E-Business
Microsoft Empowers African SMEs with Office 365 Packages
Microsoft has announced the availability of Office 365 in nine new territories across the African continent.
Office 365 is the next iteration of the company’s flagship Office product line which is made available for consumers, businesses and educational institutions via the cloud.
The entire suite of Office 365 packages is now also available in Angola, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mauritius, Rwanda, Senegal and Zimbabwe.
“Office 365 is available in various packages, each one specifically designed to meet a particular need,” says Marc Israel, Office Division Group Lead for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands. “This means that whether you are a consumer, educational institution, small to mid-size business or a large enterprise, we have an Office 365 package that will meet all your software requirements in in an always-up-to-date cloud service, at a predictable monthly cost.”
In Africa in particular, the Small and Medium Business sector continues to play a big, contributing heavily towards GDP growth and employment.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) estimates that SMEs represent over 90 percent of private business and contribute more than 50 percent of employment and of GDP in most African countries.
“One of the biggest challenges SMBs face in today’s harsh economic conditions is finding technology that meets their needs without breaking the bank,” said Marc Israel, Office Division Group Lead for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands.
“Just because your company is smaller, it does not mean you should have to compromise on the type of technology available to you.”
Designed for companies with between 1 and 10 employees, Office 365 Small Business Premium gives organisations access to the richness of Office applications, extending the functionality to make itavailable via the cloud.
The pay-as-you-go model can save customers between up to 20% of their software budget, without them having to compromise on the technology they have within their organisations.
“Very few smaller organisations can afford the level of sophistication they need in terms of software,” said Israel.
Office 365 is more affordable and less complex – within 15 minutes a company can be up and running with a domain, website, email addresses and the other functionality they require to function.
“Microsoft Office 365 has delivered on its inherent promises,” said John Robbins, President and CEO of Pear Workplace Solutions. “That’s why we deployed it, and it just works.”
Mobility is also critical in the African context and Office 365 allows users to access functionality across multiple devices at no extra charge.
“We have employees based in regional offices in a number of countries around the world, and they expect to be able to connect to their email or other services from anywhere at any time, and from any device,” said Daniel Roach-Rooke, IT Infrastructure Manager at Aston Martin.
Office 365 works the same on Windows PCs and Mac, and is compatible with iPads and Android tablets, enabling a mobile workforce and allowing organisations to overcome physical infrastructure limitations.
“Cloud computing has the potential to transform the region,” said Israel.
“It enables global growth for businesses in emerging markets who are seeking to engage world markets in spite of a lack of traditional infrastructure.”
“As a cloud solution, Office 365 is accessible virtually anywhere, driving productivity and efficiency for Professionals, SMEs, and large enterprises,” says Israel. “It also allows for much simpler deployment, management and security through the easy to use web admin console, industry-leading virus and spam protection and a financially backed 99.9% uptime guarantee,” he concluded.
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.
GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.
In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.
Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).
GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.
E-Business
Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.

“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”
Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.
A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.
Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”
Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.
“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.
The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.
He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.
This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.
GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.
The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”
As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.
With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.
E-Business3 days agoJumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity
E-Financial3 days agoGTCO Secures Regulatory Approvals to Raise N10bn in Private Placement
E-Financial2 days agoBanks to Impose N50 Stamp Duty on Transfers of N10,000 and Above from January 1
General News3 days agoNDIC Reinforces Full Oversight Compliance to Safeguard Depositors
E-Financial2 days agoHow Nigeria’s New Tax Law Could Redefine Risk in the Banking Sector
E-Financial2 days agoFIRS Rebrands as Nigeria Revenue Service, as New Tax Laws Take Effect
Broadcasting2 days agoHow to Use the Correlation of Gold with Other Trading Assets in the Forex Market
E-Business2 days agoGalaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone


















