Telecom
Globacom: World Class Institution Made in Nigeria
When Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. proudly pulled the curtain to reveal Globacom after winning the Second National Operator (SNO) license in August 2002, the stage was set for the making of what is now the best brand ever made out of Nigeria.
Driven by patriotism, Globacom, has become a national character with world class outlook.
Globacom is much more than a national symbol; it is everything good in Nigeria.
The company’s promise is as good as its ability to deliver on it.
With the self-confident vision of the chief promoter, Globacom is now building biggest and best telecommunications network in Africa.
The principal business strategy to achieve this vision is expansion.
Road to Success
The amazing success of Globacom in the telecommunications sector has been a cause for national celebration and he has become an idol to Nigerian youths.
It came with determination and tenacity.
Remember that Dr Adenuga’s marks in oil and gas as well as banking and indeed the nation’s economy have been legendary, his venture into the telecommunications industry however a lot of ebbs.
In 2001, he ventured into telecommunications and began his search for a GSM licence, which he won.
A frequency allocated to him and his Communication Investment Limited (CIL) was encumbered and became subject of litigation.
CIL paid an initial US $20 million non-refundable deposit for the bidding and was only informed of problems associated with the licence at the point of payment by its bank, BN Paribas of France.
But CIL had paid the initial US $20 million non-refundable deposit for the bidding and was only told about the problematic license at the point of payment by its bank, BN Paribas of France.
While, he was struggling to regain his lost license, other licensees were busy deploying men and material for the launch of operations. Then, he saw a new window of opportunity, the National Operator License.
This was going to give him the GSM license, which he lost, a fixed and fixed wireless license, a gateway license and an online license. He went for it. Again, he was lucky. He won.
But his competitors had gone miles ahead. He plunged in and has now overtaken most of the early starters. He is currently dictating the pace and the tenor of the game.
How Globacom Got it Right
Globacom is credited for the first major tariff reduction in the country because before it launched a prepaid line was as expensive as N16, 000. Globacom cut that to N1, 999.
The company cut cost by 30-50 per cent, to N15-N20 per minute for frequent callers.
It did not stop there, Globacom is leader in innovation and that is a key to Globacom’s growth.
It is clearly a leader in the Nigerian market with respect to customer orientation.
Its unique marketing plans, product and tariff packages as well as superior service offering combined have made Globacom a world class company.
Many Firsts
First to introduce per-second billing (while other operators claimed it would only be possible by 2007);
•launched Txt2Email, a
service to send text messages from a mobile to any email address, and vice versa;
•offered Multimedia
Messaging Service (MMS);
•launched a mobile e-mail service with the Blackberry solution, thanks to Alcatel’s partnership with RIM;
•Magic Plus, a service to access information, business, sports and entertainment news;
•Glo Direct, which uses a mobile phone as a laptop modem via Globacom’s GPRS coverage;
•Glo Mobile Internet, via WAP and GPRS;
•Glo Fleetmanager, a vehicle tracking solution;
•M-banking, giving subscribers access to their bank accounts from their mobile phones.
The Big Bang
Driven by patriotism and desire to slash the high cost of bandwidth in Nigeria, Globacom is laying a 9,500-kilometre submarine telecommunications cable to connect Africa with Europe and the United States.
The submarine cable project, which is costing about $250m, will run from London to 14 West African countries, with a dedicated link to the United States.
It is expected to reach Ghana this year and shortly after, Nigeria.
The completion of the project will revolutionise telecoms services on the continent, and make them truly affordable to individuals and corporate bodies. It will also enable more services and products to be introduced by Globacom.
Aside developing Glo 1, Africa’s first private submarine fibre optic cable, Globacom is building one of the biggest and best telecommunication network in Africa
Pan African Company
Globacom is rolling out simultaneously across the West African countries from Ghana to Benin Republic; the Nigerian company is building world dream network.
In the build up to its dream of becoming a Pan African operator, Globacom is relying on its technical superiority, and ability to roll out quickly and effectively.
And the Chief Driver
Adenuga, has penchant for building something out of nothing. He is a quintessential businessman.
He is the sterling example of the type of business grit and entrepreneurial skill Africa needs to Cheeta pole vault its economies
A serial optimist, Adenuga, sees business where others do not. He has his hands in every good pie in the country.
Ingenuity is his second name because he started making money very early in life and has never looked back.
Adenuga described by former president of Ghana, John Kufor as a pride to Africa and a beacon of hope to the continent is a philanthropist of note.
Adenuga, 54 years old and a multibillionaire, is son of the late Ma Oyinkansola Adenuga, a wealthy trader.
Though son of a wealthy trader, he started the art of making money as a student in the United States where he took on two jobs — as a taxi driver and security guard — to sustain himself in school.
He is a man with the confidence for getting the proverbial honey out of the rock.
The need for Nigeria to think outside the box in its need to drive towards global relevance with innovations and scientific developments will be on the front burner at the NITRA Innovative & Scientific Conference scheduled to hold on Thursday July 23, 2026 in Ikeja, Lagos.
NITRA
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will lead other delegates to discuss and take far-reaching decisions at the event, which has its theme as “Bridging Nigeria’s Digital Divide With Scientific Innovation”.
Other companies that have indicated interest in partnering with NITRA include mobile communications company, Tecno; Africa’s premier end-to-end AI solutions company, Hyperspace; and telecommunications data infrastructure company, Digital Realty.
Speaking on the proposed event, the Chairman, Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), Chike Onwuegbuchi noted that the event will seek to create a platform for government and private organisations to deliberate on policies around scientific innovations in Nigeria, challenges, place of indigenous and foreign collaboration, roles of each stakeholder, and grassroots development in that regard, among others.
