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Morolake Emokpaire is the Marketing Lead of Cadbury Nigeria Plc. Morolake, who assumed office in 2021 and loves, lives, and breathes marketing, is taking the 60-year-old resilient Cadbury Nigeria to greater heights. In this interview, Morolake, whose principle is to grow the next generation of marketing leaders, said her purpose is to create brands that are timeless and bigger. Daniel Obi brings the excerpts.

Cadbury Nigeria recently clocked 60 years; kindly take us through this milestone from a brand perspective.

Hearing the word ’60’ literally gives me joy because it speaks to so many things. It speaks to stability and resilience. A 60-year-old man or woman in our culture has entered the League of Elders. They are also the custodian of culture and a custodian of wisdom and tradition.

For us at Cadbury Nigeria Plc, it is beyond just the group of brands. We have been a part of Nigerian families across generations. Our brands hold stories. I have heard consumers tell me that the first time they encountered a TomTom brand was from their grandmother’s handbag.

Just last month, I met a lady who mentioned to me that Cadbury Nigeria actually supported her through school, through a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme in the 80s, when students of indigent parents were supported with our products’ lunch packs.

‘Your SWOT analysis helps you identify key things to do over the next three to five years. You then build strong plans that you constantly review or track to see where you have shifted. You execute and you track, and then you put control measures in place to check.’

Today, those students are mums, and they hold those memories about our brands.

Another thing that is very critical to point out is the fact that our journey is also synonymous with trust. Wherever you see the Cadbury logo, you know you can trust the brand. When you also hear the word ‘Cadbury’, the first word that comes to mind is ‘legacy’. The legacy of snacks that are here to delight you and beverages that sustain you during the morning – and we have seen this across products, across brands and across people.

I hear some people say that Cadbury Nigeria, and especially its Bournvita brand, are considered elitist brands. Do you agree?

In brand-building, we tend to be aspirational. Aspirational in the sense that we give consumers something to look up to, but we are also quite accessible. This year, we were in the Southeastern states for the August Women’s Forum, going into the grassroots to give the women a taste of the product, rejoicing with them, and sitting as they deliberated on the future of their communities. So, I don’t agree with the word ‘elitist’. We reflect what we aspire to be. Maintaining accessibility is critical through our consumer engagements. During holidays, we partner with mums to keep their children active through Bournvita Tech Boot Camp. Also, there is a size of Bournvita for every pocket.

Do you worry about competition in the Nigerian market?

It is not about worrying about competition, but if you do not get competition, you will fall into the trap of complacency. I wouldn’t use the word ‘worry’ as much as our competition reminds us of the challenges that we still need to surmount or overcome. But we are quite confident in our strengths across the brands. We are confident in the support we have from our investors and our parent company, which is Mondelez International.

We are also quite confident in the legacies that our brands have left and the handholding that is going across one generation to another. As we are relevant to the Baby Boomers, we have solid programmes and initiatives with the Millennials.

You would see some of our brands reaching out to the Gen Zers. We have products that are also reaching out to the Alphas. That is where our strength lies-the ability to stay relevant to whatever generation of Nigerians, and even West Africans-and that is where we draw a lot of our confidence from as well.

What has kept TomTom so enduring and lasting for over 50 years in the Nigerian market?

It is basically an inspirational essence. TomTom leverages its ability to inspire Nigerians to breathe better. For instance, if you had to sing, you would need TomTom to clear your throat and to refresh your breath. It does not stop there; the functionality of breathing is rational.

When you tell people to breathe, it is asking them to push through their challenges. We are asking them to take a pause and take a deep breath. When you are faced with challenges, when you are faced with tension, you need to breathe, have confidence, refocus and then go ahead to take on that challenge again. We have partnered with you to breathe and to inspire you.

As CMO of a multinational organisation, what does it take to build a lasting brand?

It starts with a timeless vision. A strong ambition that is even larger than the brand itself. For instance, TomTom’s purpose is to inspire Nigerians to breathe better. It looks like just simple words, but it literally guides everything we do on the brand. Brand-building has critical touch points-analysing the market, the competition, and your SWOT analysis. Your SWOT analysis helps you identify key things to do over the next three to five years. You then build strong plans that you constantly review or track to see where you have shifted. You execute and you track, and then you put control measures in place to check.

The brand vision itself has to be timeless. It guides the pillars of building an ideal product mix, from your product formulation to your pricing, to the distribution, to communication, and across the critical parts of building strategy up until execution. But you must start with a compelling vision.

