E-Business
Andela Partners Microsoft to Launch ALCwithMicrosoft Azure Training 2020

Microsoft 4Afrika and Andela have partnered to implement the ALCwithMicrosoft Azure Training 2020 to up-skill developers in Kenya and Nigeria through an immersive program where selected developers will work to learn basic skills in Azure, via the LinkedIn Learning platform.
The program is focused on training software engineers in learning the basics of Azure,a public cloud computing platform created by Microsoft for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers.
The ALCwithMicrosoft Azure Training is open to anyone looking to grow their Azure software development skills and excited to learn with a community of technologists.
At the end of the program, developers are expected to:
– Have a proficiency for Azure technologies
– Opportunity to be shortlisted to redeem Microsoft Azure certification exam voucher
– Improved competency in your existing skills
The program seeks to engage 3000 developers in the two countries and will run until the end of June 2020. The learning will be divided into batches of 1000 learners at a time to allow for full mentor support to all participants.
The call for applications kicked off on May 15th and all interested applicants can apply on azure.andela.com/. Applicants are required to be above 18 years of age, be willing to dedicate 10-15hours for the length of the program, be proficient in English, and should have at least a year plus of software development experience.
“Microsoft Azure is an ever-expanding set of cloud services to help your organization meet your business challenges. It’s the freedom to build, manage, and deploy applications on a massive, global network using your favourite tools and frameworks.
“With Microsoft’s recent investments in Africa with a datacenter in South Africa, Azure is shaping up to change the face of the African continent.” Lawrence Muthoga, MEA Developer Audience Product Marketing Manager.
Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative is Microsoft’s business and market development engine in Africa that aims to unlock and accelerate Africa’s potential to create technology not only for the continent but for the world. It works with developers, startups, students, interns and graduates to upskill Africans in Microsoft technologies.
The program will be run by Andela, through the Andela Learning Community, which has tested and proven learning science principles relating to learner groups, transparent output tracking, and robust support communities to up-skill software developers at scale across Africa.
“At Andela, through the Andela Learning Community, we are committed to working with Microsoft in supporting the growth of tech talent across the continent. We are excited for the opportunity this partnership brings and look forward to engaging with software engineers in Kenya and Nigeria.” Lina Ng’inja, Talent Partnerships Manager, Andela.
Andela over the last three years has led the Andela Learning Community with strategic partnerships including leading technology companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Pluralsight and Udacity has been able to support more than 60,000 aspiring and experienced developers across Africa. This partnership with Microsoft furthers the commitment to cultivate and grow engineering talent on the continent.
E-Business
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
E-Business
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
E-Business
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
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