Telecom
“We Remain Committed to Driving Innovative Solutions at all levels” – MTNF Executive Secretary, Odunayo Sanya
Odunayo Sanya, Executive Secretary of the MTN Foundation, has stated that MTN remains committed to driving innovations at all levels. She made this statement at the Alliance for African Partnership [AAP] panel discussion at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Odunayo Sanya, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation
The conversation which was centred around Innovating Solutions to African Challenges, was attended by different stakeholders from all over the continent such as Professor Titulaire des Universités, Ahmadou Aly Mbaye; the Director, Ford Foundation, West Africa, Catherine Chinedum Aniagolu-Okoye and Director, Partnership and Communications, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Somachi Chris-Asoluka.
Speaking on the role of the private sector in facilitating transformative change, Odunayo states that the private sector is aware of its benefits, and more importantly its responsibility to drive innovation. She reinforces MTN’s belief that everyone deserves the benefit of a modern connected life, therefore lifting people and connecting them to their dreams.
She stressed the importance of creating inclusiveness at all levels, outside the classroom as we strive to solve these problems.
“We need to drive a bit more unstructured innovation. We need to drive innovation at all levels, not everyone will end up in the four walls of a university. And that one doesn’t get into a university doesn’t mean they cannot create innovation. I think we need to be able to target innovation at different levels.”
Beyond academia, Odunayo identifies the need to be able to transfer skills to the recipients of the scholarship that the Foundation facilitates, which is very important. She attest that the universities’ curriculum is a bit inadequate.
She said, “A lot of students pass through universities, without engaging in adequate research. Dissertations are usually not geared towards innovation, so they struggle by the time they come out of school.
“To address this, MTN Foundation collaborates with its ecosystem partners; Google, Microsoft, IBM, and recently Meta, to train beneficiaries of MTN Scholarships on the needed ICT and Business skills for the labour market.
“These graduates are also trained to be entrepreneurs enabling them to create jobs and wealth for themselves.” On entrepreneurship, Odunayo aslo noted that MTN has recently launched Y’ellopreneur which is a women-targeted funding and skill training program.
Odunayo maintains that other key roles of the private sector in driving innovations are in the areas of funding and influencing policies. MTN Foundation partners with The Bank Of Industry to give out loans at 2% interest to young university undergraduates, to help them through school.
She points out that private sectors are policy influencers that birth policies that makes things easy for all the stakeholders contributing to the sustainability of innovation.
Founded by Michigan State University in 2006 in collaboration with African colleagues, the Alliance for African Partnership [AAP] is an Association of the MSU committed to working in equitable partnership to transform lives and address global challenges.
Their priority areas include Agri-food systems, Water, energy and the environment, Culture, Youth empowerment, Education, Health and Nutrition.
MTN Uganda is seeking input from stakeholders on a plan to structurally separate its mobile money service, MoMo, from its core telecoms business.
According to the company, the proposed change will be discussed at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting on July 2.
If approved, the telco’s fintech business will be run by a new company controlled by MTN Group Fintech Holdings B.V. and a trust benefiting minority shareholders following a merger.
Additionally, the restructuring also aligns with MTN Group’s ambition 2025 strategy which aims to unlock value, attract new investors, and strengthen regulatory compliance by creating standalone fintech entities in Uganda, Ghana, and Nigeria.
The company’s fintech division has over 13 million customers, with an 18.4% revenue increase in the first quarter of 2025, driven by 19.0% growth in mobile money services, 19.8% growth in transaction volumes, and a 31.4% increase in transaction value.
Reports say the decision is part of the telco’s compliance with the National Payment Systems Act 2020, which mandates mobile money businesses to operate as standalone entities, and to align with MTN Group’s regional fintech strategy.
MTN Uganda, which is led by CEO Sylvia Mulinge, highlighted that the implementation of the proposed transaction will be subjected to a number of conditions and regulatory procedures.
“The implementation of the proposed transaction shall be subject to a number of conditions, including the company and MTN MoMo receiving all required regulatory approvals and no-objections and complying with any regulatory conditions,” said MTN Uganda in notice.
Netflix has announced plans to invest more than €1 billion in Spanish film and television productions over the next four years, reinforcing its commitment to Spain as a key creative hub in Europe.
The announcement was made by co-chief executive Ted Sarandos at an event held at Netflix’s production studios near Madrid, celebrating the company’s 10-year presence in the country.
Sarandos emphasized that the investment would contribute significantly to Spain’s economy, create jobs, and enable the streaming platform to produce more local content. He was joined by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in unveiling the initiative.
Netflix first established its international production studios in Madrid in 2019, following the success of the Spanish-language hit series Money Heist.
Since then, its 22,000-square-meter facility has become one of Netflix’s major production centers within the European Union.
The company currently supports over 20,000 jobs in Spain, highlighting the nation’s growing influence in global entertainment.
The investment reflects Netflix’s ongoing strategy to expand its presence in European markets through original content and local talent.
Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) has raised alarms over a new wave of advanced cyberattacks targeting Android mobile phones through a malware campaign dubbed Tria Stealer.
The malicious software is designed to infiltrate Android devices, hijack messaging accounts, intercept One-Time Passwords (OTPs), to steal sensitive personal and financial data.
According to ngCERT, Tria Stealer spreads primarily through deceptive tactics, such as fake event invitations distributed via popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Unsuspecting users are enticed to download an infected (APK) file, often disguised as a harmless system application, to evade detection.
Once installed, Tria Stealer requests extensive permissions, including access to SMS, call logs, and app notifications.
It immediately commences data harvesting activities, sending stolen information to a Command and Control (C2) server operated via Telegram bots.
This trojan spreads through fake links, usually disguised as wedding or event invites, and tricks users into downloading malicious APK files
“Account takeover of messaging platforms. Impersonation of victim for fraudulent money transfer requests. Compromise of banking and financial applications. Identity theft and credential harvesting.”
In plain terms, if your phone is compromised, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Your financial apps are vulnerable, your reputation could be ruined by impersonation and even simple personal messages could be twisted into tools for scams.
Here’s what users should be doing now:
Don’t download apps outside the official Play Store.
Be suspicious of random invites or links, even from people you know.
Turn on 2FA for everything—banking, emails, social platforms.
Get a reputable antivirus and keep it updated.
If you run an organisation, you should already be taking this seriously.
ngCERT’s guidance says you should raise awareness, monitor mobile devices, and not let your team click on unverified links.
“Deploy network monitoring for suspicious outbound connections to known C2 domains,” it said, meaning, keep an eye on every digital door in and out.
This isn’t one of those cases where you wait to see if it affects you. By the time you realise it, it may already be too late.
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