“I’ve been unable to open the One Bank app for over five days,” a Sterling Bank customer who asked not to be named told TechCabal. 

While the bank notified customers about possible service disruptions due to the upgrade, it did not provide specifics. 

“A core banking application is a critical tool for all financial institutions, so an upgrade of this nature is a big deal,” said a software expert at a Nigerian bank who asked not to be named.  

Building these systems is time-consuming, expensive, and risky. A botched system upgrade at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in 2012 left over 6 million customers unable to access their accounts. The bank was later fined £56m by regulators. 

SEABaaS, its new software, was built to Sterling Bank’s specification, three people with knowledge of the matter told TechCabal. A Google search shows that SEABaaS is also a product by Bazara Tech Inc., a Nigerian software company, suggesting that they may have developed the new software.

According to Bazara Tech Inc. ’s website, “SEABaaS is a future-proof, platform-agnostic core banking SaaS solution designed to elevate user experience for enterprise customers. Its architecture features microservices, APIs, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud. It also spans a unified 360-degree customer view, AI and machine Learning capabilities, and intuitive user interfaces.”

Bazara Tech Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comments. 

Sterling Bank previously used Temenos T24, a banking software used by Keystone Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Finacle is another popular core banking software option First Bank, Stanbic IBTC, UBA, and FCMB use. 

Changing its banking application could be driven by cost considerations, difficulties in integrating with existing legacy systems, or attempts to avoid vendor lock-in. 

Sterling Bank did not respond to a request for comments. 

Sterling Bank will share details of the new banking software and migration process next week after it solves the current downtime, two people with knowledge of the process said. The bank considers the development of its custom banking software a major move in Nigerian banking, the same people said. 

Before that grand rollout to the press, it will need to pacify customers, many of whom could still not use the One Bank app at the time of this report, so as not to jump ship while it continues its migration. 

The initial fiber duct project, which kicked off in 2020, was delayed due to contractual disputes between Lagos State and the contractor, Western Telecoms and Engineering Services Limited. 

Alake declined to comment on the specifics of the disagreement.

“The department handling the project is not under my ministry, but there are plans to relocate them to the Ministry of Science and Technology,” he said. 

Western Telecoms had previously laid 2,700km of fiber duct and cables between 2020 and 2022. The company secured connectivity deals with major telecom operators, including MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Liquid Telecom, MainOne, Dolphin Telecoms, Swift, and Spectranet. Over 1,000 MTN and Airtel base station sites were successfully connected to the fiber infrastructure. 

However, the project failed to meet its 2023 deadline for completion.

Fidelity Bank and other financial institutions provided the initial funding for the 6000km project, estimated to cost $200 million. Alake did not disclose the cost of the expansion which will be funded by WIOCC and IHS.

A WIOCC spokesperson confirmed the talks but declined to comment on the financial commitments involved.

IHS did not immediately respond to requests for comments. 

Home to over 521 startups and headquarters of different multinationals, improving internet quality is vital for the economic growth of Lagos. However, with only 7,864.50 km of fibre deployed out of the needed 36,000 km, high-speed internet remains a challenge. The state aims to attract more investment using fibre ducts to protect the infrastructure.

The Lagos State fiber duct project is part of a broader “Dig-Once” policy launched in 2020 to solve inconsistent fiber deployment by telecom and utility companies. 

Frequent vandalism of fibre cables and cuts from road construction have plagued the existing network. With the dig-once framework in place, construction workers in the state can avoid damaging fiber installations, enhancing the reliability of telecom services.

Popular in regions like the Eurozone and the U.S., and gaining traction in emerging markets, dig-once policy aims to install robust, long-lasting ducts that protect fiber cables. Fiber cables typically last 20 to 25 years, but the ducts themselves can endure for 25 to 50 years, providing a cost-effective and sustainable solution for future infrastructure.

Lagos is not alone in embracing the dig-once policy. Osun State, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Cross River State have adopted similar strategies. 

For Alake, the time is ticking as the project needs to be delivered by 2027 when the current administration leaves office. 

“We propose that the CA instead consider mandating that satellite service providers to only operate in Kenya subject to such providers establishing agreement with an existing local licensee,” Safaricom said in a memo seen by TechCabal.

