MTN Foundation and SAIL Innovation Lab have roared into Phase Two of their blockbuster Teachers Fellowship Programme, onboarding 5,000 elite educators from Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT since January 13 to turbocharge public schools with cutting-edge digital wizardry and global teaching firepower.

MTN

This mobile-first crusade, laser-focused on arming primary and secondary school titans for the digital economy showdown, kicks off with a grueling four-week virtual bootcamp via WhatsApp and Google Classroom—slashing travel barriers for even the remotest rural warriors.

Organisers promise peer-to-peer fireworks and real-time gut-checks, capping Stage One with a virtual gala saluting milestones before culling the pack to a fierce “Top 500” via engagement, assessments, and hustle for Phase Two’s inquiry-based mastery and deep-dive digital metamorphosis.

MTN Foundation’s Executive Director Odunayo Sanya lit the fuse: “Teachers are the backbone of our education system. By empowering them with digital competencies and innovative teaching methods, we are directly investing in the future of our youth.

This Fellowship Programme is designed to ensure that our educators are not just keeping pace with global best practices but are actively shaping the next generation of innovators and leaders.”

Nigeria’s heftiest private teacher uprising scales from last year’s triumphs, minting classroom commandos as state ambassadors to ignite inquiry-driven, tech-fueled learning revolutions coast-to-coast.

Onafriq Nigeria Payments Ltd, a CBN licenced payment service provider, partners with The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to pilot the continent’s first wallet-based outbound payments from Nigeria to Ghana – fully in Naira and instant, without relying on hard currency conversion, in partnership with Banks and Mobile Money Operators.

The pilot service, approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), enables cross-border intra-Africa payments for individuals, merchants, and traders.

In particular, the service will benefit SMEs, the real engine of intra-African trade; all now have access to a faster, cheaper way to reach customers and suppliers across the border.

By reducing barriers to cross-border trade, the new service will allow these businesses to grow their addressable markets and activity. From the 1st of December, this service will be fully operational for a 6-month period.

Through the partnership with PAPSS, Onafriq is supporting the operationalization of the AfCFTA (Africa Continental Free Trade Area) mandate.

The mandate itself is driving tariff-free trade for the 54 member states of AfCFTA. Within the partnership itself, Onafriq provides the mobile money rails, with an ecosystem consisting of over 1 billion mobile wallets.

Meanwhile, PAPSS brings a network of over 160 commercial banks, representing an ecosystem of more than 400 million bank accounts across its 19 African countries of operation.

The two partners are essentially seamlessly connecting two worlds: mobile money and banking. As a consequence, intra-African trade transactions will take place more easily and opportunities will be created.

Currently, Africa is made up of bank and mobile-led markets, with siloes often inhibiting transactions between these economies. However, this partnership will remove these boundaries. With over one billion mobile wallets and 500 million bank wallets across Africa, this partnership will allow for cross-border collaboration at scale.

This partnership builds on Onafriq and PAPSS’ existing partnership for payments into Ghana, announced earlier this year.

Mxolisi Msutwana, Managing Director Anglophone West Africa said, “Our work with PAPSS shows what collaboration at scale can unlock—seamless, secure connections between banking systems and mobile money ecosystems.

“This is how we open bi-directional trade corridors, reduce costs for businesses, and give African enterprises the rails they need to trade with confidence in their own currencies. The vision is continental, but it starts with practical steps like this one.”

Ositadimma Ugwu, Chief Information Officer, PAPSS, added “Too often, African businesses and individuals see borders as roadblocks instead of opportunities. With this step, we’re challenging that mindset, giving Nigerians the ability to send value next door with the same ease as sending a text message.

“Our vision is simple: make Africa’s borders invisible to payments. This pilot makes that a reality, moving us closer to a continent where payments don’t pause at the border.”

This new Nigeria-to-Ghana outbound capability builds on the successful Ghana-to-Nigeria instant payments corridor launched earlier this year – further proof that Africa’s payments future is local, instant, and inclusive.

MTN Foundation has kicked off the year with its five-week Digital Skills Training programme, upskilling 6,000 young Nigerians. The programme, which is in its fifth week commenced in January 2026.

MTN

The seventh phase of the project is focused on supporting Nigeria’s microbusiness to embrace digital transformation, at a time when SMEs remain the backbone of the Nigerian economy.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), SMEs account for over 90 per cent of businesses in Nigeria and employ a significant portion of the country’s workforce, underscoring the importance of initiatives that strengthen their productivity and sustainability.

Following a one-month call for applications in September 2025, which saw almost 64,000 entries from Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35, the 6,000 selected microbusiness owners have embarked on a five-week training that will end in February 2026.

The virtual training programme began with a general onboarding session that brought together participants across four business tracks and set the foundation for a four-week programme focused on practical digital strategies for business growth.

Microbusiness owners from sectors including circular economy, agriculture, food services, fashion, retail, logistics, beauty, and printing attended the training.

At the heart of the training is the principle that digital transformation has the capacity to enable small businesses scale and become more efficient. Participants were encouraged to start small, digitise repetitive tasks, and scale gradually using the Kaizen approach of continuous improvement.

This mindset allows them to see technology as a practical enabler of growth rather than a barrier. As the training progressed, the participants also learned about telesales and cybersecurity.

Speaking on the importance of the initiative, Odunayo Sanya, Executive Director of the MTN Foundation, said the programme is designed to equip young microbusiness owners with skills that directly address real business challenges.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and enabling young people adopt simple digital tools can make a real difference in productivity, sustainability, and long-term growth,” she said.

She also mentioned that the top-performing 600 participants will receive equipment grants of N600,000 each at the end of the programme.

Participants will continue to access learning materials and session recordings for the 5-week course, ensuring that digital adoption extends beyond the classroom. By combining practical guidance, relatable case studies, and continued support, the programme reinforces the message that digital growth for SMEs is achievable leveraging on technology.