Telecom
SeerBit Leads the Charge @DevFest Lagos 2024 with Cutting-Edge Solutions
SeerBit, Africa’s most trusted payment solutions provider, has reaffirmed its pivotal role in shaping the future of the technology industry by impacting one billion lives at DevFest Lagos 2024 hosted on 15th and 16th November 2024 at Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
An annual conference organised by the Google Developer Groups Lagos (GDG Lagos), the highly interactive two-day event brought together developers, tech leaders, enthusiasts and innovators from all over Africa and beyond.
Through various workshops, focal sessions, and product showcases, attendees explored the latest advancements and conversations shaping the tech landscape.
As Gold Sponsor of the event, SeerBit reaffirmed its dedication to advancing Africa’s developer ecosystem through the brand’s strategic thought leadership, innovative solutions and Pan African capacity-building initiatives.
On respective days of the event, Olaolu Akintoye, Engineering Manager and Babajide Shoyebo, Senior Product Manager, both from SeerBit, took centre stage as they shared relevant knowledge on key topics shaping the evolving role of technology in driving business and economic growth.
Akintoye, who spoke on the topic – Building Resilient Systems: Flexibility and Adaptability – took attendees through a revealing session into resilience and chaos engineering, as well as the importance of building systems that can adapt and remain stable in the face of disruptive events and actions.
On his part, Shoyebo contributed invaluable nuggets as a panellist in a session that focused on the essence of balancing innovation, agility and compliance in building sustainable businesses. Drawing relevant instances from SeerBit’s operational standards, Shoyebo demonstrated the need to ensure a healthy mix to future-proof businesses.
Equally important, both resource persons shared insights into how SeerBit is utilising cutting-edge technology to simplify payments, while seamlessly addressing payment fragmentation and availability gaps for businesses and their customers across Africa.
“For SeerBit, sponsorship is more than financial support. It’s about accelerating progress in the tech space,’’ disclosed Omoniyi Kolade, Founder and CEO of SeerBit. ‘‘Technology has demonstrated its incredible power to transform lives and developers are the visionaries driving that transformation.
DevFest Lagos 2024 provided the perfect platform for us to engage, inspire and empower developers with the tools and support they need to drive this change. Our goal of impacting one billion lives reflects our long-term commitment to contributing significantly to growth and development within and beyond the tech industry,” he added.
One of the highlights of SeerBit’s participation was the exposure of a memorable brand video which reflected the brand’s visionary ideal in helping businesses of all sizes scale at the speed of commerce and technology.
Also catching the attention was the company’s booth which remained a major attraction point for thousands of attendees, sparking meaningful discussions about integrating SeerBit’s tools into their projects and fostering further growth and impact through the SeerBit community. Crucially, the SeerBit community – SeerBit Developer Community – presents a unique opportunity for attendees to benefit from networking, career growth and hiring opportunities.
The excitement among developers was palpable, with many expressing keen interest in leveraging SeerBit’s products. Afolake Ojo Makinde, a software engineer based in Abuja, attended DevFest Lagos for the first time.
She shared her enthusiasm. “The SeerBit team was incredibly approachable and insightful. Their payment tools are intuitive and I can’t wait to integrate their APIs into my app. It’s inspiring to see a company so invested in helping developers succeed.”
Also lauding SeerBit’s role in the success of the event, was Femi Taiwo, Co-Organiser of DevFest Lagos 2024.
“DevFest Lagos 2024 was an extraordinary celebration of innovation, collaboration and community. With over 3,400 attendees across two action-packed days, we brought developers together to learn, share and grow through technical talks and workshops, led by solid people from within and outside the continent.
“This also created networking opportunities for the community. We’re grateful for the invaluable support of our partners like SeerBit who played a key role in making this event a success and empowering the tech ecosystem in this region and beyond.”
SeerBit’s partnership with the GDG Lagos, organisers of DevFest Lagos 2024, spans several years, aligning with the brand’s mission to positively impact one billion lives through accessible, inclusive and economically empowering digital payment solutions.
The partnership has seen SeerBit supporting various developer-led events hosted by GDG across the country such as Ilorin, Lagos, and Jos, as the brand continues to lead in empowering developers with the tools and resources that they need to create innovative solutions to equip businesses for economic growth.
As part of this project, SeerBit announced further plans to launch several developer-focused initiatives in 2025, including hackathons to challenge and inspire the creation of groundbreaking solutions, capacity-building programmes to train developers, product managers and other tech enthusiasts, as well as seed funding opportunities for standout developer-led projects.
SeerBit is a Pan-African payment solutions provider that makes it easier for businesses and financial service providers to make and accept payments from their customers across Africa. Users have the advantage of enjoying flexible features to fit any business with a single integration.
SeerBit is building a unified payment ecosystem that removes the complexity and fragmentation of the digital payment process in Africa, enabling businesses to seamlessly accept multiple payment methods and streamline online and offline transactions.
