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Gateway Business Partners Helios Towers for Network Rollout

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Infrastructure sharing and managed services provider, Helios Towers Nigeria (HTN) has signed a 120-site co-location deal with Gateway Business Nigeria, a pan African telecommunications service provider, for a nationwide network roll out in Nigeria. The deal follows Gateway Business’ successful roll out of its award winning AirlinkTM and MetroLinkTM wireless broadband services, using the same 10.5GHz solution in Lagos.
Helios Towers Nigeria (HTN) has over 1,000 sites nationwide and will provide end-to-end co-location services to Gateway Business Nigeria, the leading provider of communications services to multinational corporations working in Africa.  Gateway Business delivers the highest quality, most comprehensive and affordable national, regional and international connectivity services on the continent.
“Gateway is passionate about doing business in Nigeria and will be deploying world class communications services to all the states of the federation,” said Guy Clarke, Managing Director of Gateway Business Nigeria. “We have been working on the continent for more than 15 years, building a pan African communications network. Working with HTN in Nigeria is part of our strategy to provide world class broadband internet services for Africa’s leading businesses.”
Gateway Business is building a pan-African MPLS network that will cover every major African city and has acquired 10.5GHz spectrum licenses for point to multipoint connectivity in Nigeria. The company will roll out wireless broadband services across 10 Nigerian states in 2010, with Port Harcourt and Abuja scheduled to go live in the next few weeks. A further 26 states will go live through 2011.
The partnership will enable Gateway Business to roll out services quickly through the co-location on HTN sites, with guaranteed uptime and quality of service and reduced operating expenses.  Gateway Business currently provides a comprehensive suite of communications services to over 1,200 corporations working in Africa.
Gateway Business owns and operates Africa’s most advanced regional and international networks, supporting the requirements of the continent’s voice and data users and manages  diverse satellite, subsea and fibre connectivity across over 40 African countries. The network provides global connectivity for the continent through major teleport and switching facilities in Europe, the Americas and Africa.
HTN commenced commercial operations in 2005 and has demonstrated its ability to operate successfully in Nigeria. It has quickly become the leading shared infrastructure provider and the reference point for quality of service in the industry.  It is well positioned to remain the dominant provider of co-location infrastructure services in Nigeria, while adapting its business models to the specific requirements of the Nigerian environment
HTN recently increased its portfolio to over 1,000 sites and is growing its managed services business, planning to expand its network to 2,000 fully managed sites by end of 2010. HTN recently launched the highly successful “Lean Operator Model” that helps telecom operators reduce costs and to focus on the merchant side rather than the technological side of the business in a competitive environment.
Gateway Business Africa owns and operates the largest and most advanced pan-African telecommunications network. Our scale, reach and resources are unparalleled. Gateway connect over 1,200 of Africa largest and leading corporations in 40 African countries, working in partnership with the world’s foremost technology innovators.
Our business experts are creating prosperity across Africa by working closely with multinational corporations; in banking and finance, oil and gas, mining and construction, retail and distribution, airlines and other important sectors.
With more than 45 transponders of satellite capacity over Africa we manage more connectivity over the continent than any other operator. And with 24 dedicated teleports, access to multiple subsea cable landing ports, 17 African offices and 350 local experts, we’ve got more on the ground support than any other operator.
Gateway is committed to developing long term communications solutions and investing for the long term in the communities where we operate.


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NIA Questions Legality of Reps’ Financial Probe

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The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.

The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.

In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.

“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.

“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.

“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”

Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.

“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.

17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.


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Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth

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Finance ministers and development partners from the Horn of Africa have called for enhanced digital integration to boost trade, drive economic growth and promote regional stability during the 25th Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI).

Held in Nairobi, on July 14, the meeting was co-chaired by the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo and Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Egeh. Discussions underscored the critical role of digital integration in reducing trade barriers, boosting government service delivery and creating employment — particularly for the region’s youth.

