E-Business
Ericsson SCR Report: ICT Can Accelerate Sustainable Development Goals

Ericsson has published its 23rd annual Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report, which details the company’s performance in 2015 in three areas: responsible business; energy, environment and climate change; and communication for all.
The report also highlights how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can enable all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and even has the potential to accelerate their achievement.
Hans Vestberg, president and CEO, Ericsson, said “The SDGs lay out a clear path to a more sustainable world, and ICT is a powerful lever to make that happen. We intend to build on our momentum from 2015 so everyone can benefit from the opportunities afforded by the Networked Society.”
Responsible Business Highlights
Conducting business with integrity and transparency is at the heart of Ericsson’s commitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility.
The report shows that 99 percent of active Ericsson employees have acknowledged the company’s Code of Business Ethics. In 2015, the Ericsson Compliance Line – which enables secure reporting of suspected violations – was reinforced to support industry anti-corruption best practices.
Demonstrating its commitment to respecting human rights, Ericsson reported according to the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights framework for the second year in a row, and continues to be the only ICT company to do so.
Energy, Environment And Climate Change Highlights
According to Ericsson research, ICT solutions can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 15 percent by 2030, more than the current carbon footprint of the EU and US combined.
In 2015, Ericsson met the target to offset twice the amount of CO2 from its own carbon footprint with solutions such as smart grids and intelligent transport.
For customers, hardware platforms like the Ericsson Radio System, new software and rural coverage solutions are all designed to help customers optimize energy performance.
In 2015, Ericsson exceeded its goal to reduce CO2e emissions per employee by 30 percent – two years ahead of schedule. This amounted to a 42 percent reduction compared with the 2011 baseline.
Communication For All
By the end of 2015, an estimated 20 million people had been directly impacted by Ericsson’s Technology for Good™ initiatives.
Connect To Learn, a global education initiative by the Earth Institute of Columbia University, Millennium Promise and Ericsson, has now been launched in 22 countries, where it is benefiting over 76,000 students. Nine of these countries are in sub-Saharan Africa – Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Cape Verde.
Mobile financial services can be a game changer for advancing financial and social inclusion.
In 2015, Ericsson supported ASBANC, Peru’s National Bank Association, in an initiative to provide next-generation mobile financial services to 2.1 million Peruvians – about 7 percent of the total population – within five years.
Ericsson is doing a pan-African rollout in several countries with operator MTN, including Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Swaziland.
Work is ongoing with operator Millicom’s Tigo platform in Senegal. In 2015, Ericsson Mobile Financial Services was also launched in Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and the Ivory Coast.
Managed Rural Coverage is a new commercially viable business model that makes it possible to provide mobile coverage to areas most in need of it, where people have to survive on less than two dollars a day.
Through this solution, Ericsson enables operators provide mobile coverage for a set period according to service level agreements and defined key performance indicators. In 2015, we joined mobile operator MTN to deploy Managed Rural Coverage to parts of central and northern Benin where there was none previously.
The employee volunteer program Ericsson Response marked its 15th anniversary during the year. Ericsson Response has so far supported 40 relief efforts in 30 countries, and was deployed in locations including Iraq, Nepal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Vanuatu in 2015.
Fredrik Jejdling, head of Region, Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “The impact of our sustainable business practices and corporate responsibility initiatives in this region is bearing fruit and we remain inspired to work with our stakeholders to create a positive impact in society. With fully leveraged connectivity, we connect the unconnected, improve livelihood, and help cities become more sustainable, creating value for the continent as a whole.
Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson, also said, “By embedding sustainability and corporate responsibility into our business, we have a strong platform for progress and positive impacts. We will continue to work in public-private partnership and advocate Technology for Good to drive change for the better.”
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E-Business
Galaxy Backbone, Rural Electrification Agency Commit to Deepening Digital and Energy Access Across Nigeria

