Telecom
Investments in Telecoms Hit $68Bn in Nigeria

Despite what looks like economic downturn, investments in the fast growing telecommunications sector have been put at $68b as at July, 2016.
Of this figure, $35 billion comes from Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs)
Dr. Hamadoun Toure, immediate past secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as keynote speaker at the Nigerian Telecoms Investment Forum at the just concluded ITU Telecom World 2016, Bangkok, Thailand said these figures recorded so far in Nigeria point to the fact that “the country is certainly a preferred destination for telecommunications investors in Africa”.
Toure told the audience including Communications Minister, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar G. Danbatta, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Chief Executives of agencies under the Ministry of Communications and major telecommunications companies from Nigeria, Thailand, Senators and Members of the National Assembly among others that Nigeria is the place to invest because the population is large, there is political stability and a very robust telecommunications regulatory regime.
He explained that within 15 years when Nigeria opened its telecoms sector to the global community, investments have grown in leaps and from a paltry 400,000 connected lines in 2001, the country now has over 150m connected lines and a teledensity of 107 percent.
“The next growth for voice communication is in Quality of Service. The new oil in Nigeria is ICT and data transmission is the way to go”.
He was particularly excited that while he served as Secretary General of ITU, Nigeria occupied the number one position as the fastest growing telecoms sector for five consecutive years.
Toure told current and potential investors that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has done a very good job with the way it has managed regulatory activities transparently and by the fact that law makers from Nigeria were also part of the audience he spoke to at the venue, underscored the importance Nigeria attaches to this sector.
He said he is more Nigerian than his native Mali because Nigeria has always led the way, adding “Nigeria should share its experience with other African countries”.
While assuring existing and potential investors in Nigeria of Government support and protection at all times, Shittu, who spoke on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari said since Nigeria was now navigating from resource based to knowledge based economy, “we want to encourage you (the investors) to renew your confidence in our country”.
“Feel free to come to Nigeria and if visa is an issue let us know. Our doors are open and the ease of doing business in Nigeria is being improved upon”
Governor El-Rufai, who served as panelist at the forum alongside Prof. Danbatta, EVC of NCC, Ms. Funke Opeke of MainOne Cable, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko of Etisalat said technology as an enabler has helped Kaduna State to reduce land fraud and tax payments are now done online thus reducing incidents of leakages.
El-Rufai, a former Minister of Federal Capital Territory told the audience that Kaduna will soon launch Smart Kaduna initiative and has contacted a major Smart phone manufacturer to introduce pocket-friendly smart phones to Kaduna to boost the smart Kaduna Initiative.
NCC boss, Danbatta told the audience that the regulator has begun digital transformation through the National Broadband Plan (NBP 2013 – 2018).
The NCC boss explained that since broadband is the catalyst for social and economic transformation, “we have come to let the global community know that investments are welcome in this area”.
He said, the target is 30 percent by 2018 according to the NBP 2013 – 2018.
Although Nigeria has hit 21 percent so far, investments will be needed for 3G, 4G and to take services to underserved and unserved regions of Nigeria, “and we need to deploy infrastructure to those areas that have no services, we understand that and the strategy to address them hence we came out with the 8-point agenda to address this”.
Danbatta told the audience that Nigeria has a very flexible regulatory environment and “we are fare, firm and forthright in our activities”.
CEO of MainOne Cable Company, Ms. Funke Opeke said MainOne Cable has keyed into the National Broadband Plan and hence investments in the Infrastructure Company (Infraco) licence for Lagos to take broadband services to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Corporate organisations through metropolitan fibre optic links.
“we are building over 1,000km of fibre optic in Lagos and this is part of the building block to encourage broadband penetration”.
Dikko whose company, Etisalat, has over 20million subscriber base said that Etisalat is encouraged to invest in Nigeria because “laws are very clear, policy is good because the NCC hears us out all the time”.
In his contribution, Vice President, New Consumers at MasterCard, Mr. Anand Menon praised Nigeria’s ICT sector for creating an enabling environment for business to grow.
“We at MasterCard believe in Nigeria” Menon added.
Telecom
Truecaller Targets Global Market with Powerful New Business Chat Push

Truecaller, the leading global communications platform, today announced the expansion of its Business Chat platform, making it accessible to global channel partners and enterprise solution providers. By “opening up” market access to its platform, Truecaller is empowering partners to transition their enterprise clients from legacy, low-trust SMS to a verified, smart, media-rich, and conversational communication experience.

