The USPF, originally domiciled under the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), was established to finance telecom infrastructure and bridge the digital divide in rural and unserved areas.

The Federal Government inaugurated the new board on March 27, 2026. In a letter dated May 9, 2026, SERAP urged the President to direct Bosun Tijani, the minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, alongside Yomi Arowosafe, USPF secretary to explain the whereabouts of the funds and submit to investigation by anti-corruption agencies.

But beyond SERAP’s petition lies a troubling timeline: the Auditor-General’s report had already been in the public domain for months before the latest public outcry, yet there has been no known presidential directive, public response, or announced investigation into the allegations.

According to details highlighted by SERAP from the Auditor-General’s report, the alleged infractions include failure by the USPF to remit over ₦13.8 billion in operating surplus between 2016 and 2019, questionable payments for international trainings during the COVID-19 lockdown, contracts worth over ₦2.8 billion allegedly awarded without approvals, and irregular consultancy and connectivity project payments.

The report also alleged that the USPF maintained an undisclosed domiciliary account and failed to grant the Auditor-General access to some financial records.

For stakeholders in Nigeria’s digital economy, the allegations cut deeper than financial misconduct.

Analysts warn that any diversion of USPF resources directly threatens national efforts toward broadband expansion, digital inclusion, rural connectivity, e-learning, telemedicine, and access to online economic opportunities.

SERAP argued that the consequences are especially severe for underserved communities that depend on public interventions for internet access and communications infrastructure.

The organisation said failure to act could worsen inequality and further exclude millions of Nigerians from participation in the digital economy.

The development comes at a time when the Federal Government continues to promote ambitious digital transformation policies and broadband penetration targets under the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.

Observers say the prolonged silence surrounding the allegations risks undermining public confidence in government-led digital inclusion programmes, especially as telecom consumers continue to grapple with poor connectivity and infrastructure gaps in many rural areas.

SERAP has now given the Federal Government seven days to act or face possible legal action aimed at compelling investigation and recovery of the funds.

Diagnosed with hearing loss at four, she learned quickly how institutions misread difference. Schools labelled her stubborn, adults mistook silence for defiance and that early friction impacted how she reads the world today.

However, her work does not dwell on emotion. It focuses on structure. Through Adaptive Atelier, she challenges a global digital economy that still excludes most disabled users.

Only a fraction of the internet meets accessibility standards. Nonetheless, the disabled community controls trillions in purchasing power. That gap is commercial.

Toyosi Badejo-Okusanya operates between Lagos and London, where regulation, culture and enforcement differ. As a result, she builds with both compliance and opportunity in mind. She has advised global beauty brands, mobilised a network of over 10,000 disabled consultants, and launched tools that measure accessibility in revenue terms.

I see a founder who understands data, infrastructure and market behaviour, not just advocacy.

In this conversation, she explains why accessibility must move from charity to core design. She speaks about technology, economic power and cultural perception. Above all, she argues that inclusion works best when it becomes standard practice rather than special intervention.

TE: Having been diagnosed with hearing loss at age four, how did that early experience affect your perspective on accessibility, and what inspired you to turn that perspective into a global platform like Adaptive Atelier?

Toyosi Badejo-Okusanya (TB): It changed the trajectory of my life before I was old enough to understand it. Before my diagnosis, I was labelled stubborn. I was punished for “ignoring” instructions I simply could not hear. That experience stayed with me. It taught me, very early, that when systems are not designed for you, the world interprets your difference as defiance.

When I eventually received hearing aids, I experienced technology as liberation. I could participate more fully. I could respond faster. I could exist without constantly overcompensating. But I also saw how inaccessible that liberation was. In Nigeria, hearing aids had to be shipped from abroad. The wait times were long. Support was inconsistent. Accessibility felt like privilege – not infrastructure.

As I grew older, I realised the issue was far bigger than assistive devices. Digital platforms, classrooms, offices, and public systems, they were not designed with people like me in mind. And yet we were expected to adapt. Adaptive Atelier was born from that tension.

As a female African tech founder, I am deeply aware of what it means to navigate systems not originally built for you. I didn’t want accessibility to depend on sympathy, geography, or external aid. I wanted to build infrastructure that made inclusion standard, embedded into technology, scalable across markets, and economically viable. For me, accessibility is not charity. It is systems design.

