Tag: Artificial Intelligence

Social Engineering 2.0: When artificial intelligence becomes the ultimate manipulator
…from fake bank alerts to long-lost Nigerian princes, these scams have traditionally relied on generic hooks and low-effort deceit. But that’s changed, and continues to

Once the domain of elite spies and con artists, social engineering is now in the hands of anyone with an internet connection – and AI is the accomplice. Supercharged by generative tools and deepfake technology, today’s social engineering attacks are no longer sloppy phishing attempts. They’re targeted, psychologically precise, and frighteningly scalable.

Welcome to Social Engineering 2.0, where the manipulators don’t need to know you personally. Their AI already does.

Deception at machine levels

Social engineering works because it bypasses firewalls and technical defences. It attacks human trust. From fake bank alerts to long-lost Nigerian princes, these scams have traditionally relied on generic hooks and low-effort deceit. But that’s changed, and continues to.

“AI is augmenting and automating the way social engineering is carried out,” says Anna Collard, SVP of Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa. “Traditional phishing markers like spelling errors or bad grammar are a thing of the past. AI can mimic writing styles, generate emotionally resonant messages, and even recreate voices or faces all within minutes.”

The result? Cybercriminals now wield the capabilities of psychological profilers. By scraping publicly available data – from social media to company bios – AI can construct detailed personal dossiers. “Instead of one-size-fits-all lures, AI enables criminals to create bespoke attacks,” Collard explains. “It’s like giving every scammer access to their own digital intelligence agency.”

The new face of manipulation: Deepfakes

One of the most chilling evolutions of AI-powered deception is the rise of deepfakes – synthetic video and audio designed to impersonate real people. “There are documented cases where AI-generated voices have been used to impersonate CEOs and trick staff into wiring millions,” notes Collard.

In South Africa, a recent deepfake video circulating on WhatsApp featured a convincingly faked endorsement by FSCA Commissioner Unathi Kamlana promoting a fraudulent trading platform. Nedbank had to publicly distance itself from the scam.

“We’ve seen deepfakes used in romance scams, political manipulation, even extortion,” says Collard. One emerging tactic involves simulating a child’s voice to convince a parent they’ve been kidnapped– complete with background noise, sobs, and a fake abductor demanding money.

“It’s not just deception anymore,” Collard warns. “It’s psychological manipulation at scale.”

The Scattered Spider effect

One cybercrime group exemplifying this threat is Scattered Spider. Known for its fluency in English and deep understanding of Western corporate culture, this group specialises in highly convincing social engineering campaigns. “What makes them so effective,” notes Collard, “is their ability to sound legitimate, form quick rapport, and exploit internal processes – often tricking IT staff or help-desk agents.” Their human-centric approach, amplified by AI tools, such as using audio deepfakes to spoof victims’ voices for obtaining initial access, shows how the combination of cultural familiarity, psychological insight, and automation is redefining what cyber threats look like. It’s not just about technical access – it’s about trust, timing, and manipulation.

Social engineering at scale

What once required skilled con artists days or weeks of interaction – establishing trust, crafting believable pretexts, and subtly nudging behaviour – can now be done by AI in the blink of an eye. “AI has industrialised the tactics of social engineering,” says Collard. “It can perform psychological profiling, identify emotional triggers, and deliver personalised manipulation with unprecedented speed.”

The classic stages – reconnaissance, pretexting, rapport-building – are now automated, scalable, and tireless. Unlike human attackers, AI doesn’t get sloppy or fatigued; it learns, adapts, and improves with every interaction.

The biggest shift? “No one has to be a high-value target anymore,” Collard explains. “A receptionist, an HR intern, or a help-desk agent; all may hold the keys to the kingdom. It’s not about who you are – it’s about what access you have.”

Building cognitive resilience

In this new terrain, technical solutions alone won’t cut it. “Awareness has to go beyond ‘don’t click the link,’” says Collard. She advocates for building ‘digital mindfulness’ and ‘cognitive resilience’ – the ability to pause, interrogate context, and resist emotional triggers.

This means:
- Training staff to recognise emotional manipulation, not just suspicious URLs.
- Running simulations using AI-generated lures, not outdated phishing templates.
- Rehearsing calm, deliberate decision-making under pressure, to counter panic-based manipulation.
Collard recommends unconventional tactics, too. “Ask HR interviewees to place their hand in front of their face during video calls – it can help spot deepfakes in hiring scams,” she says. Families and teams should also consider pre-agreed code words or secrets for emergency communications, in case AI-generated voices impersonate loved ones.

Defence in depth – human and machine

While attackers now have AI tools, so too do defenders. Behavioural analytics, real-time content scanning, and anomaly detection systems are evolving rapidly. But Collard warns: “Technology will never replace critical thinking. The organisations that win will be the ones combining human insight with machine precision.”

And with AI lures growing more persuasive, the question is no longer whether you’ll be targeted – but whether you’ll be prepared. “This is a race,” Collard concludes. “But I remain hopeful. If we invest in education, in critical thinking and digital mindfulness, in the discipline of questioning what we see and hear – we’ll have a fighting chance.”
June 16, 2025
How Modular Data Centres Can Support Nigeria’s ICT Growth
By Gary Chomse

Nigeria’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector is experiencing robust expansion, fuelled by the financial services, oil and gas and fintech industries. This brings with it new investment prospects for data centres, to service advances in cloud computing infrastructure and the rollout of 5G technology^[1].

According to a 2023 research report, the size of the Nigerian data centre market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 20 percent (17.9 percent) during the period 2021-2027^[2]. Critical aspects of Nigeria’s data centre ecosystem include the need to deploy next-generation data infrastructure for agility and sustainability, and the ability to scale up as required.

The strategic use of prefabricated modular data centres can help to address these challenges.

Adding data centre capacity

The complexity of new technologies – including machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) – as well as the spreading of the network edge, is driving the need for enterprise data centres to add capacity. There is a growing need to upgrade data centre facilities to support the required advanced computing and higher-density architectures, including an increased complexity in power and cooling needs.

As a result, many local organisations will need to plan to add capacity due to increasing growth and reliance on digital applications, and the realisation that in-house options aren’t sufficient. The requirement is to be able to add capacity quickly and easily, without compromising on network security or the bottom line.

Prefabricated modular data centre offerings provide sophisticated, customisable and scalable solutions to modern capacity challenges, offering factory-built reliability, rapid deployment, flexibility and efficiency.

While prefabricated modular data centres are not new, the technology has been refined since its introduction around 15 years ago, and at the same time, the building practices involved have also been improved. These sophisticated, fully integrated IT solutions can be configured to meet specific needs, as well as for quick deployment wherever computing is required.

