E-Business
OAU Undergraduate, Adeola Wins Data Science Nigeria Bootcamp Hackathon

By peter oluka
Adeola Balogun, a young female 400-level Computer Science undergraduate from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, has won the Data Science Nigeria (DSN) bootcamp hackathon.
The bootcamp included very intensive hands-on classes, group learning sessions, and three individual hackathons, featuring a hands-on focus on machine learning algorithms, engineering statistics, and the broad principles of data science applications in solving real word problems.
The learning sessions were spiced up with three ongoing hackathons aimed to stimulate the 150 participants, who qualified for the bootcamp through pre-qualification exams on Microsoft/Edx Data Science MOOC series and DataCamp followed by a public Kaggle competition.
In his welcome address, the bootcamp convener, Mr. Bayo Adekanmbi, MTN’s Executive, said “We must focus on world-class capacity building in a consistent and rigorous manner if we truly want to build high-impact analytics products that can accelerate our national development and position Nigeria to become the data science hub for the continent, with the potential to access as much as 10% of the global data analytics outsourcing market, which is expected to garner $5.9 billion by 2020”.
At the award ceremony, Adeola said, “I only started taking data science three weeks ago, but I have carefully followed the instructions and guidance provided by the instructor to become the first on the competition leader board.”
Adeola Balogun began programming in Python during her 200-level classes. She is passionate about encouraging ladies interested in programming in Python, and she complements her academic studies by working as an intern with the Elo Umeh-led Terragon Group.
She is also an advocate for the Women Techmakers movement, and a Google Ambassador on her campus.
The other top four participants in the Kaggle competition are Chibueze Oguejiofor, Onimisi Esho, Sarah Adeola, and Aminu Onimisi Abdulsalami.
According to the participants, the bootcamp was an eye-opening, skill sharpening, and rigorous experience that provided a full immersion in the realities of the field. Data Science has been rated the number one career in the USA today, according to Glassdoor’s Best Jobs in America list for both 2016 and 2017.
The bootcamp participants also had chance to learn from leading industry experts, who shared real world information about the intersection of data science and machine learning for solving business problems. Mr Ladi Aduni, Associate Director, Technology Advisory KPMG led the briefing on the KPMG-sponsored Segmentation Hackathon at the bootcamp.
The hackathon required participants to use unsupervised learning to group banking customers based on many unrelated variables. The top-rated participants in this hackathon will qualify for internships and possible job placements at KPMG Nigeria.
Mr. Ngozi Dozie of OneFi discussed how to build industry-ready algorithms that can solve real-world problems, using the example of how weather forecasting correlates with loan defaults.
He said, “When the weather is bad, people default more on their loans, and data science must be able to explore other non-obvious variables in making business prediction solutions”.
Mr Usoro Usoro, General Manager of Digital Financial Services at MTN Nigeria engaged the participants on how to leverage the robust intelligence of big data algorithms to unravel local opportunities in the payments and lending fields.
Professor Raj Krishnan, a Microsoft Azure expert and adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, led a hands-on immersion in machine learning using the cloud-based Azure platform.
Dr Johnson Iyilade, the Founder and CEO of Glomacs IT Solutions and Services contributed from Canada, exploring how we have moved from a system-centric to user-centric connected data architecture, featuring practical explorations of the major big data technologies (Hadoop, HDFS, MapReduce, etc.).
Wale Akinfaderin, a doctoral researcher and expert data scientist, dialled in from the USA to discuss feature engineering, data preparation, over fitting, and managing missing data (including mean, median, mode, regressed value and even nearest neighbour values).
E-Business
Access Holdings, Coronation Partner Tate Modern to Spotlight Nigerian Modernism

Access Holdings Plc and Coronation Group have partnered with Tate Modern to commemorate World Art Day with a virtual session highlighting the global significance of Nigerian modernism.

Access Holdings
The event, titled “In Conversation with Osei Bonsu: Inside Nigerian Modernism,” featured a virtual tour of the Nigerian Modernism exhibition and discussions on the evolution of modern art in Nigeria.
The session brought together staff members across both organisations, reflecting growing institutional engagement with arts and culture as a driver of societal development.
Speaking at the event, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer of Coronation Group, Ngozi Akinyele, emphasised the role of art in shaping identity and national development.
She said that beyond financial capital, cultural and intellectual capital are essential in defining a nation’s prosperity and inspiring dialogue.
Akinyele noted that both organisations were committed to democratising access to art, ensuring it is accessible to a wider audience rather than a select few.
The discussion also featured insights from Tate Modern Curator, Osei Bonsu, and art expert Daniel Wallis, who examined the development of Nigerian modernism and its global relevance.
Bonsu said Nigerian modernism represents an independent reimagining of global art, rooted in the country’s diverse cultural heritage and expressed through unique visual languages.
According to him, the movement challenges narrow, Eurocentric definitions of modernism and highlights the richness of African artistic expression.
The session further underscored the growing international recognition of Nigerian art, particularly through exhibitions at Tate Modern.
Participants also reflected on the visit of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the exhibition, described as a milestone in promoting Nigeria’s cultural heritage globally.
In his closing remarks, Chief Communications Officer of Access Holdings, Amaechi Okobi, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to advancing African narratives on the global stage.
He said the collaboration with Tate Modern aligns with broader efforts to promote dialogue, preserve cultural identity and support the creative sector.
The event reinforced a shared commitment by Access Holdings, Coronation Group and Tate Modern to elevate African art globally and ensure Nigerian cultural narratives continue to shape international conversations.
E-Business
NDPC Issues Critical Advisory as Hackers Target Nigeria’s Key Digital Systems

Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued a regulatory advisory to data controllers and processors across the country following what it described as escalating threats to Nigeria’s data security architecture.