Government agencies are coming up with policies that affect marketing. To what extent have some policies influenced the market-based strategy of companies?

We appreciate our regulators. They help ensure sanity within the system, but not without some discomforts. For instance, taxation directly affects a lot of our strategies and our budgets.

You would see that over the past couple of years, the price of packaged goods has been on the rise because organisations are in business to make profits. A lot of pressures eventually get passed down to the consumers. You have seen some multinationals exit the country in the last five years. For those of us who remain committed, we are under pressure to continue to do it sustainably. High taxation also limits the amount we can spend to excite and delight the consumers.

There is increasing scrutiny on nutrition communication as well, involving sugar content and other ingredients. With that, it forces us to be more discriminatory in how we build our products.

A lot of our ingredients are quite expensive. Sometimes, we have to take the hits on our margins, which then affects what we are also able to do. We are looking forward to continued collaboration with our regulatory bodies and partners to see how many of these initiatives could be done in transition, or if there could also be relief.

There is a policy against foreign models in Nigerian brand communication. Do you see that as punitive?

I am very passionate about Africa. I think that a united Africa and an empowered Africa position us to be a global force. I am passionate about using our brands to showcase our culture, using our brands to showcase our people, and using our brands to tell the story of Nigeria and Africa to the world. We use local models to drive our brand communication.

Many brands are adopting influencers in marketing. What role does influencer marketing play in shifting perception about brands and driving sales?

They do create a halo effect or positive association with the brands. But I must also call out the need to exercise caution in the identification and the deployment of influencers because a couple of them have gone awry. When choosing influencers for us in Mondelez, the first thing that we look for is the brand fit. The ability of that influencer to embody the ambition of the brand and to humanise the brand.

When we are looking for an influencer, we ask ourselves: if TomTom were a human being, would this individual fit? Is this individual able to humanise the brand? The second question is also looking at the ethical considerations or the ethical influence of that influencer.

For each of our brands, when we break out our brand story, we look for individuals who can help us tell that story vividly and reach their own follower base.

Would you consider AI adoption in marketing as a disruption or an opportunity?

It is an opportunity because most successful brands today will need to understand how to leverage AI and traditional marketing to have the ability to blend. AI enables us to deliver hyper-personalisation. We can deliver tailored content to scale. The algorithm helps us to learn user behaviour and understand preferences at a rapid rate. What traditional marketing helps do is to deliver that warmth and the understanding and the context of culture that AI cannot replicate.

The government has come up with a ‘Nigeria First policy’. How would that help in driving local consumption and help Cadbury Nigeria?

One of the things Mondelez is committed to is that we say ‘local first’ but not ‘local only’. In terms of our strategy and product direction and innovation, it is always local first. In terms of content, a lot of flexibility has been given to generate campaigns of content based on local insight. So, localisation is a big deal for Cadbury Nigeria.

Africa has made a bold declaration on the global stage: the continent will no longer wait for external approval to power its future. That was the resounding message from the inaugural Africa Energy Investment Summit (#AEInvest2025), held this week in New York alongside the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The gathering, convened by the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), drew African energy ministers, global investors, financiers, and industry leaders with a central goal: to position Africa at the heart of the global energy transition.

‘Why New York and not Africa?’ asked Omar Farouk Ibrahim, APPO Secretary General, opening the summit. ‘Because UNGA brings all our leaders and investors together, making it the ideal platform to connect, engage, and unlock funding for Africa’s energy future.’

Ibrahim highlighted Africa’s energy paradox: vast reserves of oil, gas, and renewable resources on one hand, yet more than 600 million people living without access to electricity. He announced that the long-anticipated African Energy Bank – an institution designed to finance African-led energy projects – has officially been established.

‘Three years after we began the African Energy Bank initiative, I am proud to say it is now a legal entity,’ Ibrahim said. ‘Member countries have deposited equity, the charter has been signed and ratified, and we have raised enough capital to begin operations.’

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), pointed to signs of renewed investor confidence in Africa’s energy sector. ‘Nigeria’s production rose from one million to 1.8 million barrels per day, and our goal is 2.5 million. American companies are already showing strong interest in investing in Nigerian oil blocks,’ he said.

Lokpobiri argued strongly for continued fossil fuel investment, insisting Africa must chart its own course in the energy transition. ‘Africa must not be deceived into abandoning fossil fuels while the West continues to expand production. Our hydrocarbons will finance our transition – not charity, not aid,’ he said.

Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Hydrocarbon Mining Development, H.E. Antonio Oburu Ondo, speaking on behalf of Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, underscored the urgency of reclaiming financial sovereignty. ‘Africa holds 40% of the world’s natural resource discoveries yet remains at the mercy of financiers in London, Paris, and New York,’ he said. ‘Energy finance is a question of sovereignty. We must build the African Energy Bank, mobilise our sovereign wealth and pension funds, and secure Africa’s rightful place as a global energy leader.’

James Shindi, CEO of Brevity Anderson, producers of #AEInvest2025, said the New York event marked just the beginning. ‘This is the first in a series and we will be back next year, even bigger and better,’ he said.

As the summit closed, one theme resonated from the halls of New York to capitals across Africa: the continent intends to take ownership of its energy destiny – on its own terms.

Civil society organisations, opposition party figures, and economic experts have applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, describing it as a landmark initiative capable of transforming Nigeria’s infrastructure and boosting economic growth.

The commendations came during a project inspection tour in Lagos, led by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, where stakeholders noted the quality of execution and urged Nigerians to rise above political divides in supporting developmental projects.

Umahi disclosed that the first section of the 750-kilometre coastal highway-stretching from Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, to Eleko, Lagos-would be completed by May 2026. He said 35 kilometres had already been delivered, leaving 12 kilometres to finish the initial 47-kilometre segment. Work, he added, had also commenced on the second section from Eleko to Ode-Omi, Ogun State.

The minister highlighted the government’s efforts to save properties such as the Landmark Centre, clear refuse to a depth of 10 metres, and deploy concrete technology to ensure road durability. ‘Emerging economies like India have adopted concrete for enduring roads, and Nigeria must follow suit,’ he said.

Otunba Segun Showunmi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and convener of The Alternative, stressed the need for national consensus on development. ‘Beyond our political ideological differences, we need to, as a nation, breathe in and out to explore how to achieve consensus to develop our nation,’ he said. Drawing on global examples, he added: ‘When you look at countries like Singapore, India, and UAE, their achievements have come through building consensus for national development. A nation at 65 must be in a hurry to link its infrastructure to model after globally competitive economies.’

Olufemi Awoyemi, Chairman of Proshare Group, described the coastal highway as a ‘test case’ for financing large infrastructure projects. ‘This is an alternative, providing a primary route for cross-country connectivity, away from congestion, and a test case for big infrastructure projects and their financing,’ he said. According to him, the project has the potential to open new trade routes, ease transport bottlenecks, and stimulate investment in adjoining communities.

Leaders of more than 20 civil society organisations also joined the tour. Declan Ihekaire, one of the representatives, welcomed the government’s decision to involve stakeholders in monitoring the project. ‘We, as CSOs, must not condemn every time. When we see where they are getting it right, we should talk so that we encourage them. Ultimately, the beneficiaries of good initiatives are the people,’ he said.

Umahi also addressed concerns about properties allegedly affected by the highway. He assured that due process would be followed, promising investigations into issues around WinHomes and claims of $200 million in diaspora real estate investments. ‘We will involve the EFCC and DSS to investigate the matter alongside civil society organisations,’ he said, adding that the ministry would provide regular briefings to ensure transparency.

Beyond the coastal highway, Umahi outlined three other ‘legacy projects’ under Tinubu’s administration: the 477-kilometre Trans-Saharan Highway linking Calabar to the FCT, the 422-kilometre Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Expressway, and the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway. ‘Roads and bridges are the infrastructure that build the GDP of every nation,’ he said. ‘President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has this knowledge; he demonstrated it as Governor of Lagos State, which today is an economy within an economy.’

Stakeholders at the inspection agreed that Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges required collective action rather than political rivalry. ‘Consensus is the key,’ Showunmi reiterated.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, projected at 750 kilometres, is one of the most ambitious road projects in Africa. With sections already underway and the first stretch due in 2026, the project has attracted rare bipartisan praise-suggesting that infrastructure could be the bridge for consensus in Nigeria’s divided political landscape.

The addresses delivered by global leaders, including the compelling statement from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the September 2025 UN General Assembly, served as a resounding admittance that the objectives of SDG 16 on Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions are yet to be met and a collective demand for change, directly linking the world’s most acute security and economic failures to the UN’s institutional stagnation. Far from focusing on traditional, isolated challenges, these speeches uniformly confronted the modern global threat matrix-a terrifying convergence of asymmetric conflict, climate-driven instability, systemic economic inequity, and digital warfare. Every nation, regardless of size, acknowledged that the 1945 security paradigm is broken. This shared diagnosis positions the Pact for the Future not merely as a diplomatic aspiration but as a viable strategic roadmap for survival, committing the UN and its member states to the necessary institutional reforms, from financial justice and governance modernisation to the New Agenda for Peace, required to regain strategic relevance in a dangerously complex new world order.