Benefits of prefabricated modular data centres

In addition to being an easy-to-implement, affordable alternative to building traditional data centres, prefabricated modular data centres offer the following benefits:
- Factory engineered reliability: Prefabricated solutions are engineered, assembled and tested in the factory, resulting in offerings that are rugged, reliable and repeatable. This reliability can pay dividends over the system’s lifespan, reducing the overall need for repairs and service calls.
- Speed of deployment: Integrated modular solutions can be built while on-site activities continue. In addition, because they are fully integrated and virtually plug-and-play, these solutions can be commissioned and operational much faster than traditional data centres – up to 30 percent more quickly, in fact.
- Customisable: Modern modules are custom-built to customer specs, then the configuration and build can be repeated quickly and efficiently as demand increases. This simplifies operation and service.
- Flexible: Integrated modular solutions can be built and configured to support various architectures, including high-density computing and liquid cooling. In addition, a modular solution is portable and can be relocated as network demands change, for example to better support a low-latency application.
- Reduced waste: These integrated, closed systems can be engineered to eliminate waste and be more sustainable than a traditional design.
- Cost certainty and scalability: The total cost of ownership is typically lower for integrated modular solutions, which also allow an organisation to add capacity when and where it is required
Meeting market growth requirements

As outlined, the data centre industry in Nigeria is predicted to see significant growth in the next few years, being projected to reach USD 646 million by 2030, after its 2023 valuation of USD 250 million^[3] – an anticipated doubling and more, in just over five years. This growth comes on the back of the increasing demand for data storage and processing through the rise of the digital economy and the growth of internet usage in Nigeria^[4].

In support of this growth, enterprise data centres looking to add compute, power or cooling in smaller increments can be enabled by these aims through modular solutions from Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions.

Vertiv remains committed to addressing critical data centre challenges across the continent, supporting the advancement of ICT enablement and digitalisation throughout the Central African region. The organisation established its office in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2003, manned by highly trained local sales, service and project delivery teams. During this time, Vertiv has built a strong, loyal local customer base, gaining recognition for delivering reliable prefabricated solutions tailored to regional needs.

Gary Chomse is the Regional Director for Consolidated, Central and Southern Africa at Vertiv
February 27, 2025
Department of State Hosts U.S.-Nigeria Technology Dialogue and Signing of $2 Million Broadband Study Grant

Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell led the inaugural U.S.-Nigeria Technology Dialogue in Washington, D.C. on January 10, hosting a senior delegation from the Nigerian government led by the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani.

This event built on the momentum of Deputy Secretary Campbell’s visit to Abuja for the sixth U.S.-Nigeria Binational Commission (BNC) co-hosted with Nigerian Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar on April 29-30, 2024, the U.S. Department of State and Government of Nigeria-funded “Global Inclusivity and Artificial Intelligence (AI)” event held in Lagos on September 9-11, 2024, and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) AI event hosted by the U.S. Department of State on September 23, 2024, in which Nigerian Minister Tijani participated.

The U.S.-Nigeria Technology Dialogue is designed to enhance bilateral cooperation in critical technology sectors, seize opportunities in technology and innovation, and strengthen interagency collaboration and stakeholder engagement in both countries. These objectives advance the Digital Transformation with Africa (DTA) initiative, by facilitating a more conducive investment environment for digital transformation, promoting digital infrastructure and connectivity, and supporting digital skills development and talent cultivation.

Kicking off the Technology Dialogue, the United States and Nigeria signed a new $2,095,000 grant to assess the viability of the deployment of at least 90,000 km of new fiber optic backbone infrastructure across Nigeria. The project, funded by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, supports Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 with the goal to increase the country’s broadband penetration rate from 42.27 percent to 70 percent and to ensure that at least 90 percent of Nigeria’s population has access to affordable and reliable broadband coverage.

During the Technology Dialogue, the parties discussed enhancing the resilience and security of essential services and facilities; promoting digital trade, e-commerce, and innovation-driven economic growth; developing a skilled workforce to meet the demands of the digital age; expanding our artificial intelligence partnership related to capacity building, infrastructure, and rights-respecting approaches to governance; and promoting information integrity.

Following the formal Technology Dialogue, the delegations joined a roundtable discussion with industry representatives hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Industry participants included representatives from over 25 U.S. and Nigerian companies active in technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, telecommunications, digital infrastructure, satellites, aerospace, fintech, and cybersecurity. The program featured a panel discussion on Advancing Public-Private Sector Investment in Innovation and Digital Talent Development. This panel highlighted opportunities for public-private partnership and investment solutions to spur innovation and promote digital talent development through the U.S.-Nigeria commercial partnership. A second panel discussion on the role of critical infrastructure in advancing the use of AI examined the interplay between the infrastructure that is essential to the development of AI and the governance frameworks that can help spur deployment of emerging technologies to support inclusive growth.

In line with the Technology Dialogue, the United States and Nigeria agreed to hold a virtual expert exchange on AI-enabled biotechnology. This discussion will explore how the convergence of AI and biotechnology can spur progress in addressing global health, food security, and science – with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

January 14, 2025
Feature: Exploring Trust, Authenticity, and Engagement in a Saturated Digital Space

By Elvis Eromosele

Humans are naturally biased. This makes changing someone’s mind a challenge. This also explains why marketing—attracting customers to generate revenue—is difficult. It requires capturing the attention of the target audience and changing minds. In today’s world, this task has become even more complicated due to information overload and the disruptive nature of the emerging digital economy. Experts say to stand out and engage people, trust, transparency, and authenticity are essential.

The 2024 Lagos Digital Public Relations Summit, held on October 16 and 17, was more than just a gathering of professionals in the field—it was a platform to explore the art of promoting trust and authenticity in the increasingly complex digital ecosystem. Under the theme “Nurturing Authentic Connections in the Digital Ecosystem,” the summit examined the core challenges that public relations (PR) professionals face today, especially in an environment saturated with information and competing messages.

As businesses and organisations strive to capture attention in this noisy world, the summit’s focus on trust, transparency, and authenticity highlighted the essential ingredients needed to gain traction in the modern digital marketplace. These concepts are critical to connecting with audiences on a deeper, more meaningful level – something easier said than done in a world where information is everywhere, and attention spans are fleeting.

In his keynote speech, Adetokunbo Modupe, Chairman/Group CEO, TPT International, emphasized that brands must communicate persuasively to capture and keep their audience’s attention. But persuasion must come from a place of authenticity.

Modupe argued that while the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized marketing and communications, there is no substitute for the genuine, emotional intelligence required to make lasting connections. He stressed that originality matters now more than ever and that AI should enhance, not replace, the emotional and native intelligence needed in storytelling. He explained that ethics remain a cornerstone of public relations, and practitioners must continue to do the right thing, even in the age of digital disruption.

O’tega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant on Digital/New Media to the President, presented a thought-provoking session on trust, calling it the key differentiator for brands that want to stand out. He provided five crucial lessons on trust, along with their reversals, highlighting that while trust is vital, it is equally important to strike a balance between transparency and strategic communication.

In the realm of branding, perception is everything. As Ogra noted, people are drawn to what feels real. Brands must therefore curate their digital presence authentically and simplify their messaging to build trust. Yet, there are times when illusion can be more powerful than reality.

