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Pantami, NITDA DG, Others Meet Startups on Ecosystem Consolidation

Professor Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, has challenged startups and innovators in the Nigeria ecosystem to take ownership of existing policies to further consolidate and enhance the success of the ecosystem.

Pantami gave the charge when he met with indigenous innovators in Lagos, to explore avenues of developing the Ecosystem to further drive the digital economy agenda.
At the interactive session organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was themed; Fostering an Enabling Environment for Start-up Growth, the Minister disclosed that the objective of the session was to understand first hand, what the ecosystem requires from the government in order to thrive.
“The importance of a vibrant, functional innovation ecosystem cannot be underscored and that is why we have taken deliberate steps to organise this interactive session specifically, to address certain pertinent issues.
Firstly, how to consolidate our ecosystem, secondly to understand the market and its challenges thirdly, to map our market and set targets, to strengthen our networking strategies and more importantly, collaborating and partnering with government.
This is key to the success of our ecosystem because government has a major role to play in providing an enabling environment”.
The Minister emphasized that the Federal Government is open and willing to suggestions on what it can do to further ensure the success of the ecosystem.
He said, “If there are challenges in implementing any of the policies we have put in place for the sector to thrive, please let us know”.
He cited the National Startup Bill, the National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the National Policy for the Development of Indigenous Content in the Telecommunications Sector among others, as examples of government’s commitment to enact and implement policies that enable the ecosystem.
Pantami disclosed that incentives like grants, tax and fiscal incentives, startup labelling, seed funding for startups, tax holidays have been provided for, in the plan to provide the necessary support by government.
He noted that Nigeria as the largest digital economy in Africa which is in the process of deploying fifth generation networks (5G), the immense human potential and the necessary collaborations and partnerships between government and the ecosystem, the country will in no time take its pride of place as the continent’s technology giant.
Pantami mentioned that the presidency is ready to make sure the bill meets excellent execution. He commended, “the work of the startup ecosystem for pushing Nigeria to become the largest digital economy in Africa and it’s time to work closely together to achieve greater hallmark.”
Speaking on NITDA’s effort on addressing skills set in the country Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) said: “As honourable minister of Communications and Digital Economy normally used to say “we make skills not certificate” because we sponsor people abroad for MSc and PhD programmes, most of them refused to come back to the country, those that come back will be a liability to the country looking for jobs.
“Instead of that, why not build skills to create jobs? Then honourable minister directed we should come up with scheme called Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support scheme. It is a scheme design to identify talented startups of youths with ideas, place them in developed hubs for training and incubation and at the end we have what we called startups Vouchers we give them that will help them as seed funding to develop their products and services.
“We started last year and we still have challenges and this is the reason why we are here today to talk with you to see how we can make it better.
“We have also conceptualised another idea called HiFiV which we want to go to universities, set up centres for excellence for entrepreneurial capacity building that will help develop entrepreneurship as well as help our students right from the universities to start thinking of starting their own business.
“We are partnering with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on this and starting with six universities across the six geopolitical zones and we are talking with CBN to see if they can build a centre in each state that will help to address that.
“On funding, we realized that there are some many funding and incentives but mostly you don’t know them because there is a disconnection between the government and the ecosystem. So, we are working with Lagos Business School to develop all existing government incentives which we are going to socialised with you to see how you can benefit from it.”
News
Kaspersky Discovers Infostealers Mimicking Claude Code, OpenClaw and Other AI Developer Tools

In March 2026, Kaspersky Threat Research has identified a new malicious campaign targeted at developers looking for installation instructions for Claude Code, a development agent created by Anthropic. When searching for “Claude Code download”, sponsored advertisements appear at the top of the search results.