Truecaller
Through this partner-led expansion, Truecaller empowers businesses to reclaim customer attention and establish immediate trust and credibility.
“The definition of success for modern enterprises has fundamentally evolved. It’s no longer just about delivery – it’s about earning attention, establishing credibility, and driving meaningful conversion,” said Priyam Bose, Global Head, GTM at Truecaller.
“By opening up market access to our global partners, we’ve created a powerful gateway for brands to engage with over 500 million active users where they already interact daily through communication that is contextual, trusted, free from clutter, and designed to initiate actions. For existing customers, the outreach opportunity extends to an additional high-impact channel, strengthening the overall customer experience journey.”
Truecaller Business Chat enables a clutter-free, high-trust conversational experience between businesses and consumers. The Business Chat platform equips partners with actionable insights, including real-time data and rich engagement metrics. This facilitates a more sophisticated, data-driven communication strategy that adapts at every stage of the customer journey.
Partners, including Gupshup and OneXtel, are already live in India along with Globe Teleservices, Cloudcom, and Sling Africa in other global markets, rapidly scaling the product in their respective regions. Global partners can now leverage Truecaller’s massive footprint to offer their clients a trustworthy engagement channel in an increasingly crowded digital world.
Telecom
Meta Unveils Muse Spark: MSL’s Groundbreaking People-First AI Model

Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) unveiled Muse Spark Tuesday, its first large language model in a new Muse series, designed from scratch to deliver “personal superintelligence”—an AI assistant tailored to users’ real-world needs like complex reasoning in science, math and health.

Meta AI
A New Model: Muse Spark
Over the last nine months, Meta Superintelligence Labs rebuilt our AI stack from the ground up, moving faster than any development cycle we have run before. Muse Spark is the first model in our new Muse series — a deliberate and scientific approach to model scaling where each generation validates and builds on the last before we go bigger. This initial model is small and fast by design, yet capable enough to reason through complex questions in science, math, and health. It is a powerful foundation, and the next generation is already in development. Muse Spark now powers the Meta AI assistant in the Meta AI app and meta.ai, built to support complex reasoning and multimodal tasks.
What’s Changed with Meta AI
The Meta AI app and meta.ai are getting an upgrade today, along with a new look. Whether you need a quick answer or help with complex problems that need strong reasoning, Meta AI now handles both. You can switch between modes depending on the task, and Meta AI can launch multiple subagents in parallel to tackle your question. Like planning a family trip to Florida where one agent drafts the itinerary, another compares Orlando vs. the Keys, and a third finds kid-friendly activities — all at the same time, giving you a better answer, faster.
Ask Meta AI: It Understands
The real world moves fast, and most of it does not fit into a text box. That is why we built strong multimodal perception into Muse Spark, so Meta AI can see and understand what you are looking at, not just read what you type. Snap a photo of an airport snack shelf and Meta AI can identify and rank the snacks with the most protein — no label-squinting required. Scan a product and ask how it compares to alternatives. It is the difference between an AI that waits for you to explain the world and one that can simply look at the world with you. And when Meta AI powered by Muse Spark comes to our AI glasses, the assistant will be able to better see and understand the world around you.
Multimodal perception is especially valuable for health. With Muse Spark, Meta AI is now able to help you navigate health questions with more detailed responses, including some questions involving images and charts. Health is one of the top reasons people turn to AI, so we worked with a team of physicians to develop the model’s ability to provide helpful information on common health questions and concerns.
Muse Spark excels at visual coding, letting you create custom websites and mini-games straight from a prompt. Ask Meta AI to build a dashboard for planning a big surprise party, spin up a retro arcade game to chase a high score, or launch a whimsical flight simulator — and share any of them with friends.
Ask Meta AI: It’s Plugged Into What You Care About
Meta AI can now help you discover what to wear, how to style a room, or what to buy for someone you know. Shopping mode draws from the styling inspiration and brand storytelling already happening across our apps, surfacing ideas from the creators and communities people already follow.
And when you are looking up a place to go or a topic that is trending, Meta AI surfaces rich and relevant context right alongside the conversation. Tap into a location and see public posts from locals who know the area. Ask what people are buzzing about and get the full picture, pulled from content and community posts. It is context from your people, right where you need it.
Looking Ahead
The Meta AI app and meta.ai will have the upgraded experience with Instant and Thinking modes everywhere they are available today. The new Meta AI features are starting to roll out in the US on both. In the coming weeks, we will bring these new modes and capabilities to more countries and to the places where people use Meta AI, including Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and our AI glasses — where these perception capabilities become even more powerful. We are also opening access to the underlying technology. It will be available in private preview via API to select partners, and we hope to open-source future versions of the model.
This is only the start. As we expand these features, expect richer, more visual results, with Reels, photos, and posts woven directly into your answers, with credit back to the content creators. And as our models improve, we’ll continue to build safeguards for things like safety and privacy, starting with the strengthened risk framework and other protections we’re sharing today.
The future of Meta AI is rooted in the relationships and context already at the center of your life. We are building toward personal superintelligence — an AI that does not just answer your questions but truly understands your world because it is built on it.
Telecom
From Import Dependency to Local Capacity: Nigeria’s Tech Manufacturing Journey

