Category: Business Day

The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador to launch a new programme aimed at helping young Nigerian entrepreneurs move from business ideas to investment-ready ventures.

The partnership, announced to mark International Youth Day 2026, will see the NiYA × Cascador Founders Program provide training, mentorship and non-dilutive funding to a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders.

Under the programme, participants will undergo an intensive four-week curriculum covering business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation.

At the end of the programme, eight of the top-performing founders will receive up to N5 million each in non-dilutive funding from Cascador.

The selected founders will also receive an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure and manage their businesses as they scale.

The programme will culminate in a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and FMYD, where participants will present their businesses to a panel of judges.

According to the organisers, the pilot is designed to support young founders who may not have formal business registration, established financial records or access to traditional funding networks.

‘For NiYA, training is only one part of the journey. The real value is in helping young people move from learning to enterprise, from ideas to investable businesses, and from potential to sustainable economic participation,’ the minister for youth development said.

The minister added that the partnership with Cascador would combine business preparation with access to capital, particularly for young entrepreneurs who lack the formal structures and financial history typically required by traditional funders.

The programme forms part of NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower seven million Nigerian youths within two years.

Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform supporting growth-stage founders, will work with FMYD and NiYA to establish eligibility criteria, support participants’ investment readiness, assess their pitches and provide funding to the strongest performers.

Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador, said the partnership would help create a practical pathway between entrepreneurship training and access to capital.

‘NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions,’ Thomas said.

She added that the partnership would provide a bridge from the ideation stage to capital readiness.

Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former managing director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, said the programme demonstrated how government-backed entrepreneurship training could be combined with private-sector capital.

‘This is what innovative capital deployment looks like as a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed,’ Solebo said.

The pilot will be delivered in person in Abuja, supported by virtual sessions and one-on-one mentorship.

The organisers said all 20 participants who complete the programme will retain NiYA alumni status and receive priority consideration for future opportunities.

For FMYD, the pilot is also intended to test a model that could eventually be expanded beyond the initial cohort.

The minister said the broader objective is to create a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem where access to opportunities is determined by business readiness, ideas and execution rather than an entrepreneur’s background or existing networks.

The partnership comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with youth unemployment and the need to create pathways for young people to participate more meaningfully in the digital and wider economy.

By combining public-sector reach, entrepreneurship training and private capital, the NiYA-Cascador initiative seeks to address one of the persistent challenges facing young Nigerian founders which is moving from acquiring skills to building businesses capable of attracting and effectively deploying capital.

There is a particular kind of regret that arrives a few seconds too late. You answer a call from an unknown number and hear a calm voice claiming to be from your bank. For the next 90 seconds, you believe the caller, or you let the phone ring because, like millions of Nigerians, you have learnt to treat unknown numbers with suspicion, only to discover later that it was the client you had been trying to reach for three weeks.

Both come at a cost, and for the average Nigerian professional, that cost is becoming more frequent, more complicated and, increasingly, difficult to measure.

Nigeria has reached a point where distrust of an unfamiliar telephone number is no longer simply a personal precaution. It has become a rational response to an environment in which legitimate communication and fraud increasingly arrive through the same channel.

According to Truecaller’s latest Global Insights Report, 51 per cent of unknown calls received by Nigerians are flagged as spam or fraud, the highest rate recorded in Africa. When more than one in every two unknown calls carries that warning, it is hardly surprising that people stop trusting the number on their screen, and that caution comes with its own price.

When the Scam Works the most obvious cost is the fraud that succeeds. It can begin with nothing more than a telephone call. A confident voice introduces itself as a bank official. There is an urgent transfer to reverse, an account that needs to be secured or a one-time password that must be confirmed immediately.

The trick is rarely sophisticated, and what makes it effective is urgency. By the time the victim realises what has happened, the consequences may extend well beyond the money transferred. There are calls to the bank’s fraud desk, police reports, cancelled cards, blocked accounts and the exhausting process of proving that a transaction was not authorised.

