Dexude, a leading edtech platform with operations in Nigeria, has announced that it has been awarded the prestigious Business Finland TEMPO funding.

Charles Emembolu, founder of Dexude,

This significant funding injection marks a pivotal moment in Dexude’s journey towards transforming education through its AI-powered, live-first, expert-led, and community-driven platform.

The Business Finland TEMPO funding is specifically designed to support startups and SMEs aiming for international growth by building their expertise and solutions into international success stories in innovative ways.

Dexude’s commitment to innovation, coupled with its vision to enable a billion learners worldwide, aligns perfectly with the objectives of the TEMPO funding.

Commenting on this milestone achievement, Charles Emembolu, founder of Dexude, remarked, “We are incredibly honored and excited to receive the Business Finland TEMPO funding. This funding is not only a validation of Dexude’s mission to reinvent education but also a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team. With this support, we are poised to accelerate our efforts in democratizing access to quality education and empowering learners across Nigeria and beyond.”

L-r; Kelvin Chikezie, co-founder of Dexude; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); and Charles Emembolu, founder of Dexude

Kelvin Chikezie, co-founder of Dexude, added, “Securing the Business Finland TEMPO funding is a significant milestone for Dexude. It underscores our commitment to leveraging technology and innovation to revolutionize the way people learn and grow. We are grateful to Business Finland for believing in our vision, and we are excited to embark on this next chapter of Dexude’s journey.”

Dexude is on a mission to redefine education by providing learners with access to influential experts and thought leaders, live interactions, and a vibrant community-driven learning experience.

Through its platform, Dexude aims to break down barriers to learning and empower individuals to pursue their passions and unlock their full potential.

Federal government has announced the recovery of N57 billion from the N5.2 trillion liaibilities owed the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other bodies by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government

Okokon Ekanem Udo, permanent secretary, Special Duties, Federal Ministry of Finance made the disclosure on Tuesday in Enugu State during a Sensitisation Workshop on Federal Government Debt Recovery Drive through Project Lighthouse Programme for South-East geo-political zone.

While declaring the event open, Ekanem stated that the debts came to the spotlight from data aggregated from over 5,000+ debtors across more than 93 MDAs.

This was according to a statement by Mohammed Manga, spokesman for the ministry.

Represented by Aisha Omar, the ministry’s director, Special Projects, Ekanem Udo, informed that it also received refunds to the government from companies who failed to deliver on projects for which payment had been made, adding that others are unpaid credit facilities granted to both corporate entities and individuals by the Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Judgment Debt in favor of Government and debts owed Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) by Insurance Companies amongst others.

He added that data from Project Lighthouse revealed that many companies and individuals, who owe government agencies and refused to honour their obligations were still being paid.

This, he said, was done through government platforms such as GIFMIS and Treasury Single Account (TSA) due to lack of visibility over these transactions.

According to him, in actualising debt recovery goal, the Federal Ministry of Finance initiated Project Lighthouse, which has enabled the aggregation of relevant economic and financial information from multiple agencies who hitherto did not share data.

Ekanem Udo explained that, generally, revenue loopholes have been aided by poor information sharing and enforcement.

It may interest you to note that the Ministry, through the consolidation efforts of the Debt Analytics and Reporting Application, has been able to aggregate monumental debts of approximately N5.2 trillion, he said.

The Permanent Secretary who informed further that the debt aggregation effort is still ongoing stated that currently, approximately N57 billion has been recovered so far from this amount due to concerted efforts on the part of stakeholders and the Federal Government

He disclosed that the Ministry has taken steps to address this major revenue loophole, through the issuance of a Ministerial directive to all MDAs to aggregate all Government debt across the Public Finance Space as well as having a single window on the credit profile of Government.

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday said  that banks in the country lost over N8 billion to internet fraud, otherwise known as Yahoo-Yahoo Boys, in 2022.

Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the commission, also disclosed how Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi state allegedly moved a staggering $720,000 from the state account to pay his child’s school fees.

Olukoyede,  who made the disclosure during an interactive session with media executives in Abuja, narrated how cyber crime has hurt the companies and its negative effects in attracting direct foreign investment for the country. He lamented that no fewer than 71 percent of companies operating in Nigeria were victims of cybercrime in 2022 even as he argued that the Commission’s war against internet fraud is about safeguarding the country’s future.

“In 2022 alone, I’m waiting for the report of 2023, we discovered that more than 71 percent of Nigerian industries, companies and firms fell victim to cyber crime. Now, which country or company would thrive with this kind of thing? “You want to attract foreign direct investment; the moment you come in, Yahoo boys will attack your platform. You start losing money and you think they would stay?

“Is that not what we are seeing? We are rescuing the future of Nigeria by going into this cyber crime investigation and prosecution.

“Now, within that period, the Nigerian economy lost $706 million (via) these companies through cyber crime, to the activities of these Yahoo Yahoo boys because we don’t take them seriously now, not knowing that we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder.

“The alarming statistics continued with Nigerian banks losing over N8 billion to electronic transfer fraud in the first  nine months of 2022.

“A system lost over N8 billion to a particular scheme of fraud and you are asking EFCC to close its eyes to that kind of situation. Are we even fair to ourselves?”

He said the agency is prosecuting two of its operatives for violating the agency’s code of conduct.

He said the commission has made some reforms to enhance its fight against corruption, including the creation of the directorate of fraud risk assessment/control and ethics/integrity.