General News
Microsoft-backed FAST Accelerator Launches 2nd Cohort of AI Program to Boost African Startups

Flapmax, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company on a mission to enrich the lives of everyone on the planet through innovation, has announced the launch of the second FAST Accelerator program.
It is designed to support and fund the next generation of innovative companies and entrepreneurs throughout the African continent.
Building on the success of the inaugural program, FAST Accelerator 2023 offers a transformative experience for startup founders seeking to scale rapidly and sustainably. More than 800 startups from 25+ countries applied to join the inaugural program.
“FAST Accelerator represents our commitment to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs who are driving sustainable innovation across the continent of Africa and emerging markets,” said Dr. Dave Ojika, CEO of Flapmax.
“Through this comprehensive program, we are dedicated to connecting startup founders with a global community, industry-leading technology, and the essential startup funding necessary to forge the path towards local, sustainable, and AI-powered technological solutions of the future.
“Together, we unite in building a brighter future for Africa and the world, fueled by the transformative power of technology and innovation”.
In partnership with Microsoft, the FAST Accelerator initiative combines business development, technology integration, funding opportunities, and community building to empower startup companies based in Africa and emerging markets to deliver sustainable solutions. It also provides dedicated venture funding and invaluable mentorship opportunities.
The top ten FAST Accelerator 2023 startup participants will be selected for a five-week program in Silicon Valley, California, to forge relationships with industry experts, potential investors, and global partners through Flapmax’s vibrant ecosystem of over 600 corporate partners.
Startup leaders are encouraged to apply to FAST Accelerator this July. To be eligible, startups must be based in Africa, prepared to scale or expand throughout the continent, and have demonstrated established product-market fit and revenue generation. The program is prioritizing business-to-business startups for this cohort, with the areas of healthcare, fintech, Edutech, and industrials/agtech of particular interest. Sustainability and deeptech startups are also encouraged to apply.
Program participants must be available and committed for the entire duration of the program, which includes a two-week virtual bootcamp in August 2023, followed by a five-week accelerator program in October in California. The journey begins with an intensive virtual bootcamp designed to validate startup ideas, refine business models, and prepare founders for the next stage of growth.
Next, the top startups are selected to join a five-week accelerator program on the ground in Silicon Valley to experience unparalleled acceleration, networking, and fundraising opportunities, while immersing themselves in the dynamic startup ecosystem of Silicon Valley.
“As a HR technology company dedicated to building world-class software solutions for businesses, we are delighted to have participated in the transformative FAST Accelerator program in 2022,” stated Lekan Omotosho, co-founder and CTO of Pade.
“The technology and business masterclasses offered through Flapmax Learn were truly exceptional, and the invaluable network of mentors and advisors has played a significant role in our growth. With the successful raise of $500,000, we are poised to scale our cutting-edge HCM solutions across the continent, catering to both SMEs and large corporations.”
“At Snark Health, we are pioneering a novel approach to healthcare payment solutions, and our collaboration with FAST Accelerator has been instrumental in driving our growth,” said Edwin Lubanga, co-founder and CTO of Snark Health.
“Through FAST’s support, we have gained access to critical infrastructure, enabling us to deploy our services at scale. Working in conjunction with Microsoft and Azure services and partnering with hospitals in Kenya, we are determined to deliver equitable and affordable healthcare to tens of thousands of SMEs and health centers across Africa, creating a lasting impact on the healthcare landscape.”
“Our collaboration with FAST Accelerator has opened doors to an extraordinary opportunity, one that I fully endorse,” said Innocent Orikiiriza, founder and CEO of KaCyber Technologies. Guided by FAST Accelerator, we have developed a comprehensive sustainability framework that now underpins our business operations, emphasizing the vital importance of sustainability in the public transport sector.
“Additionally, we have achieved a major milestone of processing 11 million travel tickets to date, amounting to a transaction value of 200 billion Ugandan shillings, immensely bolstering our revenue pipeline. With major corporate partnerships underway, we eagerly anticipate unlocking even greater possibilities with FAST as we work towards realizing a seamless and sustainable mobility experience throughout Africa.”
General News
FG Declares Admissions outside CAPS Illegal

Federal government has declared that any admission into tertiary institutions conducted outside the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), will be deemed illegal.
Dr Tunji Alausa, minister of Education, gave the directive in Abuja on Tuesday at the 2025 policy meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Alausa, therefore, warned universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across the country against illegal admission.