The financial loss is only part of the damage. There is also the time lost, the disruption to work and the lingering anxiety that follows. For a professional whose livelihood depends on access to a phone, bank account and digital identity, a fraudulent call can quickly become an operational crisis.

One call can open the door

The greater danger is the cascade that can follow a compromised call. A victim may surrender what appears to be a harmless piece of information. From there, a SIM swap could follow. Then access to a banking application. Then other accounts connected to the same telephone number.

The phone number has quietly evolved into something much more valuable than a means of communication. For many Nigerians, it is a gateway to banking, payments, social media, email and other parts of their digital lives.

That makes a compromised call potentially far more damaging than the original request made by the fraudster. What begins as an attempt to obtain one piece of information can become an attack on an individual’s wider financial and digital identity.

The call that comes through the family

But perhaps the most expensive call is not the one that reaches your phone, it is the one that reaches your mother’s.

Fraudsters understand that the people around a professional can sometimes be easier targets. An ageing parent, a younger sibling or a dependent who is less familiar with common scams may provide the easiest route to someone else’s money.

The script is often familiar: a child has been arrested, a relative is stranded somewhere, an emergency has occurred, or a small payment is required before a larger benefit can be released. The sums requested may initially appear insignificant, but the emotional pressure, however, is enormous.

When such a scam succeeds, the loss is carried twice. First, there is the money that must be recovered or replaced. Then comes the guilt, the feeling that the victim should have known better, or that the person who was defrauded should have been protected.

For many Nigerian professionals, that is the real burden of a bad call. It does not always target the most careful member of the family. It targets the most vulnerable, and the consequences eventually find their way back to everyone.

Then there are the calls we stop taking

There is another cost that receives far less attention: the genuine calls that go unanswered.

A recruiter may be calling about a job opportunity. A hospital may be trying to reach a patient. A supplier may be confirming a delivery. A client may be calling from a number that is not saved on the recipient’s phone.

But when every unknown number is treated as a potential threat, legitimate opportunities begin to look like threats too.

This creates an uncomfortable paradox. The more successful telephone fraud becomes, the less willing people are to answer their phones, and the less willing people are to answer, the harder it becomes for legitimate businesses and individuals to communicate efficiently.

Trust, once lost, is expensive to rebuild. For businesses, the consequences can include missed customers, delayed transactions and failed follow-ups.

For professionals, it can mean missing an opportunity simply because the person making the call was not recognised. A missed call may look insignificant on a phone screen. In real life, it can represent a missed contract, an interview, a medical appointment or an important conversation.

Then there’s the New Cost of Doing Business.This is where the problem becomes larger than telephone fraud. Nigeria’s growing digital economy depends on communication. Businesses need to reach customers. Customers need to reach banks, service providers and professionals. Employers need to contact candidates. Families need to stay connected.

Yet the same infrastructure that makes this possible is increasingly being exploited by fraudsters. The result is an informal tax on trust.

People spend time verifying numbers. Businesses increasingly rely on WhatsApp messages, emails and other channels to confirm calls. Professionals hesitate before answering. Families develop elaborate rules for responding to emergencies.

All of this is understandable, but it also means that the cost of fraud is being transferred beyond the immediate victim. It is being absorbed by everyone who relies on the telephone as part of everyday economic and social life. The challenge, therefore, is not simply to teach Nigerians not to fall for scams. That remains essential, but it is only one part of the solution.

Banks, telecom operators, technology companies and regulators also have a role to play in making fraudulent communication easier to identify and legitimate communication easier to trust.

Individuals, meanwhile, must develop habits that balance caution with practicality: verify unexpected requests through trusted channels, never disclose sensitive banking credentials or one-time passwords to unsolicited callers, and establish family protocols for genuine emergencies.

The objective should not be to make Nigerians answer every call. It should be to make them confident enough to know which calls are worth answering.

Because in an economy where a telephone call can move money, secure a job, close a deal or trigger a fraud investigation, the cost of a bad call is no longer measured only in naira.