The 80th session of the UN General Assembly opened on 9 September 2025. The first day of the high-level general debate started on Tuesday, 23 September, under the main theme: ‘Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights’. This year’s UNGA is its 80th and coincides with a time when the world body is facing a crisis of strategic relevance. Its foundational security doctrines, designed for a post-World War II world of state-on-state conflict, are failing to adapt to a new global threat matrix. The UN’s foundational commitment, a pledge by the world’s governments to collaborate harmoniously and address shared challenges, faces an unprecedented array of pressures. Ancient, persistent challenges, such as the spectre of oppression, the pursuit of extraterritorial ambition, and the deep-seated roots of conflict, are now intertwining with a new wave of disruptive forces. The challenges are not merely political; they represent a fundamental failure of the collective security apparatus to counter the complex, asymmetric, and hybrid threats that define our era.

This realisation is precisely why member states adopted the Pact for the Future in September 2024. The Pact is the UN’s operational attempt to shift its security paradigm, moving from reactive management to proactive anticipation. President Bola Tinubu’s address was a direct and unflinching assessment of this reality, positioning Nigeria’s national security imperatives as a blueprint for the Pact’s implementation, particularly through its New Agenda for Peace.

‘The core of President Tinubu’s message is that the UN must shift its strategic doctrine. The pact for the future is not just a diplomatic document but the strategic blueprint for this shift.’

The most glaring vulnerability in the UN’s architecture is the paralysis of the Security Council. Its veto-wielding structure has transformed it from a decisive command-and-control centre into a forum for gridlock. This paralysis creates a dangerous vacuum, a permissive environment that state-sponsored proxies and violent non-state actors exploit to expand their influence and capabilities.

President Tinubu directly addresses this systemic failure, aligning perfectly with the Pact’s Pillar 5: Transforming Global Governance (the Pact’s five pillars are indicated in the table below). He unequivocally called for a permanent African seat, arguing that a council that fails to reflect the world’s demographic realities cannot effectively govern it. By demanding a seat at the table, Nigeria is seizing the momentum of the Pact’s governance reform commitments to push for a necessary strategic adjustment, ensuring the Council is more agile and responsive to the security realities of the Global South.

The new threat matrix facing the world can be broken down into five interlocking areas:

1. Hybrid and asymmetric conflict comprising Non-State Actors (NSAs) as primary combatants and the challenge of convergent threats where criminality and ideology are merging, as well as the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), a critical destabilising factor, facilitating everything from gang violence to regional insurgencies.

2. Climate change as a threat multiplier is a trigger for resource wars, forced migration, border stress and state erosion.

3. Digital Vulnerabilities and Weaponisation, including cyber warfare and critical infrastructure, information disorder (disinformation and AI) and the digital divide.

4. Systemic Economic Inequality and Vulnerability, such as the debt-security spiral, illicit financial flows (IFFs) and fragile supply chains.

5. Institutional Fatigue and Fragmentation, including multilateral decay and the rise of nationalism and singularity (quoting President Donald Trump) and lack of foresight (anticipatory governance).

The UN’s traditional security model is ill-equipped to deal with the ancient, persistent challenges and the asymmetric threat matrix that define our time. President Tinubu brought this into sharp focus by directly naming terrorism, banditry, and insurgency as existential threats, echoing the spirit of the Pact’s Pillar 2: International Peace and Security.

This intersection is where the economic meets the operational security:

1. Funding the conflict: Tinubu’s emphasis on fighting illicit financial flows (IFFs) and recovering stolen assets is a direct operational countermeasure. These IFFs are the lifeblood of criminal and extremist groups. By disrupting these illicit pipelines, he argues, the international community can cripple the financial lifelines of instability. This strongly supports the Pact’s Pillar 1: Sustainable Development and Financing, which seeks to reform global finance to create stability, thereby removing the economic oxygen from conflict actors.

2. Root causes and prevention: Tinubu’s insistence on addressing poverty, hunger, and exclusion as the roots of conflict is a textbook application of the Pact’s New Agenda for Peace. The Pact prioritizes prevention over intervention. Nigeria’s demand for economic equity and debt relief, a core part of the Pact’s reform agenda, is framed as a primary defence measure, investing in ‘freedom from want’ to achieve ‘freedom from fear’.

The core of President Tinubu’s message is that the UN must shift its strategic doctrine. The pact for the future is not just a diplomatic document but the strategic blueprint for this shift.

