Innovantics Limited, end-to-end custom-built software solutions provider, has won the best biometric banking solutions of the year award at this year’s Africa Beacon of ICT (ABoICT) Awards held in Lagos at the weekend.

The biometric banking solutions was implemented by Innovantics for UBA, Africa’s pan-African bank to solve difficult business problems.

At the award ceremony organized by Communication Week, publishers of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, Innovantics was commended for its biometric authentication, facial recognition solutions.

The Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit Awards Series is widely regarded as the most prestigious annual event available in the ICT industry in Nigeria.

This year, the theme “Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated” and it drew top politicians and government functionaries as well captains in the ICT industry as well financial institutions

Commenting, Ken Nwogbo, editor-in-chief and founder, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, said that that the award will provide Innovantics with encouragement to continue to deliver and sustain more innovations.

In accepting the award, Thomas Ashi, co-founder and Digital Transformation Lead at Innovantics, who led the implementation for UBA, said that “we are also focused on positioning Innovantics, as a prominent player in the solutions space. Offering specialised and customised solutions across our coverage areas.”

Armed with bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Calabar, and an MBA from the Lagos Business School, as well MSc in Data Science and Analytics from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA, Ashi said “Our future depends on us, so let’s build it together”

Ashi over 17 years of working experience included a one-year stint with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria where he participated in the Shell Intensive Training Program for graduates, popularly known as SITP/1, specializing in Information Technology.

Afterwards, he spent two years with the Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, as a Systems Administrator, where he set up the school’s Wide Area Network and Internet Access, before proceeding to work for Diamond Bank Plc.

For more than 12 years, his roles in the Bank’s IT department span, Software Development, Business Process Engineering, Business Analysis and Project Management. While in Diamond Bank, Ashi was credited for developing the first local global trade solution for the Bank’s International Trade Business, a Money Market Solution, an IT helpdesk platform, and a host of other solutions. He also pioneered the implementation of a Business Process Management platform for the Bank which accelerated the bank’s retail expansion by over 1000%.

TapSwap, a well-known cryptocurrency platform where users can engage in games to accumulate coins for later conversion into actual currency, has allegedly experienced a malfunction.

This information came to light through a series of social media posts discussing the platform’s current status.

Online posts have pointed out that TapSwap is presently undergoing maintenance and has become inaccessible due to a breakdown caused by excessive traffic.

Several users affected by the disruption have shared screenshots of notifications from TapSwap explaining the cause of the breakdown and subsequent maintenance.

Reacting to the post:

@Jessicalevi13: “TapSwap server always going down, lol. The only thing I see is Tears Loading.”

@CryptoDefiLord: “With the large numbers of people coming into #TAPSWAP every day, the team should be adding more servers to accommodate all these people. @tapswapai is the leading tap tap token on Telegram and shouldn’t be having such problems.”

@connectwithtola: “#TapSwap is overcrowded! Kudos to every Nigerian out there on TapSwap, we took this project mainstream 👏 I hope other projects are ready for us? We have so many powers 👹 to unleash heavily.”

Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has initiated an Artie Robot and coding training programme tailored for young girls in Kano State.

CITAD officials training girls at the event

This programme, designed to empower young female students is set to benefit 30 participants across three public secondary schools in its initial phase, as the official launch took place at Government Girls Secondary School Dorayi Karama.

Speaking at the event, Engineer Yunusa Zakari, executive director, CITAD represented by Buhari Abba, highlighted the programme’s objective to enhance the technological and coding skills of secondary school students.

He emphasised the importance of equipping young girls with the necessary skills to pursue careers in the rapidly evolving field of information technology.

Abdulrahman Babatunde, technical officer of Innovation and Creativity at CITAD, stressed the increasing relevance of coding and robotics skills for students, underscoring that learning to code opens up opportunities for innovation and empowerment.

Dr Kabiru Ado Zakirai, executive secretary of the Kano State Senior Secondary Schools Management Board (KSSSMB), noted the historical underrepresentation of women in STEM fields and expressed optimism that early exposure to robotics and coding could ignite a passion for these subjects among girls, paving the way for exciting career prospects in the future.

Malam Umar Yakasai , representing Dr Zakirai, urged students to leverage the knowledge gained from the programme to foster self-reliance.

Participants, including Maimuna Shu’aibu and Fatima Bashir, shared their learning experiences, highlighting various skills acquired, such as utilising robots for tasks like painting, drawing, and writing.