FG committed to affordable digital financial services for unbanked - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Information, Communication and Technology [ICT], Lanre Osibona has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to bring affordable digital financial services closer to Nigerians who are un-banked or under-banked.

Osibodu made this assertion in his keynote address at the recently concluded Lagos Fintech Week that was held in Lagos.

Lagos Fintech Week is an invigorating week of distinct Fintech events that delivers exciting discussions, stimulating demos and insightful debates.

He said that digital financial services is critical to building a robust digital economy and government is determined in using it to make financial services affordable to everyone irrespective of their status and gender.

He added that part of the efforts by the government to embark on the digital financial services was the rollout of digital identity to register all Nigerians and legal residents with a digital identity – the National Identity Number (NIN).

“For those who have registered, they can verify their NIN by typing *346# from their registered phone number. We have inherited the record of five million registered Nigerians when we assumed office and we have grown the number to over 37 million registered Nigerians,” he said.

He also pointed that government has put in place a number of initiatives that include FEC’s approval of the Strategic Roadmap for Harmonisation of all silo identity agencies, developed Data Protection and Privacy Bill to ensure trust between the government and citizens.

He said the Federal Government was expected to have setup an independent Data Protection Agency. “This is currently in the National Assembly for final adoption before being signed into law,” he added.

The President’s senior adviser also mentioned that government is developing a robust cyber security framework on the outcome of the cyber security assessment initiative.

“We have upgraded the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) technology in order to scale the number of records it can hold and working with a number of stakeholders including the private sector to develop strategy for e-commerce in the digital economy.”

He stated that the country cannot afford to lose out in leveraging the opportunities that digital economy is bringing but must work together in developing policies and regulations that will address challenges of data sovereignty, data ownership and commercialisation of data.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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Nigerian editors call for proactive protection of journalists - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has called for more proactive protection for journalists before, during and after elections. This was the high point of a statement released by the Guild on the occasion of the 2019 World Press Freedom Day, reports ITREALMS.

The Guild said this year’s World Press Freedom Day with the theme: ‘Role of Media in Elections and Democracy’ provides an opportunity for stakeholders in the global democracy enterprise to re-examine the contributions of journalists to the propagation and sustenance of democracy.

The Guild specifically called on relevant authorities in Nigeria to begin to see journalists as partners in development and voice of the voiceless rather than treat them as meddlesome interlopers and enemies of the people.

Citing growing mortality among journalists including denial of their fundamental right to life in the course of discharging their duties, the Guild appealed to Nigerian security agencies to ensure the safety of all journalists especially during elections. The Guild said the media has the capacity to support peace and reconciliation processes among political actors hence should be allowed to play its constitutional role.

As is the tradition, this year’s World Press Freedom Day also examines the safety of journalists. According to the Guild, ensuring the safety of journalists is the primary way by which societies can foster the independence and freedom of the press, as crucial for democracy. This, the Guild said, will also ensure public access to information.

The Guild regretted that there is a clear and present threat to achieving that goal. The Editors’ body referenced global statistics to support its crusade for the protection of journalists.

The International Federation of Journalists noted that in 2018 alone, at least 94 journalists were killed across the world. The 2018 figure indicates an increase from the previous year which recorded 82 fatalities.

The press statement signed by NGE President, Funke Egbemode and Secretary General, Victoria Ibanga, the Guild echoed the concern of the United Nations which had earlier noted that journalists were undergoing too much stress which is ultimately undermining their ability to report accurately without fear of attack.

The UN had said: “Today, the contribution of free, pluralistic, independent and safe journalism to democracy is under unprecedented stress. Also, election outcomes and their aftermath are critically affected by political discourse and communications, including the role of the media in relation to the polling process.”

The Guild condemned modern day leaders who do nothing except denounce the media as biased to the extent that factual information reported by the Press is now termed ‘fake news’ to the detriment of the journalism profession.

