E-Business
Africa, Mideast ICT Market to Grow 9% in 2015- IDC

Spending on ICT products and services in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will cross the $270 billion mark in 2015 and the IT market expected to grow 9 per cent year on year in 2015, according to International Data Corporation’s newly released predictions for the year ahead.
This makes MEA the second-fastest growing market worldwide, with the SaaS segment set to perform particularly strongly, expanding 29 per cent year-on-year to total.
Converged systems will be another key area of growth as more organizations look to leverage the agility, productivity, flexibility, and cost-saving benefits presented by such solutions.
“Converged systems will gain prominence in 2015 and serve as the building blocks to software-defined environments across the MEA region in 2016 and beyond,” said Megha Kumar, research manager for software at IDC Middle East, Turkey, and Africa.
“In the Middle East, demand will be particularly strong from Smart City initiatives and the implementation of large-scale transportation projects, while in Africa the lack of legacy systems will enable organizations to leapfrog to the latest converged technologies as they strive to ease the pressures of ongoing skills shortages.”
IDC expects SaaS uptake to be focused on non-critical workloads such as sales, marketing, CRM, and talent management, with public cloud adoption growing in the region.
However, private cloud will continue to be used for critical apps and to provision shared services.
“Analytics uptake will also rise in 2015, since organizations consider it easier to comprehend than Big Data, both in terms of technology and the value derived from the solution,” continues Kumar. “Big Data will predominantly remain an opportunistic buy in 2015 for a select band of large enterprises, and vendors will need to increase their focus on educating end users and showcasing the value gained from successful deployments if they wish this scenario to change.”
“The year 2015 is also expected to see the rise of the executive buyer, with the MEA region set to follow the worldwide trend of growing line-of-business (LoB) influence over IT spending,” said Jyoti Lalchandani, group vice president and regional MD at IDC Middle East, Turkey, and Africa.
“Globally, 60 per cent of enterprises plan to structure their IT initiatives into core IT projects and LoB IT projects,” explained Lalchandani.
“The CIO will remain in control of the purse strings for the former, but the latter will be at the mercy of the relevant departmental heads. This presents a whole new target audience for the region’s vendor community and raises the prospect of even more shadow IT projects taking place, particularly around the 3rd Platform technologies of cloud, big data, mobility, and social.”
Top 10 ICT predictions for MEA in 2015:
1. MEA ICT Spending to cross $270 billion in 2015
2. IaaS & SaaS will begin to cannibalize & disrupt traditional software & services base
3. The need for agility will drive demand for converged systems
4. Open Data will begin to drive MEA Smart Cities to Innovate
5. Telecommunication firms in MEA will transform to become IT & Digital services players
6. Security investments will remain reactive due to 3rd Platform uptake
7. The 3rd platform will fuel sector-wide technology innovation
8. Big Data will remain an opportunistic buy in MEA for 2015
9. Mobile will continue to drive innovation in 2015
10. Line of business will impact IT spending; the rise of the executive buyer
E-Business
Black Friday: How Konga Yakata is Defying Global Inflation

We have been taught that economics is a force of nature, an invisible hand that giveth and, more recently, taketh away. We watch global indices, inflation charts, and the shrinking purchasing power of our currency with a sense of resigned inevitability. But what if a company decided to push back? What if, instead of merely responding to market forces, it created a counter-force?

