Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, has said that since 2012, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) had enrolled a total number of 41 million Nigerians. He said it has also issued each person with a unique identifier known as the National Identification Number (NIN), which serves as a universal proof of identity. The SGF said that the Commission also harmonised about 11 million Bank Verification Number (BVN) data from other public agencies, according to a report by the Vanguard. Mustapha made these claims at the inauguration of the Steering Committee for the Nigeria Digital…
Author: DigitalTimesNG
Good news came the way of Professor Umar Garba Danbatta Friday afternoon as President Muhammadu Buhari approved his reappointment as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). A statement by Uwa Suleiman, spokesperson to the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, said the reappointment was in an effort to consolidate the gains made in the telecommunications sector in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, “Professor Danbatta’s reappointment was based on the recommendation of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), in line with the Nigerian Communications…
Access Bank Plc, Africa’s most sustainable financial institution, has rolled out Access 9ijaKids, a 12-week eLearning programmme aimed at improving the intelligence quotients, financial literacy and civic knowledge of primary school children. The eLearning programme underscores Access Bank’s deep understanding of the adverse effects the COVID-19 pandemic has on Nigeria’s education system, according to a report in the Vanguard. The programmme which employs the use of gamified technology is being executed in partnership with 9ija Kids, a Nigerian EduTech company with a storied history of using games to engage, educate and reward Nigerian children. Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, Access Bank’s Head…
Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance, whose backers include Cisco Systems Inc. and a foundation of South African businessman Jonathan Oppenheimer, has raised $1 million to support its African technology startups and help kick-start the return of venture capital to the continent following the coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg reports. The group has allocated about $100,000 each for two Nigerian companies-Max.ng, a taxi-hailing service, and Releaf Group, a platform for sorting and distributing farm products, to help them through economic downturns caused by the pandemic, Harambe Chairman Okendo Lewis-Gayle said in a phone interview. “The capital markets have frozen up,” said Lewis-Gayle, who founded Harambe…
Google was sued on Tuesday in a proposed class action accusing the internet search company of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers set in “private” mode, according to a report by Reuters. The lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion, accusing the Alphabet Inc unit of surreptitiously collecting information about what people view online and where they browse, despite their using what Google calls Incognito mode. According to the complaint filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, Google gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other…
Standard Chartered Nigeria has announced the winners of the first edition of its Women in Technology Incubator. Launched in June 2019, the SC Women in Tech Incubator was established to support and promote the economic and social development of women in Nigeria through innovation or technology-led entrepreneurship. From over 600 applications, 10 candidates with the most compelling ideas were selected to go through the programme. At the end of the training period, 5 winners emerged and received USD10, 000 each to support the growth and sustained expansion of their businesses. The programme which was implemented for the Bank by…
Serial digital entrepreneur and Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, says Nigeria can turn the poor, nomadic children popularly called Almajiri into millionaires, employers of labour or even employable citizens if a digital solution is applied to address their peculiar plight. Ekeh, who delivered impassioned and workable solutions to the age-long Almajiri issue which government appears yet to find a fitting solution to, spoke as one of the panellists at the Africa Independent Television (AIT) Virtual Town Hall Forum with the theme: ‘The Economic Implications of the New Normal Post-COVID-19 – Anticipated Revolution in Digital Economy, Business Re-Engineering,…
By Austin OKERE There is a perfect storm brewing on Twitter between the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump and Twitter Founder, Jack Dorsey. “The Trump-Twitter fight ropes in the rest of Silicon Valley” was the screaming headline on Politico.com on Sunday, May 30, 2020. President Donald Trump tweeted earlier this week about mail-in voting, alleging without evidence that the effort would lead to voter fraud. For the first time, Twitter marked the tweet with a small notice that read “Get the facts about mail-in ballots,” which linked to facts-based reporting on the subject. Twitter’s fact-check led…
FirstBank of Nigeria Limited has announced that it has reinforced its technology infrastructure to enable anyone in the country open a FirstBank account through their mobile phones, without visiting any of its branches nationwide. In a statement announcing this development, the bank said the investment in its mobile banking infrastructure is in furtherance of the need to deepen financial inclusion in the country, according to a report in the Vanguard. The bank said that the technology enables account opening to be carried out on its *894# USSD banking, FirstMobile (self-service telephone banking), its website, as well as the bank’s…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in its determination to further enhance service quality, particularly quick refunds when customers experience failed transactions, dispense errors or disputes, has revised timelines for reversals and/or the resolution of refund complaints on electronic channels, with effect from June 8, 2020. The CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, said in a statement on Sunday that failed ‘On-Us’ ATM transactions (when customers use their cards on their bank’s ATMs) shall be instantly reversed from the current timeline of three days. “Where instant reversal fails due to any technical issue or system glitch, the timeline for…