CYBER SECURITY: ZORACOMS’ NSOC CENTER AS A GAME-CHANGER IN THE NIGERIAN IT SPACE

CYBER SECURITY: ZORACOMS’ NSOC CENTER AS A GAME-CHANGER IN THE NIGERIAN IT SPACE

 

In a constantly evolving digital world that is fast paced, many organizations today are going fully digital or virtual. These processes have been known to deepen corporate organizations productivity and business continuity, but there are snags such as exposure and cyber threat. Criminals today are constantly evolving and finding new ways to breach the virtual and digital security infrastructures of organizations and individuals. These breaches cost as much as bullions of dollars in damages and loses when it has to get to fintechs and , identity firms other financial institutions. Having seen this loophole in the ecosystem in the area of having skilled manpower to monitor, abate and proactive these cyber threat, Zora Communications, an indigenous information technology (IT) firm Located in Lekki Area of Lagos recently launched one of a kind facility that will offer public and private sector players the desired and required tools and manpower that will curb and reduce their virtual exposure to cyber threats. The facility known as NSOC center meaning Network & Security Operations Center.

The Network & Security Operations Center (NSOC). Zoracom’s Network and Security Operation Centre (NSOC) will provide unified command, control, communication, intelligence sharing and analysis capabilities to enable physical security of the key state assets which includes IT infrastructure, real-time monitoring of events happening across ICS/SCADA networks and provide dynamic decision support, incident reporting, workflow management and system monitoring capabilities. The Network and Security Operation Centre (NSOC) is equipped with state-of-the-art facility which serves as the cornerstone to consolidate our core services in Observability, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure management.

The NSOC center is coming at a time that youthful and tech adaptive population in the country is driving such a full digital adaption of their solution at a fast pace. With fast adaption of ePayment, eCommerce, online activities, there is need for many firms offering this solution to plug into the new Zora Communications NSOC center for full security that is hundred percent proactive with over 99.999% uptime.

The Nigerian IT space has grown rapidly and the dynamic industry that has seen significant growth in recent years. With a population of over 200 million people and a burgeoning middle class, Nigeria is a prime market for technology and digital innovation. The IT sector in Nigeria is diverse and includes a range of industries such as software development, ecommerce, cloud computing, mobile technology, and cybersecurity. In recent years, the sector has attracted significant investment from both local and international companies, and many startups have emerged as well. This are the things that inform the launch of NSOC center.

John Nwachukwu, the Chief Information/Executive Officer of ZORACOM Communication said “The life blood of any business is its network systems and as we all know, the digital landscape is constantly changing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect against the various forms of cyberattacks that are targeting organization’s networks of all sizes. That is why Zoracom has invested in the latest technologies and strategies to ensure that we are always one step ahead of the hackers by setting up Our Network & Security Operations Center. Zoracom’s Network and Security Operation Centre (NSOC) will provide unified command, control, communication, intelligence sharing and analysis capabilities to enable physical security of the key state assets which includes IT infrastructure, real-time monitoring of events happening across ICS/SCADA networks and provide dynamic decision support, incident reporting, workflow management and system monitoring capabilities.”

“Our Network and Security Operation Centre (NSOC) is equipped with state-of-the-art facility which serves as the cornerstone to consolidate our core services in Observability, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure management… Zoracom as an organization, we invest a lot in training and development programs to build the skills of our employees/consultants, as well as offer competitive salaries and benefits packages to attract and retain top talent. We also work with educational institutions to promote cyber security programs and help develop the next generation of cyber security professionals. Furthermore, we also consider outsourcing some cyber security functions to specialized firms, additionally we leverage automation and artificial intelligence which helps alleviates some of the workload and improve efficiency, freeing up our cybersecurity professionals to focus on “, John concluded.

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

Fraud trends every CFO should know

Fraud trends every CFO should know

 

 

PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2022 revealed that 46% of organisations have experienced fraud, corruption, or other economic crimes in the last 24 months. Ryan Mer, CEO of eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform provider, gives a rundown of what to look out for.

