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Gamsole Launches Competition for New Talent

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Abiola Olaniran, Nigeria’s highest paid Windows game developer, Gamsole
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Gamsole, award-winning Nigerian mobile games company, has launched a new competition offering US$4,000 in prizes and career opportunities for five talented illustrators.

Founded by Abiola Olaniran, Nigeria’s highest paid Windows game developer, Gamsole creates games for the Windows phone platform, taking advantage of its fast growth and unsaturated gaming market.

The competition will be running until the 23rd November and entrants must submit a graphical concept for a game, including character design in different moods and positions.

Gamsole will be offering a US$3 000 prize for the best illustrator, with the runner-up receiving US$1 000. “The top five will be offered permanent positions at Gamsole’s offices in Lagos, giving them the chance to own equity and be part of a high-growth, fast-paced startup,” said Abiola.

With a passion for mobile application and design, the computer science and mathematics graduate started his business two years ago. In just six months of launching games on the Windows Phone Store Abiola had over three million players worldwide who fell in love with the addictive gameplay experience, from China to Brazil.

“About 38% of mobile phone users all over the world consume games, second to the use of social networks. People never get tired of gaming. On an everyday basis, millions of people are experiencing little boring moments: the long queue at the supermarket, the traffic, a 13-hour flight. Apart from providing the entertainment factor for scenarios like this, mobile gaming also serves as a great tool for education.”

After being one of the first African startups to be awarded an innovation grant from Microsoft 4Afrika, Abiola’s games now top over nine million downloads. Popular games include Juicy Links and Cookie Jam.

“We want to focus on creating high-quality games for mobile and desktop with a distinct African flavor, for example, educational and African-themed are a great way to engage people in local stories and issues in a fun way. Excellent graphics are an essential component of game development and we require the best illustrators to take the company forward.”

Finding the right skills is a challenge facing many businesses, especially startups that can’t always compete with the salaries that larger corporations can afford. “There are so many benefits of being part of a smaller enterprise,” said Amrote Abdella, director of Venture Capital and Startups at Microsoft. “Not everyone can be an entrepreneur, but startups offer young talent the chance to become part of the entrepreneurial process, helping grow the enterprise and being part of the strategic decision making process from early on. Startups offer creative freedom and a dynamic, high-energy environment.”

With the help of the Microsoft 4Afrika grant awarded in February this year, Gamsole has gone from strength to strength and with the additional five designers will have 12 employees by the end of the year with the view to adding more coders in 2015. Abiola is also exploring alternative opportunities for monetisation with advertising opportunities for brands that want to reach a young, tech-savvy audience.

“Prior to the grant we had engaged several investors, but couldn’t agree on the terms,” says Abiola. The 4Afrika grant meant we didn’t have to give up any equity and we were provided not only monetary, but technical support.”

Illustrators can enter the competition here and share entries with their friends who can vote. Submissions close on the 23rd November, and the winners are up to Gamsole’s discretion.


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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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