LCH Consultancy & Associates Evelyn Wangui (Image: Supplied).

LCH Consultancy & Associates, an integrated advisory and strategic corporate communications agency focused on African development, is delighted to announce the appointment of Evelyn Wangui as the newest addition to its growing team to support the agency’s expanding global client portfolio. With over ten years of experience in strategic public relations, Evelyne brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to LCH Consultancy & Associates. As Director of Content and Media Relations, she will be pivotal in strengthening strategic services across the African region. 

During her career, Evelyne has represented many multinational organisations from various industries, operating in both corporate and developmental spheres. She was educated in Kenya, studying journalism and political science at Nairobi University.

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Commenting on her appointment, Evelyne said, “I am delighted to join this talented team of inspirational and highly motivated peers. This marks an exciting milestone in my profession. I look forward to innovating and executing new forms of corporate communications blended with business advisory.”

Lydia-Claire Halliday, Founder and Executive Director of LCH Consultancy & Associates, welcomed Evelyne. She noted that her entry aligns with the agency’s ongoing commitment to attract unique talent for continued world-class client support. “With this growing talent pool, I am confident that our clients will benefit from unparalleled communications and stakeholder relations support. We encourage both collaboration and intrapreneurship, which paves the way for our team’s development and success.”

LCH Consultancy was launched in 2012 to bridge the global knowledge gap by representing Africa and the corporations, organisations and people vested in its empowerment and equitable development. In 2023, the company officially rebranded as LCH Consultancy & Associates, representing the vital contribution of colleagues.

The agency specialises in three core areas: 

• Investor Relations – supporting capital and debt raising while maintaining the perception of value across the global investment community. In this role, LCH Consultancy & Associates advises on price-sensitive commercial developments and business strategies to local and global audiences.
• Corporate Communications – developing and executing communications plans that strengthen relationships with the media, public, industry, regulatory, and government stakeholders.
• Strategic Business Advisory –  providing unique intelligence, analysis, and insights to clients distinguished by a deep understanding of the opportunities present in Africa. This service has been instrumental in enabling clients to make informed decisions regarding their business development and identify partnerships and strategic alliances.

Seamfix, a global digital identity solutions provider, has secured $4.5 million from Alitheia IDF, a gender lens investing fund, in a private equity funding round to scale the technology infrastructure that underpins its solutions, improve data flow crucial for continental trade and integration, and kickstart the expansion of its digital ID and credential services into five new African countries.

Starting in Nigeria, Seamfix provides identity creation, verification and transaction accreditation solutions for large organisations and government agencies across multiple African countries. The new funding represents Seamfix’s first institutional investment, and it will enable the company to expand its services to Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Uganda. 

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Digital ID and verification systems are crucial to unlocking significant economic value across Africa’s growing and increasingly digital societies. From financial participation and efficiency in government services to public health and job creation, digital ID and verification systems are a fundamental driver of economic growth on the continent. A recent report suggested that African countries that implement effective digital ID systems can boost their GDP by up to 13 percent. 

Since the company was founded by Chimezie Emewulu and Chibuzor Onwurah, Seamfix has been at the cutting edge of delivering end-to-end digital ID and credentials solutions for connecting businesses and individuals to the disparate identity databases in Africa and across the world. The company has delivered a wide range of solutions for organizations such as Veremark, Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission [NIMC], telcos (MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9 Mobile), financial institutions (United Bank for Africa, Interswitch and Union Bank) and more, enabling them and their customers globally to seamlessly create, verify and access trusted digital identities and services.

Seamfix’s key achievements include the successful development of a digital solution enabling widespread access to National Identification Numbers (NINs) for more than 100 million Nigerians. Seamfix also supported Nigerian telecommunications services providers, to register and verify a database of over 200 million Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) to comply with Nigerian Communications Commission regulations. Seamfix currently works with major telcos across Africa (Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, Liberia, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau and more) on their SIM registration, verification and linkage to national identities. Thousands of fintechs and SMEs rely on Seamfix’s verification APIs for KYC checks during customer onboarding and employee background checks.

Seamfix’s digital credential platform has also transformed the credential issuance and certification process for multiple universities across Africa, powering them to issue instantly verifiable credentials and transforming the process of certifying credentials such as student transcripts and other official documents from over 6 months to a matter of days. This transformation has also been responsible for more than 2,000 per cent growth in internally generated revenue at these universities.