 

  1. Fraud protection is no longer optional

It’s hard to believe today, but just a few years ago, even large organisations didn’t have payment fraud protection in place. One of our clients, a listed company, had an ongoing issue with payment fraud totalling over R3 million in losses in the year prior to adopting eftsure. They haven’t lost a cent to payment fraud since.

 

Businesses are taking the threat of payment fraud a lot more seriously than they did even two years ago. They’re acknowledging that the payment fraud risk is there and that it’s ubiquitous – not only large corporations and banks are being targeted anymore. They know they have to be protected in some way or another.

 

  1. It’s easier to hack people than to hack machines

Business email compromise (BEC) is a massive problem, even with protection in place. As threat protection becomes more sophisticated, fraudsters are targeting people to circumvent these digital security measures. There are numerous examples of bad actors manipulating various levels of staff. Although it may be tempting to believe only gullible individuals fall for scams, but criminals are often professional, persuasive and are well-trained in using human weakness, as well as individual and company information to their advantage.

 

Here’s a likely scenario: A client writes an online review of your company. A fraudster sees this and now knows this person or company is your client and that you would expect emails from them. They create a similar-looking fake email address, paste the client’s logo in their email, attach a malicious document, and send it to your company asking for clarification on the ‘attached invoice’. It takes one person on your team to open that attachment without double checking the sender’s details, and your company is compromised. This happens so easily when financial teams are under tremendous time pressure.

 

Email security really does help, but personnel training is crucial. Otherwise, it’s like having the best security at your house, from beams to alarms to fencing, and letting someone through the gate without checking their credentials.

 

  1. Manual processes are dangerous

The surprising result of increased digital fraud and BEC is that many companies opt to solve this problem by introducing more manual processes. They’re adding another person as a point of contact or another manager to oversee crucial checks. The problem is that it’s still a manual process, reliant on a person that can be manipulated, whether unwittingly or not. It’s a case of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Digital threats must instead be fought with digital solutions.

 

Another common mistake is to automate some processes but keep certain steps in that process manual. And ‘manual’ doesn’t necessarily mean physical documents but can involve adding extra steps to a process that could easily be automated. Onboarding new suppliers or clients is a great example: Many businesses have a platform for this, but then request certain documents via email. That’s an invitation for an interception, impersonation or malicious attachment. Or they’ll take data from the platform and manually perform processes and procedures on it, adding in a human element and the potential for mistakes. That’s not only counter-productive from a security perspective, but also a business perspective.

 

Luckily, we’re seeing the pendulum start to swing in the other direction. CFOs and CEOs, the executives responsible for processes, controls, operations and systems in the organisation, are starting to pay more attention to digitisation and automation. There’s a better understanding of these risks and benefits in general. After all, there is a lot of responsibility that sits on the shoulders of those responsible for outgoing payments in an organisation.

 

Onboarding, for example, is one of the first experiences someone will have with your company and should be as seamless and simple as possible. By using a platform that can digitise and automate the process, you can speed up the onboarding journey and collect all documents upfront, saving time for all parties involved. A digitised and controlled internal approval process that is automatically part of internal procedures increases business efficiencies and reduces wastage of productive time and energy that should be used to further the company, as manual labour is greatly reduced.

 

  1. Don’t just upgrade; integrate

The next step is to not only automate, but to integrate. Though our solution can be used as a standalone system, we’re seeing more clients integrating it into their existing systems.

 

A Software as a Service (SaaS) provider like eftsure can help enhance processes and limit payment fraud risks by providing an integrated onboarding, verified master data management and payment screening solution that cross-references the payments an organisation is about to release with a database of verified bank account details. This can be integrated into anything from ERP and accounting systems to sales and customer relationship management systems. The platform alerts you to any potentially compromised  payment details, at point of payment, allowing you to deal with the problem before the flow of funds has occurred.

 

The CFOs who are ahead of the digitisation curve, or further along in the process, are now looking for more integrated solutions. This cuts down on the number of steps in each process, and the time spent on each step – improving security while improving the bottom line. Even if they’re making these decisions for the sake of efficiency rather than security, it’s still a win on both fronts and at the end of the day, which stakeholder, with that huge responsibility of releasing payments on behalf of a company wouldn’t want peace of mind before releasing payments?

