E-Business
Raft of Commitments on Harnessing Data Revolution, Data Crisis

International governments, businesses and civil society today pledged to take action to tackle the data crisis that threatens to hamper the fight against extreme poverty.
Wide-ranging commitments – including funding pledges, the opening up of valuable data sets, technological innovation and analytic support – were made in Addis Ababa, as the first step in a major drive to harness the data revolution to support inclusive growth and sustainable development.
World leaders are set to agree new Sustainable Development Goals in September, but these must be backed with a rapid escalation of robust, high quality data to track resources to results.
To drive that forward, more than 20 international organisations, including the governments of Belgium, Kenya, Mexico, Senegal and the United States, the World Bank Group, UNSDSN, CIVICUS and Mastercard have also committed to be Champions for the formation of a Global Partnership on Sustainable Data, to be launched in September 2015.
Michael Elliott, CEO of The ONE Campaign said, “We live in a world where millions of people matter so little that they are uncounted. Their births are not recorded; they can’t access basic healthcare, enough food or an education. This year we expect ambitious new global goals to end extreme poverty, but if we don’t deal with the crisis of inadequate data for monitoring and achieving the goals, we can’t have full accountability or a clear picture of progress. Fixing it needs political support, funding and practical action.”
The commitments announced it will catalyse tangible progress in filling known data gaps so that the lives of the poorest and most excluded can be improved.
Amadou Ba, the Senegal Minister of Finance said, “The commitments made in Addis Ababa today are a great step towards making the data revolution a reality. We have seen new pledges that will drive progress in health, food production and help fight corruption. Harnessing data can drive inclusive growth, and allow governments, citizens and civil society to track resources to results. The Government of Senegal is honoured to champion the formation of the Global Partnership on Sustainable Development Data.”
The initial group of champions of a Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data made specific commitment to invest in, share and use data for decision-making.
They drew particular attention to the need to mobilize new resources, noting that at least $1 billion will be required each year to successfully monitor the new sustainable development agenda.
They also joined a call to action to form a partnership that will accelerate efforts to increase the availability of high quality data to help improve the lives of those citizens who are currently left behind.
A Global Partnership on Sustainable Development Data will, promote new data principles and norms and strengthen those that already exist; incentivize data generation to fill key data gaps that make a difference to people’s lives, in particular the poor and excluded; expand open data access to increase the timeliness, interoperability, use and value of data that already exist; and support capacity building and peer learning of users and producers with a view to measure, monitor, evaluate progress and deliver the Sustainable development Goals.
The Champions aim to build a growing network that will politically launch a Global Partnership on Sustainable Development Data during the Sustainable Development Summit and United Nations General Assembly in September.
As a first step, more than 20 organisations announced commitments at the event, including:
The ONE campaign will launch the ‘Follow the Money’ portal, a one-stop-shop for the best examples of citizens using data to track corruption, advocate for better budget allocations, and make sure public money gets to where it is most needed.
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will invest $22m in Country Data Collaboratives. The Collaboratives will strengthen country-led health data systems and decision-making.
The Mexican Government is committed to the development and launch of an international Open Data Charter; and to provide personalized, timely and focalized information to pregnant beneficiaries of Prospera, the world’s second largest conditional cash transfer program, via SMS to help empower women’s health through scalable data-driven platforms.
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network will launch a thematic group on data and information systems for development to identify new innovative approaches to data collection for the SDGs, and to make this input useful for policy makers.
CIVICUS will work to build the capacity of civil society, particularly in the Global South, to produce and use data for the SDGs through its DataShift initiative.
MasterCard, in partnership with Datakind, will organize data scientists to partner with public sector leaders to develop responsible protocols around data collection and usage; and provide the technical horsepower to analyse, interpret and translate data into concrete development solutions.
The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation will invest $20 million in improving data on coverage of nutrition interventions and other key indicators by 2020 in at least four countries.
More Champions are expected to join in the lead up to the UN General Assembly in September.
E-Business
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
E-Business
How AI Alert by Airtel is Transforming Mobile Security in Africa

