Telecom
IHS’ Impact on Nigeria’s Digital Transformation, Foreign Direct Investments Drive
By Blessed Omonose.
Proudly Nigerian Campaign, a private sector initiative promoted by media entrepreneur, Olorogun Elkanah Mowarin, in 2017, was one of the popular efforts to elicit pride in resourceful Nigerians and made-in-Nigeria products and services. The central theme of the campaign was to project Nigeria and Nigerians as a Brand by generating positive narratives about Nigeria and her people.
Today, IHS Nigeria is one notable corporate brand that wears the Proudly Nigerian emblem with gait and a commitment to promote Nigeria as a good brand, despite some challenges the country faces.
Last October, President Bola Tinubu played host to a team of senior management of IHS Nigeria in New York, United States on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly. During the meeting, the Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Human Resources Officer, Ayotade Oyinlola, listed the company’s giant strides, including its consistent investments in state-of-the-art communication infrastructure and world-class services that have put Nigeria on a very strong footing in the global telecommunication market.
Oyinlola said at the time, that in an era where connectivity serves as the lifeblood of societies and economies, IHS Towers stands as a beacon of success, demonstrating how a company that was established in Nigeria, in a little over two decades (2001), has grown to become a reckonable multinational telecom infrastructure powerhouse, with footprints in 11 countries across three continents and impacting the lives of over 800 million people.
The team asserted that the company, despite having an expansive global footprint, including a remarkable global tower count of over 40,000 towers across Nigeria, Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Kuwait, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia, proudly maintains its Nigerian identity.
In May 2024, IHS Nigeria again proudly carried the Nigerian green-white-green flag to the 2024 Corporate Council on Africa’s 16th U.S.-Africa Business Summit, held at the prestigious Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention, Dallas, Texas, USA. The telecoms infrastructure company, both as co-sponsor and participant at the strategic international summit leveraged the platform to market Nigeria’s limitless opportunities.
The summit – a pivotal moment in the convergence of global leaders, industry titans, and visionary entrepreneurs seeking to unlock Africa’s digital potential and foster sustainable economic growth, was attended by prominent leaders from the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), including Florie Liser, President, and John Olajide, Chairman, representing CCA, as well as members of a strong leadership team from IHS Nigeria including IHS Nigeria’s Chief Operating Officer, Kazeem Oladepo, Dapo Otunla, Chief Corporate Services Officer, and Seye Dosunmu, Chief Financial Officer, respectively. Mohamad Darwish, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President of IHS Towers and CEO IHS Nigeria, serves as a notable Board member on the Planning and Programs Committee in CCA.
With the increasing influence and power of technology, a high-level dialogue titled, “Unlocking Africa’s Digital Potential – Addressing Challenges and Expanding Opportunities,” opened the discourse where IHS Nigeria showcased its pivotal role in charting a course for Africa’s digital transformation.
In highlighting the company’s commitment to bridging the digital divide and empowering communities across Africa, IHS Nigeria’s COO, Kazeem Oladepo, reeled out the company’s numerous interventions, including investments in school connectivity. He said IHS has unveiled ICT and digital infrastructures aimed at promoting Nigeria’s digital economy, which include the innovation hub at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, in collaboration with the Oyo state government. It also implemented a three-year partnership with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy in support of the government’s Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Initiative.
Through its partnership with the Limitless Space Institute, a non-profit education and research organisation based in Houston, Texas, IHS Nigeria is broadening access to space education for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educators in Nigeria. It also supports UNICEF Nigeria’s School-to-School Connectivity Project and has established notable partnerships with the END Fund, Save the Children, and USAID.
Through its subsidiary company, Global Independent Connect Limited (GICL), IHS has deployed over 13,000km of fiber optics across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to deepen nationwide digital connectivity and broadband penetration. Today, over 3,000 towers have been connected on metro fiberacross Nigeria to further increase connectivity and support Nigeria’s growing digital ecosystem. In its resolute commitment to increasing connectivity, especially across rural communities, the company launched a rural telephony solution in 2020. The exclusively solar-powered solution connects the most remote communities in Nigeria to essential 2G and 3G services. To date, 586 rural telephony sites have been established across 25 states, serving over two million Nigerians living in rural and underserved areas.
