News
Microsoft, New Horizons Celebrate Africa’s Youngest MCPs
History was made recently as leading software company Microsoft and foremost Information technology training centre, New Horizons joined hands together to produce Africa’s youngest ever Microsoft Certified Professionals(MCP), 12-year-old Davidson Oseremen and 13-year-old Alade Oluwaseun both of Doregos Private Academy, Lagos.
Microsoft partners with innovative institutions such as New Horizons that are Certified Partner for Learning Solutions (CPLS) to reach out to students in secondary and tertiary institutions providing them with training and practical skills they require to be able to qualify in various Microsoft technologies. Additionally, the Microsoft Software Developers Network Academic Alliance (MSDN AA) provides schools and universities with the Microsoft Development Platform – its full suite of software and training for the purpose of learning, development and infrastructure – at little or no cost.
The goal of the partnership is to drive creativity amongst Nigerian youth, and help them reach their full potential, so that at any age they can compete with their peers from other parts of the world.
The two students, Alade Oluwaseun and Davidson Oseremen were both delighted with their achievement. Davidson Oseremen said “Technology is what makes the world go round. No matter what you do you have to integrate technology into it, ‘’while Miss Alade Oseremen said she embraced technology to use it to create things.
It will be recalled that Davidson Oseremen partnered with Rilwan Shittu about three years ago to set up a company called DASH. The two youngsters, 9 and 10 years old at the time assembled their own computer within 15 minutes in December 2006.
Emmanuel Onyeje, country manager , Microsoft Nigeria said earlier :“When these students come of age, with the additional training they are likely to receive, these qualifications will translate to real, marketable job skills, ready to be used immediately. Their success at the exams is evidence that the talent is available in Nigeria to achieve great things in technology given the right training.”
“We are working with New Horizons to roll out this programme across Nigeria, based on the success of this partnership. More importantly, this is true empowerment, as we are not only targeting private schools but also government schools.”
He commended New Horizons saying the feat could not have been achieved without their commitment even as he commended them for actively helping to develop the business entrepreneurs and technical geniuses of tomorrow.
Tim Akano, managing director of New Horizons said that this century is the ICT century, hence his organization’s commitment to supporting and actively driving programs aimed at ensuring that Nigeria is relevant in the ICT revolution. He said that Nigerians are capable of doing great things and that information and skill combination will lead to great things which was lacking before.
“This achievement by Davidson and Alade is sure proof that Nigeria has the talent to compete against the best IT professionals in the world if they are given the right training and support. Once we identified that these teenagers had a strong flair for technology we made the commitment to nurture them to this point where they have now emerged as Nigeria’s youngest IT professionals,” he expressed.
Akano commended Doregos Private Academy and described it as a very focused educational institution that is in tune with the current educational needs for adopting technology education as a core part of its curriculum. He said that Doregos was the first school to embrace the ICT Partnership programme with New Horizons and that in the last two years; the academy has garnered virtually all the awards available in School Category ICT competitions.
J.O.Adedayo, principal of Doregos Academy said that technology is the only thing that will take us to the next level in Nigeria and that Doregos has a tradition of excellence as he said that the proprietor of the school, Mrs. Doregos believes in doing her best in whatever she wants to do .
“Since the establishment of our school in 1990, we have been doing well in academics. Our products are selling us everywhere. We are synonymous with excellence as we have qualified professionals who are always ready to give out the best. Our partnership with New Horizons since 2005 has led us to win several laurels”, he said.
Xora Finance has announced it will no longer consider job applicants from Nigeria.
Xora Finance is a digital bank founded by Joren Lundgren, in February 2026 and allows users to deposit and earn interest on their XRP cryptocurrency.
Lundgren, founder, in an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), cited an ongoing pattern of misconduct, such as dishonesty and theft, from previous Nigerian hires as the reason for the decision.
This sudden blanket ban came just days after the company’s official career page was aggressively recruiting remote workers for marketing and content roles.
The announcement generated heavy backlash online, with many people upset that a blanket rule punishes honest job seekers.
Some lawyers have said that victims of Ponzi schemes have legal remedies, although recovering lost funds and prosecuting perpetrators remain major challenges.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new participants rather than from actual profits.
Operators lure victims by promising high returns with little to no risk.
The scheme inevitably collapses when the flow of new investors slows down.
Some lawyers who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) separate interviews with on Sunday, said that victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money.
Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at Justification Chambers, Ikeja,said many Nigerians continued to fall victim to Ponzi schemes in spite of repeated warnings.
Opara said it was wrong to attribute participation in Ponzi schemes to a lack of investment opportunities, noting that promoters often exploit investors’ greed through promises of unrealistic returns.
“What you cannot take away is the fact that many Nigerians have fallen and continue to fall victim to these schemes every time,” he said.