Ayo Midele/Editor

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Experts explains how PSBs will become Nigeria challenger banks - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The possibilities of the planned Payment Service Banks (PSBs) revolutionizing the financial services in Nigeria as they usher in a new era of change in delivering innovative payment solutions to customers is huge, experts in the financial services industry have affirmed, reports ITREALMS.

Fintech experts who spoke at the just concluded Lagos Fintech Week (LFW) were also of the opinion that these new entities could become ‘challenger banks’ as they take on traditional banks in Nigeria.

The term challenger bank is used to describe any bank that is looking to challenge the big four in Britain: Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group (which includes Halifax, Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland), HSBC and RBS (which includes NatWest and Ulster Bank).

According to Olusegun Zaccheaus, Senior Manager, Management Consulting, KPMG Advisory Services, the key questions to be answered are: how will the emergence of PSBs impact financial inclusion in Nigeria? What is its market potential and how will this disrupt banking in Nigeria? What kind of bank will the PSB be? How can PSB leverage Fintech partnership in order to achieve their objectives and what are the levers for success in this business?

Zaccheaus argued that PSB, if successful, has the potential to disrupt the banking market from several fronts. These include stealing of the “potential sweet spots in the 36.6 million unbanked and under-banked space, through payments and transactions, cannibalising the 39.7 million banked customer non-interest income revenue potential and increasing bargaining power over deposits”.

On how should banks response to the PSBs possible threats, Zaccheaus identified four ways. He advised the banks to consider accelerating to scale during PSB initial phase.

“I expect banks to leverage PSB initiating phase to drive rapid penetration into potential PSB sweet spots in payments and select rural locations. Banks that are desirous of sharing in the potential sweet spots should consider entering PSB space via holding companies and affiliates.

He, however, warned that direct play in the PSB space by traditional banks require a very strong business case.

In addition, he said that the banks can respond to PSB by driving digital adoption. They can do by leveraging digital platform and ecosystems to scale-up bank’s reach and distribution.

Besides, traditional banks can collaborate with PSBs, using their existing structure to assist with distribution footprint, regulation and compliance, FX servicing, government bonds, ATM operation and cash management.

On his part, Emmanuel Agha, the CEO of Innovectives said PSBs will deepen financial services but will not change the landscape significantly.

“The challenge with current providers is that they underestimate the BoP. Their needs may be simple but they are also varied. Their issues are not p2p transfer which PSB will major in.

“To bank the unbanked entail digitalization of basic transactional services that they are engaged in and the PSBs lack such capacity except they are owned and operated by Fintech,” he declared.

But, Deji Oguntonade, the divisional head, Fintech and Innovation at GTBank disagreed with Agha. Oguntonade said the PSBs are challenger banks.

“Yes they are, at least for the local money transfer arm of our business,” he quipped. He added that if these PSBs will operate strictly in rural, mostly unbanked locations, they may not pose a threat to the overall deposit business of commercial banks.

“Should their services be made available to all locations- rural and urban; then they may have a chance to disrupt the retail deposit business,” he declared.

According to the GTB executive, the safe conclusion of the various possibilities are that PSBs can become a challenger bank if they partner with the banks or the other financial service institutions allow them to issue loans, operate in urban locations, outside of rural areas and are able to provide their services without internet connection or at least payment for internet connection.

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Nigeria achieves 138,060 domains on dot gov.ng and mil.ng - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Nigeria has achieved 138,060 domains exclusively in .gov.ng and .mil.ng respectively in the past 10 years, just as reviewed policy has been presented to stakeholders, ITREALMS can authoritatively report.

This was disclosed in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the public presentation of toe reviewed .Gov.ng and .Mil.ng Policy to stakeholders, on Thursday, by the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

ITREALMS gathered that the presentation attended by major stakeholders was held at NAF Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja.

"We are happy to see the growth trend of .gov.ng and .mil.ng in Nigeria in recent times. The total number of registered .ng domains from inception till date, stands at 138,060 as at April 29, 2019," he revealed.