One of these ads redirects users to a malicious webpage that closely imitates the official installation documentation for Claude Code. As a result, users are tricked into installing malware which harvests sensitive information including credentials, crypto wallet data, browser sessions, and other confidential files. Similar malicious campaigns mimic other popular AI tools, including OpenClaw.
The fake documentation page is visually identical to the legitimate one and is hosted on the website-building and hosting platform Squarespace. Because the page precisely copies the original instructions, users may not notice the difference when copying and executing installation commands.
However, instead of installing the developer tool, the commands deliver malware to the victim’s system. Depending on the operating system, the malicious commands deploy different infostealers:
. Windows systems receive Amatera, an information-stealing malware that collects data from user directories, web browsers, and cryptocurrency wallets before sending the stolen information to a remote server. Amatera has previously been observed in campaigns using the ClickFix distribution technique and is operated under a Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS) model.
. macOS systems receive AMOS, another infostealer previously documented in several malware campaigns targeting Apple devices. It has been described by Kaspersky before.
Kaspersky researchers also identified similar malicious campaigns targeting other popular AI tools, including OpenClaw and Doubao. Using the same approach, attackers registered multiple domains and distributed files containing the Amatera infostealer while disguising them as legitimate downloads for these tools.
“The campaign poses significant risks because AI development tools such as Claude Code and OpenClaw are widely used not only by hobbyists and automation enthusiasts but also by professional developers working in large organisations.
If infected, victims may unknowingly expose source code from active projects, confidential corporate data, authentication credentials, and private accounts. This makes such campaigns particularly dangerous for businesses whose developers rely on AI-assisted coding tools,” comments Vladimir Gursky, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.
In December 2025, Kaspersky detected that attackers spread a macOS infostealer using Google Ads. A specially generated chat interface designed to resemble a ChatGPT tutorial pretended to guide users through installing the Atlas Browser. The malicious instructions appeared to be hosted on a legitimate site associated with OpenAI, helping attackers gain users’ trust.
News
Breaking…….Nigerian Firms Pledge Millions, Create UK Jobs

Hundreds of new jobs are set to be created as Nigerian banks, fintech innovators and creative industry businesses scale up their operations in Britain.

UK-Nigeria
The move will see millions invested, reinforcing the UK’s position as a leading global business hub, backed by world‑class talent, strong access to capital, and a stable regulatory environment – while showcasing Nigeria’s expanding role as a key source of innovation and investment into the UK, growing both economies.
UK’s Twinings Ovaltine has launched a £24 million manufacturing facility in Lagos, its first in Africa, creating over 100 direct jobs and boosting the company’s exports across West Africa.
It comes as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, are set to commence an historic State Visit on Wednesday [tomorrow, 18th March], strengthening the UK’s position as a global hub for African business.
Thanks to the UK’s Trade and Industrial Strategies – combined with commitments made through the UK-Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) – the government is attracting investment into key growth sectors including financial services, technology, education and advanced manufacturing.
The Deputy Prime Minister held an ETIP reception yesterday at Kensington Palace, bringing together 180 senior representatives from government and industry to celebrate the breadth, depth, and continued growth of our trade relationship across priority sectors including financial services, education, creative industries, infrastructure and technology. The UK’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Florence Eshalomi, also addressed the group.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said: “The UK and Nigeria share a belief in the power of enterprise, innovation and education to transform lives, and today’s commitments show exactly that. With Nigerian firms creating jobs across the UK and British businesses expanding into one of the world’s fastest growing markets, our partnership is strengthening both economies and delivering real benefits for people in both countries.”
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: “The UK and Nigeria’s Strategic Partnership is bringing momentum and opportunity to innovators in both our countries.
“We are reducing barriers, creating jobs and opening new pathways for growth. Growth is the core mission of this government, and it underpins our relationship with Nigeria.
“I am deeply proud that the cultural and commercial bonds between our nations are thriving and that both our businesses and people are feeling the benefits of that.”
Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s largest financial institutions, opens its Manchester branch today [Tuesday 17 March] with the capacity to create up to 30 new direct jobs in a boost for the Northwest economy.
The bank is also exploring a 2027 London Stock Exchange listing to deepen its UK market presence and unlock long-term funding for UK-Africa growth.
Fidelity Bank’s acquisition and rebrand of Union Bank UK into FidBank UK with plans to double its 62‑person workforce in 2026 and add new capital, while the Fidelity Group makes London its global hub.
FCMB has also selected the UK as the first international destination for its digital cross border payments platform, boosting trade and investment flows between Africa and the rest of the world. Seven Nigerian banks now operate in the UK, supporting at least 1,000 jobs in total.
Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji OON, Group Managing Director/CEO, Zenith Bank PLC said: “The United Kingdom remains a key global financial centre.
“The opening of Zenith Bank, Manchester, therefore, marks another important milestone in our international expansion strategy, enabling us to deepen relationships with our customers, support trade and investments, and connect businesses between Africa and the UK more effectively.”
Nigerian fintech investment is also accelerating rapidly:
- LemFi will invest £100 million over the next five years as it designates London its global headquarters.
- Moniepoint plans to grow its London based team to 100 employees in 2026, building the infrastructure that supports millions of African users worldwide.
- Kuda Bank is strengthening its UK headquarters as the base for global expansion and plans to double its UK footprint in 2026.
The UK’s reputation as a global creative capital also continues to deepen ties through:
- EbonyLife, one of Nigeria’s leading creative industry brands, will launch EbonyLife Place London, creating up to 40 new jobs and strengthening the UK’s role as a home for African storytelling and creative talent.
- The SCALE Creative Entrepreneur Award Programme, developed by the British Council and supported by the Department for Business and Trade, will support young Nigerian and UK creative entrepreneurs to grow internationally and build lasting ties to benefit both the UK and Nigerian creative economies.’
- The UK Advertising Exports Group will announce a strategic partnership with the Nigerian advertising sector. This will include a UK-Nigeria Advertising Summit taking place later this year and a talent exchange scheme which will deepen bilateral engagement.
- The British Council and the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy in Nigeria, will deliver the UK/Nigeria Season of Culture in 2028, involving a range of innovative initiatives and events designed by UK and Nigeria creative organisations.
- A Creative Industries Roundtable at Lancaster House will bring together alumni, Chevening scholars and creative leaders from both countries.
The following British businesses are also set to benefit thanks to:
- Twining’s Ovaltine launching a £24 million manufacturing facility in Lagos, its first in Africa, creating over 100 direct jobs and boosting the company’s exports across West Africa.
- British fintech Wise will receive approval for its first Nigerian licence, enabling it to expand in a remittances market valued at up to £39.9 million.
- The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), which was set up with UK Support in 2011, has signed an agreement with Asset Green Ltd to explore a largescale integrated dairy project that will strengthen Nigeria’s dairy value chain, reduce reliance on imports and improve nutrition.
Leading UK universities are also expanding into Nigeria, helping train the next generation of Nigerian and British scientists, technologists and innovators. Nigeria is a key education partner and a priority country for the UK’s International Education Strategy.
- The University of Birmingham and the University of Lagos have signed a new agreement to deliver programmes in Applied AI, Digital Communications and Global Surgery.
- The LSE has launched a new Data Science partnership with Nile University of Nigeria alongside the University of the West of England opening a dedicated office in Lagos.
- Wellington College International Lagos will open in 2027, offering places for 1,500 students – becoming one of West Africa’s flagship British curriculum schools.
- EStars, a UK‑owned educational esports and technology company, will partner with the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to deliver esports‑based digital learning programmes to around three million students.
News
Elumelu Tags Elon Musk, Disowns AI-Generated Scam Video