The session was moderated by Michelle Chivunga, Founder & CEO of Global Policy House, the dialogue brought together luminaries such as H.E. Mogweetsi E.K. Masisi, President of Botswana, and Hon. Nthomeng Majara, Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho, alongside Hon. Enoh T. Ebong, Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), and Dr. Thierry Wandji, President & CEO of Cybastion.
During the session on “Invest in Nigeria: Showcasing Investment Opportunities,’’ co-sponsored by IHS Nigeria and moderated by Ekenem Isichei, Program Director at the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji led the voices that showcased Nigeria’s burgeoning investment opportunities. He was supported by Aisha Rimi, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), and industry stalwarts including John Olajide, Chairman of CCA and Founder/CEO, Axxess and Cavista Holdings. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who led the Federal Government delegation, affirmed Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and strategic partnerships aimed at stimulating foreign direct investments inflow to Nigeria.
Oladepo, who represented IHS Nigeria at the session, underscored the company’s pivotal role in lowering barriers to entry for mobile network and internet service providers, catalysing infrastructure development, and fostering innovation hubs across Nigeria. He further shared IHS Towers’ illustrious journey from its inception in Lagos, in 2001, to its becoming a global powerhouse with footprints in 11 markets across three continents. He also stated that the IHS was the first Nigerian-rooted company to be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in 2021, showcasing the company’s role as a beacon of Nigerian achievement and a magnet for international investment.
At the closing plenary titled, “Partnering to Accelerate Africa’s Industrialisation,’’ IHS Nigeria reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to propelling sustainable industrial growth across the continent. Represented by Dapo Otunla, Chief Corporate Services Officer, IHS Nigeria, the company reiterated that it was dedicated to infrastructure investment, technology adoption, and collaborative partnerships as key drivers of Africa’s industrial revolution.
The plenary, moderated by Andrew Herscowitz, Executive Director of the Overseas Development Institute North America, convened a diverse array of leaders from government, finance, and industry to explore viable pathways for Africa’s green industrialisation. Also present in this discussion was Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, former Vice President of Nigeria and Guardian of Timbuktoo African Innovation Foundation, who highlighted the importance of innovation and technology in driving industrial growth.
Overall, IHS Nigeria’s good ambassadorial role at the summit underscored its belief in Nigeria, affirming its proactive role in shaping the future of African industrialisation, and aligning with its vision of fostering inclusive, sustainable development through technological innovation and strategic partnerships.
Blessed Omonose, a Developmental Journalist writes from Lagos.
Lebara Nigeria has launched the Agent Registration Portal (ARP), a new digital onboarding platform designed to accelerate the expansion of its retail and point-of-sale (POS) network nationwide.
Through the Agent Registration Portal, Lebara aims to create awareness, build trust and credibility within the retail channel, create opportunities for Nigerians to register and become Lebara partners, and position the brand as a modern, digitally driven, and opportunity – focused telecom operator.
With the introduction of the Agent Registration Portal, alongside its earlier customer-focused digital tools, Lebara Nigeria is designed to empower SMEs, independent distributors, SIM sellers, and retailers nationwide by removing traditional barriers to entry and enabling compliant, digital-first onboarding at scale.
Also, positioning itself as a digitally driven telecom entrant, focused on speed, compliance, and nationwide reach as it prepares for full-scale operations across the country.
The rollout comes as part of a national onboarding campaign running from January to March, 2026, targeting both low-scale retail agents and high-scale distributors.
Through the portal, Lebara aims to rapidly grow its digital and physical presence across Nigeria while ensuring all partners meet required compliance and verification standards
The Agent Registration Portal is accessible via the Lebara Nigeria website and allows prospective agents and distributors to complete the entire onboarding process online.
Once approved, partner locations are activated as Lebara POS outlets, trained and authorized to sell Lebara starter packs, data bundles, vouchers and other Lebara Nigeria products and services.
The launch builds on Lebara Nigeria’s earlier digital initiatives ahead of its full market entry.
Prior to the Agent Registration Portal rollout, the company introduced a Number Registration Portal, enabling prospective customers to select and reserve preferred phone numbers before the network goes live.
The service allows users to secure personalised numbers such as memorable dates, culturally significant digits, or easy-to-recall patterns through a simple online process, giving customers early control over their mobile identity.
The Agent Registration Portal onboarding process follows a structured flow from account creation and document upload to compliance checks, verification, approval, and activation. Applicants are required to submit details such as National Identification Number (NIN), valid government-issued ID, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and address information. Where all documentation is complete, onboarding can be completed within 30 minutes, after which applicants receive email confirmation and next steps.
