Telecom
NCC Extols Economic Benefits of AfCFTA Agreement
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other industry stakeholders have extolled the economic benefits accruable to the country from the recently rectified African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
AfCFTA is an initiative of the Africa Union with the main objective of creating a single continental market for goods and services, in addition to facilitating free movement of investment and people across the entire African continent.
Nigeria joined the list of African countries to sign the trade pact when President Muhammadu Buhari on July 7th, 2019,endorsed the AfCFTA Agreement at the AUSummit in Niamey, Niger.
Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman/ceo, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) speaking at a two-day workshop with the theme; “Improving Nigeria’s communication industry competitiveness for the AFCFTA initiative”, was organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in collaboration with the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiation (NOTN). stated that the AfCFTA Agreement will lead to about 60% boost in intra-African trade by 2022.
Danbatta who was represented by, Alhaji Muhammad Babajika, director of Licensing and Authorization, NCC explained that only 16% of international trade by African countries takes place between African countries, according a study by the African Development Bank in 2014.
He noted that the ongoing workshop is aimed at examining how to improve the competitiveness of the over $70 billion Nigerian Communications sector market for the Continental Free Trade Area.
He said, “The workshop is to draw the attention of industry stakeholders to the need to fully appreciate the business implications of the AfCFTA, promote a deep understanding of the AfCFTA Initiative by industry stakeholders, initiate and lead discussions on areas of comparative advantage for the…
“Nigerian telecoms stakeholders, encourage industry stakeholders on the need to seek and exploit opportunities that will emerge in the operational phase of the AfCFTA and to use the workshops as an avenue for generating feedback, identifying possible areas of interest for industry stakeholders and evolving a Roadmap for the future trajectory of the industry in the context of the Continental Free Trade Area.
“The workshop is a key element of the Governments’ institutional framework for driving Nigeria’s trade policy initiatives the Federal Government’s aspirations to advance Nigeria’s economic development through continuous encouragement of pro-trade, pro-business, pro-investment and pro-export measures are in sync with the mandate of the NCC to stimulate investment and economic activity by protecting the interest of the Government, investors and consumers within the Nigerian Communications ecosystem,” he said.
Earlier, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, chairman, board of Nigerian Communications Commission, said that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) arrangement will extend access of communications services to 1.2 billion people across the African continent.
He said that the agreement is a big deal for the sector hence stakeholders should tap into it.
According to Durojaiye, there is no limit to the achievement by innovative operators/investors in terms of business opportunities with a larger proportion of the population made up of young people, whose hunger for data and mobile services continues to grow.
He noted that in line with the Federal Government’s objectives, NCC is committed to ensuring that the sector continues to improve on its contribution to GDP and by extension the Nigerian economy.
“Through its direct contribution to the GDP and the indirect contribution to the performance of other sectors, the Telecommunication sector is indeed a facilitator of economic development.
“This sensitization workshop is to engage with stakeholders, with a view towards crafting achievable recommendations and solutions that will guarantee positive growth, development and prosperity for our industry, the Nigerian economy, and the African continent.
“Just the way we recognize the opportunities for investors in the African market, we also know that there are challenges not to say threats.
“Operators and investors within the Communications ecosystem must fully appreciate these dynamics, in order to ensure that they prepare adequately for them.
“At the end of the workshops, we expect to come out more informed about the AfCFTA Initiative, and better prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.
“We believe that with good planning and implementation, Nigeria and the African continent will be better off with the Continental Free Trade Area arrangement.
“African countries who are signatory to the trade should adopt and evolve our own indigenous programme of development, he said.
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor, Lagos State, on his part, said the AFCFTA initiative would facilitate free movement of investment and people across the African continent, adding that it would provide the opportunity for Africa to create the world’s largest free trade area.
The Governor, represented by the Hakeem Popoola Fahm, commissioner for Science and Technology, Lagos State, said the trade agreement marks a new dawn to Africa’s economic transformation, explaining that Nigeria’s economy stands to benefit with the creation of this single market.
He urged the Nigeria communication industry to leverage on the provisions of AFCFTA to the advantage of Nigeria’s telecom industry, saying it remains one of the major factors to fully drive the digital economic revolution in the country.
“It is a new hope for boosting Intra-Africa trade across African countries with a combined population of the people.
“The anticipated benefits will only remain a mirage if we fail to prepare adequately by repositioning the key sectors of our economy to be competitive and able to take optimum advantage of the opportunities presented by new market.
“To enhance the sectors competitiveness in the emerging single market, a lot of efforts must be put into improving the efficiency of service delivery,” he said.
Irvine Partners, the woman-led, African-born creative communications agency operating across Nigeria, has cemented its position as a disruptive force on the global stage following a landmark week of international industry recognition for its CEO and founder, Rachel Irvine.
Rachel-Irvine-CEO-Irvine-Partners
Irvine has been named to Campaign UK’s prestigious 40 over 40 list for 2026, while simultaneously earning a place on PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 EMEA index – two of the communications industry’s most closely watched honours, secured in the same week. The achievement places her among the most influential and progressive communications leaders across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
For Nigeria – Africa’s largest economy and one of its most competitive and complex communications environments – the recognition speaks directly to something the local industry has long understood: that the strategic thinking, cultural intelligence and executional precision forged in African markets is not a regional advantage. It is a global one.
