E-Business
NDPC Chief, Olatunji, Spotlights Data Protection’s Role in Digital Economy
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), shed light on the significance of data protection in the digital economy during the recent pre-launch of the National Privacy Awareness Campaign.
Speaking at the ’50 Most Valuable Personalities in Nigeria’s Digital Economy Conference & Award’ in Lagos, Olatunji emphasized the crucial role data protection plays in fostering a thriving digital economy. He underscored the commitment of NDPC to raising awareness among citizens regarding data protection principles, essential for ensuring compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
He said, “we firmly believe that awareness is a pre-condition for compliance and the ability of all operators including Licensed DPCOs to effectively do their tasks as prescribed by the law – Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023. Therefore, I want to recommend the NSDPA to reach out for support of associations such as ALDAPCON as critical stakeholders in the data protection ecosystem.
“What we expect in the weeks and months ahead is that the message of data protection will begin to run deep in corporate Nigeria and rural settlements and semi-urban centres across the country”
The National Privacy Awareness Campaign is anchored by the Nigerian Stakeholders for Data Protection Awareness (NSDPA).
The pre-launch ceremony which held as part of the highlights of the 50 MVPS event attracted stakeholders from various sectors, including the leadership and members of prominent associations such as the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), and the Association of Licensed Data Protection Organisations of Nigeria (ALDAPCON).
Olatunji highlighted the necessity of awareness as a precursor to compliance, stressing the importance of collaboration with critical stakeholders like ALDAPCON to enhance data protection practices across corporate Nigeria and local communities.
Sani Ahmed Yaro, Zonal Coordinator of the Nigerian Stakeholders for Data Protection Awareness (NSDPA), shared plans for a national campaign aimed at educating every Nigerian on data privacy. He was represented by Delmwa Gogwim, a senior executive of the NSDPA.
Ivan Anya, Chairman of ALDAPCON, echoed similar sentiment, affirming the pivotal role of awareness in optimizing the functions of licensed Data Protection Compliance Organizations (DPCOs).
Nigeria’s digital economy and opportunities for young people
Furthermore, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda presented insights on Nigeria’s digital economy and opportunities for young people. He highlighted the transformative potential of emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and robotics in revolutionizing various sectors.
People’ by Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, Nigeria has a good chance to leapfrog its economy by leveraging the unfolding opportunitiesin the technology realm.
His words: “the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) presents a transformative opportunity for Nigeria to harness the power of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotics to revolutionize various sectors, from agriculture and healthcare to manufacturing and security.”
Prof. Yilwatda, a scholar and politician, said Nigeria must intentionally prepare its youths for the vast opportunities in the digital economy.
He said “Some of the opportunities available for young people in the digital economy space are a fertile ground for young entrepreneurs to launch innovative startups and digital businesses. From e-commerce ventures and fintech solutions to digital content creation and marketing.
Adding: “Young entrepreneurs can leverage emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things to develop cutting-edge solutions across various sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, and security… Between 2016 and 2019, Nigeria spent a staggering N3.35 trillion on agricultural imports, while exports remained meager at N803 billion. Leveraging 4IR technologies such as precision agriculture, smart farming, and data analytics could potentially revolutionize this sector, boosting productivity and efficiency.
The other opportunities are employment and freelancing: The rise of remote work and the gig economy has opened up new avenues for employment and freelancing opportunities for Nigeria’s youth. With the global remote jobs market expected to reach $100 billion by 2032, young Nigerians can leverage their digital skills to secure lucrative remote roles in areas such as web development, digital marketing, virtual assistance, and many more.
Furthermore, as companies across sectors embrace digital transformation and 4IR technologies, there is an increasing demand for professionals with specialized digital skills, such as data analysts, cybersecurity experts, software developers, robotics engineers, and artificial intelligence specialists. Young Nigerians can position themselves for these high-growth job opportunities by acquiring relevant digital skills and staying abreast of emerging technological trends.”
Prof. Yilwatda said Nigeria can unlock the transformative power of its digital economy and position itself as a global leader in this rapidly evolving space by investing in youths and digital infrastructures.
‘Myths and Realities of Nigerian Digital Economy’
Additionally, Ike Nnamani, CEO of Digital Realty Nigeria, challenged policymakers and stakeholders to debunk myths surrounding the Nigerian digital economy. He identified key misconceptions, including exaggerated claims about Nigeria’s data center market and its position in Africa’s digital landscape.
