Author: Gift Ifeanyi

On-demand beauty platform Braidé, founded by technology entrepreneur Prince Metchie, is expanding its marketplace operations across major urban centers in North America, Europe, and Africa. Operating as a specialized gig-economy marketplace, the mobile software streamlines how consumers find, schedule, and pay for professional hair braiding and ethnic beauty services. By building an asset-light, mobile-first marketplace framework, the startup is professionalizing a historically informal, word-of-mouth sector. It offers independent hairstylists and beauty technicians the digital tools needed to run decentralized, doorstep-delivery beauty micro-enterprises across diverse markets including Toronto, London, New York, and Lagos. 1. The Mechanics of the Peer-to-Peer Beauty Marketplace…

African enterprises and public institutions are losing an estimated ₦587 billion annually due to a reliance on fragmented, manual procurement workflows. Speaking at the Digital Procurement Africa (DPA) Summit 2026 in Lagos—an executive forum organized by procurement technology firm Gloopro—C-suite officers, supply chain directors, and financial experts warned that paper-heavy supply chains remain a primary source of corporate value leakage, contract inflation, and vendor fraud across Sub-Saharan Africa. The theme of the summit, “Accelerating Procurement Transformation for Large Enterprises in the Digital Era,” highlighted a major shift in corporate operations. Procurement is moving from a back-office administrative chore to a…

During the First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, Dr. Kalilou Sylla, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, outlined an ambitious macroeconomic forecast projecting that West Africa will become a dominant force in global commerce over the next 50 years. Citing long-term modeling data from the United Nations and leading global research institutions, the commission stated that if regional trade integration continues to accelerate, Nigeria is on track to emerge as the world’s fifth-richest and most powerful economy within the next half-century. The report extended these highly optimistic projections across the sub-region, predicting that Ghana and…

In a comprehensive nationwide address marking the third anniversary of his administration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared that Nigeria’s economy is transitioning into a recovery phase following a period of steep structural adjustments. Acknowledging the severe inflationary pressures and household microeconomic strains caused by the removal of petrol subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange system, the President maintained that these decisions saved the country from complete fiscal collapse. According to treasury data cited during the address, the pre-reform economic model had become unsustainable. Prior to the policy shift, the federal government was absorbing up to ₦18.4 billion daily…

Novus Microfinance Bank has launched a corporate intervention program providing free Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) business name registrations for micro-entrepreneurs and small business owners across Benue State. The initiative removes the regulatory and financial barriers that typically prevent informal merchants from formalizing their businesses, allowing local traders to obtain legal corporate identities at zero cost. By funding the registration fees on behalf of small business owners, the bank’s program supports the Benue State government’s economic policies aimed at mapping the informal sector. It also helps local businesses transition into the formal economy, making them eligible for structured financial services and…

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has restructured its youth market engagement strategy with the official launch of its Live It 100 campaign, a multi-sector initiative aimed at embedding the telecommunications giant directly into Nigeria’s digital gig economy. Developed in partnership with The Gathering, a youth culture platform, the campaign kicked off with a 100-hour continuous experiential incubation hub at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos. Moving away from traditional corporate branding strategies that rely heavily on celebrity endorsements and passive consumer advertising, the initiative functions as a functional micro-venture platform. The event brought together thousands of digital creators, software developers, esports…

The South East Development Commission (SEDC) has officially concluded the inaugural South East Venture Capital Programme (SEVCP) Pitch Competition in Enugu, unveiling a cohort of 25 indigenous tech and product startups selected for dedicated equity investment. Managed by the newly appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Okoye II (former Anambra State Commissioner for Economic Planning), the federal statutory body is utilizing the initiative to deploy a merit-based $500,000 venture capital fund. The program explicitly rejects traditional, non-repayable public grant models. Instead, it introduces an institutional, equity-driven investment framework to bridge the chronic early-stage financing gap that often forces…

During an industrial facility tour by architecture undergraduate students from the Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer of Window Story Nigeria Ltd, Chief Hilary Uchechukwu Okpara, officially announced the launch of the Omenife Foundation. The newly established platform functions as a corporate social investment hub designed to provide structured mentorship, entrepreneurial training, and leadership development programs for young professionals entering Nigeria’s building and manufacturing sectors. Addressing the student cohort, Okpara criticized the industry’s heavy reliance on imported designs and finishings. He urged the next generation of architects to explore indigenous materials and local production setups to create…

Corporate technology stakeholders have officially opened applications for the Innovation Challenge Nigeria 2026. The nationwide initiative is designed to identify, fund, and scale digital minimum viable products (MVPs) built by undergraduate innovators across Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges. The program bridges the gap between theoretical academic research and practical commercial deployment, offering student founders direct access to capital grants, professional mentorship, and employment tracks within Africa’s technology ecosystem. Rather than acting as a standard academic scholarship scheme, the challenge functions as an early-stage startup accelerator. It focuses on high-potential projects that address deep-seated economic and social challenges using modern software…

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has officially commissioned a new multi-purpose Innovation Hub and Business Office at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). The custom-designed, four-floor commercial building is engineered to foster deeper synergy between the financial services sector and academic research, offering students, innovators, and university faculty direct access to professional financial systems, advanced technology sandboxes, and corporate mentorship channels. The commissioning ceremony was led by the bank’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, representing UBA Group Chairman Tony Elumelu (CFR). The project was handed over directly to the university’s leadership team, led by Vice-Chancellor Professor…