Sometimes, the most expensive call is the one we never answer.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has constituted a fact-finding committee to investigate the country’s recent poor performances in international football following the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The move comes after the Super Falcons, 10-time African champions and holders of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), suffered a disappointing exit from the 2026 tournament in Morocco.

Super Falcons miss World Cup for first time

Nigeria were eliminated at the quarter-final stage after a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon before suffering a 2-1 loss to South Africa in the subsequent CAF playoff.

The defeat ended Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the Inter-Confederations Playoff and means the Super Falcons will miss the Women’s World Cup for the first time since the tournament began in 1991.

The setback has intensified concerns over the state of Nigeria’s national teams and the country’s declining influence in international football.

Amun heads five-member panel

Former NFF General Secretary, Ambassador Fanny Amun, MON, will chair the fact-finding committee.

The panel also includes former Nigeria U20 coach and President of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association, Ladan Bosso; former Super Falcons captain and multiple WAFCON winner Desire Oparanozie; former Super Eagles captain, AFCON winner and World Cup star Mutiu Adepoju; and former FIFA referee Dr Alex Mana.

Chairman of the Sokoto State Football Association, Mohammed Nasiru Sa’idu, will serve as secretary.

Committee tasked with finding answers

The committee is expected to examine the factors behind the recent struggles of Nigeria’s national teams and identify areas requiring urgent intervention.

Its formation reflects growing concerns over the country’s inability to translate its historic strength and talent pool into sustained success across international competitions.

The Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 World Cup represents a particularly significant setback, given Nigeria’s record of appearing at every previous edition of the tournament.

The NFF’s decision to establish the panel could therefore provide an opportunity to assess the technical, administrative and structural challenges affecting the national teams and recommend measures to reverse the decline.

Angola’s annual inflation rate has fallen below 10 percent for the first time in nearly 11 years, strengthening signs that price pressures are easing after years of high inflation and giving the central bank more room to consider further interest rate cuts.

Inflation slowed to 9.33 percent in July from 10.11 percent in June, according to the National Statistics Institute. The latest reading is close to the lowest level recorded in the country’s consumer price index series since 2015.

The July figure represents a 0.78 percentage point decline from June and is about 10 percentage points lower than a year earlier, extending a sustained period of easing price pressures.

The statistics agency attributed the continued slowdown largely to the stability of the kwanza and improved domestic supplies of essential goods. The July reading marked the 24th consecutive month of declining annual inflation.

The easing trend has already allowed the Banco Nacional de Angola to begin reducing borrowing costs. On July 14, the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 125 basis points to 15.75 percent, citing the continued improvement in inflation.

However, the decline in headline inflation has not been evenly spread across the economy. Education recorded the highest annual price increase at 25.24 percent, while food and non alcoholic beverages rose 10.40 percent.

Housing, water, electricity and fuel prices increased 10.17 percent, while healthcare costs rose 10.16 percent.

Food and non alcoholic beverages remained the biggest contributor to the overall price level, keeping pressure on household budgets even as headline inflation moved into single digits.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased 0.75 percent in July, compared with 0.52 percent in June, showing that the slowdown in annual inflation does not mean price increases have stopped.

Transportation recorded one of the sharpest improvements, with annual inflation falling to 3.65 percent in July from 15.40 percent in June. Prices also eased across clothing and footwear, housing and utilities, and miscellaneous goods and services.

The decline in inflation remains uneven across Angola’s provinces. Cuanza Norte recorded the lowest annual inflation rate at 6 percent, followed by Huambo at 6.59 percent and Cunene at 6.86 percent.

At the other end of the scale, Cabinda recorded inflation of 13.09 percent, while Malanje and Lunda Sul posted rates of 12.01 percent and 11.40 percent respectively.

The wide gap between provinces shows that the improvement in national inflation has not translated into uniform price relief across the country, particularly for households facing higher costs for food, education and basic services.

