E-Business
Konga Will Break e-Commerce Biggest Day Sales Record Soon – Chris Uwaje

Dr. Chris Uwaje, Africa chair for IEEE-World Forum on Internet of Things (IoTs), has boldly declared that foremost e-Commerce giant, Konga will beat the record for the biggest single day sales in the near future.
Uwaje, popularly addressed as the Oracle of the Nigerian Information Technology industry, made this disclosure during an interaction with the media recently.
The co-founder and former President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) was reacting to the figure of $38bn set by Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba for its 2019 Singles’ Day sales.
‘One day – very soon -, Konga will smash the e-commerce biggest day-sale record. If you follow the strides recorded by Konga within the past 18 months, you will agree with me that it’s only a matter of time before Alibaba’s Singles Day sales record is within reach,’ he enthused.
Equally important, Singles’ Day has grown steadily to become a global sales phenomenon.
Launched in 2009, Singles’ Day has become China’s version of U.S. online sale event Cyber Monday; which follows America’s Thanksgiving holiday. Furthermore, analysts monitor sales on Singles’ Day to gauge consumer sentiment in China. This year’s sale was closely followed across the world.
The Chinese shopping festival is held on Nov. 11 and is also referred to as Double Eleven because of the date – incidentally the same day on which Konga flagged off its annual Black Friday sales known as Konga Yakata.
Furthermore, Uwaje, a fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), has credited the management of Konga for creating a thriving brand which all Nigerians should be proud of.
‘The management of the new Konga has created a massive brand out of Africa. Today, Konga Yakata, its version of the globally celebrated Black Friday sales, has become undoubtedly the sales event in the annual shopping calendar in Nigeria.
‘Also, Konga boasts arguably the best brains in technology in Nigeria, even more than any bank in the country. This is due to its cutting-edge team of engineering talent at its disposal.
‘The touching aspect of the Konga miracle is the fact that, if not for the intervention of the Zinox Group which stepped in to acquire the business from its erstwhile owners, Nigeria would have suffered huge brain drain. Although Naspers admittedly made the initial investment in Nigeria, Nigerians are now the beneficiaries of the massive revolution taking place in Konga.
‘Indeed, the Zinox Group’s intervention has not only saved Nigerian a massive loss of some of its best brains, but it has also created confidence in the company, although it spent millions of dollars in the acquisition and offset the debts. Today, Zinox has turned around the business and raised the Konga brand equity over 800% since the acquisition,’ Uwaje intoned.
Continuing, the IT veteran noted that the Konga business model and strategy have set it on the path of greatness.
‘It is not just about acquiring a business but what do you do with it? Presently, the Konga strategy is one that has made it too large to fail. The rollout of multiple warehousing facilities, expansion of its retail presence and launch of new, thriving subsidiaries such as Konga Travels which has grown over 200%, acquired all major airline certifications and opened up multiple new offices within a short space of time is proof of the experience and know-how the new owners have brought to bear on the business.
‘What is critical is that the new owners of Konga understand the country, Certainly, doing business in Nigeria comes with a lot of challenges. But Konga has deployed multiple warehouses nationwide as part of its efforts at resolving some of the logistical challenges faced by players in the sector – a factor that has helped it achieve same day delivery which I have personally experienced even while in Delta State.
‘This shows that Nigerians have the capacity to do great things. However, we seem to give more credence to foreigners who are taking over the country. But no one is complaining. The question is, where will Nigerians work tomorrow? The man who opens a company decides who to employ and there is no bridge on the character of people that are brought into the country,’ he concluded.
Uwaje, a doyen of technology, commands a senior leadership position in the IT professional and industry domain with over four decades of on-the-job IT Practice as Computer Scientist across four continents, namely Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
E-Business
FG Mulls Fibre Optic Layout to Bridge Internet Gaps

President Bola Tinubu said that his administration has initiated a project to install fibre optic cables across the country, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
His plans were contained in a speech he delivered at a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of Democracy Day on Thursday, June 12.
He said the fibre optic layout is part of other projects being embarked on.
“In addition, we have embarked on an ambitious project to lay fibre optic cables across the nation, a transformative step toward bridging the digital divide and fostering greater connectivity.
“This initiative promises not only to enhance the speed and reliability of internet access but also to revolutionise how businesses operate, how students learn, and how communities stay connected,” Tinubu stated.
He maintained that by extending this critical infrastructure, his government is empowering entrepreneurs, enabling digital education, and providing the tools for our youth to compete in a globalised world.
In a most recent report on Internet connectivity, The ICIR pointed out how Nigeria has faced setbacks in its deployment of fibre optic cables and needs a transformation.
The challenges revolve around vandalism, inadequate coordination between road construction and telecom infrastructure, and varying right-of-way (RoW) charges across states.
Among industry experts, these issues impact network outages, increase repair costs, and hinder broadband expansion efforts.
It has also further threatened the digital economy, leading to slower Internet speeds, dropped calls, and unreliable connectivity among others.
E-Business
African Startups Raised $345m in Funding in May