Pantami also disclosed that from this figure, 2,274 were on dot gov.ng while 278 were on dot mil.ng.

He noted that the total number of gov.ng and mil.ng domains registered since inception till October 2016 when he took office was 1,856, stressing that between November 2016 and April 2019, that 418 new domains were registered, which signifies a percentage increase of 18.3 per cent.

This growth, he attributed to various drives embarked upon by the agency at ensuring the adoption of the .gov.ng and .mil.ng.

"NITDA has also put in place a 24-hour helpline where our technical team can offer assistance on issues relating to domain name service.," he said.

In addition, he said NITDA is interacting with various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) via its email channels through which they offer and were able to solve various problems, ranging from change in names server to re-activation of inactive government domains.

ITREALMS reports that NITDA among other mandates "Ensures Internet governance and supervision of the management of the country code top-level domain (ccTLD - ng) on behalf of all Nigerians."

Pointing out that the .ng string management has been delegated to the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) which left the government to now play a supervisory role in the administration of the domains.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Entries open for 2019 Nigeria Christian book of the year prize - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Nigeria Christian Book of the Year Award (NCBOY)  is calling for entries for the 2019 Book of the Year Award, reports ITREALMS.

According to the organisers, submission of entries must adhere to the following pattern. 

“Entries must be published after 1st of Jan 2017. There is no limit to the number of titles which a publisher may submit, entries are read and judged by a panel selected by the Judges. If, in the opinion of the judges, no entry meets the standards expected, no award will be made.”

Also, entries are judged with an eye to the: Literary Style – including suitability for the target audience, Original Nature of the Work., Design, layout, cover, text and illustrations; contribution that the book makes in meeting a need for Christian writing in the Nigerian situation and in the Nigerian Market, the organisers said.

It noted that Certificate of Award alongside Certificate of Achievement will also be given to all winners, free membership into the Association of Nigerian Christian Authors and Publishers, as well as free promotion/publicity of winning books online and in newspapers. “All winners are entitled to 1,000 Christian e-book pack.”

NCBOY Award which carries no monetary gift is given annually to an original book written by a Nigerian citizen normally resident in Nigeria and published by a Nigerian Publisher. The award recognises and encourages excellence in Nigerian Christian writing. The Call for Entries is also open to Christian Teen writers.

Uj. N. Dominic/Editor

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Nestlé Nigeria unveils Q1 2019 financial results - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Nestlé Nigeria Plc has unveiled its financial results for the first quarter of 2019 with a record of post-revenue of N71.0 billion, which is a growth of 5.2 per cent over previous year, reports ITREALMS.

The gross profit for the period, ITREALMS gathered, stood at N 31.5 billion, compared to N 25.8 billion during the previous year.

Also, the company posted a net profit of N 12.8 billion as compared to N 8.6 billion during same period under review.

In the first quarter of the 2019, Nestlé Nigeria continued its emphasis on creating demand as well as strengthening brand loyalty programs to increase market penetration.

Also, the company continued to focus on Creating Shared Value for society and its shareholders by delivering high quality nutritious products to consumers and contributing to the growth of the local economy through local sourcing and increasing access to clean drinking water in the communities where it operates.

Reacting, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, Managing Director & CEO of Nestlé Nigeria Plc said, “We are pleased with the sustained growth of our company, the loyalty of our consumers and the discipline and dedication of our people to provide tastier and healthier foods and beverages,”

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Be proactive, creative, Fayemi tells appointees - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has charged his Commissioners, Special Advisers and Permanent Secretaries to be proactive and creative in sourcing for the resources required by the government to deliver on its promises to the people, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking at the opening session of a three -day retreat for commissioners, political appointees and permanent secretaries, Dr Fayemi said the government needs a lot of resources for the plethora of responsibilities on its shoulders; adding that all appointees must think outside the box and come up with creative ways to achieve set goals.

