In a critical move to bolster talent density and accelerate Nigeria’s digital economy, Africa’s all in one financial ecosystem, Moniepoint hosted an International Women’s Day event bringing together women in technology for a day of leadership development and hands-on product building.

Held at Moniepoint’ Headquarters in Lagos, themed “Break the Pattern,” the event was organised in partnership with Women Techmakers Lagos and Google Developer Group (GDG) Lagos with participants spanning both technical and non-technical backgrounds, reflecting the breadth of women currently active across Nigeria’s digital economy.

In a keynote address delivered by Kemi Nwogu, Head of Product at Moniepoint Inc, titled “Breaking the Pattern: How Women Can Redefine the Future of Tech,” she made the case that progress for women in technology requires not just access to existing structures, but the tools and confidence to reshape them. Furthermore, Nwogu issued a bold call to action, urging attendees to move beyond traditional career playbooks and take ownership of shaping the industry’s future.

“From a young age, many girls have been subtly discouraged from pursuing science and tech. They are told sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly, that tech is too hard, too technical, or simply not for them. These patterns are not facts, they are constructs. And what has been constructed can be deconstructed! The future of tech needs leaders who build people, not just products, cultures, not just systems,”said Nwogu.

On building skills with purpose, she urged women to “show up everyday, make small, steady progress with online courses, coding bootcamps, open-source projects while leveraging the full ecosystem; take on challenging tasks as your greatest classroom using real problems to build real skills; while knowing why you’re building a skill as every learning goal can be tied to a career journey.”

This thematic fare of the event was further explored in a panel discussion, “Unscripted: Leading Beyond the Patterns We Inherited”, moderated by Atinuke Oluwabamikemi Kayode and featuring leaders from fintech, creative design, and software engineering space, including Chukwu Adaeze (Creative Director, CAV Digital), Chinenye Ogbu (Customer Experience Lead, Hydrogen), and Motunrayo Koyejo (Senior Software Engineer, Cowrywise).

The robust and extensive conversation examined the professional archetypes that have historically defined leadership in the Nigerian tech ecosystem: the engineering culture that equates output with exhaustion, the creative industry’s tendency toward top-down authority, the script-driven rigidity of customer-facing roles. The panelists also provided deep insights into how they had navigated and, in places, dismantled those patterns within their teams and organizations.

The event went beyond conversations to a hands-on workshop, Prompt to Production, facilitated by Taiwo Famakinde which guided attendees through modern product development from prompt design through rapid prototyping to the deployment of a functional application using AI tools.

A lot of the participants entered with little to no prior experience building software products. The workshop then fed directly into a Buildathon, where participants developed and deployed their own solutions in real time, with the strongest builds recognised and rewarded at the closing ceremony.

“IWD celebrations are often heavy on inspiration, but we wanted to offer something more, a proof of capability. Oftentimes, there is a gap between having ideas and actually building them, and we set out to bridge that by creating a space where women could easily deploy their ideas into live products with AI in just a few hours. By the end of the day, something that once felt complex due to the fast pace of AI started to feel possible.

“Our participants left with both the technical confidence to build and the leadership frameworks to navigate their careers on their own terms, ensuring they are no longer just participants in the tech ecosystem, but the architects of its future. They are now ready to test their ideas and lead without waiting for perfect conditions or a full team.” said Funke Olasupo, Co-organizer, Women Techmakers Lagos.

Interestingly, the “Break the Pattern” event sits within a broader investment in Nigeria’s technology talent pipeline that Moniepoint has deployed over the years. As one of Nigeria’s most significant fintech employers, the company runs a critical engine that sustains Nigeria’s formal and informal economy.

Moniepoint has invested in developer community partnerships including its ongoing collaboration with GDG Lagos as well as internal programmes designed to build engineering depth across product domains that include its highly successful Women in Tech initiative, DreamDevs, HatchDev and the government’s acclaimed 3MTT programme.

Google says it has disrupted an attempt by a criminal group to use artificial intelligence (AI) to exploit a previously unknown software vulnerability, highlighting growing concerns over the use of AI in cybercrime.

