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NiRA Delighted as ICAAN Commissions First Office in Africa

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(L-r): Tarek Kamel, Kris Senanu, Hon. Joe Mucheru, Ngene Gituku (Chair -CA) Mike Silber, Sally Costerton, Eng. Victor Kyalo (PS MoICT) Nii Quaynor, Christopher Kemei (Director - Licensing Compliance & Standards – CA) Pierre Dandjinou, during the opening of ICAAN office in Kenya…..photo: ICAAN
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Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has commended The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the opening of ICANN’s first Engagement Office in Africa.

NiRA delegates were in attendance at the ICANN 55 meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, when the announcement was made by Steve Crocker, ICANN Board Chair.

He broke the news of the opening of ICANN’s first African Office in Nairobi, Kenya.

While making his opening remarks, Dr. Crocker said: “I’m proud to announce that ICANN’s first engagement center in Africa will open in Nairobi, Kenya. We were overwhelmed by the warm reception from the Kenyan Government and community. Community members from across the African continent traveled to be part of this important event.

“The past 18 years have witnessed efforts to introduce and develop the Internet across Africa. ICANN’s Africa strategy, developed in 2012, recognizes the strides made by African pioneers such as Nii Quaynor.

“These advocates have worked tirelessly to prepare Africa for the digital age. Over the past three years, the dedication and goodwill of ICANN community and staff members have been instrumental in implementing the Africa strategy. We hope to continue on this path, increasing our institutional engagement and outreach – key elements of ICANN’s Africa strategy.

“Today, we recognize Africa’s increased awareness and participation in ICANN and the greater Internet ecosystem. This trend culminated at the last ICANN Public Meeting, ICANN55, held in Marrakech, Morocco.

“Of about 2,000 total participants, over 900 participants came from Africa. During that meeting, the ICANN Board of Directors and senior leadership announced the opening of the first ICANN engagement office in Africa. The Nairobi office was to support the work of the Global Stakeholder Engagement team in Africa – promoting effective institutional engagement and facilitating capacity building in the domain name space industry in the African region.

“This week, ICANN inaugurated the Nairobi office. We were humbled by the enthusiasm for ICANN demonstrated by the Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, Communications Authority of Kenya, Kenya Network Information Center (KeNIC), and local and regional communities.

“We look forward to deepening our engagement with African stakeholders, from governments to the private sector. Capacity building is key to Africa becoming an effective contributor to the Internet ecosystem. On behalf of ICANN, we want to reiterate our commitment to Africa. We urge our stakeholders to stay active and engage meaningfully in ICANN to ensure that Africa’s voice is heard and her influence felt.

“Lastly, we want to acknowledge the efforts of the ICANN team and community in making this event a success.

Also speaking, Rev’d Sunday Folayan, NiRA’s President, said, “The Kenya office – called ICANN Engagement Centre – was formally opened on Tuesday 24th May 2016, in Nairobi. The opening of the Nairobi office comes after 6 years when the country played host to ICANN37 meeting in March 2010.

“ICANN’s Nairobi office will act as the organisation’s foothold in Africa and be focused on championing Institutional engagement with Stakeholders, including Governments, Civil societies, Technical and Academic Institutions. NiRA applauds the decision and has observed ICANN’s intent on becoming increasingly international in terms of its outlook, policies and the composition of its community. We at NiRA believe that the opening of this local office in Africa should create a more level playing ground for Africans”.

ICAAN is a nonprofit organization that is responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces of the Internet – thereby ensuring the network’s stable and secure operation.

The Corporation performs the actual technical maintenance work of the central Internet address pools and DNS Root registries pursuant to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function contract.


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Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

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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.


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Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

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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.”


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Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

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Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

Galaxy Backbone Tops FG's Website Performance Ranking

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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