He said institutions and individuals involved in such practices would be prosecuted and severely sanctioned.
“Any admission conducted outside CAPS, regardless of its intentions, is illegal.
“Both institutions and the candidates involved in such practices will be held accountable.
“Sanctions may include withdrawal of institutional assets and prosecution of culpable officers or governing council members,” he said.
CAPS, introduced in 2017, automates the admission process to eliminate human interference and administrative bottlenecks.
Alausa, however, reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthen transparency, fairness, and accountability in the nation’s tertiary education system.
He explained that while the responsibility for initiating admissions rests with the academic boards of each institution, JAMB, as a statutory regulatory body is mandated to oversee and regulate the process to ensure fairness and equity.
The Minister urged vice-chancellors, rectors, provosts, and governing councils to intensify oversight functions to prevent unauthorised practices.
He assured that the Ministry would monitor compliance closely in collaboration with JAMB.
The minister also reaffirmed the policy mandating integration of the National Identification Number (NIN) into the JAMB registration process.
“The NIN requirement has proven vital in safeguarding the integrity of our admission system by curbing identity fraud and multiple registrations.
“Any abuse of the NIN system will be identified and punished,” he said.
He highlighted the need for data-driven policies in the admission processes.
The Minister also presented statistics showing a mismatch between available admission quotas and actual student intake across many programmes, especially in agriculture, education, engineering, and the health sciences.
“We have capacity, but we are not admitting enough students.
“We need to start closing the gap, so that more children can access tertiary education,” he said.
He also criticised the proliferation of underutilised institutions, revealing that over 120 universities in Nigeria received fewer than 50 applications in the current admission cycle.
“The problem is not about access, it’s about alignment and capacity.
“We don’t need to open new tertiary institutions in every ward. Instead, we must expand and strengthen the capacity of existing ones,” he said.
On his part, Sen. Shuaib Salisu, chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, called for stricter sanctions against institutions and administrators who undermine Nigeria’s admission process.
Salisu proposed the criminalisation of fraudulent admission practices.
He also warned institutions that exploit loopholes in the admissions system, allowing students to unknowingly pursue flawed admissions for years to desist from such practices.
He assured that the Senate Committee would explore legislation to criminalise such fraudulent practices, holding admission officers and institutional management accountable.
Salisu also called for an inclusive education system that drives peace and economic growth.
General News
BRICS Leaders Seek Inclusive Access to AI

To support a constructive debate towards a balanced artificial intelligence (AI) approach, the BRICS leaders have agreed on a set of guidelines to foster responsible development, deployment and use of AI technologies for sustainable development and inclusive growth.
The leaders of the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – published a joint statement calling for a global governance framework for AI that is inclusive, representative and rooted in the principles of sovereignty, development and ethical responsibility.
The guidelines, which strictly refer to the use of AI in the non-military domain, should be applied through either domestic or applicable international frameworks, as well as through the development of interoperable standards and protocols, in inclusive, transparent and consensus-based processes, the statement reads.
BRICS is a political and diplomatic coordination forum for countries from the Global South. This year’s theme was “Strengthening global south cooperation for more inclusive and sustainable governance”.
The BRICS leaders’ statement positions AI as a transformative force for sustainable development and innovation, while also warning against uncoordinated governance models that could deepen global inequities, marginalise developing nations and fracture multilateralism.
It emphasises that AI governance should be anchored in the United Nations system to ensure inclusivity and legitimacy.
The BRICS countries warn against a fragmented regulatory landscape, advocating for co-ordinated multilateralism that includes the voices of developing countries – particularly from the Global South.
BRICS leaders reaffirmed their support for Digital sovereignty, saying each country must retain the right to shape AI policy and technology in line with its own development goals and legal frameworks. This includes capacity-building, data governance and technological autonomy.
“We firmly support the right of all countries to harness the benefits of the digital economy… to develop capacities in AI research, foster technological autonomy and innovation, ensure data protection, and promote their own digital economy,” the statement reads.
A major theme in the document is the need for fair, equitable and inclusive access to AI technologies. The BRICS leaders stress that all countries – regardless of economic standing – must be able to access and benefit from AI.
The group also called for global co-operation in building data governance frameworks that allow developing countries secure and equitable access to data, with full respect for privacy, intellectual property rights and national laws. This ties into support for open science, open innovation and open-source AI models that can fuel local innovation ecosystems.
