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NITEC & Tech Start-up Financing for National Development

An inspired Facebook post by Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata jr. (CFA) recently got me thinking. He said, “We will keep playing our role for a better Nigeria…. Entertainment, Music, Fashion and Sports does not build a Nation. There is an over emphasis on them and corporate Nigeria is most guilty”.
As a tech-activist CFA is, I dare to say he felt like being in a wilderness owing to the insignificant support technologies companies, mostly, startups get from multinationals. The conspiracy might have been induced by fears of the unknown: if we support or invest on them, they might grow big and send us packing. But, whether we like it or not, technology is winning.
Essentially, we must not hide under the undeniable fact that the success of an entrepreneur`s search for capital depends partly on the nature and mix of the operational and capital needs of the firm relative to the investment preferences of venture capitalist or fund providers, then, we can’t continue to dole out millions of dollars, sponsoring ‘anyhow’ ‘emotional inducing’ events while our supposed blue-chip companies in making are sulking!
Suffice to say, we are quick to recognise the critical roles entrepreneurs play in the development of economy, but few are committed to the task to understanding what constrains them from taking effective entrepreneurship and investment decisions.
Virtually every government/ dispensation in Nigeria takes the forefront efforts to modernise and improve the ailing economy through a “focus on macroeconomic stabilisation, and the pursuance of a massive trade and investment liberalisation programme to encourage foreign direct investment in the country”. (Un)interestingly, the country usually pursue this agenda by relaxing most restrictions on current and capital transfers, introduced tax relief for those multi-nationals willing to invest in the country, and improved access to foreign exchange at near market rates, while the start-ups are left with like children in the street with bowls to beg for arms. Yes, billions of naira, at one time or the others, were ‘stacked’ in CBN for SMEs in Nigeria (generally to referred to firms with less than 250 employees) to access and grow their fortunes, but with strictest conditions.
Even, a recent study by the Federal Office of Statistics shows that 97% of businesses in Nigeria employ less than 100 employees.
By implication, 97% of all businesses in Nigeria are, to use the umbrella term, “small businesses”, which no government can afford to ignore such a high contributor to the economy.
Thus, the Entertainment, Music, Fashion and Sports ‘gems’ CFA was referring, seemingly, fall under the SMEs. Nevertheless, the penchant for technology SMEs cannot be over emphasized. They are the builders of disruptive technologies that spark creativity in other industries. The longevity of an innovation relies on the superiority of technology behind it.
Both the International Data Corporation (IDC), Gartner, Microsoft and other research consultancies, are projecting that worldwide spending on public cloud services (alone) will grow at a 19.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from nearly $70B in 2015 to more than $141B in 2019. Today, the global video gaming revenue is worth $101.62. While the world are still at awe over the driverless cars, ‘gas-free’ cars are on the verge. What is Nigeria and Africa in general doing to be part of the Internet of Things (IoTs)? Shall we continue to applaud and savoury the juicy, infiltrations of Silicon Valley applications, that capitals flights abound…technology startups must say, God forbid! A stitch in time can only save nine when you recognize that global village appreciates only continents and countries alike with fondness for productivity. Less stress less of download and start uploading.
What is needed? A platform for both parties: startups and investors to bare, share ideas and arrive at workable indices. Permit me to say, we have several fora meshed with inspiring discussions. However, it’s high time we embraced a paradigm shift from tiger-paper & conference communiques to hands-on template, which Nigeria International Technology Exhibition & Conference (www.nitec.com.ng) entails. NITEC wants to teach people the flexible, easy-going and ‘economic-friendly’ ways to finance technology startup. You may wish to call it, Start-Up Financing With Tears.
It is actually going to be a win-win for intending technology investors and start-ups, especially with the later sharing in the blames aforementioned. How? Our start-ups need to sharpen their marketing and presentation skills. There are many talents, chasing few ‘dollars’, in the pocket of the investor.
Therefore, NITEC 2016 and forward, will serve as a catalyst to achieve this goal. This is why the slogan for what will become an annual conference and exhibition is “Trending Technologies”, a slogan that will ensure each year’s edition captures all the trending issues in technology around the world.
To this end, NITEC 2016 is positioned to bridge the gap between the private and public sectors and the international technology community in re-engineering the African technological ecosystem for greater impact on the continent’s GDP.
Top reasons to exhibit at NITEC 2016 include exposure of products & services to thousands of attendees; exhibition booth (2 days); placement of brand logo on event brochure and website; complimentary wifi, place web banners and share branded gifts at booths. See you there!
News
Trump Threatens More Strikes in Nigeria

