Broadcasting
The Tezza Academy Story: A software academy promoting Nigeria as the world’s skill factory
By Jide Modele, Managing Partner, Tezza Business Solutions
Tezza Academy started in November 2020 and it evolved from what was known as Tezza Boot Camp. We set up a boot camp to help introduce young IT professionals to the field of software testing.
The objective was that, by training them to become certified software testers, we will place them in a Mentoring Program where they shadow experts for about two months of professional field experience; and then they start their careers as testers.
However, in our bid to grow our consulting practice in software testing and product development, we realized that all our clients were faced with the same problem, being the dearth of highly skilled professionals leaving the country for emerging opportunities abroad. At this point, we figured that the boot camp will just not cut the demand, as our clients need highly skilled professionals.
So my partner and CEO Roland Omoresemi decided what we needed was to evolve the boot camp into an academy, where we have a more robust and multidisciplinary curriculum that looks beyond just the software testing skill set but one that comprises IT domains that we specialise in and ensure we build a team of well-focused competent professionals who can serve our clients in all our operating regions in Africa and the US. It was this vision that gave birth to Tezza Academy in November 2020.
Tezza Academy is currently training the second set of professionals to be admitted into the Academy. The first set which was a mix of trainees from Nigeria and Kenya completed a three-month training program in multiple domains such as Software Quality assurance, Customer Experience management, Test Automation, Software Development Engineering in Test, Performance Testing, Test Data Management, Agile practice, Java Script development, The Consultant Mindset, essential pillars of leadership amongst others. Our goal was to ensure that all our trainees were exposed to about the same level of training, then they now chose their areas of specialization.
Strategic Placements – Addressing the ‘unemployability’ challenge
In terms of success stories, every single one of the 20 trainees who went through that first class has been fully engaged at a client site as a practicing consultant. As a matter of fact, their placements occurred before they graduated from the academy. We have consultants from that class solving problems for clients in the US, Kenya and Nigeria with exceptional client feedback.
One of the significant value propositions, of Tezza Academy is to make sure all our trainees live, breath, eat, learn and develop within the same facility under one roof. This creates an environment where they challenge and develop themselves and create a harmonized culture. Part of what we do at the Academy is not just train them on technology skills, but expose them to the core ethos of how we do business at Tezza and promote a healthy curiosity mindset which is valuable in helping our clients attain optimal value. At Tezza Academy, we breathe our core, value system, standard operating procedures into our trainees, and make sure they they Learn It, Know It, and Own It. This becomes a fundamental aspect of their professional practice.
Through this, everyone in the academy knows his or her own strengths and weaknesses. They all know how to back up and compensate for each other when it comes to executing their work. This helps us develop a fused multidisciplinary team capable of providing immediate redundancy for every consultant engaged with our clients. This practice has keenly accelerated the competence levels of our trainees such that we have multiple instances where our graduates start outperforming the people that they were shadowing only a month ago. We have trainees who in less than three months after completing their program, have stepped into managerial roles with our clients.
Those are some of the more fundamental testaments that we have from the Academy. We also have testaments from clients in Nigeria and in the US, who have spoken about the quality of the people who came through the Academy and how they have engaged and created real value for them at their various projects. These are written testaments from our clients attesting to the quality of the people that have come out from the Academy.
Tezza is focused on skill development and professional placements
Tezza Academy has largely focused on just the development of highly skilled professionals and working on placing them with valued clients that need these skill set. In recent times, we started speaking to parties willing to partner with the Academy. People who found out about what we are doing and got interested in helping to develop this vision, expand and scale it, such as the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN). The PFN led a leadership team to the Academy to meet with us and find out what we are doing. They have met with the trainees inside the Academy and they have already made a commitment to partner for the growth and development of the objectives of Tezza Academy, starting this year.
The core importance of the Academy is to develop highly skilled professionals across multiple domains, and have professionals who have multiple competencies. The essence is for us to have a team that can help address the skill gap that we have in Nigeria now and will keep evolving in the years ahead. We also develop custom curriculum to address specific client requirements.
The Academy is less than a year old and we are happy with the quality of professionals that we have been able to develop, the level of engagement, their commitment, and drive towards establishing this vision for building a highly competent subject matter experts here in Nigeria.
One of the fundamental aspects of what we are trying to do at Tezza Academy is not limited to developing competence skill gap, but to build, and address some of the social challenges that lead to the exodus of highly skilled professionals in Nigeria.
