E-Business
NAPAfrica, Asteroid Partner to Promote Local IXP Interconnection in Africa

Global interconnection platform, Asteroid, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Internet exchange point (IXP) NAPAfrica, which will focus on advancing the development of Internet interconnection in Africa.
The collaboration will see both companies work towards promoting IXP infrastructure development and supporting educational activities that will promote the growth of the African peering community.
Asteroid is an Amsterdam-headquartered interconnection platform that operates neutral IXPs worldwide, and works with parties in local markets to deliver efficient interconnection.
Established in 2012 as Africa’s first neutral IXP, NAPAfrica exchanges local and international Internet traffic in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, through the Teraco data centre facilities where it is located.
NAPAfrica and Asteroid say they will both bring their experience to advance IXP operations to various parts of the African continent, including SA, in efforts to build strong local communities and spread awareness of local interconnection in the region.
“We are proud to be teaming up with NAPAfrica to combine our competence and experience in IXPs and peering,” says Nurani Nimpuno, CCO of Asteroid.
“We believe Africa holds great potential for Internet growth, but there are still real challenges to solve in terms of in-country interconnection. IXPs can play a key role in boosting that, and at Asteroid we want to play a positive role in that development.”
Africa continues to face major challenges in ensuring Internet traffic is routed within the continent and not via Europe and back again, according to NAPAfrica.
The company believes more has to be done to identify opportunities for improved interconnection where IXPs can play an important role.
Michele McCann, head of interconnection and peering at NAPAfrica, explains: “We are proud to be teaming up with Asteroid in promoting local interconnection and peering on the continent. Asteroid has an efficient and highly automated IXP model and a solid team of reputable IXP experts.”
According to experts, the presence of an IXP in a country can be instrumental in developing the local communication infrastructure, improving Internet users’ access speeds and reducing latency significantly, developing the local Internet ecosystem.
However, in Africa, IXPs are often plagued by many challenges, such as an unsupportive regulatory framework, high cost of network infrastructure and lack of general knowledge on IXP best practices.
This week, global non-profit organisation, Internet Society, announced a partnership with Facebook that aims to promote IXP infrastructure development in Africa, with the objective of increasing the number of IXPs and supporting the expansion of existing IXPs on the continent.
According to Internet Society, 42% of countries in Africa lack IXPs, which means most of their domestic Internet traffic is exchanged through points outside their respective country, usually through satellite or submarine fibre across multiple international hubs, to reach their destination.
This can result in poor end-user experiences and discourages hosting content locally, which are some of the key factors towards the development of the local Internet ecosystem, notes Internet Society.
“The Internet community adopted the goal of having at least 80% of the Internet traffic consumed in Africa being locally accessible, and only 20% sourced outside the continent by the year 2020,”explains Dawit Bekele, Africa regional bureau director for the Internet Society.
“We are getting closer to that target thanks to the many activities that promote interconnection and hosting in Africa and to partnerships such as the one we are announcing with Facebook.”
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.
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