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Ayeni Adekunle BHM Boss Named as Social Media Week Lagos panelist
Ayeni Adekunle, Founder/CEO, BHM Group is set to join other notable names as they explore issues relating to how entertainment and consumer experiences have helped shaped the African narrative from a positive perspective at the forthcoming Social Media Week Lagos this February.
Ayeni will be joined on the panel by Advertising guru, Steve Babaeko; Comedian, Basketmouth; Channel Manager, MTVbase, Solafunmi Oyeneye and Talent Manager, Ernest Audu.
They will be discussing “Music, Content & Consumer Experiences Changing The African Narrative” during the session that will be hosted by MTVBase presenter, Folu Storms.
The panel discussion, sponsored by Viacom International Media Networks Africa, the parent company of MTVBase, popularly known for promoting African music and entertainment is expected to explore how the Nigerian entertainment industry is expanding on the global stage.
Since starting BHM, Ayeni has worked with some of the biggest brands in the Nigerian market and has also been invited to speak at various conferences and workshops including Lagos Business School, Pan African University, PRCAN, APRA Mauritius, The Network Conference, British Council, The Dangote Group, Creative Enterprise among many others.
He has also served as a consultant to various multinationals in Nigeria including Nigerian Breweries, MTN, MultiChoice, Viacom International Media Networks to name just a few.
In 2015, he founded the digital communications and content marketing agency, ID Africa, following up in 2017 with the consumer tech product, Plaqad, a content exchange platform providing opportunities between marketing professionals and business owners, web and social media platform owners in an easy, affordable marketplace.
In 2018, the group launched Africa Creative Foundation (ACF), a not-for-profit organisation set up to drive the actualization of its dreams for the industry.
Ayeni also founded Nigeria’s premiere online entertainment platform, NETng, as well as the umbrella entertainment conference for Nigeria’s creative sector, Nigerian Entertainment Conference -NECLive.
Speaking on his nomination as a panelist, Ayeni said, “I look forward to exploring the discussion around new technology and the disruption of the consumer media industry, especially in the face of changing perception, where consumer experiences are helping to shape the new narrative.”
Also speaking on the upcoming event, Convener of Social Media Week, Toby Daniels said, “The stories we tell, consume and share have the potential to shape who we are and what we become.
“The number of social media users worldwide in 2018 is 3.2 billion, up 13 percent year-on-year.
“By 2020 almost 5 billion people will be connected. Given its scale, social media has become the world’s most influential storytelling platform.
“Whatever form they take, the stories we tell through social media have the power to reach and influence more than 60% of people on the planet.”
Social Media Week Lagos is an annual week-long conference, and the focus for 2019 is “STORIES: With Great Influence Comes Great Responsibility”.
The event will feature a central stage for keynotes and panels, multiple rooms for workshops, masterclasses and presentations, and an area dedicated to co-working, networking and interactive installations.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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