The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has said that the activation of Emergency Communication Centres (ECCs) across the country by the Commission is making a far-reaching impact and enhancing the Federal Government’s drive to improve the security of lives and property. In acknowledgement of the transformational role of the ECCs in providing succour to Nigerians who are in emergencies, the NCC has received two international recognitions from the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and the African Public Relations Association (APRA). “The IPRA Golden World Awards (GWA) 2020 won by the Commission and…
Author: DigitalTimesNG
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Tuesday he would stand aside later this year as chief executive of the company he built from a startup into one of the world’s most valuable firms. The world’s richest person based on his Amazon stake, Bezos said he will transition to the role of executive chair in the third quarter, handing over the CEO role to Andy Jassy, who heads Amazon Web Services. The news came as Amazon reported a blowout holiday quarter with profits more than doubling to $7.2 billion and revenue jumping 44 per cent to $125.6 billion — as pandemic lockdowns…
Africa’s digital revolution has been hailed as one of the continent’s most historic changes in the past decade. Despite challenges with infrastructure, prevalent poverty, poor health system and weak governance, the 21st-century African business is thriving through sheer innovation and local knowledge by leveraging digital technology. However, before this digital explosion, several African companies had been silently pioneering innovation on the continent. One of those pioneers of this digital revolution is SystemSpecs, a 29-year-old Nigerian technology firm that has evolved from very humble beginnings as a five-man start-up in the early 1990s to a technology giant with hundreds of staff…
Globally-recognised crypto platform, Luno, Tuesday announced the expansion of their offering with the addition of arguably the most secure stablecoin on the market, USDC. USDC is a stablecoin tied to the US dollar, the world’s reserve currency. The move will, therefore, give Luno’s customers in countries where the local money is more prone to volatility, the ability to store their wealth in a currency that is historically more dependable. USDC has essentially digitised the US dollar, so it also comes with an array of additional functionality that allows it to be more easily sent across borders, lent and borrowed, and…
Director General National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has hinted that Data plays a critical role in a digital economy. Abdullahi stated this while participating in an online US-Nigeria Digital Trade standards workshop organised by the US-Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The event which had as theme: ‘Current state of Data privacy and security in Nigeria’ was one of the activities to mark the Data privacy week which commenced on Monday 25th of January 2021. He noted that in a digital economy, data plays a huge role in everyday activities, as enormous amount of data is…
MultiChoice Nigeria has announced the host and judges for the new season of the Nigerian Idol. The announcement was made Monday, weeks after the company announced the return of the fan-favourite reality show after a three-year break. Proceeding with plans for season 6 of the show, MultiChoice announced popular TV personality IK Osakioduwa as the host of the music reality show for this season. IK is a TV personality with over a decade of experience hosting several high profile events across the continent including the Big Brother Africa show. With his demonstrated savviness and ability to keep an audience engaged,…
Ericsson has once again been ranked as one of the most sustainable companies, landing a place on the 2021 Corporate Knight’s Global 100 list. The Global 100 list, which was released on January 25, 2021, incorporates data collected from annual reports, sustainability reports, and company websites to score companies based on metrics such as share of “clean” revenue and investments, eco-efficiency, diversity on boards of directors and among executives. One of the world’s largest magazines in circulation, Global Knights is focused on the intersection of business and sustainability and produces rankings and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance.…
The Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), the Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT) and Thales Alenia Space are in a joint venture to accelerate SBAS development for aviation in Africa. Following the broadcast of a SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation System) signal over Africa & Indian Ocean (AFI) region since September 2020, providing the first SBAS open service in this part of the world via NIGCOMSAT-1R Satellite, the 3 partners have successfully conducted on 27 January 2021 a series of 5 flight demos at Lomé International Airport. The goal was to show in real configuration the efficiency of…
Visa CEO Alfred Kelly says the card scheme is preparing its payments network to handle a full range of cryptocurrency assets, according to a report in finextra. In an earnings call with analysts, Kelly says the company will treat the cryptocurrency market as two distinct segments: traditional cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and Ether; and fiat-backed digital currencies including stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. “In this space, we see ways that we can add differentiated value to the ecosystem. And we believe that we are uniquely positioned to help make cryptocurrencies more safe, useful, and applicable for payments through our…
Mastercard has launched its Global Cyber Forward program in partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre and largest fintech hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region. Governments, financial institutions and businesses around the world have been facing an increase in cyber threats as people and businesses become more digitally connected. According to an industry study, the threat of direct and indirect cyberattacks on global businesses is significant, with up to $5.2 trillion in economic impact being at risk over the next 5 years. Another study reported that 50 per cent of…