Trust is a brand’s most valuable asset, a principle Ogra called the Naval Rule. Brands that consistently deliver on promises, like the financial platform Piggyvest, can elevate their reputation. Transparency is a powerful tool, but Ogra also pointed out that there are moments when withholding information can be more beneficial than complete openness.

Emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in creating meaningful connections. Ogra emphasized the importance of brands engaging in active listening, even in digital spaces, and using storytelling to connect with audiences. However, he warned that relying too heavily on emotional appeals can sometimes backfire.

Ogra also spoke of the power of strategic vulnerability. He encouraged brands to own their mistakes and be realistic about their shortcomings. By doing so, weaknesses can become strengths. But, he cautioned, overexposure can lead to new problems, and brands should avoid revealing too much.

Finally, Ogra stressed the importance of long-term authenticity over short-term gains. In a world obsessed with instant results, real depth and consistency hold more value than superficial reach. However, he reminded the audience not to overlook short-term opportunities entirely—finding balance is key, and realness remains a brand’s greatest strength.

Lanre Basamta, CEO and Co-founder of Optimus AI Labs spoke on the power of content. Starting with the quote by marketing expert David Meerman Scott—”Nobody cares about your product, except you. Create interesting content”—Basamta stressed that perception is everything. Content is not just a tool for engagement; it shapes how audiences perceive a brand.

He underscored the importance of aligning content with a brand’s core message, stating that effective storytelling creates experiences that resonate emotionally with the audience. This emotional resonance, in turn, influences how people perceive a brand and, ultimately, whether they will engage with it.

The 2024 Lagos Digital PR Summit illuminated a key truth: in today’s information-saturated digital environment, brands must focus on nurturing authentic connections. Whether through persuasive storytelling, emotional intelligence, or content that resonates on a deeper level, building trust is critical.

All the speakers and panel discussions emphasized the point – that realness is a brand’s most powerful asset, and balancing transparency, emotional appeals, and strategic communication is key to creating lasting relationships with audiences.

For PR professionals and marketers alike, the summit offered a clear roadmap: trust, transparency, and authenticity are the cornerstones of successful digital engagement in a world where attention is scarce but connection is invaluable.

Eromosele, a corporate communication professional and public affairs analyst, wrote via: elviseroms@gmail.com

October 22, 2024
LALIGA becomes first professional football competition to launch a virtual influencer
…A virtual character created and trained by artificial intelligence will connect with the younger target audience to convey relevant information about the competition and its background

LALIGA unveiled Alex, a virtual character created and trained with artificial intelligence, in an event attended by guests and media. This unprecedented initiative for a professional football competition marks a milestone in the history of the sport by integrating technology and human values into a single character. Alex has been developed to enhance communication within an increasingly expansive ecosystem that generates more information, thereby becoming a tool to amplify its global impact, especially among younger generations.

Alex is a 27-year-old young man, passionate about football and video games, especially FC25 and LALIGA Fantasy. Fans can follow Alex through LALIGA’s official social media channels and his own profiles on Instagram (@alex.laliga) and TikTok (@alex_laliga), where he actively interacts with supporters. However, his presence is not limited to the digital realm: Alex will also participate in physical events, attend presentations, conduct and be featured in interviews, participate in press conferences, and even appear in LALIGA match broadcasts, offering a new way to connect with the public.

With a captivating personality and a champion of social causes, Alex will inspire and engage his followers in initiatives such as LALIGA VS, a project aimed at showcasing the social commitment of Spanish football on a global scale and promoting LALIGA’s values to build a competition and a society free of hatred. This demonstrates that football is much more than a sport.

Additionally, Alex will share with his community the main LALIGA milestones, updates from LALIGA Fantasy, match highlights and interesting facts, and relevant corporate information and will be the first to participate in and report on the main competition events from behind the scenes.

With the launch of Alex, LALIGA marks a significant milestone in the sports industry by integrating technology and human values into a virtual character created and trained by AI. Alex embodies the fundamental values that define LALIGA and is set to become a reference for future generations.

In the words of LALIGA President, Javier Tebas: “Becoming the first league in the world to launch a virtual influencer reinforces our position as leaders in technological innovation within the sports industry. We will continue to work in this direction to remain at the forefront of the sector and find the best ways to stay even closer to our fans and spectators”.

At a time when technology is advancing rapidly, LALIGA – after having developed other cutting-edge technological initiatives to lead the technological-sports field – takes a further step in the use of artificial intelligence and is committed to fusing this innovation with an ethical message, using Alex as a vehicle to inspire, inform, and connect with new generations.

Virtual Characters and Influencers Generated by Artificial Intelligence: A Trend Originating from Asia
Alex is the first virtual character created and trained by generative artificial intelligence for a football league, but he is not the first of this new generation of artificial personalities driven by new technology.

The market for virtual characters and influencers is growing rapidly.

According to The Influencer Marketing Factory Report, 53% of respondents follow at least one virtual influencer, and 63% are between 18 and 34 years old. It is also estimated that virtual influencers can generate engagement rates up to three times higher than real influencers.

The main difference between Alex and other virtual characters is that he is not just a character whose image is generated with AI tools and processes, he is also trained. This means that Alex has a multimodal language model like ChatGPT, allowing him to collaborate with human creative teams in generating content and engage in coherent and enriching dialogue. Additionally, Alex is equipped with tools and workflows for generating images, videos, and voice, enabling the production of everything from photos to hyper-realistic moving videos.

Alex is the result of a collaboration between human creativity and artificial intelligence. His design is not the product of a single creative vision but the result of extensive data input. His appearance, personality, and content approach have been defined based on:
- Audience information and data, such as social media usage, preferences, interests, and consumption habits.
- Football-related information, ensuring he becomes a LALIGA expert.
- Ethics Ddocumentation, including information on LALIGA’s values and an ethical code specifically designed for virtual characters, developed by the University of Malaga, promoting positive and respectful conduct.
Alex represents an advancement in the integration of technology in sports and reflects the digital profile of a new generation of fans who demand innovative, fresh, and original formats. His ability to tailor messages, interact personally, and maintain a coherent and controlled image makes him a powerful tool for connecting with young audiences.

Alex is more than a digital figure; he bridges tradition and modernity, uniting generations through technology and the values that have made football a global sport.
October 19, 2024
Work, life and Artificial Intelligence (AI): 34% believe that AI can be a better boss than a human
…in light of the rapid advancements in AI, Kaspersky has conducted an in-depth study to explore current levels of confidence in AI

AI is becoming a new member of society according to results from a new Kaspersky survey titled ‘Excitement, Superstition and great Insecurity – How global Consumers engage with the Digital World’. The study also found that today artificial intelligence is taking on new roles in fields where it can succeed and be trusted by humans.

Based on statistics from Similarweb, ChatGPT, one of the world’s most popular chatbots, garnered 153 million visits in the first month after its launch in November 2022, and peaked at 2 billion visits in April 2024. In light of the rapid advancements in AI, Kaspersky has conducted an in-depth study to explore current levels of confidence in AI. The study examines its roles from management positions in the workplace to assisting with significant life decisions.

