Paga, a Nigerian mobile payments company, has acquired an Ethiopian software company, Apposit for an undisclosed amount.

This acquisition is part of its strategy to commence operations into Ethiopia later this year. Paga also intends to leverage the US incorporated Apposit to support its expansion into East Africa and Latin America.

Paga also announced that it would begin operations in Mexico this year.

Paga’s relationship with Apposit is not new; the company has always had an engineering team dedicated to Paga since 2009, led by Eric Chijioke, who is Paga’s Chief Technology Officer

Paga will retain Apposit’s CEO, Adam Abate, as the new CEO of Paga Ethiopia. Eric Chijioke will remain the Chief Technology Officer responsible for product development, Simon Solomon becoming the Lead Systems Architect, and Gideon Abate as the Head of Product Innovation. It will also retain the 63 man engineering team and tech capabilities. It intends to direct its boosted capabilities and total workforce of 530 to support expansion. Paga Ethiopia will go live when it gets a banking license to operate in the country.

In addition, Paga now owns Apposit’s other in-house technology products, Terra and Tangio.

Terra is a digital agricultural platform that provides products & tools to collect, manage and analyze data in agricultural value chains. The Terra platform harnesses the power of data to improve decision making in agriculture.

Tangio is a sales force automation platform for manufacturers and distributors of FMCG products. It provides companies the tools and intelligence to plan and execute their route to market strategies.

Tayo Oviosu, CEO, Paga had signified Paga’s intention to go global when it raised $10 million in 2018.

According to Oviosu in a discussion with Techcrunch, “The goal is straight-forward. We want Ethiopians to use the Paga wallet as their payment account. So it’s about digitizing cash transactions and driving financial services.”

“There are several very large countries around the world in Africa, Latin America, Asia where these [financial inclusion] problems still exist. So our strategy is not an African strategy…We want to go where these problems exist in a large way and build a global payments business,” said Oviosu

MTN Foundation has donated various items to orphanages and correctional centres across the country. This is in furtherance of the Foundation’s effort to make life better for Nigerians at various levels.

In Abuja, wife of former Head of State, Hon. Justice Fati Abubakar, who was present at the handover of items to Halal Children’s Home, commended MTN Foundation for the initiative.

Similarly, during the visit to the Juvenile Correctional Institute & Child Care Unit, Ibadan, Oyo, Wife of the Executive Governor, Engr. (Mrs) Tamunominini Makinde joined by Wife of the Deputy Governor, Prof. Bolanle Olaniyan and Commissioner for Women Affairs & Social Inclusion, Alhaja Fausat Joke Sanni, thanked the MTN Foundation for the support.

Speaking at the event in Oyo State, the Acting Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya stated that the support was part of MTN Foundation’s effort at caring and making life brighter for Nigerians.

In Lagos, Chairman, MTN Foundation, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi; Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue; President, Rotary Club of Ikeja, Rtn. Olumiyiwa Fagbola and other distinguished members of the Rotary Club of Ikeja led the delegation’s presentation to the Love Home Orphanage.

Handing over the gift items, Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi admonished Nigerians and the government on the need to constantly support the future of the Nigerian society. “When this orphanage was founded, it was created to show care for the disadvantaged, which is why the MTN foundation was commissioned in the first place – to help people who are educationally and financially disadvantaged.”

“These children are the future and we cannot allow any circumstance that the society has created to dim that future.

“We will continue to support and partner with organizations to ensure we take active part in their development. I urge the states and federal government to increase their efforts now more than ever,” Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi stated.

Items donated include foodstuff, beverages, detergents, baby diapers, and other utilities.

Over the years, the MTN Foundation has partnered with various organizations in its commitment to brighten lives across Nigeria. The Foundation has visited and donated to over 60 orphanage homes. The Foundation continues to seek ways to improve the quality of life in various areas of human endeavor.

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said the telecommunications companies have the right to reassign SIM cards once they’re inactive for a maximum of 180 days.

Dr. Henry Nkemadu, director, public affairs, NCC, said that telcos exercise the power to reassign dormant SIM cards without recourse to the previous owners so long as they remain inactive for the said number of days.

This is coming on the heels of commotion generated after Anthony Okolie, a Delta-based trader, was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for using a SIM previously owned by Hanan Buhari, the president’s daughter.

The businessman had thereafter sued Hannan and the DSS for N500 million while demanding the same sum in damages from both the latter and MTN.

NCC however described SIMs as national resources which no subscriber can claim ownership of — even when the card is registered in the subscriber’s name.

If we must change and extend the validity period of SIM card from 180 days, it has to be deliberated upon by all stakeholders and captured in the regulatory policy of the NCC,” Nkemadu said.

Speaking on the issue, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), added that telcos aren’t obliged to inform subscribers that their SIM had become dormant.

According to him, subscribers don’t have ownership rights to SIM cards in their possession as the telecom operators pay procurement and recurrence costs for each registered to a subscriber.