Tony Elumelu, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, has warned about the growing dangers of artificial intelligence misuse after an AI-generated video falsely showed him promoting a forex and cryptocurrency trading platform.

Tony Elumelu,
The founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation revealed this in a post on his X account on Monday, explaining that the video appeared highly convincing but was entirely fabricated.
In the post, he also tagged Elon Musk, X owner, and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy while calling for stronger safeguards against the misuse of artificial intelligence.
“A few days ago, my team flagged an AI-generated video of me endorsing a forex and crypto platform.
“It looked and sounded remarkably real, but it was completely fake. This incident highlights a growing and serious threat to digital trust,” he wrote.
He stressed that he has no affiliation with any cryptocurrency or foreign exchange trading platforms.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I am not associated with any crypto or forex trading platforms.
“My commitment to inclusive prosperity has always been through long-term investments, building sustainable businesses, and empowering entrepreneurs,” he said.
While acknowledging the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, Elumelu urged African youths to embrace the technology responsibly and use it to develop scalable solutions.
“I strongly believe in the potential of AI. It is a defining technology of our time, and African youth must be at the forefront of adopting it to build scalable solutions. We cannot afford to be left behind in the global tech race,” he added.
The business leader, however, warned that rapid technological advancement also presents risks if not properly regulated.
“But the flip side of rapid innovation is the risk of abuse. The ease with which identities can now be cloned to deceive the public is alarming.
“Policymakers and regulators must act now to establish safeguards and hold those using it to scam innocent people accountable,” he said.
Elumelu also urged the public to remain vigilant and protect themselves from digital fraud.
“We must create a safe digital environment where true innovation can thrive without being overshadowed by fraud. Protect your hard-earned money, stay alert, and let us continue to build the Africa we deserve,” he said.
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