 

African start-ups at the forefront of digital innovations transforming Africa’s economy

African start-ups at the forefront of digital innovations transforming Africa’s economy

—

African tech innovators at the recent Africa Money & Defi Summit in Accra, Ghana proved that they are at the forefront of change on the continent, from fintech to agritech.

 

“Africa has the ability to leapfrog into decentralized finance (Defi) and smooth over the difficulties of cross-border finance through blockchain and web3,” said participant PayBox co-founder David Boye-Doku.

One of the beneficiaries of the ITC NTF V program, PayBox is a fast growing African fintech start-up cross-border mobile growth engine enabling easy access to offline and online digital payment and business solutions.

“Decentralizing finance in Africa will give everyone access and the choice of alternative currencies; it offers financial and digital inclusion,” Boye-Doku said.

ITC, through its NTF V Tech project in Ghana, sponsored fintech start-ups PayBox, Motito, Pal and Makewehelp to exhibit at the West Africa Money and Defi event. Fintech leaders like MFS Africa and Paystack and Web3-focused businesses Revio and Mazzuma also attended, sharing their industry knowledge.

Africa has the ability to leapfrog into decentralized finance (Defi) and smooth over the difficulties of cross-border finance through blockchain and web3

“It was amazing. We met many Nigerians who were looking for products that worked with web2.0 and web3 blockchain. We explained what we are doing in web2.0 and what we have started for web3 and they were interested,” Boye-Doku said.

PayBox began its business journey by offering mobile payment solutions to small and medium sized enterprises.

“The next phase is infusing web3 rails on mobile payments so that a local wallet can become an international wallet for small businesses and millennials in Africa. Your phone number can become a crypto wallet to send funds easily across Africa,” said Boye-Doku.

Web3 wallets can be web-based, mobile-based, or even hardware based. Their relatively simple user interaction provides the user access to decentralized blockchain-based apps that serve as gateways to crypto assets. This allows users to instantly send and receive those  assets via mobile phone number, email or crypto address.

Boye-Doku believes  central bank digital currency (CBDC) is the key to the rapid development and growth of African economies. “It would allow capital to move freely at lightning speed with near zero transaction  fees and convert crypto into currencies. This means we can spend in our domains as well as transact with people not in our domains,” he said.

“We chatted with a representative from the Bank of Ghana, and they are looking for a token that will sit on top of the Ghanaian CBDC. We are already building an exchange token so they can ride on that,” he said.

ITC helped Paybox to attend the summit. “ITC has been amazing,” said Boye-Doku. “They play a key role in empowering start-ups, giving them access to information, training and a global presence.”

ROBAN STORES ANAMBRA: ARE THEY LOOSING IT DUE TO POOR PAYMENT SYSTEM?

ROBAN STORES ANAMBRA: ARE THEY LOOSING IT DUE TO POOR PAYMENT SYSTEM?

 

Electronic payment and Digital transactions are the hallmark of a solid economy. it helps in transactions and reduces the risk of carrying cash around . Many small businesses in the country are using one form of electronic banking technology to facilitate their business and bring ease of doing business for their customers but as it stands now,ROBAN STORES, a departmental mall in Anambra seems to be having difficulty coming to terms with the basic concept of electronic payment technology .

Many of the customers of the store have shown their displeasure and anger in doing business with ROBAN stores and have decided to go to SHOPRITE for ease of lament. Speaking on this development , Okeh Onyekachi Chukwuemeka said in his Facebook page that “At ROBAN NNEWI, they no longer do online transactions or POS payments in their shopping malls lately rather you have to step just outside the shopping mall door but within the premesis to withdraw cash and then go back inside themall to make your purchases. I have missed those days when I used to get in there, pay with my card and move away. ”

He added that “I have wondered what sort of business sense that is for each time I have been to Nnewi and experienced such.But wait oooo, if I may want to ask, could there be a critical reason for this or is it a clear cut
approach to cash out from POS and also
product sales? Just asking to know if the
Management is aware? “

“The business model really amazes me and for our likes that hate dealing with cash no matter how small, that is a red flag and it should be addressed. ”

One the stress of payment ,Okeh added that “Once you don’t have cash to pay and do not
want to use their POS, you can as well drop the goods and check somewhere else or go to
wherever you choose to withdraw and come
back with cash..”

