Telecom
The Powerful Role of Supply Chains in Navigating a Pandemic
By Maha Bouzeid
The coronavirus pandemic continues to transform the way we live and work whilst disrupting businesses across the world. As company leaders and health officials track the virus and make decisions regarding its containment, supply chain leaders assess and plan for how the virus will impact their systems.
Limiting the impact on your supply chain
When it comes to supply chain management, a little preparedness goes a long way. Investing resources and time upfront to reach a minimum level of preparedness can significantly improve outcomes for when an unprecedented situation occurs, minimizing the impact on people and infrastructure.
Currently, supply chain leaders are creating transparency and building rapid-response capabilities to mitigate the short-term fallout from the crisis. All of Ericsson’s main production sites are currently up and running.
Ericsson has a global supply chain set up, which ensures the company works close to customers through its European, Asian and American operations. Our main production facilities are in Estonia, Poland, China, India, Brazil, Mexico and the US.
At this time, there is an urgent need for us and other supply chain leaders to monitor and prepare for the impact on their value chain.
As a company, we continue to follow the situation of the Novel Coronavirus and recommendations from the local authorities and WHO, as the company assesses its supply chain.
Our prediction remains for Q1, that we will see limited to no impact on our customers. For Q2 2020, our assessment remains that we can cover currently forecasted demands, taking into account known implications and expected outcome from mitigations made following the outbreak.
Ten actions businesses can take to address challenges
We focus in this post on the ten actions businesses can take to resolve the immediate challenges that the pandemic presents to supply chain workers, business partners, and operations. These include:
- Prioritizing high-risk suppliers by geography, sector, commodity/business value
- Analyzing the supply chain beyond Tier 1 Suppliers to understand exposure to affected countries
- Building inventory around own stores to reduce impact from port delays
- Not relying on forecasted data or current stock levels
- Calculating the stock tolerance over the predicted ‘at risk’ period
- Keeping communication channels open with key suppliers
- Seeking alternative supply and transportation routes
- Factoring in increased transit time to alternative ports
- Reassessing travel plans and use digital technology (i.e. teleconference)
- Calculating any additional costs, such as non-delivery to customers
Now more than ever, maintaining the flexibility of our supply chains is essential for limiting disruption to services. With creative, resourceful responses to the pandemic, supply chain leaders can ensure that consumers have access to services they need while also maintaining the health and safety of both consumers and supply chain workers.
For us, this involves working even more closely with our suppliers to understand their challenges, mitigation plans and how we can support them. It also means closely aligning with our own organization and our internal stakeholders, to encourage, listen, support, and motivate each other, so that when the crisis is over, we can emerge stronger than ever.
Most importantly, the lessons from this challenging time can help us make our supply chains more resilient and prevent any future challenges from causing as much disruption.
Maha Bouzeid is Vice President and Head of Sourcing at Ericsson Middle East and Africa
MTN Uganda is seeking input from stakeholders on a plan to structurally separate its mobile money service, MoMo, from its core telecoms business.
According to the company, the proposed change will be discussed at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting on July 2.
If approved, the telco’s fintech business will be run by a new company controlled by MTN Group Fintech Holdings B.V. and a trust benefiting minority shareholders following a merger.
Additionally, the restructuring also aligns with MTN Group’s ambition 2025 strategy which aims to unlock value, attract new investors, and strengthen regulatory compliance by creating standalone fintech entities in Uganda, Ghana, and Nigeria.
The company’s fintech division has over 13 million customers, with an 18.4% revenue increase in the first quarter of 2025, driven by 19.0% growth in mobile money services, 19.8% growth in transaction volumes, and a 31.4% increase in transaction value.
Reports say the decision is part of the telco’s compliance with the National Payment Systems Act 2020, which mandates mobile money businesses to operate as standalone entities, and to align with MTN Group’s regional fintech strategy.
MTN Uganda, which is led by CEO Sylvia Mulinge, highlighted that the implementation of the proposed transaction will be subjected to a number of conditions and regulatory procedures.