African startups raised more than $345 million across 65 deals in May, more than double the amount raised in the same period of last year, according to a report by Briter, a research and business intelligence firm.
The report disclosed that both the number of deals and participating companies declined, confirming a growing trend of fewer companies raising funds in larger sizes.
It said fintech attracted the highest share of funding in May, accounting for 34 percent of the total, while cleantech followed closely, driven by a debt deal from Sun King. The company raised $80 million (in local currency) to expand clean energy access in Nigeria.
“Equity remains the primary instrument in terms of total value. There’s no doubt about it; in fact, equity deals with disclosed amounts captured more than half of the total funding volume in May.
“However, debt financing is increasingly proving its weight. Although it accounted for only 8 percent of all deals, it represented 32 percent of the total funding, highlighting the typically larger size of debt transactions. With the rise of specialised vehicles targeting early-stage businesses, debt is becoming an increasingly important part of Africa’s innovation funding landscape,” it said.
Briter’s report added that grants continued to play a vital role in early-stage support, especially in the education technology (EdTech) sector. The Mastercard Foundation led the pack in grant activity, funding a new cohort of EdTech innovators in Nigeria and Kenya. Each selected startup is set to receive $100,000 in grant funding, in addition to mentorship and business development support.
Multilaterals also made a strong showing in May, it said. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, issued a $179.6 million guarantee to CleanTech firm KOKO Networks. The support will help scale its clean energy solutions across Kenya.
“This deal not only demonstrates growing international confidence in African climate ventures but also signals a promising pathway for other asset-intensive startups in clean cooking, agriculture, and renewable energy,” the report said.
From a geographic perspective, Egypt emerged as the continent’s fundraising powerhouse for the month, contributing 51 percent of all funding raised. The country recorded 12 deals across equity, debt, and bond instruments. Notably, FinTech platform MNT-Halan raised $50 million through a bond issuance, further illustrating the diversification of capital-raising mechanisms in the region.
Outside Egypt, funding was distributed across Africa’s three other key markets, which are Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, with limited activity recorded in countries such as Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and Uganda, each registering between one and three deals.
In terms of exits, the African tech landscape continues to mature. Three companies—Baobab+, Qardy, and Shopa—were acquired in May, bringing the total number of exits this year to 22. This already surpasses last year’s count for the same period. Qardy was acquired by Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) in a disclosed deal valued at $23 million, the report added.
E-Business
Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

By Nancy Werteen
When you get anti-hacking advice, you’ve probably heard “Don’t use a simple password,” or “Don’t plug in that USB you found on the ground.”
But there’s one form of hacking that doesn’t always require a computer, and it costs businesses about 4.88 million dollars a year.
Modern hackers aren’t trying to get into your computer; they’re trying to get into you.
“They’ll try to learn about you a little bit, and they’ll try to use that information against you to try to get you to complete some action, maybe to send somebody some money,” said Kevin Moran, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Cyber Security and Privacy Cluster, University of Central Florida.
IBM calls this human hacking, because it exploits human error instead of system error.
“With people just being busy and maybe not very carefully checking some of the emails or the phone calls that they get, can be something unfortunately that people can fall victim to,” said Moran.
Also known as social engineering, this often takes the form of phishing, where the hacker tries to “fish” the information out of you by impersonating family, friends, or even your bank.
There’s also baiting, where the hacker baits you with something of value. Remember the Nigerian prince scam?
That’s a famous example of baiting. There’s also pretexting, where the hacker will claim the victim has already been hacked, and that the hacker can fix it if you just send over your passwords. So, what can you do?
“Just as a rule of thumb, instead of clicking on links and emails, just go to the website yourself. And that will prevent, a lot of these types of attacks from happening,” explained Moran.
Phishing can take many forms.
Spear phishing targets people with access to confidential information, often to get access into an entire business, and whale phishing targets CEOs or political figures.
Search engine phishing is when hackers create fake websites promising services or goods you’ll never receive.
Angler phishing is when hackers create fake social media accounts impersonating famous people or companies.
Finally, vishing and smishing is phishing done through phone calls and texts respectively.
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