“Ana aga nụ iru ka ọ bụ azụ?The aim of this post is for the Management to review their processes and do the needful which would help them not to loose revenue unnecessarily”,Okeh concluded .

Not only in their Nnewi Branch, even in Awka Branch, Ezinne Obiatuegwu, a resident of Áwka City said “The same with the Awka branch. I think they are just exploiting their customers. I went there today to pick up some groceries, and when I saw the long queue waiting for POS withdrawals, I left my items at the pay point and went to another mall.”

While Chris Ogo Ndubuisi said “Generally I think the POS terminals given to businesses from mainstream banks are messed up machines.The independent POS operators don’t use mainstream bank POS terminals. They use terminals from fintech companies and those fintechs don’t joke with their businesses. ”

Ndubuisi added that “You’ll always get failed transactions/no service from most mainstream bank POS machines but the uptime of the fintech terminals is top notch.
Some businesses have actually started using fintech terminals. Mkudi, palmpay, Opay, moniepoint etc”

While Uchechukwu Onuorah said”Lol….Terrible ways of extorting customers.I raised an alarm last year when i had to pay 1k @ POS to enable me withdraw to clear my items worth 40+.I called their customer care the following week and complained…Gave a google review .Anambra has very few malls hence issues like this.Sadly, they will help the owner stay out of business when a competitor comes in future”

Chukwunonso added that “Very archaic bunch of traders. Their POS machines are always out of service.The independent POS operator beside the pharmacy at the entrance charges a kill.Today; it was totally a cash affair.”

“A lady on my queue didn’t know of this so at the point of paying, she was advised to withdraw cash. They wiped the system to process another customers payment.By the time she got back, her purchases were computed afresh leaving me to spend more time.”

Esther Chime said on their mentality of businesses in Anambra state . She had this to say “Most of the businesses in Anambra thinks they are doing you a favour selling to you🤣🤣🤣,no be on top my hard earned money Once I noticed you have attitude issues, I am not buying ,and I won’t patronize you again, you can’t stress me on top my money.”

“Unprogressive mentality and unappreciative behaviour have sent so many businesses home or stagnated, most are blaming it on witches”,She added.

Juliet Ikebudu added that “It happened to me when I came to experience at nnewi.
After calculating… The lady said Atm is not available and they don’t accept transfer…. I went outside to withdraw…. The post girl was not available. I kukuma return back, carry my bag and left. They can’t come and stress me”

Though some few people said that it might be a lie that there might be exaggeration here.Okoye Ebuka said “This is a very big lie. I live in Nnewi and patronize Roban Stores steadily. I have never experienced such.”

Uzoma Marnet concluded that “So accurate
This same thing happened to me and my friends this evening. So annoying that immediately you open the door, you will see a POS lady with good network while inside the mall, they claim that the network coverage is poor..”

Anthony Emeka Nwosu
writing from
Amichi ,Nnewi South ,Anambra
antoniokrys@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

Why you need strong digital supply chain management

Why you need strong digital supply chain management

 

 

Digital transformation is crucial to the survival of any business today. And to truly capitalise on digital investments, organisations need to track the tools they are spending money on and understand how those tools are being used.

 

This is known as digital supply chain (DSC) management, and it’s become the cornerstone of digital transformation, says Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and WECA (West, East, Central Africa) at digital transformation specialist SoftwareONE. “When done right, it streamlines and integrates systems and activities across the procurement lifecycle of software and cloud services. It means getting the right software at the best price, on an economical contract, as quickly as possible. It gives organisations the ability to track their software spend and understand how those tools are affecting productivity and the bottom line.”

 

The dangers of poor management

Around 35% of all software is said to be wasted, and a staggering 56% of organisations estimate that between 20 to 40% of their IT funding is spent on shadow IT.