Nnamani acknowledged, “Nigeria is undergoing accelerated digitization of the consumer and enterprise economies, in turn driving demand for people with digital skills, data center capacity and attracting new providers into the market.”
However, the myths of its digital economy present challenges and opportunities for government, policy makers and other stakeholders including operators to stir the country to progress and ‘shared prosperity.’ He identified five myths associated with the country’s digital economy.
He itemized the five myths in this order:
Myth #1: Nigeria has excess number and capacity on subsea cables
The fact demonstrated by the “recent subsea cables cut shows more redundancy needed,” Nnamani told an audience of ICT/Telecoms CEOs and political though leaders.
Myth #2: Nigeria has strong cloud services and local cloud infrastructure
This is clearly not the reality on ground. While there are significant numbers of cloud infrastructure providers, the gaps for cloud services remain extensive and largely unmet.
Myth #3: The Digital Economy will be primarily driven by Telcos – While this myth may have been reinforced by deliberate policy attention on telcos and the huge mobile subscriptions in excess of 200 million, a mix of factors including the technology shift to 5G with onward progression to 6G and the rise of hyperscalers would mean that the digital economy will be beyond telcos as sole markers of growth.
Myth #4: Nigeria’s datacenter market has matured. Nnamani emphasized: “the fact is that Nigeria is the country with largest datacentre potential in Africa but currently lagging behind smaller economies as the table shows. There is tendency for regular exaggeration of the growth curve for datacentres that often play down the significant growth of datacentres and impact in other economies within the continent.
Myth #5: Nigeria’s GDP makes it the leader in Africa digital economy. Nigeria’s ranking as the largest economy does not equate to the largest d
The 50MVPs is organised by IT Edge News, to highlight challenges and trends in the sector as well as honour trailblazers and steadfast leaders who have propelled the digital economy forward despite formidable obstacles.
“This is the time to highlight progress, examine challenges, rework partnerships, and recognise icons, said Olusegun Oruame, Founder of IT Edge News, published since 2024
The ’50 Most Valuable Personalities in Nigeria’s Digital Economy Conference & Award’ serves as a platform to address sectoral challenges, honor industry pioneers, and recognize individuals driving digital innovation in Nigeria, as noted by Olusegun Oruame, Founder of IT Edge News, the event organizer.
In December 2025, organisations globally faced sustained cyber pressure, as the average number of cyber-attacks per organisation per week reached 2 027, a 1% increase from the previous month and a 9% increase from December 2024.
This is according to December 2025 Global Cyber Attack Statistics by Check Point Research, the threat intelligence arm of Check Point Software Technologies.
According to the statistics, Latin America was the hardest hit, with companies experiencing an average of 3 065 cyber-attacks per week, a 26% year-over-year increase.
In contrast, Africa saw a decline in attacks, with Nigeria (4 622 attacks per week) and Angola (4 002 attacks per week) being the most targeted countries on the continent.
The report’s findings highlight the evolving cyber threat landscape, with ransomware and GenAI-driven data risks posing significant challenges to companies worldwide.
Ransomware attacks jumped 60% year over year, with 945 publicly reported incidents in December. Qilin was the most active ransomware operator, responsible for 18% of publicly disclosed attacks.
“Ransomware continues to scale through industrialised operations, while unmanaged GenAI usage is creating widespread data exposure at enterprise level,” said Omer Dembinsky, data research manager at Check Point Research.
The report noted the education sector was the most targeted industry globally, with 4 349 cyber attacks per week; followed by government (2 666 attacks per week); and associations and non-profits (2 509 attacks per week).
The widespread adoption of GenAI tools has introduced new cyber security risks, with one in 27 GenAI prompts posing a high risk of sensitive data leakage.
Experts warn that companies must prioritise prevention-first security, real-time AI threat intelligence and strong governance over AI tools to mitigate these risks.
Hendrik de Bruin, head of security consulting at Check Point Software, added: “Strengthening ransomware resilience, deploying AI-powered prevention and enforcing clear GenAI governance will be critical to reducing cyber risk in the year ahead.”
E-Business
Half of Global Companies Build SOCs to Enhance Cybersecurity, with a Focus on Human Expertise
Among the primary reasons for establishing a Security Operations Center (SOC) are strengthening cybersecurity posture, enabling faster detection and response and gaining a competitive edge.
Interestingly, despite the increasing demand for automated cybersecurity solutions, businesses rely on skilled security professionals to make key decisions, as human expertise remains essential for effective security management.
