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From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria says it is committed to empowering small-scale business entrepreneurs in the country as the backbone of the economy, thereby assuring investors of adequate support.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Economic Matters, Tope Fasua, who made the vow while speaking in Abuja on Friday at the Esdiac Global Media Parley and stakeholders’ engagement, remarked that the administration was keen on ensuring that the Tinubu administration continued its economic rescue by empowering SMEs, especially those in the communication sector.
Fasua highlighted that Nigerians had many times cried out over the exorbitant charges associated with international calls.
“The last time I was travelling out of the country, I bought a very expensive eSIM at Abuja Airport, and I was going to Bangkok. The eSIM worked in London, but it didn’t work in Bangkok. I didn’t get much value for it, but I’m hoping that Esdiac is better. I think it’s much cheaper than what I got. I will not tell you how much I got. I’ve been hearing about eSIM, eSIM, eSIM, and there was this eSIM. There was one person who was a canvasser in the airport. I said, okay, let me try it and see. But again, it’s the next level for communication. Because these tech people, like Mr Austin, know the back end of technology, so they’re able to find ways around.
“If it tells you that you can make a call abroad for 13 Naira, believe him that you can make it for Latin Naira. As against the big behemoths, for example, if you wanted to call on some of the MTN, Glo, and others, you probably would pay over 200 Naira per minute. So for those who are thinking about economy, if you’re thinking about how to reduce your costs, I think you should sign on to what I have downloaded, and I will surely try the product and let you know.”
Speaking earlier, the Founder and CEO of Esdiac Global Systems Limited, Mr Austin Ugbebor, and the Lead Infrastructure and Security Engineer, Daramola Olugbenga, said that the platform proved what world-class telecom products could be built and sustained in Nigeria.
Olugbenga said Esdiac was designed from the ground up as a statement of local capability, leveraging existing global technologies but building a proprietary, highly scalable backbone.
“From Esdiac, we have done it, and we are still doing it with Nigerians. This is a big statement that we can do it,” he said.
He disclosed that the system was initially dimensioned for one million concurrent calls, with an architecture that prevents mid-call drops despite network fluctuations.
“We built it in a very scalable manner. So even if there is a network fluctuation, the call will not drop mid-conversation. Once a call starts, it will run to the end,” he said.
According to him, the achievement was made possible by a huge team of engineers based mainly in Nigeria, with external mentorship, and the goal is to deliver crystal-clear calls even on poor data or bad Wi-Fi.
At the heart of the local-content pitch is data sovereignty. Both speakers stressed that Esdiac complied with the Nigeria Data Protection Act and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) regulations, storing and processing all Nigerian user data in Nigeria.
“Your data is safe with us. We are aware that your data needs to reside in Nigeria. Our point of presence is in Nigeria, and we store and process your data in Nigeria,” Olugbenga said.
Ugbebor added: “We authenticate your access to the platform using the SIM, and we ride on our own backbone, which is mainly here in Nigeria and also in the US. We are very careful that data here are not transmitted outside the country.”
He said that, as a paid product licensed by both the NCC in Nigeria and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States, Esdiac could not share user information with third parties without user approval or a court order, and that users had the right to request data held about them.
Beyond infrastructure, Esdiac is positioning itself as an AI-driven business enabler. Olugbenga said the platform had two offerings: a normal calling app and a business version powered by interactive AI agents that answer calls, make bookings and hold conversations when human agents are unavailable.
“It is not just the normal IVR. It is not just a recording. It is interactive. You have a conversation, you talk, and you get feedback from the agent,” he explained.
Ugbebor said the long-term vision was to build a legacy product that outlives the current generation, noting that the first Esdiac app was released in 2016 and had been sustained through a recent migration to a more robust backend.
He urged Nigerians to support the homegrown solution, describing mobile network operators as partners, not competitors.
“We plan to stay here and build a product with legacy that the next generation will be able to apply,” Ugbebor said.