TE: You’ve worked with big brands like Estée Lauder, Sephora, and MAC Cosmetics. At what point did you notice that companies genuinely want to be accessible, but don’t know how? Can you give an example of a common misconception brands have about accessibility?

TB: While working at Estée Lauder in the Global E-Commerce team, I saw firsthand that brands weren’t intentionally excluding people, they simply didn’t have structured processes. Something as basic as adding alt text required manual backend work in the CMS. It was time-consuming, inconsistent and often deprioritised when deadlines hit.

That’s when I realised the issue wasn’t always willingness, it was infrastructure and knowledge gaps. time-consuming and deprioritised because it felt like an “extra task” rather than core infrastructure. The intention was there, but there was no scalable system behind it.

A common misconception is that accessibility is expensive and serves a “small” audience. In reality, accessibility improves user experience for everyone. Clearer navigation, better contrast, captions, simplified checkout flows – these increase conversion rates and reduce bounce. The disabled community controls trillions in global purchasing power. Accessibility is not a cost centre; it’s a growth strategy.

The issue isn’t willingness, it’s education and execution. Brands want to do better. They just need structured solutions that integrate into existing systems without disrupting operations.

TE: Adaptive Atelier is powered by a network of over 10,000 disabled consultants. How did you go about building that network, and what challenges did you face in ensuring experiences became needed solutions for brands?

TB: The network started organically through storytelling. Through Sound Through My Lens, I built a community of over 15,000 people sharing their lived experiences. Over time, I realised these weren’t just stories, they were insights. Patterns emerged about checkout barriers, navigation issues, audio-only instructions and inaccessible customer service.

The challenge was translating emotion into execution. Brands don’t buy stories; they buy solutions.

So we structured the community into a professional network i.e. disabled testers, consultants and accessibility reviewers who set their own rates and provide structured feedback.

That shift from advocacy to economic infrastructure was critical. It allowed disabled professionals to be paid for expertise, and it allowed brands to receive actionable recommendations rather than generalised feedback. The network grew organically from my community.

Through “Sound Through My Lens,” I had already built trust with thousands of people navigating disabilities across hearing loss, epilepsy, neurodivergence and mobility impairments. When I began consulting brands, I realised lived experience needed to move from storytelling into paid expertise. AdaptiveTest formalised that.

The challenge was reframing disabled people from “case studies” to professionals. Many brands were comfortable listening to stories but hesitant to allocate budget. We had to prove that lived experience is a technical asset. We structured testing frameworks, reporting templates and measurable outputs so brands could translate feedback into product improvements. Once businesses saw the clarity of insights and direct UX improvements, the value became undeniable.

Today, disabled consultants will be able to set their own rates and contribute directly to digital product development which is a structural shift.

TE: You’ve launched tools like AdaptiveWiz and AdaptiveTest. How do these products work to make digital spaces more inclusive, and what kind of feedback have you received from users and clients so far?

TB: AdaptiveWiz is a personalisation layer that allows users to tailor their digital experience in real time through adjusting elements like readability, navigation, contrast and sensory settings based on their needs.

Behind the scenes, it’s supported by compliance standards and real-world testing from disabled professionals. AdaptiveTest focuses on monitoring and diagnostics. It scans digital platforms for WAG and ADA compliance issues, flags violations, and provides structured reports for development teams to address gaps.

The impact is measurable: early pilots show conversion rate improvements of 15-25% among users with disabilities, and bounce rates reduced by up to 40% for users with assistive technology. When you’re losing nearly half your potential customers at the door, that’s not a compliance issue but instead, it’s a revenue problem.

In practice, companies integrate them via lightweight scripts or API connections into their existing platforms. No full rebuild is required. The feedback has been consistent: brands appreciate that it’s not just a compliance scanner, and users appreciate that it centres lived experience rather than generic overlays. Developers also value having both automated insights and human validation.

The most powerful feedback we receive is simple: “I didn’t feel excluded.” That is the benchmark.

TE: Initiatives like “Beauty in Every Language” and the Lagos Fashion Week panel are groundbreaking in Nigeria. What role do you think storytelling and cultural engagement play in shifting societal perceptions of disability?

TB: Storytelling changes perception before policy does.