Commenting on the launch, Mary O. Akin-Adesokan, Chief Operating Officer of Lebara Nigeria, said the portal is central to the company’s operational and growth strategy in the country.
“The Agent Registration Portal is a key part of our strategy to scale Lebara’s retail presence nationwide. It allows us to onboard partners faster, ensure full compliance, and provide both small retailers and large distributors with a transparent and reliable way to do business with Lebara.
“Together with our earlier Number Reservation Portal, it demonstrates our commitment to using digital innovation to simplify access, empower partners, and enhance the overall telecom experience,” she said.
MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola has declared that the era of outsiders telling Africa’s story is over, positioning the continent as a global powerhouse of authors, architects, and innovators.
MTN Nigeria
Toriola made the remarks while accepting the ‘CEO of the Year’ award at the 2025 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) Recognition Ceremony in Lagos.
“For decades, stories about Africa were told about us, but rarely by us,” he said, rejecting outdated narratives of conflict and need. “We are no longer the subjects of the story; we are the authors. Africa’s time is now.”
He spotlighted African talent now leading global organisations, alongside Afrobeats and art reshaping world culture, drawing the Diaspora home with investments, not just emotions.
Toriola anchored his vision in MTN Nigeria’s journey, recalling a time when Nigeria’s 120 million people shared fewer than 500,000 telephone lines. “When MTN entered in 2001, analysts said Nigerians were too poor for mobile phones. They were wrong. They underestimated the Nigerian spirit,” he said.
From that first call in May 2001, MTN has connected over 84 million subscribers, building Nigeria’s “digital nervous system.”
He described Nigeria as uniquely investable due to its resilience and scalability, dedicating the award to MTN’s “real heroes”—engineers scaling masts and frontline customer service staff.
As MTN marks 25 years in 2026, Toriola pledged: “We are going nowhere. We are rooted in the soil of Nigeria and Africa.” He urged global elites to become the continent’s “Most Impactful Builders.”
Modern messengers, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and others, are often used for illicit purposes. Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence has conducted an in-depth monitoring of over 800 blocked cybercriminal Telegram channels between 2021 and 2024.
While a range of illegal activities continues to be hosted on the platform, its environment has become noticeably more challenging for sustained underground operations.
Telegram’s bot framework and other built-in features make for a low-effort ecosystem for the underworld.
A single bot can simultaneously manage queries, process cryptocurrency payments, and instantly deliver stolen bank cards, info-stealer logs, phishing kits, or DDoS attacks to hundreds of buyers per day, often without operator involvement.
Unlimited, non-expiring file storage eliminates the need for external hosting when distributing multi-gigabyte database dumps or stolen corporate documents. This frictionless automation naturally favours high-volume, low-price, low-skill offerings, such as leaked bank cards or other data, hosting malware, etc.
High-value, trust-dependent deals (for instance, zero-day vulnerability information) still remain on reputation-gated dark-web forums.
Kaspersky researchers found two clear trends related to illegal activities on Telegram. The average lifespan of shadow channels has increased, with the proportion of channels surviving over nine months more than tripling in 2023-2024 compared to 2021–2022. At the same time, Telegram’s blocking activity has risen significantly.
Monthly takedown figures recorded since October 2024 – even at their lowest – are comparable to the peak levels seen throughout 2023, and the overall pace continued to accelerate in 2025. This impedes malicious activities.
Other disadvantages of Telegram for cybercriminals include the lack of default end-to-end (E2E) encryption for chats, the inability to use their own servers for communication (due to the messenger’s centralised infrastructure), and closed server-side code, which makes it impossible to verify its functionality.
As a result, several established underground communities, including the nearly 9,000-member BFRepo group and the Angel Drainer malware-as-a-service operation, have already begun shifting primary activity to other platforms or proprietary messengers, citing repeated disruptions of their activities on Telegram.
“Fraudsters find Telegram a convenient tool for many malicious activities, but the risk-reward balance is clearly shifting. Channels are managing to stay online longer than a couple of years ago, yet the dramatically higher volume of blocks means operators can no longer count on long-term stability.
“When a storefront or service disappears overnight – and sometimes reappears only to be removed again weeks later – building a reliable business becomes much harder. We’re starting to see the early stages of migration as a direct consequence,” comments Vladislav Belousov, Digital Footprint Analyst at Kaspersky.
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