Wednesday, May 05, 2004
West African IT Pioneers
CAIRO:
By Thrishni Subramoney
Highway Africa News Agency
CAIRO: If you would like to rub shoulders with African IT pioneers, then the Nigerian Pavilion at the Telecom Africa 2004 conference in Cairo, Egypt is the place for you.
Tucked away at the back of the exhibition hall at the Cairo International Convention Centre, it's hardly the most hi-tech of the exhibits. There are no flashy giant LCD screens (and there are quite a few of those at this event) or expensive special effects.
What you will find in this vibrant spot - decorated with West African fabrics and art - is some stimulating conversation with entrepreneurs who are serious about taking their IT solutions all the way to the top of the market. If you're lucky, you'll also get some tasty Nigerian treats.
One of the hospitable stall holders, Florence Seriki, is the CEO of Omatek, which she says is the first Nigerian company to manufacture hard drive cases. While her designs have the conventional clear lines of most hard drive cases, Omatek's creations have an African flair with understated floral patterns and green shell colors. She says the market is an expensive one though, and her participation at this gathering is mainly to drum up support for her products.
"We opened a factory last year, to also install motherboards in our cases. We're getting our products from the same companies that supply equipment to Compaq. But we had to buy one thousand motherboards at a go, so I am here to try and sell this stuff," she says.
She says new regulations in the West African country have made it possible for her business to be profitable at home. The Nigerian government has passed a directive that only local products should be used in all public sector offices.
Another claimed Nigerian IT first at the Nigerian Pavilion is Zionix the first company in the country to manufacture hardware. Partnering with Mercer of South Africa for technological know-how and France's Alhenna Ventures for financial support, the company has manufactured PCs, laptops and monitors since 2001. Marketing Executive, Chizoba Akubiro says their products carry Microsoft software.
"We got Microsoft certification before we started, and because we were the first in the country, we're getting ahead of our competition. In a few years, we'll be like Mercer in South Africa," she says gesticulating with an air of dramatic optimism.
One company at the Nigerian Pavilion that is positive about competition is Nigeria's first telecommunications provider, Nitel. Nitel has been the only telecommunications provider in the country until recently.
Deputy General Manager, Akin Ajayi says opening up the market has helped her company become more focused.
"We have become more customer orientated and we have re-structured in order to go beyond what we provided before,” she said.
While most of the business representatives at the Pavilion admit that the IT market in Nigeria is limited since many citizens can't afford PCs, much less Internet connections, there are some companies that are turning this state of affairs into an opportunity for expansion.
One such company, Startech, is offering start-up packages to people who want to set-up Internet cafes in Nigeria. Head of Marketing, Sonny Nwoko, says this helps grow the ICT market in their country, because such cafes are the only access that many Nigerians have to this type of technology.
"We are hampered by infrastructure problems. Sometimes the power supply to certain areas may not be very good; sometimes people can't afford our other ISP services. This way, we reach more people," he says.
Definitely one of the more popular exhibitions at this year’s conference – the Nigerian Pavilion with its colour and charisma, is certainly one to watch.
==========================
CAIRO:
By Thrishni Subramoney
Highway Africa News Agency
CAIRO: If you would like to rub shoulders with African IT pioneers, then the Nigerian Pavilion at the Telecom Africa 2004 conference in Cairo, Egypt is the place for you.
Tucked away at the back of the exhibition hall at the Cairo International Convention Centre, it's hardly the most hi-tech of the exhibits. There are no flashy giant LCD screens (and there are quite a few of those at this event) or expensive special effects.
What you will find in this vibrant spot - decorated with West African fabrics and art - is some stimulating conversation with entrepreneurs who are serious about taking their IT solutions all the way to the top of the market. If you're lucky, you'll also get some tasty Nigerian treats.
One of the hospitable stall holders, Florence Seriki, is the CEO of Omatek, which she says is the first Nigerian company to manufacture hard drive cases. While her designs have the conventional clear lines of most hard drive cases, Omatek's creations have an African flair with understated floral patterns and green shell colors. She says the market is an expensive one though, and her participation at this gathering is mainly to drum up support for her products.
"We opened a factory last year, to also install motherboards in our cases. We're getting our products from the same companies that supply equipment to Compaq. But we had to buy one thousand motherboards at a go, so I am here to try and sell this stuff," she says.
She says new regulations in the West African country have made it possible for her business to be profitable at home. The Nigerian government has passed a directive that only local products should be used in all public sector offices.
Another claimed Nigerian IT first at the Nigerian Pavilion is Zionix the first company in the country to manufacture hardware. Partnering with Mercer of South Africa for technological know-how and France's Alhenna Ventures for financial support, the company has manufactured PCs, laptops and monitors since 2001. Marketing Executive, Chizoba Akubiro says their products carry Microsoft software.
"We got Microsoft certification before we started, and because we were the first in the country, we're getting ahead of our competition. In a few years, we'll be like Mercer in South Africa," she says gesticulating with an air of dramatic optimism.
One company at the Nigerian Pavilion that is positive about competition is Nigeria's first telecommunications provider, Nitel. Nitel has been the only telecommunications provider in the country until recently.
Deputy General Manager, Akin Ajayi says opening up the market has helped her company become more focused.
"We have become more customer orientated and we have re-structured in order to go beyond what we provided before,” she said.
While most of the business representatives at the Pavilion admit that the IT market in Nigeria is limited since many citizens can't afford PCs, much less Internet connections, there are some companies that are turning this state of affairs into an opportunity for expansion.
One such company, Startech, is offering start-up packages to people who want to set-up Internet cafes in Nigeria. Head of Marketing, Sonny Nwoko, says this helps grow the ICT market in their country, because such cafes are the only access that many Nigerians have to this type of technology.
"We are hampered by infrastructure problems. Sometimes the power supply to certain areas may not be very good; sometimes people can't afford our other ISP services. This way, we reach more people," he says.
Definitely one of the more popular exhibitions at this year’s conference – the Nigerian Pavilion with its colour and charisma, is certainly one to watch.
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