A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a dedicated organisational unit responsible for continuous monitoring and safeguarding of a company’s IT infrastructure. Its core mission is to proactively detect, analyse and respond to cybersecurity threats.
To identify the main drivers, strategic priorities, and potential challenges in SOC planning and implementation, Kaspersky has conducted a comprehensive global study involving senior IT security specialists, managers and directors from companies with 500 or more employees.
All participants operate without a SOC but have plans to establish one in the near future. The study spans 16 countries across APAC, META, LATAM, Europe, and Russia, providing valuable insights into the emerging trends and best practices in SOC development worldwide.
The findings of the research reveal that 50% of companies intend to establish SOCs to strengthen their cybersecurity posture, and 45% are motivated by the need to address increasingly sophisticated and dangerous threats.
Other drivers include budget optimisation, the necessity for faster detection and response, and the expansion of software, endpoints and user devices – factors that demand more comprehensive and layered security measures.
These are cited by 41% of organisations. Additionally, 40% seek better protection of confidential information, 39% aim to meet regulatory requirements and one-third (33%) expect SOC capabilities to provide a competitive edge. Larger enterprises tend to cite each of these reasons more often, reflecting the broader operational and regulatory pressures they experience.
Continuous monitoring becomes the leading SOC requirement
Among the key functions organisations plan to delegate, 24/7 security monitoring leads at 54%. This around-the-clock vigilance enables early detection of anomalies, prevents escalation and sustains cyber resilience in real-time. This demand highlights a strategic requirement for proactive risk management, as organisations aim to defend against persistent threats that can strike at any moment.
Companies intending to fully outsource SOC operations show a stronger interest in applying “lessons learned” methodologies, whereas those developing internal SOCs focus more on access management to maintain tighter control.
Human expertise drives SOC technology choices
While SOCs use advanced technology, the choices made by organisations show that human analysts are very important. Among the solutions that organisations plan to include in SOC are – Threat Intelligence Platforms (48%), Endpoint Detection and Response (42%) and Security Information and Event Management systems (40%) – sophisticated solutions that automate data collection and reduce operational load, however, they depend heavily on skilled security professionals who provide critical context, interpret complex findings and make final decisions when guiding appropriate responses.
Other solutions chosen include Extended Detection and Response (38%), Network Detection and Response (37%) and Managed Detection and Response (33%). Large enterprises tend to adopt more technologies (5.5 per SOC on average), while smaller ones integrate fewer (3.8).
“To successfully build a SOC, companies must prioritise not only the right mix of technology but also the careful planning of processes, clear goal-setting and effective resource distribution.
“Well-defined workflows and continuous improvement are essential to ensure that human analysts can focus on critical tasks, making the SOC a proactive and adaptable component of their cybersecurity strategy,” comments Roman Nazarov, Head of SOC Consulting at Kaspersky.
Terra Industries, a Nigerian defence technology startup, has raised $11.75 million to expand its development of defensive systems that protect critical facilities across Africa.
The fundraising round was led by Silicon Valley venture firm 8VC, which was founded by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale.
Other investors in the round include Valour Equity Partners, Lux Capital, SV Angel, and Nova Global, as well as African-focused funds Tofino Capital, Kaleo Ventures, and DFS Lab.
Terra Industries, founded in Abuja by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, provides multi-domain security solutions for both air and land. Its solutions are intended to detect and respond to threats including terrorism, sabotage, and armed attacks on infrastructure.
The company’s product portfolio includes surveillance drones, ground-based robotic systems, and fixed monitoring towers deployed around sensitive locations.
Co-founder and CEO Nathan Nwachuku said the company has now fully embraced its identity as a defence-focused startup, citing the growing urgency of security challenges across Africa.
He said safeguarding critical infrastructure from terrorist threats has become unavoidable.
Nwachuku argues that protecting Africa’s infrastructure requires a different approach, one that combines local manufacturing, end-to-end system control, and software capable of independently identifying and responding to threats over large areas.
The company aims to position itself as a defence prime, similar to the role played by firms such as Anduril Industries and Palantir in the United States.
Nwachuku also disclosed that the company had earlier raised $800,000 in pre-seed funding.
With the new funding, Terra plans to increase manufacturing capacity within Africa, establish additional defence production facilities, and expand its artificial intelligence and software teams.
While software offices are planned for San Francisco and London, the company said manufacturing operations will remain on the continent.
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