Tinubu’s call for empowering youth and addressing the digital divide also supports the Pact’s Pillar 3 (Digital Cooperation) and Pillar 4 (Youth and Future Generations). In a security context, this means:

? Countering extremism online: Closing the digital divide and establishing digital governance is essential for countering radicalisation and disinformation campaigns that fuel instability.

? Anticipatory governance: The Pact’s commitment to ‘anticipatory governance’ aligns with Nigeria’s need to predict and mitigate climate-driven conflicts (like farmer-herder clashes) before they escalate.

President Tinubu’s forceful, security-oriented stance thus positions Nigeria not as a passive beneficiary of the Pact for the Future, but as an essential and highly motivated partner in building a more secure and adaptable international order, using the Pact’s own language and framework to advance its national security interests. To do this and to ensure that the well-commended speech does not remain an aspiration as previous ones did, Nigeria should build on the outcome of the strategic dialogue on Nigeria’s commitments to the Pact held on August 29, 2025, at the UN Nigeria Office in FCT Abuja.

Technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate, and terms like ‘machine learning’, ‘deep learning’, and ‘neural networks’ are no longer confined to research labs or Silicon Valley boardrooms. They are shaping how banks approve loans, how telcos manage customer churn, how oil and gas firms optimise drilling, and even how governments plan infrastructure.

For business executives and the general public, it is crucial to demystify these buzzwords. Understanding them doesn’t mean becoming a data scientist, but it does mean knowing enough to see opportunities, ask the right questions, and avoid costly mistakes.

What is machine learning?

Machine learning (ML) is the foundation of modern artificial intelligence. It’s about teaching computers to learn from data and improve over time without requiring explicit programming.

Using the banking sector as an example. A Nigerian bank handling millions of Naira transactions daily must constantly be vigilant against fraud. Instead of relying on static rules, such as flagging only large transfers, it should adopt dynamic approaches. Machine learning models can spot subtle anomalies, such as a customer suddenly making multiple small transfers late at night or unusual login behaviour from an unknown or foreign device. The system improves and becomes more effective the more transactions it analyses.

For executives, machine learning means transitioning from ‘rules-based’ systems to adaptive ones that evolve in tandem with the business environment.

What is deep learning?

Deep learning is a specialised branch of machine learning inspired by how the human brain processes information. The term ‘deep’ refers to the use of many layers of interconnected processing units. Each layer learns something more complex than the previous one.

Think of it like how a telco manages its vast customer base. A telecom operator with 50 million subscribers wants to predict which customers are likely to switch to competitors. A basic machine learning model might look at call frequency or data usage. However, a deep learning model goes further; it analyses dozens of data points, including network quality, customer complaints, payment patterns, and even social sentiment. With this, the telco can not only predict churn but also design tailored retention offers, saving millions of Naira in lost revenue.

For businesses, deep learning brings a significant change in what’s possible: automating tasks once thought to require human intelligence.

‘For business leaders, the importance of machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks lies in their potential to unlock efficiency and competitiveness.’

Neural networks explained

The engine behind deep learning is the artificial neural network (ANN). Modelled loosely on the human brain’s network of neurones, an ANN consists of nodes (neurones) connected by links. Each connection carries a weight, and as data passes through the network, these weights adjust, strengthening or weakening connections until the system produces reliable results.

In the oil and gas industry, neural networks are already being utilised to enhance exploration and drilling efficiency. Consider an upstream operator analysing seismic data. The data is massive and noisy, but neural networks can learn to detect subtle patterns that point to the presence of oil or gas reserves. The technology helps geologists reduce guesswork, saving millions in drilling costs and minimising environmental risks.

A simple way to think about neural networks is how children learn. If a child touches a hot stove, they quickly avoid it next time. Neural networks operate similarly; they ‘learn’ from errors and improve decisions over time.

Why these matter for business leaders

For business leaders, the importance of machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks lies in their potential to unlock efficiency and competitiveness. Companies that harness these tools can:

Automate repetitive processes, from banking compliance checks to telco billing queries.

Predict market trends by analysing vast volumes of structured and unstructured data.

Enhance customer experience through hyper-personalisation, tailored offers, and faster service.

Reduce risks through fraud detection in finance, predictive maintenance in telecoms, and drilling safety in oil and gas, among others.

At the same time, there are challenges, including data privacy concerns, ethical issues, high implementation costs, and the risk of overhyped expectations. Not every problem requires deep learning; sometimes simpler machine learning approaches work well.

