Telecom
Olatomiwa Williams, Microsoft Country Manager, to Deliver Keynote Speech @ #AfriTECH2021

Olatomiwa Williams, Country Manager for Microsoft Nigeria, has been announced as Keynote Speaker for Africa Tech Alliance Forum 2021 (#AfriTECH2021).

Olatomiwa Williams, Country Manager for Microsoft Nigeria
She was appointed by Microsoft recently to lead the company’s efforts to accelerate Nigeria’s Digital transformation and cloud adoption across all Microsoft customer segments.
The hybride event (both online and physical) will take place on Wednesday, October 13, 2021at Oriental Hote, Lekki Lagos by 10:00am with the audience cutting across C-Suite Executives, Founders, Presidents of Companies/Organisations, Presidents of Industry Associations, Startups/Entrepreneurs and Government officials, etc.
In a statement issued signed by Peter Oluka, editor of TechEconomy.ng; the organisers of #AfriTECH2021, said: Ola, as she is fondly called is a business leader with 21+ years’ experience in Information Technology Industry helping organization leverage the power of technology to achieve their business objectives with experience spanning consulting, support, channel and people management.
“We are excited about the fact Ola accepted to deliver the keynote at #AfriTECH2021 under the theme: Embracing Change and Digital Transformation in the ‘New Normal’ which was carefully selected to enrich inter-sectorial cross-fertilization of ideas on economic impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and way forward”.
Already, other confirmed special guests/speakers include; Prof. Umar GarbaDanbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Mr.KashifuInuwaAbdullahi, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); Prof. MuhammedAbubakar, managing director/CEO, Galaxy Backbone Limited; Dr.Ayotunde (Tunde) Coker, managing director/CEO, Rack Centre; OluseyiAkindeinde, chief technical officer, Digital Encode Limited and host of others.
Participation
Participation at the Forum is FREE, but participants are expected to pre-register via the link: https://africatechallianceforum.africa/ to have opportunity to witness the keynote address, goodwill messages, product launches, brand promotion, panel sessions and the inaugural AfriTECH Awards/recognition.
The Forum which has received supports from NCC, NITDA, Rack Centre, Digital Encode, VaultBridge Global Limited, Galaxy Backbone Limited, also enjoys media coverage by TechNext.ng, ITPulse.com.ng; ITNewsNigeria.ng; NigeriaCommunicationsWeek.com.ng; TechTv.net.ng; Rave TV; GrassRoots.ng; ITRealms.com.ng and Digivation Network.
The keynote Speaker – Olatomiwa Williams:
Ola is known for building strong teams, helping customers adopt new technologies for transformation business outcome and for supporting channel strategic growth across emerging markets.
Ola has consistently demonstrated a great sense of passion, commitment to excellence and inspiring her team to deliver result. Ola is a two-time Platinum Award winner and have other awards to her credit. Platinum Club award is one of the most Prestigious awards in Microsoft and the first Nigeria employee to achieve such feat.
Ola has been in Microsoft for 10 years plus. Her most recent role was Digital Transformation and Cloud Solution Director for the Microsoft Middle East and Africa (MEA) Multi Country Cluster (MCC) spanning over sixty-seven countries in Africa and part of Middle East.
She leads a team of talented Solution Specialists to empower enterprise customers achieve Digital Transformation of their organizations leveraging Microsoft Cloud Solutions.
Ola started her career at Microsoft in the then West, East and Central Africa (WECA) subsidiary as Enterprise Voice Technology Specialist where she pioneered enterprise voices solutions sales within our enterprise space and held other roles including Account Technology Strategy as Dynamics Partners Sales Executive.
She latter transitioned to Specialist Solution Sales Lead for Nigeria and led a strong team of Solution Sellers to accelerate Nigeria Cloud growth revenue.
Ola moved to the Partner technology Manager role for the Microsoft Middle East and Africa (MEA) Multi Country Cluster (MCC) subsidiary where she pioneered and landed a strong Partner Specialist Team, driving incremental cloud revenue through partner solution sales motions and Partner Skilling initiative.
Prior to joining Microsoft, she was a Lead Consultant with Dimension Data, Nigeria and have worked on large complex projects across Nigeria and South America.
She is committed to the cause of seeing more women succeed in Information Technology field, she leads female focused initiatives to support and encourage women and girls in her region to develop interest in Information Technology and Engineering. She is a mentor to a couple of aspiring female leaders.
She speaks at different Microsoft and industry events, presenting across Microsoft and industry Solution portfolio.
Ola is a graduate of Computer Science from the Federal Polytechnic Offa and holds MBA from University of Liverpool.
Telecom
9mobile Nigeria Inks Agreement to Roam with MTN