President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could carry out further military strikes in Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed, reigniting a sensitive debate over religious violence and foreign intervention in Africa’s most populous nation.

President Donald Trump
Trump made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday, while responding to questions about a US military strike carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day.
At the time, the US military said the operation targeted Islamic State militants in north-west Nigeria and was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.
Nigeria, however, described the operation as a joint counterterrorism effort, stressing that it was aimed at armed groups designated as terrorists and “had nothing to do with a particular religion”.
“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump was quoted as saying. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”
Pressed on comments by his own Africa adviser that extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria, Trump acknowledged that Muslims were also victims but insisted that Christians were being targeted disproportionately.
“I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly raised alarms about the safety of Christians in Nigeria, beginning in late October when he warned that Christianity faced what he described as an “existential threat” in the country. He has accused Nigerian authorities of failing to adequately protect Christian communities and has openly threatened US military intervention if the violence continues.
Nigeria has firmly rejected claims of systematic persecution of Christians. The government maintains that the country’s security challenges are complex and largely driven by insurgency, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious targeting.
With a population of more than 230 million people, Nigeria is almost evenly divided between Christians, who are concentrated mainly in the south, and Muslims, who predominate in the north. Islamist insurgencies, particularly Boko Haram and its offshoots, have plagued parts of northern Nigeria for more than a decade, killing thousands and displacing millions.
Nigerian authorities have repeatedly pointed out that militant attacks have claimed the lives of both Muslims and Christians, arguing that framing the violence along religious lines oversimplifies the crisis and risks inflaming tensions.
Following Trump’s earlier threats, the Nigerian government said it was willing to continue cooperating with Washington in combating terrorism but rejected language suggesting that Christians alone were under threat.
The latest comments are likely to strain diplomatic relations further, as Nigeria balances its partnership with the United States against concerns over sovereignty, security cooperation and the portrayal of its internal conflicts on the global stage.
News
OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health

OpenAI maker of ChatGPT is rolling out a health-focused feature to the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that’s used by nearly a billion users.

Named ChatGPT Health, the new feature aims to provide users with health and wellness information. This, as health is one of the most common ways people use ChatGPT, according to OpenAI.
In a blog post, Microsoft-backed OpenAI says de-identified analysis of conversations show that over 230 million people globally ask health and wellness-related questions on ChatGPT every week.
ChatGPT Health will also “securely” connect medical records and wellness apps to ground conversations with a user’s own health information, making responses more relevant and useful.
“Designed in close collaboration with physicians, ChatGPT Health helps people take a more active role in understanding and managing their health and wellness – while supporting, not replacing, care from clinicians.”
According to OpenAI, health information is often scattered across portals, apps, wearables, PDFs, and medical notes making it hard to see the full picture, and people are left to navigate a complex healthcare system on their own.
“ChatGPT Health builds on these so responses are informed by your health information and context. You can now securely connect medical records and wellness apps – like Apple Health, Function, and MyFitnessPal – so ChatGPT can help you understand recent test results, prepare for appointments with your doctor, get advice on how to approach your diet and workout routine, or understand the trade-offs of different insurance options based on your healthcare patterns.”
According to the company, ChatGPT Health is designed to support, not replace, medical care, adding that it is not intended for diagnosis or treatment. “Instead, it helps you navigate everyday questions and understand patterns over time – not just moments of illness – so you can feel more informed and prepared for important medical conversations.
“To keep your health information protected and secure, Health operates as a separate space with enhanced privacy to protect sensitive data. Conversations in Health are not used to train our foundation models. If you start a health-related conversation in ChatGPT, we’ll suggest moving into Health for these additional protections.”
OpenAI adds that access to ChatGPT Health has started with a small group of early users to learn and continue refining the experience, adding that users with ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans outside of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK are eligible.
“As we make improvements, we plan to expand access and make Health available to all users on web and iOS in the coming weeks.
“Medical record integrations and some apps are available in the US only, and connecting Apple Health requires iOS.”
News
Kaspersky Shares AI Cybersecurity Predictions for 2026