Initiatives like Beauty in Every Language and our panel at Lagos Fashion Week – the first disability led Fashion Lab in Nigerian history, created cultural visibility. When disabled people are seen in fashion, beauty, and leadership spaces, society begins to detach disability from pity and reframe it as identity, talent, and contribution. In Nigeria especially, disability is often framed through religion or charity. Cultural engagement helps reposition it as identity, talent and contribution. Once perception shifts, economic inclusion follows.

“Sound Through My Lens” reaches 500,000+ impressions quarterly, proving there’s genuine appetite for these narratives. Once perception shifts, economic inclusion follows. You can’t build accessible infrastructure if society still views disabled people as charity cases rather than consumers, employees, and innovators.

Storytelling was my entry point. Technology became the scale mechanism. But culture is the foundation, it’s what makes the technology feel necessary rather than optional. And the economic argument reinforces the cultural shift: disabled people globally control $13-18 trillion in purchasing power. In Nigeria specifically, nearly one-third of people living in extreme poverty are disabled. If we’re serious about economic development, accessibility isn’t a nice-to-have-it’s foundational infrastructure.

When brands see disabled people leading conversations at Lagos Fashion Week, it becomes about market opportunity. That’s the shift we’re creating.

TE: With only 3% of the internet accessible, the disabled community still controls trillions in purchasing power. How do you communicate this business case to brands that may see accessibility as a regulatory or moral obligation rather than a growth opportunity?

TB: I remove emotion from the pitch and lead with market data. Only 3% of the internet is accessible.

That means 97% of platforms are excluding potential customers. The disabled community controls trillions in global purchasing power, and that figure increases when you factor in family networks.

And there’s risk mitigation: the average accessibility lawsuit settlement is $50,000-75,000 in Western markets, not including legal fees and reputational damage. Digital accessibility lawsuits increased 14% in 2023, and multinationals operating in Africa are increasingly exposed as their home markets hold them accountable.

Accessibility improves SEO, UX, conversion rates and brand trust. When brands understand that accessibility reduces friction and increases revenue, the conversation changes. It stops being CR and becomes a competitive advantage.

TE: Operating in both Lagos and London requires diversity, so how do differences in culture, regulation, and business approach between Nigeria and the UK influence the way you build products and work with brands?

TB: Operating between Lagos and London forces strategic duality. In London, accessibility is regulation-driven. The Equality Act, structured compliance frameworks, and public accountability shape conversations. The language is legal, measurable, procedural and brands respond to liability exposure and regulatory pressure.

Nigeria passed the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Act in 2018, but enforcement is nearly nonexistent. 84% of Nigeria’s deaf population remains economically underdeveloped, and unemployment among disabled adults is 62.5%-three times the national average. If policy was working, these numbers would improve. They’re not. In Nigeria, I feel the challenge is perception and awareness. Regulation is limited. Change is driven by education, economic incentive, and cultural repositioning.

This dual exposure strengthens Adaptive Atelier’s model. In the UK, we emphasise compliance, reporting, and liability mitigation. In Nigeria, we emphasise opportunity, innovation, and competitive advantage. The product remains globally viable. The narrative adapts locally. That flexibility is critical for scaling across emerging and regulated markets.

TE: What do you hope Adaptive Atelier achieves over the next five years? Beyond technology, what change do you want to see in the way businesses and societies think about accessibility globally?

TB: In the next five years, I see Adaptive Atelier becoming a leading accessibility and technology powerhouse across Africa and globally. I want AdaptiveWiz and Adaptivelest to be embedded into digital platforms from the start, not added as an afterthought, across businesses, governments, and major brands.

A core part of that vision is economic empowerment. Adaptive Atelier will continue expanding its network of disabled consultants, testers, and advisors, creating real income pathways and contributing to the reduction of unemployment rates among disabled communities in Nigeria and across Africa.

I want disabled professionals positioned as experts shaping digital infrastructure, not beneficiaries of charity. When we talk about 2.5 billion people globally needing assistive technology by 2030, I want African disabled professionals leading the solutions, not waiting for Western aid.

Beyond technology, I expect to see a fundamental mindset shift. Offices, creative spaces, and companies will move from viewing disability through a compliance lens to recognising it as a driver of innovation, leadership, and market growth. Through technology, partnerships, and advocacy, Adaptive Atelier will help normalise accessibility as a standard pillar of innovation and socioeconomic development across Africa and beyond.

Even with 88% of the population being covered by terrestrial networks, millions are stranded in the digital dark. Airtel Africa, in partnership with SpaceX, says that changes next year.