According to him, victims may individually or collectively institute civil actions against the beneficiary company for breach of contract or refund arising from failure of consideration.
Opara said victims could also unite to seek an order from the Federal High Court to wind up the beneficiary company.
He, however, noted that such efforts might yield little benefit if perpetrators had already siphoned the funds and left behind an empty shell.
The lawyer said available remedies largely depended on the actions of relevant authorities, adding that recipient accounts could be frozen to facilitate fund recovery and support winding-up proceedings.
Opara said regulators and law enforcement agencies often became aware of Ponzi schemes only after substantial losses had occurred.
According to him, victims frequently failed to report suspicious schemes early enough to enable timely intervention.
He added that funds are sometimes moved outside the country before authorities become aware of the fraud.
Opara also cited inadequate information and the deceptive nature of the schemes as major obstacles to investigation and prosecution.
“Most times, everything about the schemes is made to appear elusive, just like the profits promised to victims,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Vincent Aminu of A.F. Aminu and Co. advised that victims of investment scams should report such cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies on time.
Aminu said victims could petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or file reports with the police.
He said that after investigation, prosecutors could bring charges against suspects under relevant fraud-related laws, including provisions of the Criminal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
Beyond criminal prosecution, Aminu said .victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money
According to him, such actions may be based on breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or fraudulent misrepresentation, depending on the circumstances.
He added that victims could petition the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could investigate illegal operators, shut down unauthorised platforms, and freeze assets.
He identified the anonymity of online fraudsters as one of the biggest challenges confronting investigators.
According to him, many operators concealed their identities through fake digital profiles and technologies that made tracking them difficult.
Aminu also noted that victims who delayed taking legal action risked losing opportunities for redress.
He added that prolonged court proceedings often delayed justice for victims.
“Many fraud-related cases take years before the court reaches a verdict, thereby delaying justice for victims,” he said.
Also, Mr Chris Ayiyi of Ayiyi Chambers, Apapa, described Ponzi schemes as a gamble that benefited early participants at the expense of later investors.
Ayiyi said some early entrants received returns on their investments, thereby encouraging others to join the schemes.
He said the schemes eventually collapsed, leaving late investors to bear the losses
The lawyer called for a complete ban on Ponzi schemes or sustained public enlightenment campaigns against them.
He urged the National Assembly to enact laws that would strengthen regulation and provide greater protection for investors.
According to him, stronger legal safeguards are necessary in a country operating a capital-based economy.
PalmPay Group (“PalmPay”), a multinational fintech company providing digital financial services across high-growth emerging markets, is pleased to appoint Samuel Oluyemi as Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) of its Nigeria practice, effective immediately.
The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for PalmPay as it looks to reach more underserved communities and continuously strengthen the reliability and security of its services. It also comes as Nigeria’s broader financial services sector continues to modernize, bring millions more Nigerians into the formal financial system, and strengthen the cybersecurity and fraud-prevention standards that underpin public confidence in digital payments.
As COO of PalmPay Nigeria, Mr. Oluyemi will oversee PalmPay’s Nigerian operations — where the company provides a full suite of digital financial services to individuals and businesses — and communicate with regulators to ensure the company’s growth happens harmoniously with the country’s financial, digital, and social inclusion goals.
Mr. Oluyemi brings more than two decades of experience at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (“NIBSS”). During his tenure as the Business Development Lead, he championed the development of key national payment services — including the Digital Validation of Nigerian International Passport (e-Passport Validation), Electronic Dividend Mandate Management System (“e-DMMS”), and the Electronic Pensions Contribution Collection System (“EPCCOS”) — and played a pivotal role in introducing and driving early adoption of NIBSS Instant Payment (“NIP”), Nigeria’s first online, real-time, inter-bank transfer system in 2011 and its subsequent extension to the Other Financial Institutions (“OFI”) segment of the Nigeria Payments System.
He holds an MSc in Monetary Economics from the University of Ibadan with extensive local and international professional training.
“Samuel joins PalmPay at an important stage in our journey to strengthen the foundations that will support our long-term goal of driving financial inclusion,” said Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria. “His extensive experience makes him well positioned to help us scale sustainably while maintaining the operational discipline, governance and customer-first culture that define PalmPay.”
“PalmPay has established itself as one of the most impactful fintech companies in emerging markets by making financial services more accessible and affordable for millions of people,” said Mr. Oluyemi.
“I am excited to join the company and look forward to working alongside an exceptional team to strengthen operational excellence and support PalmPay’s vision of building a leading digital financial services platform. Together, we will continue delivering secure, reliable, and customer-focused financial solutions while contributing to the continued evolution of Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.”
As Nigeria’s digital financial services sector continues to mature, this appointment reflects a broader commitment guiding PalmPay across all markets it serves: building financial services that are secure, reliable, and effective enough to earn a permanent place in people’s everyday lives.
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