In the July 15 memo, Safaricom asked the regulator to assess the risks of allowing satellite internet providers to operate without an agreement with local companies. 

Safaricom did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

“Satellite service providers should therefore not be granted a license directly/independently but rather only permitted to operate under the license rights of the local licensee.”

The telco said allowing the satellite ISPs to operate without a physical local presence would make it hard for the government to regulate their operations. 

CA did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

Since its launch in 2023, Starlink has relied on third parties and resellers to distribute their hardware and connect users, an issue Safaricom raised in their memo to CA. 

Through discounts on its hardware and the introduction of a cheaper $10 monthly plan, data from CA shows that Starlink users grew tenfold in Q1 2024. On August 21, Starlink introduced a $15 monthly kit rental plan for users who cannot afford $350 to purchase the hardware. 

Starlink’s growing popularity has pushed existing local players to increase marketing to retain customers. Safaricom, which has talked about launching a satellite internet service, has a firm grip on the data market, with a 36.7% market share. 

Starlink did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

“Granting a license to an entity that will typically operate in Kenya without having a physical presence in the country (via third-party partners/resellers only. This would mean negligible control for the government to ensure accountability for non-compliance issues,” Safaricom said.

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Dakayi joins OmniRetail after shutting down BetaStore, a B2B e-commerce startup he founded in 2020. The former Betastore founder has worked in e-commerce for a decade and was commercial and fulfillment lead for Jumia. 

He will bring his experience to some of the key markets OmniRetail is expanding to.

“As a company and philosophy, once you have gotten your foot in properly, you start looking into expansions,” Amber Yadav, OmniRetail Head, Retail Division, said on a call with TechCabal. “We are looking at new geographies that make more sense in Francophone Africa like Cameroon, Senegal, Cote d Ivoire. That is the reason  for our expansion.”

OmniRetail’s expansion into Francophone Africa mirrors a similar move by B2B e-commerce competition,Wasoko. Francophone Africa has in recent times demonstrated the capacity for massive growth. This can be linked to  a stable currency pegged to the Euro, making it immune to FX instability like its West African counterparts. 

High economic growth is also another factor that makes the Francophone region favourable. According to the IMF, six out of the seven fastest-growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa are francophone countries

“Francophone Africa is very underestimated,” Dakayi said, stressing the region’s growth potential. “Some of the latest trends we have observed is significant growth in the middle class. This has led to increased purchasing power and new habits in terms of consumption. These are key growth drivers.”

Dakayi believes that OmniRetail’s FMCG focus would thrive in Francophone countries. “We are not looking at the competition. We just want a business driven by unit economics,” he said. To achieve this progress, OmniRetail will focus on building strong partnerships and staying asset-light to drive profitability in these regions. 

Dakayi will report to Deepankar Rustagi,  the CEO of OmniRetail, and head the Francophone expansion, which will begin with Ivory Coast.

Dakayi’s appointment comes as OmniRetail intensifies its focus on profitability after being named one of the fastest-growing companies of 2024. Dakayi said the company’s vision is to become the leading e-commerce platform in Africa.

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“Following the absorption by MTN Nigeria, Visafone is now fully liquidated,” a note in its H1 2024 financial statement said. “The liquidation process was completed during the period, and all remaining assets and liabilities of Visafone have been transferred.”  

When MTN Nigeria acquired Jim Ovia’s Visafone, its goal was to improve the quality of broadband internet. It had its eye on Visafone’s 800MHz spectrum licences, which would have helped MTN deliver 4G LTE Internet services to its subscribers.

MTN Nigeria did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

That spectrum licence made Visafone—with 2.2 million registered subscribers—strategically important. It would also prove to be a bone of contention for three years. With Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC) reluctant to approve the transfer of the spectrum licence, MTN initially considered pulling out of the acquisition. 

Competitors Airtel and 9mobile argued that if MTN Nigeria acquired the spectrum, its stake would increase from 38% to 50% of the entire spectrum available. For MTN, the acquisition was important to allow it to compete with Globacom which launched 4G LTE services in October 2016. 

It was not the first time MTN was acquiring a spectrum licence holder. In 2006, it bought VGC Communications Limited (VGCCL) for $70 million (N9.3 billion).