According to the study, respondents see AI as their team member at work, and a manager – 34% globally believe AI can be a fairer boss than a human being because of its impartiality. For respondents from the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region this statistic is 40%. In South Africa it is 42%.

Another area where AI can play an active role is education. 47% of respondents globally, 60% in the META region and 68% in South Africa foresee children being taught through virtual experience and Metaverses in the near future.

Half (50%) of all consumers globally, 53% in the META region and 64% in South Africa believe that AI has already become an unavoidable part of their lives, with 43%, 46% and 52% respectively having a positive outlook on its potential to bring about many exciting opportunities and improve the future for everyone. A large portion of respondents admit that AI has capabilities in creative areas – 62% globally, 59% in the META region and 53% in South Africa believe AI is a credible producer of works of art.

AI can also be considered a reliable companion and an assistant in everyday life. More than half of respondents (57%) globally, 67% in the META region and 60% in South Africa would like to use AI to run their daily lives more efficiently.

48% of those surveyed globally, 60% in the META region and 56% in South Africa are ready to use an AI chatbot to have conversation online – 31%, 38% and 33% respectively would use it to help them to find the right partner on a dating app. In fact, 48% globally, 58% in the META region and 63% in South Africa believe that human relationships will change because of the impact of AI if virtual characters start replacing real-life partners.

“We are witnessing the growing adoption of AI as a valuable tool, assisting people in diverse areas. Beyond traditional applications, such as processing and analysing data, AI is being entrusted with more intriguing personal roles, including romance, education, and work. As AI technologies continue to evolve, their potential to drive innovation and improve human experiences becomes even more profound. However, this advancement also brings unexpected risks and sophisticated threats, ranging from overreliance — putting too much trust in AI advice — to AI-generated phishing, deepfakes and identity theft. These are the challenges that we need to address across multiple levels,” comments Vladislav Tushkanov, Machine Learning Technology Research Group Manager at Kaspersky.

In order to protect users against AI-driven threats, Kaspersky suggests:
- Install a trusted cybersecurity solution that can offer protection against AI-enhanced phishing by detecting malicious pages and preventing interaction with them. Such a solution will assist in identifying and blocking fraudulent emails and websites aiming to steal personal information.
- To counter the risks posed by deepfakes, it is wise to avoid trusting requests for data or money immediately, even if they seem to come from friends, family members or colleagues. Verifying the authenticity of the request through alternative communication methods is a prudent step.
- Utilising an online Privacy checker is essential for adjusting privacy settings to limit exposure to AI-enhanced identity theft. This approach minimises the amount of personal information accessible online, making it more challenging for threat actors to exploit personal data.
The full Kaspersky report ‘Excitement, Superstition and great Insecurity – How global Consumers engage with the Digital World’ is available via this link (https://apo-opa.co/3WRj99J).
August 21, 2024
Airtel Director, Others Discuss Innovations for Educational Advancement in Nigeria

Director of Corporate Communications and CSR at Airtel Nigeria, Femi Adeniran, has joined other thought leaders, to propose strategic solutions to advance Nigeria’s educational system, including Artificial Intelligence, for innovative teaching methodologies.

Adeniran made his remarks while speaking as part of a panel at the ‘Blackbelt Graduation Ceremony’ organized by 1 Million Teachers, an international teacher training organization, at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja, on Saturday, 6th July 2024.

Airtel Nigeria was a co-sponsor of the 1 Million Teachers Blackbelt Graduation.

The panel, titled “Leveraging Expertise and Innovations for Advancing Educational Reforms in Africa,” also featured Patrick Egbunonu, a faculty member at St. Lawrence College, Canada; Emmanuel Asika, the Country Head of HP Nigeria; and Olanrewaju Oniyitan, the Project Director of Seed Care and Support Foundation.

In his response to a question regarding school reputation management in the current dynamic environment enabled by digital media, Adeniran proposed a quality delivery as the most important ingredient for successful school marketing.

“Schools face restrictions on using children for advertising and publicity, making the institution rely on word-of-mouth to communicate achievements. On this note, schools must implement impactful programs that connect with their community. Direct and open communication platforms such as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings keep parents informed of your strategies to help you spread to your community,” he said.

He added that continuous engagement with stakeholders on social media such as Instagram and LinkedIn would also play a vital role in enhancing the image of educational institutions.

Further addressing the concern about partnership to drive educational advancement, Mr. Femi Adeniran reiterated Airtel’s commitment towards education, highlighting its ongoing $57million partnership with UNICEF on the ‘Airtel/UNICEF Re-imagine Education’ program.

“By the end of year one, over 600,000 students were already learning through the Learning Passport. Now, we have 960 public schools connected to digital education through the Airtel-UNICEF partnership,” he noted.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Basic Education, Mr. Jamiu Alli-Balogun, who presented his remarks to round off the event, commended organizations that have approached the government to partner and support education over time. He also charged Teachers to hold their occupation jealously and be prepared for more technological advancement to enable them to stay ahead of their students who are younger and fast-moving with technology.

One Million Teachers is an initiative committed to grooming high-quality teachers and fostering grassroots improvements through innovative approaches. Through the ‘Blackbelt Graduation Ceremony’, 1 Million Teachers celebrate teachers for their commitment to advancing their skills to effectively carry out their roles in the community.

July 9, 2024
GDM Group, Eko Innovation Centre Debuts with MarkHack 3.0

…..Restates Commitment to Developing Marketing and Media Industries

GDM Group, Nigeria’s frontline marketing and media technology company renowned for bespoke service offerings ranging from marketing tech solutions, big data management and 360 integrated marketing services in collaboration with Eko Innovation Centre, a startup accelerator focused on solving the most pressing development and institutional challenges with technology and innovation, debuts with MarkHack 3.0

MarkHack 3.0 is tagged “BEYOND LIMITS – Unleashing Creativity with Emerging Tech”.

MarkHack 3.0 will bring together the brightest minds in deep tech, artificial intelligence, blockchain and e-commerce industries to develop innovative solutions to real-time marketing and media challenges.

Victor Afolabi, CEO and founder of GDM Group and Eko Innovation Centre and curator of MarkHack, stated that deep technology is the next big thing in marketing and media due to the constant evolution of the industries. He said, “The marketing and media landscape is in a perpetual state of evolution, marked by the continuous emergence of novel technologies and strategies; As such, businesses and organizations face the imperative of staying at the forefront, comprehending the intricacies of effectively reaching and engaging their target audience with deep tech”.

The MarkHack curator further emphasized that recognizing this need for adaptability and innovation was the bane for debuting MarkHack, to bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, marketing professionals, disruptors and corporate bodies to create solutions to real-life marketing challenges in an intense period of 3 months, using creativity, technology, mentoring, resulting in prototypes, fresh new concepts, and innovative usages of tech for marketing and media.

