Telecom
SeerBit, Spectranet Unveil ExpressPay to Simplify Broadband Payments
Leading Pan-African payment solutions provider SeerBit has partnered with Spectranet, Nigeria’s pioneer 4G LTE broadband service provider to launch ExpressPay, a seamless, efficient and secure payment option designed to revolutionise internet access subscription and renewal.
Many internet users often endure service downtime after subscription renewal due to delayed payment processing. This recurring challenge, exacerbated by the absence of real-time payment validation, represents a major source of frustration for subscribers.
Furthermore, the inconvenience of manual payment options and overdependence on limited options such as cards or USSD deprives customers of flexibility and impacts satisfaction and loyalty.
Accessible to all customers with a bank account, ExpressPay is a game-changer in the digital payment landscape, addressing common challenges for internet users such as payment errors, manual reconciliation, and service activation delays. With ExpressPay, Spectranet customers are assigned unique virtual accounts, ensuring accurate payment processing, eliminating manual intervention, and enabling instant reflection of payments for uninterrupted internet connectivity.
With approximately 161.9 million active internet users in Nigeria as of January 2025, based on recent data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and growing dependence on internet access for participation in modern society, Express Pay will eliminate payment friction, ensuring customers can pay seamlessly for uninterrupted internet access.
Through this collaboration, Spectranet customers can unlock several benefits including eradication of payment errors as each customer is assigned a unique virtual account,ensuring payments are accurately matched to their subscriptions.
Also, payments are processed in real-time, eliminating delays and ensuring instant service activation and uninterrupted connectivity. Furthermore, via ExpressPay, Spectranet users can count on frictionless payment experience with manual verification no longer required, thereby reducing effort and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Equally important, this innovative solution delivers faster processing times, ultimately ushering in greater efficiency and convenience for users.
“Internet access is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity for commerce, education, employment, healthcare access, leisure and other critical aspects of daily life,” said Omoniyi Kolade, Founder and CEO of SeerBit.
“Our partnership with Spectranet is more than transforming the subscription payments experience — it’s about delivering more value, ensuring customers stay connected without the stress of failed or delayed transactions and boosting Nigeria’s digital economy. Express Pay is the future of seamless internet subscription payments.”
Also speaking on the partnership, the Chief Operating Officer of Spectranet, Amrish Singhal said: “As a company dedicated to delivering reliable and seamless internet services, we are always innovating to enhance our customers’ experience.
“The launch of ExpressPay as a payment gateway is a bold step forward in our commitment to eliminating payment-related disruptions and ensuring uninterrupted connectivity for our subscribers.
“Our partnership with SeerBit reinforces this mission, enabling effortless, instant payments that make staying connected easier than ever.”
The launch of ExpressPay reinforces both SeerBit and Spectranet’s commitment to leveraging innovation to drive digital transformation and improve service delivery across Nigeria.
Customers can now enjoy a more reliable, accurate and efficient way to manage their internet subscriptions, ensuring a frictionless digital experience.
ExpressPay is accessible to Spectranet customers via https://selfcare.spectranet.com.ng/payment
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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