The latest figures nevertheless strengthen the case for a gradual easing of monetary policy if the downward trend continues. Investors and businesses will be watching August inflation closely for signs of whether Angola can sustain the progress and how quickly lower inflation could translate into cheaper credit and stronger consumer and business activity.

For households, the move below 10 percent is an important improvement, but the continued rise in essential goods and services means the cost of living remains a concern even as the broader inflation picture improves.

Katebridge Impact Advisory, a civic tech firm, has launched in Nigeria with a mandate to help businesses, foundations, philanthropists and development organisations improve how they design, measure and demonstrate the impact of their social investments.

The launch comes as organisations across Nigeria and Africa face increasing pressure to demonstrate not only the resources committed to social programmes, but also the outcomes and lasting changes generated by those investments.

Katebridge’s approach is focused on helping organisations move beyond measuring activities such as the number of beneficiaries reached or programmes delivered to assessing whether interventions are producing meaningful and sustainable outcomes.

The firm provides services across CSR strategy and execution, philanthropy advisory, community impact programmes, impact measurement, and monitoring, evaluation and learning.

According to the firm, its core proposition is that social investments should be assessed by the changes they create rather than simply what is delivered.

This approach involves examining whether an intervention addressed the problem it was designed to solve, what changed for the communities involved, what contributed to those changes, and whether the outcomes can be sustained.

Katebridge said its founding team combines experience across international development, public policy, programme management, community development, strategic communications, research and learning.

Karo Omu, co-founder and managing partner, brings experience in programme management, social impact strategy, community development and stakeholder engagement.

She is also the founder of Sanitary Aid Initiative, a community-focused social intervention organisation.

Temidayo Musa, co-founder, has experience spanning international development, humanitarian emergencies, public policy, strategic communications, research and learning, as well as the use of technology to improve social services and governance.

The founders said they intend to position Katebridge at the intersection of strategy, implementation and evidence in the development sector.

‘The conversation around social investment is evolving. Organisations are being asked to demonstrate not only what they have invested, but what that investment has achieved,’ the firm said.

Katebridge said its initial operations will focus on Nigeria and the wider West African region, where organisations are dealing with complex social and economic challenges while facing greater demands for responsible and accountable investment.

Beyond advisory services, the firm plans to contribute to the social impact ecosystem through research, knowledge sharing and thought leadership.

Its flagship publication, ‘Measuring What Matters: The Impact Investment Landscape Report 2026’, is expected to examine the changing impact investment space and the growing role of data, evidence, measurement and accountability in improving social investment.

The firm also plans to examine challenges across areas including maternal and public healthcare, youth unemployment, climate resilience, financial inclusion, food security, youth development and sanitation.

Katebridge’s launch reflects a broader shift in the social investment sector towards evidence-based approaches that seek to establish whether funding and interventions are producing measurable results.

For the firm, counting beneficiaries or measuring activities remains useful but does not provide a complete picture of impact.

It argues that organisations need stronger systems for understanding outcomes, learning from interventions and using evidence to guide future investments.

Katebridge said its ambition is to become a trusted impact partner for organisations seeking to make their social investments more strategic, measurable and effective across West Africa.

The firm is now open to organisations seeking support with social impact strategy, philanthropic investments, community programmes and impact measurement.

The Kwara Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KWACCIMA) has unveiled plans to strengthen its advocacy for policies that promote investment, improve the ease of doing business and create an enabling environment for enterprises to thrive in the state.

Abu Salami, President and Chairman of the Council of KWACCIMA, stated this on Thursday in his address at the opening of the chamber’s 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM), held at the KWACCIMA Secretariat, Afon Junction, Ganmo, Kwara State.

Salami said the Chamber was determined to reposition KWACCIMA as a leading chamber of commerce in Nigeria through innovation, strategic partnerships, institutional reforms, improved member services and sustainable programmes capable of delivering measurable value to its members.