“Digital technologies are shaping today’s economy and tomorrow’s industries. By embedding these technologies into our programs, we can not only improve inclusion but also leapfrog outdated development models,” said Nwabufo.

She called for digital integration a “central enabler” in each of the Horn of Africa Initiative’s pillars – trade, infrastructure, resilience, and human capital,

Learning through experience

Drawing from global and regional success stories, speakers highlighted the transformative potential of technology-led development. The ministers pointed to the Philippines as a strong example, where ICT has generated millions of jobs in business process outsourcing. Similarly, Kenya’s fintech innovation—especially the success of M-PESA—was cited as a model for scaling digital financial services across the region.

Participants urged governments to proactively foster digital ecosystems by capitalizing on the demographic dividend, identifying infrastructure upgrades, tighter regulatory reforms, and digital skills trainings as priorities to enable broader participation in the digital economy.

Minister Egeh reiterated the need for more coordinated regional efforts to create the enabling environment required for accelerated digital integration and expansion. He referenced the HoAI Digital Policy Matrix, adopted in 2023 which provides a blueprint on how to address key obstacles to achieving effective digital integration across the region.

Barack Makokha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, underscored the importance of regionally-aligned public private partnerships and advocated for blended financing to reduce investment risk and expand digital access in underserved areas.

World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiame Diop, called for a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, combining cross-border coordination, large-scale financing, robust policy support, and digital infrastructure investments. He pointed out that such measures could transform digital integration into, “a powerful engine of economic transformation” for the Horn of Africa—ensuring no one is left behind in the digital era.

The meeting concluded with a shared recognition that sustained political will and the determination to implement a multifaceted approach are essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential and driving long-term growth.

The event also welcomed observers from the East African Community, Agence française de développement, and Shelter Afrique, reflecting strong regional and international backing for the HoAI in the development community.


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CSCS Inaugurates Custodian Portal to Enhance Digital Access, Operational Efficiency

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Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure provider, has launched its Custodian Portal, a user-centric digital solution designed to optimise custodian operations through intuitive, secure and efficient features.

Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CSCS, announced this in a statement on Monday.

The CSCS is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, which serves as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market.

It serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds like the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond, Equity-traded Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.

Jalo-Waziri said that the custodian portal offered a streamlined experience for market participants with powerful tools that facilitate comprehensive portfolio and trade management, document tracking, share transfer operations, client symbol search, and real-time access to vital data.

He explained that the portal, designed to operate through a flexible subscription-based model, empowered users to manage their records effortlessly and securely through convenient payment channels such as GTPay and Paystack.

According to him, “Digital transformation remains at the core of our strategy to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of Nigeria’s capital market services.

“The custodian portal is a significant leap in that direction, offering custodians a centralised platform to manage critical processes in real-time.

“We are excited about the value this innovation brings to our stakeholders, and we will continue to evolve the platform in line with users’ needs and industry trends.”

The CEO also explained that the portal was designed with user experience in mind with feature tools like portfolio viewing and downloads in PDF or Excel format.

He further said that it also featured tracking of stock movements across date ranges, inbox messaging and request tracking, as well as robust user management capabilities including role assignment and status tracking.

Similarly, the Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnadozie, said that the portal aligned with CSCS’s drive to automate the market.

“In addition to the normal features, the platform is a part of an omnichannel platform for custodians, and includes API services.

“It also connects to the market-wide workflow, which CSCS has built to ensure secured communication and approvals across all major stakeholders in the market.

“The platform is well secured with best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions and our SOC,” he said.

The Custodian Portal reinforces CSCS’s commitment to leveraging technology to streamline back-office functions and support a more agile, data-driven capital market ecosystem.

All custodians in the Nigerian capital market have now been successfully on-boarded on the Custodian Portal, marking a significant milestone in CSCS’s ongoing drive to enhance collaboration, standardise operational processes, and promote digital adoption across the market.


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