Chimezie Emewulu, Group CEO, and co-founder of Seamfix, said “We are thrilled to announce this new funding, which marks a significant milestone in our journey of shaping the future of digital ID verification in Africa and connecting Africa to the rest of the world. Digital identity is a right – not a privilege – and this belief underpins our innovation and commitment to enabling individuals and businesses in Africa to access all the benefits that come with having verifiable identities.  This investment not only validates our vision but also empowers us to expand our reach and innovate further. We are thankful for the support from Alitheia IDF and their commitment to our mission, and we are excited to lead the charge in shaping a digitally inclusive Africa.”

Seamfix is also proud to welcome two new board members – Tokunboh Ishmael and Frank Atube. Tokunboh is the Co-founder and Principal Partner of Alitheia Capital and a global voice for wealth creation and transformational impact. Frank Atube is a transformational change leader with a decade of success in orchestrating strategic initiatives across a variety of sectors. Frank has experience in leading cross functional teams across Project & Product Management, Business Analysis, Sales & Marketing, Customer experience and Engineering. He has functioned in many capacities in Seamfix including Head of Product Management, Head of Growth and most recently Chief Operating Officer. Frank has been critical to the successes Seamfix has recorded especially in terms of growth in revenue, profitability and customer acquisition.

Tokunboh Ishmael, Principal Partner, Alitheia IDF, said “in an increasingly digital-first world where digital platforms are enabling inclusion and broadening access to essential services, digital IDs are key to accessing opportunities. According to a recent McKinsey report, such access can result in the unlocking of up to 70% of an economy’s full economic potential and an additional 6% of GDP. This is particularly pertinent, when you consider that studies show that low-income women in emerging economies are less likely to have a digital ID, which further hinders their ability to participate in economic value creation and access opportunities. With this investment Alitheia IDF is working with Seamfix to amplify its work in enabling millions of women to participate in the African economy and reach their full potential by providing crucial identification services and empowering businesses across the continent to scale”

TelCables West Africa, part of the Angola Cables global network, shared details of its innovative Partner Program at a recent event held at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. This initiative is designed to empower companies in West Africa to shape the future of digital connectivity, tap into the rapidly growing enterprise market, and expand their businesses internationally.

​The TelCables Partner Program enables telecommunication companies, operators, ICT integrators, as well as internet service providers to extend their influence in shaping West Africa digital ecosystem.

Multinational telecommunications company Angola Cables operates in the wholesale market, providing connectivity, IT solutions and services, as well as international data circuit capacity and IP transit via owned, high-capacity submarine cables, including SACS, Monet, and WACS.

“Leveraging the Angola Cables Partner Program provides a unique opportunity for us to help connect our partners’ businesses from West Africa to the world,” said TelCables Nigeria CEO, Fernando Fernandes.

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“As the most connected network operator in Africa, our secure, low-latency direct routings Data Center to Data Center  from West Africa to the USA and South America, and from West Africa to London provide an immense advantage to our partners.​ Moreover, our presence across a number of Nigerian IP hubs such as Lekki, WACS CLS, Medallion DC, Rack Centre and others, and connections across Africa via the Djoliba network, means our partners have access to some of the most advanced digital infrastructure on the continent and our featured products to address secure connectivity and Clouds2Africa the most interconnected Cloud IAAS in Africa benefiting to our Global Network in more than 400 Cloud and Anti-DDoS secured nodes,” he added.

The Partner Program provides a comprehensive suite of management resourceful tools to support partners in their sales efforts. This includes portal, sales and marketing tools that enable partners to define product, commercial, and marketing strategies, as well as receive technical formation and go-to-market initiatives to streamline and accelerate their market offerings. The personalized program also adapts to the needs of each partner’s experience and market demand, ensuring mutual success. Additionally, tailored training and support are provided to each partner to help them achieve their goals.

Based in Nigeria, and with a global footprint in 20 countries on five continents, TelCables offers a wide range of internet exchange points, points-of-presence, peering, and related services.​ Current participants in the Partner Program include Microsoft, NEC, Juniper Networks, Ciena and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., all benefiting from Angola Cables’ extensive, low-latency direct access connectivity, connecting to the largest Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), Tier 1 operators, and global content providers in Africa and around the world

As part of the Angola Cables family, TelCables West Africa’s Partner Program is a testament to the company’s dedication to empowering businesses in West Africa to reach new heights in the digital age. Companies interested in joining the Partner Program and becoming part of a network that is shaping the future of digital connectivity in West Africa, can do so here