Speaking at a press conference held on Thursday, December 18, 2025, Dinesh Balsingh, CEO of Airtel Nigeria, expanded on the earlier announcement  that Airtel Africa would deploy Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity across its 14 markets. 

“This provides satellite connectivity across all our 14 markets of Airtel Africa, serving about 174 million customers. Airtel Nigeria will launch this service in 2026, providing data for select applications, text messaging, and USSD services,” Balsingh said.

This is a calculated strike at the incessant gaps in Nigeria’s digital sector. Fibre vandalism, inaccessible terrain, and low-density rural populations have long made network expansion expensive and slow. “Some areas are deserts, mountains, or simply too remote for fibre. Satellite connectivity ensures reliable access wherever you go, irrespective of geography,” Balsingh further noted.

Starlink’s first-generation and next-generation satellites will bring high-speed mobile broadband, ensuring smartphone users can access WhatsApp, mobile money, and essential apps even where no terrestrial network exists. 

Airtel Nigeria becomes the first operator in the country to offer this service, powered by 650 satellites for seamless coverage.

Who Benefits?

The press conference also addressed the question of who benefits? Balsingh explained, “It will be a combination of both. While deep rural areas have lower smartphone penetration, there is still a significant population. Connectivity will serve local communities and travellers alike,” he said. Farmers, traders, and seasonal workers can remain connected when moving between towns and remote villages.

Technological advances now make this leap feasible. A decade ago, satellite internet was expensive and impractical for mobile use. Today, falling device prices and SpaceX innovations bring it within reach. 

“Technology moves forward. Today, around 50–55% of our customers use smartphones, up from single digits a decade ago. SpaceX’s innovations make satellite mobile connectivity realistic and scalable,” Balsingh noted.

Airtel Africa is doubling down on investments alongside Starlink. Over the past six months, 700 new sites were rolled out, 99% 4G-ready, while preparations for 5G deployment continue. Home broadband solutions, including Smart Connect outdoor units, will complement mobile coverage, bringing fibre-like connectivity into homes in urban and semi-urban areas.

Beyond coverage, resilience is an indispensable goal. When fibre is cut or vandalised, satellite connectivity acts as a reliable fallback. “This is a big boon for rural markets. We have to ensure the service is well deployed and people don’t feel a difference as they switch seamlessly between these technologies.”

For Airtel Africa, Balsingh stressed that the Starlink partnership isn’t just about technology, but digital inclusion, financial accessibility, and economic empowerment. “We remain committed to our leadership in connectivity innovations that empower individuals, capitalise economic opportunities, and unlock sustainable development.”

Airtel says the Starlink Direct-to-Cell service launch in Nigeria is slated for 2026, pending regulatory approvals, and promises to ensure no community is left disconnected.

At the maiden Rural Connectivity Summit organised by Business Metrics in Lagos, the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, said: “We need to move away from talk shops into actions.”

Speaking under the theme “Rethinking Digital Connectivity to Unlock Rural Economic Potential,” Emoekpere said the industry must stop recycling discussions and start building practical, context-specific solutions that meet the real needs of rural Nigerians. 

“We are all part of the talk shop industry, so to speak, as advocates, we go around speaking. But what impact are we having? What impact are we making?” he asked.

ATCON president noted that despite the official claim of about 200 million active telecom subscribers, many of those figures are duplicates. “They are not real people,” he stressed, noting the example of modern iPhones that can host up to eight eSIMs without a physical SIM slot. 

“If you are counting that as eight subscribers, can you see the irony in that, in this, our data? Let us connect real people.”

Away from telecom subscribers, the ATCON president also challenged engineers and service providers to rethink their design approach, saying too many solutions are borrowed from other regions without adaptation. “We just borrow technology. We are very lazy. We borrow technology,” he said. 

“You are supposed to go to an OEM and say, ‘This is a problem I want to solve.’ Design the system to suit that problem.”

According to him, many of Nigeria’s rural challenges, from banking exclusion to market access for farmers, could be solved with basic, fit-for-purpose digital tools. “The lowest of the lowest hanging fruit in the rural communities is that they are unbanked,” he said. 

“If you try and adopt the POS system, for example, and make it a rural solution that allows POS to operate in rural communities, you have already brought people into the banking sector.”

