Connect with us

E-Business

ISPON Seeks Policy to Grow Local Content

Published

on

L-r) Pius Okigbo. Jr. president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Vincent Olatunji, Ag. Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Chris Uwaje, Immediate past president, ISPON at the 7th President Dinner of ISPON, held in Lagos on the weekend.
Kindly share this post

Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) has urged government to support local content in the sector through deliberate policy that will ensure patronage and growth.

Pius Okigbo, Jr. president, ISPON, stated this at the 7th edition of ISPON President’s dinner held over the weekend.

“We believe fervently that our industry represents a sector of immense opportunity – one of massive employment potential, an industry endowed with creativity and technological innovation, wealth creation, talent development and much more. This is a sector where all you need to get started is a bright idea, a laptop, the requisite development tools and the comfort zone of your mother’s bedroom.

“There is a new mantra currently headlining, ‘Made in Nigeria’ for this mantra to hold true, we must set aside our cultural inhibitions and disdain for things that are made locally. We must imbibe a new ethos for local content, we must believe in ourselves and in our own abilities. If our software business is not engaged, the industry will not grow. It cannot employ and it cannot create wealth. What we need is deliberate policy.

“It is worthy of note that a Nigerian software firm cannot setup shop in India, china, Malaysia or even England, bid for a job and win it! Yet the reverse is true in Nigeria, firms from some of these countries brag about their prowess and exhibit their utter disdain for local firms. This we must stop,” he said.

Veronica Owolabi, vice president, Nigeria Computer Society, urged government at different levels to assist in ensuring that local software is used by organisations and government agencies.

“Software developed by Nigerians can compete farvourably with foreign software,” she stated
.
Mr. Folashodun Shonubi, managing director, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), who delivered the keynote highlighted the challenges facing local software which includes certification. He said that certification has to be instituted in the industry to guarantee software quality so as to avoid disappointment.

Shonubi who was represented by Niyi Ajao, executive director, Technology and Operation, NIBSS, added that indigenous software must be given the right publicity as well as right pricing if they are to grow and become established.

 
 

 

 


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

E-Business

Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.

GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.

In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.

Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).

GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

Published

on

Kindly share this post

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.”


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

Galaxy Backbone Tops FG's Website Performance Ranking

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.

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending