Today, the nation’s appetite for data has exploded to a record 142.16 million active internet subscriptions, with 141.66 million of them on mobile devices.

Mobile subscriptions now stand at 169 million, while broadband penetration continues to surge, pushing the telecoms sector’s contribution to GDP beyond 14% and valuing it at approximately $10.8 billion.

Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria has posted an impressive financial performance for the first half of 2025, buoyed by strategic tariff adjustments, operational cost savings, and a favourable foreign exchange (FX) environment.

Speaking on the results during an interview on ChannelsTV monitored by Techeconomy, Modupe Kadri, chief financial officer of MTN Nigeria, highlighted the critical role that policy stability and efficiency measures have played in delivering growth.

Revenue Growth and FX Stability

For Q2 2025, MTN Nigeria reported revenue of ₦1.3 trillion and a pre-tax profit of ₦419.61 billion.

The telco also recorded a net foreign exchange gain of ₦295 million, a sharp turnaround from the ₦1 trillion FX loss reported in the same period last year.

This positive shift has been attributed to government-led foreign exchange reforms, increased oil production, and interventions that have stabilised the naira.

Kadri stressed that exchange rate stability is essential for long-term investment planning, particularly given the sector’s heavy reliance on imported infrastructure. “When policies are stable, we can plan, invest, and improve connectivity for Nigerians,” he said.

Beyond Tariff Increases: Efficiency and Cost Management

While recent tariff adjustments have supported revenue growth, Kadri explained that MTN’s rebound is also the result of a five-pronged strategy implemented in 2024.

This included reducing FX exposure by paying off letters of credit (LCs) and renegotiating tower contracts to cut operating expenses. The company has also streamlined operations to boost cost efficiency, further enhancing profitability.

Data Consumption Driving Sector Momentum

Kadri noted that demand for data continues to rise sharply, often surpassing voice services. In some cases, he joked, consumers would “choose to buy data rather than food.”

The shift towards internet-based calls through platforms like WhatsApp has not hurt the company’s bottom line; rather, it aligns with MTN’s positioning as a connectivity provider. “Whether it’s voice or data, our business is enabling connections,” he said.

However, he encouraged subscribers to manage their data usage more consciously, citing auto-download settings, background app activity, and navigation apps as hidden data drains. “It’s not the provider sucking your data,” he clarified, referencing regulator-led billing integrity studies that confirmed accurate charging.

Innovation Through Network-as-a-Service and MVNO Partnerships

MTN is also embracing new business models to expand industry capacity. Through its Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform, other operators, such as T2 (formerly 9mobile), can roam on MTN’s infrastructure while retaining their subscriber relationships.

This model, Kadri explained, promotes efficient use of scarce network resources and lowers barriers for new entrants.

In addition, MTN recently signed its first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), which will soon go live. These collaborations, he said, align with the company’s vision to “help the industry” and deliver better services to Nigerians.

Outlook: Exiting Negative Equity

MTN Nigeria expects to maintain its growth trajectory into the second half of 2025, with the recovery that began in Q3 2024 gaining momentum.

The company projects it will exit its negative equity position this quarter, marking a significant milestone in its turnaround.

With its share price already up over 50% year-to-date, MTN’s strategic focus on efficiency, innovation, and policy alignment positions it, and the broader telecom sector, as a key driver of Nigeria’s economic health.

Mitesh brings 20 years of global financial services experience across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, which will be instrumental in driving Flutterwave’s next phase of growth and financial sustainability.

Most recently, he has held executive roles at Citi including as Chief Financial Officer for Middle East and Africa, overseeing finance operations across 29 countries, and CFO for Global Equities Sales and Trading, providing financial leadership for all aspects of a $5 billion revenue business.

As CFO for Middle East and Africa at Citi, Mitesh partnered with the regional and division CEO on strategic direction, performance management, and balance sheet optimization, while also communicating the business’s financial story to internal and external stakeholders.

In his new role at Flutterwave, Mitesh will be responsible for overseeing Flutterwave’s corporate finance functions.

This is to support the company’s growth plans, leveraging his expertise in managing finance and operation functions of a complex global business. He will also ensure balanced resource allocation and strategic execution across Flutterwave.