VGCCL was licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to provide cabling and radio telephone services nationwide.

While Visafone did not disclose the terms of the acquisition in 2016, the filing shows MTN invested ₦43 billion. 

Muzzolini informed employees of her resignation in a note on July 12. She also updated the new role on her LinkedIn profile. It is unclear if Hini, who left in June 2024, has taken another role. 

Hini and Muzzolini joined MoMo PSB in 2022 and led its growth strategies in Nigeria. Their exit comes at a time when MTN Nigeria ramps up investment in its fintech unit to grow its share of wallets and app adoption following losses in its core business, telecoms.

Phrase Lubega, the company’s group executive for fintech commercial operations, has been named the acting CEO. His appointment is subject to CBN approval, one person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

MTN did not respond to a request for comments. 

MoMo grew mobile money wallets by 55.8% to 5.5 million in H1 2024 from 3.1 million in H1 2023. Fintech revenue grew by 11% driven by increased wallet and MoMo app adoption. Compared with Airtel mobile money scheduled to go public in 2025, its mobile money customers grew 14.9% to 39.5 million

On Monday, August 5, 2024, MTN Nigeria paid ₦6.95 billion to buy off Acxani Capital Limited, the minority shareholder of MoMo PSB. MTN Nigeria took control of the fintech unit to strengthen MoMo PSB’s operations and position it for growth, according to a regulatory filing. The deal also allows MTN Nigeria to deploy more funding into the fintech unit. MoMo received an additional ₦9.4 billion in investment from MTN Nigeria as part of the deal.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the acting CEO of MoMo PSB.

While the CBN has not disclosed how much it provided in support, a source close to the situation told TechCabal that the amount was ₦700 billion.

According to a letter from Unity Bank’s managing director to the CBN seen by TechCabal, on July 22, the bank requested “merger approval and financial” support.

In that letter, it asked for a loan “priced at an interest rate of MPR minus 11%, subject to a minimum of 6%. Beginning in the sixth year, the new financial entity will recommence repayment in 15 equal installments until maturity.”

A spokesperson for Unity Bank declined to comment.

“The merger is contingent upon the financial support from the CBN,” said Hakama Sidi, the acting director corporate communications of the CBN. “

The fund will be instrumental in addressing Unity Bank’s total obligations to the Central Bank and other stakeholders. It is unequivocal to state that the CBN’s action is in accordance with the provisions of Section 42 (2) of the CBN Act, 2007.”

Hakama emphasized that the arrangement was crucial for the financial health and operational stability of the post-merger organisation. Unlike its profitable peers in the financial industry like Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), and Stanbic IBTC, Unity Bank has consistently reported poor results, further exacerbated by  high foreign currency exposure.

CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Tomi Somefun, blamed the bank’s poor financial position on the operating environment, which impacted the bank’s growth. “What we have is a market-driven impact which is adjustable envisaged from the positive economic outcomes of the government policies in the near term,” Somefun said in a statement the bank shared with TechCabal in September 2023.

Unity Bank has been in a worrisome situation since analysts from KPMG queried its full-year report ended December 31, 2022.

The lender’s  total liabilities exceeded its total assets by ₦274.9 billion in 2022, and KPMG wrote a note regarding this situation in its books, highlighting it as a “growing concern.”  Questions have been raised on the bank’s financial health even after it managed to  record ₦1.04 billion profit in the first quarter of 2023. In that same quarter, its total liabilities continued to surpass its total assets in Q1 2023. 

Till date, the bank is yet to release its 2023 full year reports for full transparency.

In September 2023, Somefun hinted at the bank plans to complete a recapitalization exercise long before CBN manadated banks to shore up their positions. The bank said it was focusing on retail growth before its merger. 

*This is a developing story

*This story has been edited to show that Unity bank requested a loan facility from the Central Bank

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Two people with direct knowledge of the matter claimed that at least 120 employees, including full-time and contract staff of First Bank’s large operations department, were given termination letters in July. The head of transactions at the time was also fired. 

Those employees were accused of laxity in carrying out their duties and were told they should have spotted the fraud earlier. First Bank’s management team believed it was impossible for a fraud of that scale and timeline to have been executed without the knowledge of Adeyinka’s superiors.

