The management of Etisalat Nigeria has denied the allegation by V-Exchange Limited that it infringed on the copyright of a business proposal.

Reacting to the allegation in a statement recently, Oluseyi Osunsedo, Head, Environment Compliance and Public Relations, Etisalat Nigeria, dismissed the allegation: “In keeping with our vision of being an enabler, we re-affirm that Etisalat is a law abiding and responsible corporate organisation and we remain committed to delighting our customers and stakeholders with innovative products and superior customer experience.”

“KwikCash loan service, the product which according to V-Exchange was allegedly copied by Etisalat from its proposal, is owned and operated by a licensed financial institution, which was granted NCC approval to run the service on Etisalat’s network. The NCC approval is dated 20th April 2016, while the pilot launch of KwikCash service held on July 18, 2016.”

“How the product could have been copied from V-Exchange when KwikCash service was already in existence and operational long before October 27, 2016 when V-Exchange sent its proposal to Etisalat. In view of the above, Etisalat Nigeria urges the general public to disregard the claim by V-Exchange ltd. as the allegation is frivolous and lacking any merit.”

However, the management of V-Exchange had claimed that it sent a business proposal dated October 27, 2016 to Etisalat and subsequently met with Etisalat’s representatives on November 23 2016.

It added that it informed Etisalat of some of its products with a view to partnering with the company and launching the products on Etisalat’s platform, but that Etisalat unilaterally launched the products as ‘KwikCash’ without V-Exchange’s authorisation. V-Exchange then demanded over N2billion from Etisalat as compensation.