Telecom
Trusted, conversational AI will drive productivity & decision-making – here’s how
By Zuko Mdwaba, Salesforce Area VP / Africa Executive
Businesses are embracing AI and increasing productivity across every industry, with 45% of executive leaders reporting increased investments in AI. Early enterprise adopters are already seeing the benefits, and freeing up more than 30% of time from every employee so they can be more strategic and creative.
Moving forward, every company will undergo an AI transformation to increase productivity and drive efficiency. As the technology continues to advance, it is becoming easier than ever to apply its insights and tailored content to everyday business decisions. By infusing trusted AI across every job, business, and industry, together we can unlock a more productive, innovative business economy.
Nowhere is the potential for transformation more clear than with conversational AI – assisting users within their flow of work, enabling them to ask questions in natural language, and receive relevant and trustworthy answers that are grounded in secure company data.
The capability to offer options for additional actions beyond the user’s query – such as a recommended action plan after a sales call, or creating a new service knowledge article – is fundamentally reshaping how people build and interact with business applications to achieve higher performance and job satisfaction.
At Dreamforce recently, Salesforce introduced the next generation of Einstein, its AI technology, bringing conversational AI to any workflow, user, department and industry. This includes Einstein Copilot – a trusted out-of-the-box conversational AI assistant, built into the user experience of every Salesforce application.
The great advantage of this technology is that it can be customised and built to the unique specifications of any business, allowing employees to easily integrate it into their day-to-day work.
For marketers, for example, it means benefiting from automatically generated email copy for campaigns, creating smarter campaign segmentation, and creating website landing pages based on personalised consumer browsing and buying preferences.
In commerce, it means taking care of complex and time-consuming tasks like managing multi-product catalogue data, creating product descriptions in multiple languages, personalising product promotions, and generating search engine optimisation (SEO) metadata that drive conversions. Embedding AI assistants into websites will enhance customer interactions by powering real-time chat, or integrating with messaging platforms like WhatsApp, or SMS.
In healthcare, an administrator can automatically reduce patient scheduling no-shows and generate appointment summaries. In financial services, an advisor can analyse client spending and savings history to offer personalised coaching and create tailored plans and goals.
The need for secure AI architecture
Any business’ AI strategy is only as good as its data strategy. Yet today’s customer data has never been more fragmented.
On average, organisations are using 1,061 different applications, yet only 29% of them are currently integrated.
What companies really want is one connected platform or one that will connect all of their data. In this era of AI, organisations need a customer data platform that acts as a single source of truth enabling them to drive business resilience, meaningful customer engagement, and future growth.
With a secure AI architecture, teams can benefit from generative AI without compromising their customer data, while at the same time letting companies use their trusted data to improve generative AI responses.
It’s crucial that AI recommendations are reliable, and that users are enabled to train models on their own data and validate these responses. Every effort to mitigate harmful outputs by conducting bias, explainability, and robustness assessments should always be a priority in AI.
By combining an integrated customer data platform with a conversational AI platform that draws on secure, trusted data, business leaders and their employees can be confident in making better, data-driven decisions.
The era of generative AI is just getting started, but the full potential of this technology’s benefits is yet to be realised. There is so much promise and opportunity for businesses to gain real value and growth, ultimately giving employees and customers a better experience.
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has secured regulatory approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to lease frequency spectrum from T2 Mobile Limited (formerly 9Mobile), marking a strategic shift in its network expansion plans.
Effective October 1, 2025, MTN will lease 5MHz in the 900MHz band and 15MHz in the 1800MHz band from T2 Mobile for a period of three years.
This move supports MTN’s national roaming agreement with T2, enabling shared infrastructure to manage growing network traffic and improve service delivery
According to MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola, the agreement aligns with the company’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which emphasizes cost-effective, sustainable growth, industry collaboration, and digital inclusion.
In a related development, MTN Nigeria has announced it will not renew its current spectrum lease with Natcom Development and Investment Ltd (Ntel). That lease—covering 5MHz in the 900MHz band and 10MHz in the 1800MHz band across 17 states—is set to expire on November 29, 2025.
