E-Business
Standard Chartered Partners Youth Business International to Support Young Entrepreneurs

Funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation in collaboration with Youth Business International (YBI), the project is part of Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, a global initiative to tackle inequality.

YBI and Standard Chartered Foundation are working together to provide crucial support to over 33,000 underserved young entrepreneurs in six countries across Africa, Asia and Europe. In Nigeria, the project will be implemented by FATE Foundation.
Funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation, the project is part of futuremakers by Standard Chartered, a global initiative to tackle inequality. FATE Foundation aims to support 2,000 young entrepreneurs whose micro and small businesses have been especially hard-hit by COVID-19.
The global economy is suffering from catastrophic economic shocks as a result of COVID-19. With typically tight margins, micro, small and medium businesses are vulnerable to economic downturn.
The current pandemic and the resulting lockdowns are having a particularly serious impact on business owners and entrepreneurs from underserved communities, including young people (aged 18-35 years), women, refugees and other migrants and those with disabilities and visual impairments. Many are struggling to get through the crisis and need support now.
Speaking on the project, Dayo Aderugbo, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing (CABM), Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria said, “It is with great pleasure that we launch the Youth Business International initiative in Nigeria today in collaboration with the FATE Foundation.

“We are optimistic about the impact this initiative will have in lives of thousands of young entrepreneurs in the country and the ripple effect this investment will have on the nation. This initiative builds on the Bank’s track record of supporting employable youths, adolescent girls and women through various financing and capacity building initiative and serves as one of the ways we remain Here for good in our communities.”
Micro small and medium businesses have a crucial role to play in economic recoveries post-COVID and ensuring supporting a diverse range of young entrepreneurs will contribute towards a richer, more varied and more resilient economy for everyone.
Funmilayo Hannah Awoyomi, an entrepreneur who owns 701 Stitches and is based in Kaduna has this to say “Small businesses like me have suffered a lot since March, 2021. Business has not been the same since the lockdown was first implemented. We need to know how to compete without spending our entire savings on this digital marketing thing that everyone is talking about. I look forward to being part of a program like this.”
Anita Tiessen, CEO of Youth Business International, noted “As the ongoing effects of the pandemic continue to cripple economies and disrupt normal business operations, young entrepreneurs, especially those running smaller businesses and from underserved communities, have been hardest hit. I’ve been inspired by the response of our network, supporting more than 200,000 businesses through COVID last year.
The struggle is far from over for many and I’m delighted that YBI with Standard Chartered Foundation’s new funding will help us expand and continue this crucial work and help more than 33,000 businesses get the support they need to survive and thrive to contribute towards a richer, more varied and resilient economy for everyone.”
In Nigeria, FATE Foundation will provide a holistic package of support including Digital Transformation Workshop, Resilience Building Series, and Remote Consulting & Advisor services to be delivered virtually to 2000 entrepreneurs across Nigeria. We will specifically target underserved entrepreneurs between the ages of 18-35 who have been hardest hit by the crisis.
Commenting on the collaboration, Adenike Adeyemi, Executive Director of FATE Foundation, added “We are committed to supporting young Nigerian entrepreneurs contribute to the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and are excited to be part of their success stories. We are also excited about the potential of this program in making significant impact in the Nigerian Entrepreneurship space”.
Youth Business International and Standard Chartered Foundation are working together to provide crucial support to over 33,000 underserved young entrepreneurs in six countries across Africa, Asia and Europe.
Priority will be given to traditionally disadvantaged business owners who have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 economic crisis, including rural, micro and female entrepreneurs, business owners with disabilities and visual impairments and those excluded from formal financial support.
The aim of the programme is to ensure that a diverse range of young entrepreneurs will contribute towards a richer, more varied and more resilient economy for everyone.
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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