Commenting on his appointment, Mitesh Popat, Chief Financial Officer of Flutterwave, said,

“I am excited to have joined the Flutterwave team at this important time in the company’s journey. I have a deep understanding of the operating environment in Africa and complexity of operating an emerging market business and I plan to bring my experience in growing Flutterwave, while optimising our business model for sustained profitability. I am looking forward to working with the team to enhance Flutterwave’s financial position and drive operational efficiencies through curiosity and innovation.”

Welcoming Mitesh, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, said,

“We have an ambitious goal to connect Africa to the world and Mitesh embodies our vision with his experience working extensively within Africa in a global capacity. He shares our values of customer obsession and we’re certain that with his impressive track record in financial management, he will contribute to the next phase of our growth. As our new CFO,  his work will be adding value to our customers – both enterprise merchants and retail remittance customers, as well as the African fintech ecosystem.”

Last year, Flutterwave announced the appointment of several new executives from companies such as PayPal, Stripe, and Western Union.

The new executives, including Mitesh, reinforce the company’s commitment to recruiting top talent, improving financial operations, and investing in risk management strategies such as compliance, loss reduction, and prevention to drive growth

Levy has been acting CEO since Feb. 15. To drive a critical role in the execution of his strategy to shape the future of Sophos, Levy has named Jim Dildine Sophos’ new chief financial officer (CFO) and a member of his senior management team.

Levy is a nearly 30-year veteran of innovating and leading cybersecurity product development, services and companies.

During his nine-year tenure at Sophos, Levy drove the transformation of Sophos from a product-only vendor into the global cybersecurity giant it is today, including an incident response team and managed detection and response (MDR) service that defends more than 21,000 organizations worldwide.

Levy also created SophosAI and Sophos X-Ops, an operational threat intelligence unit that joins together more than 500 cross-departmental cybersecurity operators and threat intelligence experts.

Sophos X-Ops shares real-time and historical attack data with all of Sophos’ solutions, making them smarter and faster at defending customers from persistent cyberattacks.

Levy has in-depth experience working with the channel, including managed security providers (MSPs), throughout his career, which he started in the mid-1990s as a cybersecurity practitioner and product and service innovator at a value-added reseller.

As CEO, Levy plans to expand Sophos’ already strong customer base in the midmarket, which includes nearly 600,000 customers worldwide and generates more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue.

As a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions for the midmarket, Sophos has a unique ability to further scale its business and the business of its partners by helping organizations in dire need of basic and expanded defenses against opportunistic and targeted cyberattacks.

These organizations include the critical substrate, small- to mid-sized organizations that comprise the machines of the world’s economy and are just as susceptible to cyberattacks as major corporations.

In fact, the critical substrate, including smaller organizations within the classic 16 critical infrastructure verticals, are prime attacker targets, as evidenced by Sophos’ Active Adversary report and 2024 Threat Report. Both intelligence reports reveal how attackers are repeatedly abusing exposed Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) access at midmarket organizations, as well as going after them for data theft, spying, ransomware payoffs, or supply chain attacks to gain entry to bigger prey.

“When midmarket organizations – the global critical substrate – are paralyzed due to ransomware or other cyberattacks, business activities linked in our supply chains also stagnate, slowing our economy down. Operations of all sizes and shapes suffer collateral damage when dependencies in their supply chains are attacked. This can be devastating in often unpredictable ways because of the increasing complexity of how the modern industrialized global economy works,” said Levy. “Our goal is to help more organizations in the midmarket – the estimated 99% of organizations that are below the cybersecurity poverty line – be better at detecting and disrupting inevitable cyberattacks. Our envisioned approach to achieving this is to work with MSPs and channel partners that can scale alongside us with our innovative critical cross domain technologies – endpoint, network, email, and cloud security – and managed services that they can resell and co-deliver. Cyberattacks against the midmarket could severely impact the world’s ability to function; they are relatively under-protected compared to the 1%, and Sophos is on a mission to change that.”

