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Interswitch Reaffirms Commitment to Encouraging STEM Education, Kicks-off InterswitchSPAK 5.0
Interswitch has expressed its commitment to encouraging Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Nigeria with the commencement of 5th edition of InterswitchSPAK National Science competition.
The competition, which is open to all senior secondary school students between the ages of 14 and 17 in public and private schools in Nigeria, aims to discover and nurture young students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, with the goal of building a knowledge-based society and promoting sustainable development in Africa. InterswitchSPAK provides a platform for students to showcase their academic prowess in STEM subjects and compete for various exciting prizes, including university scholarships.
During the course of the competition, contestants will be taken through various qualifying rounds, including online assessments and a national qualifying examination leading to the semi-finals stage. This will be followed by a grand finale where the finalists will compete for the ultimate prize of N7.5 million in scholarships for a five-year period, a laptop and monthly stipends. The second-place winner will receive N4 million in scholarships for three years, a laptop and monthly stipends. The third-place winner will in turn get N1 million in scholarships for one year, monthly stipends and a laptop. There will also be mentoring opportunities with senior Interswitch employees, as well as other exciting prizes.
This year’s special edition will offer a prize pool of over 14 million Naira, an increase from the usual 12.5 million Naira, as the competition aims to reward more winners than ever before. The increase in prize money will see over 100 students and teachers rewarded instead of just the top 3 winners.
Furthermore, InterswitchSPAK will also purchase JAMB e-PINS for 54 contestants to enable them to register for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination free of charge. These initiatives are a testament to InterswitchSPAK’s commitment to nurturing young talents in STEM and providing them with opportunities to excel in their chosen fields.
According to the Founder and Group Managing Director of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, “InterswitchSPAK is a celebration of our commitment to promoting STEM education in Africa and empowering the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. As we commence the fifth edition, we are delighted to have reached this milestone in the competition and assure Africans that more students across the continent will have access to quality STEM education through InterswitchSPAK.”
This year’s competition, being a commemorative edition, promises to be more exciting as well as educative. Over the past four editions, the competition has seen remarkable success stories of students who have emerged as winners and have gone on to make significant contributions in various STEM fields.
Speaking during the launch of this year’s edition of the National Science Competition, Cherry Eromosele, Executive Vice President, Group Marketing and Corporate Communications at Interswitch, said, “We are excited to kick off this edition of InterswitchSPAK particularly because it’s been five years of visible impact. This highlights our focus on inspiring and empowering innovative young minds to drive progress in STEM and shape the future of Africa and the world at large.”
Oladapo Ojo, Founder and Group Managing Director of JustMedia, the technical partner of the InterswitchSPAK initiative, while speaking at the press conference also said “Working on InterswitchSPAK over the years has been an incredible journey for JustMedia. We are proud to be a part of this initiative which seeks to promote academic excellence and STEM education among secondary school students in Africa. Our team has been fully committed to providing technical support to ensure the success of the competition and we are excited and looking forward to the fifth edition of this laudable project.”
InterswitchSPAK was birthed as a platform to engage and empower young Nigerians to become future leaders of innovation and the initiative’s consistency over the years is a demonstration of Interswitch’s commitment to its vision of promoting STEM education in Africa. The company believes that by nurturing young students in STEM subjects, it can contribute to building a sustainable and prosperous future for Africa.
All eligible students and schools are encouraged to visit https://www.interswitchspak.com/ for more details about participating in the competition, as this year’s search for the best STEM student begins.
National Reading Culture (NRC), an online investment platform targeting Nigerians has collapsed, resulting in the loss of billions of Naira for investors.
The website unexpectedly shut down, blocking users from withdrawing their funds and locking in their investments.
Just like all other investment scams, victims were lured with promises of doubling their money in few weeks.
When National Reading Culture eventually crashed, the operators vanished with users’ funds, leaving investors devastated.
How the Platform WorkedTask-Based Earning:
According findings, National Reading Culture lured users with promises of making money by completing simple daily tasks like reading articles, clicking links, or inviting friends.
They also offered investment tiers to earn higher daily profits, where users had to deposit their own money into the platform.
Evidence showed the website previously operated as a Chinese job search platform before rebranding into an “earning” scheme.
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA) to collaborate on digital transformation aimed at strengthening worker protection systems and support economic growth.
According to RMA, the agreement was concluded during a visit by its delegation to Abuja.
The partnership will focus on institutional capability development, modernising operating models, improving service delivery and sharing knowledge between the two organisations.
Through the partnership, RMA and NSITF will collaborate to strengthen institutional capability, modernise operating models, accelerate digital transformation and improve services for workers and employers.
The organisations will also explore opportunities for knowledge exchange and the adoption of best practices in social security administration.
RMA said the agreement forms part of its broader engagement with governments, regulators and social security institutions across Africa to support improvements in governance, operational resilience and service delivery.
“Our partnership with NSITF reflects much more than the signing of an agreement,” said Mandla Shezi, group chief executive officer of RMA. “This partnership is not simply about sharing knowledge. It is about co-creating the next generation of African social security systems.”
He added: “By combining our respective strengths, we can help build institutions that are more resilient, more responsive and better equipped to protect workers while supporting national development.”
Shezi said the future of social security depends on integrated systems where prevention, insurance, healthcare, rehabilitation, technology, investment management and institutional capability work together.
Microsoft has announced plans to cut about 4,800 jobs, representing roughly 2.1 percent of its global workforce, with Xbox, its gaming division, expected to bear the largest share of the layoffs.
The company said more than 1,600 positions at Xbox would be eliminated immediately, while another 1,600 jobs would be phased out over the next year as part of a major restructuring of the gaming business.
In a memo to employees, Amy Coleman, executive vice president, Microsoft, said the company was streamlining its operations to focus on areas that deliver greater value to customers in a rapidly changing technology industry.
Asha Sharma, chief executive officer, Xbox, described the move as “the most significant restructure in Xbox history,” saying the changes are intended to position the gaming business for long-term growth rather than downsizing.
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