Telecom
MTN Group Hits 200m Subscribers in 22 Countries
MTN Group has marked its 200 million subscriber milestone by announcing a bold R200 million initiative to improve the quality of education across its markets in Africa and the Middle East over the next two years.
MTN reaching the 200 million subscriber mark comes a year before it celebrates 20 years of connecting people and economies, from South Africa – the launch pad – to South Sudan, its most recent market.
As a multinational telecommunications company operating in emerging markets, MTN has a particular opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to social development, said Sifiso Dabengwa, President and CEO, MTN Group.
“Due to the lack of access to quality education and infrastructure, and low literacy rates in most of these countries, MTN has chosen to direct a significant amount of its corporate social (CSI) spend towards education over the next two year. This will provide people with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to make positive decisions about their lives,” said Dabengwa.
MTN runs a comprehensive multi-country CSI programme through MTN Foundations spanning education, health and other national priorities.
A grand total of R193 million was spent in these three areas during 2012. Going forward, the company will scale up its contribution towards building knowledge economies in its markets by investing in more education initiatives aimed at empowering learners and teachers using ICTs and mobile learning.
As seen in MTN’s 2013 interim results released today, MTN is a growth company with a solid performance record and an aspirational vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to its customers.
It will continue to share the fruits of its success with customers and communities through, among others, offering affordable and innovative services, as well as investing in social upliftment and network infrastructure to improve the quality of its services.
“We are grateful to our customers for their loyalty and contribution to the growth of the MTN brand over the years. Using that feedback, MTN is making significant investments towards improving the quality of our service, while also providing solutions designed to make a real difference in the lives of our customers,” added Dabengwa.
The MTN brand has achieved great prominence over the years. For two consecutive years, MTN emerged as the highest ranked African brand in the prestigious Millward-Brown Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013 survey.
Most recently, MTN emerged as South Africa’s most valuable brand in this year’s BrandFinance Most Valuable Brands Survey, for a second consecutive year.
“The award is further acknowledgement of our on-going efforts to enhance customer experience in the various touch-points in the markets,” said Dabengwa.
To achieve this ambition, which will allow MTN to provide a seamless service experience to customers across its markets, the company has launched a project aptly called ‘Perfect 10’.
Already launched in Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia and South Africa, the initiative aims to give customers a 10 out of 10 experience of the MTN network, products and services.
Benefits of the programme are already filtering through to customers. In Ghana, for example, where the programme was first launched, feedback received in the early stages of implementation has been very positive.
Looking ahead, Dabengwa said the company’s new vision, to lead the delivery of a bold new Digital World, and mission to make our customers’ lives a whole lot brighter, has positioned MTN well for further growth into the future.
“MTN’s previous vision ‘to be the leader in telecommunications in emerging markets’ has largely been achieved. The need for a broader digital offering led MTN to refresh its vision and mission and refine its strategic objectives. We believe MTN is now ready for the next frontier of growth – digital services. And we are humbled that over 200 million of our subscribers are embarking on this journey with us, to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world.”
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has named the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the top three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with the Best Ranking in Website Performance for 2025.
L-R: Head Special Projects, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Salamatu Andu; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Abaraham Oshadame; Director General Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Head Customer Support Service, Galaxy Backbone, Rosemary Ehize; Secretary to the ES. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Tahir Aminu at the BPSR award ceremony for top four MDAs in BPSR Website Performance and Ranking 2025 at the BPSR office on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2025.
This is coming barely three weeks after the telecom regulator was recognized as one of the top five best-performing Federal Government agencies for 2025 by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) – a testament to the Commission’s consistency in investment in technology for ensuring efficient service delivery.
In the BPSR 2024/2025 scorecard ranking of agencies’ websites, the NCC came second in the ranking, trailing behind Galaxy Backbone Limited, which came first while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) clinched the third position, from a pool of 235 MDAs, whose website were evaluated.
BPSR deployed 14 evaluation criteria in include MDA’s website compliance with .gov.ng domain name, appearance and aesthetics (look and feel) of the website, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and the website’ structure.
Others include website’s responsiveness (device compatibility), security, load time, usability/ease of navigation, availability/uptime, functionality, interactivity, accessibility and capacity building.
The recognition was announced at the official release of Federal Government 2024/2025 Scorecard Ranking for MDAs’ Website held at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja on Monday (December 22, 2025) while the award presentation took place at BPSR’s Office on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
The award, which is an important index metric of the National e-Government Masterplan for determining the Nigeria e-Government Status, was received by the Commission in recognition of its commitment to maintaining a world-class website that enhances service delivery to the citizens.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, appreciated the BPSR for the recognition, describing the award as “another encouragement for the Commission to be a better public service institution leveraging digital platforms such as our web presence to enhance public service delivery to our various stakeholders, thereby implementing the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy direction.”
While presenting the award to the NCC, alongside other two agencies, BPSR’s Director-General, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the top three for their proactive decisions in maintaining world-class websites, which are compliant with the Federal Government’s policy direction in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens.
According to the DG, the 2024/2025 MDA’s websites’ ranking represents a collective effort of federal public institutions in Nigeria to be transparent, accountable and open in governance, as well as a confirmation to align with global best practices in service delivery to the citizens.
