Telecom
Google Reinforces Commitment to Women & Girls in Africa with $25m Grant
In commemoration of International Women’s Day, Google.org’s has opened call for applications for grant funding from its new global Impact Challenge (GIC) for Women and Girls, reinforces its commitment to the empowerment of women and girls on the African continent.
The GIC for Women and Girls, which will provide $25 million in overall cash grants to nonprofits and social enterprises creating pathways to prosperity for women and girls, follows initiatives like the 2019 Africa launch of Women Will, Google’s initiative to create opportunities for women, and Google’s #IamRemarkable workshop series, which works to counteract conditioning that women shouldn’t celebrate their achievements.
Empowering women and girls in Africa to reach their full economic potential, and to thrive, is more critical now than ever before as they bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Juliet Ehimuan, Country Director, Google Nigeria, quoting the Foresight Africa report 2021.
“It confirms that the coronavirus has “exacerbated already-existing gender inequalities, laying bare serious fault lines in safety, physical and mental health, education, domestic responsibilities, and employment opportunities”.
”Despite decades of work aimed at achieving gender equality, the disparity between men and women not only remains – it is growing alarmingly, largely thanks to the global pandemic,” the report warns
The (GIC) for Women and Girls is focused on changing the status quo, with Ehimuan stressing that job cuts, income losses and lack of education aren’t simply side-effects of the pandemic, but ‘will negatively impact the economic strides made by women and girls for many years to come’.
“As economies and societies rebuild, we need bold new ideas that will propel us forward.
“We can’t afford to go back to the way things were, and we certainly can’t do it alone.”
Organisations have until Friday, 2 April at 11:59pm GMT to submit their applications at g.co/womenandgirlschallenge.
An all-female panel of expert Google executives and world / business leaders, including Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women; Victoria Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on SDGs; Graça Machel, Founder, Graça Machel Trust; and Juliana Rotich, Kenyan information technology entrepreneur, will preside over the application review and selection process once applications close.
Grantees, who will be announced later this year, are eligible to receive funding ranging from $300,000 to $2 million.
Selected organisations will also receive capacity building support and mentoring from Googlers.
Over the past five years, Google.org has given over $55 million in cash grants to non-profit organisations that support gender equity and access to opportunity for women and girls around the world.
Building on their previous work in gender equity—with grantees like the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Laboratoria and GiveDirectly—Google.org is seeking applications from organisations in Africa and around the world.
“We have a collective responsibility to ensure that generations of women and girls from all walks of life—no matter their race, sexual orientation, religion or socioeconomic status—live in a world where they are treated equally and can realise their full potential.
“When women and girls have the tools, resources and opportunities to turn their potential into power, it not only changes the trajectory of their individual lives, but also strengthens entire communities. If we lift up women and girls, the rest of the world will rise, too,” Ehimuan concludes
Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
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