MTN Nigeria Stock Price Hit as Naira Devaluation Inflcits Another Loss
Shares in MTN Nigeria Communications Plc retreated 9.1% to a low of 240 naira, the most since April 24, 2024, before rebounding to trade unchanged on the session.
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These soaring UK shares are smashing the S&P 500
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Business Wire
a day ago
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ISACA and INGRYD Academy Partner to Train 10,000 Aspiring Tech Professionals in Nigeria
LAGOS, Nigeria--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Global IT professional association ISACA and Nigeria-based tech talent training and outsourcing academy INGRYD Academy today announced a partnership focused on advancing IT/information security readiness and workforce development for those pursuing careers advancing trust in technology, including cybersecurity, emerging technologies and IT audit. The five-year initiative aims to support Nigeria's digital talent pipeline and close cybersecurity workforce gaps. Designed to support Nigeria's national workforce development goals and meet Africa's growing demand for digital skills, the five-year partnership will equip 10,000 aspiring tech professionals with in-demand training and access to ISACA's global professional community. Each year, 2,000 INGRYD Academy students will receive several Fundamentals courses from ISACA, a one-year ISACA student membership, and networking and mentorship opportunities through ISACA's global chapters, as well as workshops, conferences, and other events with INGRYD staff and ISACA members where they can share ideas, knowledge and best practices. Africa's digital economy is projected to reach $180 billion by 2025, according to a report from IFC and Google, yet the region faces a critical shortage of trained professionals to meet growing demand. Nigeria, with more than 100 million internet users and a fast-growing tech sector, is well positioned to lead—but continues to experience gaps in cybersecurity capacity and workforce readiness. This collaboration helps address that need at scale. The collaboration provides a unique opportunity to expand IT and cybersecurity training to help close the global tech talent gap, helping aspiring tech professionals build relevant, future-forward skills that will launch their careers, including through ISACA courses on cybersecurity and AI. This program aligns with ISACA's academic and workforce development efforts to support the next generation of learners around the globe seeking in-demand IS/IT skills and communities looking to grow their digital trust workforce, as well as with INGRYD Academy's mission to produce highly trained tech talent with the right expertise, culture and work readiness to support the increasing demand from businesses globally. 'Empowering the next generation as they embark on their tech career journeys not only ensures the strength of our global IT and cybersecurity workforce but also builds tech and cyber capability—a critical enabler of economic growth and overall societal prosperity through the safer adoption of digital technologies,' says Chris Dimitriadis, ISACA Chief Global Strategy Officer. 'We are excited about our partnership with INGRYD Academy, and we applaud its efforts to open new learning pathways for students and work towards a safer digital world.' 'The collaboration between ISACA and INGRYD Academy represents a powerful driver of opportunity and change. By providing Nigerian students with globally recognized credentials and connecting them to ISACA's community, INGRYD Academy is opening doors to new careers and empowering the younger generations to contribute to sustainable growth and innovation across the region,' says Gustavo Frega, Senior Academic Strategy and Business Partnership Manager, ISACA. 'This partnership marks a transformative step in our mission to close the digital skills gap in Africa. By equipping 40,000 learners with globally recognized training, we're enabling long-term career mobility. We're not just creating tech talent—we're building a generation of problem-solvers and digital leaders. That's the kind of impact that moves nations forward.' says HRM Khadijat Abdulkadir, CEO, Ingryd Academy. For more detail about ISACA courses, visit Learn about ISACA academic and workforce development partnerships at Learn more about INGRYD Academy and its programs at About ISACA For more than 55 years, ISACA® ( has empowered its community of 185,000+ members with the knowledge, credentials, training and network they need to thrive in fields like information security, governance, assurance, risk management, data privacy and emerging tech. With a presence in more than 190 countries and with nearly 230 chapters worldwide, ISACA offers resources tailored to every stage of members' careers. Through the ISACA Foundation, ISACA also expands IT and education career pathways, fostering opportunities to grow the next generation of technology professionals. About INGRYD INGRYD Academy is a leading technology Academy that offers tech training, certifications, talent outsourcing, and consulting services, with physical presence in Europe, Africa, and the United States. Ingryd has trained thousands of learners and certified over 4,500 professionals, drawing from a talent pool of over 100,000 aspiring tech talents who have been placed with our 288 partner organisations across the world. INGRYD closes the global tech talent gap and helps aspiring tech professionals build relevant, future-forward skills that will launch their careers by offering specialised training of 200 hours on courses. INGRYD Academy also supports Nigerian youths by offering 4,000 scholarships yearly to increase access for young people at a disadvantage. Having worked with several government and private organizations across the world, INGRYD is experienced in developing custom trainings and systems to support real world career accelerations.
