Telecom
Nigeria Must Target 8Bn Market to Remain Relevant in Digital Economy Says Nnenna Nwakanma
Nnenna Nwakanma, Chief Web Advocate at the World Wide Web Foundation, has counselled Nigerians to stop ethnic fighting and target the 8 billion market space in the digital economy.
She made these calls at the 2021 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Africa Forum on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D), held at the Golden Tulip Hotels Essential, International Airport Road, Lagos hosted by an award-winning ITREALMS Media under its DigitalSENSE Africa Forum series, an At-Large Structure (ALS) at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as part of efforts for shaping the future of the Internet.
Nwakanma who dwelt on developments on digital cooperation and effects on growing demography on African and Nigeria perspective said “Digital Cooperation is a global initiative to get all stakeholders to collaborate on key issues.”
She called on Nigeria to assume the rightful role as leader in Africa and also in the digital space in the continent, describing the nation as the number one country in Africa.
“If we are saying that Africa is the future of digital cooperation, it means that Nigeria is No. 1 in Africa, it means that Nigeria is number 1 of the future of digital cooperation,” she declared.
Nwakanma told participants at NDSF2021 via an live-broadcast, that as Nigerians, the citizens in the digital ecosystem “we need to go beyond a wailing republic. You go beyond a complaining republic. You go beyond a ‘poor hustler’ mentality. “
According to her, “What the world expected of us is leadership. What the world expected from Nigeria is digital leadership. Digital leadership is innovation, creation. You need to step away from the N100,000 or N20,000 mentality and begin to think of 8 billion, because that is the global population. That is your market. That is your field.”
The Chief Web Advocate equally charged Nigerians to stop ethnic battle and focus on a larger market of 8 billion.
“Please stop fighting the Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Tiv, Edo battle. We are fighting against a market of 8 billion. So please, stop fighting the little fight and take up the bigger one. Quit the hustler mentality and take up the leadership mentality,” she charged.
Nwakanma specifically made a call to the government of Nigeria that there is a lot to be done on the policy level. “There are lots to be done on digital rights respect. There are lots to be done on protecting the dignity of Nigerians in the country and online. A lot is being done already to clean up the image of Nigeria in the digital space, but we still need more to be done.
She expected that “More good stories and more billion-dollar stories; we need more innovation stories coming from Nigeria in the respect of human rights and human dignity.”
To the industry players especially technology companies, Nwakanma tasked them to ensure they work in Nigeria with the intention to innovate, create, design, build and grow; So as to grow Nigerians, the young people, to grow the market of tomorrow and leaders of tomorrow.
She stressed that they must show accountability “the same way EU citizens are being treated, I think should be the way, Nigerians have a right to be treated. We are not less human than anybody. American citizens are not more human than Nigerian citizens. The same way their data and rights are protected, the same way Nigerians should be respected and protected.”
Maintaining that Nigerian women, men, and youths “need to be safe and secure online and offline.”
Nnenna Nwakanma, is a Nigerian Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) activist, community organizer, development adviser. She worked for the United Nations for 15 years and was the Interim Policy Director for the World Wide Web Foundation before her current post as the Chief Web Advocate.
Also, she is the co-founder of the Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa FOSSFA, which she co-chairs. She is a former member of the board of the Open Source Initiative and served as co-founder at The Africa Network of Information Society Actors, and the African Civil Society for the Information Society. Equally, Nnenna served as a Vice President of the Digital solidarity fund and had previously worked as the Information Officer for Africa of the Helen Keller Foundation.
Clean and reliable power for telecom networks in Ethiopia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be expanded following a $45 million investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in IPT PowerTech.
The investment targets countries where limited power supply continues to slow digital connectivity and broader economic participation, the institution stated earlier this week.
To enable this expansion, the IFC is providing a $45 million corporate financing package consisting of an A-loan of $27 million and $18 million in blended finance.
The blended portion is sourced from the Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Programme and the IDA20 Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.
The initiative marks the IFC’s first direct infrastructure engagement in Liberia in a decade and in Sierra Leone in six years.
It will help scale solar- and battery-based power systems that reduce reliance on diesel and support greener, more resilient telecom networks.
By improving the quality and stability of power to telecom towers, the initiative will strengthen mobile coverage and ensure that households, schools, health centres, and small businesses can depend on consistent digital services, said the IFC.
The funding supports the modernisation, operation, and maintenance of 2 235 telecom sites across the three nations. More than 90% of these are located in off-grid or weak-grid locations.
With new solar and battery systems powering these sites, mobile networks will experience fewer outages and improved service quality.
Optimising the energy mix is estimated to reduce power costs for operators by up to 30% in Liberia, 26% in Sierra Leone, and 52% in Ethiopia.
This transition is also expected to cut emissions by more than 10 624 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Furthermore, the partnership will promote gender inclusion by expanding opportunities for women in technical, operational, and leadership roles within the sector, says the IFC.
This agreement reflects a shared vision for a greener telecom industry and empowers the company to scale its innovative energy platforms, according to Nabil Haddad, CEO of IPT PowerTech Group.
Reliable and affordable power for telecom networks is a cornerstone of Africa’s digital transformation, said Nathalie Kouassi-Akon, IFC regional director for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
Through this partnership, the institution is supporting a scalable, private sector-led solution that enables mobile operators to reach underserved and fragile communities more sustainably, added Kouassi-Akon.
The project advances the World Bank Group and African Development Bank’s Mission 300 initiative, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
Expedier has unveiled “Expedier for Business,” an online pro-banking platform to simplify global payments, multi-currency transactions, and financial operations for expanding companies.
Kingsley Madu
The tool centralizes payments, invoicing, payroll, and treasury into one secure dashboard, tackling challenges like fragmented systems and poor visibility that hinder international scaling.
Kingsley Madu, Co-Founder and CEO of Expedier, said: “African businesses are increasingly global… Expedier for Business was built to simplify how companies manage money across borders while maintaining visibility, control, and compliance.”
Key features include customizable dashboards for payments, invoices, and workflows; support for USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, and more; virtual cards; automated payroll/invoicing; currency swaps; and real-time tracking.
Security measures cover two-factor authentication, KYC/KYB verification, and team access controls.
As cross-border trade and remote work boom in Africa, the platform aids firms dealing with international suppliers, teams, and customers. It is now available for organizations scaling globally.
Nigerian fintech unicorn Moniepoint Inc. has finalised its acquisition of a 78% stake in Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank, gaining a key deposit-taking licence for credit expansion in East Africa’s biggest economy.
The deal, marked by a Nairobi reception, bypasses the Central Bank of Kenya’s licence freeze, letting Moniepoint rival giants like Safaricom and Equity Group after a stalled Kopo Kopo bid.
It signals Africa’s fintech shift to licensed banking and mergers, equipping Moniepoint to roll out high-speed SME lending via Sumac’s 20-year-old infrastructure and branches.
The acquisition builds a cross-border merchant ecosystem beyond fees, integrating recent Orda buyout (cloud restaurant software) for “business-in-a-box” tools like inventory, payroll, and capital amid Kenya’s digital lending scrutiny.
Moniepoint, which hit $294 billion annualised transactions in 2025, eyes Kenya’s SMEs with Nigeria-honed retail expertise.
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