According to him: “The Federal government, with series of programmes and partnerships, has established the urgent need to create an ecosystem that thrives on scientific innovation, breeding institutions and individuals with a target of placing the country at the fore-front of Next-Gen development.
It is a known fact that digital and scientific innovations are crucial, not only to the survivability of a nation, but also to the sustainability of its growth and development, with significant effect on economic strength, global image, defense and security, government capabilities to function, and public health and safety, communication and digital footprint, among others.
The federal government is actively driving scientific innovation to foster economic diversification and build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Efforts are heavily focused on commercializing research, establishing massive research funds, and funding strategic infrastructure, particularly in technology, biotechnology, and healthcare. Core government initiatives and policies include the newly instituted National Research and Innovation Development Fund (NRIDF), which aims to mobilize about $500 million annually to support research and the commercialization of scientific outputs; and the Nigeria Genomic City, a multi-ministerial initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria into a leading hub for genomics, precision medicine, and biotechnology. It is designed to protect indigenous data, stimulate artificial intelligence in health, and develop a highly skilled scientific workforce.
According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, the forum will also be a vehicle to propagating the views of decision makers to the public, thereby furthering the cause of public awareness and information dissemination on the topic.
The focus, he said will be on how Nigeria can sustain digital innovative growth and scientific development in Nigeria
The board of global payments company, PayPal, says a 53 billion dollars takeover offer from financial technology firm, Stripe, and private equity company, Advent International, does not adequately reflect the company’s long-term value.
PayPal
According to reports, the proposed acquisition, valued at 60.50 dollars per share, remains under consideration, with the board yet to formally respond to the offer.
The directors are said to be evaluating not only the financial value of the proposal but also the structure of the financing, the timeline for completing the transaction and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approvals.
They are also considering the possibility of competing bids emerging.
Although the offer represents a premium of about 28 per cent above PayPal’s recent share price, the board believes the company could deliver greater value to shareholders if its ongoing turnaround strategy succeeds.
Following reports of the bid, PayPal shares gained about two per cent to close at 56.73 dollars.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Stripe and Advent have secured approximately 50 billion dollars in debt financing from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, while both firms would jointly contribute 17 billion dollars in equity.
Under the proposal, the two companies would jointly own PayPal instead of dividing its operations.
PayPal, Stripe, Advent International, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have all declined to comment on the proposed transaction.
The discussions come as PayPal seeks to strengthen its business after years of increasing competition from rivals including Apple Pay, Google Pay and emerging financial technology firms.
The company, which was valued at about 360 billion dollars in 2021, now has a market capitalisation of approximately 36 billion dollars.
Since assuming office as Chief Executive Officer in March 2026, Enrique Lores has embarked on a restructuring programme aimed at improving operational efficiency and restoring growth.
The restructuring includes the creation of three business divisions comprising Checkout, Venmo and Consumer Financial Services, and Payments and Crypto.
The company is also targeting 1.5 billion dollars in cost savings through the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.
PayPal’s latest financial results indicated signs of recovery, with first-quarter revenue rising seven per cent year-on-year to 8.35 billion dollars, while total payment volume increased by eight per cent to 464 billion dollars.
If approved, the transaction would combine two of the world’s largest digital payments companies.
The combined business would process an estimated 3.7 trillion dollars in annual payment volume, significantly strengthening its position in the global online payments market.
However, analysts expect the proposed acquisition to face intense regulatory scrutiny because of the companies’ combined market share in merchant payment services.
To address possible antitrust concerns, the bidders have reportedly considered options, including separating PayPal’s Braintree business or other assets if required by regulators.
Sources said Stripe and Advent remain interested in pursuing the acquisition despite the board’s reservations, although negotiations are expected to continue.
Market observers are also awaiting PayPal’s earnings report scheduled for July 28 for further indications of the company’s financial recovery and future growth prospects.
Concerns over network reliability and its impact on Nigeria’s growing creator economy took centre stage at MTN Nigeria’s Data on Trial event, where content creator and streamer, Jarvis, challenged telecommunications operators to improve connectivity for digital creators.
Speaking during the event, Jarvis asked whether there were locations in Nigeria where uninterrupted internet connectivity could support real-life (IRL) streaming without network disruptions.
“Are there places where there is no breakage when streaming IRL?” she asked.
Her question highlighted the challenges faced by content creators who depend on stable internet services for live streaming, content uploads and real-time engagement with audiences.
Responding, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Technical Officer, Mr Yahaya Ibrahim, said network performance depends on several factors, including location, network coverage, device capability and the number of users connected to a particular base station.
He noted that operators continue to invest in expanding network capacity to meet the growing demand for data services.
Earlier, MTN’s General Manager, Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mr Michael Ndukwe, explained the evolution of mobile network technology in Nigeria, from first-generation (1G) services to the current fifth-generation (5G) technology.
According to him, each phase of technological advancement has significantly increased network capacity and enabled new digital services.
Ndukwe cited Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showing that Nigerians consumed about 13.2 million terabytes of data in 2025.
He added that data usage reached approximately 4.06 million terabytes in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the country’s increasing reliance on digital platforms and online services.
According to him, the growth is being driven by wider adoption of 4G and 5G networks, increased smartphone penetration, the proliferation of smart devices and expanding use of social media platforms.
Participants at the event noted that as more Nigerians build businesses and careers around digital content, access to reliable and high-speed internet has become critical to sustaining the country’s digital economy and creator ecosystem.
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