Telecom
UNDP and Anambra State Foster Innovation with New Marketplace
In the lead up to Anambra Innovation Week 2024, in a landmark collaboration poised to position Anambra State as Africa’s Silicon Valley, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with the Anambra State Government through the Solution Innovation District (SID) to establish a cutting-edge Makerspace.
L-r: Ms. Elsie G Attafuah, United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative in Nigeria; Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo,CFR; Chinwe Okoli, Special Adviser to Governor Soludo on Innovation and Business Incubation, and Christian Udechukwu, Commissioner for Industry, Anambra State, at the foundation laying ceremony for Anambra Innovation Marketplace.
This event was officiated by the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR and the United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Elsie G Attafuah.
This initiative aligns with Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s visionary agenda of “Everything Technology, Technology Everywhere” and aims to empower youth, drive innovation, and foster economic growth across the state.
The Makerspace in Awka is designed to democratize access to entrepreneurship and technological innovation. It will create pathways for improved livelihoods by providing young people with the resources, skills, and collaborative environments to bring their ideas to life.
The Anambra Makerspace, strategically located in Awka, will prioritize inclusivity, with special programs tailored for young women, persons with disabilities, individuals with low literacy skills, and youth in underserved areas.
Speaking during the launch of the Makerspace, His Excellency Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, the Executive Governor of Anambra State stated that, This Makerspace will unlock new opportunities, drive economic growth, and empower local talent. Through collaborative partnerships such as the UNDP, we will pave the way for innovation.
I believe that technology is the bridge to a prosperous future, and we are immensely delighted to embark on this journey with UNDP. Our long-term vision is to raise a powerful Anambra Digital Tribe who will drive economic transformation through innovation, position Anambra as Africa’s Silicon Valley and make a significant impact on the global stage.
The value of Anambra’s Makerspace’s in entrepreneurship development is multifaceted.
The Makerspace will provide young entrepreneurs with the tools and resources needed to turn ideas into tangible prototypes, facilitating the testing and refinement of products. Breaking barriers to innovation, the space enables entrepreneurs to experiment and iterate without significant upfront costs. Thus, entrepreneurs are equipped with the resources to ignite ideas, permitting prototyping, testing and refinement of products.
What’s more, the Makerspace is forward-looking and promotes technological know-how through offering trainings and workshops, enabling skill refinement and keeping entrepreneurs abreast with emerging technologies.
In her remarks, Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah, UNDP Resident Representative expressed that the groundbreaking ceremony was “A landmark for young entrepreneurs, artisans, and innovators of the state and region at large.” Furthermore, she reflected on the significance of Nigeria’s youthful population, expressing that its talented youth are an invaluable asset and “The ability to create and innovate locally is not just a matter of choice; it is essential for economic resilience and growth.” Ms. Attafuah acknowledged the support of the Anambra state government and private sector partners, dedicated to ensuring the Makerspace remains sustainable, accessible, and impactful.
She extended gratitude to the Mastercard Foundation for its support in the establishment of the Makerspaces. Redefining entrepreneurship, Ms. Attafuah stated that, “The Makerspace puts young women, persons with disabilities, persons with low literacy skills and those living in non-urban areas at the forefront, for economic growth synonymous with social progress – leaving no one behind.”
The Makerspace is a launchpad for ideas that address real-state challenges extending to wider challenges of the nation. As such this space will bridge the gap between education and employability, enhancing the quality of life for all who live in Anambra and Nigeria. Empowering communities and preserving Nigeria’s rich culture, the space blends art, technology, and local craftsmanship, igniting creative capabilities in the region.
The Special Adviser to Governor Soludo on Innovation and Business Incubation, Chinwe Okoli, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership:
“We are immensely delighted to have UNDP support Mr. Governor’s vision for the Solution Innovation District as we continue to build the Anambra Innovation Ecosystem. The Solution Innovation District is designed to attract opportunities like this from leading institutions, further cementing Anambra’s position as a hub for innovation and creativity.”
