Telecom
Plaqad Launches SocialCred, A Tool To Rank Online Clout
Plaqad, Africa’s leading marketing technology company has launched SocialCred, the continent’s first-ever social media clout ranking app.
The SocialCred works by assigning and summing up points across key metrics such as engagement rate, number of followers, audience sentiment, and number of impressions among others to determine an individual’s social media popularity and influence.
Based on the total points amassed, the individual is then awarded one of ten ranks and a cool badge they can share with their friends and fans on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Whatsapp.
Users are able to rank their social media pages or those of others on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube and also compare two influencers side-by-side to determine the most popular of the two.
Aside from the fun element to the app, SocialCred serves an important function of helping brands assess and select influencers based on the strength of the influencer’s popularity across four of the biggest social media platforms today: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube.
By offering growth and monetization tips, the app also helps influencers, content creators and regular social media users grow their pages, improve audience engagement and better monetize their influence through partnerships with brands.
Gbenga Sogbaike, co-founder & CEO of Plaqad the creators of SocialCred said, “SocialCred takes a fun and exciting approach to rank social media popularity and influence and we are very glad about how quickly it has been accepted by social media users worldwide.
“In its first week, we expect no less than 100,000 people to use the tool and share their badges on social media.
“The app is a product of over three months of high-level product engineering by a team of super-smart and experienced engineers, product developers and expert PR professionals and beside the cool factor, SocialCred provides brands and influencers a transparent and very accurate way to analyse social media influence and prevent fraud which is a major drawback for the influencer marketing industry.” He concluded.
Through its online platform, Plaqad facilitates seamless collaboration between social media influencers, content creators, and owners of media inventories, and brands looking to engage consumers and reach new audiences at scale.
Today, Plaqad, strengthened by a community of over 15,000 influencers, creators, and publishers, has successfully placed over 25,000 pieces of content on social and web platforms across four continents, and directly paid out over 200 million naira ($570,000) on hundreds of campaigns to members, effectively helping its programme members monetize their content, platform and influence.
According to a new report “Martech: 2020 and Beyond” collaboratively produced by BDO, WARC, and the University of Bristol, the global spend on marketing technology is $121.5 billion. This represents a significant share of the global advertising market estimated to be worth US$ 560 billion in 2019 by Statista.
In addition, the Financial Times in a recent post projects the value of the global influencer market — another area where Plaqad features prominently — to reach $15 billion by 2022.
With the covid19 pandemic necessitating prolonged social distancing and lockdown measures across the globe, traditional means of marketing like events, out-of-home and newspapers have suffered setbacks as consumer behaviour continues to change.
Companies like Plaqad which are at the forefront of digital media technology will help marketers, influencers, brands and the government to navigate the new reality.
With social media usage by consumers on a steady rise this period — 61% over normal usage rates according to research firm Kantar — brands are leaning into influencer marketing to deliver relevant and consistent messages that keep their audiences engaged amid the coronavirus crisis and they look up to marketing tech companies like Plaqad to navigate the new normal.
Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
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