E-Business
French Govt Commits €130m to 500 Tech Startups Across Africa

Yesterday at the New Africa-France Summit, President Emmanuel Macron announced a renewed financial commitment of €130m for the next three years and defined Digital Africa’s new ambitions to support entrepreneurship and technological innovation on the continent.

Present in Montpellier, the Digital Africa team unveiled new programmes, according to a Press release signed by Ndeye Mane Sall for Digital Africa on Friday.
In terms of financing, the team announced the Fuzé project, that focuses on Francophone Africa and aims to support at least 200 tech start-ups as of early 2022 by launching a new small ticket fund (in stages, from €10,000 to €200,000) taking the form of repayable loans.
In terms of skills, Digital Africa joins forces with Make IT and the German government to set up Talent4StartUps, a fellowship programme designed to meet the needs of talents that have been trained in tech and digital, and whose beneficiaries will be put in touch with start-ups actively recruiting.
More broadly, Digital Africa will continue to develop non-financial activities (knowledge production, training, networking, research, and support for the evolution of regulatory frameworks) while having the opportunity to raise funds from other public or private donors.
This will be enabled by its new status as a subsidiary of Proparco, which is the Agence Française de Développement (AFD)’s structure dedicated to the private sector.
This ambitious change will give Digital Africa the opportunity to deploy direct seed financing capabilities for high potential start-ups across the continent.
Digital Africa’s CEO Stéphan-Eloise Gras said, “Digital Africa’s new organisation, redefined with our partners, allows us to reinforce our commitment to ‘made in Africa’ tech innovations and become a factory for future African unicorns.
“Startups need a ‘one-stop-shop’ combining training, research, project-structuring, support to pro-tech and pro-innovation reforms, and financing.
“From now on, thanks to the merger with Proparco, they will find in Digital Africa a partner capable of offering them support from ideation and seed to growth and hyper growth.
“By putting tech at the service of transparency and efficiency in development aid, and by getting closer to the private sector, Digital Africa wants to make a long-lasting difference!”
Also speaking, Senior Partner at AfricInvest, Khaled Ben Jilani, said, “At AfricInvest, we are interested in projects that have already reached a certain level of maturity in order to support their growth. Of course, they cannot come to us if they have not passed the first stages.”
Continuing, Jilani recalled that, “In 2019, more than 90 percent of African start-ups reported difficulties in financing their seed stage. By focusing on this segment and building new direct funding capabilities, Digital Africa will provide an effective response to a real need – and will impact the lives of African entrepreneurs at the start of their businesses.”
In response, Bosun Tijani, Co-founder and CEO of Co-Creation Hub, noted that, “We need to create value from African tech innovations in Africa – and this will only be possible when the innovation ecosystems are strong and structured enough to retain talent and scale up tech solutions.
“The priority today is therefore no longer, as it has often been the case, to invest in isolated structures and the personalities that run them – but rather to scale the approach by investing in the systems that will create more high-potential projects and build a truly pan-African digital value chain. Digital Africa shares this analysis – and that is why we decided to work with them.”
E-Business
CBN Affirms Alpha Morgan Bank’s Capitalisation

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has affirmed the capitalisation of Alpha Morgan Bank, marking an important milestone in the bank’s growth journey and reinforcing its commitment to building a strong, resilient, and future-ready financial institution.

This affirmation reflects the bank’s adherence to regulatory requirements and its strategic focus on strengthening its capital base to support sustainable growth, innovation and improved service delivery to customers.
With this milestone, Alpha Morgan Bank is well positioned to continue expanding its footprint with its 14 approved branches across different states, while deepening inclusivity and enhancing the range of banking solutions available to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients nationwide.
Commenting on the development, the Managing Director of Alpha Morgan Bank, Mr. Ade Buraimo, expressed the readiness of the bank in ensuring compliance with regulatory requirement, good governance framework while delivering satisfying banking along the long-term vision of the bank to become the best bank to work and strong financial institution to reckon with.
He said: “Capitalisation is more than a regulatory requirement; it is an opportunity to strengthen the institution for the future. The affirmation of Alpha Morgan Bank capitalisation reflects the work we have done to build a solid capital foundation that allows us to support businesses more effectively, expand financial access and continue delivering the level of service our customers expect.’’
According to him, Alpha Morgan Bank remains committed to maintaining strong corporate governance standards, sound risk management practices, and prudent financial management as it continues to support economic development and create long-term value for stakeholders.
“As Alpha Morgan Bank enters the next phase of its journey, the institution will continue to scale its operation, invest in technology, expand its branch network and digital banking presence, whilst delivering reliable and satisfying banking experiences to its growing customer base,” Buraimo added.
E-Business
Police Says Victims Enable Cyber Attacks Out of Ignorance

Mr Uche Ifeanyi, commissioner of Police in charge of the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC), said on Friday that most cyber attacks occur because victims act out of ignorance.