In a major step towards deepening Nigeria’s digital and energy infrastructure, Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a brief but impactful ceremony held in Abuja.
The MoU signals a collaborative effort between both agencies to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda by integrating reliable energy solutions with cutting-edge ICT infrastructure, especially in higher institutions, Government institutions, underserved and rural communities across the country.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim A. Adeyanju, described the partnership as “a landmark moment in Nigeria’s journey towards a digitally empowered, sustainably powered, and inclusively connected nation.”
“This partnership exemplifies what is possible when two visionary government institutions come together, united by shared goals and driven by the desire to improve the lives of Nigerians everywhere,” he said.
Professor Adeyanju emphasized that while Galaxy Backbone’s core mandate is to provide secure digital infrastructure that powers government operations, reliable and sustainable energy particularly in rural areas is essential to fully actualize digital transformation.
Major highlights of the MoU include:
- Solar electrification of some of GBB’s Metro Fibre sites in Abuja by the REA.
- Powering Hostels of Higher Institutions across the country through the Fibre to Hostel Project being driven by the Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE).
- Support for the rollout of the 774 Local Government Digitization Initiative, beginning with six pilot Local Government Areas.
- Provision of LANs, access points, cloud services, colocation infrastructure, and temporary connectivity to enhance REA’s operational facilities nationwide.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency Mr Abba Aliyu, in his remarks, expressed optimism that this collaboration will further bridge the digital and energy divide across Nigeria. He noted that by combining REA’s achievements in expanding energy access with GBB’s robust ICT backbone, both agencies are poised to create lasting impact across governance, education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.
This partnership is also in direct alignment with the Renewed Hope Digital Transformation Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which envisions an inclusive digital economy powered by innovation and sustainable energy.
The ceremony was attended by top management from both organizations as well as members of the media.
With today’s signing, Galaxy Backbone and the Rural Electrification Agency have set the tone for stronger, smarter, and more inclusive public service delivery powered by strategic inter-agency collaboration.
E-Business
NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced the restoration of its National Identification Number (NIN) verification services nationwide.
This, according to the commission, follows the completion of a system maintenance exercise.
In a statement issued on Friday, the NIMC confirmed that all previously disrupted services have resumed.
“NIMC wishes to inform the general public that the recent technical maintenance has been completed and all services have been restored,” the statement read.
The NIMC urged Nigerians seeking to enroll for NIN to visit the its official website to locate the nearest enrollment centers.
The agency also encouraged individuals to make use of its self-service portal for tasks such as data modification, including name changes.
To further ease the verification process, the Commission recommended downloading the NIMC NameAuth app (oath.app) from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store for quick and secure NIN authentication.
NIMC expressed appreciation for the public’s patience during the service disruption, which had impacted banks, telecom providers, and government agencies that rely on NIN verification for their operations.
E-Business
Report Reveals African Organizations Dangerously Overestimating Cyber defences

Many businesses are overestimating their defence against cyber attacks, which creates a significant human risk blind spot. A new KnowBe4 report exposes a worrying disconnect between what leaders think about their cyber security readiness and what employees experience.
According to the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025, based on insights from cyber security decision-makers across 30 African countries, despite high awareness, a critical gap exists in turning that awareness into actual readiness and resilient behaviour.
Key findings from the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025:
Confidence vs awareness: While cyber security awareness is high, leaders express uncertainty about their workforce’s ability to act on that awareness. Many feel employees may overestimate their capabilities in recognising, reporting and mitigating threats.
The need for adaptive and personalised security awareness training: Many companies fail to personalise security awareness training to specific roles or risk exposures.
Widespread BYOD usage: A large percentage of employees (between 41% and 80%) use their personal devices for work.
AI policy development is lagging: Many companies (46%) are still in the process of developing policies for using AI tools in the workplace.
Regional variation: Southern Africa trains more, East Africa governs AI better and West/Central Africa sees the most human-related security incidents.
This gap is significant because Africa has become an attractive target to cyber criminals, especially those that launch AI-powered attacks. A LexisNexis Risk Solutions study found 60% of South African organisations have seen an increase in AI-facilitated financial crime – above the 56% global average.
Kehinde Popoola, regional manager and key representative for West and East Africa at Rubrik, said digital transformation is gaining momentum in Africa and companies are more exposed to cyber risk. The Rubrik executive adds that amid an increase in threats, it is crucial that organisations adopt an assumed breach mindset.
The KnowBe4 research shows that cyber security preparedness and the actual structures required to support secure behaviour seem misaligned.
The report highlights that just 10% of cyber security leaders are fully confident that staff would report a phishing attack or other cyber threat, despite rating employee security awareness of cyber threats at four out of five or higher.
There is also a significant perception gap between decision-makers and general employees in Africa regarding security awareness training, with 68% of leaders believing that training is tailored to roles, compared to only a third of employees feeling adequately trained.
KnowBe4 asserts that many organisations only conduct annual or biannual training that is too generic to effectively change behaviour, contributing to uncertainty about its effectiveness.
According to another report, the KnowBe4 African Cybersecurity and Awareness Report 2025, which focuses on end-user based responses, only 43% of African respondents felt confident in their ability to recognise a cyber threat, and just one in three believed their security awareness training was adequately tailored to their role. This comparison suggests the development of a dangerous perception gap in many organisations.
“There’s a disconnect here – between what leaders think is happening and what employees are actually experiencing,” says Anna Collard, SVP content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa. “The data shows that without procedural and cultural follow-through, awareness simply doesn’t translate into readiness.”
“The continent’s cyber security posture may be more confident than it is truly resilient,” Collard adds.
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