E-Business
5 Things You Need To Know About Scaling A Business In Nigeria

According to a PWC report, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for 84% of total employment in Nigeria. This is no mean feat! Nigeria has arguably the largest startup ecosystem in Africa, yet, 80% of small businesses fail within the first 3 years of operation. From subpar products and services to poor cash flow maintenance, there are many reasons businesses are unable to withstand many of Nigeria’s wahala. In other words, to be a boss no be beans o! To help businesses beat these odds in a digital-driven world, ICT giant, MTN Nigeria supported the first edition of Techpoint Africa’s SME Clinic held at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. Experts across various sectors showed participants the intricacies of running successful businesses in Nigeria.
Here are five business tips that have been proven to improve business processes
Know Your Market: Learn how your audience operate and find out what they love. Do not force what you think is right down your target’s neck. According to Peter ‘PeteSocial’ Nwabuoku, Head of Business Development & Digital at Luzo DN & Media Ltd, it is important to establish communication channels with your audience and social media is the marketplace that many entrepreneurs do not realize they need.
Let Your Customers Feel Appreciated: A happy and satisfied customer is more likely to return than an indifferent customer. Collect your customers’ details, contact, and other information. Send emails thanking them for patronage, send updates on products that they have shown interest.
Debbie Akwara, Founder/Principal Customer Experience Consultant, Niche X, one of the speakers, shared guidelines on communicating with clients via social media, highlighting deleting negative comments as a major blunder. In her words, “don’t delete a ‘bad’ comment by a client on your site, instead, address it swiftly, because God help you if someone gets a screenshot and uses it against you later.”
Don’t Compromise on Quality: “Do not be selfish with quality when it comes to your customers and your service,” said Damilola Runsewe, Senior Manager, SME Management, Enterprise Business Unit, MTN Nigeria. He shared various MTN products that were tailor-made for Nigerian businesses such as Call Assist, a solution that gives business owners the freedom to manage incoming calls. It provides automated call handling solutions enabling entrepreneurs to improve productivity.
Participants got to hear about Hynetflex, a broadband internet solution that offers customers unmatched browsing and download speeds accessible via a high-speed internet router compatible with both 3G and 4G LTE networks.
Marketing And Advertising Speak Volumes: Digital media platforms have made it possible for entrepreneurs to target and find millions of potential customers from the comfort of their location. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have proven to be the most popular platforms for businesses to reach millions of people with most of them offering specialized services to help entrepreneurs promote their business.
Document Everything: Entrepreneurs can save a lot of money by simply storing all business documents digitally. Cloud storage services allow for this to happen, eliminating the cost of premium file cabinets and paper storage. One can access the documents from any location in the world reducing the need for personnel to scan and send such documents when required.
Do you have more tips for entrepreneurs that can transform their business and save it from becoming another statistic in the database of failed startups? Please share…
E-Business
NDPC Probes Suspected Data Breach in Examination Centres

Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.
The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.
Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.
It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
E-Business
Nigeria Among Hotspots as Kaspersky Warns of Rising Ransomware Threat in Africa

Cyber security firm, Kaspersky, has once again warned that sophisticated cybercriminals increasingly target Africa as ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) escalate across the region.
Speaking at the company’s annual Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm’s Global Research and Analysis Team highlighted growing digital threats affecting African nations.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa emerged as hotspots, with Kenya recording one of the highest web threat incident rates at 20.1% in first quarter 2025.
“While ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitisation and economic constraints, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are seeing a sharp rise in attacks,” said Sergey Lozhkin, head of META and APAC regions at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky noted a 0.01 percentage point increase in African ransomware cases year-on-year, reaching 0.41%, still below global and Middle Eastern averages, but a troubling sign for the continent’s emerging digital infrastructure.
Experts warned that attackers are refining their tactics, shifting focus to unconventional entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances, and misconfigured hardware.
“As these economies expand digitally, sectors such as manufacturing, finance and government are becoming key targets,” said Lozhkin
The cyber-crime landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled by AI tools and dark web access to large language models, which enable less skilled actors to launch convincing phishing and malware campaigns.
Groups like FunkSec, which uses AI-generated code and a low-cost ransom model, are redefining ransomware operations.
“African organisations face the dual challenge of expanding digital footprints and limited cybersecurity awareness. This makes layered defense strategies, including network segmentation, real-time monitoring and regular staff training, essential,” stated Lozhkin
Kaspersky continues to monitor 25 active APT groups in the META region, including SideWinder and MuddyWater, some of which are known to target African institutions.
To bolster defenses, the firm recommends using tools such as its free Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business and the Kaspersky Next suite for threat visibility and response.
E-Business
Nigeria Launches Cybercrime Team with Commonwealth, UK Support

Nigeria recently launched a new joint case team to step up its response to cybercrimes that affect people and businesses at home and abroad.
The ‘Joint Case Team on Cybercrime’ brings together Nigeria’s key justice and security agencies to work as one, making it easier to detect, investigate, and prosecute digital offences.
It is supported by the UK National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as part of a wider effort to promote international cooperation on cybercrime.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation described the initiative as “a bold and transformative stride in Nigeria’s justice system.”
He said that although Nigeria has a national legal framework to address cyber offences, laws alone are not enough.
Nigeria is among the countries most affected by cybercrime around the world, with increasing financial losses.
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