She highlighted the Makerspace’s cutting-edge features, stating, “The facility will be equipped for robotics, textiles, and electronics, with dedicated sections for design, prototyping, and advanced technological experimentation.
“It will also include collaborative zones for brainstorming, ideation, and project pitching. Importantly, the Makerspace will integrate designs that celebrate Anambra’s rich heritage while meeting global standards.”
The project stems from the UNDP-Anambra Stakeholders Meeting on Digital Transformation and Tech Development held in August 2024.
This strategic dialogue highlighted critical gaps in the state’s innovation ecosystem, particularly within tertiary institutions, and laid the foundation for this transformative partnership.
The Makerspace will bridge these gaps by fostering collaboration among academia, industry, and government while serving as a launchpad for the commercialization of groundbreaking ideas.
The Makerspace will incorporate green building materials, energy-efficient systems, and sustainable waste management practices. By involving local youth and artisans in its design, construction, and operations, the project not only nurtures local talent but also reinforces its commitment to environmental stewardship and community ownership.
The Makerspace is a highlight of the upcoming Anambra Innovation Week 2024, scheduled for November 25–29, 2024. This event celebrates the state’s remarkable strides in technology and innovation under the theme “Creating the Future of Africa Now” serving as a premier platform to showcase and celebrate Africa’s dynamic innovation ecosystem.
The Makerspace aligns seamlessly with the vision to position Anambra as a regional leader in technology, entrepreneurship, and creativity. Local firms will lead the remodeling, repurposing, and furnishing of the facility, which is set to become fully operational within six months.
MTN Nigeria’s commitment to digital innovation took center stage at MarkHack 4.0, the annual marketing and technology conference held at Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Friday, May 23, 2025, with the theme ‘Experience Ignited: Fueling the Customer’s Journey’.
L-R: Akinbulejo Onabolu, Head, Enterprise Segment, MTN Nigeria; Eneyi Obi, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Rise; Tobi Olanisimi, Marketing Manager, AB InBev; Martha Kayode, Marketing Head, PZ Cussonz; Sulaiman Shaibu, CEO, BFT Consulting Service and Daniel Adeyemi, Managing Editor, Condia Business at the MarkHack 4.0 Conference held at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday, May 23, 2025.
In a celebration of innovation, technology, and storytelling, the company also took home the award for Best Use of Data in a Marketing Campaign at the Nigeria MarTech (MarkHack 4.0) Awards Night. This award recognizes brands that have successfully transformed data into compelling narratives and actionable insights to meaningfully engage their audiences.
Akinbulejo Onabolu, Senior Manager, Segment Management, Enterprise Business at MTN, joined a panel to discuss the power of immersive technologies on consumer behaviour. Drawing from MTN’s launch of its 5G Digital Experience Centre in Abuja last year, Onabolu highlighted the rapid evolution of immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) stating “Our 5G centre is a sandbox for our customers to come and see how technology can shape things. At the launch event, we unveiled a smart city to customers, clients and dignitaries in attendance, with gaming and other tech experiences.”
On the intersection of data, AR and VR, he added: “Co-creating with MTN takes our minds to a platform where different partners, companies and creators can bring their buildings, products and businesses for people to see via augmented reality and connectivity, just swiping through and following through that journey.
“As a part of impacting our customer’s lives, a few years ago, we also played around with the Metaverse and we ended up creating some of our back-office processes with some of our customer journeys on augmented reality and virtual reality such that a customer somewhere can engage with a virtual agent to solve real life problems and integrating that back into our operating systems. As an organization, at a lot of our events, you will find a lot of AR and VR experiences.”
Speaking on how MTN is embedding immersive technology into its day-to-day operations, he explained that the company is prioritizing both internal capability development and external engagement. “85% of our organization has undergone extensive training on AI and that already is a great addition to our daily lives. We’re using it to do things differently, developing user journeys and brainstorming different things. In terms of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, we are working with organizations to develop training programs which we use internally.”
