E-Business
Konga, Yudala: Partnership to Unlock eCommerce in Africa

E-commerce in Africa has remained a tough nut to crack.
Despite significant optimism of an unprecedented upsurge in global e-commerce spend which is widely expected to gross $4.058 trillion or 14.6% of total retail spending by 2020, e-commerce in Nigeria and on the African continent is still largely untapped.
Till date, majority of players in the sector are locked in a battle of attrition in their bid to turn profitable. Many others have lost the battle and quietly exited the scene. The list of such failed ventures is seemingly endless.
Recently, an operational merger between two e-commerce giants, Konga and Yudala was announced – a piece of news that has dominated headlines for the past one week.
According to the official announcement released by the management of both companies, the business merger, which takes effect from Tuesday May 1st 2018, will see both companies operate under the Konga brand name and with dual CEOs in the persons of Nick Imudia who will be in charge of online among others and Prince Nnamdi Ekeh who will be responsible for the offline arm of the business.
Founded in 2012, Konga has featured prominently in the news in the past couple of months following its acquisition by Nigerian tech giants, Zinox Group, after months of intense negotiation with the company’s erstwhile majority investors, Naspers and AB Kinnevik.
A merger between Konga and Yudala is a master strategy that undoubtedly has the potential of finally cracking the e-commerce bug in Nigeria and beyond.
Here are five reasons why:
Strongest e-commerce force in Africa
The merger between Konga and Yudala has ultimately transformed the new Konga brand into a strong e-commerce group, arguably the biggest on the African continent.
By virtue of the shared resources that will naturally benefit the brand from the merger including sheer size, human resources capacity, massive warehousing capabilities, increased reach and wider array of products, services and offerings at its disposal, industry watchers and other experts are unanimous in their position that Konga can finally rise as an e-commerce force that can rival some of the world’s biggest such as Amazon and Alibaba.
Improved customer experience
One of the major obstacles that has prevented e-commerce from taking off in Nigeria is shoddy customer experience.
With Konga and Yudala merging operations, there is renewed hope for the average customer, especially when one considers a fusion of Konga’s world-class online platform and Yudala’s ubiquitous network of physical stores.
Both platforms are efficient, highly responsive and respectively best in class in the industry. With this merger, perhaps, the time has come to look forward to a highly improved shopping experience, one that has largely eluded many in the industry.
Cutting-edge Technology
Konga is primarily a technology company, one that has invested heavily in technology and crucially reliant on cutting-edge tech to drive its operations.
By merging forces with Yudala, another technology-driven business and leveraging on the huge access to technology at the disposal of its parent company, the Zinox Group, there is a golden opportunity to improve the ease and convenience of the shopping experience, a factor that has recurrently featured as one of the pain-points of e-commerce.
Through the deployment of technology in automating most of the processes that have previously encumbered shoppers, including products classification, stocking, check-outs, logistics and delivery, among others, a fresh dawn seems imminent for e-commerce in Nigeria.
Should the new brand live up to expectations by deploying a predominantly automated, user-friendly range of cutting-edge tech solutions, it will succeed in creating a frictionless e-commerce experience that will set a standard for the continent.
Better logistics/delivery
Many e-commerce companies across Africa leave a lot to be desired when it comes to service level expectations in logistics/delivery.
Items take days or even weeks to get to the final user, even in urban city centres, leading to a situation in which many potential shoppers would rather prefer to visit a physical/brick-and-mortar store to purchase or personally pick-up their items.
In Konga Express, Konga boasts an excellent logistics company with advanced delivery capabilities for internal and external customers.
Through the expected new investment that will come in through the Yudala merger, shoppers can finally look forward to a more reliable delivery option. Further lending a sense of excitement is the multiple pick-up locations which Yudala’s nationwide network of store locations offers.
Overcoming distrust by cracking mobile payments
Trust remains a major issue that has kept e-commerce in Africa from reaching its much-vaunted potential.
A number of potential shoppers are wary of scams, a legitimate concern which prevents many from disclosing their credit/debit card/financial information and buying online.
Although Konga announced a ban on payment on delivery (POD) before its acquisition by the Zinox Group, there are possibilities that this policy could be rescinded in the light of the merger with Yudala.
Furthermore, through Konga Pay, a CBN-licensed mobile money platform, Konga has a fitting tool with which to crack the mobile payment bug.
By positioning Konga Pay prominently as a secure platform and doing the hard work at the back-end to assure online transactions are effortlessly and safely carried out, e-commerce may just be on the verge of exploding in Nigeria and beyond.
E-Business
Kaspersky Warns of a New Phishing Technique Leveraging Bubble, a no-code AI Platform

Kaspersky has discovered a new phishing tactic used to evade traditional security controls that exploits Bubble, a platform that allows users to build web and mobile applications through a visual interface without writing code.