No fewer than 110 top government officials including commissioners, advisers, Permanent Secretaries and heads of agencies are in attendance at the retreat holding at the Royal Park Hotel, Iloko Ijesa, Osun State.

The government officials are, among other things, to reflect on the Fayemi administration of 2010- 2014; devise strategies for service delivery, induct new appointees on the pillars of the administration and to review policies of the administration, budget and programmes.

Governor Fayemi said the retreat, with the theme ; Restoring Ekiti Values: From Promise to Reality, was designed to get all heads of MDAs to buy into the development agenda of the administration.

He said: "At the end of this retreat, we will not be in any doubt as to what our own mandate is regarding the MDAs we preside over. What we will be in doubt about will be the resources that you will need in order to deliver on the mandate that we have assigned to you. So we will have a resource plan.

"Government is much more constrained than when we were here a couple of years ago in terms of resources and there are even more obligations to attend to not the least the issue of #30,000 minimum wage. That's why this requires more than just attending meetings, sitting in our offices, but creativity and innovation as to where these resources would come from", he said.

While telling the 110 participants that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) would stand a chance to continue to rule the State beyond 2022 if his administration can successfully deliver the goodies of good governance to the people, the governor said a "comprehensive plan of the deliverables" will be handed over to them at the retreat after which they would all sign a performance agreement with him.

Dr Fayemi said the government will expect a certain level of competence and integrity from the appointees. He however charged that anyone of them who feel he is unable to cope with the level of competence, creativity and integrity is free to resign his or her appointment.

Fayemi who noted that the task ahead of his administration is surmountable, said his administration has plans which are measurable and targeted at improving the lot of Ekiti people.

The governor explained that the retreat was moved to Iloko because the state-owned resort, Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort which hosted a similar retreat in 2013 was in a state of disrepair having been abandoned by the previous administration.

In his keynote paper, remowned Public Administration scholar, and World Bank consultant, Prof. Ladipo Adamolekun said he was not surprised that Fayemi was already repositioning the State because the governor is toeing the path of late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Prof. Adamolekun said Fayemi had demonstrated that he's well prepared for governance by coming up with an 8-point agenda in 2010 and a 5- pillars of development in 2018.

"Overall, there were significant elements of Awo's good governance example during Fayemi's first administration. Strikingly, this finding was reflected in citizens' praise for results on the ground (notably roads, education and health services, and care for the elderly) during the 2012 State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM) assessment", he said.

While concluding his paper, Adamolekun made four suggestions that could help the government ensure effective movement from promises to reality as regards good governance and quality service delivery.

These are Annual State Development Performance Reports which should be produced in Yoruba in order to enhance wider circulation among the grassroots, dissemination and implementation of Civil Service Transformation Strategy, insulation of the public service from political participation, and the establishment of an Institute of Governance.

Other speakers at the retreat include a former Governor of the state, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; a former Sierra Leone Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Richard Konteh; renowned economist, Dr Ayo Teriba; Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, Dr Otive Igbuzor; Prof Bolaji Aluko and Mr Jaiye Opayemi.

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Danbatta to provide insights on policy direction @eWorld Forum - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, would provide leading insight and policy direction on a number of topical issues, trending technologies and innovations, at the 10th edition of the eWorld Forum and Awards, reports ITREALMS.

This follows the NCC’s identification with the forum, which enters its 10th year.

ITREALMS gathered that NCC’s endorsement of the forum comes on the heel of a similar one from the Association of Licensed Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ALTON).

The forum has become a must attend as leading IT Expert, Mr Chris Uwaje and new President of Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mr. Muhammed Rudman have also signaled their approval to participate in the panel discussions that follow the lead papers. They join NCC’s Danbatta and ALTON’s Gbenga Adebayo.

Also to provide rich content and different perspectives to the discussions are Engr. Aremu Olajide, former Technical Head of Glo Mobile, and now CEO of ExpertTeam and Gbenga Sesan of Paradigm Initiatives. More speakers are expected to join the rich team of lead speakers and panelists at the event.

