News
Nominees for Beacon of ICT Awards
CDMA OPERATOR OF THE YEAR
ZoomMobile: Leader and Preferred CDMA Operator
ZoomMobile is leader and most preferred wireless service provider in Nigeria.
Having distinguished itself through customer satisfaction, better quality service and strong brand image, ZoomMobile is the pride of telecommunications industry.
ZoomMobile, incorporated on August 25, 1998, as Reliance Telecommunications Limited (Reltel Wireless) hinges its operations on "PIICO", core values which translates to professionalism, integrity, innovation, commitment and one family.
With world class products and services, ZoomMobile is providing solutions to the challenges faced by his/her subscriber anytime, anyday and anywhere ensuring the subscriber uses its’ products & services always with a pleasing experience.
ZoomMobile’s financial performance and solid corporate governance are some qualities that make it a standout amongst their peers.
It is one of the companies enhancing their technologies and taking the telecom industry to a much higher growth state.
Vote, ZoomMobile: “ZoomMobile: CDMA Operator of the Year” by sending email to [email protected]
Starcomms: Simplifying Lifestyle with Outstanding Offerings
Starcomms, Nigeria’s leading telecommunications operator and leading "triple-play" (mobile, fixed wireless voice, wireless broadband) provider.
It is the first telecommunications operator in Nigeria to be listed on the domestic Exchange and also was the first company in Africa to launch EV-DO high-speed broadband services in June 2006.
The company is proud to be Nigeria’s largest CDMA 3G Mobile Network, a clear leader in the introduction of innovative products and services to the Nigerian market, continuously enhancing and simplifying the lifestyle of its customers.
Starcomms has a long standing history with CDMA and is on record as the first in Africa to implement CDMA ONE using the IS-95A in 1998, and in 2002 Starcomms expanded its platform and network to provide fully functional fax & data at 14.4 kbs – a first for Nigeria.
In recognition of its role, Starcomms has received various telecommunication awards for excellence based on its outstanding market performance, that is optimal network capacity, world class customer service and innovative & overall quality of service in Nigeria.
Vote, Starcomms: “Starcomms: CDMA Operator of the Year” by sending email to [email protected]
Multi-Links: Setting the Pace for Others
Multi-Links is one of the major players in the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) space of the country’s telecommunications industry. Since its wholesome acquisition by Telkom of South Africa, there have been tremendous changes in the operations of the company ranging of expanded network rollout plan that saw Multi-links Telkom rolling out services in different cities of the country, as against what it used to be associated with as South West operator.
Multi-Links Telkom has remained the only CDMA operator with an optic fibre link from Lagos to Abuja linking all South West cities to the network. The optic fibre link has made it possible for Multi-Links Telkom to provide its subscribers with high quality voice calls as well as data services.
Among services offered by the operator includes 1x data service, EVDO Router, and Blue 3Gbroadband which offers its subscribers an incredible web browsing experience designed to achieve more no matter who you are or for whatever purpose you are using the internet.
The Blue broadband is powered by the Rev. A EVDO Technology is a personal wireless service designed for a wide range of customers from business people to students.
Vote, Multi-Links Telkom: “Multi-Links Telkom: CDMA Operator of the Year” by sending email to [email protected]
Visafone: Most Preferred CDMA Operator
Visafone is the youngest CDMA operator in name but the biggest in terms of number of subscribers on its network. Visafone came as a result of acquisition of CellCom, Bourdex telecom, and Independent Telephone Network (ITN) by Jim Ovia, managing director of Zenith Bank Plc.
Since its coming on board to CDMA space, Visafone has rewritten stories in the sector by becoming the first telecom operator to hit one million subscriber mark within six months of its rollout of service. Perhaps it is Visafone’s very clear calls, fast internet connection, variety of handsets, wide reliable network coverage and lowest international call rates that have endeared it to Nigerians.
According to recent NCC reports, Visafone leads the CDMA sub-sector with 3 million subscribers; Starcomms follows with over 2.3 million while Multilinks has 2 million subscribers. Visafone has been declared the largest CDMA operator and the 4th largest mobile telephone operator in Nigeria by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Visafone, an indigenous company won the license for operations in August 2007 and rolled out its network in February 2008.
Vote, Visafone: “Visafone CDMA Operator of the Year” by sending email to [email protected]
CSR COMPANY OF THE YEAR
MTN: Offering Quality Communication and Life
Since launch in August 2001, MTN Nigeria has steadily deployed its services across the country, earning on the way a reputation as the most reliable and subscriber centric operator.
MTN Nigeria is also widely known for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative aimed at reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development in Nigeria.
To institutionalize the initiative, it established in July 2004 the MTN Foundation.
