Telecom
Globacom, Zinox, Phase 3 Emerge Sponsors of Wafict 2010
Telecommunications gaint, Globacom has emerged as the most distinguished sponsor of the West African Information Communications Technology (Wafict) Congress 2010. Globacom clinched the highest category, Platinum, thereby maintaining a feat it achieved last year when sponsored Wafict in the same category.
With this, the high calibre speakers, delegates and guests to the Congress and its sister W.Afri.Tel Exhibition both of which are holding simultaneously from June 1 – 3, 2010 at the ultra-modern Expo Centre of the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, would be treated to the splendour and grand orange green and white colours of the operator.
By this action, Globacom has once more exhibited its commitment to the growth and leadership role of the Nigerian sector for the West Africa sub-region and indeed the company’s and that of its Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr’s own vision to build Africa’s biggest and best telecommunications company.
Wafict Congress 2010 is organised by Africa’s foremost ICT magazine, IT & Telecom Digest, which is also the sole Nigeria Agent for W.Afri.Tel. as earlier announced, the Wafict Congress 2010 is expected to attract some of the most sophisticated line up of international speakers and participants from across the sub-region and other parts of the world. Wafict 2010 is being co-hosted with the London, UK-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO).
This year’s event is further strengthened with the collaborative arrangement between IT & Telecom Digest and the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and it promises to be a first of its kind three-day discussion and interactive sessions on the theme: Moving West Africa Forward: Policy and Technology Imperatives – Trends, Potentials & Challenges.
Globacom tells a story about the African dream seeing that the company joined the race in Africa’s leading telecom market two years behind the first licensees had begun operations, and determined to make the difference, it launched out with innovative and life changing products and pricing method that has since then altered the face of the telecom industry not only in Nigeria but in the entire Black race; and it continues to sustain this tempo.
And to confirm this pan Africanist vision of its founder, Globacom has since deployed its services into other West African countries and is presently in the Republic of Benin, in Ghana and has commenced plans to change the face of competition in Cote d’Ivoire. And this drive is further given impetus with the company’s launch of its Glo 1 submarine cable system which is a first in the world by a private company.
Following on the steps of Globacom are two other Nigerian leading ICT companies and pride of Africa in their own sphere – Zinox Technologies, which is the Gold sponsor and Phase 3 Telecoms as Bronze category sponsor.
Zinox Technologies Limited, Nigeria’s IT identity and manufacturers of Nigeria’s First Internationally Certified Branded Computers, is presently rated the largest IT group in sub-Saharan African and its computer is rated the second largest selling computer brand in Nigeria (IDC Rating) and is the largest partner for both Intel and Microsoft in Sub Saharan Africa.
Recently, Zinox Computers launched a most robust E -Learning suite in Africa and rated number one by World e-Library with over 750,000 books, the company has been the promoter of Digital Knowledge Democracy Project across Africa, among other pioneering efforts at knowledge promotion.
Zinox recently deployed e -learning suite with 100 laptops and internet facility in each of the select 120 secondary schools in Nigeria in a major national e- project sponsored by the Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF.
Its Chairman, Chief Leo-Stan Ekeh, who is very passionate about ICT penetration, usage and uptake in Africa, was said to have welcome the opportunity to be a part of Wafict Congress 2010, promising to make a formal statement before the event. “We will storm Wafict and W.Afri.Tel this year, and I can assure you the story will never be the same again,” he was said to have briefly hinted.
On the other hand, Bronze category sponsor and leading provider of transmission and IP services Phase 3 in less than its six years in operation has proven that with a strong vision and passion, a Nigerian company can bring the West Africa sub-region under one umbrella, especially in the development of enduring ICT infrastructure.
Hence, Phase 3 under the direction of its chief executive, Mr. Stanley Jegede, has expanded its network to cover the Republic of Benin and Togo thus making its network the longest and first regional terrestrial fibre network provider, linking Nigeria to the Republic of Benin and Togo, with potential for connections to Ghana and Burkina Faso from Togo.
