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TLcom Announces 3rd Africa Tech Female Founder Summit

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TLcom Capital, the Africa-focussed venture capital firm, has officially announced the launch of the 2021 Africa Tech Female Founder Summit, which will be held virtually on Wednesday 13th October 2021.

The keynote session is headlined by Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of Andela, who will discuss how founders should think about establishing and working with their boards from early stage growth to scale.

With the event now being held for the third successive year, TLcom has opened applications for female tech founders across Africa and the Diaspora to attend this year’s virtual summit, which also features female C-Suite executives from Africa’s leading tech startups including Desiree Craig of uLesson, Mayokun Fadeyibi of Autochek, Kristen Kelly of Terragon, and Susan Kiama of Twiga Foods.

Themed “Board and C-Suite Matters – Counsel, Coach and Collaborate”, the third Female Founder Summit will deliver expert insights on how to build and leverage a senior team and board to drive strong execution and growth.

The goal of the summit is to build an even larger community of female tech founders in Africa that can be a support for one another as they scale their businesses. Julia Gillard’s keynote will be followed by an open Q&A session with attendees as well as a panel discussion on how to attract, motivate and retain high-quality senior talent,moderated by Eloho Omame, co-founder of FirstCheck Africa.

Speaking on the event, Omobola Johnson, Senior Partner at TLcom Capital, says, “Over the last 18 months, African tech has broken into a completely new threshold of investment activity and as the ecosystem continues to mature, founders are being exposed to an entirely new set of challenges.

From our conversations with entrepreneurs in our network, the most pressing of these issues lie in building a core team both above and below a founder and ensuring they all work in the interests of the organisation.

If we want our sector to continue on its current trajectory, it’s vital we equip founders to successfully execute these processes both in terms of establishing a more deliberate C-Level hiring strategy and effectively partnering with their boards to amplify the value generation process for their businesses.”

Due to the global pandemic, TLcom’s 2020 Female Founder Summit was also held as a virtual event with over 100 tech female entrepreneurs and executives from across the continent gathering to experience the power of connecting, learning and being a resource to each other.

The 2021 virtual conference has been complemented by local networking cocktail events in Nairobi and Lagos.

Andreata Muforo, Partner at TLcom Capital, adds “Whilst the evolution of a board may present a new journey for founders across African tech, we cannot deny that there are fundamental differences in how female entrepreneurs are viewed in these settings.

Women in leadership still have to deal with harmful stereotypes and biases irrespective of their position but a strong and supportive network can make a huge difference in this journey.

This is why the Female Founder Summit is so important as nobody understands our experiences like other women and in Julia, and our incredible panellists, we’re delighted to have people who can not only identify with our attendees, but can also share expert strategies on how to navigate these spaces.”

TLcom’s TIDE Africa Fund, which is one of the most active funds across Sub-Saharan Africa, boasts a leadership team which is 50% female and has actively supported female founders not only through its annual summit, but notably through its recent investments in female-led startups over the last 18 months such as Okra and Pula.

The fund also recently welcomed the first unicorn into its portfolio after Andela’s $200mn Series E round valued the company at $1.5bn.

Currently, TLcom manages total commitments of approximately 200mn USD and holds eleven African startups in its portfolio including Andela, Ajua, Autochek, Ilara Health, Kobo360, Okra, Pula, Shara, Terragon Group, Twiga Foods and uLesson.

With an on-the-ground presence in Kenya and Nigeria as well as offices in the UK, the firm invests across all stages of the venture capital cycle and a wide range of industries including agriculture, education, data analytics and logistics.


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Indigenous Firm Deploys 400,000 Smart Electricity Meters in 2025

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MOJEC International Limited has revealed that it deployed over 400,000 smart meters nationwide in 2025, representing a significant year-on-year growth for the indigenous smart meter manufacturer.

This performance reflected a 33.3 percent increase over the 300,000 meters deployed in 2024, highlighting the scale and acceleration of MOJEC’s metering operations.

Chantelle Abdul, group managing director, attributed the sustained impact to deliberate investments in infrastructure, people, and technology.

“MOJEC operates two state-of-the-art meter production facilities with a combined installed capacity of up to five million meters annually. This scale enables us not just to meet current demand, but to support Nigeria’s long-term metering and energy efficiency goals,” she said.

She further noted that MOJEC’s expansive installer ecosystem, comprising over 5,000 trained professionals nationwide, remains a critical enabler of its delivery advantage, ensuring speed, quality, and compliance across diverse terrains and markets.

The company stated that the deployment surge reflected growing confidence by Distribution Companies (DisCos) and sector stakeholders in MOJEC’s technical capacity, delivery speed, and end-to-end metering solutions.

According to Monday Ubogu, MOJEC’s head of installation, the scale and consistency of delivery set the company apart.

“Within the first three quarters of the year, MOJEC completed about 300,000 installations, accounting for roughly 40 percent of total installations nationwide during that period.

“The momentum continued into the final quarter with an additional 150,000 meters deployed, highlighting our operational depth and nationwide reach,” he said.

Ubogu added that MOJEC’s performance builds on decades of sector engagement, spanning key national metering initiatives including CAPMI, MAF, Vendor Financing, MAP Phases I & II, and NMMP 0, with the company having deployed nearly four million meters since the privatisation of NESI.

According to the company, a substantial portion of the deployment was driven by MOJEC Meter Asset Management Company (M3AC), the Group’s asset management subsidiary, which accounted for about 350,000 installations.

 


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Globacom Donates ₦1Bn to Lagos State Security Trust Fund

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In its bid to contribute its quota to the consolidation of security in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, telecommunications giant, Globacom, has thrown its weight behind the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) with a donation of ₦1 billion.