NDPC
In a statement signed by Babatunde Bamigboye, lead of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, the commission said its technical assessment revealed that some shadowy threat actors were engaged in coordinated operations targeting financial systems and critical digital infrastructure in Nigeria.
The commission urged public institutions to comply with the presidential directive of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which emphasises the strategic importance of data in national development.
According to the NDPC, the President had declared that “data is the new oil,” stressing the need for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to rigorously capture and safeguard information in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The commission therefore advised all data controllers and processors to urgently strengthen their technical and organisational measures to protect personal data and ensure compliance with the law.
It listed key measures to include the appointment of trained and certified Data Protection Officers, implementation of comprehensive privacy policies and information security standards, as well as conducting Data Privacy Impact Assessments.
Other measures recommended by the NDPC include deployment of robust identity and access controls such as Multi-Factor Authentication, adoption of zero-trust security architecture, prompt remediation of system vulnerabilities, and continuous patch management.
The commission also emphasised the need to secure cloud infrastructure, application programming interfaces (APIs), databases and access credentials, alongside real-time monitoring, logging and threat detection systems.
Further recommendations include encryption and secure credential handling, regular vulnerability assessment and penetration testing of critical systems, as well as routine backup and resilience testing.
The NDPC warned that organisations that fail to implement appropriate data protection measures in accordance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 risk legal liabilities.
It reiterated its commitment to providing regulatory support to organisations while ensuring the protection of personal data and strengthening institutional resilience across all sectors.
E-Business
Africa’s Forex Market in 2026: Key Trends Every Trader Should Watch

The forex market across Africa is witnessing more participants and more regulatory attention than it did just a few years ago. This growth is part of a bigger picture: Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to expand by 4.3% in 2026, while global forex turnover already hit an estimated $9.6 trillion daily in April 2025. However, there’s more to it than macroeconomic figures.

The trends reshaping the market are happening from within. Here are six worth paying close attention to.
1. Trading Has Moved to the Phone
The number of people accessing the market via mobile phones exceeds those accessing it via traditional bank systems. GSMA states that in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are more than 1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts.
The International Monetary Fund states that digitalisation and increased usage of the internet are changing payment systems in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Mobile access changes traders’ behavior. It lowers the barrier to entry and speeds up deposits and withdrawals. Therefore, brokers who can provide a quality mobile trading experience will have a huge advantage.
2. Regulators Are Watching
The market is becoming more structured and more transparent. In South Africa, the FSCA regulates market conduct for financial institutions. In Kenya, the Capital Markets Authority regulates capital markets and maintains a licensing system that includes online forex brokers.
Nigeria’s SEC has publicly warned that online retail forex trading can be subject to abuse when unregulated. It also provides tools for investors to check operators’ registrations.
As a result, in 2026, more traders are likely to favour brokers that can show clear licensing, transparent operations, and stronger investor safeguards.
3. Volatility Varies by Country
A common mistake is perceiving the African market as one entity. In reality, according to RegTech Afrika, there are 21 countries out of a total of 54 that have a chance of seeing their currencies depreciate in 2025, with some of them losing value by as much as 6% or more.
A trader watching the rand, naira, shilling, or cedi, regional headlines needs more than regional headlines. Country-level macro data, central bank moves, and the US dollar will still play a major role.
4. Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure Is Quietly Improving
Platforms like PAPSS are helping make payments across African countries faster and easier to complete in local currencies. According to official announcements of PAPSS, it has become operational in 18 countries across Africa, with its latest launch in Algeria in 2025. It has also become operational in Kenya through a partnership with KCB Group, as well as in Rwanda through a partnership with Bank of Kigali.
Step by step, Africa is becoming a more financially connected continent.
5. Execution Quality Is the New Standard
Data from the BIS shows that in April 2025, three-quarters of FX trades were intermediated by the global centers of the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Therefore, the best liquidity and best prices are still linked to global conditions.
For local markets, this raises the bar. Forex traders are becoming increasingly aware that tight spreads, while important, mean little without reliable prices and execution. Brokers like JustMarkets that can bring all of these elements together are in a much stronger position than competitors.
6. Education as a Necessity
Regulatory disclosures from major global brokers illustrate how tough it is to trade without proper knowledge. According to publicly available disclosures, between 70% and 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Forex traders who understand risk management and which financial news to follow have a better chance of surviving the market. Brokers who invest in education are more likely to be seen by traders as valuable partners rather than mere facilitators.
The Market Rewards the Prepared
Africa’s forex market in 2026 is shaped by volatility, stricter rules, and mobile-first trading. The traders who combine market knowledge with the right tools and the right broker will find real opportunity here, while those who don’t adapt will find the market increasingly unforgiving.
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