“The implementation of the proposed transaction shall be subject to a number of conditions, including the company and MTN MoMo receiving all required regulatory approvals and no-objections and complying with any regulatory conditions,” said MTN Uganda in notice.
Netflix has announced plans to invest more than €1 billion in Spanish film and television productions over the next four years, reinforcing its commitment to Spain as a key creative hub in Europe.
The announcement was made by co-chief executive Ted Sarandos at an event held at Netflix’s production studios near Madrid, celebrating the company’s 10-year presence in the country.
Sarandos emphasized that the investment would contribute significantly to Spain’s economy, create jobs, and enable the streaming platform to produce more local content. He was joined by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in unveiling the initiative.
Netflix first established its international production studios in Madrid in 2019, following the success of the Spanish-language hit series Money Heist.
Since then, its 22,000-square-meter facility has become one of Netflix’s major production centers within the European Union.
The company currently supports over 20,000 jobs in Spain, highlighting the nation’s growing influence in global entertainment.
The investment reflects Netflix’s ongoing strategy to expand its presence in European markets through original content and local talent.
Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) has raised alarms over a new wave of advanced cyberattacks targeting Android mobile phones through a malware campaign dubbed Tria Stealer.
The malicious software is designed to infiltrate Android devices, hijack messaging accounts, intercept One-Time Passwords (OTPs), to steal sensitive personal and financial data.
According to ngCERT, Tria Stealer spreads primarily through deceptive tactics, such as fake event invitations distributed via popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Unsuspecting users are enticed to download an infected (APK) file, often disguised as a harmless system application, to evade detection.
Once installed, Tria Stealer requests extensive permissions, including access to SMS, call logs, and app notifications.
It immediately commences data harvesting activities, sending stolen information to a Command and Control (C2) server operated via Telegram bots.
This trojan spreads through fake links, usually disguised as wedding or event invites, and tricks users into downloading malicious APK files
“Account takeover of messaging platforms. Impersonation of victim for fraudulent money transfer requests. Compromise of banking and financial applications. Identity theft and credential harvesting.”
In plain terms, if your phone is compromised, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Your financial apps are vulnerable, your reputation could be ruined by impersonation and even simple personal messages could be twisted into tools for scams.
Here’s what users should be doing now:
Don’t download apps outside the official Play Store.
Be suspicious of random invites or links, even from people you know.
Turn on 2FA for everything—banking, emails, social platforms.
Get a reputable antivirus and keep it updated.
If you run an organisation, you should already be taking this seriously.
ngCERT’s guidance says you should raise awareness, monitor mobile devices, and not let your team click on unverified links.
“Deploy network monitoring for suspicious outbound connections to known C2 domains,” it said, meaning, keep an eye on every digital door in and out.
This isn’t one of those cases where you wait to see if it affects you. By the time you realise it, it may already be too late.
Aliko Dangote Signs out @ Dangote Sugar Refinery as Chairman
Court Declines Access Bank’s Request to Freeze MTNN Account over N180Bn Claims
FG Mulls Fibre Optic Layout to Bridge Internet Gaps
Report Reveals New Malware Posing as an AI Assistant Steals User Data
MTN Mulls Establishment of Fintech Firm in Nigeria, Others
News3 days agoCDCFIB Warns against Recruitment Racketeers
General News20 hours agoAfDB to Provide $184.1mfor Africa’s Largest Solar Energy, Battery Storage Project
Telecom3 days agoMeta, FMCIDE Unveil AI Accelerator to Drive Innovation in Nigeria
News3 days agoFG May Forfeits $4m from World Bank Loan over Audit Flop
Telecom3 days agoNigeria Leads the Charge in Green Innovation @MTN’s Africa PachiPanda Challenge
Broadcasting3 days agoAfia TV and Radio Stamps Footprints in Lagos
Telecom2 days agongCERT Issues High Alert to Nigerians Using Android Phones
E-Financial3 days agoNDIC Begins Final Settlements to Creditors of Liquidated Premier Bank