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Touch and Pay Launches Cowry Card Cashless Fare Collection Technology on New LRMT Blue Rail Line

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Touch and Pay Technologies [TAP], a Nigerian fintech company and leading processor of micro-transactions in Africa, announced today that for the first time, rail passengers across Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, can access the newly launched Blue Rail Line using TAP’s contactless Cowry card.

Founded in 2019, by Olamide Afolabi, Kabir Yabo, and Michael Oluwole, TAP was the first payment company in Nigeria to provide payment infrastructure that allowed contactless payment cards to be used on buses and ferries.

The company continues its record of innovation by enabling contactless payment cards to be used on trains in Nigeria. TAP is helping by advancing financial inclusion among the mostly unbanked population with its effective processing of micropayments ranging from 10 cents to $10.

The partnership with the Lagos state government enables Lagosians to use the Cowry card across the 13 kilometres of track proposed for the project.

The first phase of the track, from Marina to Mile-2, supports 200,000 daily passengers, who can now seamlessly enter and exit stations through TAP’s state-of-the-art turnstiles.

Upon completion, phase two, from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko, will enable up to 500,000 daily passengers  to manoeuvre between stations Rail, Bus and Ferry easily.

In Nigeria, 64 million adults don’t have access to banks. This limits people’s ability to withdraw cash for use on public transportation.

To solve this problem, TAP created the Cowry card, an ingenious card that is used to pay for transport digitally, first trailed on buses in 2020,  widening financial inclusion for Africa’s unbanked population.

In just four years, Cowry cards have been used in six states and helped to make 3.5 million monthly contactless transactions on buses.

Riders touch their Cowry cards against the tempered glass-protected state-of-the-art turnstile validators, which use Near-field communication (NFC) technology to enable communication between cards and the automated collection points. TAP’s pay-as-you-go card dramatically lowers fare evasion.

Unlike riders on other lines, the 500,000 daily passengers using the Blue Rail Line, will not have to endure the old, arduous procedure of having their tickets manually examined. Turnstiles will operate at Alaba, Marina, National Theatre, Mile 2, and Orile.

Commenting on the project, Olamide Afolabi, Co-founder and CEO of Touch and Pay Technologies, said, “We are thrilled to be facilitating and digitising payment on behalf of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). We’ve deployed our NFC payment solutions on BRT buses, ferries, and now trains.

“Our contactless payment solutions have been a huge success. We have created a 21st century solution for today’s passengers. Up until now, train fares typically worked on low-value cash transactions, whereas most electronic cards don’t allow for payment below $10, which was problematic for many passengers.

“Our Cowry card, which enables microtransactions between 10 cents and $10, bridges this gap. People can now use a digital and modern method to pay for their train journeys without carrying huge amounts of cash.

“We are optimistic that even more passengers will discover the benefits of this fast, yet reliable technology, which unifies transportation in Lagos – for the first time.”

Since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued its cashless policy in 2012, businesses have attempted to modernise Nigeria’s payment system. TAP is helping to advance financial inclusion among the mostly unbanked population with its effective processing of micropayments, which are essential to the economy.

TAP seeks to digitise the entire informal market with contactless cards and pave the road for genuine financial inclusion by assuring 99.9% reliability in cashless transaction procedures across the entire African economy.

Michael Oluwole, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Touch and Pay Technologies, said, “Payment is a social issue, not a technological one, which is why solutions to solve transit payment issues are a priority for us.

“In the past, foreign companies were tasked with solving our local transportation problems. We’re pleased that we are the first local company to deliver this unifying solution.”

On the launch, Elias Akin, Chief Technology Officer of Touch and Pay Technologies said “We have taken all necessary steps to ensure that our users data is secure, and the technology is very easy to use because we understand the various demography of our users”

TAP was the first payment infrastructure company in Nigeria to provide payment infrastructure that allowed contactless payment cards to be used on buses and ferries.

 


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E-Business

Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

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Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.

GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.

In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.

Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).

GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.


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E-Business

Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

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At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.

“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”

Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.

A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.

Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”

Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.

“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”


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E-Business

Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

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Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

Galaxy Backbone Tops FG's Website Performance Ranking

This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.

The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.

He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.

This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.

GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.

The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”

As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.

With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.

 


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