E-Business
Nigeria Sets Regulatory Working Committee to Deepen Africa Digital Market Penetration
The Federal Government through the Ministry of Trade and Investment has set up a regulatory committee to deepen digital market penetration and boost exportation of African products.
The committee was set up at the AfCFTA Digital Trade Market Access Roundtable organised by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, hosting regulatory stakeholders from Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa.
Jumoke Oduwole, minister for Industry, Trade and Investment speaking at the event said, “The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is committed to support your expansion into African markets. To do this, we will actively steer the regulators’ working group established yesterday. This group will continue the momentum of regulatory cooperation beyond this event, creating a working channel for addressing challenges and advancing solutions.
“Also, we will explore opportunities for the passing of licenses. The goal is to create mechanisms where regulatory approvals in one jurisdiction can facilitate or expedite approvals in others, reducing barriers for firms operating across multiple markets,” Jumoke said.
The minister lamented poor exportation of Africa’s digitally delivered services globally despite the talents and resources, urging the continent to collaborate to achieve desired results leveraging enormous potentials that the Digital Trade Protocol holds.
“For digital services, the AfCFTA opportunity is particularly compelling. Africa currently accounts for less than 10 per cent in digitally delivered services exports globally. But we have the talent, the demand, innovative experience, and now the regulatory framework to dramatically transform our levels of digital trade.”
The minister added that, “Currently, only 5 percent of Africa’s digitally delivered services are traded within the continent. This represents an extraordinary untapped opportunity for intra-African digital trade and overarching digital transformation.
“The time to act is now. Nigeria has been designated as the African Union co-Champion of the AfCFTA Protocol on Digital Trade. This is both an honour and a responsibility. To demonstrate our resolve, we commenced regulatory alignment and harmonization of standards with our regional commitments with a Digital Economy and E-Governance bill currently before the National Assembly. As co-Champion, we are committed to demonstrating practical leadership.”
Jumoke said the programme is designed to gain a clear understanding of market entry rules and processes across the countries as they present regulatory categories, licensing requirements, and market entry processes and also have direct access to regulators through our clinic sessions this afternoon.
She tasked Nigeria’s digital service providers for compliance with domestic regulatory requirements at home in order to get the backup from the government at international stage.
“As the government creates these enabling structures, we also have clear expectations of Nigerian digital services providers. First, compliance at home is a prerequisite for support abroad. The Corporate Affairs Commission, Nigerian Copyright Commission, Nigerian Communications Commission, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Central Bank of Nigeria are all represented here today to provide consultations.
“The government cannot vouch for your credibility in foreign markets without confidence that you have fully satisfied domestic regulatory requirements. Use today’s clinic sessions to ensure you are in good standing. Second, reflect clearly and strategically on your ambitions to invest across Africa.”
The minister promised that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment will continue to support the efforts of digital services providers through targeted initiatives which will be announced before the end of the year.
Calvin Phume, director, African Bilateral Economic Relations, Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa described the collaboration as a transformational agenda crucial to harness untapped potentials in Africa’s digital market.
“This is a transformational agenda. We are trying to make sure that we take these opportunities that are derived by AFCTA. Under the digital trade Protocol, it gives us access as South Africans to collaborate with other Africans in terms of ICT and other digital services,” Phume said.
The director added that South Africa will target key areas of collaboration including ICloud, AI innovation, among other.
Elhanan Asara, deputy director, Fintech and Innovation, Bank of Ghana emphasised the importance of the collaboration describing it as an avenue to find solution to export barriers and boost market penetration across Africa.
“There is a deficit. There is a lot of I.T import to the country really formed by Europe and the western world in general compared to Ghana exporting IT services. This is also an opportunity to see if this is utilised in Africa instead of going to the western world.”
Over the past four years, gold has risen by more than 400%. The precious metal has long been one of the most traded assets in global financial markets. From its role as a traditional store of value to its sensitivity to inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical uncertainty, gold continues to attract traders seeking efficient and predictable trading opportunities during a period of global uncertainty and high volatility.
JustMarkets
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Cost efficiency is a critical factor in gold trading, especially for active day traders. JustMarkets offers extremely competitive XAU/USD spreads, allowing traders to open and close positions with reduced transaction costs. Lower spreads can significantly impact short-term strategies, where precision and timing are key to effectively entering a trade. By minimizing trading costs, JustMarkets helps traders focus more on market analysis and finding the ideal entry point, and less on overhead.
Fast and Reliable Execution
Gold is recognized for its volatility, especially during the day, especially with economic announcements or geopolitical events. Speed is of the essence in volatile markets. JustMarkets provides high-speed execution of orders, which helps minimize the risks of delays, especially during periods of high volatility. This ensures that traders are able to respond better to market conditions, thereby having better control over trade management.
Flexible Trading Conditions
Each trader has their own approach to gold, ranging from intraday trading to position trading. JustMarkets offers flexible leverage and account types, enabling traders to adjust their exposure based on their risk tolerance and trading style. This flexibility is suitable for both conservative and aggressive traders while still allowing them to access the same global gold market.