These days, people rely heavily on their mobile phones for talking, texting, banking, social media, and storing important personal information. Because of this, scammers and spammers often target phone users.
Mobile fraud, like fake SMS messages and scams, is becoming more common and putting millions at risk of losing money or having their private details stolen.
Airtel’s new AI-powered Spam Alert Service offers a smart and timely way to fight back, marking a major step forward in protecting mobile users in Africa.
A brief look at mobile fraud and spam
Mobile fraud and spam are problems around the world, but they hit harder in places where mobile phone use is growing fast, and safety measures haven’t caught up.
A 2024 report from GSMA Mobile Economy shows that more than 20% of mobile users globally have experienced some kind of mobile fraud, with spam texts being one of the most common.
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has noted a sharp rise in scam messages and fake calls, leading to yearly losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
These spam texts often include fake links, harmful ads, or tricks to steal personal details. Many people get caught without knowing, which can lead to stolen bank money, identity theft, or damaged devices.
Older spam blockers only work on certain phones or apps, leaving many people, especially those using basic phones, without protection.
Why Airtel’s AI Spam Alert Service stands out
Airtel, a top telecom company in Africa, has launched a new and free service called the AI Spam Alert Service. It’s the first of its kind in Africa and aims to protect mobile users from spam text messages as they come in.
What makes this service different is that it doesn’t read or check the actual message content. Instead, it uses advanced artificial intelligence to quickly study the sender’s behaviour using over 250 signs or patterns, all within a fraction of a second.
Some of those parameters, according to Airtel, includes:
- How frequently the sender changes SIM cards.
- The volume and frequency of messages sent by the message initiator to different recipients.
- The geographical spread of the recipient numbers, whether messages are targeted locally or dispersed nationwide.
- Whether the sender receives replies or only sends messages.
- A cross-reference of numbers previously reported for spam activity.
The AI completes this analysis in just 2 milliseconds, faster than the blink of an eye, allowing real-time alerts to subscribers as suspected spam messages arrive.
How Airtel’s Spam Alert Service improves mobile safety and trust
Airtel’s new AI-powered spam alert system is set to make a big difference in mobile security across Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Instead of depending on users to block spam themselves, the service works directly through the network to stop suspicious messages before they reach people’s phones.
This kind of technology helps users feel safer and more confident using mobile networks—especially as more people rely on their phones for banking and other money-related services.
A 2025 report by McKinsey Digital shows that many Africans worry about mobile security when using digital financial tools. By reducing the risk of spam and fraud, Airtel is not only protecting its users but also helping to build a safer digital space where more people can take part in the growing mobile economy.
According to Airtel, within two months of its launch, the spam alert service system has identified 9,667,008 messages as potential spam.
Why this is a game changer
By building a service that is first-of-its-kind in Africa, Airtel is leading the way in offering spam alerts, powered by AI directly on its network, for over 150 million subscribers across the continent.
In addition, the service is quick, spotting suspicious sender activity in just milliseconds without reading users’ messages.
Finally, the service is free and requires no app downloads or extra setup. Airtel says the turns on automatically, making it easy for everyone to stay protected, even those using basic phones.
By sending signals to users before problems happen, Airtel boosts trust and encourages more people to safely use mobile money and other digital services.
Scammers are always finding new ways to trick consumers through the ubiquitous mobile phones, so increased demand for security improvements is, understandably, shifting to telecom companies.
Airtel’s AI Spam Alert Service is a strong and timely move toward better, smarter protection for users. As more people start using the service, it should help cut down fraud, keep personal information safe, and make mobile use more enjoyable.
As African economies continue to grow more digital, users of telecom services will need more secure and reliable ways to communicate, and Airtel is leading the way towards that safe future.
E-Business
Microsoft Server Hack Likely Solo Actor, Thousands at Risk

A widespread cyberattack targeting Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) server software used by thousands of government agencies and businesses for internal document sharing was likely orchestrated by a single actor, a cybersecurity researcher said on Monday.
Microsoft issued an alert on Saturday warning of “active attacks” on on-premise SharePoint servers.
The company clarified that SharePoint Online, part of the Microsoft 365 cloud suite, was not affected by the exploit, which is considered a “zero-day” vulnerability due to its previously undiscovered nature.
“Based on the consistency of the tradecraft seen across observed attacks, the campaign launched on Friday appears to be a single actor. However, it’s possible that this will quickly change,” Rafe Pilling, director of Threat Intelligence at Sophos, a British cybersecurity firm.
That tradecraft included the sending of the same digital payload to multiple targets, Pilling added.
Microsoft said it had “provided security updates and encourages customers to install them,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
It was not clear who was behind the ongoing hack. The FBI said on Sunday it was aware of the attacks and was working closely with its federal and private-sector partners, but offered no other details.
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Washington Post said unidentified actors in the past few days had exploited a flaw to launch an attack that targeted U.S. and international agencies and businesses.
According to data from Shodan, a search engine that helps to identify internet-linked equipment, over 8,000 servers online could theoretically have already been compromised by hackers.
Those servers include major industrial firms, banks, auditors, healthcare companies, and several U.S. state-level and international government entities.
“The SharePoint incident appears to have created a broad level of compromise across a range of servers globally,” said Daniel Card of British cybersecurity consultancy, PwnDefend.
“Taking an assumed breach approach is wise, and it’s also important to understand that just applying the patch isn’t all that is required here.”
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