This infrastructure targets existing regional telecommunication service providers currently operating in these countries, as well as the transmission needs of operators who plan to interconnect with operators in Togo and Benin. This also positions Phase3 as the infrastructure provider for the distribution of broadband services to various locations in these countries.
Phase3’s aerial infrastructure in Nigeria is deployed on the 330kV and 132kV high voltage lines; whilst aerial infrastructure in Togo and Benin are deployed on 161kV high voltage lines.
Reacting to these developmenst, Editor-in-Chief of IT & Telecom Digest, Mr. Mkpe Abang, applauded Globacom’s dedication and steadfast loyalty to national programmes which has further elevated the national pride. He pointed out that Globacom’s entry into the Nigerian telecommunications industry has not only altered the rate of growth of the industry but it has created and continue to create a new culture of patriotism.
According to Abang, this “company has continued to demonstrate its foresightedness, passion for the Nigerian dream and has made of no value the often talked about daunting challenges in doing business in the sub-region.”
He goes further to describe the three companies that have so far taken up sponsorship of WAFICT as: “These are companies that believe, like our magazine, that an African can be the best in the world in spite of the often unfavourable categorizations of the continent as a backward continent. Consistently, companies like these have given us hope to continue to attract the best in the world into our economy and that is what development and growth entails.”
He expressed the organisers’ appreciation of these three even as he was optimistic that more companies which have shown interest in the programme would join the train before the commencement of the events.
The need for Nigeria to think outside the box in its need to drive towards global relevance with innovations and scientific developments will be on the front burner at the NITRA Innovative & Scientific Conference scheduled to hold on Thursday July 23, 2026 in Ikeja, Lagos.
NITRA
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will lead other delegates to discuss and take far-reaching decisions at the event, which has its theme as “Bridging Nigeria’s Digital Divide With Scientific Innovation”.
Other companies that have indicated interest in partnering with NITRA include mobile communications company, Tecno; Africa’s premier end-to-end AI solutions company, Hyperspace; and telecommunications data infrastructure company, Digital Realty.
Speaking on the proposed event, the Chairman, Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), Chike Onwuegbuchi noted that the event will seek to create a platform for government and private organisations to deliberate on policies around scientific innovations in Nigeria, challenges, place of indigenous and foreign collaboration, roles of each stakeholder, and grassroots development in that regard, among others.
According to him: “The Federal government, with series of programmes and partnerships, has established the urgent need to create an ecosystem that thrives on scientific innovation, breeding institutions and individuals with a target of placing the country at the fore-front of Next-Gen development.
It is a known fact that digital and scientific innovations are crucial, not only to the survivability of a nation, but also to the sustainability of its growth and development, with significant effect on economic strength, global image, defense and security, government capabilities to function, and public health and safety, communication and digital footprint, among others.
The federal government is actively driving scientific innovation to foster economic diversification and build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Efforts are heavily focused on commercializing research, establishing massive research funds, and funding strategic infrastructure, particularly in technology, biotechnology, and healthcare. Core government initiatives and policies include the newly instituted National Research and Innovation Development Fund (NRIDF), which aims to mobilize about $500 million annually to support research and the commercialization of scientific outputs; and the Nigeria Genomic City, a multi-ministerial initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria into a leading hub for genomics, precision medicine, and biotechnology. It is designed to protect indigenous data, stimulate artificial intelligence in health, and develop a highly skilled scientific workforce.
According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, the forum will also be a vehicle to propagating the views of decision makers to the public, thereby furthering the cause of public awareness and information dissemination on the topic.
The focus, he said will be on how Nigeria can sustain digital innovative growth and scientific development in Nigeria
The board of global payments company, PayPal, says a 53 billion dollars takeover offer from financial technology firm, Stripe, and private equity company, Advent International, does not adequately reflect the company’s long-term value.