Markhack 3.0. will run for 3 months and feature a launch event, pitch sessions, workshops, masterclasses, and mentorship sessions to help participants develop their skills and provide them with the resources they need to turn their ideas into market-ready products. Finalists will have a chance to join an accelerator program with up to $10,000 equity investment and a chance to be mentored by industry experts for 3 months.

February 1, 2024
Olashore International School Hosts Digital Hub Training for 107 Ijesa Youths

Olashore International School (OIS), a private co-educational boarding secondary school in Iloko-Ijesa, in collaboration with the Ijesa Global Alliance for Development (IGAD), hosted the induction of 107 trainees in the first inaugural cohort of the Ijesa Digital Hub Training program.

The official induction ceremony held at the premises of OlS marked the official commencement of the Ijesa Digital Hub Training Cohort 1 and an exciting milestone in the school’s efforts to empower students and youths with digital and technological skills.

The Ijesa Digital Hub, a key initiative of IGAD will have the participants trained on Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, and UI/UX Design. The Ijesa Digital Hub is situated within the premises of Olashore International School and is designed to nurture participants’ passion for technology and innovation, offering youths and students hands-on experience in emerging fields of digital technology.

Speaking at the induction ceremony, the Board Chairman of Olashore International School and Chairman of IGAD, Prince Abimbola Olashore noted that the school’s dedication to providing a well-rounded education that prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. At OIS, we believe in empowering our students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an ever-evolving world. The Ijesa Digital Hub is a testament to our commitment to innovation and excellence in education.

His words “OIS has been at the forefront of innovative education, consistently adapting to the ever-evolving technological landscape. The Ijesa Digital Hub, a testament to the school’s commitment to preparing students for the digital age, serves as a hub for cutting-edge technological training”.

Notably, OIS has also gained recognition for its commitment to fostering innovation and technological prowess among its students. The school recently commissioned its Innovation Hub and this has been a hub for creativity, encouraging students to explore and experiment with cutting-edge technologies. Students at OIS have consistently demonstrated their aptitude for innovation, recently achieving a significant milestone by winning the 2023 African Drone Soccer Competition.

Expressing his gratitude to all stakeholders and guests at the induction ceremony, Prince Olashore noted that, “At OIS and IGAD we are committed to training youths, particularly Ijesa youths in digital skills and appreciate everyone that has contributed to making this goal a reality.”

January 17, 2024
Sharebeta Offers Bespoke Futuristic Marketing Communications Solutions that Strikes Emotional Chord Within a Targeted Tribe

…Promises Ground-breaking Innovations 2024

Sharebeta, a leading multidisciplinary, digitally driven marketing communications solutions company, with futuristic innovations has continued in its giant stride to offer through-the-line marketing solutions for brands in the country and across the globe advantageously, as it traverses the marketing communication landscape with four years of extraordinary performance and ground-breaking services.

The company with skilled expertise in diverse industry verticals stands for quality and excellence. It goes the extra mile to satisfy clients beyond their expectations, with services in traditional advertising, digital marketing, and experiential marketing across the global business setting.

Under its honcho, Martin Uro, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, with almost two decades of experience in marketing communications, Sharebeta is the hope and future of advertising in Nigeria. It transcends old and traditional advertising and provides digitally-driven marketing solutions with native advertising, and a roadmap of vertical progression.

Uro provides leadership to his team in the most convenient manner that enables highly innovative driven solutions and ideas with the intent of building one of the most sought-after creative hubs in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, and beyond with well-nurtured digital natives.

He stated ” We have a compelling growth mindset, We seek clients’ feedback, every day we seek to beat our personal best so we are wired not to see competition but to keep beating our previous records. We have a unique team of young digital natives who operate from across the world with phenomenal achievements.”

With a remarkable footprint in digital marketing communication, Sharebeta has a production arm that creates powerful snackable content, brand assets in videos and stills, films, documentaries, and animations, and talent management. This is coupled with a tech unit that caters to everything technology like IDDM, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Cyber Security, DevOps engineering,

Artificial Intelligence, Online Advertising, Search Engine Technology, and cloud computing, amongst other specialisations.

As the company advances into the coming year with the innovativeness that drives its offerings, Sharebeta will keep to the dynamics of the ever-evolving technological trend in the digital space to offer cutting-edge solutions to its existing and potential clients, both locally and internationally.

Its clientele includes Heineken, Tiger, Life beer, Goldberg Legend extra stout, 33 beer, Zagg energy drink, Fan Ice, Fanvannile, Super Yogo, Go slo, Polo Avenue, and Danone, with a part of the tech team providing solutions for S&P global 500, NHS, Bank of America, and London Stock Exchange, among others.

December 17, 2023
Artificial Intelligence, Sustainability at Forefrontas Industry Turns Attention to 2024
…Vertiv trends forecast sees intense focus on AI enablement and energy management

Intense, urgent demand for artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities – and the duelling pressure to reduce energy consumption, costs and greenhouse gas emissions – loom large over the data centre industry heading into 2024. The proliferation of AI (as Vertiv predicted two years ago) along with the infrastructure and sustainability challenges inherent in AI-capable computing can be felt across the industry and throughout the 2024 data centre trends forecast from Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions.

“AI and its downstream impact on data centre densities and power demands have become the dominant storylines in our industry,” said Vertiv CEO, Giordano (Gio) Albertazzi. “Finding ways to help customers both support the demand for AI and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is a significant challenge requiring new collaborations between data centres, chip and server manufacturers, and infrastructure providers.”

These are the trends Vertiv’s experts expect to dominate the data centre ecosystem in 2024:
1. AI sets the terms for new builds and retrofits: Surging demand for artificial intelligence across applications is pressuring organisations to make significant changes to their operations. Legacy facilities are ill-equipped to support widespread implementation of the high-density computing required for AI, with many lacking the required infrastructure for liquid cooling. In the coming year, more and more organisations are going to realise half-measures are insufficient and opt instead for new construction – increasingly featuring prefabricated modular solutions that shorten deployment timelines – or large-scale retrofits that fundamentally alter their power and cooling infrastructure. Such significant changes present opportunities to implement more eco-friendly technologies and practices, including liquid cooling for AI servers, applied in concert with air-cooled thermal management to support the entire data centre space.
1. Expanding the search for energy storage alternatives: New energy storage technologies and approaches have shown the ability to intelligently integrate with the grid and deliver on a pressing objective – reducing generator starts. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) support extended runtime demands by shifting the load as necessary and for longer durations and can integrate seamlessly with alternative energy sources, such as solar or fuel cells. This minimises generator use and reduces their environmental impact. BESS installations will be more common in 2024, eventually evolving to fit “bring your own power” (BYOP) models and delivering the capacity, reliability and cost-effectiveness needed to support AI-driven demand.
1. Enterprises prioritise flexibility: While cloud and colocation providers aggressively pursue new deployments to meet demand, organisations with enterprise data centres are likely to diversify investments and deployment strategies. AI is a factor here as organisations wrestle with how best to enable and apply the technology while still meeting sustainability objectives. Businesses may start to look to on-premise capacity to support proprietary AI, and edge application deployments may be impacted by AI tailwinds. Many organisations can be expected to prioritise incremental investment – leaning heavily on prefabricated modular solutions – and service and maintenance to extend the life of legacy equipment. Such services can provide ancillary benefits, optimising operation to free up capacity in maxed-out computing environments and increasing energy efficiency in the process. Likewise, organisations can reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions by extending the life of existing servers rather than replacing and scrapping them.
1. The race to the cloud faces security hurdles: Gartner projects global spending on public cloud services to increase by 20.4% in 2024, and the mass migration to the cloud shows no signs of abating. This puts pressure on cloud providers to increase capacity quickly to support demand for AI and high-performance compute, and they will continue to turn to colocation partners around the world to enable that expansion. For cloud customers moving more and more data offsite, security is paramount, and according to Gartner, 80% of CIOs plan to increase spending on cyber/information security in 2024. Disparate national and regional data security regulations may create complex security challenges as efforts to standardise continue.
November 21, 2023
NCC Underscores Role of ICT in Fighting Financial Crimes