He gave another example: farmers in remote villages selling produce at unfairly low prices because they lack access to real-time market data. “If I tell the village that, I can give you real-time prices of what you produce, what has been sold. Pay me 10 Naira for that information, for example, so that when the middle man comes to me and says, ‘I’m paying,’ the guy says, ‘No, I’ve received information that pineapple today in Lagos is 3,000 Naira.’ Even if you are transporting it, I cannot collect less than 500 Naira,” he said.

Emoekpere emphasised that the problem is not the absence of markets in rural Nigeria, but the industry’s failure to understand and serve that market correctly. “That there is no market in the rural community is wrong. The issue is our approach to that market,” he said.

He urged organisers and participants at the summit to ensure concrete outcomes beyond conversations. “At the end of the day, we are looking at action, actionable points and even identifying potential drivers, say, ‘Mr A is going to do this, Mr B is going to do that.’”

Connecting rural Nigeria requires empathy, innovation, and accountability, far beyond technology deployment. “We must connect real people,” he concluded. 

This contrast, according to Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, National Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), reveals how far the nation has grown in connectivity, and how far it still has to go.

Speaking at Nigeria’s first Rural Connectivity Summit, organised by Business Metrics in Lagos, themed “Rethinking Digital Connectivity to Unlock Rural Economic Potential,” the Chairman of ALTON noted that while Nigeria’s telecom sector has made progress in 24 years, true digital inclusion is still out of reach for many living in rural areas.

“People are concluding transactions, doing e-services, and even talking to their doctors as we speak. This is how far we have gone as a people in 24 years,” Adebayo said, recalling how making an international phone call once required hours of waiting at public call centres in Lagos.

He described the divide between urban and rural areas as “a major departure,” pointing out that in many villages, residents still climb hills or trek to mountaintops just to get mobile network signals. For him, the question at the centre of the rural connectivity challenge is fundamental: “Who should own the local network?”

Adebayo argued that just as communities once came together to build schools, churches, and mosques, they should also be empowered to build and own their local communication infrastructure. “If the communities own those networks, they will protect them. It will be difficult for anyone to vandalise what they built,” he stated.

He criticised the frequent vandalism of telecom sites, describing how solar panels are sometimes stolen and used for leisure activities. “Today, we are seeing cases of people vandalising sites and taking the solar cells to play table tennis in the village square. That will not happen if they own those networks,” he said.

Adebayo urged government and regulators to create incentives for rural operators, including tax waivers, free rights of way, and easier access to land. Pointing to Niger State as an example, he said large-scale solar farms could thrive there if policies encouraged investment. “If you want to deploy hundreds of kilometres of solar farms, go there. The land is free,” he said.

He also proposed that Nigeria’s data centre operators should consider relocating parts of their operations to rural states where land is cheaper and more available. “In the centres where we are concentrated, we are struggling for everything, from power to water. Maybe it’s time we begin to think of taking some of these data centres offsite,” he added.

The ALTON Chairman emphasised that rural connectivity shouldn’t be limited to infrastructure, ensuring new opportunities, security, and restoring dignity are highly important. “Rural connectivity is not just about expanding network coverage, but about expanding opportunities,” Adebayo said. 

“If people have the same value and opportunities in those tier two, three, and four cities, they will have a better quality of life than the daily struggles in the urban centres.”

“Together, we can be rural connected, not just as a policy aspiration, but as a living reality in every part of the country.”

This was revealed during the inaugural Rural Connectivity Summit organised by Business Metrics, in Lagos, where Dr Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stressed that connectivity is far more than speed, it’s about economic inclusion.

“The accurate measure of connectivity is not in megabits per second, but in the economic value it creates or loses,” said Dr Aminu Maida, whose keynote address was delivered by Tunji Jimoh, Zonal Controller of the NCC Lagos Office.

At the event, themed “Rethinking Digital Connectivity to Unlock Rural Economic Potential,” he described connectivity as “an indispensable part of life,” noting that when it fails, “opportunities stop, and lives can be at risk.”

Dr Maida noted that despite progress, rural Nigeria is digitally invisible, with internet access still at 23% compared to 57% in urban areas. This gap, he explained, cuts off millions from modern education, markets, healthcare, and financial services, a situation he called “unacceptable and unsustainable.”

Research shows that a 10% increase in broadband penetration can drive 1.38% GDP growth in developing economies. However, Nigeria’s broadband penetration as of August 2025 stood at 48.81%, below its potential. 