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), working through the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), has launched a targeted effort to expand the country’s digital footprint. The agency has officially opened applications for the pilot cohort of the Digital Export Acceleration Programme (DEAP). This six-month, intensive program is designed to transform high-potential startups and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) into export-ready businesses capable of successfully scaling outside Nigeria’s borders. The launch of the DEAP framework comes at an important time for the economy. While Nigeria’s domestic market boasts over 200 million consumers, local tech and manufacturing innovators often hit a growth…

As international tech conglomerates increase their control over Africa’s digital infrastructure, indigenous technology firm CBRILLIANCE AI-TECHS LTD has launched an aggressive, multi-sector expansion. Founded by prominent Nigerian technology entrepreneur Jethro Mark Da’ar (JMD), the company is building an interconnected network of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and automated commerce tools designed to reduce Africa’s long-term reliance on external tech platforms. The strategic push comes at a critical time for the continent’s digital economy. Rather than deploying isolated software applications, JMD is focusing on an infrastructure-first strategy to protect African digital assets, automate everyday business tasks, and open up new avenues for digital…

The Pan-African talent accelerator ALX has rolled out a major shift in its educational framework, moving entirely to a self-paced learning model across its digital training platforms. Backed by a strategic funding partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the career accelerator has lowered financial barriers by allowing learners to access high-tier technology and artificial intelligence training for a heavily subsidized cost of $5 (~₦7,500) per month. The operational pivot is designed to prepare the continent’s rapidly growing youth population for modern workplace demands, particularly as the global economy reorganizes around automated tools and artificial intelligence. Demographers estimate that by 2035, more…

The Abia State Government has launched a ₦306 million technology-driven intervention framework designed to modernize small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) across its 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs). Unveiled by Governor Dr. Alex Otti, the initiative—tagged the NKATA Technology Enabling Business Grant—moves away from traditional cash-distribution models to establish a highly structured, vendor-managed resource deployment system. Administered by the Abia State Technological Skills Acquisition Centre (ATSAC) under Director-General Mr. Peter Ukonu, the project seeks to move local artisans, traders, and manufacturing outfits from basic survival into measurable corporate growth. To ensure accountability, the program explicitly eliminates direct cash payments to beneficiaries,…

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) have locked horns over the operational rollouts of the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025. Speaking at a high-level stakeholders’ tax roundtable in Abuja, themed “Tax Reality: Ripple Effects on Industry and Commerce,” organized private sector leaders warned that overlapping compliance mandates are shrinking the national tax base, while administrators defended the progressive tax structure as vital to halting Nigeria’s spiral into debt. The debate arrives as Nigerian enterprises face significant macroeconomic headwinds, including persistent inflation, volatile foreign exchange rates, infrastructure deficits, and high…

A significant structural shift is redefining corporate finance and capital acquisition across Sub-Saharan Africa. Data released by enterprise fintech firm Pronalytics Limited reveals that a clean, automated tax compliance infrastructure has become the primary factor separating local companies that successfully close institutional funding rounds from those that stall during accounting audits. According to the analysis, the widespread failure of high-potential enterprises to clear private equity due diligence is rarely caused by an intentional desire to evade taxes. Instead, the bottleneck stems from fragmented back-office setups that rely on disconnected spreadsheets, manual monthly Value Added Tax (VAT) computations, and retrospective year-end…

At the 7th edition of the Africa Soft Power Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, the Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) Plc, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, called for a fundamental restructuring of how African capital markets evaluate intellectual property. Speaking under the central summit theme, “Africa’s Compound Interest: Aligning Ecosystems of Finance, Creativity and Human Capital for Growth,” Kwairanga urged continental financial institutions to move past treating African arts, music, and film as mere cultural assets. Instead, he argued that these sectors must be institutionalized as a structured, investable asset class. To bridge the gap between creative execution and global capital…

The rapid expansion of Africa’s financial technology ecosystem has turned secure, real-time message delivery into a critical operational necessity. At the forefront of this shift is Termii Group, an indigenous Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) company led by co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Gbolade. Since its launch in 2017, the firm has evolved from a basic digital marketing support service into the foundational messaging infrastructure used by thousands of companies across Sub-Saharan Africa. By offering unified Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging pipelines, the startup has significantly reduced message failure rates—a common issue that frequently disrupts online shopping and digital banking…

To mark his 60th birthday, the founder and Group Managing Director of the Rainoil Group, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie (OON), has injected ₦50 million in equity-free seed capital into Nigeria’s startup ecosystem. At an entrepreneurship symposium held in Lagos, Ogbechie selected 10 early-stage entrepreneurs to receive ₦5 million each, shifting his anniversary celebration into a practical exercise in venture incubation and corporate philanthropy. The symposium served as a strategic platform for established industrialists to discuss survival tactics for volatile markets. Highlighting Nigeria’s population of over 200 million consumers, Ogbechie argued that current macroeconomic challenges are accompanied by massive consumer demand across…

In a significant return to where his business journey began, the founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Moniepoint Inc., Tosin Eniolorunda, paid an official courtesy visit to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. Accompanied by members of Moniepoint’s executive management team, Eniolorunda was received at the royal palace with traditional cultural performances and royal blessings. The palace audience marks a major milestone for the fintech unicorn, which Eniolorunda originally conceptualized and co-founded as TeamApt in 2015 alongside fellow engineers from the university town. Today, the platform has grown into one of Africa’s fastest-scaling business banking and agency…