E-Business
Lagos Dangles N230m for Start-Ups in Lagos
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has launched the Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC), setting aside $687,000 (about N250 million) start-up funds for investment in research and development of tech-focused solutions across the six pillars of his administration’s development agenda.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
With a whopping N250 million seed capital earmarked by the Lagos State government for technology and innovation, tech start-ups and young innovators in the state now have the opportunity to push their entrepreneurial skills to the next level.
Sanwo-Olu, also launched the Lagos Innovation Master Plan, a four-planked special purpose vehicle for addressing the state’s socio-economic challenges by using innovative and smart methods.
The innovation Master Plan launched by the governor at the maiden edition of Art of Technology Lagos, comprised Data Access, Talent Building and Broadband infrastructure development plans; Lagos State Science and Technology Council; Lagos State Solution Hub; and the Open Government Initiative.
Sanwo-Olu, said the plan was to use combined technological mix to help his administration tackle problems in the state as captured in its agenda, which include: Transportation & Traffic Management, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment, Tourism, Security, and Good Governance.
He added that the N250 million would be injected in the Science and Innovation Fund, chaired by Prof. Toying Ogundipe, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, for tech innovators and creators in the state to access funds to boost their business.
According to him, the innovation master plan will highlight the government’s critical focused areas that will unleash a culture of problem solving initiative. This now addresses the four main pillars that are required to enable a vibrant innovative ecosystem.
Sanwo-Olu said: “In the next two years, we are hoping to be able to do what we call, a Metropolitan Fibre Grid. We are hoping to have in the next two years about 6000kms of fibre; it’s a total mix, we want to mix the whole system. We want to have a smart city which we are. So we will be signing that before the end of this year or sometime early next year.
“With this administration’s activity in these four areas, the innovation ecosystem is sure to receive the needed boost to raise the communication to the state of the economy.
“We are also launching today, the Lagos State Science and Innovation Council. This council will be responsible for the management of the science itself and the Innovation Fund. This fund is primarily tasked with investment in research and development in science and technology across different thematic areas of the state, from Artificial Intelligence to Robotics to Health and Informatics and Green energy.
“The Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council will direct funds to solve issues of national significance through science and technology research.
He further said: “The third one is the Lagos State Solution Hub. We will be democratising access to state’s actions in critical strategy of this government, such that the Lagos State Solution Hub serves as the first point of call for innovators, solution providers and innovators on proposing their solutions to the state.
“We realise that crowd sourcing and inclusive strategies are key ingredients to solve a mirage of challenges we face. The solution hub will enable us to make The website is: lagossolutionhub.com.
“The last one is the Open Government Initiative. Data access is seen as critical for building solution culture. The open government has kicked off and we will be communication the major milestones to the public soon.”
He, however, described the Art of Technology Lagos as a platform on which the vision of Lagos State as a smart city would be unraveled, adding that the maiden edition will open the window for ideas, concepts and principles encriptively created for Lagosians and Nigerians to breakout and transform the landscapes.
“We are prepared to provide Lagosians with the opportunity to connect to the global stage. We cannot disaffirm the intractable challenges that face states like ours. With the population that is so high, we have obviously infrastructural challenges.
“A new sustainable method of transportation and infrastructural development needs to be formulated to keep up with the population growth. The use of Artificial Intelligence to predict the movement human resource and material and reverse the environmental degradation are critical solutions we need to adopt,” Sanwo-Olu said.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has commenced a forensic investigation into the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lotus Bank and Hackerbella Ltd over alleged violations of data protection laws involving students’ personal information.
The investigation follows public complaints alleging that students’ personal data were used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer of the NDPC, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, processing, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the respective roles and responsibilities of UNILAG, Lotus Bank and Hackerbella in the alleged processing of the data.
According to the Commission, the investigation will assess the data protection compliance obligations of the parties under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), as well as potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected data subjects.
The NDPC said the probe would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, and the use of automated decision-making systems.
It will also examine the adequacy of privacy notices, data-sharing arrangements, lawful bases for processing, data minimisation and purpose limitation.
