E-Business
OyaOya Unveils Africa’s First Online On Demand Commodities Trading Platform

The OyaOya platform rides on cutting-edge technology to connect four essential components together in a seamless and efficient flow – a marketplace for vendors to present their products, customers to select a product, commodity transporters and an escrow payment system for secure transactions.
Khalil Halilu, chief executive officer, OyaOya, announced the pilot run of the marketplace with 3,000+ registered vendors already saying that it opens Africa’s first Commodity on Demand hub leveraging technology to raise the bar for the commodity value chain across the continent.
Nigeria and other African economies are projected to increase shares of the global sales due to growing participation in e-commerce and accelerated growth forecast expected out of developing economies, the OyaOya CEO said.
“OyaOya aims to have 10% of farmers and 40% of petroleum product traders on its platform by the end of 2018”, Halilu said while explaining that the platform will also provide a one-stop-shop for commodity market information.
“We are also mindful that today’s urban dweller is a very busy person. He or she does not have the time to go out for cooking gas or shop around for groceries. Similarly, businesses want access to the best items at the best prices, delivered to them with ease. This is where OyaOya comes in. The platform provides the customer access to vendors, giving him or her choices based on brand, price, time it takes to deliver and even a vendors rating by other customers”, Halilu said.
Apart from providing a one-stop-shop for commodity market information, OyaOya will also fill the gap for driving efficiency and effective distribution across Nigeria and other African economies, also the escrow payment system will compliment government’s effort going cashless he added.
“OyaOya is an enterprise based on our user friendly online platform designed to connect customers to vendors within close proximity for easy and secure on demand transactions. We believe that buying and selling does not have to be tedious, or time-consuming. We do all the heavy-lifting so you do not have to. We bring a highly innovative and confident team together to make sure we deliver value and quality, when and where you need it – no hassle, no hustle”, Halilu said.
According to the OyaOya CEO, “it is settled long ago that Africa is the commodity-capital of the world, yet the continent has not been able to effectively distribute its resources amongst its people. Farmers face several challenges including trying to get their products to market, inadequate information on how, where and at what price to sell produce. This is compounded by customers not being able to locate them, a mismatch between transporters and owners of commodities, among other factors that have undermined the global competitiveness of the local commodity merchants.”
He explained that, “commodity prices are volatile and extremely difficult to predict and this is due to several challenges faced in the African commodity ecosystem. Some products like petroleum are priced high while some agricultural products are underpriced. Take Benue State for example in the Middle Belt of Nigeria where farmers tend to lose their produce to decay as they cannot get access to customers on time, resulting in losses in both produce and profit.”
OyaOya is positioned to be a key partner of choice to the commodity ecosystem and drive improved performance for the entire value chain. OyaOya is working with reputable organisations such as Interswitch, National Association of Road Transport Owners NARTO, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending NIRSAL, Nigeria Commodity Exchange Commission, Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria IPMAN, Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria CMAN,Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers and several Agricultural cooperatives he added.
“OyaOya will become a household name in Africa for efficient delivery of quality goods by bringing client and vendor together on a simple, competitive online platform”, according to the CEO. The OyaOya app, which is available on both Apple App Store and Google Play Store, is built from the ground up to bring three components together – customers, vendors and services like delivery, in an ecosystem that is both fast and efficient.
“It is a system for customers searching for different types of commodities with multiple buying options, it is also for business owners looking for a platform to gain more customers and expand profit opportunities. OyaOya provides a user-friendly and secure platform that connects the user to potential customers for easier on-demand transaction without the hassle of physical marketing”, Halilu said.
The OyaOya platform is envisioned to facilitate linkages that guarantees value conversion of exported primary products to become competitive through transformation further up the value stream. Halilu also noted that the company is encouraged to launch and complement ongoing policy thrusts in Nigeria to achieve economic diversification that enhances the competitiveness of several sectors of the economy.
“We are pleased that OyaOya will lead the charge economic diversifications that enables our economy to achieve innovation, job creation and broad-based growth that would improve the lives of broad segments of the population. Khalil Halilu, the OyaOya CEO who holds a Degree and Masters from the University of Hertfordshire, is an industrialist & Techprenuer with vast experience in ICT, manufacturing and trading.
Recently he has occupied himself exploring new disruptive technologies and has refocused his approach towards creating solutions that will quench the thirst of a technology-savvy market. Khalil has worked with several manufacturing and trading industries in Nigeria such as Gongoni Co Ltd, New Anaerobic Digestion LTD UK and much more, giving him an understanding of the challenges in buying and selling of commodities across the African sub region.
E-Business
FG Mulls Fibre Optic Layout to Bridge Internet Gaps

