E-Business
Smile Harps on Professionalism, Partners 10 Bloggers
Smile Communications Nigeria Limited, the 4G LTE broadband provider renowned for superfast and reliable Internet service, has identified professionalism, passion and content creation as critical in enhancing capacity of bloggers in the West African region.
Mrs. Alero Ladipo, chief marketing officer, Smile Communications Nigeria Limited, made the remark during a presentation titled, ‘How to Promote Your Blog’, at West Africa Blogger Conference (WABC) 2015, held in Lagos at the weekend.
Ladipo said that in as much as bloggers must ensure explicit, informative and clearly defined content delivered with passion and fun, they should not relent in professionalizing in order to attract right businesses to monetize the enterprise.
Essentially, she listed qualities that distinguish bloggers from others to including sticking to their already created niches built on professionalism, unique, responding quickly to trends, invest on the content design, while building loyal audience, relationships and reaching out to experts.
The Company is already preparing grounds to partner with ten (10) bloggers to support them in lifting the platforms to greater heights.
The Smile Communications CMO said, “People think that blogging is habit that anybody can just pick up and start practicing it. However, as we get more people entrenched in consistent growth, it becomes important we make it professional. Essentially, readers visit bloggers for a particular reason. By implication, a blog is not a dumping ground. Stick to the core reason you started the blog and adhere to your principles.
“There is a philosophy that you stick to certain principles even when many people are deviating; it is the same thing with blogs. When you maintain the professional competencies, people will come to partner with you. For instance, on the course of my presentation I randomly asked participants ‘sell me your blog’, which is simply to market the platform, but people fell-flat on their faces. It is important you know what your blog is all about and can sell it. Present it appropriately”.
Ladipo added that for bloggers to attain their expected heights, “they should improve on the marketing and how to communicate. A lot of people do not know how to use the available tools. For instance, everybody talks about social media, but nobody talks about how they can grasp onto the social media.
“People need to understand about target audience, segmentations, and how to retain people’s interest that they continue to visit your blog; keeping people interested and understand that you are one amongst many.
“That’s the strength you need to have; the tools of marketing and communication and it does not require long sessions of learning. It can be an hour session of going through the principles of marketing and communication at a 101 (introductory) level, because you are not trying to go deeper on the subject, but how to use the tools. Truly, content is king, but you needed to be smart about it. That is where marketing and communication aspect comes in”.
Meanwhile, the CMO speaking on why Smile Communications chose to support the conference, said, “We chose to support the Conference due to the link between our service offering and what the bloggers do. During my presentation, I asked how many people had internet connection in order to monitor what is happening now or what has happened in the last hour that could inspire your writing. How are they going to know if not with internet connectivity”.
According to her, internet connectivity is a utility that soon will be in the range of demands like water supply, electricity, etc. I will take it further to say blogging, internet provision and lifestyle are all connected. So, we partnered with the organizers as a way of bridging the gap between life style and communication”.
On the drive to partner with some bloggers, Ladipo said, “the organizers will help in screening ten bloggers that Smile Communications will partner with from our perspective”.
Earlier, Mr. Ayodele Oyebade, managing director, Advert Strikers Limited, and convener of the Conference, thanked Smile Communications magnanimity in supporting the conference where a new chain of professional bloggers will emerge.
Speaking specifically on the motivation behind the conference, he said, “We help bloggers to monetize their contents. We realized that majority of the exiting bloggers in the region need to learn a lot. Some of our clients in Nigeria, Asia, even Israel do complain that they are not getting the kind of mirage they expect.
“Meanwhile, premium bloggers in the category of Linda Ikeji, Bellanaija, etc, they have fixed rates. Clients know them and so talk to them directly. But we want every blogger to rise to the expectations. We want to say, regardless of the niche, you are an authority in your area, we want you to understand what the brands are looking for and you can relate with the audience.
“It goes beyond writing good articles, writing for fun, getting little AdSense and/or doing copy and paste from premium blogs. We are trying to expose the bloggers to the nitty-gritty of the profession. That’s why we partnered some corporate bodies like Smile Communications, Jumia, Google, MTN, etc. They have done very well in supporting this conference.