He described the AGM as a significant event in the life of the chamber, providing an opportunity to review its activities and achievements over the past year, assess challenges, strengthen unity among members and chart a progressive course for the future of the chamber and the private sector in Kwara.

According to him, despite prevailing economic challenges confronting businesses across the country, KWACCIMA remained committed to promoting the interests of the organised private sector.

He said the chamber had, during the year under review, organised and participated in several strategic programmes aimed at promoting commerce, industry, agriculture, mining and entrepreneurship.

Salami added that the Chamber had strengthened its relationships with government institutions, corporate organisations, development partners and diplomatic missions.

He specifically cited its collaboration with the Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre and the successful Indonesian Business Forum held in Ilorin as initiatives that had opened new opportunities for trade and investment between Kwara businesses and international business communities.

The KWACCIMA president also stated that the Chamber had intensified its membership drive, encouraged stronger participation by sectoral associations and continued to provide platforms for business networking, investment promotion and enterprise development.

He added that the achievements recorded during the year were made possible by the collective support and commitment of members, the Executive Council, secretariat staff and partners.

‘As we prepare for the forthcoming 13th Kwara Trade Fair, the Executive Council remains committed to delivering an event that will further showcase the enormous economic and investment potential of Kwara State while creating greater opportunities for businesses to grow,’ he said.

Salami urged members to actively participate in the AGM’s deliberations, stressing the need for openness, constructive ideas and a shared commitment to the continued growth of the chamber.

He expressed appreciation to members, past presidents, executive council members, governments at all levels, corporate organisations, development partners and other stakeholders for their support.

‘We shall build a stronger institution that will continue to promote economic prosperity, advocate for the private sector and contribute meaningfully to the development of Kwara State and Nigeria as a whole,’ he said.

Also speaking, Damilola Yusuf Adelodun, the Kwara State Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology, said the AGM represented not only a long-standing tradition but also an important platform for discussing ways to strengthen the state’s business environment.

The Commissioner, represented by Rabiat Bola Salaudeen, the Director of Industry, commended KWACCIMA for its sustained advocacy for the business community, promotion of industry partnerships and efforts to strengthen Kwara’s economic base.

She acknowledged the resilience of businesses in the state despite global economic uncertainties, supply chain disruptions, post-pandemic recovery challenges, fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange reforms.

According to her, the ability of businesses to adapt and innovate remained critical to the state’s economic progress.

She said the State Government’s vision was to build a prosperous Kwara where businesses could thrive, create jobs and compete effectively at national and international levels.

‘At the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Technology, we are committed to creating an enabling environment that will not only support existing businesses but also attract new investments, foster innovation and improve the ease of doing business across all sectors,’ she said.

Adelodun stressed the importance of stronger collaboration between the government and private sector, noting that sustainable economic development could not be achieved by government alone, adding that the government would continue to engage stakeholders, identify barriers affecting businesses and pursue practical solutions to make Kwara an increasingly attractive destination for investment and enterprise development.

She posited that the State Government was investing in infrastructure, including roads, technology, healthcare facilities, education, digital connectivity and other facilities required to support economic growth.

On access to finance, the commissioner said the government is strengthening support for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), describing them as the lifeblood of the economy.

She said the Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP) had been strategically positioned to provide support for businesses, while arrangements were underway to reintroduce and reinvigorate the Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to cater to larger businesses.

According to her, the government was also engaging Deposit Money Banks to provide lending support to businesses and developing programmes around mentorship, skills training and market access.

She said the initiatives were aimed at equipping businesses with the resources and skills needed to grow and compete effectively.

The commissioner further highlighted Kwara’s resource base, skilled workforce and strategic location as opportunities for local and international trade, adding that the government was particularly focused on promoting industries with strong export potential.

She said the ministry, in collaboration with educational institutions and private-sector partners, was also advancing vocational training, apprenticeships and entrepreneurship programmes for young people across the state.

Adelodun listed the ICT Hub, Sugar Film Factory Studio, Garment Factory and agro-processing facilities, including shea nut and shea butter projects, among initiatives contributing to economic development across various sectors.