Irvine Partners brings this philosophy to some of the world’s most prominent digital and consumer brands in the Nigerian market, including TikTok, Spotify, Uber and Google – organisations that demand communications work of the highest international calibre, delivered with genuine local understanding.
An African agency rewriting the global narrative
Campaign UK’s 40 over 40 celebrates individual excellence, leadership and lasting impact within the British media and marketing landscape. PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 spotlights those who are dismantling traditional PR structures, advancing data-led practice, and reshaping how the industry operates. To earn both in a single week is rare by any measure.
What underpins both honours is a story that begins not in London but in Africa – in the dynamic, high-stakes communications environments of markets like Nigeria, where agencies must be sharper, faster and more culturally precise than anywhere else in the world.
“These accolades are less about my own journey and far more about where Irvine Partners is going as a collective,” says Rachel Irvine. “For a long time, the global communications industry treated African agencies as local executors of global strategies. What we’ve proven over the past few years is that the technical craft, cultural capital, and data frameworks built within our agency are not just scalable for the continent; they are world-class.”
Built on the same ethos that works in Lagos
The recognition follows the agency’s strong performance at the IN2 SABRE Awards EMEA, where Irvine Partners took major wins for Unicorn School – its proprietary internal talent development programme – and for its advanced data analytics capability, alongside notable shortlists for global clients including Spotify and Uber.
Nigeria’s communications market is one of the most demanding in the world. Consumer audiences are sophisticated and discerning. The media environment is layered, fast-moving and deeply attuned to authenticity. Brands that succeed here do not do so through generic messaging – they do so through precision, cultural credibility and strategic consistency. These are precisely the competencies that Irvine Partners has built its international reputation on.
“The PR landscape has fundamentally shifted,” Irvine adds. “Clients no longer want siloed regional strategies; they want intelligent, culturally intuitive storytelling backed by bulletproof analytics that move the business needle. We built our foundations on that exact ethos in highly dynamic markets, and bringing that specific DNA to the UK and EMEA regions is why we are winning.”
The agency’s agile, borderless model – deliberately structured to move at the speed of modern brands rather than the pace of legacy networks- is one that Nigerian communications professionals will recognise as a natural evolution of how the best African agencies have always operated: lean, sharp and built for impact.
Underlying both honours is Irvine’s sustained commitment to talent development and cultural diversity across all of the agency’s wholly owned offices – a principle as central to its Lagos work as to any other market in its growing global footprint.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Chief Executive Officer, has announced a major leadership change at WhatsApp, confirming that Will Cathcart will step down as head of the messaging service after seven years in office.
Zuckerberg made the announcement in a post shared on Facebook on Monday, June 22, 2026, praising Cathcart’s contributions to the growth of the platform.
According to him, Cathcart played a key role in expanding WhatsApp’s global user base to over three billion people while promoting privacy-focused communication across its services.
“Will’s been one of Meta’s most important and effective leaders, helping to bring WhatsApp to over 3 billion people and championing privacy for our community,” Zuckerberg stated.
The Meta CEO also announced that Kunal Shal will take over leadership of WhatsApp.
He described Shal as a “builder” with strong international experience, adding that his leadership style aligns with Meta’s long-term vision for the messaging platform.
Meta said the transition is aimed at strengthening WhatsApp’s role in both personal and business communication globally, as the platform continues to expand its services across markets.
Industry observers say the leadership change marks a significant transition for WhatsApp, which has grown rapidly under Cathcart’s stewardship, particularly in areas of privacy, encryption, and enterprise messaging solutions.
However, Meta has not disclosed the exact timeline for the leadership handover or further structural changes within the messaging division.
The company reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining WhatsApp’s security standards and continued innovation under the new leadership.
MTN Nigeria has raised the bar for corporate disclosure in Africa after publishing its 2025 sustainability report in full compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards S1 and S2.
Dr. Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria,
The report, independently assured by Ernst & Young, marks the telecom operator’s seventh consecutive annual sustainability publication and third year as an early adopter of the global framework ahead of its mandatory implementation.
Dr. Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria, said, “strong governance and ethical conduct are foundational to our sustainability strategy. We reinforced compliance through our Conduct Passport Framework and robust internal controls.”
He added that “in May 2025, we became the first telecommunications company in Nigeria to publicly present a sustainability report on the Nigerian Exchange Group platform, an important milestone in our commitment to IFRS S1 and S2- aligned disclosure and accountability.”
The company also secured Carbon Disclosure Project ratings of ‘B-’ for climate change and ‘C’ for water security.
Under the IFRS S2 framework, the telecoms operator disclosed climate-related risks linked to flooding, heat stress, regulatory changes and possible future taxes or charges on carbon emissions, following a climate scenario analysis completed in 2024.
The report also showed that MTN Nigeria now uses a digital reporting format – XBRL. This makes its sustainability and governance data easier for investors and ESG rating agencies to access and analyse through automated systems.
The Company also carried out assessments to understand how sustainability issues affect both its business operations and society at large, while measuring its overall economic, environmental and social impact from 2021 to 2024.
In addition, over one-third of MTN Nigeria’s biggest suppliers (based on spending) have committed to supporting the company’s net-zero emissions goals, although these commitments have not yet gone through an independent audit or verification process.
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