The generous donation was announced at a Private Sector Breakfast Meeting with CEOs, convened at the instance of the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, January 30, 2026 and shows the company’s commitment to fostering public safety which would in turn, culminate in enhanced prosperity and social re-engineering in the state.

The donation, which is the biggest private-sector intervention from the telecommunications sector to the Fund in recent years, again shows that Globacom is a responsible, responsive and people-oriented corporate citizen.

Globacom disclosed that the intervention emphasized deeper collaboration between government and the state’s business community especially in relation to security, innovation and economic resilience—an agenda which the digital solutions company has unabashedly supported through sustained social investments.

The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Fund, Dr. Ayo Ogunsan, in his display of appreciation described Globacom’s largesse as “a powerful demonstration of corporate citizenship and a strategic investment in the stability of Lagos State,” saying since LSSTF was established to bridge funding gaps in security infrastructure, it desired voluntary contributions from corporate bodies and well-meaning collaborators.

Dr. Ogunsan promised that the ₦1 billion donation will significantly enhance the Fund’s capacity to address critical priorities for 2026, including multipurpose security helicopters and drones, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), water cannons, digital communication equipment and Smart CCTV systems. These assets, he added, were germane to proactive policing, rapid response and intelligence-led operations across the state.

He therefore encouraged Lagosians to support businesses that invest in the safety and development of the state, saying, “When companies step forward to secure our environment, residents should reciprocate by patronizing them. Their support directly impacts the protection of lives, property and economic activity.”

A statement from Globacom explained that the donation was an expression of the company’s staunch belief in Nigeria’s future. “At Globacom, we see security not as a government burden alone, but as a shared responsibility. When people feel safe, enterprise grows, creativity flourishes and hope becomes practical. Our support for the LSSTF is about protecting the everyday dreams of millions of Lagosians,” he noted.

With this donation to the LSSTF, Globacom has furthered its tradition of investing directly in the conditions like safety, confidence and stability which help commerce to thrive. Consequent on the support, LSSTF is gingered to raise the bar of security thereby concretizing Lagos State’s position as Nigeria’s safest and most vibrant commercial hub.

This recent financial intervention from Globacom is in tandem with its avowed commitment to social responsibility that is practical, timely, scalable and aligned with national priorities.

The company’s interventions in the past decades have spanned relief efforts for flood-affected communities, support for displaced persons, advanced youth skills through structured training programmes, and investments in education, culture and digital inclusion.


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WIEG to host Nigeria’s first International Investment Summit in Lagos

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World International Economic Group (WIEG) Nigeria has announced plans to host its inaugural International Investment Summit on Feb. 25 and 26 at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos.

WIEG to host Nigeria’s first International Investment Summit in Lagos

WIEG

The summit, themed “Nigeria’s Next Frontier: Unlocking Sustainable Investments for Economic Transformation,” is aimed at connecting investment-ready Nigerian enterprises with global capital while addressing long-standing challenges facing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives and women-led businesses.

Speaking at a pre-summit press conference on Friday at Compact Communications Ltd., GRA Ikeja, Lagos,  Mr. Bassey Essien, WIEG’s Project & Event Consultant  said the summit would serve as a structured platform linking policy, finance and enterprise growth.

Essien identified limited access to structured funding, poor investment readiness and weak documentation as major barriers confronting Nigerian businesses, despite the availability of domestic and international capital.

“Enterprises that succeed understand the importance of preparation. Some invest as much as N200 million in professional feasibility studies to meet the standards of banks and institutions such as the African Development Bank. That level of preparation enables access to collateral-free funding,” he said.

According to him, weak policy continuity, inadequate post-intervention monitoring and fragmented regulatory frameworks have continued to undermine business growth in the country.

“Policies often change with governments, and there is little tracking after interventions. More importantly, many businesses are not prepared in ways financiers require,” Essien noted.

He explained that the summit would convene policymakers, investors, development finance institutions and pre-screened MSMEs and SMEs operating in priority sectors, including the creative industry, agriculture, energy transition, finance and aviation.

Essien described the creative sector as a major contributor to Nigeria’s economy, accounting for about 2.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, but said weak financing structures, piracy and poor intellectual property (IP) protection had limited its growth.

Highlighting the summit programme, he said Day One would feature conferences on macroeconomic issues, policy reforms and enterprise growth, while Day Two would focus on sector-specific deal-making roundtables.

“These deal rooms will be organised by sector — from aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) to renewable energy — with lawyers, financiers and policymakers present to fast-track transactions,” he said.

Essien added that the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) would be present to ensure post-event monitoring and tracking of investment deals concluded during the summit.

He disclosed that the creative economy segment would be supported through partnerships with the Association of Movie Producers of Nigeria (AMP) and financial institutions to fund viable projects in Nollywood, music and fashion.

“Intellectual property regularisation is critical. Once ideas are properly documented and protected, investors gain confidence,” he said.

On energy and aviation, Essien said the summit would spotlight renewable energy solutions to reduce dependence on generators and promote the establishment of commercial MRO facilities to curb the high cost of aircraft maintenance abroad.

He also announced the participation of B Lab Africa, a U.S.-certified organisation focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG), diversity, equity and inclusivity standards, noting that the initiative would help small businesses improve governance and access global funding.

Essien revealed that investment commitments estimated at about 500 million dollars were expected to emerge from the summit.

“This is a private-sector-led, non-partisan initiative that places no financial burden on government. It is focused on job creation, empowering women-owned enterprises and improving investor confidence through transparent and secure processes,” he said.

He urged Nigerian entrepreneurs and SMEs to prioritise proper documentation, professional advisory services and IP protection to position themselves for sustainable growth.

“We are creating a structured pathway from policy to capital to enterprise growth,” Essien added.


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