The recent escalation in the US-Israel conflict with Iran has delivered a sharp reminder of Nigeria’s economic vulnerability. As oil prices surged past $100 per barrel and fuel costs climbed by 35% at Nigerian pumps, a troubling paradox emerged: Nigeria, a major crude oil producer with Africa’s largest privately-owned refinery now operational, still found itself buffeted by global energy shocks originating thousands of miles away.

Zinox
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and resulting disruptions to global energy markets exposed the deeper structural challenge facing Nigeria’s economy. Despite domestic crude production and the operational Dangote Refinery, Nigeria has struggled with rising inflation, which reached approximately 27% in 2025. The crisis illuminated an uncomfortable truth: decades of import dependency have left Nigeria’s economy precariously exposed to external shocks, even in sectors where the country possesses natural advantages.
This vulnerability extends beyond energy. Nigeria’s technology sector offers a particularly instructive case study in the costs of import reliance, and the transformative potential of local capacity as the pathway to economic stability and technological sovereignty.
Against this backdrop, Zinox Technologies stands as a compelling counternarrative. Founded in 2001 by technology entrepreneur Leo Stan Ekeh, Zinox operates West Africa’s only computerized digital assembly plant. As Nigeria’s first indigenous computer manufacturer, Zinox demonstrates what becomes possible when vision, investment, and commitment to local capacity converge.
The company’s reach extends beyond traditional computing. Zinox’s innovation spans renewable energy through iPower and home electronics with iTEC, addressing Nigeria’s chronic power challenges with locally-assembled solar solutions and backup systems designed for Nigerian conditions. This diversification reflects sophisticated understanding: true technological sovereignty requires integrated capabilities.
Zinox’s journey offers a clear case study in how indigenous companies can drive transformation. By focusing on local assembly and manufacturing of computer hardware and digital devices, the company has contributed to building a domestic technology ecosystem that supports government institutions, educational systems, and private enterprises. This approach not only reduces reliance on foreign imports but also creates jobs, transfers knowledge, and strengthens national capacity.
The implications are significant. Every locally assembled device represents a step away from foreign exchange exposure. It also signals a shift in mindset — from consumption to production. In a country where demand for technology continues to rise, especially with the acceleration of digital adoption, the importance of local manufacturing cannot be overstated.
Beyond economics, there is also a strategic dimension. Technology is no longer just a commercial tool; it is a defense tool and a national asset. Countries that control their technology supply chains are better positioned to innovate, secure their data, and compete globally. In this context, companies like Zinox are not merely businesses; they are enablers of national development.
Furthermore, local capacity development has a multiplier effect. It stimulates ancillary industries such as logistics, retail, maintenance, and technical services. It also fosters entrepreneurship, as more Nigerians gain access to affordable and reliable technology tools needed to participate in the digital economy.
Yet, while progress has been made, there is still work to be done. Scaling local manufacturing requires sustained policy support, infrastructure investment, and a deliberate focus on skills development. It also calls for stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors to create an environment where indigenous innovation can thrive.
Encouragingly, the momentum is building. There is a growing recognition that Nigeria must move beyond being a consumer market to becoming a production hub. This shift is not only necessary, it is urgent. Global uncertainties will continue to test economies, and only those with strong internal capabilities will remain resilient.
The current global crisis offers clarity. If the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened or supply chains to imports are fractured, only countries with strong domestic manufacturing capacity will weather the storm. Those dependent on imports suffer disproportionately.
The story of Zinox Technologies underscores what is possible. It shows that with the right mix of vision and execution, Nigeria can chart a new course, one defined by self-reliance, innovation, and sustainable growth. As the country navigates an increasingly complex global landscape, the message is clear: the future belongs to economies that build, not just buy.
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