E-Business
Facebook Joins Video-conferencing Market with Messenger Rooms
Facebook has launched Messenger Rooms, a video-conferencing tool which is set to rival Zoom.
The social media giant says it is rolling out the solution globally. Messenger Rooms lets people create a ‘room’ to host joinable free video calls with up to 50 people, with no time limit.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growing video communication service market and tech firms have been battling it out to introduce new remote working services or expand their existing offerings.
COVID-19-induced global lockdowns have resulted in an urgent need for remote interactions, as people across the world have been forced to limit their in-person meetings, switching instead to virtual networking sessions.
The user base of video-conferencing and online meetings platform Zoom has since grown to 300 million.
“Facebook users globally can create a room from Messenger, and users in North America can create a room from Facebook. We’re also starting to rollout the ability to host up to 50 people in a room globally,” says Stan Chudnovsky, VP of Messenger, on the company’s blog.
“We will continue to add more features to Messenger Rooms in the coming months. We hope Messenger Rooms will enable people everywhere to stay more connected with the people they love, no matter where they might be.”
Messenger Rooms can be shared on Facebook through News Feed, Groups and Events, “so it’s easy for you to drop by whenever you want. You can choose who can see and join your room or remove people from your room and lock the room if you don’t want anyone else to join,” says Chudnovsky.
Facebook says to create a room, users must download the latest version of the Facebook and messenger mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
The launch of Messenger Rooms coincides with the release of a new study on the unified communication-as-a-service (UCAAS) market, which states it will reach $60 billion by 2030.
Research firm Future Market Insights (FMI), which conducted the study, says the growth has been fuelled by the work-from-home trend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is marking a rare occasion where business leaders, globally, have to quickly enable their workforces to work remotely for an extensive period of time. Consequently, businesses are incorporating remote work, where communication and remote work policies hold the key to meet the expectations between management and the workforce,” says FMI.
According to the study, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to accelerate cloud adoption, not only as a technological shift, “but also as an operating model, as enterprises across the globe are recognising the limitations of their current environments and struggling with the impact of the pandemic on their businesses”.
FMI says in response to the pandemic, UCAAS solution providers are taking special measures to meet customer demand for cloud usage, due to the sudden shift to a remote-first workforce.
The study says almost 70% of CIOs agree cloud services would become a priority in 2020, and they expect to reduce on-premises workloads to 35% in 2021, compared to almost 60% in 2019.
“The unified communication as a service market is expected to grow by 1.3x during 2019-2020, and will witness an upsurge in demand amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, as remote working becomes the new norm,” says FMI.
The firm says continuous innovation in cloud communication is resulting in greater flexibility and cost-saving solutions for conferencing in enterprises.
According to the study, changing IT adoption trends and increasing deployment of cloud computing solutions are creating potential growth opportunities for the UCAAS market.
“Increasing adoption of cloud-based communication and collaboration
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tools such as Web-conferencing, cloud storage, unified messaging and others, due to global lockdowns, is creating potential opportunities for the UCAAS market,” says FMI.
“The rising trend of work-from-home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic will drive the market for SaaS-based applications in the coming years. Also, the integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of things and cognitive security will propel the UCAAS market over the decade ahead.”
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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