Developed about six years ago, Arabi said as a result of the annual ranking, more public institutions have indicated readiness to embrace reforms, and align with the policy direction of the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on improve governance for effective service delivery, as introduced by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The ideals of harnessing and deploying technological tools for service delivery has become imperative following the COVID pandemic, and distortions of socio-economic system of nations, culminating in the evolution of competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and agile governance.
“As engine room of governance, it behoves on us in the public service to perform our statutory duties and we must put in place technological innovations and standardized websites to operate services as well as deliver service needs to citizens,” he said.
The Scorecard exercise, he said, is part of the BPSR reform broader function of conducting research on reform implementation efforts and presenting ‘best practice’ models to the entire Public Service, and to among others, improve access to government information, facilitate seamless financial transaction, eliminate corruption and cyber theft, as well as facilitate access to government services.
Speaking on the rigorous nature of the exercise that produced the top three winners, the DG said “in the past few weeks members of the Scorecard Jury drawn from inter-Ministerial Agencies, had worked tirelessly to mill websites of selected MDAs through a rigorous process of enduring criteria for the ranking and the outcome had also passed through a quality assurance mechanism to validate the outcome.”
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has dismissed reports that bank accounts not linked to a Tax Identification Number (TIN) will be frozen or automatically debited from January 1, 2026.
Taiwo Oyedele
Oyedele described the claims as false and misleading, warning Nigerians against panic over misinformation surrounding recent tax and financial reforms.
In a post on his X handle Tuesday morning, he wrote: “Don’t let anyone manipulate you. Your bank account is safe. Misinformation makes you panic and fear a reform that is designed to help you.
“When they tell you that your account will be frozen or automatically debited from January 2026, ask them for the evidence in the new law. Be wise.”
He stressed that no provision in the new tax laws authorises the freezing of bank accounts, adding that the rumours are part of widespread misrepresentation of the reforms.
The committee chairman reiterated that the reforms are intended to simplify Nigeria’s tax system and ease the burden on ordinary citizens, not to impose punitive measures on bank customers.
US tech giant, Amazon has disclosed that it blocked more than 1,800 North Koreans from applying for jobs, amid growing concerns that Pyongyang is deploying large numbers of IT workers overseas to earn and launder funds.
Amazon
In a LinkedIn post, Amazon’s Chief Security Officer, Stephen Schmidt, said North Korean nationals have been attempting to secure remote IT roles with companies around the world, particularly in the United States.
He noted that the company recorded nearly a one-third increase in such applications over the past year.
According to Schmidt, many of the applicants operate through so-called “laptop farms” — computers physically located in the US but remotely controlled from abroad.
He warned that the issue is not unique to Amazon and is likely occurring at scale across the tech industry.
He added that common red flags include incorrectly formatted phone numbers and questionable academic credentials.
The issue has previously drawn the attention of US authorities. In July, a woman in Arizona was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for running a laptop farm that helped North Korean IT workers obtain remote jobs at more than 300 US companies.
Officials said the scheme generated over $17 million in revenue for both the woman and North Korea.
Last year, South Korea’s intelligence agency also warned that North Korean operatives were using LinkedIn to pose as recruiters, approaching South Koreans working at defence companies in an attempt to steal sensitive technological information.
“North Korea is actively training cyber personnel and infiltrating key locations worldwide,” Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.
He added that, given Amazon’s business model, the motivation behind such operations is largely economic, with a high likelihood of attempts to steal financial assets.
North Korea’s cyber warfare programme dates back to at least the mid-1990s and has since expanded into a cyber unit of about 6,000 personnel known as Bureau 121, according to a 2020 US military report.
In November, Washington announced sanctions against eight individuals accused of being state-sponsored hackers, alleging their illicit activities were carried out to fund North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
The US Treasury has also accused North Korea-linked cybercriminals of stealing more than $3 billion over the past three years, primarily through cryptocurrency-related crimes.
World Bank Reveals Obstacles to Growth of Mobile Money Accounts in Sub-Saharan Africa
NCC Ranked Among Top 3 MDAs for Best Website Performance in 2025
FIRS Declares NIN, CAC Numbers as Tax IDs from 2026
Woherem Proposes Pragmatic Roadmap to End Terrorism and Banditry in Nigeria
AfDB Group Mobilises Global Private Capital to Close Africa’s Financing Gap
Nigeria Records Highest Weekly Cyberattacks in Africa — Report
Cyber Tsunami Hits Nigeria as Breaches Surge 1,047%, esentry Q3 Report Reveals
Minister Claims Bandits Exploit Poor Network, Bounce Calls Off Multiple Towers
GenAI Adoption Among African workers Outpace Global Peers
Jumia’s Data Shows Nigerians Turning to Digital Retail to Navigate Inflation Pressures
News2 days agoUS Begins Partial Visa Ban on Nigerians January 1
News2 days agoDPLAN Threatens NDPC with Legal Action for Setting aside $32.8m Meta Fine
E-Financial2 days agoNOVA Bank Opens Regional Office in Owerri
News2 days agoGlo Extends Christmas Greetings, Urges Unity and Care for Others
E-Financial2 days agoNaira Stability, Lower Borrowing Costs Expected in 2026 — CBN Survey
E-Business2 days agoGalaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking
E-Financial1 day agoFIRS says NIN, CAC Numbers to Serve as Tax IDs from 2026
E-Financial2 days agoSEC Says CMOs Must Renew Registration in January