E-Business
Ekeh, Zinox Boss Places Bets on Keystone Bank

Leo Stan Ekeh, serial digital entrepreneur and chairman of Zinox Group, has heaped praises on Keystone Bank, describing its partnership with CeLD to launch CashToken as a move that will go a long way to revolutionize customer loyalty in Nigeria.
CashToken is an electronic reward and celebratory gift commodity designed to optimize customer loyalty investments for businesses, individuals and government establishments by offering recipients an opportunity to win life-changing cash rewards between N5000 and N100m every week, among other benefits.
Speaking at the 500 CEOs Hyper Centricity conference which featured the official unveiling of CashToken at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos on Thursday, Ekeh disclosed that one of the major reasons behind the worrisome unemployment situation in the country was the inability of banks and other financial institutions to explore creative avenues to support start-ups and empower millions of jobless youths.
Ekeh, who was the chairman on the occasion, noted that he had always referred to himself as a digital orphan, considering the challenges he faced in his attempts to raise funds while starting out as an entrepreneur – a situation which inspired him in working extremely hard to offer himself as a collateral in order to realize his corporate ambitions.
“I commend Keystone Bank and CeLD for the launch of CashToken. It is a solution that will revolutionize the scope of customer loyalty and expand access to funding for SMEs. This is a timely intervention, considering the difficulties faced by start-ups, especially those in the tech sector in raising funds to pursue their dreams. When I started out as a struggling tech entrepreneur, it was very difficult raising funds as the banks did not understand technology back then. They were more interested in extending loans and other credit facilities to oil companies.
“Today, we are in an era in which technology is altering the destiny of most countries in the world. Yet, we still see a situation where our banks are still not willing to give a chance to tech start-ups. I also see the governments giving more concentration to agriculture. There is nothing wrong with that but for these youths to embrace farming, then it must be scientific agriculture. We must understand that today’s youths are digital natives, many of whom are eager to take their place in a knowledge economy driven by equal access to wealth. Tech start-ups are defined by attitude, culture and lifestyle. This is the language of the current generation. Just ask your kids at home what they would like to become in future and see what responses you will get from them.
“I urge other banks to follow in the footsteps of Keystone Bank by giving tech start-ups and other smart youths a chance. If we empower 10 tech start-ups and only two of them succeed, the combined returns from that investment will far exceed anything we hope to derive from any other sector,” he said.
The event which climaxed with the unveiling of the CashToken logo, had a number of technocrats, dignitaries and Chief Executive Officers from major organizations in Corporate Nigeria present. Among these was Managing Director, Keystone Bank, Obeahon Ohiwerei; Founder and CEO, CeLD Innovations, Lai Labode; Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya; Acting GMD/CEO, Heritage Bank Ltd., Jude Monye; Director General, Consumer Protection Council, Tunde Irukera; Director General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila; Group Managing Director, Interswitch, Mitchel Elegbe; Managing Director, CornerStone Insurance, Ganiu Musa; Managing Director, Aiico Multishield Ltd., Dr. Leke Oshuniyi; Enterprise Commercial Lead, Microsoft Nigeria, Wale Olokodana; Executive Secretary, National Lottery Trust Fund, Bello Maigari and Chairman, Obalende-Ikoyi Local Govt Area., Hon Fuad Atanda-Lawal, among others.
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.
GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.
In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.
Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).
GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.
E-Business
Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

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.”
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

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.
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