…As Maida gets inducted into Hall of Fame

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said effective application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is critical in combating financial crimes by enabling real-time surveillance, regulatory compliance, and secure data processing, just as it sought a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder collaboration to address the issue of illicit financial flows in the country.

Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Commission, Dr. Aminu Maida, who was a speaker at the 11th Anniversary Lecture Series of RealNews Magazine in Lagos on Tuesday, where he was also inducted into the RealNews Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding contribution as Guest of Honour at the event, said robust ICT systems are critical for preventing and investigating financial crimes or mitigating the risks associated with virtual assets in the financial markets.

Maida, who was represented at the forum by the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, described financial crimes as “criminal activities that involve transactions, abuse, misuse, deception, or manipulation of financial systems for personal gain.” He said the crimes also include a wide range of offenses such as Insider abuse, money laundering, terrorism financing, embezzlement and all kinds of fraud.

He said while financial crimes do not only have a huge economic and social impact but can also be linked to violent crimes that lead to loss of lives, they also threaten the integrity, trustworthiness, stability, security, safety, and future of an entity such as a country, enterprise or an individual.

Maida told the audience comprising representatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), among other stakeholders, that the scope of financial crimes has broadened and created further concerns as a result of increasing adoption of digital technologies, the emergence of new technologies, and the often-transnational nature of the crimes.

The Nigeria’s chief telecom regulator said though, as ICT systems get more complex, so do cybercriminal activities, just as criminal actors take advantage of the inherent and emerging flaws identified in the ICT systems exploiting these flaws and causing harm, the same technology has to be positioned to track movement of illicit movement of funds in and out of the country.

“Nigeria’s telecoms sector has grown significantly, resulting in massive amounts of data being generated on a daily basis, the advent of advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) provides a gateway to identify suspicious digital patterns indicative of crime. Through partnerships with financial institutions data can be filtered to identify these suspicious patterns and nip them in the bud. These technologies provide real-time transaction monitoring, allowing for a proactive approach to crime prevention” Maida said.

Maida further stated that to combat financial crimes, innovative solutions such as blockchain, instant payments, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, regulatory technology solutions, and automated procedures are being deployed, adding that the use of technological tools has made it significantly easier to deal with financial crime while building a long term strategy for combating it.

Meanwhile, Maida stated that, aside ensuring increased access to telecommunications services, the Commission has established the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), a group of experts in the Commission to handles security incidents that can affect the operations of organisations and individuals; incorporated biometric authentication in the use of telecom services and financial transactions on telecom carriers with strict enforcement of compliance by the licensees; as well as enabling digital forensics, among others.

In addition to the need for public education and understanding of internet safety, which are important in limiting the risks linked with the spread of criminality via technology, Maida emphasized the need for increased collaboration and international cooperation to effectively tackle financial crime. “Also, continued investment in ICT solutions, as well as a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder strategy, combining technology specialists, legal professionals, and legislators, as a critical approach in keeping up with emerging criminal methods,” he said.

November 8, 2023
Meta Connect 2023: Quest 3, AI Advances, Next-Gen Smart Glasses, & the Road to the Metaverse

Today, on the 10th anniversary of Connect, Meta CEO & Founder, Mark Zuckerberg shared how the rise of AI and metaverse technologies are reshaping the way we experience our physical and digital worlds. While the physical world around us is amazing —and it’s the combination of our physical and digital worlds that defines our reality. Yet too often, we rely on screens to tap into virtual spaces and content—and that can pull us away from the moment and the people we’re physically with.

Imagine replacing your TV with a fully customizable home theater you can take with you anywhere. Or sitting around a table with friends, some of whom are in the same physical room while others are avatars of those who live miles away—and yet still feeling fully present in the same space and experience. Or a meeting where some of the avatars are embodied AIs that can help you accomplish a variety of tasks. All of that could be possible when our physical and virtual worlds come together seamlessly.

Many of the foundational technologies needed to make that vision a reality are either already here or on the way. Mixed reality lets us bring digital objects into the physical world or create fully immersive experiences to explore. Advances in AI let us create unique characters that we can interact with in different ways. And future AR glasses will eventually bring these technologies together in a stylish form factor.

Today at Connect, Zuckerberg shared our progress on all three fronts.

Mixed Reality Goes Mainstream with Meta Quest 3

Meta Quest 3 is the world’s first mainstream headset built for mixed reality—and our most powerful headset yet. With double the graphic processing power of Quest 2,* Quest 3 is also the world’s first device to feature the new Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform we helped develop in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies. And it’s completely standalone: no PC, no console, no battery packs—nothing to break the feeling of presence. It understands your physical space, so you can play with the world around you. With mixed reality, the limits of your physical space can expand, and you can be part of a much larger world—like opening a portal to the Upside Down from your living room in Stranger Things VR.

With Quest 3, you can immerse yourself in an expansive content library with games and experiences to suit every taste and mood. More than 100 new and upgraded titles are coming to Quest 3 this year, and many of them will incorporate mixed reality. Because Quest 3 is backwards-compatible, you get access to a vast library of 500+ VR and MR experiences on day one. And with Xbox Cloud Gaming coming to Quest in December, you’ll be able to play Halo Infinite, Minecraft Legends, Forza Horizon 5, and hundreds of other high-quality Xbox games—all on a massive 2D screen you can take with you anywhere.**

Starting at $499.99 USD, Quest 3 ships October 10, and pre-orders are open now. Click here for all the details.

Advances in Artificial Intelligence

While it’s been an amazing year for AI, most people today still haven’t experienced this new technology firsthand—and we have an opportunity to change that by building state-of-the-art AI into apps that billions of people already use.

We’ve talked about the Llama ecosystem of large language models, and today we unveiled our image generation model. Emu (short for Expressive Media Universe) uses your text prompts to generate high-quality, photorealistic images in just seconds. And thanks to Emu and technology from Llama 2, you can create your own custom AI stickers in chat to liven up conversations on the fly.