MTN reaffirmed its commitment to investing in infrastructure and strategic partnerships to deliver high-quality, innovative telecom services across Nigeria.
Telecom
MTN Foundation Opens Applications for Phase 2 of SAIL Teachers’ Fellowship to Train 5,000 Nigerian Educators in Digital Skills
MTN Foundation, in partnership with SAIL Innovation Lab and Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), has announced the commencement of the second phase of the MTN SAIL Teachers Fellowship Programme with a call for applications.
The initiative aims to equip 5,000 public school teachers across Nigeria with cutting-edge digital skills, innovative teaching methods, and leadership capacity to transform the learning experience in public schools.
The call for applications, open until 19th October 2025 is part of the MTN Foundation’s continued commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s education sector and empowering educators with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.
In addition, participants will gain access to the MTN Skills Academy, an online learning platform offering free, self-paced courses on coding, data analytics, digital marketing and other in-demand skills.
This ensures teachers can continue their professional development long after the training period, equipping them with the tools to prepare students for the opportunities of the digital economy.
Speaking on the launch of Phase 2, Odunayo Sanya, Executive Director, MTN Foundation, said: “Teachers are the backbone of our education system. By empowering them with digital competencies and innovative teaching methods, we are directly investing in the future of our youths.
This Fellowship Programme is designed to ensure that our educators are not just keeping pace with global best practices but are actively shaping the next generation of innovators and leaders.”
Participants in the programme will undergo intensive training on topics such as technology integration in the classroom, modern pedagogical techniques, digital tools, and personal leadership.
The training will be delivered by experienced facilitators and education experts to ensure a blend of practical knowledge and peer-driven learning.
The MTN SAIL Teachers Fellowship Programme, initiated in 2024, is a part of the Foundation’s broader mission to catalyse sustainable development initiatives that make measurable impact in the areas of education, health, and economic empowerment.
Since its inception, MTN Foundation has reached millions of Nigerians through various programmes, reaffirming its role as a catalyst for positive change.
Interested teachers can learn more and apply via https://bit.ly/STFP2025 as applications are expected to close on October 19, 2025.
Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-commerce group, has continued to record remarkable feedback from shoppers as its ongoing Category Month Campaign builds momentum. Since its kick-off in early September, the initiative has spotlighted key product categories each week, delivering unbeatable deals and heightened excitement across Nigeria’s digital retail space.
The campaign debuted with Home and Kitchen products in the first week of launch, offering households the chance to upgrade essentials at discounted prices.
This was followed by Electronics Week, which drew an overwhelming response from tech-savvy shoppers eager to secure top-quality gadgets at market-leading prices.
This week, attention has shifted to Beauty, Health and Personal Care, as well as Fashion, promising even more compelling offers for style enthusiasts and wellness-focused consumers.
According to industry observers, shoppers have embraced the campaign for clear reasons: convenience, affordability, and trust. By focusing on one category per week, Konga ensures a curated shopping experience where customers enjoy depth, variety, and verified quality across product lines. Strategic partnerships with global brands further guarantee authenticity, while Konga’s reliable logistics network continues to deliver purchases swiftly and securely.
In addition, Konga’s Category Month is strategically driving value for both buyers and sellers. For shoppers, it translates into savings and access to exclusive bundles. For merchants, it unlocks visibility to wider audiences and boosts sales volumes in a competitive marketplace.
Beyond the campaign, Konga has also reinforced its reputation as a socially responsible brand through the Computerise Nigeria Initiative, launched recently in partnership with Zinox and KongaCares.
The initiative aims to put one million laptops into the hands of young Nigerian students, bridging the digital divide and equipping the next generation for a knowledge-driven economy.
Konga is calling on well-meaning Nigerians, NGOs, religious institutions, and corporate bodies to support this noble effort, which has the potential to transform education and empower millions of youths across the country.
With Category Month and social impact initiatives like Computerise Nigeria, Konga is not only redefining retail in Nigeria but also cementing its role as a catalyst for digital inclusion and economic growth.
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