Advanced Platforms and Tools
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Education and Market Support
Gold is also affected by factors such as inflation rates, central bank policies, and currency fluctuations. Understanding these factors is important for developing a structured trading strategy.
JustMarkets offers resources for traders, which provide information on how global events can impact the price of gold like case studies, daily, bank and weekly analysis. This is a knowledge-based system, which enables the trader to make more informed decisions rather than relying on the price movements of gold.
Trading Activities That Keep Gold Traders Engaged
In addition to the competitive trading environment, JustMarkets also runs various special activities and campaigns that aim to make the trading experience more interesting. At certain intervals, the special activities may include trading contests on specific trading instruments, such as gold, which are highly sought after by traders. This will give the traders an added impetus to keep trading.
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A Trading Environment Built for Gold Traders
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Microsoft is stepping up its push to expand artificial-intelligence adoption across Africa as competition intensifies with Chinas DeepSeek for influence in one of the worlds youngest and fastest-growing digital markets.
The company plans to train 3 million Africans on its AI technologies this year through partnerships with schools, universities and other institutions, with a focus on South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Morocco.
The effort reflects Microsofts broader attempt to accelerate adoption of its AI ecosystem across emerging markets where developers and enterprises are increasingly experimenting with generative AI tools.
Alongside the training initiative, Microsoft is working with MTN Group (MTNOY), Africas largest telecommunications company, to distribute Microsoft 365 and its Copilot digital assistant to about 300 million subscribers.
The Elevate program is designed to expand AI literacy and reduce cost barriers that might otherwise limit adoption, according to regional leadership.
The push comes as Chinese technology firms expand their footprint across the continent, with DeepSeeks open-source models accounting for roughly 11% to 14% of chatbot use in several African markets and reaching about 20% in countries such as Ethiopia and Zimbabwe following investments tied to digital infrastructure and telecom networks.
Microsoft is also increasing its infrastructure investment in the region.
In South Africa, the company plans to invest 5.4 billion rand, or about $330 million, to expand its cloud and AI capacity by the end of next year, while it is also exploring plans for a geothermal-powered data center in Kenya.
Early corporate adoption is emerging across the continent, with South African grocer Spar Group using Copilot in ways that save more than 700 employee hours annually and Nigerias Access Holdings integrating AI into daily workflows.
Regional leadership has suggested broader AI adoption could potentially contribute up to $1.5 trillion to Africas gross domestic product by 2030 if governments and businesses continue investing in digital infrastructure and AI skills.
Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) has uncovered a new Android malware campaign in which cybercriminals distributed the BeatBanker Trojan under the guise of the Starlink application for Android.
Threat actors primarily target users from Brazil; nevertheless, Kaspersky experts don’t rule out that users from other countries may also face this threat.
The Trojan employs a Monero cryptocurrency miner and additionally installs a BTMOB remote administration tool (RAT) on the infected devices. To maintain its persistence, BeatBanker uses an uncommon mechanism involving a nearly inaudible looped audio file.
“At first we saw BeatBanker being distributed under the guise of a public services app; it installed a banking Trojan in addition to a cryptocurrency miner. However, our recent detection efforts uncovered a new campaign with another BeatBanker variant that deploys the BTMOB RAT instead of the banker module.
The attackers appear to be using a fresh lure with the Starlink app to reach more victims from different countries. Therefore, it is important for users to stay vigilant and use advanced solutions to protect their smartphones,” comments Fabio Assolini, Head of the Americas & Europe units at Kaspersky GReAT.
Initial vector of infection
Kaspersky experts believe that cybercriminals distribute a fake Starlink application containing the BeatBanker Trojan through phishing pages that mimic the Google Play Store. After execution on a compromised device, the Trojan displays a user interface that also mimics Google Play. Cybercriminals trick victims into granting installation permissions, thus allowing the download of additional hidden malicious payloads.
Crypto mining and BTMOB RAT module
When a user clicks UPDATE on the fake Google Play page, a Monero cryptocurrency miner deploys. BeatBanker monitors battery percentage and the temperature of an infected smartphone, as well as user activity after which a hidden cryptocurrency miner is started or stopped.
The Android Trojan also installs a BTMOB RAT on the compromised device. BTMOB enables full remote control and is sold as Malware-as-a-Service.
It is capable of automatic granting of permissions, hide system notifications and has mechanisms designed to capture screen lock credentials, including PINs, patterns and passwords on compromised devices. The malware also gives cybercriminals access to the front and rear cameras, GPS location monitoring and constant collection of sensitive data.
To ensure persistence and hinder uninstallation, BeatBanker maintains a fixed notification in the foreground and activates a foreground service with silent media playback. This tactic is designed to prevent the operating system from removing the malicious process.
Kaspersky’s products detect this threat as HEUR:Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.BeatBanker and HEUR:Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.Banker.*.
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