Other areas include data retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational measures put in place to safeguard the rights and personal data of affected students.
The Commission reiterated that institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such information is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely.
The NDPC therefore warned educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to take immediate steps to achieve compliance.
The Commission said it would continue to exercise its regulatory mandate to protect the privacy rights of Nigerians and ensure that organisations processing personal data comply with the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Microsoft is planning to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The company introduced its Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has lagged rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon in scaling up its in-house chip efforts as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia’s costly processors.
Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June, while Amazon has also seen growing adoption of its processors, including its Trainium chips.
Microsoft has been in talks with chipmaker TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units of the chip for delivery in 2027, according to the report. It is also looking to significantly ramp up production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt the chip.
Microsoft ultimately aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips, though component supplies and ongoing capacity negotiations with TSMC could constrain its plans, according to the report.
It unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 in January, built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology.
Microsoft packed the chip with a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can provide speed advantages for AI systems handling large numbers of user requests.
X has announced plans to discontinue its Revenue Sharing programme and introduce a new Original Content Rewards programme to reward creators for producing original content on the platform.
The social media company announced the changes at the weekend in a post on its X Creators handle, saying the new programme would reward creators who contribute original content.
“Today, we’re introducing the Original Content Rewards Program, a new way to reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, and commentary to X,” the company said.
X said it would stop accepting new enrolments into the Revenue Sharing programme from Friday, while existing participants would continue earning until September 7, 2026.
“Starting today, we’re no longer accepting new enrollments into Revenue Sharing,” it said.
According to the company, existing Revenue Sharing participants will receive three final payouts, with two scheduled for August 14 and August 28, while the final payment for earnings accrued through September 7 is expected around September 11.
X said existing Revenue Sharing participants would begin getting access to apply for the new programme from September 8, subject to meeting its eligibility requirements.
The first payout under the Original Content Rewards programme will be made on August 28, 2026, while existing Revenue Sharing creators who enrol in the new programme from September 8 will receive their first payment on September 25.
Under the new programme, eligible creators will earn from qualified impressions generated by their original content, with payments made every two weeks.
X defined qualified impressions as unique impressions from Premium users on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50 per cent of a post is visible.
On the other hand, “The following are excluded from qualified impressions: impressions from the same account counted more than once per post; paid, promoted, or artificially generated impressions; and fraudulent impressions,” it said.
To qualify, creators must be at least 18 years old, live in a country where the programme is available, maintain an account in good standing and have either a personal or vusiness account.
They must also subscribe to X Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business, have at least 500 verified followers and record at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users within the previous 90 days.
X said creators must also regularly post original content to remain eligible.
“We want to recognize creators who break news, share expertise, tell stories, create entertainment, and contribute meaningful perspectives to the conversation,” the company said.
The platform said original content could include threads, videos, memes, graphics, illustrations, reporting, analysis, commentary and reactions that add meaningful value to existing conversations.
It said creators who use content produced by others would need to add meaningful commentary, context, analysis, humour or creative transformation for such posts to qualify.
“Building on existing conversations is a core part of X, but simply reposting someone else’s content is not enough,” it said.
X said minor edits such as cropping, filters, borders, watermarks, speed adjustments or simple text overlays would generally not qualify as meaningful transformation on their own.
It also warned that content copied or substantially reproduced from another creator, content downloaded and re-uploaded from X or another platform without being the original author’s, automated content, disinformation and misleading content would be ineligible.
The company said accounts that violate the programme’s requirements could be temporarily or permanently removed from it, depending on the severity of the violation.
It added that creators would be responsible for ensuring they had the necessary rights, permissions or licences to use content created by others.
“Original content is content you personally create that reflects your own voice, perspective, expertise, or creativity,” X said.
The company said the new programme was intended to reward creators who make the platform more valuable by bringing original ideas and perspectives to its conversations.
“The Original Content Rewards Program is designed to reward the creators who start them, shape them, and move them forward,” it said.
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