Today, the Foundation is the vehicle through which MTN Nigeria implements its Corporate Social Investment initiatives.
The focus of the Foundation is to give back to society and impact the quality of lives in the communities where they operate in a meaningful and sustainable fashion.
The MTN Foundation partners with both public and credible private organisations to execute sustainable projects in each of the chosen focus areas.
The Foundation empowers Nigerians, not only by facilitating effective communications, but by ensuring that communities and ordinary Nigerians will have access to better education, good health and be economically empowered
Vote MTN, “MTN: CSR Company of the Year” by sending a mail to [email protected]
Globacom: People Oriented Company
The company strives to identify with social responsibility needs in all the markets in which it operates.
Although, its focus at the moment includes job creation and youth empowerment, it is in the area of sports development that it has distinguished itself.
Globacom is fast emerging as the biggest supporter of sports in Africa, with huge investments in football development and athletics.
For Globacom, CSR is a voluntary approach that it takes to meet or exceed stakeholder expectations by integrating social, ethical, and environmental concerns together with the usual measures of revenue, profit, and legal obligation.
Working with some of the best brains in this part of the world, Globacom’s CSR is focused on building understanding of incentives and pressure points, and on improving strategic interactions.
Vote Globacom, “Globacom: CSR Company of the Year” by sending a mail to [email protected]
Zain Nigeria: A Social Responsible Company
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has formed an integral part Zain Nigeria’s business.
This is out of the realization that operator need to give back to the society where it is operating and which is supporting them through the use of their services.
In this regard, the operator has executed projects as well as support communities in areas that are improving their life.
Notable among such efforts are commissioning of several projects worth $1,000,000.00 (one million USD) in University of Ibadan as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility programmes and its brand philosophy of empowering Nigerians to enjoy a wonderful world.
The commissioned projects included a Solar Energy Centre, renovation of Mellanby Hall and construction of a Basketball Court in the Hall, and construction of Car Parks, convenience and offices on Oduduwa Road, all designed to help improve the lives and health of the University community.
Zain Nigeria has donated food and other household materials to 38 charity homes across the country in its bid to bring some succor to the less privileged during the yuletide season.
The charity homes, which are mainly orphanages, were drawn from the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Alain Sainte-Marie, chief executive officer of Zain Nigeria, said, the philosophy of a wonderful world, which is espouse in Zain, is borne out of the desire to continuously improve the quality of life of people and make the world a better place to live. “This is not realizable, if we do not spare a thought for our less privileged brothers and sisters, especially at this time of the year-and that is what we have done with these donations,” he said.
He explained that Zain Nigeria operates a “No Gift” policy, which means that rather than give gifts to already well-off business associates, the company donates the value in kind to the less privileged. By the same token, these associates are encouraged not to give gifts to Zain employees, but instead donate the value to charities nearest to them, on behalf of Zain.
Vote Zain, “Zain: CSR Company of the Year” by sending a mail to [email protected]
CUSTOMER CARE COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Globacom: Putting Premium on Each Subscriber
Globacom values each and every customer.
As the saying in Glo “You are more than just a number to us at Glo; you are our most valuable asset. This is the reason we invest such a lot of time and resource into our customer care department”
Glo gives subscribers guaranteed satisfaction, reliability, and fast action with its round the clock customer care support.
The company also recently launched its new Self care service which enables subscribers access information about the network’s services via the telephone is now available in local languages, in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba languages.
The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service, the first such offer in the market, gives subscribers the opportunity of learning about the company and its activities without going to the website or calling the Glo Call Centre on 121 or 200 to speak with a customer care representative.
Through the offer, customers can dial in and listen to basic static information on Glo products and services including its rich bouquet of value added services, promotional offers, SIM replacement and special numbers, among other things.
Globacom’s Customer Care Department compares with the best in the world. It is equipped with the latest technology and is manned by well trained and highly motivated staff.
Vote Globacom, “Globacom: Effective Customer Care Operator of the Year” by sending email to [email protected]
Zain: Where the Customer is King
Zain Nigeria revolutionized customer service delivery in the country with massive investment in cutting edge technologies which enable it provide up-to-the-minute solutions to its customers.
At Zain, the customer is king. The company strives to cater for customer’ needs by providing superior customer care experience.
This is the company’s focus and the core business. It is not just a technology company, the company is out to serve Nigerians.
Zain’s passion for customer service since its inception in 2001 has enabled the company to dominate the customer care category in industry awards.
From every angle, Zain has long standing good customer service and is happy about it.
Vote Zain, “Zain: Effective Customer Care Operator of the Year” by sending email to [email protected]
Multi-Links Telkom: Model Customer Care
Multi-Links Telkom, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator, is a model telecom operator with one of the world class customer care.