He spoke in Abuja at the opening of an online cybercrime awareness campaign themed “Odogwu No Dey Hide Him Face,” organised to educate and empower communities about online safety and cyber hygiene.
“Studies reveal that the majority of cyber attacks are initiated or enabled by victims due to lack of knowledge.
“Personal information is invaluable and must be protected at all times.
“Just as we maintain physical health, we must also maintain a healthy digital lifestyle,” he added, stressing that simple cyber hygiene practices could greatly reduce the risk of becoming a victim.
He urged the public not to disclose confidential information to unauthorised persons and to use strong, unique passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and apply security safeguards on digital devices.
“Keep personal information private, avoid suspicious links, and regularly update software or system patches,” he said, adding that antivirus programmes and firewalls were essential for online safety.
Ifeanyi warned against falling for “free gifts” online.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is fraud,” he said, advising caution with urgent or suspicious messages.
He also urged internet users to verify information before sharing to avoid spreading fake news, emphasising that cybercriminals could exploit everyone regardless of age, occupation, or social class.
Vincent Olatunji, director-general, National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), commended NPF-NCCC for its efforts and said the campaign theme was commendable.
He noted the importance of educating people on legitimate wealth and safe internet use.
Olatunji said that the fight against cybercrime required collective effort, warning that the risks were increasing daily as more people connected to the internet across Nigeria.
E-Business
Firm Enhances its Security Awareness Platform with SCORM and PDF Support

Kaspersky has introduced an update to its Automated Security Awareness Platform, adding full support for PDF and SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) – the industry-standard protocol for deploying and managing e-learning content.

The enhancement enables organisations to build fully customised cybersecurity training programmes that reflect their infrastructure, risk profile, and internal policies, while continuing to benefit from Kaspersky’s expert-driven security content and phishing simulations.
According to the Kaspersky report titled “Redefining the Human Factor in Cybersecurity”, employees responding to phishing attacks was one of the main causes of cyber incidents in companies worldwide, accounting for 21% of cases among other reasons.
At the same time, additional Kaspersky research reveals that social engineering attacks are predicted to increase more than any other type in the nearest future, with 87% of respondents believing that social engineering attacks will become even more effective due to the use of AI tools.
The new Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform (Kaspersky ASAP) update directly addresses several persistent challenges such as reducing the number of human-related incidents, cutting time spent on managing training programmes, decreasing regulatory and compliance risks, and minimising potential legal or reputational damage stemming from cybersecurity breaches.
With the new SCORM support, the platform becomes even more flexible: companies can now upload, track, and manage their own SCORM-based learning materials directly within the system. In addition, companies can accelerate their programmes by using easier-to-create PDF-formats.
This allows organisations to tailor training to their specific technology stacks and emerging threats targeting their industry or region. Businesses that have already invested in third-party SCORM courses or internal learning development can now seamlessly reuse their existing modules, protecting their prior investments while strengthening their cybersecurity posture.
The combination of Kaspersky’s embedded content built on real cases uncovered by the company’s world-class experts with customers’ PDF materials or SCORM modules enables a true best-of-breed approach to human risk management.
Organisations can supplement Kaspersky’s up-to-date cyberattack scenarios with internal policies, unique workflows, and industry-specific lessons, ensuring training resonates with employees and reflects real operational challenges.
“Human behaviour remains one of the most unpredictable elements in cybersecurity and also one of the easiest for attackers to exploit. By adding SCORM support to Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform, we’re giving organisations the flexibility to build training programmes that truly match their internal realities.
“Combined with Kaspersky’s expert-driven content and real-world attack data, this update empowers companies to create more adaptive, relevant, and impactful awareness programmes than ever before,” comments Svetlana Kalashnikova, Security Awareness expert at Kaspersky.
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