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Writing Challenge: OnePipe Dangles N3m on Nigerian Journalists (Apply)
OnePipe, a foremost fintech API Company has launched a press writing challenge to recognize finance-focused journalism and reward press reportage.
The prized challenge is part of the company’s efforts to promote and inspire more educational reporting and writing with particular emphasis on enhancing the awareness and understanding of embedded finance.
OnePipe aims to foster a deeper understanding of the importance of embedded finance in improving customer experience and satisfaction; while emphasizing the value of good coverage and narrative as a cornerstone for enhancing public awareness of financial technology.
Yvonne-Faith Elaigwu, operations manager of OnePipe, said the company’s objective with the writing challenge is to promote financial literacy and enhance the financial experiences of people in Nigeria.
“We hope that the articles, stories, and news items produced by the press and media throughout this challenge will help everyone understand embedded finance and appreciate what the technology can achieve.”
Research shows that embedded finance will create $230 billion in income by 2025 across a variety of financial services. As the usage of this technology expands and becomes increasingly incorporated into non-financial platforms, it is critical that increased public awareness and understanding is generated.
“We are committed to supporting organisations to build integrated financial solutions that are suited to the needs of their customers, whilst promoting financial inclusion.
“However, in order to capitalize on the advantages of embedded finance, a thorough grasp of it is required”, Yvonne added.
Commenting on the importance of embedded finance and the services that OnePipe provides, Ope Adeoye, founder and ceo of OnePipe, stated, “The world needs a new type of financial services ecosystem, one where everyone has a role to play and everyone has some value to capture.
“This is what we embody at OnePipe; we help businesses across sectors to enjoy profitable participation in the fintech ecosystem. With our technology, we turn complex infrastructure into simple code so that businesses can focus on building market-defining products, provide their customers with credit, loan payment plans and seamless payment for services”.
The writing challenge will be judged by a panel of an expert in financial inclusion policy and digital money, Professor Olayinka David-West, Associate Dean, Lagos Business School and qualified news editors, Muyiwa Mutuloko, Editor, TechPoint Africa, and, Caleb Ojewale, Assistant Editor, BusinessDay.
The challenge will span a duration of eight weeks, from February 25 to April 14, 2022, with an opportunity for three first-place winners to win one Million Naira each.
Three individuals will each get a 1 Million Naira award in recognition of published reporting that has resulted in information sharing, idea definition, trend analysis, and definition of concepts.
All submitted articles should be 400-500 words in length and must have been published in recognized press media. TV or radio submissions must be at least 20mins long and must have been broadcast on any publicly available site such as YouTube or SoundCloud.
Entries submitted without the required links or references will be disqualified. Entries will be judged based on material organization, vocabulary, style, grammar, punctuation, spelling, neatness, reach and adherence to all other guidelines.
The OnePipe Writing Challenge is open to all forms of media. Submissions are welcome from journalists/press persons (individuals, either full time, part-time or freelance) who are presently employed in a magazine or general circulation newspaper published in Nigeria, whether daily or non-daily, broadcast or tabloid, news wire, internet publication, conventional or alternative, as well as syndicates and cooperatives that provide content for newspapers. Nominations may be made by editors, publishers, educators, journalistic groups and others.
To apply and read more about eligibility and rules, please click here.
Nigeria’s technology company, Globacom, has extended warm felicitations to Nigerians on the occasion of the 2024 Christmas celebrations.
In a goodwill message released in Lagos, Globacom urged Nigerians to embrace the spirit of love and kindness during the festive season, especially in the face of prevailing economic challenges.
The company emphasized the importance of practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly the virtues of obedience to God and loving one’s neighbor as well.
“Christ taught many virtues including obedience to God and loving one’s neighbour as oneself”, the company said, adding, “Now is the apt time to practise these teachings by sharing with the needy”.
Globacom also encouraged Nigerians to extend the conviviality of Christmas beyond the festive season by fostering love, peace, and harmony, as demonstrated by God through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Assuring its customers of uninterrupted services throughout the Yuletide period and beyond, Globacom urged them to take advantage of its innovative products and services to stay connected and share the memories of the season with loved ones.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators to settle the long-standing N250bn USSD debt dispute before January 2, 2025.
The CBN and NCC also directed banks to pay the pre-Application Programming Interfaces (API) debt before July 2, 2025.
They also ordered that post-API debts be settled before December 31, 2024.
The directive was issued in a joint cirular titled, “2nd Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission on the Resolution of the USSD Debt Issue Between Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators.”
The circular dated December 20, 2024, was signed by Oladimeji Taiwo, acting director of the Payments System Management Department, CBN, and Chizua Whyte, head of Legal and Regulatory Services, NCC.
The regulators said, “In view of the foregoing, the CBN and the NCC hereby direct DMBs and MNOs as follows: 1. That 60 per cent of all pre-API invoices must be paid as full and final settlement.
“Payment plans (lump sum or installments) must be agreed upon between a concerned DMB and MNO by January 2, 2025. Installments must be based on equal monthly payments, with full payment due by July 2, 2025.
“DMBs must pay 85 per cent of all outstanding invoices issued after the implementation of APIs (i.e., February 2022) by December 31, 2024.
“Similarly, 85 per cent of future invoices must be liquidated within one month of service.”
According to the regulators, the transition to end-user billing will be activated only for DMBs and MNOs that comply with the payment conditions cobtained in the circular.
CBN and the NCC said they would provide further guidance on public enlightenment initiatives related to the transition.
The regulators also directed MNOs to implement the “10-seconds rule” for USSD invoicing.
This implies that any session lasting less than ten seconds will not be billable.
The regulators added, “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has unveiled a draft regulatory framework aimed at addressing fraud, spam, and other challenges in the Application-to-Person messaging sector.
The telecom regulator made this announcement in a statement.
The proposed framework, which was introduced during a virtual Stakeholders’ Forum, is said to be a key step towards enhancing the sector’s integrity and ensuring a fair, transparent environment for all parties involved.
The draft framework, presented by Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, NCC, who was represented by Chizua Whyte, NCC’s acting head of legal and regulatory services, seeks to regulate the A2P messaging space.
The A2P messaging, used for notifications such as bank alerts, promotional campaigns, and government updates, has become a vital communication tool in Nigeria.
However, the sector faces significant challenges, including consumer protection concerns, fraud, and data privacy issues, as well as an unequal distribution of value within the ecosystem.
“The international A2P messaging space in Nigeria faces gaps that have led to issues such as fraud, spam, and data privacy concerns. These challenges threaten the sustainable growth of this communication tool,” the NCC said.
The proposed framework aims to address these challenges by protecting consumers, promoting fair competition, and holding service providers accountable.
“This forum marks a pivotal step towards addressing these challenges. We are here to engage with all stakeholders—operators, aggregators, businesses, service providers, and consumers—to refine the framework and ensure it meets the needs of the entire ecosystem.”
The NCC stressed the importance of inclusivity and collaboration in creating an effective regulatory environment.
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