PayPal
According to reports, the proposed acquisition, valued at 60.50 dollars per share, remains under consideration, with the board yet to formally respond to the offer.
The directors are said to be evaluating not only the financial value of the proposal but also the structure of the financing, the timeline for completing the transaction and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approvals.
They are also considering the possibility of competing bids emerging.
Although the offer represents a premium of about 28 per cent above PayPal’s recent share price, the board believes the company could deliver greater value to shareholders if its ongoing turnaround strategy succeeds.
Following reports of the bid, PayPal shares gained about two per cent to close at 56.73 dollars.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Stripe and Advent have secured approximately 50 billion dollars in debt financing from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, while both firms would jointly contribute 17 billion dollars in equity.
Under the proposal, the two companies would jointly own PayPal instead of dividing its operations.
PayPal, Stripe, Advent International, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have all declined to comment on the proposed transaction.
The discussions come as PayPal seeks to strengthen its business after years of increasing competition from rivals including Apple Pay, Google Pay and emerging financial technology firms.
The company, which was valued at about 360 billion dollars in 2021, now has a market capitalisation of approximately 36 billion dollars.
Since assuming office as Chief Executive Officer in March 2026, Enrique Lores has embarked on a restructuring programme aimed at improving operational efficiency and restoring growth.
The restructuring includes the creation of three business divisions comprising Checkout, Venmo and Consumer Financial Services, and Payments and Crypto.
The company is also targeting 1.5 billion dollars in cost savings through the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.
PayPal’s latest financial results indicated signs of recovery, with first-quarter revenue rising seven per cent year-on-year to 8.35 billion dollars, while total payment volume increased by eight per cent to 464 billion dollars.
If approved, the transaction would combine two of the world’s largest digital payments companies.
The combined business would process an estimated 3.7 trillion dollars in annual payment volume, significantly strengthening its position in the global online payments market.
However, analysts expect the proposed acquisition to face intense regulatory scrutiny because of the companies’ combined market share in merchant payment services.
To address possible antitrust concerns, the bidders have reportedly considered options, including separating PayPal’s Braintree business or other assets if required by regulators.
Sources said Stripe and Advent remain interested in pursuing the acquisition despite the board’s reservations, although negotiations are expected to continue.
Market observers are also awaiting PayPal’s earnings report scheduled for July 28 for further indications of the company’s financial recovery and future growth prospects.
Concerns over network reliability and its impact on Nigeria’s growing creator economy took centre stage at MTN Nigeria’s Data on Trial event, where content creator and streamer, Jarvis, challenged telecommunications operators to improve connectivity for digital creators.
Speaking during the event, Jarvis asked whether there were locations in Nigeria where uninterrupted internet connectivity could support real-life (IRL) streaming without network disruptions.
“Are there places where there is no breakage when streaming IRL?” she asked.
Her question highlighted the challenges faced by content creators who depend on stable internet services for live streaming, content uploads and real-time engagement with audiences.
Responding, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Technical Officer, Mr Yahaya Ibrahim, said network performance depends on several factors, including location, network coverage, device capability and the number of users connected to a particular base station.
He noted that operators continue to invest in expanding network capacity to meet the growing demand for data services.
Earlier, MTN’s General Manager, Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mr Michael Ndukwe, explained the evolution of mobile network technology in Nigeria, from first-generation (1G) services to the current fifth-generation (5G) technology.
According to him, each phase of technological advancement has significantly increased network capacity and enabled new digital services.
Ndukwe cited Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showing that Nigerians consumed about 13.2 million terabytes of data in 2025.
He added that data usage reached approximately 4.06 million terabytes in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the country’s increasing reliance on digital platforms and online services.
According to him, the growth is being driven by wider adoption of 4G and 5G networks, increased smartphone penetration, the proliferation of smart devices and expanding use of social media platforms.
Participants at the event noted that as more Nigerians build businesses and careers around digital content, access to reliable and high-speed internet has become critical to sustaining the country’s digital economy and creator ecosystem.
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