E-Business
SMEs, Emerging Market Fuel M2M’s $10Bn Market
Machine-to-machine (M2M) is often portrayed as a nascent industry sector. However, operators are already generating strong revenue in this sector, amounting to $10 billion worldwide in 2013, and increasing to $88 billion by 2023, according to Morgan Mullooly, Analysys Mason analyst
Mullooly said that the future growth opportunities will be realised in emerging regions as applications are tailored to local markets and the cost of solutions declines.
This article highlights some of the major findings of Analysys Mason’s recent report, M2M device connections and revenue: worldwide forecast 2013–2023.
The report presents the annual update of our M2M device connections forecast, which includes detailed ten-year forecasts of connections, revenue and average revenue per connection (ARPC) for eight industry sectors and 24 M2M applications, in eight worldwide regions.
“Our forecast now also includes a split between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises/public sector for connections and revenue” Mullooly said
The proportion of SME connections will increase significantly during the forecast period
The forecast predicts that SMEs will account for an increasing percentage of total M2M device connections.
Excluding connections in the utilities sector the proportion of SME M2M connections will increase from 14.6% of total connections in 2013 to 24.6% in 2023, representing a CAGR of 33%.
The utilities sector is dominated by large enterprise purchasers of M2M solutions and a large number of low-revenue connections.
M2M solutions are currently less affordable to SMEs than to large enterprises and the public sector.
However, affordability will improve for SMEs as M2M solutions become less expensive to implement at the application layer, and operators and service providers start offering off-the-shelf solutions.
The cost of M2M hardware will also fall.
Operators have already been successful in selling productised M2M solutions such as fleet management to SME customers. We believe operators will find
success in selling security and surveillance, some healthcare solutions and some
retail sector M2M solutions to SME buyers.
Operators in emerging markets will become increasingly willing to sell M2M solutions
Another insight of the forecast is that the number of M2M device connections will start to increase in emerging markets by 2015.
Developed markets’ share of connections will decline from 68% to 62% during the forecast period as operators in emerging markets seek additional customer connections and the cost of deploying M2M solutions declines.
According to the report, operators that have assembled the appropriate teams and resources will be poised for greater success as the market begins to grow.
As operators in developed markets have learned, it takes 18 months or more to organise the various aspects of an M2M business.
Emerging market operators are currently focusing on the burgeoning growth in the number of mobile handsets – running an M2M business carries a higher risk than a traditional mobile handset and broadband business.
However, we expect that M2M solutions in the utilities, automotive and security sectors will have more-easily understood business models by 2016, and operators will be more willing to sell these M2M solutions.
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.
GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.
In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.
Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).
GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.
E-Business
Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.

“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”
Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.
A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.
Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”
Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.
“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.
The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.
He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.
This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.
GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.
The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”
As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.
With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.
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