The Human Element (Human in the Loop)

It’s easy to get carried away with the technical jargon, but ultimately, these technologies are tools. They don’t replace human judgement, creativity, or strategic thinking. Instead, they augment them. The best results come when executives combine human insight with machine-driven intelligence.

For example, a retail CEO doesn’t need to code a neural network, but they should know what to ask:

Do we have enough quality data to train an algorithm?

How will AI-driven insights affect customer relationships?

What guardrails do we need to ensure fairness and transparency?

Bottom line

Machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks are not abstract scientific concepts; they are practical tools shaping the present and future of business. From banks tightening fraud prevention to telcos retaining customers to oil and gas companies reducing exploration costs, the applications are tangible and measurable.

The key is not to fear the complexity but to engage with it. Executives who understand the basics will be better positioned to steer their organisations through the ongoing wave of digital transformation.

Just as electricity once transformed industries, intelligent systems powered by machine learning and neural networks are poised to do the same in our time. The question is: will your business adapt early and lead, or lag?

Imagine entering your office tomorrow and discovering that half the processes you once did manually are now handled by artificial intelligence (AI). From screening job applicants to monitoring employee engagement, the future of work is already here, and Nigeria is no exception.

This is the reality painted by the Talent Management Report 3.0 (TMR 3.0), released last week by Phillips Consulting Limited (pcl.). Based on insights from over 500 professionals across multiple industries, in-depth interviews, and benchmarking research, the report uncovers how AI is reshaping how Nigerian organisations attract, develop, and manage their people. The findings are both promising and sobering.

Nigeria is Waking Up to AI, But Slowly

AI adoption is accelerating globally, but in Nigeria, most organisations are still at the shallow end of the curve. According to the report, 88% of organisations are only experimenting with AI, running pilots and small projects, without embedding it into their business strategy. Only 11% have a company-wide AI strategy.

This indicates that, although awareness is high, bold action remainsrare. Organisations see the potential, but many are cautious, sometimes overwhelmed by the complexity or costs of scaling AI.

AI is an Opportunity, Not Just a Threat

One of the most surprising findings is how Nigerian employees perceive AI. Despite fears often portrayed in the media, 72% of professionals view AI as an opportunity, a tool that can enhance productivity, create new roles, and support career growth.

Still, the concerns are real. 24% worry about job losses, and 35% in sectors like oil and gas remain uncertain about what AI means for their future. This mix of optimism and anxiety signals the need for transparent communication and proactive workforce planning.

Where AI is Already Making a Difference

Across industries, some HR functions are emerging as early winners in AI adoption:

Recruitment (42%): AI is streamlining candidate screening, matching CVs with job profiles, and reducing hiring time.

Learning and Development (36%): AI tools are recommending personalised training, helping employees upskill faster.

Career Development (29%) and Performance Management (22%): These are evolving quietly but cautiously due to concerns about fairness and bias.

Retail and e-commerce, for example, are training employees on AI basics but have yet to commit significant budgets. Telecoms struggle with leadership alignment, while Professional Services are clearly ahead, driving job redesign and reskilling.

The Barriers: What’s Stopping Organisations?

If the potential is clear, why aren’t more companies moving faster? The TMR 3.0 identifies four critical obstacles:

Low AI literacy and inadequate training

Data privacy and security risks

High training costs

Limited leadership commitment

In fact, while 73% of organisations say awareness is high, only 39% rate themselves as truly AI-proficient. This ‘knowledge gap’ is one of Nigeria’s biggest challenges in the global competitiveness race.

The Call for Strategic Action

The report makes one thing clear: AI in the workplace is not a passing trend. It is a transformative force. However, success will depend on how Nigerian leaders act now.

Here are some of the strategic moves highlighted:

1. Upskill employees continuously, not with generic courses but practical, role-specific AI training.

2. Prioritise data ethics and privacy, because trust is the currency of digital work.

3. Move from experiments to enterprise strategies, scaling AI beyond pilots into core business functions.

4. Keep HR human, let AI handle routine tasks while leaders focus on empathy, coaching, and culture.

Why This Matters for Nigeria’s Future

For Nigeria, AI is more than a technology shift. It is an opportunity to shape a more inclusive workforce. If used responsibly, it can help address long-standing challenges, such as making recruitment fairer, providing employees with greater access to learning at scale, and creating new forms of work. However, ignoring it carries real risks. Workers may be displaced, inequality could widen, and organisations may struggle to compete in a digital-first economy.

