Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB), Nigeria’s foremost ICT infrastructure and shared services provider to the Federal Government, wishes to reiterate and clarify the availability, maturity, and ongoing expansion of the Federal Government’s official email infrastructure, widely known as GOVMAIL.

GOVMAIL is a secure and centralized official email platform established for use by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to facilitate professional, auditable, and efficient communication across all arms of government.

The platform was launched by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs, Didi Esther Walson-Jack as part of a broader digital transformation agenda aimed at modernizing public service workflows and reducing reliance on paper-based correspondence and fragmented, external email services.

Recent statements by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, underscore the strategic importance of GOVMAIL in the wider push towards a paperless civil service.

In late 2025, she announced that over 100,000 official GOVMAIL accounts had been created for civil servants across federal MDAs under an expanding paperless policy and that the transformation reflects a clear shift away from traditional paper correspondence to secure digital communication at scale. Today, that number has grown to over 150,000 Official government email accounts, current in use by government workers across MDAs.

Galaxy Backbone also affirms that these email accounts operate within a protected sovereign government domain environment hosted on secure local infrastructure, supported by enterprise-grade cybersecurity architecture.

The platform underpins centralized identity management and ensures compliance with national data protection standards, reinforcing accountability, audit-trail visibility, and overall digital governance efficiency.

In addition to GOVMAIL, Galaxy Backbone operates secure national Tier III and Tier IV Data Centres, a robust National Fibre Backbone, a Security Operations Centre (SOC), and a Network Operations Centre (NOC) that jointly power mission-critical government digital services. This infrastructure is closely aligned with the Federal Government’s digital economy strategy and its efforts to deepen digital service delivery, transparency, and efficiency across MDAs.

To accelerate adoption and ensure that every government worker who is expected to have an official email has one, GBB is working collaboratively with MDAs to close existing gaps and onboard remaining staff within the shortest possible time. These coordinated efforts reflect the shared objective of equipping public servants with the digital tools necessary for responsive, efficient, and secure inter-agency communication.

Galaxy Backbone remains committed to working with stakeholders across the different arms of government to sustain and build on this progress. The company appreciates the emphasis placed on strengthening digital governance and remains ready to provide technical clarifications and support collaborative engagements that further advance Nigeria’s digital public service ecosystem.

Additional 14 million farmers in 37 low-income and vulnerable countries served by the African Development Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional financing window, are set to benefit from a technology initiative targeted at scaling up climate-resilient food production across the continent.

This comes after the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) signed a $16.61 million grant agreement to launch the third phase of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation Programme (TAAT-III)

TAAT-III, funded by the African Development Fund, is expected to consolidate earlier gains benefiting 14 million more farmers while introducing a more sustainable, private sector-driven delivery approach.

AfDB said the initiative aims to reinforce seed and technology distribution systems, deepen partnerships with governments and agribusinesses, and expand the digital tools, including its technology e-catalogues and real-time monitoring platforms, to speed up deployment of high‑impact solutions.

Simeon Ehui, director general of IITA, commented: “TAAT-III allows us to deepen the delivery of science‑based solutions that improve farmers’ yields and livelihoods. Working with the Bank and our partners, we are scaling technologies that make Africa’s food systems more resilient and competitive.”

Since its launch in 2018, TAAT has become one of Africa’s most effective and transformative platforms for agricultural innovation, reaching nearly 25 million farmers and boosting productivity across major staples.

The initiative has expanded climate-resilient agricultural practices across over 35 million hectares.

In a statement, the AfDB said working closely with the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research Centres and national and regional partners, TAAT has increased crop yields up to 69% and generated more than $4 billion in additional agricultural value.

Countries including Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria have recorded notable gains in staple crop productivity and resilience to climate shocks.

Nigeria has been a key beneficiary of TAAT initiatives. Under its Wheat Compact, farmers adopting improved heat-tolerant varieties more than doubled yields from 1.7 tons per hectare to 3.5 tons per hectare.

Programme supported seed system assessments also helped inform national reforms to expand access to certified, climate-resilient seeds.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Abdul Kamara, director general of the Bank Group’s Nigeria Country Department, said the new phase will focus on scaling innovation more rapidly

Kamara said: “TAAT-III underscores the Bank’s commitment to ensuring that proven, climate-resilient agricultural technologies reach farmers faster and at scale. This phase strengthens the systems that deliver innovation, helping countries boost productivity, enhance resilience, and align agricultural transformation efforts with the Bank’s four new areas of emphasis, dubbed the Four Cardinal Points.”

Dimension Data Nigeria has raised ₦20 billion (approximately $13.7 million) through a bond programme under Dimension Data SPV Funding Plc, following approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria.

This initiative aims to strengthen Nigeria’s digital infrastructure by addressing gaps in fibre coverage, limited enterprise connectivity, and increasing demand for cloud, fintech, digital services, and Artificial Intelligence.

The integrated IT solutions provider stated that the capital will be used to fund long-term investments in expanding network capacity, enhancing resilience, and supporting carrier-grade and enterprise services as data consumption continues to accelerate nationwide.

Speaking at a documentation and regulatory clearances event in Lagos, managing director, Gbenga Olabiyi, said sustained infrastructure investment is critical to maintaining competitiveness and enabling future growth.

He noted that strategic upgrades would help future-proof operations, reduce service disruptions, and allow the company to scale efficiently as business and consumer demand for cloud, fintech, and other digital services intensifies.

The bond programme is backed by private equity firm Mbavaa Partners Limited, whose managing partner, Shatse Kakwagh, described the transaction as a milestone that unlocks long-term capital for expansion.

He highlighted that strong ratings and an oversubscribed first issuance show investor confidence in Dimension Data’s execution and growth potential.

The fundraising comes as Nigeria confronts persistent infrastructure gaps, including limited metro and last-mile fibre coverage and rising enterprise connectivity needs.

Government intends to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre nationwide under Project Bridge aim to expand internet penetration and lower access costs.