The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has appointed Upperlink Limited as the official system integrator for Nigeria’s national e-invoicing platform, marking a key step in the country’s ongoing tax digitisation drive.

Under the arrangement, Upperlink will support businesses in connecting to the NRS Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS) framework, enabling real-time invoice validation, secure transmission of financial data, and compliant digital tax reporting in line with the federal government’s new electronic invoicing regime.

The initiative is part of a phased rollout by the tax authority, which will make e-invoicing mandatory for companies based on turnover thresholds, as Nigeria seeks to improve transparency, efficiency, and revenue collection.

The Managing Director of Upperlink Limited, Olusegun Akano, said the appointment reflects the company’s long-standing expertise in enterprise technology, digital infrastructure, and large-scale service delivery.

He noted that Upperlink has developed secure and scalable platforms across government, financial services, and enterprise systems, adding that the firm is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a Payment Solution Service Provider and operates as an aggregator to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System.

Akano also highlighted the company’s broader credentials in digital infrastructure, including its status as the first ICANN-accredited registrar in Nigeria.

The Chief Marketing Officer, Opeyemi Oni, said the approval reinforces Upperlink’s role in helping businesses comply with the new e-invoicing framework while reducing operational friction and improving transparency in financial reporting.

According to the NRS, the rollout will be implemented in phases, targeting large, medium, and smaller taxpayers based on annual turnover thresholds ranging from above ₦5 billion to below ₦1 billion.

Once fully implemented, businesses will be required to integrate their invoicing and accounting systems with the NRS-approved platform to ensure real-time issuance, validation, and submission of invoices through authorised channels.

As system integrator, Upperlink will be responsible for designing, deploying, and supporting compliant invoicing systems, including middleware and portal-based solutions for organisations with varying levels of digital readiness.

The development underscores Nigeria’s broader push toward digital tax administration, aimed at improving compliance, reducing leakages, and modernising revenue collection infrastructure.

Nigeria’s expanding digital ecosystem is facing rising exposure to cyberattacks, infrastructure vulnerabilities, financial fraud, and other emerging security risks, with experts warning that weak institutional coordination is worsening the situation across critical sectors.

The concerns were raised at the inaugural Enterprise Security Risk Management Conference organised by the Association of Enterprise Risk Management Professionals (AERMP), where stakeholders said the rapid digitisation of banking, telecommunications, healthcare, governance, and enterprise systems has significantly increased national risk exposure.

Speaking at the event themed “Repositioning Enterprise Security Risk Management in an Evolving Global Threat Landscape: A Multi-Stakeholder Imperative,” industry leaders noted that modern threats are no longer isolated but interconnected, affecting both digital and physical infrastructure simultaneously.

Chairman of the occasion and Chief Executive Officer of Advantec Marine Services, Bolanle Ati-John, said Nigeria’s threat environment now extends beyond traditional security challenges to include cybercrime, infrastructure sabotage, supply chain disruption, disinformation, and economic shocks.

He warned that attacks on critical systems could rapidly escalate across multiple sectors, creating broader national and economic consequences.

“A cyberattack on a bank is not merely an IT problem. It can become a financial stability problem,” he said, stressing the need for anticipatory and intelligence-driven security systems.

In a presentation delivered on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Communications Commission, the commission raised concerns over increasing digital vulnerabilities across the country.

The NCC disclosed that more than 27,000 fibre cuts and over 4,000 cyberattacks were recorded in 2025 across banking, telecommunications, healthcare, and government systems.

It warned that AI-powered attacks, ransomware-as-a-service, and data breaches are becoming more sophisticated, increasing pressure on national cybersecurity infrastructure.

The commission also noted that nearly 90 per cent of Nigeria’s data is hosted outside Africa, raising concerns about data sovereignty and national security risks.

According to the NCC, the rollout of 5G networks, artificial intelligence, and smart technologies will further expand Nigeria’s attack surface unless stronger cybersecurity governance frameworks are implemented.

To address these challenges, the commission said it has introduced a Cyber Resilience Framework for the communications sector, aimed at improving threat detection, incident response, and risk management across licensed operators, with full enforcement expected from February 2027.

Chief Information Security Officer of Quest Merchant Bank, Maji Alamogu, also warned that cyber risks have evolved beyond technical issues into enterprise-wide threats capable of disrupting operations and compromising customer data.

She stressed that cybersecurity is now a boardroom issue, requiring integration into corporate governance, risk management, and compliance systems.

Director of Halogen Security Risk Advisory and Consulting, Adewale Adeagbo, added that the increasing complexity of threats demands more proactive and coordinated risk management approaches.

He noted that modern security risks are dynamic and interconnected, requiring organisations to shift from reactive responses to preventive strategies.

Other speakers at the conference emphasised that weak coordination among institutions remains a major challenge, with some warning that risk often spreads faster than responsibility in today’s interconnected environment.

They called for stronger collaboration between government agencies, private sector operators, and security institutions to improve intelligence sharing and enhance national resilience.

The conference concluded with a consensus that Nigeria must adopt enterprise-wide, anticipatory security frameworks to effectively manage emerging cyber and infrastructure threats in an increasingly digital economy.

Nigeria and other African countries remain at the bottom of the global digital connectivity ladder, as high device costs and limited affordability continue to slow broadband expansion and next-generation internet adoption across the continent.

A new State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025 highlights persistent inequality in access to digital technology, noting that millions of Africans still cannot afford smartphones despite falling global device prices.

The report shows that feature phones still dominate mobile ownership in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 46 per cent of usage, compared to just 8 per cent in high-income countries. Computer ownership remains even lower, with household penetration estimated at just 11 per cent across 34 surveyed African countries.

It also points to the near absence of fixed broadband infrastructure, with Africa recording less than 1 per cent penetration, far behind regions such as Asia and the Middle East where fixed connectivity continues to expand rapidly.

Although mobile network coverage has improved significantly, reaching more than 90 per cent of the population, only about 40 per cent of Africans are actually online, underscoring the gap between coverage and real access.

Advanced connectivity remains limited. While 60 per cent of Africans have access to 4G networks, only about 11 per cent are covered by 5G services, compared with widespread rollouts in Asia-Pacific and high-income economies.

In Nigeria, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, said 5G penetration currently stands at about 11 per cent, with active usage estimated at roughly 5 per cent of total network connections.

The report warns that this digital exclusion could deepen inequality and limit Africa’s participation in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things.

It further notes that affordability remains the biggest barrier, particularly for populations living on less than $2 a day, making even entry-level smartphones inaccessible for millions.

To bridge the gap, the report recommends lowering data costs, expanding digital literacy programmes, and encouraging policies that support wider market competition and infrastructure sharing.

It also highlights the importance of rural connectivity, noting that internet usage remains heavily concentrated in urban areas while rural communities continue to face poor or non-existent service.

According to the report, Africa will require an estimated $7 billion in annual investment to close its digital infrastructure gap and achieve meaningful inclusion in the global digital economy.

New developments such as subsea fibre-optic cables, expanding data centres, and public-private digital partnerships are already reshaping connectivity in countries like Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya.

The report concludes that integrating digital infrastructure into broader national development projects—such as transport, energy, and power systems—will be key to accelerating last-mile connectivity and ensuring long-term digital inclusion across the continent.