President Bola Tinubu said that his administration has initiated a project to install fibre optic cables across the country, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
His plans were contained in a speech he delivered at a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of Democracy Day on Thursday, June 12.
He said the fibre optic layout is part of other projects being embarked on.
“In addition, we have embarked on an ambitious project to lay fibre optic cables across the nation, a transformative step toward bridging the digital divide and fostering greater connectivity.
“This initiative promises not only to enhance the speed and reliability of internet access but also to revolutionise how businesses operate, how students learn, and how communities stay connected,” Tinubu stated.
He maintained that by extending this critical infrastructure, his government is empowering entrepreneurs, enabling digital education, and providing the tools for our youth to compete in a globalised world.
In a most recent report on Internet connectivity, The ICIR pointed out how Nigeria has faced setbacks in its deployment of fibre optic cables and needs a transformation.
The challenges revolve around vandalism, inadequate coordination between road construction and telecom infrastructure, and varying right-of-way (RoW) charges across states.
Among industry experts, these issues impact network outages, increase repair costs, and hinder broadband expansion efforts.
It has also further threatened the digital economy, leading to slower Internet speeds, dropped calls, and unreliable connectivity among others.
E-Business
African Startups Raised $345m in Funding in May

African startups raised more than $345 million across 65 deals in May, more than double the amount raised in the same period of last year, according to a report by Briter, a research and business intelligence firm.
The report disclosed that both the number of deals and participating companies declined, confirming a growing trend of fewer companies raising funds in larger sizes.
It said fintech attracted the highest share of funding in May, accounting for 34 percent of the total, while cleantech followed closely, driven by a debt deal from Sun King. The company raised $80 million (in local currency) to expand clean energy access in Nigeria.
“Equity remains the primary instrument in terms of total value. There’s no doubt about it; in fact, equity deals with disclosed amounts captured more than half of the total funding volume in May.
“However, debt financing is increasingly proving its weight. Although it accounted for only 8 percent of all deals, it represented 32 percent of the total funding, highlighting the typically larger size of debt transactions. With the rise of specialised vehicles targeting early-stage businesses, debt is becoming an increasingly important part of Africa’s innovation funding landscape,” it said.
Briter’s report added that grants continued to play a vital role in early-stage support, especially in the education technology (EdTech) sector. The Mastercard Foundation led the pack in grant activity, funding a new cohort of EdTech innovators in Nigeria and Kenya. Each selected startup is set to receive $100,000 in grant funding, in addition to mentorship and business development support.
Multilaterals also made a strong showing in May, it said. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, issued a $179.6 million guarantee to CleanTech firm KOKO Networks. The support will help scale its clean energy solutions across Kenya.
“This deal not only demonstrates growing international confidence in African climate ventures but also signals a promising pathway for other asset-intensive startups in clean cooking, agriculture, and renewable energy,” the report said.
From a geographic perspective, Egypt emerged as the continent’s fundraising powerhouse for the month, contributing 51 percent of all funding raised. The country recorded 12 deals across equity, debt, and bond instruments. Notably, FinTech platform MNT-Halan raised $50 million through a bond issuance, further illustrating the diversification of capital-raising mechanisms in the region.
Outside Egypt, funding was distributed across Africa’s three other key markets, which are Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, with limited activity recorded in countries such as Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and Uganda, each registering between one and three deals.
In terms of exits, the African tech landscape continues to mature. Three companies—Baobab+, Qardy, and Shopa—were acquired in May, bringing the total number of exits this year to 22. This already surpasses last year’s count for the same period. Qardy was acquired by Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME) in a disclosed deal valued at $23 million, the report added.
E-Business
Human Hacking: When Cyber Criminals Target You

By Nancy Werteen
When you get anti-hacking advice, you’ve probably heard “Don’t use a simple password,” or “Don’t plug in that USB you found on the ground.”
But there’s one form of hacking that doesn’t always require a computer, and it costs businesses about 4.88 million dollars a year.
Modern hackers aren’t trying to get into your computer; they’re trying to get into you.
“They’ll try to learn about you a little bit, and they’ll try to use that information against you to try to get you to complete some action, maybe to send somebody some money,” said Kevin Moran, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Cyber Security and Privacy Cluster, University of Central Florida.
IBM calls this human hacking, because it exploits human error instead of system error.
“With people just being busy and maybe not very carefully checking some of the emails or the phone calls that they get, can be something unfortunately that people can fall victim to,” said Moran.
Also known as social engineering, this often takes the form of phishing, where the hacker tries to “fish” the information out of you by impersonating family, friends, or even your bank.
There’s also baiting, where the hacker baits you with something of value. Remember the Nigerian prince scam?
That’s a famous example of baiting. There’s also pretexting, where the hacker will claim the victim has already been hacked, and that the hacker can fix it if you just send over your passwords. So, what can you do?
“Just as a rule of thumb, instead of clicking on links and emails, just go to the website yourself. And that will prevent, a lot of these types of attacks from happening,” explained Moran.
Phishing can take many forms.
Spear phishing targets people with access to confidential information, often to get access into an entire business, and whale phishing targets CEOs or political figures.
Search engine phishing is when hackers create fake websites promising services or goods you’ll never receive.
Angler phishing is when hackers create fake social media accounts impersonating famous people or companies.
Finally, vishing and smishing is phishing done through phone calls and texts respectively.
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