That is the story of Konga Yakata, Nigeria’s boldest retail response to inflation. Far from being a shopping festival, Yakata has evolved into a nationwide economic intervention. In the face of rising prices and tightening wallets, Konga’s month-long sales event has emerged as a stabilizing force, helping households stretch their Naira further.
For years, the traditional 24-hour Black Friday rush has felt misaligned with Nigerian realities. A single day of discounts cannot solve month-long financial pressure. Yakata changes the model, transforming it into a 30-day strategic purchasing window. This isn’t a marketing gimmick; it is economic practicality. It gives families time to plan, prioritize, and purchase essentials without panic or strain.
Nigeria’s inflation has driven up the cost of food, housing, and household essentials. Konga Yakata provides relief. By offering genuine products at real and sustained discounts, the campaign helps families save, spend wisely, and maintain their quality of life.
Independent retail analytics show that households that shopped strategically during last year’s Yakata saved up to 35% on essential items: refrigerators, generators, laptops, and groceries. These are not luxuries; they are investments in stability and productivity, made possible by Konga’s pricing and flexible payment options.
Beyond savings, Yakata has reshaped consumer behaviour. It has taught shoppers to anticipate value, plan ahead, and expect quality without compromise. It has evolved into a trusted national tradition.
Industry data reinforces its scale. The 2024 edition generated over ₦12 billion in transaction value across electronics, fashion, appliances, and groceries, with small and medium sellers benefiting through Konga’s marketplaces.
In essence, Konga Yakata is not just a sales event, it is a market stimulus. It challenges the narrative of helplessness in the face of inflation by creating a commercial environment built on trust, affordability, and value. Through innovation, efficient logistics, and consumer-focused fintech, Konga has turned Yakata into a lever of national economic resilience.
As global prices rise and budgets tighten, Konga Yakata stands firm, not only as a celebration of shopping, but as a purposeful act of support for Nigerian households.
Indeed, Konga Yakata 2025 is more than Black Friday Reloaded, it is proof that innovation, empathy, and strategy can rewrite the rules of economics, one household at a time.
E-Business
Report Reveals DLL Hijacking Attacks have Doubled since 2023

Dynamic link library (DLL) hijacking is a common technique in which attackers replace a library loaded by a legitimate process with a malicious one.

It is used by creators of mass-impact malware, like stealers and banking Trojans, as well as by APT (advanced persistent threat) and cybercrime groups behind targeted attacks. Kaspersky reports that DLL hijacking attacks have doubled in the past two years.
Kaspersky has observed this technique and its variations, like DLL sideloading, in targeted attacks on organisations in Russia, Africa, South Korea, as well as other countries and regions.
To further enhance its protection capabilities against this threat, Kaspersky SIEM has introduced a specialised AI-based subsystem that continuously analyses information about all loaded libraries.
The new feature has already proven effective, helping to detect an attack by the APT group ToddyCat. It enabled the threat to be identified and blocked at an early stage, preventing any impact on the targeted organisations. The model also uncovered attempts to infect potential victims with an infostealer and a malicious loader.
“We are seeing DLL hijacking attacks become more common, where a trusted program is tricked into loading a fake library instead of the real one. This gives attackers a way to secretly run their malicious code.
“This technique is difficult to detect, and this is where AI can help. Using advanced protection techniques empowered with AI is now essential to staying ahead of these evolving threats and keeping critical systems safe,” says Anna Pidzhakova, Data Scientist at Kaspersky’s AI Research Center.
Securelist has published two related articles: the first explains how a machine-learning model was developed to detect DLL hijacking attacks, while the second describes how this model was integrated into the Kaspersky SIEM platform. The updated Kaspersky SIEMnow features AI functionality for detecting signs of DLL hijacking attacks, improving detection efficiency.
E-Business
Meta, NDPC Resolve $32.8m Privacy Dispute Out of Court

Meta Platforms, Inc., has, reconciled its differences with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in the suit it filed to challenge NDPC’s $32.8m fine imposed against it.

The legal dispute between Meta and the NDPC ended after both sides agreed on terms to settle the $32.8 million fine earlier imposed on the company.
On February 18, 2025, the NDPC fined Meta $32.8 million and issued eight corrective orders for allegedly violating the privacy rights of Nigerian users through behavioural advertising practices on Facebook and Instagram.
At Monday’s proceedings before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Fred Onuobia, SAN, Meta’s counsel, informed the court that the parties had signed terms of settlement dated October 30 and filed on October 31.
“We adopt the terms of settlement and ask my lord to enter them as the judgment of the court,” Onuobia said.
Adeola Adedipe, SAN, Counsel for the NDPC, did not oppose the application.
Justice Omotosho then adopted the agreement as the court’s judgment and commended both parties for choosing to resolve the matter amicably.
“The terms of settlement entered by the parties in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/355/2025, dated October 30 and filed October 31, 2025, are hereby adopted as the judgment of this court,” the judge ruled.
The decision ends months of litigation after Meta challenged the NDPC’s fine and enforcement orders through a judicial review, claiming the agency acted beyond its powers and failed to follow due process.
After several adjournments to allow for discussions, both sides eventually reached a mutual resolution.
The NDPC’s case against Meta is one of its major enforcement actions under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023, which seeks to strengthen the protection of Nigerians’ data privacy rights.
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