While coverage has expanded, with 3G and 4G networks reaching 86.34%, usage and household access remain at 39.2% and 40.1% respectively.

Nigeria’s ICT Development Index (IDI) score also exposes this imbalance. At 52.9, the country ranks 137th out of 164 economies, following far behind the global average of 77.6 and Africa’s 56.1.

To tackle these challenges, Dr Maida outlined NCC’s ongoing initiatives through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF). The Fund has financed over 2,500 educational projects and delivered 100,000 computers to schools nationwide.

One unique project is the Emerging Technology Centre at Ogun State Institute of Technology, where more than 9,000 students now have access to digital tools for innovation.

Beyond education, the USPF’s e-Health Project connects rural clinics to larger hospitals for remote consultations, while the e-Accessibility Project provides persons with disabilities with assistive technology. 

To ensure sustainability, the NCC has also launched the Impact Alliance, a partnership network involving private sector players, civil society, and international bodies, to co-invest in inclusive connectivity.

In response to the sabotage of telecom infrastructure, Dr Maida highlighted the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Order, signed by the President in June 2024, empowering law enforcement to protect telecom assets. 

“Our advocacy has led to 11 states offering zero charges for right-of-way permits,” he said, adding that 70 others have aligned with the national benchmark of ₦145 per linear metre.

The Commission has also been working with mobile network operators, global partners like GSMA and the World Bank, and the Office of the National Security Adviser to safeguard telecom assets and promote affordable broadband deployment.

“We stand at a strategic crossroads. The global digital race is accelerating, and we must act decisively to ensure our youth are creators, not consumers, of digital value,” Dr Maida said.

He urged governors to support right-of-way reforms, operators to speed up rural rollouts, and communities to protect telecom infrastructure. “These assets are their bridge between backwardness and global relevance,” he stated.

With over 45% of Nigeria’s population still living in rural areas, the NCC wants digital inclusion to go beyond policies, it is a national strategy for growth.

Even with a rebound of nearly 25% in the second half, the continent still couldn’t meet up, largely because digital access is tangled in complexity and misaligned systems that don’t always reflect how Africans live and work.

Consider that 61% of sub-Saharan Africans live within broadband coverage but do not use it. Not because the internet is absent, but because access is limited by poor localisation affordability, digital illiteracy, friction-filled user journeys and at times, poor design.

That’s the battlefield where Jecinta Fabiyi has pitched her tent. For her, design is about ensuring access, trust, and opportunity in a region where the gap between technology and people can feel like a canyon. She has built her career around one core conviction, which is: technology must be human before it can be powerful.

So, when Fabiyi was named a Global Tech Hero by The Connected Awards, it was not a polite nod to another rising designer. It was a recognition of impact that is both statistical and human. The Awards, known for immortalising professionals who embody craft, impact, and legacy, singled her out as someone who consistently changes complexity into clarity.

The Making of a Hero

At Youverify, a Lagos-and San Francisco–based identity verification startup, Jecinta Fabiyi designed YouverifyOS (YVOS), a compliance and verification platform now powering over 5 million identity verification processes. 

Through the simplification of KYC, KYB, and AML compliance into intuitive digital flows, she directly contributed to Youverify’s scale from 400 million to over 2 billion identities verified.

Her design of vFORM, a drag-and-drop onboarding tool, went further. What could have been another clunky enterprise form-builder became a seamless experience for businesses onboarding customers. The results?

• 300% increase in Youverify’s customer base, spreading across more than 400 banks and startups in Africa.
• 1,000% surge in application volumes, making identity verification almost routine for financial services and ride-hailing companies.
• A direct link to Youverify’s $1M seed extension funding, proving that design can, quite literally, drive investment.

These reveal how Fabiyi’s work answers one of Africa’s biggest problems: the trust deficit in digital finance and identity. In a continent where over 30 countries now enforce KYC/AML regulations, her designs are helping businesses keep pace without losing customers to bureaucracy.

Beyond Compliance: Human Impact

But Fabiyi’s influence isn’t limited to compliance dashboards. At Sidekick Health, she helped redesign the Zanadio obesity treatment platform, where patients were abandoning onboarding before accessing therapy. 

Her work simplified the funnel and reduced friction, leading to a 10% increase in visitor-to-signup conversions and a 12% growth in signups-to-activation. These numbers translate into something no spreadsheet can fully capture, more patients accessing life-changing treatment.