 

“While inefficiencies like the former unnecessarily increase expenditure, the latter can open an organisation up to security compromises – with dire consequences,” says Moodley.

 

On top of that, she says poor DSC management can result in:

  • Outdated or unnecessary systems: Without a company-wide software catalogue, and continuous updates to it, it’s easy to purchase outdated, incorrect, superfluous, or overpriced software.
  • Poor user experience: Users often wait weeks before receiving necessary software because of inefficient management. This can lead to unauthorised software, exposing the organisation to security risks.
  • Overspending: Besides software wastage, organisations often don’t have processes in place to check if spare licences are available before purchasing new ones.
  • Poor understanding of terms: Not carefully abiding by terms such as geographic restrictions or the number of licences you are entitled to use, can lead to non-compliance and large fines.
  • Entitlement inaccuracy: Without a mechanism to capture and normalise entitlement data, you could be left with missing versions and editions, incorrect licence types, and applications that aren’t properly linked.
  • Audit exposure: Licencing oversights could open companies up to audit risk.
  • Poor visibility of renewals: Trying to manually keep track of renewals often leads to late or missed renewals and penalties or limited time to plan and prepare for contract negotiations. This, in turn, can lead to spending more on renewals and miss opportunities for greater efficiency.

 

The benefits of a comprehensive system

Proper DSC management saves time, money, and resources. Gartner predicts that 40% of enterprises will use software asset management as the primary mechanism for reducing SaaS contract costs with “dominant” vendors in 2024.

 

But setting up such a system, especially in a large organisation, can be a mammoth task. In the same Gartner report, experts predict that by 2025, 40% of organisations will use continuous software asset management managed services from third parties for at least part of their rapidly expanding and increasingly complex software estate.

 

Third parties, such as SoftwareONE, can ensure that organisations have a single, accurate catalogue with global capabilities to support any currency to purchase approved software. “Such clear visibility means software can be delivered to end users in a matter of hours, and approvals can be mandated with stringent policies on what software is allowed or not, decreasing the risk of shadow IT,” explains Moodley.

 

When it comes to licencing and subscriptions, third parties’ automation will allow you to check for unused licenses before spending money or renewing subscriptions, she adds. New software or licence agreements would also be read and vetted for any risks to the organisation, and favourable terms would be negotiated. Then, usage rights and entitlements would be normalised and stored in a sophisticated compliance tool that enables smart business decisions.

 

And though third-party services cost money, Moodley says the savings they can achieve will be well worth it. “Well-designed systems would allow you to see 100% of your cloud spend and manage it in real-time to curb over-provisioning. A global catalogue with clear purchasing workflows also leads to increased buying power through vendor consolidation, enhanced compliance and reduced audit risk, and further savings on software spend with visibility into software transactions and renewals.”

 

Whether you decide to use a third party or choose to set up such systems in-house, it’s clear that DSC management is no longer a luxury, but a necessity, says Moodley. “Tomorrow’s successful organisations are creating such systems, road maps for their digital transformation journey, today.”

Morton78: Our Alternative Power solution ranges from a 5kwp to 1MW

Morton78: Our Alternative Power solution ranges from a 5kwp to 1MW

Morton78; a wholly Nigerian renewable energy company with core focus on Improving the lives of Nigerians by providing Energy access to unserved and underserved people of the country recently made their payment plans known for businesses in Nigeria. According to the organization, the payment plan is designed to address the initial cost problem many small and medium scale (SME) enterprises encounter before they go for solar and other forms or renewable energy.

Speaking to the media, Engr. Adetola Adebanjo who is the founder and the chief executive officer of Morton 78 said, “We at Morton have a plan we call the “Save To Own” plan whereby you pay to own a system over a predetermined timeline.  This payment would be lower than what you are currently spending on power. The renewable is not expensive in the long run, apart from the initial capital expenditure. you can see that with generator, you can factor cost of diesel which is N800 per liter and you will do like six hours and you do the math and you will get about 60 liter per day and you have the gen running like 6 hours daily and if you multiply by 20 days per month, you get about 5 million a year only on buying diesel not maintenance and personnel cost. We have what we call save to home, we try to use this to reduce the operational cost of organization and we spread the payment for organizations.”