Attackers are increasingly adopting innovative tools designed for legitimate software development and repurposing them to boost phishing campaigns.
Traditional phishing attacks often rely on malicious links or obvious redirection techniques, which are typically flagged and blocked by modern security systems.
However, attackers are now leveraging Bubble’s no-code environment to generate intermediary web applications which are hosted on Bubble’s legitimate infrastructure and trusted domains such as *.bubble.io, which improves their credibility and helps them bypass security filters.
These applications function as disguised redirectors, silently forwarding victims to malicious credential-harvesting websites.
In the observed campaign, victims were ultimately redirected to a convincing imitation of a Microsoft login page, protected by a Cloudflare verification layer designed to further obscure malicious intent.
This technique is likely being integrated into broader phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platforms and phishing kits. These kits enable a wide range of malicious capabilities with ready-made tools, including real-time interception of session cookies, driving phishing campaigns through legitimate services such as Google Tasks and Google Forms, and carry out adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks that can bypass multi-factor authentication.
They also support the generation of phishing emails using AI, implement geo-filtering and anti-detection mechanisms to evade security crawlers and are often hosted on reputable cloud services like AWS to avoid blacklisting.
“The use of legitimate platforms like Bubble introduces a new level of trust abuse, making it harder for both users and automated systems to distinguish between safe and malicious content. This significantly increases the likelihood of credential theft, unauthorised access and potential data breaches,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.
E-Business
NITDA Takes Over National Digital Architecture System

Nigeria has taken a major step toward strengthening its digital governance framework as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) officially assumes control of the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) infrastructure.

The handover ceremony held in Abuja, marks the culmination of a high-level partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
This transition signals a shift from fragmented IT projects to a unified, disciplined approach to national digital investment.
The NGEA initiative forms a core part of the e-Government Masterplan 2.0 (Ne-GMP 2.0), aimed at establishing a unified and structured approach to managing government IT investments and digital resources.
The framework is designed to ensure that technology deployment across public institutions aligns with national priorities while improving efficiency and accountability.
With the system now operational, government agencies are expected to adopt more integrated digital processes, allowing seamless data sharing and interoperability.
This is anticipated to reduce duplication, strengthen risk management, and translate policy objectives into measurable digital outcomes.
Over the past two and a half years, Nigerian technical experts worked closely with their Korean counterparts to develop the architecture framework, create reference models, and execute pilot programmes in key institutions.
These include the National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and NITDA.
Officials say the NGEA represents a shift from fragmented digital efforts to a more coordinated, citizen-focused system.
The infrastructure is hosted by Galaxy Backbone Limited, providing a secure and reliable platform for nationwide deployment.
Looking ahead, NITDA is expected to work with government stakeholders to expand and sustain the system, while the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy will provide policy guidance to ensure its adoption across the country.
E-Business
FG Shifting Focus to “Meaningful Connectivity” to Drive Inclusion – Minister

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has said the government is shifting focus from expanding access to ensuring “meaningful connectivity” that drives economic growth and inclusion.

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy
The minister made the statement on Friday while addressing stakeholders at the inauguration of board members of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) in Abuja.
He said that although Nigeria had made significant progress since the introduction of GSM services, millions of people, particularly in rural and underserved communities, remain either unconnected or unable to fully benefit from digital services.
Dr Tijani highlighted ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, including plans to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network and nearly 4,000 telecom towers nationwide.
He said initiatives under the USPF had improved access through projects such as rural connectivity and digital facilities in schools but stressed that the next phase must prioritise effective usage.
“It is not enough to connect a community. We must ensure that schools can teach with digital tools and that small businesses can access market opportunities,” he said, citing a pilot project in the Kura community where connectivity has enhanced access to communication, education and healthcare.
Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) also called for a shift towards meaningful connectivity, noting that while data usage had grown significantly, it remained concentrated in urban areas.
According to him, recent data shows that telecom usage has increased by about 160% over the past two years, largely driven by urban demand.
“When we drill down, we see that a lot of that growth is actually in urban centres. So, the gap between those who are not connected or not meaningfully connected is growing,” he said.
Dr Maida added that the trend underscored the need for the USPF board to intensify efforts to bridge both access and usage gaps across the country.
Both officials emphasised the importance of collaboration, sustainable investment models and improved digital literacy to ensure that connectivity translates into real economic benefits for Nigerians.
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