Kaspersky experts outline how the rapid development of AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape in 2026, both for individual users and for businesses. Large language models (LLMs) are influencing defensive capabilities while simultaneously expanding opportunities for threat actors.

Deepfakes are becoming a mainstream technology, and awareness will continue to grow. Companies are increasingly discussing the risks of synthetic content and training employees to reduce the likelihood of falling victim to it. As the volume of deepfakes grows, so does the range of formats in which they appear.
At the same time, awareness is rising not only within organisations but also among regular users: end consumers encounter fake content more often and better understand the nature of such threats. As a result, deepfakes are becoming a stable element of the security agenda, requiring a systematic approach to training and internal policies.
Deepfake quality will improve through better audio and a lowering barrier to entry. The visual quality of deepfakes is already high, while realistic audio remains the main area for future growth.
At the same time, content generation tools are becoming easier to use: even non-experts can now create a mid-quality deepfake in just a few clicks. As a result, the average quality continues to rise, creation becomes accessible to a far broader audience, and these capabilities will inevitably continue to be leveraged by cybercriminals.
Online deepfakes will continue to evolve but remain tools for advanced users. Real-time face and voice swapping technologies are improving, but their setup still requires more advanced technical skills. Wide adoption is unlikely, yet the risks in targeted scenarios will grow: increasing realism and the ability to manipulate video through virtual cameras make such attacks more convincing.
Efforts to develop a reliable system for labelling AI-generated content will continue. There are still no unified criteria for reliably identifying synthetic content, and current labels are easy to bypass or remove, especially when working with open-source models. For this reason, new technical and regulatory initiatives aimed at addressing the problem are likely to emerge.
Open-weight models will approach top closed models in many cybersecurity-related tasks, which create more opportunities for misuse. Closed models still offer stricter control mechanisms and safeguards, limiting abuse.
However, open-source systems are rapidly catching up in functionality and circulate without comparable restrictions. This blurs the difference between proprietary models and open-source models both of which can be used efficiently for undesired or malicious purposes.
The line between legitimate and fraudulent AI-generated content will become increasingly blurred. AI can already produce well-crafted scam emails, convincing visual identities, and high-quality phishing pages.
At the same time, major brands are adopting synthetic materials in advertising, making AI-generated content look familiar and visually “normal.” As a result, distinguishing real from fake will become even more challenging, both for users and for automated detection systems.
AI will become a cross-chain tool in cyberattacks and be used across most stages of the kill chain. Threat actors already employ LLMs to write code, build infrastructure, and automate operational tasks.
Further advances will reinforce this trend: AI will increasingly support multiple stages of an attack, from preparation and communication to assembling malicious components, probing for vulnerabilities and deploying tools. Attackers will also work to hide signs of AI involvement, making such operations harder to analyse.
“While AI tools are being used in cyberattacks, they are also becoming a more common tool in security analysis and influence how SOC teams work. Agent-based systems will be able to continuously scan infrastructure, identify vulnerabilities, and gather contextual information for investigations, reducing the amount of manual routine work.
“As a result, specialists will shift from manually searching for data to making decisions based on already-prepared context. In parallel, security tools will transition to natural-language interfaces, enabling prompts instead of complex technical queries,” adds Vladislav Tushkanov, Research Development Group Manager at Kaspersky.
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