A Turning Point for Leaders

The TMR 3.0 comes at a pivotal moment. The report doesn’t just present data; it provides a mirror for Nigerian organisations. It challenges leaders to ask:

Are we preparing our people for the future, or leaving them behind?

Are we investing in AI responsibly, or just experimenting?

Are we keeping talent at the heart of our digital strategy?

For HR leaders, CEOs, and policymakers, these are not abstract questions; they are urgent. The future of work is already here. The only question is whether we are ready for it.

Against a backdrop of foreign-exchange volatility, rising ticket prices, and shifting traveller behaviour, Finchglow Travels, one of Nigeria’s leading travel consolidator, brought together leading airlines, travel agencies, and trade partners in Port Harcourt for PartnerPlus Connect (PPC) Live, a high-impact forum designed to spark innovation, share practical tools, and accelerate recovery across Nigeria’s travel industry.

Airlines, travel agencies, and trade partners tackled the big question: how to stay profitable and relevant while demand remains fragile. Conversations moved from candid debates on forex pressures to bold ideas for diversifying revenue streams, showing that PartnerPlus Connect Live is driven by actionable solutions with dialogue as the catalyst.

‘Our goal is to create a platform where airlines and agencies can exchange ideas, confront realities, and leave with solutions they can apply immediately,’ said Ezekiel Ikotun, managing director of Finchglow Travels.

‘This goes beyond ticket sales, it’s a call for resilience and smarter growth across the entire travel value chain.’

Speakers and participants emphasised the need for bold, collaborative thinking as Nigeria’s aviation sector strives for a comprehensive post-pandemic recovery. Travel agents expressed concerns over depressed

Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc. (Sterling Holdco), the parent company of The Alternative Bank, Sterling Bank, SterlingFI, and a number of other novel business solutions, has witnessed a very positive response to its public offer, as investors rally for a stake in the company’s future.

The public offer, launched on September 17, 2025, has quickly become one of the most talked-about opportunities in the Nigerian financial market, with analysts predicting that the offer will prove to be amongst the most lucrative in the sector’s investment landscape.

The Sterling Public Offer has sparked widespread interest, with market experts noting that the price, which is about 6 percent below its current trading price, presents an attractive entry point for both institutional and retail investors. The offer is set to close soon, but the rapid pace of interest has led many to speculate that the full subscription has already been reached or even exceeded much earlier than expected.

According to leading financial analysts, Sterling Holdco’s strategic expansion plans, solid market position, and innovative financial products have positioned it as a major contender in Nigeria’s banking sector. The public offer is widely regarded as an exciting proposition for investors looking to capitalise on a company with strong fundamentals and an ambitious growth trajectory. With a price point set at a discount to current trading prices, the offer is seen as a compelling opportunity for both long-term and short-term investors.

Sterling Holdco has consistently demonstrated a commitment to innovation and sustainable growth. One of the most compelling indicators of the company’s underlying strength is the impressive growth of its share price. In the past year, the Holding company’s share price has grown steadily from N4.00 to nearly N8.00 per share. This increase in the company’s stock price speaks volumes about the underlying value and confidence in its business model, leadership, and growth trajectory.

Sterling Holdco, known for its strategic ownership of two banks, a wealth management company, and a number of innovative consumer businesses, is seeking to raise additional capital through the issuance of 12.58 billion ordinary shares at N7.00 per share. The proceeds from the public offer will be strategically deployed to further strengthen Holdco’s capital base and fund its growth initiatives over the next 36 months.

Sterling Financial Holdings Company PLC (Sterling HoldCo) is a leading Nigerian financial services group committed to enriching lives through innovation and impact with a diversified portfolio that includes Sterling Bank Limited, The Alternative Bank Limited, SterlingFI Wealth Management among others. As a HoldCo, Sterling provides strategic direction, governance, and resources across its subsidiaries, enabling each to focus on its core mandate while benefiting from group-wide expertise, technology, and oversight.

With a heritage of trust built over six decades, Sterling HoldCo is committed to financial innovation, advancing inclusion, and shaping sustainable growth in Nigeria’s economy. The group champions customer-focused solutions and socially responsible initiatives while creating value for shareholders, employees, and the communities it serves, and continues to pioneer offerings across its core businesses in banking, payments, and technology-driven financial services.

Apple and Google, two of the world’s biggest tech giants, have turned the spotlight on Maliyo Games, reaffirming the Lagos-based studio’s role as a global champion of African creativity through gaming.

‘This recognition from Apple, alongside our recent feature by Google, is another powerful validation of our vision. We are proving that African stories belong on the global stage,’ Hugo Obi, founder, Maliyo Games, said.

