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Facebook Celebrates ‘Icons of Change’ from Across Sub-Saharan Africa

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Facebook is bringing together 40 young leaders, developers, entrepreneurs and change makers from across Sub-Saharan Africa, to a two-day event in Accra, Ghana, titled “Celebrating Icons of Change”.

Taking place on 23 & 24th August, the event aims to celebrate Africa’s next generation of leaders and innovators, whilst providing opportunities to network, connect and create positive dialogue. To celebrate Facebook also created a short film featuring five of the participants in their home country – titled ‘Icons of Change’

With attendees hailing from 15 countries from across Sub-Saharan African, participants will be made up of Facebook Community Leaders, Developer Circle Leads, entrepreneurs, SMBs, as well as future change makers from the Africa Leadership University (ALU).

Spending two days networking, attending leadership and digital skills workshops, and hearing from other young inspirational leaders from across the Continent, attendees will also be given the opportunity to give back to local communities in Accra by hosting workshops such as Coding for kids, and mentorship sessions for other young, up-and-coming SMBs and entrepreneurs.

Kezia Anim-Addo, Facebook Comms Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, commented: “I’m so proud that we’re bringing the first event of its kind for Facebook to the Continent and to Ghana. At Facebook, we see our role as supporting and investing in various communities here on the continent, in particular the youth.

This event is about celebrating those people, the amazing talent, innovation and businesses we’re seeing emerge, and the young people who are accelerating this growth, and building an incredible future for the Continent. It’s a privilege for us to be able to bring together 40 icons of change, and we look forward to what the two days will hold.”

Attendees represent countries from the region, including Ghana, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Botswana, DRC, South Africa, Cameroon and Zambia, and include:

Facebook Community Leaders who have started Facebook Groups dedicated to a topic or collective experience, and are having a positive impact in their community.

Martin Beck Nworah, for example, oversees a community of more than 100,000 members on the Tale of Nigerians page, while Gameli Adzaho from Ghana, who runs GLabGhana – a community group who bring together students, teachers, researchers, scientists and science enthusiasts to network, learn and share scientific knowledge, for the good of humanity.

Facebook Developer Circle leads, a community-driven initiative for developers, that members join for free – allowing them to connect, share ideas, learn, and collaborate.

SMBs & Entrepreneurs, these are young people who have started businesses which are making an impact in their communities and beyond. For example, Kahitouo from Burkina Faso, founder of FasoPro which specialises in packaging and selling African insects as alternative sources of protein, and now has 360 sales outlets across 25 cities in Burkina Faso.


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E-Business

Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

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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.


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Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

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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.”


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Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

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Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

Galaxy Backbone Tops FG's Website Performance Ranking

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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