One of these social challenges is decent, affordable accommodation and the basic infrastructure required to ensure our youths and highly skilled professionals can be truly engaged and able to practice their career here in Nigeria with stable electricity, internet access, decent and affordable accommodation. Part of what Tezza Academy is putting in place now is providing decent accommodation for those who have graduated from the Academy, such that whilst they are working for Tezza over the next two years after their graduation, they can be engaged and housed in such facilities in comfort.
All these are part of the next steps and the things that the Academy has made a priority. Before the end of the year, we expect that we should be able to get that kick-started.
QUOTES
“In terms of success stories, every single one of the 20 trainees who went through that first class has been fully engaged at a client site as a practicing consultant. As a matter of fact, their placements occurred before they graduated from the academy. We have consultants from that class solving problems for clients in the US, Kenya and Nigeria with exceptional client feedback.”
“Tezza Academy is not just limited to developing competence skill gap, but to build, and address some of the social challenges that lead to the exodus of highly skilled professionals in Nigeria.”
Broadcasting
Davido, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Karl Toriola, Others To Be Honoured At The Most Influential People of African Descent Awards In Lagos
Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) is excited to announce the Lagos Diaspora Experience 2025, a week-long celebration of African art, culture, innovation, and connection, culminating in the End of the Year Awards & Celebration on Sunday, December 21st, 2025, in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Most Influential People of African Descent Awards
This historic occasion marks the first time the world-famous Most Influential 100 Recognition & Awards Ceremony—traditionally held in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)—will be hosted in Lagos, Nigeria.
The week will feature events such as Diaspora Day at the Fela Exhibition (Afrobeat Meets Diaspora), Cultural Heritage Day, and Business Leadership Luncheons, all culminating in the awards celebration.
The evening will honor the Best & Brightest of the Year, recognizing exceptional individuals and institutions whose work has advanced Global African Achievement and Black Excellence across business, government, media, culture, and technology.
Key Recognitions for 2025
– Governor of the Year & City of the Year: His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State, honored alongside Lagos as City of the Year for its global leadership in culture, innovation, tourism, and diaspora engagement.
– Her Excellency Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, will be honoured as Minister of the Year for her contribution to the creative economy’s role in nation branding and cultural diplomacy.
– Most Influential Woman of the Year: Olorì Atúwàtse III, Queen Consort of the Warri Kingdom
– Most Influential Man of the Year: Adewale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive, OANDO
– CEO of the Year: Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria; who will deliver a keynote address, recognized for his transformative leadership and impact on Nigeria’s telecommunications and digital economy.
Others include; Karl Toriola of MTN as CEO of the year, Uche Pedro of Bella Naija as Lifestyle Personality Of The Year, Ojy Okpe of Artise News as Most Influential News Anchor Of The Year, Stephanie Busari as Media Executive of the Year, Kayode Okikiolu as Pressman of the year, Davido as Artist of the year and several others.
In celebrating this year’s honorees, Michael Ehindero, Managing Director, Pernod Ricard Nigeria, owners of Martell Cognac, who emerged as Brand Of The Year expressed deep appreciation for the brand’s continued global recognition, saying: “It’s a great reward for the team who’s delivered Martell excellently in Nigeria over the years.
“We say thank you to the teams, we say thank you to our consumers and we say thank you to MIPAD.
“Martell has a lot of promising experiences in the years to come in Nigeria and with this we invite you over to Nigeria to experience Detty December”.
The ceremony will also celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2025 Honorees, alongside past Nigerian honorees who were unable to attend their year of recognition in New York.
“For the first time, we’re bringing our world-famous recognition platform home to celebrate excellence within the Global Africa Family — right here in Lagos,” said Kamil Olufowobi, Founder & Chairman of MIPAD. “This is more than an event; it’s a movement uniting the best of us — connecting, collaborating, and working together to change the world.”
Event Details
📍 Lagos, Nigeria
– Friday, Dec 19 – #DettyDec Diaspora Day at Fela Exhibition FREE
– Sunday, Dec 21 – End of Year Recognition & Award Ceremony STRICTLY BY INVITATION
🎟️ RSVP: https://rsvp.oakenevents.com/mipad
Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has called for urgent adoption of advanced digital protections after blocking seven piracy sites amid escalating online threats to Nollywood content.
The call was made during a webinar hosted by Greychapel Legal titled “Clicks, Streams, and Copyright: Who Owns Nollywood’s Digital Future?”, which brought together filmmakers, regulators, entertainment lawyers and media strategists to examine how content ownership and copyright enforcement are being reshaped by the digital age.