, Engr. Adetola Adebanjo who is the founder and the chief executive officer of Morton 78

Adetola added that” The initial cost might be higher but the return on investment (ROI) will be there in less than two years. On the contrary solar panels have a longer shelf life than generators. Its’ return on investment is also better in comparison to buying and using generators for energy needs. In other to serve our customers we ensure to understand their consumption pattern to adequately design the system that works best for them. A common mistake is sizing inverter right but under sizing the solar panel and battery requirement.

As one of the companies signed by the Rural Electrification Agency to partner with them in closing the Energy gap by providing Solar Home Systems, Morton 78  came up with an initiative termed “The Reap Empower” where they  focused  on achieving 4 critical elements such as Providing technical and sales training to women and youths, Promote viability and cost effectiveness of solar energy in the community, Provide a source of empowerment and revenue generation to youths and small businesses and Breeding skill acquisition in communities.

To achieve these, they rolled out their initiatives in the Southwestern States of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, and Ekiti States. “We understand that most Nigerians are daily earners who tend to be able to afford basic amenities daily. We had to infuse that concept into our thinking of how they currently use and afford power. Most of them tend to either buy petrol, diesel, kerosene or candles daily. Depending on these volatile sources for their electricity is having adverse effect on their spending habit and health in general. Creating ways of maintaining clean energy and daily affordable expense routine was a critical factor in determining affordability of providing them Alternative Sources of Energy”, Adetola opined.

Another critical factor is getting their buy-ins and trust in these Alternative Sources. Morton78 had to partner with people of Good moral standings and character in the community. These people became Advocates or people we call Gate keepers. In tandem with them, they were able to create a process to get people on our program for technical and sales training. In about 6months, Morton78 have been able to give sales and technical training to over 50 Nigerians and provide Alternative Power to over 1,000 Nigerians while impacting the lives of over 5,000 Nigerians. With a goal that in the next one year is to train over 500 Nigerians while providing power to over 10,000 Nigerians. Thus, impacting the lives of over 50,000 Nigerians.

On what sets them apart from the other players in the renewable ecosystem, Adetola made it known that “Innovation and we have a financial model. We have speed of attending to customers need. We believe that every Nigerian wants energy and we try to look at things from a point of view of real time. Our energy audit will enable the client to view things in real time, this helps them to understand their energy need. It is the level of transparency we have deployed to gain trust from our clients. Our advisory services have made them to appreciate us especially the big organizations like banks. Our Alternative Power solution ranges from a 5kwp solution termed as APS5 to 100kwp coined as APS100. These APS are modular and can be scaled up to 1MW. Big organization can deploy solar from banks to churches even cold room facilities. ”

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

 

 

The initial cost might be higher but the return on investment (ROI) will be there in less than two years. On the contrary solar panels have a longer shelf life than generators. Its’ return on investment is also better in comparison to buying and using generators for energy needs. In other to serve our customers we ensure to understand their consumption pattern to adequately design the system that works best for them. A common mistake is sizing inverter right but under sizing the solar panel and battery requirement.

 

 

On the completion of the sale of shares in Polaris Bank to Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL)as the  new core investor

On the completion of the sale of shares in Polaris Bank to Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL)as the  new core investor

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) are pleased to announce the completion of a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the acquisition of 100% of the equity in Polaris Bank (‘Polaris’ or ‘the Bank’) by Strategic Capital Investment Limited (‘SCIL’).

Polaris has been operating as a bridge bank since 2018 when the Central Bank of Nigeria intervened to revoke the licence of the former Skye Bank Plc and established Polaris Bank to assume its assets and certain liabilities. As part of the CBN intervention, consideration bonds with a face value of N898 billion (future value of N1.305 trillion) was injected into the bridge bank through AMCON, to be repaid over a 25-year period. These actions were taken to prevent the imminent collapse of the bank, enable its stabilisation and recovery, protect depositors’ fund, prevent job losses and preserve systemic financial stability.