He said that behind every global spotlight is a growing ecosystem of African talent. According to him, GameUp Africa has become the talent pipeline powering Maliyo’s creativity since its launch in 2021. Now in its fifth year, the program has reached over 6,000 aspiring developers across 20 African countries, equipping young Africans with skills in programming, game art, and audio design.

Obi also disclosed that Apple’s Nigeria Independence Day editorial featured Maliyo’s standout titles; Safari City, Crazy Ludo, Whot King, and Secret Letter – each blending familiar gameplay mechanics with African-inspired narratives, art, and music.

Earlier this year, Google Play selected Maliyo for its #WeArePlay campaign, a global film series celebrating diverse developers shaping the future of gaming.

The feature tells the story of Hugo Obi, Maliyo’s founder, charting the studio’s journey from Lagos to the world. It highlights not only Maliyo’s portfolio of games but also its groundbreaking talent initiative, GameUp Africa, which is building the next generation of creators on the continent.

‘From the bustling city life of Safari City to the cultural tradition in Whot King, each title embodies authentic African storytelling packaged in mobile-first gameplay. Graduates of the program have gone on to work on acclaimed projects and start their own studios – proof that Maliyo’s commitment to empowering African storytellers through gaming is paying off.’

Obi also disclosed that Maliyo will host its first-ever developer-led gaming conference ‘MaliyoCON’ by December in Lagos, as a convergence for creators, investors, policymakers, and innovators to explore how African stories can drive the next phase of the global gaming industry.

‘By convening industry leaders, Maliyo aims to cement Africa’s role not just as a participant, but as a cultural powerhouse shaping the future of mobile entertainment,’ Obi said.

Glovo, one of the leading tech platforms operating across Europe, Africa, and Central Asia, has reiterated its dedication to empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria by providing training, digital tools, and access to opportunities designed to optimise business operations, enhance brand visibility, and boost online sales through its platform.

The company’s commitment was underscored at the latest edition of Glovo Academy in Abuja, an in-person learning and development initiative aimed at equipping local businesses with skills and tools to expand their operations and scale sustainably.

Reni Onafeko, Head of Growth at Glovo Nigeria, emphasised the company’s ongoing support for SMEs by offering advisory services and financial access. She revealed that since Glovo launched in Abuja in 2022, the platform has delivered over one million orders, creating more than N11 billion in value for its partners.

Onafeko further noted a 30% year-on-year increase in orders within Abuja and said Glovo now partners with over 1,000 local restaurants.

She stressed the importance of digital literacy, saying SMEs must embrace it ‘to enable their businesses to expand, formalise and scale sustainably.’

Speaking at a panel discussion, Ifeoma Williams, Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Industry, described MSMEs as the ‘backbone of any economy,’ pointing out that ‘current data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveal that 40% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product is derived from these small businesses.’

While acknowledging the challenges SMEs face in accessing government loans, she attributed this to a ‘lack of proper structure and the right business plan.’ Williams assured that the federal government is actively working to develop policies that will foster a more supportive business environment.

Tijani Mustapha, founder of Ahmad’s Sharwarma, spoke on operational challenges confronting SMEs, stressing that business owners need resilience to navigate issues with human resources and quality control.

He stressed the importance of technology, stating, ‘Any business we do today must embrace technology. Through technology, we can gather customer feedback, keep the business in check, and improve.’

Kayode Meyanbe, Head of ICT at the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), outlined government initiatives aimed at supporting SMEs.

He revealed that SMEDAN, in partnership with the Corporate Affairs Commission, is offering free registration to 250,000 businesses and urged SMEs to seize this chance to formalise their operations. Meyanbe added, ‘As an agency, we have partnered with banks to provide loans at an interest rate below 10% to support their businesses. Not only that, state governments have also been helping us with funds for these SMEs to access our loan facilities.’

He also mentioned that capacity-building training is being provided through Kaduna Business School and Lagos Business School to equip SMEs with essential skills.

Kolawole Adeniyi, head of commercial at Glovo Nigeria, revealed that since the company entered Africa in 2021, it has invested 206 million euros across the continent. He noted that 90% of Glovo’s business partners are SMEs and that the platform has generated N55 billion in direct economic value for these partners.

The event included presentations and training focused on operational excellence, marketing, customer complaint handling, and business and financial literacy, facilitated by the Enterprise Development Centre at Pan Atlantic University.

These efforts highlight Glovo’s ongoing commitment to fostering sustainable growth for SMEs within Nigeria’s digital economy.