E-Business
Nexford Completes Pre-Series A Funding of US$10.8M

Nexford University (“the Company”), a next-generation online university based in Washington D.C., announces the successful completion of a $10.8 million Pre-Series A funding round. The capital raise was led by Global Ventures, the UAE-based venture capital firm.
Participating investors included Future Africa’s new thematic fund focused on education, which is led by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, the co-founder of Flutterwave and Andela, plus angel investors, family offices and VCs from 10 countries including the US, UK, France, Dubai, Switzerland, Qatar, Nigeria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The global investor base reflects Nexford’s ambition to build an American university – designed for a global audience.
Nexford is a tech-enabled online university. It was founded on two beliefs: a lack of education is the root cause of most world challenges; and people should be able to access economic opportunities irrespective of physical location.
From inception, the Company’s founders’ vision was of a world moving towards a virtual talent grid. As internet connectivity increases worldwide, the only barrier to accessing economic opportunity should be skills. The right skills should provide access to this talent grid.
Nexford will use proceeds to fuel its regional expansion plans particularly in Asia, continue building products to deliver skills employers are looking for, and expand its B2B offerings. With employer funded education already accounting for a large percentage of Nexford’s revenue, the university aims to expand its offering to meet rising needs for re-skilling and up-skilling in a post pandemic workplace.
Launched in 2019, Nexford’s revenues in 2020 grew by 300%, with learners enrolling from over 65 countries. Nexford also has blue-chip partnerships with Microsoft, LinkedIn Learning and IBM to provide access to tools, courses and programmes to enrich the learning experience. Nexford’s curriculum is also specifically designed to match employers’ needs with its graduates’ skills.
The Company leverages machine learning and Artificial Intelligence to create a data and skills-driven curriculum. Access to Nexford’s quality, yet affordable education, empowers learners with these skills which can be deployed immediately, helping to address global unemployment.
Nexford’s accredited degrees cost c. $3-4k paid in monthly instalments. Learners choose when they study, have access to 24/7 support, and graduate at their own chosen speed. The monthly instalment structure means the faster a learner graduates, the less they pay.
In Nexford’s latest learner survey, 98% said they would recommend Nexford to others and 95% said they gained valuable workplace skills.
Nexford University’s CEO, Fadl Al Tarzi, said: “For years, millions of global learners have expressed dissatisfaction with the status quo, and millions more are on the side lines left underserved by current options.
“Learners want high-quality, yet affordable education relevant to today’s business environment, whilst retaining the flexibility remote learning provides.
“In 2021, it is not acceptable for less than 10% of the world population to have a college degree, or for student debt in the US to be over $1.6 trillion. Now, with additional funding, we can invest in the technology and teams required to address these challenges.”
Global Ventures’ General Partner, Noor Sweid, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Fadl and the Nexford team on their journey toward expanding access to universal quality higher education in emerging markets.
“Nexford University is redressing the mismatch between the supply of talent and the demands of today’s digital economy. This job is essential and necessary, and Global Ventures is excited to support the team in that endeavour.”
Iyin Aboyeji, CEO of Future Africa, said: “During the pandemic, while many universities in Nigeria were shut down due to labour disputes, Nexford was already delivering an innovative and affordable new model of online higher education designed for a skills-based economy.
“Nexford is an absolute game-changer for higher education in Africa. We are excited to make this Future Africa’s first investment out of its soon-to-be launched fund focused on the future of learning.”
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.
E-Business
FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform

Federal government has said that it has successfully captured 59,786 inmates, representing approximately 74 percent of the total prison population into the National Identity Number (NIN) database.
This figure is based on a total of 80,879 inmates across 256 custodial centres across the country.
Abubakar Umar, spokesman, Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Deputy Controller of Corrections, who made this disclosure in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, dismissed recent media reports alleging that the NIN registration had yet to begin in custodial centres.
Umar described such report as misleading, inaccurate, and not representative of the current situation.
According to Umar, the NIN registration exercise within the correctional facilities was ongoing and has achieved substantial progress.
He credited the achievement to collaboration between the NCoS and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which has enabled successful enrollment of majority of inmates into the national identity database.
According to him, “As of June 7, 2025, a total of 59,786 inmates, roughly 74 percent cent of the total inmate population have been captured on the NIMC platform,” Umar said.
“Efforts are ongoing to register the remaining inmates, and necessary mechanisms have been established to ensure the seamless completion of the process.”
He emphasised that the assertion that NIN registration has not started in custodial centres was factually incorrect and overlooks the extensive work already carried out.
The Service reaffirmed its commitment to integrating all inmates into national data systems, including NIN registration, as part of broader efforts to support rehabilitation, reintegration, and digital inclusion for individuals in custody.
Umar also urged media outlets to confirm their information with appropriate authorities before publication to prevent the spread of misinformation that could undermine the Service’s progress and public understanding.
E-Business
NIMC Denies Blocking Police Commission from Verification Server

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has clarified that all its verification service platforms remain fully functional and accessible to all authorized partners, including security agencies.

Abisoye Coker-Odusote, DG, NIMC
In a statement on Thursday, the Commission firmly denied claims that it had denied the Police Service Commission (PSC) access to its verification server.
Dr. Kayode Adegoke, head of Corporate Communications, NIMC, described the reported “inability of the Police Service Commission to access the NIMC verification server” as misleading and inaccurate.
He suggested that any challenges faced by the PSC may be due to internal issues within the commission itself, not from NIMC’s end.
The statement reads: “To set the record straight, the NIMC granted verification access to all Nigerian Police formations for the verification of the National Identification Number (NIN). The NPF, PSC and other security agencies have been enjoying uninterrupted verification services for over five years.
“NIMC has provided top-notch verification services for recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, as conducted by the PSC and at no time have there been any complaints or issues regarding NIN Verification by the NPF or PSC.
“The Commission has a robust and harmonious working relationship with the Nigerian Police Force and the Police Service Commission. The Information Communications and Technology (ICT) department of the Nigeria Police Force is actively managing the long-standing verification and integration service between the NIMC and all Nigeria Police formations.Entertainment tourism packages
“NIMC will continue to provide flawless verification services for the purpose of recruitment, security mapping, cybercrime control, and any other security matters.
“The framework by which NIMC provides services to the security agencies was recently restructured for standardization and effective implementation, following consultation with the Office of the National Security Adviser, and NPF has confirmed the verification services have continued to be available. We therefore believe that any service interruption experienced by PSC may be due to internal matters.
“NIMC is committed to providing excellent verification services to the PSC, NPF and all its partners but the terms and conditions inherent must be adhered to for uninterrupted flow of service.”
- E-Financial2 days ago
Cyber Crime: Hackers to Hold Secret Conference 3.0 July 25
- General News2 days ago
Wema Bank Workers, Others Arraigned over Alleged N8.9Bn Cybercrime
- Telecom2 days ago
Gaps on Phone Number Recycling Fuel Identity Theft, Data Breaches- ICIR
- General News2 days ago
Music Stars, Comedians Light Up “Evening with Glo” in Ijebu Ode
- E-Business2 days ago
FG Enrolls 59,786 Inmates on NIN Platform
- E-Financial2 days ago
SEC Flags ‘Punisher Coin’ As High-Risk Scheme
- Telecom24 hours ago
Telcos Hit by Major Outages across Lagos, Enugu, Others
- News24 hours ago
Beware!, Fraudsters Using our Name to Defraud Investors- NNPCL