At Wunder Mobility, she shaped fleet management dashboards and rider experiences that made shared transport more reliable and scalable. In a continent struggling with urban congestion, such design work nudges cities closer to sustainable mobility.

Recognition Rooted in Impact

Her recognition as “Woman in Tech of the Week” by The Stack Journal and her feature in Daily Times Nigeria did not come from rhetoric but from measurable results. And now, with her new badge as a Global Tech Hero, she joins a circle of technologists celebrated for what they build and how their work ripples across communities.

The Connected Awards describe their honourees as “leaders whose work bridges the gap between complexity and clarity, between people and services, and between potential and lasting impact.” Jecinta Fabiyi fits that description without caveat. She has shown that design is not decoration, it is infrastructure. It determines whether millions of Africans can access services or remain excluded.

More than a Designer

Away from her corporate impact, Jecinta Fabiyi mentors junior designers, supports career switchers, and publishes free resources in the Figma Community, already used by 1,000+ designers. Her talks on accessibility, inclusivity, and design KPIs have equipped professionals to think beyond aesthetics and focus on outcomes. And on LinkedIn and Substack, she shares insights that demystify the tech industry for the next generation of creatives.

Why This is Important 

In African tech, funding is slowing, but adoption is growing. Emerging markets like Uganda (+304% growth in VC funding) and Tanzania (+108%) are proving that the future is not confined to Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, or South Africa. However, the continent still struggles with high digital drop-off rates, compliance barriers, and trust issues.

This is why Fabiyi’s story is important. She represents a new kind of African tech leader, one who sees design not as the finishing touch but as the foundation. One who treats every interface as a bridge between ambition and reality. And one who insists that technology must include everyone, or it has failed.

As she continues to build products across industries, the Global Tech Hero award can’t be limited in description as a career highlight, but more like a milestone in an ongoing mission, which is to make digital experiences simpler, safer, and more inclusive for millions.

The pledge was made when the Anambra State Disability Rights Commission (ADRC), in partnership with the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme, paid an advocacy visit to the Agency’s headquarters.

Managing Director/CEO of the ICT Agency, Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, noted the Soludo administration’s determination to make governance work for all, including PWDs. 

He said intentional inclusion remains central to the Governor’s technology-driven vision for the state, adding that the Commission recently received a range of digital tools to enhance its productivity.

“Technology is only truly impactful when it works for everyone, regardless of physical ability. We are committed to removing digital barriers and making our platforms accessible to all residents of Anambra State,” Agbata said.

He also disclosed that the Agency will appoint a Disability Desk Officer, work with the Commission to ensure all government ICT platforms meet accessibility standards, and incorporate PWD-friendly features into ongoing upgrades of the SolutionLens feedback platform.

During the visit, ADRC’s Head of ICT, Bonaventure Umeokwonna, outlined the Commission’s priorities, while RoLAC representatives pledged continued support to build capacity and strengthen the policy framework for inclusion.

Valentine Nwachukwu, head of Planning, Research and Statistics at the Commission, gave the vote of thanks, commending the ICT Agency’s openness to collaboration.

The Anambra State ICT Agency continues to work closely with ministries, departments, and agencies to deepen digital transformation across the state, ensuring no segment of society is left behind.

Nonetheless, we’re told this is the next great frontier for digital innovation. Data usage is surging; there are over 150 million active SIMs, internet penetration stands at 45.4%, with 107 million Nigerians online, and smartphones more accessible than ever.

But there’s a disconnect: 39.4% of Nigerians still don’t have electricity. In rural areas, three out of four people are poor, and smartphone ownership drops to 26%.

So, who are we building for? And why are we so comfortable ignoring those we’ve left behind?

The Illusion of Scale

There’s a dangerous myth in our space, that if you just give people internet, you’ve solved development. Tech founders repeat it, investors reinforce it, and policies are built around it. But the truth is, many of the people we claim to be building for can’t afford the very solutions we’re scaling.

It’s easy to design for urban customers with smartphones and stable power. That’s where the numbers are clean. But those are not the people most in need. In rural communities, where poverty is deepest, there’s no broadband, no power, and sometimes no roads. Scaling tech without solving these underlying issues is lazy.

Capital Misalignment

Most of the money flowing into Africa’s tech sector doesn’t come from here. It comes from foreign funds chasing growth metrics. But these investors are not interested in slow, complex problems like hunger, education, or electricity. They want user growth, low acquisition costs, and recurring revenue.

