vital role in early-stage support, especially in the education technology (EdTech) sector. The Mastercard Foundation led the pack in grant activity, funding a new cohort of EdTech innovators in Nigeria and Kenya. Each selected startup is set to receive $100,000 in grant funding, in addition to mentorship and business development support.
Multilaterals also made a strong showing in May, it said. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, issued a $179.6 million guarantee to CleanTech firm KOKO Networks. The support will help scale its clean energy solutions across Kenya.
“This deal not only demonstrates growing international confidence in African climate ventures but also signals a promising pathway for other asset-intensive startups in clean cooking, agriculture, and renewable energy,” the report said.
From a geographic perspective, Egypt emerged as the continent’s fundraising powerhouse for the month, contributing 51 percent of all funding raised. The country recorded 12 deals across equity, debt, and bond instruments. Notably, FinTech platform MNT-Halan raised $50 million through a bond issuance, further illustrating the diversification of capital-raising mechanisms in the region.
Outside Egypt, funding was distributed across Africa’s three other key markets, which are Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, with limited activity recorded in countries such as Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and Uganda, each registering between one and three deals.
In terms of exits, the African tech landscape continues to mature. Three companies—Baobab+, Qardy, and Shopa—were acquired in May, bringing the total number of exits this year to 22. This already surpasses last year’s count for the same period. Qardy was acquired by Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) in a disclosed deal valued at $23 million, the report added.
E-Business
Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

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.”
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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