She also said government incentives, including tax holidays and reliefs, were being deployed to encourage business growth, while the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) had been strengthened to provide improved services to businesses.

Representatives of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Lower Niger River Basin Authority, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), in their goodwill messages and presentations, encouraged KWACCIMA to sustain its role in coordinating economic development and strengthen collaboration among stakeholders.

The AGM provided a platform for stakeholders in the public and private sectors to review developments in Kwara’s business environment and explore strategies for deepening investment, enterprise development and economic growth in the state.

Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has ordered aviation agencies and airlines to work out repayment plans for outstanding debts owed by the carriers, in a bid to prevent future industrial disruptions in the sector.

In a statement by Mahmud Kambari, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, noted that the minister gave the directive on Thursday after convening an emergency meeting with airline operators, aviation sector unions and heads of aviation agencies.

The meeting followed Tuesday’s industrial action that temporarily disrupted operations of most airlines on Tuesday at some Nigerian airports.

The statement also noted that the meeting also resolved to allow aviation unions direct access to workers of all airlines to distribute unionisation forms, with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) directed to sanction any airline that prevents such access, but noted that workers had a right to decide not to belong to unions.

Kambari noted that the emergency meeting was convened to address the ‘burning issues’ in the sector and foster greater understanding, cooperation and progress among stakeholders.

According to the statement, under the resolutions reached at the meeting, the NCAA and other aviation agencies were to obtain payment schedules from indebted airlines, with the repayment period spread over a reasonable timeframe, taking into consideration the airlines’ cost of operations and prevailing economic realities.

He said: ‘The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other heads of aviation agencies are to obtain schedule of payments from the airlines, spread over a reasonable timeframe, taking into cognizance, Airlines cost of operation and current economic realities.

‘The Honourable Minister of Aviation recognises the right of workers to decide not to belong or to belong to unions; the Honourable Minister also recognises the rights of the workers to decide for themselves, rather than through management.

‘As a result, the NCAA should immediately ensure that the unions have direct access to the workers of all airlines only to distribute their forms for the workers to directly indicate whether they intend to unionise or not. Any airline that prevents this direct interface will be sanctioned by the NCAA.’

The Denam Charity Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Denam Group, has awarded two-year scholarships to 30 students of Government Day Secondary School, Dutse Alhaji, Abuja, in a move aimed at improving access to education for children from underserved communities.

The scholarship programme, the foundation’s first education-focused initiative, will cover the beneficiaries’ school fees for the next two years, helping to reduce the financial burden on their families.

A total of 50 students sat for the scholarship examination, with 30 emerging successful. The remaining 20 students also received consolation prizes in recognition of their participation.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Dr. Igwemezie, founder of the foundation, encouraged the students to see education as the foundation for a better future.

Drawing from his own experience of rising from humble beginnings to earning four university degrees and holding leadership positions in global companies, he said education had transformed his life.

‘Education is the most transformative force for personal growth and development,’ he said. ‘It changed my life, and it can change yours too.’

He urged the students to remain focused and committed to their studies, noting that the scholarship was an opportunity to pursue their dreams.

‘You have the vehicle that will take you to a brighter future. It is now up to you to work hard and make your dreams a reality,’ he said.

The foundation said the scholarship programme is part of its broader CSR strategy, which also focuses on healthcare outreach and youth empowerment.

It added that the initiative is designed to be sustainable and will be expanded to reach more communities in the coming years.

Balogun Emmanuel, principal of Government Day Secondary School, welcomed the intervention, describing it as timely support for students and the school community. He also highlighted some of the school’s pressing needs, including an examination hall and photocopying machines, while expressing appreciation to the foundation for investing in education.

One of the scholarship beneficiaries, Aliye Mohamed Mubarak, said receiving the award had strengthened his determination to succeed academically.

‘I was excited when I heard about the scholarship examination,’ he said. ‘My mother encouraged me to take part, and I worked hard to prepare. Winning the scholarship has motivated me to do even better in school.’