That pressure distorts priorities. A fintech startup is more likely to build another payment app for salaried professionals than create tools for market women in Aba or farmers in Zamfara. Why? Because investors aren’t patient, and the people most affected by poverty don’t fit the growth model.

Some founders are just waiting to hit the right metrics to raise their next round, not to fix anything fundamental. That’s not innovation, it’s extraction.

Innovation Can’t Breathe Without Infrastructure

Let’s not complicate it. You can’t build digital products that require constant access to power when 40% of the population lives in the dark. You can’t build online learning tools when millions of children don’t even have chairs to sit on in school.

We usually act as if tech can leap over these problems, that it’s somehow immune to bad roads, poor electricity, and broken policy. But we’re wrong. Tech built on broken systems will break with them.

The numbers speak loudly; urban smartphone penetration is 59%; rural is just 26%. Electricity access is patchy, and in some states, entirely unreliable. How do you scale when the pipeline itself is fractured?

Rethinking What to Build

There are exceptions; founders working to solve real problems from the ground up. People building solar-powered solutions for last-mile clinics. Platforms that work offline. Logistics networks reaching places telcos haven’t bothered with.

These are not the loudest startups, but they’re the most needed. We need more of them. Not another super app, not another crypto platform, not another same-day delivery service for people with iPhones.

It’s time we stop copying what worked in California and start asking: what works in Kano? What do people in Ekiti actually need?

Who’s Responsible?

Everyone involved has a role to play: founders, investors, policymakers. Founders must be honest about their markets. If you’re not solving anything meaningful, at least stop pretending that you are. Investors need to stop funding startups with shallow solutions wrapped in fancy decks. Governments should stop outsourcing their failures to the private sector and actually invest in infrastructure.

If we keep ignoring these responsibilities, we will keep scaling noise, not impact.

Internet growth is not development, SIM cards don’t build schools, and data usage does not guarantee a better life.

Yes, tech is scaling fast; monthly data consumption hit 1 million terabytes in January 2025, nearly double from two years ago. But what is the point of that scale if the majority of people still live in hunger and darkness?

If we truly want to build for the next billion, we need to first address the poverty, hunger, and systemic neglect that define the lives of the first. We don’t need more platforms, we need power, schools and clean water.

Until then, “the next billion” will remain a fantasy that benefits everyone except the people it claims to serve.

This initiative forms part of a larger R4.5 billion ($251 million) national rollout expected to wrap up in 2025.

The company is adding more base stations and expanding its digital backbone; over 70 sites will see capacity enhancements, modernisation, and energy upgrades. MTN is also rolling out 5G access and enhancing existing LTE services, aiming to close the digital gap that still separates many urban and rural communities.

“The R300 million investment, part of the national rollout to enhance the company’s digital capabilities, will lead to improvements in battery, site security, and energy facilities, including the availability of generators across the province,” said Machawe Dlamini, general manager for Gauteng Operations at MTN SA. 

According to him, this development also includes network strengthening strategies designed to keep services running during load shedding and other disruptions.

While Gauteng leads this upgrade drive, MTN hasn’t ignored other provinces. R480 million ($27 million) has been earmarked for similar upgrades in KwaZulu-Natal, where the focus includes building new sites and expanding rural access to 4G and 5G services.

MTN South Africa was recently named the country’s top-performing mobile network for Q1 2025, based on MyBroadband Insights’ latest report. The telco aims to hold that title, not just through marketing but by physically expanding its network capacity.

Gauteng, contributing roughly 34% to South Africa’s GDP, is a logical priority. For MTN, upgrading infrastructure here isn’t just a business decision; it’s strategic positioning.

“Our investment in the network infrastructure is a crucial facilitator in connecting the unconnected and fostering a more inclusive digital landscape across South Africa,” Dlamini.

Nationally, MTN has already invested over R9.7 billion ($548 million) in network and IT infrastructure upgrades in the past year. With nearly 39.7 million mobile users as of June 2025, the company remains South Africa’s second-largest operator, trailing Vodacom but staying ahead of Telkom, Cell C, and Rain.

For communities long underserved, especially those in the province’s peri-urban and township areas, this infrastructure expansion could mean the difference between digital exclusion and connectivity that genuinely transforms daily life.