Lynda Alphaeus, director and head of the NCC Lagos Office, said the Commission has intensified its efforts to combat piracy across digital channels and is upgrading its operations to meet emerging threats.
According to her, Nigeria’s new Copyright Act was deliberately updated to strengthen creators’ rights amid the explosion of online distribution.
“NCC has worked, and is still working tirelessly to adapt Nigeria’s legal framework to cope with digital distribution challenges. We now have the power to block networks publishing illegal content, and we have already blocked seven websites distributing pirated Nigerian works,” Alphaeus said.
She revealed that the Commission has established a special taskforce known as the STOP Unit to coordinate anti-piracy operations online, alongside new awareness campaigns targeting local markets and schools to educate content creators and the public on copyright obligations.
Alphaeus urged filmmakers and producers to take ownership of their digital safety by deploying available technological protections to safeguard their intellectual property.
She explained that tools such as encryption help prevent unauthorised copying, blockchain technology offers immutable proof of ownership, digital watermarking allows creators to trace illegal uploads, while cloud security and regular offline backups protect creative files before they reach the market.
While noting that copyright in Nigeria does not legally require registration, she stressed that registering one’s work strengthens protection and provides legal presumptions that can be vital in enforcement.
“Whatever you register is presumed to be yours until proven otherwise,” she said, urging creators to invest in copyright knowledge as part of their business strategy.
Other speakers at the webinar reinforced the urgency of protecting Nollywood’s digital assets.
James Omokwe, film director, noted that while streaming platforms have created unprecedented opportunities for visibility and monetisation, they have also opened new vectors for intellectual property theft and unauthorised redistribution.
Solafunmi Laelle, media strategist, added that audience data, which streaming platforms rely heavily on, will increasingly determine leverage and value in film licensing negotiations.
According to her, creators who lose control of their intellectual property, whether through piracy or unfavourable contracts, also lose access to valuable data that could shape their long-term earnings.
Nky Ofeimun, entertainment lawyer, emphasised the need for creators to understand the contractual implications of ownership, platform exclusivity, and reversion rights.
She noted that many filmmakers still underestimate how quickly digital copies can be illegally duplicated or uploaded once control is lost.
The panelists agreed that as Nollywood deepens its digital footprint, piracy will continue to evolve and become more sophisticated.
They stressed that the industry must respond with equally sophisticated tools, stronger contract negotiation, and improved education around copyright.
Globacom, just introduced four brand new movies on its premium entertainment platform, Glo TV, and they are completely free for all subscribers. The company says the release marks another major step in its mission to enrich digital entertainment for millions of viewers across the country.
In a statement from Lagos on Wednesday, Globacom explained that the new titles feature some of Africa’s most celebrated actors and filmmakers, offering a colorful mix of romance, comedy, drama, culture, and emotional storytelling. The lineup includes Johnny Just Come (JJC), Eko Vibes, Bound, and Shifting Desire.
“Each of these movies was chosen to spotlight diverse African stories while delivering world class entertainment unavailable in cinemas, on YouTube, or on any other streaming service. Viewers do not need any subscription or extra payment. Access is completely free,” the company said.
Leading the pack is Shifting Desire, featuring Lilian Afegbai and veteran actor Majid Michel. The film is a gripping romantic drama that dives into marriage, intimacy, betrayal, healing, and the emotional journey of a couple using therapy to rebuild trust. Shifting Desire premiered on Glo TV on December 2 and is already streaming for free.
Johnny Just Come (JJC), starring Patience Ozokwor and Nancy Isime, delivers a hilarious cultural crossover story about an American man trying to navigate love and marriage in an African household. The movie explores themes of identity, family, culture, and coexistence in a warm and relatable way.
The third title, Bound, starring Rita Dominic and Eyinna Nwigwe, is a thought-provoking family drama that follows a successful career woman confronting long hidden personal struggles and the impact on her relationship. The film showcases powerful performances from some of Nollywood’s finest.
Rounding out the collection is Eko Vibes, featuring Broda Shaggi, Josh2Funny, and Nkechi Blessing. The movie captures the energy and hustle of Lagos youth culture, spotlighting ambition, humor, and the vibrant spirit of young people chasing success in the city.
Globacom noted that the new releases reinforce its commitment to delivering original African content at the highest quality. “With these exclusive titles, Glo TV is redefining digital entertainment in Nigeria by offering fresh, premium movies not available anywhere else. We remain committed to growing our catalog with rich African stories that celebrate creativity at its best,” the company added.
Davido, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Karl Toriola, Others To Be Honoured At The Most Influential People of African Descent Awards In Lagos
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