We also introduced restyle and backdrop—two new features coming soon to Instagram that use the technology from Emu to let you transform your photos or even co-create AI-generated images with friends. Restyle lets you reimagine your images by applying the visual styles you describe (you might type out “watercolor” or “collage from magazines and newspapers, torn edges,” for example), while backdrop leverages learnings from our Segment Anything Model so you can change your image’s scene or background. Prompts like “put me in front of a sublime aurora borealis” or “surrounded by puppies” will keep your subject in the foreground while creating the background you’ve described. Images created with restyle and backdrop will indicate the use of AI to help reduce the odds of people mistaking them for human-generated content. We’re also experimenting with forms of visible and invisible markers to help people distinguish AI-generated content.

Unlike most others in the industry, we don’t believe there will be one single super-intelligent AI that everyone uses. Rather, we think you’ll want different AIs for different things, like finding information, communicating, being entertained, playing games, helping you get work done, and more. You might even want to create your own AI that’s aligned with your goals, whether you’re a small business, a creator, or anyone really.

That’s why we’re building AI studio—a new platform for creating AIs that can help you get things done and just have fun. People will be able to interact with these AIs across the whole Meta universe of products. They’ll have profiles on Instagram and Facebook, and you’ll be able to chat with them in WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Eventually, they’ll be embodied as avatars in the metaverse too.

We’ve created some AIs of our own using AI studio that we’ll start rolling out in the US in beta today.

Meta AI is a new assistant you can interact with like a person. It uses a custom model based on Llama 2 technology and has access to real-time information through a partnership with Bing search. And Emul is built into Meta AI, so you can generate high-quality photorealistic images for free in seconds.

We’ve also been creating AIs that have more personality, opinions, and interests, and are a bit more fun to interact with. There’s Victor, a motivational coach who encourages you to hit your goals. The Dungeon Master can take you on an old-school text-based adventure. And our sous chef Max can take the random assortment of ingredients in your pantry and come up with a delicious recipe on the fly.

Those are just a few of the AIs we’ve trained so far, and there are several more coming over the next few weeks across a range of interests, from gaming and philosophy to sports, fashion, and beyond.

We want to give people the chance to build AIs of their own, so AI studio will ultimately let developers build third-party AIs for our messaging services. We’re building a sandbox that will let people who don’t code create their own AIs. We’re working on a way for creators to build AIs that represent them and help them engage and grow their communities. And we’re making it so businesses can create AIs that interact with customers and help with commerce and support.

Generative AI will bring with it new challenges, so we’re putting in the time and effort to make sure we get this right. That includes training and fine-tuning models to fit our safety and responsibility guidelines, red-teaming with external experts and internal teams to help ensure our models are safer and more inclusive, programming in guardrails around inappropriate conversations, and sharing system cards publicly so people better understand how these models work.

This next generation of artificial intelligence will enable a wide range of experiences and interactions, which will transform how people, businesses, and creators use all of our products. And we’ll continue innovating to ensure everyone has a chance to participate in the upside. Click here to learn more.

Introducing the Ray-Ban | Meta Smart Glasses Collection

Built in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, our next generation of smart glasses are designed so you can stay connected and capture the moment without having to stop and take out your phone—and easily share your experiences with friends, family, or the world.

We’ve upgraded them from the first generation in basically every way, and for the first time, you’ll be able to livestream directly from your smart glasses to your friends and followers on Facebook and Instagram.

These are also the first smart glasses to ship with Meta AI built in.*** Starting in the US in beta, you’ll get our state-of-the-art AI hands-free, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, in real time. And next year we’ll roll out a free update so your smart glasses will be able to understand what you’re looking at and help you out. If you want to know what building you’re standing in front of or get a translation of a sign on the fly, your Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses will have the answer.

Smart glasses will be an important platform in the future not only because they’re a natural way to see digital holograms in the physical world, but also because soon you’ll be able to let your AI see what you see and hear what you hear—which will make your smart glasses more useful over time.

Starting at $299 USD, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses collection will launch on October 17, and they’re available for pre-order today on meta.com and ray-ban.com. Click here for more information.

September 29, 2023
Feature: Understanding Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) Role in Accelerating Africa’s Healthcare Momentum

By Eyong Ebai

In Africa, as in much of the world, artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest buzzword amongst healthcare professionals. Globally, we saw an explosion last year of various AI generative platforms, promising unparalleled potential to solve some of the continent’s biggest problems.

This has triggered a (sometimes breathless) dialogue regarding the potential for AI in the African context. Could it help the healthcare sector leapfrog to the latest technologies and overcome a host of complex challenges that have hampered healthcare for decades?

Answering that question is more complex than a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’

While it is absolutely true that AI can play a role in Africa’s healthcare evolution, it cannot be our starting point. We must start with the “ABCs”, as it were. Then we can leverage AI in the service of these broader goals.

The ABCs of Healthcare

More than 10 years ago, Khalish Chand, who received an OBE for his service to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), outlined the ABCs of healthcare (Access, Behavior and Clinical governance) as a prescription to overhaul the NHS. His framework remains a powerful tool to help us think about Africa’s healthcare prioritization, sequencing and resource allocation.

In Africa, this means ensuring that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, and without enduring financial hardship. This requires investing in the infrastructure, logistics and health financing models that enable adequate access to care for the most vulnerable people in our communities.

The behavior of Africa’s doctors, nurses, community health workers and all healthcare providers toward their patients must always be empathetic, understanding and respectful. We must work with African patients to shift them from passive recipients of care to proactive and empowered “own-health advocates.” At the same time, investing in Africa’s healthcare workforce is critical to ensuring the health sector can attract, train and retain the best people to serve our communities.

For health ministries and private providers, this requires a robust clinical governance framework that encompasses appropriate risk management, compliance and standards, and quality information and evidence-based approaches to managing healthcare systems. This means the right laws, regulations and policies must be put in place to ensure the best health outcomes.

Structural transformation

We can see a commitment to these ABCs in the New Public Health Order for Africa, launched by the African Union in 2021. This initiative addresses deep structural public health deficiencies at national, regional and global levels by focusing action in five areas: fortifying public health institutions; strengthening the public health workforce; expanding African manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics; increasing domestic resources for health security; and building respectful and action-oriented partnerships.

ABC to lead, AI to support

With this context, it is clear that AI and broader digitization can help fulfil the ABCs in an African context.

However, it is important to note that this is made possible, in part, because of Africa’s enormous success at leveraging digitization to innovate African solutions to African challenges. For example, mobile money was born in Kenya and revolutionized the financial, economic, and social landscape for millions of Africans. Africa enjoys high mobile phone penetration rates, and a growing youthful population is conversant and comfortable with an increasingly digitized lifestyle.

This infrastructure and outlook make it much easier for healthcare providers to deploy digital connectivity solutions such as telehealth consultations or remote health monitoring. One result is more people can access more primary and specialized care, even in remote locations.

Beyond consultations, this digitization includes devices such as handheld ultrasound machines that can extend the reach of this important diagnostic tool to rural and remote primary health centers.