The theme of this year’s forum is: Nigeria’s Roadmap to Broadband Everywhere.

The 10th edition of eWorld Forum and Awards come up at 10 am on June 5, 2019 at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Victoria Island.

The eWorld Forum’s 10th edition is coming at a time when the Global Broadband Commission is calling on nations and agencies to make investment in digital infrastructure a top priority in order to achieve the goal of connecting the remaining half of the global population.

The Commission is also asking that regulatory framework that encourages competition and innovation, generates investment and benefits consumers should be encouraged to give confidence and certainty for investment, while penetration, connectivity and convergence should be promoted

Aaron Ukodie, publisher of eWorldNews and CEO of Ajomedia, organisers of the event says, discussions at the forum are sure to focus, prominently, around the now trending talks on broadband and the 5G evolution and the various arguments and viewpoints that attend to the new technology platform.

Perspectives on Smart cities and hotspots everywhere vision would be given, and more light would be shed on the state of the Infracos and the last mile vision.

The role of spaced-based communication in the broadband era and in achieving broadband everywhere vision, and how are telcos meeting and plans to meet the Nigeria’s customers’ expectation and data connectivity would also attract interest of panelists.

By Nigeria’s broadband vision, as espoused by the Nigerian Communication Commission, seamless broadband ubiquity and affordability should be within reach in the next few years, beginning from 2020.

The NCC has put in place robust policies and strategies towards achieving Nigeria’s broadband ubiquity and digital ecosystem, but it continues to update them as technology and innovation in the global market changes.

The NCC is looking towards the Infracos to play key role, besides the irreplaceable roles already being played by the mobile networks, in pushing broadband to homes, public places, villages and cities and the regulator was perfecting its strategies to empower the Infracos to achieve that goal.

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TechEconomy.ng gets Enextgen’s support on 'Broadband RoundTable' series - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

TechEconomy.ng has started a 'Broadband RoundTable Thought Leadership Series'; an all-inclusive opportunity for the telecoms Subscribers/Consumer, Service Providers, Investors and the Regulator to bare their minds with regards broadband infrastructure deployment in the country.

Enextgen Wireless is also supporting the Thought Leadership Series which is open to telecom industry stakeholder to make factual submissions (thought leadership piece) aimed at proffering solutions to identified challenges in the industry.

Why are we doing this?
Speaking on the rationale behind the initiative, the Editor of TechEconomy.ng, Peter Oluka, said that broadband infrastructure is no longer a "nice-to-have" amenity for Nigerian cities rather an essential need.

Broadband access and adoption, he said, will help promote economic development and social equity while enabling public health (telemedicine), public safety (like smart transport), educational opportunities for Nigerians around the country, among other enormous gains.

In his words: “Talking about infrastructure, 5G telecommunications technology is coming (almost here) and will change the landscape.

The 5G (Fifth generation) wireless is the next mobile technology standard, based on the 3GPP Release 15 mobile wireless networking standard, that will be succeeding the current 4G/LTE technology.

5G is already being deployed in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, China, etc. Its large-scale deployment is expected to start in 2020.

“By 2021, the number of 5G connections is forecast to reach a figure of between 20 million and 100 million. Some estimates put the figure at 200 million. Spending on 5G mobile infrastructure for that same year is forecast to be at around 2.3 billion U.S. dollars.

“5G technology and related interoperability, government, access and security standards are all in a process of development across geographies, companies and standard-setting bodies.

“Presently, in Nigeria the telcos are faced with multifaceted challenges as they deploy 4G! The government through the industry regulator – Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced a number of initiatives to ensure the all-important infrastructure is deployed, but the challenges keep increasing. So, we would like a situation where the regulator and the operators present the cases to public who will in-turn suggest how best to get these things done. Technological development is not waiting for us.

“We have read about cases where States and LGAs are making life miserable for these operators. What can be done?”