Levy’s leadership strategy includes adding Dildine as CFO to help Sophos reach its business goals and propel the company on its future growth trajectory. He brings exceptional operational expertise to Sophos, as well as a strong background in channel partner-based cybersecurity business.

Dildine joins Sophos most recently from cybersecurity software and services company, Imperva, where he was CFO for more than four years.

Before Imperva, Dildine was CFO for Symantec’s $2.5 billion enterprise security business unit for three years.

Dildine also previously held key financial leadership roles for nearly nine years at Blue Coat Systems, where Levy also served as chief technology officer.

While at Blue Coat Systems, he oversaw a dramatic growth in market value while guiding the company to a go-private transaction by Thoma Bravo, sale from Thoma Bravo to Bain Capital, and subsequent sale to Symantec for $4.6 billion in 2016.

Dildine also spearheaded the acquisition and seamless integration of six security-focused companies, which were valued at more than $750 million during his tenure.

“Having worked in technology and finance for more than 30 years, it is exciting to join Sophos at this juncture, when the company is well on its way to breaking through to the next level. Everything the company has accomplished thus far is impressive, including how dedicated Sophos is to constantly be innovating its cybersecurity technology and managed security services for customers in the midmarket. Sophos is also equally committed to supporting its channel partners, MSPs, and staff around the world,” said Dildine. “I am looking forward to helping Joe accelerate growth and further position Sophos as a leader in the industry.”

“Thoma Bravo has worked with Joe through successful investments in SonicWall and Blue Coat Systems, and our relationship and experience together, coupled with his authentic style of leadership and impeccable reputation across the cybersecurity industry, make him the ideal CEO to lead this next chapter at Sophos,” said Chip Virnig, a partner at Thoma Bravo and a Sophos board member. “We’re also excited that Jim is joining Sophos as CFO and is a member of Joe’s senior management team. We’ve worked with Joe and Jim at various companies for well over a decade, and we’re confident their combined expertise will reap big rewards for the future of Sophos.”

Cover Genius, the leading insurtech for embedded protection, is pleased to announce the appointment of David Rudow as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

This strategic decision comes as the company enters its next stage of growth to solidify its position as a global leader in the insurtech industry. 

Rudow brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in financial management to the role, with more than 18 years of experience in senior financial positions for private equity and venture-backed companies.

Previously, he served as CFO of the cloud-based technology company, nCino (NASDAQ: NCNO), where he led one of the largest US day-one tech IPO “pops” in decades, a successful secondary offering, and facilitated the 2021 acquisition of SimpleNexus, a deal valued at $1.2 billion.

“With David’s proven ability to optimize financial operations, enhance profitability and implement robust financial controls, we are excited to have him join the team as we head toward the next chapter in our continued growth,” said Angus McDonald, CEO and Co-founder of Cover Genius. “His strategic mindset and deep understanding of the industry will contribute significantly to our overall financial performance and further position us for success as the chosen insurtech for the world’s largest digital brands. ”

As CFO, Rudow will oversee all financial operations and strategies to support the company’s expansion plans. This includes managing financial planning, executing financial reporting, and optimizing resource allocation to fuel growth and profitability. His insights and leadership will play a pivotal role in guiding Cover Genius toward achieving its long-term financial objectives.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Cover Genius team and look forward to helping the company achieve its financial goals,” said Rudow. “I was immediately drawn to the staggering $7 trillion market opportunity within insurtech, and look forward to working hand-in-hand with the executive team to capitalize on strategic growth opportunities that drive financial success and help the company achieve its long-term goals.”

Rudow holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Accounting from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Cover Genius also extends its appreciation to Gavin Dennis, the outgoing CFO, for his dedicated leadership and significant contribution to the company. Throughout his tenure, he has played an integral role in the company’s achievements and impressive growth, leading the expansion and development of the finance function since early 2020. He has also been instrumental in securing growth capital and overseeing acquisitions. As Dennis prepares to embark on his next venture, he will be working closely with his successor, Rudow, to facilitate a seamless transition.