Nigeria is partnering with Burkina Faso on Project Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth (BRIDGE), to extend terrestrial fiber-optic routes through Niger and Benin, aiming to cut Burkina Faso’s internet transit costs by up to 50 percent.
Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Dr. Aminata Zerbo-Sabané, his Burkinabe counterpart, have sealed a deal to establish a joint technical committee for regional digital integration at a meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital.
At the centre of the discussions was BRIDGE, Nigeria’s connectivity initiative aimed at expanding access to faster, more affordable and resilient internet infrastructure.
Under the proposed collaboration, technical teams from both countries will assess connectivity routes linking Nigeria to Burkina Faso through Nigeria-Niger-Burkina Faso and Nigeria-Benin-Burkina Faso corridors.
The assessment is expected to identify a viable pathway for lowering Burkina Faso’s internet connectivity costs by up to half.
The two countries also agreed to establish a Technical Working Committee to develop an implementation framework for the partnership.
The cooperation will extend beyond fibre infrastructure to other areas of the digital economy.
Nigeria and Burkina Faso plan to explore collaboration on digital skills and talent development, including the potential sharing of Nigeria’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) model.
The countries will also seek to strengthen ties between their startup ecosystems, support Burkina Faso’s Innovation Campus and collaborate on artificial intelligence, local-language technologies, shared computing infrastructure, cybersecurity and research.
Tijani said the engagement forms part of Nigeria’s broader outreach to neighbouring countries, following a recent visit to Benin Republic, with planned engagements in Niger and Chad.
Federal government said the broader objective is to leverage the country’s expanding digital infrastructure and capabilities to support shared economic opportunities across borders, strengthen regional digital integration and position Nigeria as a digital gateway connecting West Africa and the Sahel.
As the federal government is thinking os helping Burkina Faso, Nigeria’s internet cost is too high.
The cost of internet in Nigeria is driven by a 50% tariff floor increase approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), pushing average mobile data to over ₦431 per GB.
Major telecom networks, fiber providers, and satellite services like Starlink have raised prices due to severe inflation, local currency devaluation, and expensive diesel maintenance for cell towers.
Airtel Nigeria is approaching the 18,000-cell-site mark as the telecommunications operator accelerates network deployment across the country, adding more than 1,000 new sites annually and extending high-speed mobile connectivity deeper into rural communities.
The expansion places Airtel as an operator making one of the largest sustained infrastructure commitments to Nigeria’s digital economy, with the company’s network now spanning all 774 Local Government Areas in the country.
More than 99 percent of Airtel Nigeria’s sites are 4G-enabled, with the company continuing to add new capacity and upgrade existing infrastructure as demand for mobile connectivity rises. Airtel Africa’s latest annual report said the Nigerian operation added more than 1,050 new sites during its 2025-26 financial year.
The pace represents a significant increase from the approximately 15,000 sites Airtel operated two years ago. By early 2026, the operator had crossed 17,000 sites, after adding about 2,000 sites in two years.
The current expansion has also taken the network further into locations that have historically been underserved by telecommunications infrastructure. These communities include Kukawa, Borno State; Okomu-Udo, Edo State; Chimbi, Niger State; Orile Ijaiye, Oyo State; Kopii, Benue State; and Aran-Orin, Kwara; among others.
Airtel has previously said a significant portion of its network investments is targeted at deep rural communities, small towns and the fringes of major cities. At a media roundtable in February, Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, said the company intended to maintain the large scale of network expansion during 2026.
“Everyone has the right to digital connectivity, including people in deep rural markets and small communities,” Balsingh said.
The impact of the growth extends beyond the ability to make calls or browse the internet. Wider network availability gives families more reliable access to one another, enables businesses to communicate with customers and suppliers, and supports access to digital banking, education, healthcare and government services.
For farmers in remote areas, mobile connectivity can provide access to current crop prices, weather information, market information and agricultural advisory services. For small businesses, reliable mobile data supports payments, customer acquisition, logistics and digital commerce. For communities, connectivity can improve access to health and social services and help residents participate more fully in the digital economy.
Airtel’s network strategy is also increasingly focused on improving the experience delivered through the infrastructure already in place. In 2025, the company upgraded capacity on about a quarter of its existing sites, deploying higher-capacity radios and moving portions of its backhaul from microwave to fibre.
The operator has also reported a continued addition of spectrum to strengthen its spectrum position. Since November 2025, it has added 20MHz spectrum, which is on track for full integration on all sites this quarter.
Balsingh said the company’s investment programme was designed to improve coverage, capacity and resilience, with the benefits ultimately reflected in the quality of service experienced by customers.
“We have invested with discipline and clarity to strengthen our network nationwide. Those investments are now translating into measurable improvements in performance, customer experience and reach, including in underserved communities,” he said.
Third-party measurements have also continued to provide evidence of changing network performance in Nigeria. Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, for example, reported a median mobile download speed of 97.74 Mbps for Nigeria in June 2026.
For Airtel, the network expansion not only extends the geographical footprint; but also increases the speed, capacity and stability available to existing customers.