“The Regulator - Nigerian Communications Commission has received a lot of accolades for her interventional role to ensure some of these issues are removed for smooth deployment of services. Infact, NCC has developed some policy interventions to speedy deployment of services especially in the rural areas through the USPFund, InfraCo model, meetings with the Nigerian Governors' Forum, State Visits, Stakeholders engagement, etc. But, how long will it take to solve the problems? Will 4G ever be deployed across Nigeria? Why would the 'Government' grant NCC the powers to regulate the sector and at the same time, subtly challenge her authority over some jurisdictions like we have seen cases where sister agencies tend to usurp NCC’s authorities? What is the way forward?

“So, ‘Broadband RoundTable’ will be issue based and everybody is welcome for constructive engagement’, Oluka added.

Speaking on why Enextgen Wireless is supporting the Thought Leadership Series, the CEO, Engineer Remi Adeyeye, said, “The issues are numerous. The Operators are nearly paying with their blood to keep the Cell Sites up and running.

“On the other hand, what is the quality of the service (QoS) of the already deployed services? The consumer wants to know!

“So, we believe that ‘Broadband RoundTable’ will be one of its kind, because everybody would have a say in a respectful manner' and let's have a common ground to agree and move this sector forward”.

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Broadband Commissioners examine innovative partnership - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development held its 2019 Spring Meeting in Menlo Park, United States of America, 28-29 April, under the theme “Shaping the future of broadband for sustainable development" reports ITREALMS.

Broadband Commissioners – representing the broadband industry, governments, academia and United Nations agencies – reviewed the important work underway and the progress achieved by the Commission's Working Groups and discussed future trends and developments now that more than half of the global population is online. They discussed how collaborative approaches could contribute to faster digital transformation and how investment strategies and people-centred approaches enable people to get and remain online in an informed, inclusive, secured and sustainable manner.

The Commissioners also examined the use of innovative partnerships and business models to assist the expansion of broadband networks and foster secured uptake and the development of digital skills in remote and rural areas to ensure widespread access to the benefits of broadband.

The meeting hosted by Facebook, had President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Co-Chair of the Commission saying, “There is no valid reason to constrain basic freedoms or limit access to broadband. We simply need the means to enforce our laws and hold individuals accountable for what they do online, just as we do offline."

“Creating an attractive environment for investment in digital infrastructure must be one of our top priorities in order to achieve our goal of connecting the remaining half of the global population," said Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General. “Future networks like 5G and other emerging technologies are set to play a pivotal role in the digital economy. Our task is to ensure that they can benefit everyone, everywhere."

Mr Carlos Slim, Co-Chair of the Commission in a message delivered on his behalf emphasized the need to have “a regulatory framework that encourages competition and innovation, generates investment and benefits consumers. It should have stable conditions to give confidence and certainty for investment. Penetration, connectivity and convergence should be promoted. He added, “the issues discussed by the Commission at this year's Spring meeting are crucial to shape the “Future of Broadband" in a way that it enhances the quality of life for everyone."

Kevin Martin, Facebook Vice president of Mobile and Global Access Policy said, “Facebook was honoured to host the Broadband Commission and support its important work to connect the unconnected so they can safely use and benefit from the Internet."

On Sunday, 28 April, Commissioners took part in onsite sessions of three Broadband Commission Working Groups on: Child Safety On-line, Digital Infrastructure Moonshot for Africa and Freedom of Expression and Tackling Online Disinformation. This was followed on Monday, 29 April, with the full-day annual Spring Meeting of the Commission which saw two new working groups being proposed, on AI for global health and on school connectivity. The meeting concluded with a visit to the Facebook campus.

Comprised of leaders from government, industry, international organizations and academia, the Broadband Commission was established in 2010 as a top-level advocacy body promoting broadband as an accelerator of global development. The Commission is chaired by President Kagame of Rwanda and Mexico's Carlos Slim Helú. In September 2015 it was re-named the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development with the specific purpose of working to help achieve, through the power of broadband connectivity, the Sustainable Development Goals.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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