9mobile, Nigerian operator, has reportedly gained approval for roaming on the MTN Nigeria network in a deal that some commentators suggest could improve its position in the market and, more specifically, tempt back lost subscribers.
After finally gaining regulatory approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), 9mobile plans to launch national roaming services on the MTN network from this month.
Under the agreement, 9mobile subscribers will gain access to MTN’s infrastructure for calls, texts and data in areas where 9mobile’s coverage is weak or unavailable.
For 9mobile, the deal offers a cost-effective way to expand coverage without the heavy investment required for nationwide infrastructure.
According to ITWeb Africa, the decision comes nearly five years after initial discussions – much longer than expected due, the Techloy news service said, to regulatory bottlenecks, shifting market conditions, and unclear execution timelines.
It may, however, prove pivotal for 9mobile, whose market share has dwindled to 1.72% in April 2025, down from 6.6% in 2020 when the proposal was first submitted. Indeed, in 2015 the company once known as Etisalat Nigeria had over 23 million subscribers and a 15.7% market share.
Of course, there’s also something in this for MTN. In exchange for network access, MTN gains utilisation rights to 9mobile’s underused spectrum in the 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 2100MHz bands – key frequencies for expanding coverage and improving data capacity.
For MTN, which serves over 84 million subscribers, this additional spectrum could reduce congestion and improve service quality.
The company has also had financial difficulties in the Nigerian market due to the naira’s substantial depreciation; this deal could support better service provision at a reduced cost.
That said, MTN Nigeria’s results for the first quarter to March 31 2025 were apparently much improved, and the company recently announced a massive capital expenditure drive for 2025 of some NGN900 billion (US$568.5 million) as it seeks to significantly enhance network service quality in major cities like Lagos and Abuja and extend improvements to other areas.
Telecom
Banks, Telcos to Start Deducting USSD Charges from Airtime Today

Banks and telecom companies will begin deducting USSD banking charges directly from customers’ airtime instead of their bank accounts beginning from today, June 3.
USSD, otherwise Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, is a communications protocol used by GSM cellular telephones to interact with a mobile network operator’s computers.
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) announced this change in an e-mail message to customers, following a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Key details:
Each USSD session will cost ₦6.98 per 120 seconds, charged by your mobile network.
You will be asked to approve the charge before it’s deducted from your airtime.
If you prefer, you can use other banking channels like ATMs, mobile apps, or internet banking.
This change is part of a move to end the long-standing debt dispute between banks and telecoms over unpaid USSD fees.
As of late 2024, banks owed telecom companies ₦160 billion. For example, MTN was owed ₦42 billion by Nigerian banks.
By shifting USSD fees to customers’ airtime, the telcos aim to recover these debts and avoid future issues.
Telecom
IHS Nigeria Moves to Enhance G4S Secure Solutions Site Patrols and Increase Operational Efficiency with Patrol Vehicles

IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of IHS Holding Limited and one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared telecommunications infrastructure in the world by tower count, has formally commissioned 65 Response, Patrol, and Escort (RPE) vehicles to G4S Secure Solutions Nigeria Limited, its long-standing security partner.
The commissioning ceremony which held in Ikeja GRA, Lagos, underscores IHS Nigeria’s commitment to operational excellence, safety, and strategic partnerships.
The fully equipped vehicles, customized with radio systems, public address systems, medical kits, ladders, and amber lights, are expected to significantly enhance G4S’s patrol capabilities and enable proactive risk mitigation across IHS Nigeria’s infrastructure footprint in the country.
Speaking at the event, Jubril Saba, Vice President, Operations at IHS Nigeria, remarked: “IHS Nigeria is delighted to formally hand over these Response, Patrol and Escort (RPE) vehicles to our valued security partner, G4S Secure Solutions Nigeria Limited. As a company, we recognize that the success of our operations lies not only in our technology and infrastructure but also in the strength of the partnerships we build and sustain.
G4S has been an essential partner in protecting our sites, supporting our teams, and ensuring operational continuity across the country. This initiative is more than just a commissioning of vehicles; it is a reaffirmation of our commitment to the safety of our people and assets, our drive for operational excellence, and our belief in strong partnerships.
We understand that securing our infrastructure and communities is critical to sustaining high-quality services nationwide, and we are confident this fleet will enhance G4S’s capacity to support us.”
Also speaking at the event, Jonas Ahl, Managing Director of G4S Secure Solutions Nigeria Limited, expressed his appreciation for the partnership:
“We are proud to receive these 65 custom-built patrol vehicles from IHS Nigeria. Each unit is fully outfitted to meet the specific security needs of our operations, equipped with communication systems, emergency response tools, and visibility-enhancing features. These vehicles will not only improve our response times and field presence but also enable us to reduce risk and deter criminal activity more effectively.
I would like to thank the IHS team for their excellent collaboration throughout this project. We are proud to serve IHS and remain committed to protecting the assets that power connectivity across Nigeria.”
This strategic gesture reinforces IHS Nigeria’s position as a socially responsible and security-conscious industry leader, while highlighting the value of operational synergy with trusted partners like G4S.
The deployment of these vehicles marks another milestone in IHS’s mission to secure its infrastructure and deliver uninterrupted service to millions of users across the country.
- E-Business1 day ago
Farmers to Get Identity Card for Loans, Inputs
- News1 day ago
SERAP Sues NNPC over Alleged Missing ₦500Bn, Seeks Accountability
- Telecom1 day ago
ARCON Probes 9mobile over Alleged N1Bn Advertising Debt
- News1 day ago
First Asset Management Receives 2024 Fund Manager Award
- E-Business1 day ago
Dyna.Ai Launches Operations in Nigeria
- General News1 day ago
Nigeria Relaunches National Talent Export Programme to Unlock $1 Trillion Global Outsourcing Market
- Telecom1 day ago
NiRA Holds 17th AGM, Elects New Leadership to Propel .ng Domain Growth
- General News1 day ago
FG Plans Special Court for Exam Cheats