“In blogging you need to understand the dynamics and the ecosystem of how the platforms operate. For instance, you are writing about automobile. You have to be sure on what the audience want; you need to know the psychology, the general spare that will affect monetization and audience engagement.
“Smile Communications has informed us of their decision to partner with bloggers. I am particularly happy with Smile Communications because they are going to show them how to make money with their blogs with their content. Jumia is doing similar thing with it affiliate platform”.
Oyebade urged the participants to utilize the opportunity created at the conference to reach out to influencers and engage on self-assessment questions, adding that the future of bloggers have become even brighter in the present technology driven age.
Smile Communications Nigeria Limited is justly famous for its transformative objective of using the best and most innovative technologies to provide its customers with high quality, easy to use and affordable communication services. Smile’s vision and mission, remains the quest to be the broadband provider of choice in Nigeria and to enable its customers to fully benefit from the Internet world.
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.”
Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.
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.
Okitipi Samuel, a Nigerian man, has been taken into custody by the Nigeria Police Force for his alleged role in a global cyberattack on Microsoft 365 users.
Benjamin Hundeyin, Force public relations officer, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the outcome of investigations carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre of the Nigeria Police Force.
Hundeyin said the centre, under the leadership of Ifeanyi Uche, its director and Commissioner of Police, commenced investigations in collaboration with Microsoft, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency.
According to him, investigations revealed that a phishing toolkit known as “Raccoon 0365” was used to create fake Microsoft login portals to harvest user credentials and unlawfully access email accounts belonging to corporate organisations, financial institutions, and educational institutions in several countries.
“This investigation commenced following credible intelligence received from Microsoft USA through the FBI, indicating that a malicious phishing toolkit known as Raccoon0365 was being used to create fake Microsoft login portals, harvest user credentials, and unlawfully access the email accounts of corporate organisations, financial institutions, and educational establishments,” Hundeyin said.
He added that between January and September 2025, several reports of unauthorised access to Microsoft 365 accounts were traced to phishing emails designed to mimic legitimate Microsoft login pages, enabling business email compromise, internal phishing, data breaches, and other cyber-enabled fraud.
Hundeyin said digital forensic analysis and cryptocurrency tracing identified wallets connected to the illegal operation.
He noted that operatives were deployed to Lagos and Edo states, leading to the arrest of three suspects identified as Joshua, James, and Okitipi Samuel between September 20 and October 4, 2025.
“Following extensive digital forensic and technical intelligence analysis, the centre conducted cryptocurrency tracing that identified suspicious wallets connected to cash-out schemes.
“Acting on actionable intelligence, operational teams were deployed to Lagos and Edo states, resulting in the arrest of Joshua, James, and Okitipi Samuel. Searches at their residences led to the recovery of mobile devices, laptops, and other digital exhibits linked to the fraudulent scheme,” he said.
Hundeyin identified Okitipi Samuel, also known as “0365” and Moses Felix as the principal suspect and developer of the phishing infrastructure.
He added that investigations confirmed Samuel unlawfully used the email details of one of the arrested individuals without consent to register some of the accounts used in the operation.
The police spokesperson said further investigations revealed that the identities of Joshua and James were used without their consent.
“There was no evidence linking them to the creation or operation of the phishing scheme. They were victims of identity theft,” Hundeyin said.
He said a prima facie case had been established against Samuel for identity theft, unlawful access to computer systems, creation and distribution of malicious software, unauthorised interference with network data, and aiding and abetting fraud.
Hundeyin added that the suspect would be charged under relevant provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024.
He said the suspect would be prosecuted in Nigeria, noting that the country has the capacity to enforce its cybercrime laws, although extradition could be considered if formally requested through due process.
Hundeyin assured Nigerians that the police, under the leadership of Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of Police, would continue to protect the country’s digital ecosystem and urged citizens to practise good cyber hygiene by being cautious when clicking links and sharing personal information online.
Speaking separately, Ifeanyi Uche, director of the National Cybercrime Centre, urged Nigerians to exercise caution online.
Uche advised members of the public to avoid clicking on links from unknown or unexpected sources, noting that such links often contain malware or phishing tools designed to compromise devices and personal data.
He warned that indiscriminate clicking of links or responding to unsolicited emails could lead to unauthorised access to personal and corporate accounts, urging citizens to “wash their cyber hands” by verifying sources before taking action online.
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