On intellectual property, the statement advocates for a balance between proprietary rights and public interest to prevent exploitative data practices and ensure transparency in AI model development and deployment.
The BRICS countries voiced concern over algorithmic bias and the exclusion of underrepresented cultures and languages in AI datasets and models.
They called for ethical, transparent and accountable AI development that reflects cultural, demographic and linguistic diversity.
They also endorsed UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and called for international co-operation to develop inclusive datasets, tools to flag misinformation and mechanisms to mitigate bias – especially against vulnerable groups like women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
The BRICS nations stressed the importance of using AI as a tool for sustainable development, citing sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, energy and environmental conservation as priority areas.
They urged that AI development must be environmentally responsible, minimising carbon emissions and e-waste.
The potential of AI to enhance productivity and job creation was also recognised, as well as the risks of job displacement and exploitation. The statement calls for policies that safeguard worker rights, ensure compatibility between AI and human capabilities, and promote decent work in the digital economy.
“It is imperative to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of all workers, particularly those directly affected by the digital transformation… including generative AI,” the statement says.
The BRICS statement ends with a commitment to intensify co-ordination on AI governance and share the guidelines across international platforms. It extends an open invitation to other developing countries to contribute to and refine the emerging global framework for AI.
“We welcome contributions to further develop these guidelines, particularly from other developing countries, and will remain open to revisiting them.”
General News
Tech-driven Solutions Receive Commendation @ Maiden Insurance Week Hackathon

Mrs Yetunde Ilori, President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), has commended the innovative and technology-driven solutions presented during the institute’s maiden Insurance Week Hackathon competition.
Ilori gave the commendation after the completion of the competition on Thursday in Lagos, held at the College of Insurance and Financial Management in Asese, Ogun, as part of the Insurance Week organised by the CIIN.
She described the solutions as crucial to the industry’s transformation and relevance in the digital age. “This shows that the future is bright for the Nigerian insurance industry.
We are transforming as an industry, and digital innovation is at the heart of that transformation,” Ilori said. She noted that 19 teams initially applied for the competition, but only six were shortlisted.
The competition, which targeted young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 29, engaged six finalist teams over a fourweek intensive innovation process, culminating in a demo day on Wednesday in Lagos.
The hackathon focused on real-world challenges in the sector, such as inclusive insurance, fraud detection, risk management, and improving customer experience.
It was designed to cultivate the next generation of insurance innovators, deepen insurance awareness, and promote financial literacy among Nigerians.
The teams that participated in the final stage of the competition were: Ifokanbale, Insurbridge, Insurvate, Team Aegis, Team Phoenix, and The Assured Team. Team Aegis developed “Hustle Guard,” a microinsurance solution for tricycle drivers covering health, life, and income, in an effort to demystify micro insurance in Nigeria.
The Assured Team presented “Kolo Plus by Card,” an unstructured savings plan with payment and interest features tailored to low-income earners. Team Insurbridge created “Smarter Claims,” a solution aimed at improving the insurance claims process.
Team Phoenix introduced “HerShield,” a solution focused on empowering women and building trust in the insurance sector. The Assured Team also developed additional ideas to drive insurance penetration in underserved and informal communities.
After an engaging pitch session before a panel of judges, Team Insurvate emerged as the overall winner with its solution, “Claim Central”, an end-to-end digital platform designed to streamline the insurance claims process from policyholders to insurers.
Team Aegis secured second place, while Team Phoenix came in third. The panel of judges included financial sector experts such as Norah Igwe, Tunji Andrews, Diana Mulili, Sakeenat Bakare, Ibraheem Babalola, and Prince Adeshina Adeyemi-Doro.
Also speaking, Mr Eddie Efekoha, Chairman of the Insurance Week, said the hackathon demonstrated a conscious effort to explore how technology can help distribute insurance products to all parts of the country.
“We believe this initiative will spark more interest among the youth to engage with insurance, not just as consumers but as creators and innovators,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the winning team, Mr Odunayo Ojeremi, leader of Team Insurvate, described the competition as highly competitive and rewarding. “We are excited and grateful for the opportunity.
“We didn’t expect to win, but we are glad our solution was recognised. We hope to improve ‘Claim Central’ and make it a platform that ensures seamless claims processing,” he said.
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