E-Business
Wema Bank Rewards Hackaholics 4.0 Winners with Over N50m

Winners have emerged in Wema bank’s Hackaholics 4.0 as the lender rewarded them with over N50 million at the grand finale held last week in Lagos.

According to a statement from the bank, one of the winners, IRETI, a health-tech startup that helps women bridge the gap and manages breast cancer, emerged winner of the bank’s Hackaholics 4.0.
The winner was announced during the Wema Bank/ALAT Hackaholics Digital Summit and Grand Finale tagged ‘Re-imagine: Disrupting the Ecosystem for Scale.’
IRETI won the N15 million cash prize for the best pitched business, while GRIP – a fintech startup, won N10 million as the first runner-up and Trakka won N7 million as the second runner-up. Also, Outsidee won N5 million for the Women Led Award – a prize instituted to support women in tech.
Other winners are Naijabox as the best energy startup; PUP Industries won the award for the best climate subset; MumAlive won in the health startup category; Chao won the e-commerce category, while University-X won the edutech category. The 10 finalists for the Hackaholics 4.0 are IRETI, GRIP, Trakka, Outsidee, Chao, Raptor, Pup Industries, University-X, Naijabox, and MumAlive.
Also, three universities won the Wema Bank Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics endowment fund. They are Babcock University N10 million; Afe Babalola University N7 million and Nile University N5 million respectively.
“Going forward we will be able to reach out to women in urban communities and also women in rural communities because we are partnering with NGOs. We are reaching out to them; helping them to create awareness about breast cancer – it kills, but you stand a chance to live if you detect early and start treatment on time,” Jane Agbaohwo, founder and creative director, IRETI, said after picking the prize.
Speaking on the development, Moruf Oseni, MD/CEO, Wema Bank, said a unique blend of traditional banking expertise, and technology embedded deeply in the bank’s system had afforded them the opportunity to support the growth of the tech ecosystem in Nigeria. “We also recognise that any economy that is serious about sustainable economic and social development must pay serious attention to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
Entertainment and sports have put Nigeria on the global landscape in a positive light; but they cannot help to predict technology and infrastructure deficits that will see Nigeria achieve its true potential,” Oseni said.
On his part, Olugbenga Agboola, founder and CEO, Flutterwave, in a keynote address, said that events like Hackaholics 4.0 could provide valuable opportunities to founders, who are leveraging technology to solve both local and global challenges.
He commended Wema Bank for creating structures to support innovation in the fintech ecosystem. Tunde Mabawonku, ED, Retail and Digital Business, Wema Bank, said that the digital summit transcended boundaries to unite digital innovators, visionaries, and industry leaders from across Nigeria.
“It’s all about harnessing the collective potential of startup founders to redefine the boundaries of what’s possible in the digital age,” he said.
According to him, the theme for this year’s Hackaholics encapsulates the very essence of the bank’s innovation programme. “It embodies our sheer belief in a world where change is only constant. Our ability to reimagine and disrupt the status quo is what sets us apart,” Mabawonku said.
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.
GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.
In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.
Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).
GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.
E-Business
Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.

“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”
Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.
A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.
Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”
Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.
“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.
The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.
He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.
This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.
GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.
The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”
As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.
With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.
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