Google

The technology company disclosed this on Monday, saying the hackers planned to exploit a “zero-day” vulnerability in an unnamed company’s digital system before the attack was intercepted.

A zero-day vulnerability refers to a software flaw unknown to the vendor or security teams, leaving no time to develop a protective fix before exploitation.

John Hultquist, Chief Analyst at Google’s threat intelligence arm, described the incident as a significant shift in cybersecurity threats.

“It’s here. The era of AI-driven vulnerability and exploitation is already here,” Hultquist said.

According to Google, the attackers intended to exploit a security flaw that would have allowed them to bypass two-factor authentication and gain access to a widely used online system administration tool.

The company said it had notified the affected firm and relevant law enforcement agencies, successfully disrupting the operation before any damage occurred.

Google, however, declined to identify the targeted company, the threat actors involved, or the AI model used in the attempted breach.

The firm said preliminary analysis suggests the hackers used a large language model, similar to those powering popular AI chatbots, to identify the vulnerability.

Google noted there was no evidence linking the attempted attack to any government-backed operation, although groups connected to China and North Korea have reportedly explored similar AI-enabled cyber techniques.

The disclosure comes amid growing debate over the regulation of increasingly advanced AI systems capable of coding, vulnerability discovery, and cybersecurity analysis.

Recent advancements in AI hacking tools, including Anthropic’s newly announced cybersecurity-focused model, Mythos, have intensified concerns among governments and technology firms worldwide.

The U.S. government has also stepped up oversight of advanced AI systems, with the Commerce Department recently announcing agreements with major technology firms, including Google, Microsoft, and xAI, to evaluate powerful AI models before public release.

Industry analysts warn that while AI could strengthen cybersecurity by helping organisations detect and patch software flaws faster, it could also accelerate cyber threats by enabling criminals to discover and weaponise vulnerabilities at unprecedented speed.

Dean Ball, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, said governments may need to consider stronger oversight of advanced AI tools.

“I don’t like regulation. I would prefer for things not to be regulated. But I think we need to in this case,” Ball said.

Experts say the growing use of AI in cybersecurity could create a transitional period of heightened digital risk before stronger defences are developed globally.

Interswitch, an integrated payments and digital commerce company, has announced the induction of the third and largest cohort of developer interns into its Developer Academy, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to building world-class technology talent and strengthening Africa’s digital ecosystem.

Selected from a pool of over 20,000 applications, the new cohort emerged through a rigorous multi-stage process involving technical assessments, and interviews. Their induction into the Developer Academy highlights both the scale of interest in software engineering opportunities in Nigeria and Interswitch’s role in nurturing the next generation of highly skilled technology professionals.

Commenting on the initiative, founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, emphasised the importance of taking a long-term, ecosystem-driven approach to talent development.

“At Interswitch, we have always believed in the capacity to see beyond the immediate challenges and focus on long-term impact. While the migration of skilled talent remains a reality, our approach is to actively shape the outcomes by building a strong and sustainable pipeline of technology professionals.

“We are therefore committed to equipping individuals with the capabilities to contribute meaningfully to the broader technology ecosystem, locally and globally, not just for our own needs at Interswitch. In doing so, we are not only strengthening the industry but also reinforcing Nigeria’s position as a source of globally competitive engineering talent,” Elegbe said.

The 9-month programme brings together talents across key engineering tracks, including Backend Development, DevOps, Mobile Development, Frontend Engineering, and Quality Assurance.

Designed as an intensive and structured learning experience, the Developer Academy combines theoretical instruction with real-world application, equipping participants with the skills required to thrive in an increasingly global and competitive technology landscape.

Also commenting, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Interswitch, Franklin Ali, said: “The Developer Academy reflects our long-term commitment to building talent at scale. We are equipping these young professionals not just with technical skills, but with the mindset, discipline, and adaptability required to thrive in diverse environments.

“Whether they build their careers within Interswitch, contribute to the local ecosystem, or explore global opportunities, they represent the strength and potential of Nigerian talent and carry forward the standard of excellence we are committed to building.”