Facts about Cover Genius 

Cover Genius is the insurtech for embedded protection. Through XCover, our global distribution platform for any insurance or other type of protection, we protect the global customers of the world’s largest digital companies including Booking Holdings, owner of Priceline and Booking.com, Intuit, Uber, Hopper, Ryanair, Turkish Airlines, Descartes ShipRush, Zip and SeatGeek.

The company is also available at Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, Wayfair, and SE Asia’s largest company, Shopee.

Together with the partners, they co-create solutions to embed tailored, optimized protection that’s licensed or authorized in over 60 countries and all 50 US States. 

In fact, such has the pervasiveness of technology and the cloud become, that CIOs can no longer lay claim to being the sole custodians of this responsibility.

In fact, a partnership between tech and finance is crucial if a company is to stay relevant. Think of it as sneakers meet suits for a brave new world led by innovative companies. 

If anything, CFOs must become digital leaders themselves as the finance role is reinvented given how rapidly artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation, and cloud have started to become integrated into every aspect of a business. And when you throw in the potential of real-time data analytics thanks to the high-performance compute capabilities of cloud, CFOs have a wealth of insights available to them to help shape the future business strategy. But if this is to yield maximum benefit for an organisation regardless of its size or industry sector, the partnership between CIO and CFO must be a smooth one.

Tech insights

The cloud is no longer something only the CIO needs to take responsibility for. Modern CFOs fulfil a critical role in helping get organisations cloud-ready. Their understanding of the business, its unique challenges, and where to focus efforts to enhance operations must be combined with a technology know-how and an awareness of where the evolution to the cloud can deliver the best returns.

If a CIO is seen as being driven by technology, it is the CFO that needs to take that and inject it with financial analysis and insights to understand where the best return for the investment can benefit the organisation the most.

So, moving beyond someone as just signs the cheques, the modern CFO takes their own technology understanding, combine it with input from the CIO, and then targets the best areas for the highest return on investment.

There is no getting around the fact that the CFO will always be guided by the numbers. But what is different for the modern, cloud-ready organisation, is that this role is now influenced by the potential of technology and an increased willingness to explore risks (within reason) that can transform into revenue-generating opportunities.

All about the cloud

As recently as 2018, Deloitte research highlighted how CFOs are sceptical when it comes to spendings based on the promise of savings especially as how it pertains to the transition to the cloud. However, the research at the time did highlight the importance of finance needing a seat at the table when it comes to this kind of technology decision-making.

Fast forward to the present and the disruption caused by events of the past two years have illustrated the need for ‘bean counters’ and ‘tech geeks’ to work together if the organisation had any hope of surviving.

Hybrid work, digital transformation, multi-and hybrid clouds, are just some of the ways in which things have evolved since the onset of the pandemic.

Perhaps more critically, companies have finally realised they can no longer afford to keep their data in siloes. If anything, it will be the CFOs and CIOs that become the stewards of that data as they work with the rest of the C-suite to bring improved agility into traditional environments.

While nobody is advocating a rip-and-replace approach to legacy solutions and infrastructure, the CFO is no longer focused on ‘sweating the asset’.

Instead, they are looking at how to enhance what has been put in place through cloud-based solutions that can bridge the gap between the old and the new.

The proverbial secret sauce to this lies in a cloud adoption/operating model that goes beyond just technology but holistically looks at the business overall. Being willing to look beyond crunching the numbers and apply innovative technology where it makes business sense to do so will result in a new agility being introduced to the business.

Taking and improving what works and evolving what is not effective require the best efforts from both the CFO and the CIO.

The key to everything

There is no getting around the fact that the CFO is the critical cog in any successful cloud migration or adoption project. Having the finance department involved in all technology projects is no longer the challenge it was in the past.

Far from becoming a bottleneck, finance can be an enabler to drive efficiencies faster. This can only happen if the CFO gets involved on the ground floor and provide the necessary input that can help shape the direction of the cloud project.

And then when discussions turn to licensing, consumption costs, and the like, the CFO will be better able to make a more informed appraisal than if it is just something that drops in their lap when they need to sign off on a migration.

CFOs therefore need to dust off their own sneakers and start wearing them with their suits as they become more technologically-informed and partner with CIOs to transform their companies into cloud-forward businesses.