He described the bases for this tech as stable connectivity, high bandwidth, high speed and low latency. “Over the past year, we’ve doubled our 5G capacity across the entire country. Wherever you are, you’ll probably start to pick up 5G. With our FibreX service, we’re going way beyond connectivity to create the systems and platforms to support the ecosystem, AR and VR. In addition to this, we’re also engaging regulatory systems to start to tease this out and build the proper governance.”
The session, moderated by Daniel Adeyemi, Managing Editor at Condia Business, also featured insights from leaders in FMCG, consulting, and global marketing, all underscoring the transformative potential of immersive technologies for Africa’s future.
MTN Nigeria has announced a massive capital expenditure (CAPEX) drive for 2025, nearly doubling its investment to almost 900 billion Naira, as it seeks to significantly enhance network service quality in major cities like Lagos and Abuja and extend improvements to other areas.
Karl Toriola
This financial commitment, up from a combined total of approximately 440 billion Naira spent in 2023 and 2024, was detailed by MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr. Karl Toriola, during a recent interview on Arise TV.
Toriola highlighted that a key focus of the increased CAPEX will be on “putting additional capacity in a city like Lagos, particularly in Abuja, where you have a lot of buildings coming up, you need additional sites because there are coverage issues.”
Beyond these critical urban centres, the investment aims to bolster network resilience and ensure power stability for its infrastructure nationwide. This includes proactively addressing site outages by ensuring timely payment for operational necessities such as diesel for generators, a persistent challenge in the Nigerian operating environment
The CEO outlined the comprehensive nature of the upgrade process, which involves “placing orders formally, opening letters of credit, and then the equipment gets shipped in and installed.” He added that where necessary, MTN will be “acquiring new sites” and “laying fiber to the base station to create better stability.”
While the immediate CAPEX is geared towards improving existing service quality and capacity, this investment aligns with MTN’s broader goals, which include enhancing financial inclusion in underserved rural areas, suggesting a long-term vision for network expansion and service improvement that extends beyond metropolitan areas.
Customers are expected to begin experiencing the positive impact of these investments with a “significant improvement in quality of service” anticipated by the end of the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2025, according to Toriola.
Airtel Nigeria, telecom service provider, has announced that its AI-powered Spam Alert Service issued over 9.6 million spam alerts between March 13 and May 20, 2025.
As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting customers from unwanted and potentially fraudulent communications, Airtel designed the AI Spam Alert service to analyze traffic patterns and detect anomalies.
In the period since launch the AI pinpointed a total of 9,667,008 SMS as potential spam messages in the two months after its launch.
Of these, the system identified 528,080 on-net (Airtel-to-Airtel) and 9,138,928 off-net (from other networks) numbers as suspected spam messages, demonstrating the scale of the threat and Airtel’s advanced processing capability.
Airtel Nigeria is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa.
Commenting on this development, Dinesh Balsingh, CEO, Airtel Nigeria, restated Airtel`s commitment to protecting its customers.
“This milestone demonstrates the strength of our AI-driven infrastructure in combating the growing menace of spam and scam calls. At Airtel Nigeria, we are focused on connecting Nigerians and ensuring their safety and confidence while using our network.
“We understand that trust is the cornerstone of digital communication. That’s why we’ve invested heavily in intelligent systems that not only detect potential threats but also learn and evolve with data. As threats become more sophisticated, so will our solutions. As a company, we remain focused on leading the industry in innovation and customer satisfaction, ensuring that every Nigerian can enjoy a safer and smarter digital experience,” Mr. Balsingh said.
The Spam Alert Service is part of Airtel Nigeria’s broader strategy to integrate artificial intelligence into its core offerings to deliver smarter and safer experiences for its customers across the country.
Recall that the Spam Alert Service was launched on March 13, 2025. A groundbreaking and free solution from Airtel, it notifies users in real-time of suspected spam SMS messages by analyzing over 250 parameters.
The Airtel AI Spam Alert Service is available to all Airtel subscribers on smartphones and feature phones.
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