E-Business
Stakeholders Seek Review of Approach to Develop Local Software
Stakeholders in the software ecosystem have called for a review of the approach adopted by the federal government towards development of indigenous software in the country.
Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), speaking at a recent stakeholders’ roundtable on indigenous software decried lack of development of the ecosystem which demands new approach.
“The purpose of our learning and knowledge is to solve our problems and to build a commonwealth for all. As professionals we must develop a plan of action and a roadmap to mitigate systemic risk, while we accelerate our own indigenously-developed solutions to meet global standards. We must find resolutions that are useful and implementable within the shortest possible time. We are headed for disaster if we continue on this path,” he said.
Okeke Christopher, director zonal offices directorate, NITDA, admitted that currently there is near absence and/or lack of relationship between software investment in Research &Development and revenue on adoption of finished product.
“It is with this spirit that the proposed indigenous software adoption needs to be thoroughly discussed with all relevant stakeholders so that the old narration can be changed to a befitting one,” he said.
Dr. Yele Okeremi, president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), said that there is need to use indigenous solution to achieve global standard.
He said that NITDA should be a catalyst for IT development and not a bond and that its impact has to be measured through how many successful technological firms have spring up instead of how many regulations.
“NITDA should be seen as encouraging local players to be able to achieve global standards. Today, indigenous solutions providers are faced with certification challenge which organizations have attributed as responsible for their lack of patronage. How many of Nigerian companies have achieved global certification?
“For instance, there are only 3 companies in Nigeria that have attended Capability Maturity Model in Integration (CMMI) they are PFS, Interswitch and upperlink. We should be creating technology companies and scaling them. Pro-business leadership is about removing limits and not about creating limitation. We can focus on world-class and domesticate it. These can be achieved in different sectors such as oil & gas, telecoms, agriculture, health among others,” he added.
Okeremi noted that achieving domestication requires focusing on competence that has to do with setting up specialization training centres just as India is doing with its IIT.
According to Adewale Adeyipo, CEO, CWG PLC, “a viable software ecosystem is where all the market players engage, connect and share ideas across active communities and networks, as well as identify and convert opportunities into business. In the current age of technology-driven financial services, no market participant can afford to operate in silos.
“In Nigeria, the market players are still not fully active as it should be. To achieve a viable software ecosystem in the financial service sector in Nigeria, all stakeholders need to collaborate actively. There must be deliberate policies and regulations that will drive such inclusiveness. The survival of our software ecosystem is dependent on the collaborations between the government and the financial service sector ecosystem.”
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has commenced a forensic investigation into the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lotus Bank and Hackerbella Ltd over alleged violations of data protection laws involving students’ personal information.
The investigation follows public complaints alleging that students’ personal data were used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer of the NDPC, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, processing, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the respective roles and responsibilities of UNILAG, Lotus Bank and Hackerbella in the alleged processing of the data.
According to the Commission, the investigation will assess the data protection compliance obligations of the parties under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), as well as potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected data subjects.
The NDPC said the probe would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, and the use of automated decision-making systems.
It will also examine the adequacy of privacy notices, data-sharing arrangements, lawful bases for processing, data minimisation and purpose limitation.
Other areas include data retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational measures put in place to safeguard the rights and personal data of affected students.
The Commission reiterated that institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such information is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely.
The NDPC therefore warned educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to take immediate steps to achieve compliance.
The Commission said it would continue to exercise its regulatory mandate to protect the privacy rights of Nigerians and ensure that organisations processing personal data comply with the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Microsoft is planning to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The company introduced its Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has lagged rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon in scaling up its in-house chip efforts as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia’s costly processors.
Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June, while Amazon has also seen growing adoption of its processors, including its Trainium chips.
Microsoft has been in talks with chipmaker TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units of the chip for delivery in 2027, according to the report. It is also looking to significantly ramp up production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt the chip.
Microsoft ultimately aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips, though component supplies and ongoing capacity negotiations with TSMC could constrain its plans, according to the report.
It unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 in January, built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology.
Microsoft packed the chip with a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can provide speed advantages for AI systems handling large numbers of user requests.
X has announced plans to discontinue its Revenue Sharing programme and introduce a new Original Content Rewards programme to reward creators for producing original content on the platform.
The social media company announced the changes at the weekend in a post on its X Creators handle, saying the new programme would reward creators who contribute original content.
“Today, we’re introducing the Original Content Rewards Program, a new way to reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, and commentary to X,” the company said.
X said it would stop accepting new enrolments into the Revenue Sharing programme from Friday, while existing participants would continue earning until September 7, 2026.
“Starting today, we’re no longer accepting new enrollments into Revenue Sharing,” it said.
According to the company, existing Revenue Sharing participants will receive three final payouts, with two scheduled for August 14 and August 28, while the final payment for earnings accrued through September 7 is expected around September 11.
X said existing Revenue Sharing participants would begin getting access to apply for the new programme from September 8, subject to meeting its eligibility requirements.
The first payout under the Original Content Rewards programme will be made on August 28, 2026, while existing Revenue Sharing creators who enrol in the new programme from September 8 will receive their first payment on September 25.
Under the new programme, eligible creators will earn from qualified impressions generated by their original content, with payments made every two weeks.
X defined qualified impressions as unique impressions from Premium users on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50 per cent of a post is visible.
On the other hand, “The following are excluded from qualified impressions: impressions from the same account counted more than once per post; paid, promoted, or artificially generated impressions; and fraudulent impressions,” it said.
To qualify, creators must be at least 18 years old, live in a country where the programme is available, maintain an account in good standing and have either a personal or vusiness account.
They must also subscribe to X Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business, have at least 500 verified followers and record at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users within the previous 90 days.
X said creators must also regularly post original content to remain eligible.
“We want to recognize creators who break news, share expertise, tell stories, create entertainment, and contribute meaningful perspectives to the conversation,” the company said.
The platform said original content could include threads, videos, memes, graphics, illustrations, reporting, analysis, commentary and reactions that add meaningful value to existing conversations.
It said creators who use content produced by others would need to add meaningful commentary, context, analysis, humour or creative transformation for such posts to qualify.
“Building on existing conversations is a core part of X, but simply reposting someone else’s content is not enough,” it said.
X said minor edits such as cropping, filters, borders, watermarks, speed adjustments or simple text overlays would generally not qualify as meaningful transformation on their own.
It also warned that content copied or substantially reproduced from another creator, content downloaded and re-uploaded from X or another platform without being the original author’s, automated content, disinformation and misleading content would be ineligible.
The company said accounts that violate the programme’s requirements could be temporarily or permanently removed from it, depending on the severity of the violation.
It added that creators would be responsible for ensuring they had the necessary rights, permissions or licences to use content created by others.
“Original content is content you personally create that reflects your own voice, perspective, expertise, or creativity,” X said.
The company said the new programme was intended to reward creators who make the platform more valuable by bringing original ideas and perspectives to its conversations.
“The Original Content Rewards Program is designed to reward the creators who start them, shape them, and move them forward,” it said.
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