Its flagship customer centre is a manifestation of the Telkom corporate identity detailing its logo type, corporate brand name, corporate culture projection in its interior and exterior looks and feel, visual languages and service delivery.
The total brand transformation is a product of intense analysis of brand equity and brand promise as well as the customers’ expectations.
Multi-Links Telekom customer care is an expression of the inner energy designed to make the customer well catered for.
As a foremost operator in the liberalized telecommunications market, its customer service delivery stands as the model customer care centre that further reinforces the leadership role of Multi-Links Telkom in that area.
Vote Multi-Links Telkom, “Multi-Links Telkom: Effective Customer Care Operator of the Year” by sending email to [email protected]
MTN: Moving Customer Care to the Next Level
The consumers of telecom products and services have many desires expected to be met. He wants services available at all times and at every place. The consumer wants the services to be of a good quality and affordable. The consumer wants the operator to respond at all times when he or she needs attention, and to provide explanations whenever anything goes wrong on the network.
All these are the objectives of Zain Nigeria customer care policy has set out to achieve. MTN has provided its subscribers with unmatched customer care service experience which has earned it several awards.
Customer satisfaction has been the bedrock of Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Nigeria customer care policy. This is responsible for the company’s revolutionary approach to customer care. MTN is the first Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) operator to introduce Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system at its call centres.
MTN believes that the best customer care service delivery is to provide subscribers with quality service which in turn will reduce the intensity of subscribers complaints, by so doing that the leading GSM operators recently upgraded its system through the implementation of a robust Internet Protocol based technology which has given the company capability to process over 500 million calls per annum. It noted that the upgrade has given the network enough capacity to process both voice and data services for the satisfaction of its subscribers.
Vote MTN, “MTN: Effective Customer Care Operator of the Year” by sending email to [email protected]
News
EFInA Unveils Research Fellowship Programme to Deepen Financial Inclusion Impact

Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA) has selected three fellows for its inaugural EFInA Research Fellowship Programme, an eight-month initiative aimed at strengthening evidence on how financial inclusion policies, products, and services translate into real improvements in people’s lives and livelihoods.

The Fellowship marks a strategic shift in Nigeria’s financial inclusion agenda—from a longstanding focus on access and uptake to a deeper examination of impact and outcomes, including financial health, household resilience, livelihood sustainability, and women’s economic empowerment.
While Nigeria has recorded steady gains in expanding access to formal financial services, EFInA said questions remain about whether this access is delivering tangible benefits for households, small businesses, and underserved populations.
Launched under the theme “Evaluating the Impact of Financial Services on the Lives and Livelihoods of Nigerians,” the programme is designed to support applied, policy-relevant research examining how financial services function in practice across formal, informal, and digital channels, and the conditions under which they generate meaningful economic and social outcomes.
Speaking at the launch, Foyinsolami Akinjayeju, EFInA’s chief executive officer, said Nigeria’s financial inclusion journey has reached a critical inflection point.
“Financial inclusion must deliver real outcomes—better financial health, resilience, livelihoods, and women’s economic empowerment—not just access,” she said. “The EFInA Research Fellowship will generate rigorous, Nigeria-specific evidence on what truly works, what needs to change, and what can be expanded to deliver outcomes at scale.”
She added that the programme is deliberately structured to bridge the persistent gap between research and decision-making in the financial sector.
“By examining how policies, programmes, and financial products work in practice, the fellowship will produce insights that directly inform better policy choices and product design,” Akinjayeju said.
Each Fellow will receive a N4 million research grant to support fieldwork, travel, and research tools, alongside structured monthly mentorship from senior researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals. Fellows will also gain access to EFInA’s data assets, including its Access to Finance (A2F) survey reports, one of Nigeria’s most comprehensive demand-side datasets on financial inclusion.
Beyond funding, the programme places strong emphasis on research quality, relevance, and uptake. Fellows will participate in monthly capacity-building workshops covering research design, impact evaluation, gender-responsive analysis, and policy engagement. These sessions will be delivered in collaboration with institutions including Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), J-PAL, Lagos Business School, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and international development partners.
According to Oluwatomi Eromosele, EFInA’s research lead, the fellowship responds to a long-standing evidence gap in Nigeria’s financial inclusion ecosystem.
“Access alone is no longer sufficient,” she said. “The critical question is whether financial inclusion is translating into better financial health, greater resilience to shocks, improved livelihoods, and meaningful economic opportunities for women and underserved groups.”
She noted that EFInA is prioritising research that is both credible and usable. “We are investing in rigorous, Nigeria-specific evidence and translating findings into practical, decision-oriented outputs that directly inform policy, regulation, and product design,” Eromosele said.
