Hi, welcome to Tech This Evening, an After-Work Tech Newsletter from Techparley Africa. Sure, there is a lot to unpack right now. Sit back, while I walk you through.
Top Story: #PRESS4PROGRESS: What Fisayo Soyombo got done under hours could have taken forever or months unending to fix
If you have lived and worked in Nigeria for more than 25 years, you will understand that bureaucratic delays dominate public services, and a single tweet can sometimes catalyse change. On Tuesday, January 13, 2025, investigative journalist and editor-in-chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Fisayo Soyombo, called out the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) over passport delays, prompting a swift action and the introduction of a new passport tracking feature.
What followed was a striking reminder of the power of public accountability. Within hours of his post, NIS not only confirmed the status of his passport but also announced a new tracking feature to notify applicants when their passports are ready for collection.
In a system often defined by months of red tape, Soyombo’s intervention shows how persistent citizen scrutiny can deliver tangible change quickly, efficiently, and visibly.
“On Thursday July 31, 2025, I paid a sum of N109,700 via the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) payment portal, then proceeded to one of their Lagos offices, to complete further documentation and capture. Meanwhile, the officers first mocked us for kick-starting the registration online,” he wrote in a tweet.
“I couldn’t complete capturing on that day due to a “network problem” that lasted several hours; I was forced to return to their office the following day for that. As I write this, “passport pending production” is the long-running feedback from NIS.”
Other Tech News Stories You Should Read:
Governata Raises $4m to Build AI-Ready Enterprise Data Foundations Across Saudi Arabia. Read now.
Singapore’s Botsync Raises Additional Funding to Accelerate Robotics Automation Expansion. Read now.
SpyCloud Launches Supply Chain Protection to Combat Third-Party Identity Threats. Read now.
On Startup Spotlight:
Israeli Startup, Novee, Raises $51.5m, Bets on AI to Transform Offensive Cybersecurity
Novee, an Israeli cybersecurity startup building artificial intelligence-driven offensive security tools, has emerged from stealth mode with $51.5 million in Series A funding, just four months after its founding, one of the fastest fundraising trajectories seen in the offensive security sector.
The round was led by YL Ventures, with participation from Canaan Partners and Zeev Ventures, underscoring growing investor confidence in companies tackling the rapid escalation of automated cyberattacks against enterprises.
Founded in May 2025, Novee says demand for its platform has been driven by a sharp increase in the sophistication, speed and scale of cyber threats, particularly those powered by AI and automation.
“Attackers don’t wait for your annual pentest, and neither should your defense,” said Novee co-founder and CEO Ido Geffen. “Novee has already helped organizations uncover hundreds of these novel vulnerabilities and fix them continuously, closing gaps before attackers exploit them.”
Quadri Adejumo brings you all the details. Read here.
Also Read:
How Vet Konect Is Using AI and Mobile Technology to Close Nigeria’s Animal Healthcare Gap. Yakub Abdulrasheed brings us the details, here.
Quote of the Day:
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke.
Thank you for joining me yet again this evening. Stay safe, and see you tomorrow for the next tech newsletter.
Best, Quadri