Director of Marketing, Ismail Adeshina, said the company’s network investments were ultimately aimed at making connectivity more useful in the everyday lives of Nigerians, as increasing numbers of consumers, families and businesses depend on mobile services for communication, commerce and access to essential services.
Airtel’s infrastructure programme is also contributing to the wider development of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“With mobile connectivity increasingly serving as the platform for financial services, commerce, education, healthcare, agriculture and enterprise, expanding the physical network effectively increases the number of Nigerians able to participate in those activities,” Adeshina said.
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is calling for a unified, cross-sector push to translate the framework of the Nigerian Startup Act (NSA) into practical benefits for local entrepreneurs and investors.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, represented by the National Coordinator, Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), Ms Victoria Fabunmi, in a group photograph with participants from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at the Nigerian Startup Act (NSA) Incentives Activation Co-Creation Workshop in Abuja.
Speaking at the NSA Incentives Activation Co-Creation Session in Abuja, organised by NITDA’s subsidiary, the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), the NITDA boss stressed that while enacting the legislation was a historic milestone, its ultimate success will be measured by its tangible impact on everyday tech ventures.
Delivering remarks on behalf of NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa, ONDI National Coordinator Victoria Fabunmi emphasised that Nigeria must now transition from policy design to operational delivery.
Inuwa noted that while early structural achievements such as setting up the Startup Consultative Forum and launching the digital startup portal have established vital channels for dialogue, the true test of the law lies in whether founders can easily access the relief and resources promised to them.
He said the establishment of the Startup Consultative Forum and its governance structures had created an important platform for sustained engagement among stakeholders, but stressed that the real test of the legislation would be its impact on businesses operating within the innovation ecosystem.
According to him, government agencies, private-sector actors and other ecosystem stakeholders must work collectively to remove institutional bottlenecks and ensure that startups can access the opportunities created by the Act.
Inuwa said the participating institutions possessed different mandates, resources and policy instruments that, if properly coordinated, could significantly improve the operating environment for Nigerian startups.
“We want to go to the next level. We want to be able to say that the actors in our ecosystem have been able to benefit significantly from the legislation that has been passed, and it wouldn’t happen without everyone sitting in this room,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to shift attention from the mere existence of the legislation to its practical implementation, particularly the activation of incentives designed to promote investment, innovation and enterprise growth.
The DG noted that the implementation of the NSA involved institutions across several sectors, including trade, finance, communications, innovation, digital economy, science and technology.
He said bringing these institutions together was necessary to identify gaps, clarify responsibilities and develop workable mechanisms for delivering the incentives to intended beneficiaries.
Inuwa also urged stakeholders to embrace continuous engagement and feedback, noting that the success of the Act would depend largely on the ability of implementing institutions to work together and respond to the evolving needs of the startup ecosystem.
He said recommendations from the session would contribute to ongoing efforts to strengthen the implementation framework and create an environment where Nigerian startups could scale, attract investment and compete effectively in global markets.
In a context-setting presentation, “Operationalising the Incentive Provisions of the Nigerian Startup Act,” Ms Elma Andah, Acting Lead, Strategy, Research and Analytics at ONDI, said the Act provides more than 31 incentives distributed across six major categories.
She identified the categories as tax and fiscal incentives, regulatory support, funding access, exports and trade, ecosystem enablers, and training and capacity building.
Andah explained that implementing the incentives required the participation of more than 15 government institutions, making inter-agency coordination central to the success of the legislation.
She said the Nigerian Startup Act, signed into law on October 19, 2022, was designed to promote innovation, improve access to funding, strengthen collaboration and position Nigeria as a leading technology and innovation-driven economy in Africa.
According to her, Nigeria’s startup ecosystem has continued to demonstrate significant potential, with more than 3,000 startups and several globally recognised technology companies.
She added that Nigerian startups attracted about $410 million in funding in 2024, despite the challenging economic environment.
Andah highlighted several areas of progress under the Act, including engagements with states on adoption, the operational startup support engagement portal, improved startup labelling timelines, the Startup Consultative governance framework, the Startup Investment Seed Fund framework and ongoing efforts to operationalise the regulatory sandbox framework.
She, however, stressed that the interconnected nature of the incentives meant that no single institution could deliver them independently.
“No single institution can deliver all these incentives alone. Implementation requires coordination across more than 15 MDAs,” she said.
Using practical examples, Andah explained that a startup seeking funding could simultaneously require tax incentives, while an enterprise seeking to export its products might need regulatory approvals. Investors seeking tax credits could also depend on access to the startup labelling system.
She consequently challenged participating institutions to clearly establish ownership of the incentives assigned to them, strengthen coordination, simplify access procedures and introduce effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
The session therefore provided stakeholders with an opportunity to identify implementation gaps and develop practical approaches for ensuring that the incentives contained in the Startup Act are accessible to startups, investors, innovation hubs and other beneficiaries.
The outcome, stakeholders noted, is expected to support a more coordinated implementation of the NSA and strengthen its contribution to Nigeria’s innovation, investment and economic development objectives.
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