The Fellows will explore research questions across priority themes, including financial health and household resilience amid economic and climate shocks; the role of financial tools in supporting MSME growth and informal livelihoods; women’s economic empowerment through digital and group-based savings mechanisms; and trust, service experience, and satisfaction across financial channels.
The 2025 EFInA Research Fellows are Sarah Edewor, an agricultural economist and development researcher; Abdulmumin Usman, a policy and political economy researcher; and Abdullahi Ibrahim, a measurement, evaluation, research, and learning practitioner.
A core objective of the Fellowship is to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on financial inclusion evidence drawn from other developing contexts such as India and Bangladesh, which EFInA says do not fully reflect Nigeria’s institutional, cultural, and market realities. By generating locally grounded evidence, the organisation aims to equip policymakers, regulators, financial service providers, and development partners with insights tailored to Nigeria’s context.
Fellows will present interim findings during the programme and showcase their final research outputs at EFInA’s Annual Research Symposium in May 2026. Final outputs will include peer-reviewed research papers, policy briefs, and practitioner-focused knowledge products disseminated to key stakeholders.
The EFInA Research Fellowship aligns with Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2024–2027, which places renewed emphasis on trust, innovation, consumer outcomes, and inclusive growth, and reflects EFInA’s broader mandate to strengthen evidence and support decision-making across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
News
Trump Says He Made no Mistake Sharing Video Depicting Obamas as Apes

United States President Donald Trump has said he made no mistake for a video briefly shared on his official Truth Social account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.

Former President Barack Obama
Speaking late Friday to reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One, Trump insisted he made no mistake by sharing the video and does not need to apologise.
“I didn’t make a mistake,” he said.
Trump explained that he did not watch the entire clip before it was posted.
“I didn’t see the whole thing. I looked at the first part, and it was really about voter fraud in the machines, how crooked it is, how disgusting it is.
“Then I gave it to the people. Generally, they look at the whole thing. But I guess somebody didn’t,” he said.
When asked directly whether he condemned the video’s content, Trump replied, “Of course I do.”
The video, which was posted late Thursday, pushed a conspiracy theory about voting machines used during the 2020 election and included a racist depiction of the Obamas.
It remained on Trump’s Truth Social account for about 12 hours before being deleted on Friday morning, following widespread bipartisan calls for its removal.
The White House initially defended the post in an emailed statement to reporters on Friday morning by Karoline Leavitt, Press Secretary,.
She said, “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from The Lion King.”
Leavitt added, “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
Hours after the statement was issued, the video was removed from Trump’s official Truth Social account.
News
Orya, Ex-NEXIM MD Jailed 490 Years for N2.4Bn Fraud

Robert Orya, former managing director, Nigerian Export-Import Bank, (NEXIM), has been sentenced to a cumulative 490 years’ imprisonment over a N2.4 billion fraud, following his conviction by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.

The conviction was secured by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Justice F. E. Messiri sentenced Orya to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the 49 counts brought against him, with the sentences running cumulatively.
Orya, who headed NEXIM Bank between 2011 and 2016, was prosecuted by Samuel Ugwuegbulam, EFCC counsel.
The anti-graft agency accused him of fraudulently diverting funds belonging to the bank—charges the court held were proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Delivering judgment, Justice Messiri ruled that the prosecution successfully established its case, finding the former bank chief guilty on all 49 counts of fraud.
The conviction has been widely linked to the renewed momentum within the EFCC under Mr. Ola Olukoyede, its Chairman, whose leadership has seen a reinvigoration of the agency’s resolve to pursue high-profile corruption cases to their logical conclusion.
Since assuming office, Olukoyede has repeatedly vowed that no individual, regardless of status or past influence, would be shielded from accountability.
Under his stewardship, the EFCC has intensified the prosecution of complex financial crimes, particularly cases involving public institutions and large-scale diversion of funds.
Observers say the sentencing of a former chief executive of a government-owned bank underscores the EFCC’s determination to restore public confidence in the anti-corruption fight and sends a strong signal that financial misconduct will attract severe consequences.
The judgment is regarded as one of the most significant convictions secured against a former banking chief in recent years, reinforcing the agency’s resolve to clamp down on economic crimes within Nigeria’s financial sector.
During his tenure at NEXIM Bank, Orya was initially credited with efforts to reposition the institution to support non-oil exports and improve its financial standing after earlier setbacks.
However, his administration later became enmeshed in controversies, including allegations of loan disbursement irregularities and procedural abuses.
The case, which culminated in Thursday’s judgment, centred on findings that Orya diverted public funds estimated at N2.4 billion—offences that ultimately led to his conviction and lengthy prison sentence.
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