Another example: in a region facing a shortage of nurses and hospital beds, technologies such as remote ECG (electrocardiogram) devices mean doctors can send patients home and still ensure they are being monitored safely and confidentially over the internet.

When it comes to behavior, smart wearables can help patients keep track of important health data, while AI-enabled medical imaging equipment can help technicians complete scans more accurately and more quickly, shortening scan times by 75% or more, and giving clinicians better information to enhance diagnostics and treatment. AI-enabled electronic medical record software can help clinicians spend more time with patients by reducing time spent on simple decisions and paperwork.

Both access and behavior can be addressed through a just-signed agreement whereby GE HealthCare will develop AI-assisted ultrasound imaging auto-assessment tools. Seeking to expand access in low-and-middle income countries across diverse points of care, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided a grant to support development of tools to aid healthcare professionals—even those without specialized training or experience with ultrasound—with clinical decision information in areas of obstetrics, maternal and neonatal lung ultrasound screening, and pediatric lung health.

For health ministries and hospital groups, connecting data from equipment and operations to AI-powered software in a secure cloud platform can generate clinical and productivity insights that can help doctors improve diagnoses and facilities optimize patient flow. That’s a clear win for clinical governance.

As I wrote earlier this year, this is an important and exciting time for African healthcare. The determination, the vision, and the funding are available to make major strides in country after country. We must continue this momentum by prioritizing development of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare infrastructure and other interventions that support the early detection and prevention of disease. We must promote skills development and job creation, and approach all these needs from a holistic perspective that is not siloed by technology, geography, disease, or organization.

To accelerate this momentum, all stakeholders must come together to pursue what patients and populations need now: increased healthcare access, expanded infrastructure, more healthcare workers with the training they need, and healthcare systems and care pathways that are holistic.

AI can play a valuable role. It is not, however, the answer. Making it so would be a distraction that could impact care to millions.

GE HealthCare is committed to working with regional partners across Africa to create a world where healthcare has no limits. At this moment of unbounded potential, those of us working in African healthcare must remain focused on the ABCs of high-quality, patient-focused healthcare to all people and communities across the continent.

By Eyong Ebaiis the General Manager Sub-Saharan Africa at GE HealthCare

September 19, 2023
Feature: The Rise of Retail Arbitrage in Nigeria: Potential Economic Game Changer

By Elvis Eromosele

Nigeria is in dire straits, nearly everything is currently dodged by controversies. The 2023 presidential election is under dispute with the PEPT set to give judgement anytime soon. The latest unemployment figure has raised plenty of dust with experts questioning the methodology applied. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is in a struggle to rally its members following an issues-laden AGM. Time will fail us to talk about the planned military action in Niger Republic, the fuel subsidy removal and palliatives palava, and the unification or none unification of the exchange rates among other controversies.

One thing that is however not in doubt is the Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit and drive. In the struggle for daily living and alignment with the digital economy, many Nigerians now sell one thing or the other online. Go to any social media handle, from Facebook to WhatsApp to Instagram and Twitter, and you will be shocked at the stock of wares up for sale.

The number of people involved is simply unprecedented. A closer look indicates that a growing number of people are essentially taking advantage of retail arbitrage opportunities.

Today, Nigeria is witnessing a remarkable surge in retail arbitrage, a practice that involves buying products at a lower price and reselling them at a profit. This burgeoning industry is fueled by a confluence of factors, including the digital age, changing consumer behaviour, and entrepreneurial spirit.

We can say that the reasons behind the rise of retail arbitrage in Nigeria are obvious but its impact on the economy, its vast growth potential and what the Nigerian government can do to support and nurture the industry are not so clear.

The Rise of Retail Arbitrage in Nigeria: Why Now?

Experts agree that several key factors are contributing to the rise of retail arbitrage in Nigeria. The top four factors include the e-commerce boom, mobile penetration, changing consumer behaviour and the ever-present Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit.

Firstly, Nigeria is experiencing a surge in e-commerce platforms, which makes it easier for arbitrageurs to source products from various online marketplaces both domestically and globally.

Secondly, the widespread adoption of smartphones and internet access has empowered individuals to participate in online arbitrage, even from remote regions. The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) latest figures show connected lines have exceeded 225 million with internet usage at 159.59 million in May 2023.

In addition, as consumers seek diverse products at competitive prices, arbitrageurs can cater to these demands by sourcing a wide range of goods from different markets.

Moreover, the Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit is helping more and more people recognize the potential of retail arbitrage as a viable and profitable business opportunity, fostering its growth.

Impact on the Economy

The rise of retail arbitrage in Nigeria has profound implications for the nation’s economy:

Job Creation: This industry has the potential to create numerous jobs, from product sourcing and logistics to marketing and sales, contributing to reduced unemployment rates.

Income Generation: Retail arbitrage allows individuals, especially those in underserved areas, to generate additional income, alleviating poverty and enhancing livelihoods.

Tax Revenue: As the sector grows, it can contribute significantly to tax revenue, which can be reinvested in infrastructure development and public services.

Consumer Choice: Arbitrageurs provide consumers with a wider variety of products at competitive prices, leading to improved standards of living.

Growth Potential

The growth potential of retail arbitrage in Nigeria is immense. To the discerning, with the right strategies and support, retail arbitrage can diversify into various niches, including electronics, fashion, and beauty, expanding its reach.

Nigerian arbitrageurs can also explore international markets, importing and exporting products, and strengthening economic ties with other nations.

Leveraging emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and data analytics, arbitrageurs can optimize sourcing and pricing strategies.

Government Support

To foster the growth of retail arbitrage in Nigeria, the government can take inspiration from the United States in five major areas:

Education and Training: Develop training programs and workshops to educate aspiring arbitrageurs on best practices, marketing, and financial management.

Access to Finance: Facilitate access to affordable loans and financing options to help entrepreneurs invest in inventory and scale their operations.

Regulation and Fair Competition: Establish fair market practices and regulations to ensure a level playing field for all participants, preventing monopolies.

Infrastructure: Invest in logistics and transportation infrastructure to reduce costs associated with sourcing and distribution.

Tax Incentives: Provide tax incentives and exemptions to encourage entrepreneurs to formalize their businesses and contribute to tax revenue.

Retail arbitrage today represents an integral part of the gig economy. Students, housewives, young individuals of both sexes and indeed everyone who can see the opportunity is today into retail arbitrage in one form or another.

A word for practitioners and prospective – remember that success in retail arbitrage requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from both successes and failures. It’s also essential to keep a keen eye on your profit margins and carefully manage your finances to ensure a sustainable and profitable business.

Conclusion

The rise of retail arbitrage in Nigeria signifies a promising economic opportunity that, if nurtured and supported by the government, can drive job creation, income generation, and economic growth. By drawing lessons from the success of the United States in this field, Nigeria can unlock the full potential of retail arbitrage, paving the way for a brighter economic future.

Elvis Eromosele, a corporate communication professional and public affairs analyst, lives in Lagos. He can be reached via elviseroms@gmail.com

September 8, 2023