SCIL has paid an upfront consideration of N50 billion to acquire 100% of the equity of Polaris Bank and has accepted the terms of the agreement which include the full repayment of the sum of N1.305 trillion, being the consideration bonds injected. The CBN thus received an immediate return for the value it has created in Polaris Bank during the stabilisation period, as well as ensuring that all funds originally provided to support the intervention are recovered.

The sale was coordinated by a Divestment Committee (the ‘Committee’) comprising representatives of the CBN and AMCON, and advised by legal and financial consultants. The Committee conducted a sale process by ‘private treaty’, as provided in Section 34(5) of the AMCON Act to avoid negative speculations, retain value and preserve financial system stability. In the process, parties who had formally expressed an interest in acquiring Polaris Bank, subsequent to the CBN intervention in 2018, were invited to submit financial and technical proposals. Invitations to submit proposals were sent to 25 pre-qualified interested parties, out of which three (3) parties eventually

submitted final purchase proposals following technical evaluation. All submissions were subject to a rigorous transaction process from which SCIL emerged as the preferred bidder having presented the most comprehensive technical/financial purchase proposal as well as the highest rated growth plans for Polaris Bank.

Commenting on the transaction Mr. Godwin I. Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said: “This sale marks the completion of a landmark intervention in a strategic institution in the Nigerian banking sector by the CBN and AMCON. We commend the outgoing board and management for their vital role since the bridge bank was established; in stabilising the Bank’s operations, its balance sheet and implementing strong governance structures to address the issues that led to the intervention. This process has provided the CBN with an unprecedented opportunity to recover its intervention funds in full and promote financial stability and inclusive growth. We wish SCIL well as they implement growth plans to build the bank from the strong foundations that have been established.”

FINTRAK BRINGS INNOVATIVE TECH SOLUTIONS TO THE RWANDA FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM

FINTRAK BRINGS INNOVATIVE TECH SOLUTIONS TO THE RWANDA FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM

 

 

 

Fintrak Software Limited, an indigenous financial technology firm based in Lagos with an international footprint in various African country recently held banking and financial industry of Rwanda in awe with the reintroduction of their solution known as ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION. A software application that is designed for businesses to boost productivity and reduce human error in all the areas of their enterprise. The Fintech also presented their credit management solution known as CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION, the event was held at the KIGALI MARRIOT HOTEL, in the Rwandan capital City.

Speaking to the Rwanda financial ecosystem, the company described the Credit management solution as a software that was designed to help banks meet the need to identify, measure, monitor and control credit risk as well as to determine that they hold adequate capital against these risks and that they are adequately compensated for risks incurred. The Credit Risk 360 solution is Web based and can be easily accessed from all branches of the bank without separate installations on branch-by-branch basis.

“Banks are increasingly facing credit risk (or counter-party risk) in various financial instruments other than loans, including acceptances, inter-bank transactions, trade financing, foreign exchange transactions, financial futures, swaps, bonds, equities, options, and in the extension of commitments and guarantees, and the settlement of transactions”, they added.

Bimbo Abioye, the Group Managing Director of Fintrak used the opportunity to address Rwandan stakeholders on various features of their solutions such as Portal Driven Loan Origination, Online Loan Appraisal and documentation, Credit rating, mobile Loan approval and other areas of loan management such as SME Digital lending and disbursement.

On enterprise solution they focused on key features such as cost allocation, balanced scorecard, product profitability reports and flexible transfer pricing. All these features are embedded in the solution to make business seamless.

FinTrak Software is a global Financial Technology organization providing innovative technology and business solutions to financial institutions in the financial services sector and enterprises across continents. FinTrak Software is a global company, with business offices in Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia. Armed with and army of software engineers and professionals with competencies across banking, finance, audit, consulting and software development, FinTrak Software is on a mission to support organizations and states with technologies and intellectual strength required to enable them surpass their stakeholders’ expectations.

 

 

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

 

Verified.Africa Lands in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya with ID Verification Services.

Verified.Africa Lands in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya with ID Verification Services.

