Telecom
Experts Extol Glo Xchange as a Boost to Nigerian Economy
Two of Nigeria’s foremost financial analysts have applauded Nigeria’s biggest Mobile Money Agent Network, Glo Xchange, recently launched by Globacom, the country’s national telecom carrier.
Glo Xchange was launched in partnership with four mobile money operators, FirstMonie, Stanbic IBTC, Ecobank and Zenith Bank.
Bismarck Rewane, renowned financial consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, and Dr. Ayo Teriba, macroeconomics expert and CEO of Economic Associates, who spoke at the formal launch of Glo Xchange in Lagos, described the initiative as a direly needed ingredient for accelerating mobile money explosion in Nigeria.
Rewane said the initiative is consistent with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy thrust of developing and sustaining an efficient payment system that will drive an increase in the velocity of money and consequently, stimulate economic growth.
He described Nigeria as a mineral-rich and commodity-dependent economy with a nominal GDP of $510bn.
According to him, it is 12 times the size of Kenya’s economy which has profited massively from mobile money service.
He said Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and the 26th largest in the world.
Rewane said, however, that the economy is largely cash-based, a situation which he said constitutes a barrier to rapid growth.
He said therefore that, initiatives such as Glo Xchange that help to enhance the cashless policy of the CBN, or that help to improve the velocity of money is bound to have a resounding positive impact on economic growth.
Expatiating further, Rewane said the potential GDP growth rate in Nigeria is 11 percent, whereas the actual GDP growth rate as discerned from the rebasing exercise recently carried out by the Federal Government is six percent.
He said since people don’t live on potential but actuals, it is of utmost importance to implement policies that will help Nigeria to actualize the potential growth rate.
One veritable way of achieving this, he said, is to capture the money lying outside the formal sector.
According to him, over 46 per cent of Nigerian adults currently have no access to financial services.
He said Mobile money is a strong tool for financial inclusion of this huge category of Nigerians, stressing that initiatives such as Glo Xchange, which will help with the acceleration of mobile money service is therefore highly commendable.
He added that Glo Xchange will contribute to the efficiency of Nigeria’s payment systems, lead to more efficient transactions and open a floodgate of opportunities for a lot of stakeholders from the top to the bottom of the mobile money value chain.
Dr. Teriba on his part noted that while Mobile Money service has been in Nigeria for over three years, it has failed to grow as expected because of certain reasons, including lack of an efficient and expansive agent network.
“Usually for such a service as mobile money, the bigger the network, the higher the chances of an explosion, and by extension, the bigger the benefits accruable to all the stakeholders, from the banks down to the customers,” he said.
He added that Glo Xchange, with the nationwide network of agents as unveiled by Globacom, is just the ingredient the industry has been waiting for.
He noted that the potential for growth for the initiative is immense as the platform is open to other banks to plug into.
He implored Nigerians looking for employment opportunities to see the avenues created by the initiative and utilize them for self-enhancement.
Globacom said it aims to recruit over 500,000 Mobile Money Agents within the next 5 to 6 years who will earn excellent commission monthly on sales. The recruitment of the agents has already started.
Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
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