NBC News
2 days ago
- NBC News
Even at 1%, new tax will burden African immigrants who send money back home
A new remittance tax set to begin in the new year has one university student reeling from the implications it will have for her family in Nigeria. Edidiong Chrys, a second-generation Nigerian American, said she thinks the 1% tax passed as part of President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill ' would directly affect the financial lifeline she sends overseas. This tax will be applied to anyone in the U.S. who sends money abroad. 'We regularly send money home to support loved ones, including our elders, children in school, newborns and others in need,' she said. Chrys, 38, said some of the funds sent home have gone to new parents in her family, helping ease the cost of food and traveling to doctors' appointments. The funds also help her uncle, who has a job but also must pay for his five daughters, who are all in school. He and his wife work, but it's still not enough 'to accommodate all the things that need to hold the household down,' Chrys said. And then there's Chrys' 80-year-old grandmother, who was weathering back pain when Chrys visited in January. 'We are paying for the live-in nurse to help her during the week,' she said. 'That's an additional expense that we need to have for her so that she's not bending over.' The tax applies to anyone in the U.S. who sends remittances to their home countries. In 2023, remittances from the U.S. totaled $98 billion, according to the World Bank. Chrys contributes to the $56 billion in remittances sub-Saharan Africa received from people around the world last year. In fact, she said she regularly remits cash — more than 50 times a year — to family and friends. The Center for Global Development, a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on reducing global poverty through economic research, published an analysis last month that listed the tax as yet another financial setback for many nations, given the recent reduction in American aid. Liberia is highly dependent on foreign aid as well as remittances. In 2023, the U.S. accounted for a quarter of the country's foreign aid, and remittances surpassed Liberia's bilateral foreign aid by three times, according to the report. The African Union's outgoing ambassador to the United States, Hilda Suka-Mafudze, said hindering such funding 'threatens to reverse gains in financial inclusion and development across the continent of Africa.' Witney Schneidman, a nonresident senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution's Global Economy and Development program, said, 'To put this tax on is just a further constraint on the U.S. effort to work with our partners on the continent.' 'It's not transformational. ... It's just another obstacle to partnership, and it's another obstacle to development,' he said. Schneidman, who also served as deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the Clinton administration, condemned the Trump administration for building barriers and not bridges. 'When you add it up with the visa blockages, with the end of the [African Growth and Opportunity Act] AGOA, with the end of USAID, it's just building a wall,' he said. 'The U.S. is building a wall between itself and the world and certainly between itself and Africa.' Suka-Mafudze, whose focus will turn toward the Southern African Development Community region, said that beyond hurting diplomatic ties, blocking remittances is also 'a human issue, because diaspora remittances are lifelines for millions of African families and these remittances often cover essentials, which are food, school fees, medical care and a lot of things. And to impose a tax on that is deeply unjust.' Chrys said the financial burden of sending money home is already heavy, with some stretching limited resources to make ends meet. 'Some people are not making as much to be able to try to support their family back home,' Chrys said. 'When I do get a chance to send money home, sometimes I'm spending it from my refund check.' Democratic Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida and Jonathan L. Jackson of Illinois introduced new legislation called the African Diaspora Investment and Development Act, or AIDA, aimed at reversing the tax's impact. It would also create more transparency in money transfers, among other things. Suka-Mafudze backs the legislation, warning the new tax 'could push people toward informal or unregulated channels, making transactions riskier and less transparent.' Cherfilus-McCormick, the only Haitian American member of Congress right now, warns that a remittance tax would unfairly burden families already struggling to support their loved ones overseas. 'I strongly oppose any effort to tax remittances and will continue fighting for policies that protect immigrant and diaspora communities,' she said in a statement. 'H.R.4586 — AIDA intends to reverse course and instead focus on incentivizing and leveraging on the nearly 100 billion of dollars that Haitian, African and Caribbean Americans send home each year to build sustainable partnerships and strengthen economic development.' Schneidman said the tax has the potential to impact education, health care and families because the bulk of the remittances are family-to-family. That reality is felt most by those sending the money, who see firsthand how even small amounts can make a big difference. 'In the U.S., it might feel like, 'Oh, that's nothing.'' Chrys said. But in Nigeria, 'It's everything because every little money counts.'