 

 

Africa’s burgeoning digital identity startup Verified.Africa has launched in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya with its verification services now available to businesses and individuals in these countries.

 

With initial operations in Nigeria since 2021, Verified.africa is making good on its roadmap to achieve digital inclusion for all on the continent.

 

Since its inception, Verified Africa has recorded over 300 thousand digital identity verifications from a thousand plus businesses – enabling startups, banks and SMEs to confirm the true identity of people safely.

 

As Frank Atube pointed out in the company’s blog release, “Ghana, South Africa and Kenya represent key markets for Verified’s roadmap into continental dominance and with this launch, we’re thrilled to open our doors to businesses and individuals in three more countries – bringing the best of digital verification to your shores.”

 

The digital identity industry has never been more important to online security and customer trust. KYC (Know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) protocols have become stricter with governments looking to secure economic growth and eliminate loss from fraudulent transactions.

 

Verified.africa through the use of machine learning & facial recognition technologies, facilitates this process for both businesses and individuals by helping them eliminate fraud, onboard online customers faster, and meet KYC compliance in minutes.

 

With this expansion, businesses in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya can now enjoy these benefits as they easily verify IDs in real-time anywhere in Africa using any of verified.africa’s services.

From National IDs to Business Certificates to Tax IDs, Verified.africa connects to multiple databases of identity records across the continent to enable you to confirm that people are exactly who they say they are.

 

The company plans to expand its footprint to other African countries over the next 18 months, becoming the most widely used verification platform on the continent.

 

To get started with Verified.africa, you can sign up on their portal at verified.africa/signup.

 

About Verified.africa

 

Verified.Africa is a product of Seamfix Ltd, a technology partner for thousands of global organizations on their journey of Digital Transformation for business growth and customer satisfaction.

 

Through their Verification Platform, businesses in Africa can easily verify the identity of customers, partners, and employees – helping them grow their customer base faster, prevent fraud and operate with better turnover.

Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) and MainData Nigeria Limited (MDXi), an Equinix Company, Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Launch Neutral Internet Exchange Services in Lagos, Nigeria

Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) and MainData Nigeria Limited (MDXi), an Equinix Company, Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Launch Neutral Internet Exchange Services in Lagos, Nigeria

AMS-IX (www.AMS-IX.net), one of the largest Internet Exchange operators in the world, and MainData Nigeria Limited (MDXi) (www.MDX-i.com), an Equinix (www.EQUINIX.com) company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to operate and grow Internet Exchange services in Africa.

 

AMS-IX will be setting up an internet exchange at MDXi, the carrier-neutral Data Center of MainOne (www.MainOne.net) in Lagos Nigeria. MDXi will act as AMS-IX strategic partner and reseller for AMS-IX in West Africa.

Lagos is the ideal location to serve as a content hub for West and Central Africa as it is strategically located in a fast-developing region

This strategic partnership between AMS-IX and MDXi will deliver improved interconnection capabilities for existing and new customers on the exchange, further facilitating the distribution of content into the West African region. With this partnership, content delivery networks, application providers, and hosting companies will now be able to exchange internet traffic locally through the rich interconnected ecosystem of networks, large enterprises, and cloud service providers, and network operators available at MDXi.

International Partnership Director Onno Bos of AMS-IX: “Lagos is the ideal location to serve as a content hub for West and Central Africa as it is strategically located in a fast-developing region with landing sites for international subsea cables connecting Africa to EMEA and beyond. We’re thrilled to work with such a strong partner as MainOne to expand this vibrant connectivity community.”

Oluwasayo Oshadami, GM, Technical Solutions, MainOne, “We’re excited to work with AMS-IX. AMS-IX has over 25 years of experience building, operating and growing Internet Exchanges all over the world. This partnership is an important step in realizing our long-term strategy to become a leading carrier-neutral digital infrastructure company by bringing a full range of transformative technologies to Africa.”

MDXi and AMS-IX are committed to developing Lagos into a regional content hub that services users all over West and Central Africa. The partners intend to seek alliances to connect with local telecom operators and IX’s to help develop and support local ecosystems.