The scholarship presentation coincided with this year’s Children’s Day celebration, underscoring the foundation’s commitment to expanding educational opportunities and supporting the development of young people through private sector-led social investment.

For as long as anyone has done business in Nigeria, the phone call was an asset you owned. A number to reach a customer, confirm an order, chase a payment, close a deal. It was the most direct line a company had to the people it served. That asset has quietly turned into a liability, and most businesses have not adjusted their thinking to match.

The reason is simple and brutal. More than one in every two calls Nigerians now receive from an unknown number is flagged as spam or fraud, the highest rate in Africa. So people have learned the only rational defence: ignore the unknown number. Let it ring out, assume the worst.

That single, sensible habit, multiplied across a whole country, means the channel businesses have relied on for decades no longer reliably works. When customers stop trusting unknown callers, they stop trusting your call too. The call still connects. It just no longer gets picked.

This is not a small-business problem or a big-business problem. It is both.

For the small business, it is the deal that dies in silence. You call a customer back about the order they enquired about yesterday. They do not recognise the number, assume it is a scam, and let it ring out. You never get a second chance, because they never knew it was you. For a one-person shop or a growing SME, whose entire pipeline depends on being reachable, every ignored call is revenue that simply evaporates, with no invoice to record the loss.

For the logistics and delivery business, it is the failed drop. The rider calls from the road to confirm the address, the customer sees an unknown number and ignores it, and the package bounces back to the depot. Now you are paying twice to deliver once, and the customer blames you for a failure that started with a call they were too wary to answer. Multiply that across thousands of deliveries and the cost stops being an inconvenience and becomes a line on the balance sheet.

For the telecom operator, it is stranger still. The networks carry the very traffic that has poisoned the well, and they also depend on reaching their own subscribers, for renewals, service messages and support. When their outbound calls land in the same suspicious silence as everyone else’s, the operator is undermined by the exact channel it runs.

And for the bank, it is the deepest cut of all, because the bank did this to itself for the best possible reason. For years, banks told customers a simple, correct thing: we will never call you to ask for your details. That message worked. Customers internalised it. But it also trained an entire market to distrust a call that claims to be from the bank.

Which means the bank’s own legitimate outbound calls, the genuine fraud alert, the real card-services team, the actual relationship manager, now arrive pre-suspected. The institution most dependent on being trusted on the phone is the one that can least use the phone at all.

Step back and the pattern is unmistakable. A bank, a telco, a delivery firm, a corner shop: wildly different businesses, all quietly losing the same asset for the same reason.

The phone call, once the most trusted line between a company and its customer, has become a channel none of them can rely on because none of them can prove, in the moment it matters, that the call is genuinely theirs.

That is the real problem underneath all of it. Not that businesses are being impersonated, though they are. Not that customers are being scammed, though they are. The structural cost is that legitimate businesses have lost the ability to prove they are legitimate on the one channel where it counts, at the one moment a customer decides whether to trust the ring.

Which points to the only durable fix: identity has to travel with the call.

This is where services such as Truecaller for Business change the equation. Its Verified Business Caller ID allows a business to establish a verified identity on calls, including its name, logo and business category, rather than leaving the customer to guess who is behind an unfamiliar number. Truecaller also offers Business Call Reason, allowing businesses to give customers context for why they are calling before the call is answered.

That distinction matters. The answer is not asking customers to become better detectives. It is giving them better information. For a customer waiting for a delivery, a call that arrives with a verified business identity and clear context is fundamentally different from an anonymous number. For someone receiving a call from their bank, the difference between ‘unknown number? and a verified business identity is not cosmetic; it gives the customer an additional signal with which to make an informed decision.

And for businesses, the significance goes beyond a logo appearing on a screen. Truecaller’s business tools are designed around the idea that identity, trust and context should become part of the communication itself. Its Secure Call capability can authenticate calls from verified businesses and display a ‘Secure Call? indication, while its APIs can integrate these capabilities into existing calling infrastructure.