“The CEO said there will be zero tolerance for supervisory negligence,” said one First Bank employee who asked not to be named so they could speak freely. 

TechCabal first reported the alleged fraud in May, showing how Adeyinka, who was the final line of authorisation on his team, carried on his scheme unnoticed for two years. When the incident was discovered in March, the bank tried to keep the matter under wraps, suspending several operations team members indefinitely. However, First Bank became more aggressive after the fraud became public.

Several employees were questioned by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and detained at the Lion’s Building for at least six hours, one person with direct knowledge of the incident said. Those employees needed to post bail before they were released. Restrictions have been placed on all their personal accounts except their First Bank accounts. 

First Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

The blast radius may have extended farther. First Bank’s CEO at the time, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, abruptly resigned in April, eight months before the end of his tenure and less than a month after the fraud was uncovered. Adeduntan, who led First Bank for nine years and “left to pursue other interests,” was initially replaced as CEO by First Bank’s board in April 2021. 

The Central Bank blocked that move, claiming First Bank’s board acted without regulatory approval. It paved the way for Dr Adeduntan to serve an unprecedented third term. One publication claimed concerns over his tenure led to his resignation in April.

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On Wednesday, LagRide told its 1,000 drivers to stay home and suspend their daily repayments during the strike. Drivers pay ₦700,000 ($791) for brand-new GAC vehicles and spread the rest of the payment for four years through daily payments of ₦10,522. 

“Any captain found driving or making offline trips or impersonating tomorrow will have their vehicle repossessed without options of settlement,” the company said in a statement seen by TechCabal. Only LagRide directed its drivers to stay off the road. Its competitors like Bolt, Indrive and Uber did not. However, officials of the e-hailing drivers union instructed drivers to stay home for fear of reprisal attacks. 

“We did not stop operations, we only advised safety,” national treasurer of App-Based Transporters of Nigeria (AUATON), Jolaiya Moses said in a text message. “We encouraged everyone to stay safe, if possible stay at home. It’s a volatile period.”

The suspension of LagRide driver’s accounts will significantly impact the drivers’ ability to earn money to cater to their needs during the protest period. In July 2024, drivers’ daily asset repayments were increased 17% from ₦8,955 ($5.72) to ₦10,522 ($6.72) due to accelerating inflation and macroeconomic headwinds. The inability to make daily repayments could, in turn, result in losses for the government and the private investors should the protest extend.

In addition to the hefty fine, FCCPC asked WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with other Facebook companies and third parties without explicit consent. The social media platform must also provide information about data collection and restore user control over data usage. 

“We want to be really clear that technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally,” a spokesperson for WhatsApp told TechCabal via email. 

“This order contains multiple inaccuracies and misrepresents how WhatsApp works. WhatsApp relies on limited data to run our service and keep users safe, and it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally without Meta’s infrastructure. We are urgently appealing the order to avoid any impact on users,” the statement added. 

Meta did not comment on the FCCPC’s claim that WhatsApp did not allow users to opt out of the 2021 policy. However, it insisted that its January 2021 Privacy Policy update does not include sharing user data. 

“While traditionally mobile carriers and operators store this information, we believe that keeping these records for two billion users would be both a privacy and security risk and we don’t do it,” the privacy document reads.

If Whatsapp ceases operations in Nigeria, it will have enormous consequences for individuals and small business owners. Many SMEs rely on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook to reach their target customers.

Three privacy lawyers questioned the FCCPC’s reference to the National Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) as a basis for the fine. Enacted in 2019 by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), NDPR is the primary data protection framework in Nigeria. 

Two lawyers who asked not to be named say the NDPR will not stand up to scrutiny in court and asked if a government regulation could be authoritative in a matter as significant as privacy. 

While Meta is undoubtedly subject to regulatory oversight, the proportionality of the $220 million fine levied by the FCCPC is questionable, two government figures who asked not to be named said. 

“We are too revenue-focused. What is the opportunity cost of $220 million in government coffers?” asked an Industry expert. 

If WhatsApp ceases operating in Nigeria over those demands, the FCCPC and the Nigerian government will have their answer.