That is the shift businesses need to make: from simply owning a phone number to owning a verifiable identity behind that number.

A verified identity does not make every call welcome, and it should not. Customers should still be free to ignore unwanted communication. But it changes the starting point. The customer no longer has to ask, ‘Who is this number?? before deciding whether the call deserves attention.

For a business, that verifiable identity is becoming as fundamental as a signboard once was. A shop without a name over the door does not get walked into. A company that cannot establish who is calling does not get answered.

In a market where unknown calls are increasingly associated with fraud, being reachable is no longer about having your customers’ numbers. It is about your customers being willing to pick up when you call. And that willingness now has to be earned, communicated and proven on every ring.

The businesses that solve this early will keep the trust their competitors are losing. The ones that continue treating the phone as the reliable asset it used to be will keep wondering why fewer and fewer people pick up.

Nigerian startups and small businesses have a fresh opportunity to secure up to $65,000 through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Startup Award 2026.

The initiative is designed to support promising businesses with funding, visibility and opportunities to scale across West Africa. Here’s what you need to know about the award, eligibility requirements and how to apply.

The ECOWAS 2026 Startup Awards applications come with a total cash prize of $65,000 up for grabs among the top three startups.

The second edition of the ECOWAS Startup Awards is designed to identify, celebrate and support high-impact startups contributing to digital transformation, regional integration and sustainable value-chain development across West Africa.

The programme is being convened by the ECOWAS Commission’s Directorate of Private Sector and Industry, hosted in Abuja and jointly implemented by the Pan African Alliance of Small and Medium Industries (PAOSMI) and the Investment Promotion Agencies of West African States (IPAWAS).

The initiative follows the inaugural edition held in Niamey, Niger, on November 18 and 19, 2021.

The 2026 edition is expected to bring together 60 startups from ECOWAS member states and will feature masterclasses, startup clinics, pitch competitions, exhibitions, investor deal rooms, policy dialogues and post-award acceleration.

Prizes to be won

The top three winners will share the cash prize of $65,000, with the winner going home with the sum of $30,000, first runner-up to get $20,000, and second runner-up receives $15,000.

Besides, there will be cash rewards, and regional exposure across the ECOWAS bloc, investor introductions, networking opportunities with founders and policymakers, mentorship and a six-month acceleration programme, for selected startups

Eligible sectors

Here are the six sectors eligible for the awards, the EdTech, Fintech, Health Tech, Agri Tech, Clean Tech, and TravelTech.

EdTech startups will focus on education technology and skills development, FinTech, on businesses developing technology-driven financial products and services, and HealthTech startups using technology to improve healthcare delivery and related services.

While AgriTech businesses work in agricultural technology and food systems, CleanTech on clean technology, climate solutions and green innovation, and TravelTech on tourism, hospitality and travel technology.

Requirements

Applicants must meet six eligibility requirements to participate in the competition.

They must be a citizen of an ECOWAS member state, operate a startup that is registered and based within an ECOWAS country.

Besides, applicants must have been operating for at least two years, has a working product or service, and demonstrate market traction or scalability, and must submit all required documentation.

Applicants are expected to prepare the following documents and materials before beginning the application:

A completed application form covering Sections A-J.

A national passport or ECOWAS-approved identity document for the lead founder, in PDF or image format and not exceeding 10MB.

A recent colour passport photograph of not more than 5MB.

Business registration certificate issued in an ECOWAS member state, where applicable.

In addition, have two years of financial statements, management accounts or projections. A business plan of no more than 10 pages, single-spaced and written in Times New Roman, size 12. A pitch deck of no more than 10 slides.

A one-minute pitch video in MP4, MOV or WebM format, with a maximum file size of 100MB.

Eligible startup founders across ECOWAS member states can apply through the official ECOWAS Startup Awards application portal.

Applicants are advised to have all required documents ready before starting the process.