COUNTRY FOCUS: NIGERIA
today are designed to be robust enough
to ease these concerns; organisations just
need to recognise this and take the bold
step of investment.
Furthermore, the education gap has plagued
Africa for some time, and not having the right
skills means the infrastructure that is put in
place to drive digital transformation cannot
be utilised to its fullest potential. Education
and training of both IT staff and civil servants
will enable the continent to deploy digital
technologies and potentially turn Africa into a
service-based economy in the future.
Awareness of cloud and its impact
The real impact of cloud, the one that lands
on the mobile carrying shoulders of the
man on the ground, is a true barometer
of success. Today, the Nigerian economy
is bolstered by a thriving small to medium
enterprise (SME) community that makes
up over 90% of the market, with many
engaging in business that can only be made
possible through cloud technology.
A few years ago, it was a customer
nightmare to catch a taxi from one point to
another to cover only a few kilometres, but
today the cloud has disrupted this market
completely. An entire industry has been built
around a model that has been structured to
cut traffic, reduce waiting times and improve
customer experiences.
We are now at the stage where
organisations can affordably and effectively
empower their people to turn information
into insight; collect and connect data
from within and outside the business; and
utilise the best technology and machines
to accelerate and augment what humans
can do.
Start-ups in Nigeria have taken notice of
the opportunities opened up by harnessing
the power of data: Kudi.ai has developed
a chatbot that uses AI to understand user
requests, drive conversations, understand
user spending habits and prevent fraud,
and Aajoh uses AI to help individuals that
send a list of their symptoms via text,
audio and photographs, to diagnose their
medical condition. Zenvus Technology uses
remote IoT sensors and cloud computing
to help farmers with data-driven advice on
improving crop health and yields, as well as
50
INTELLIGENTCIO
“
BUSINESS AND
GOVERNMENT
HAVE TO REMAIN
RELEVANT AND
COMPETITIVE
IF THEY WISH
TO PARTICIPATE
ON THE GLOBAL
STAGE, AND THE
ADOPTION OF
CLOUD AND THE
TECHNOLOGIES
THAT SURROUND
IT ARE
INSTRUMENTAL.
access to lending, insurance and commodity
trading services.
From fintech to traffic management to waste
management to agriculture to irrigation,
technology is opening up new opportunities
for both the public and private sector and is
fundamentally changing how organisations,
individuals and governments interact with
each other. Such disruption is not only
outside Africa, it’s also happening in Africa
where a number of technology companies
are breaking tradition. Some of these
companies are born in the cloud, allowing
innovation through agility and quicker
deployment with competitive pricing thus
disrupting the continent in new ways.
In addition to the broad commercial
opportunities, the country is also leveraging
technology to address pressing social
challenges, including in healthcare. World
Health Organisation statistics rank Nigeria
for having the third highest infant mortality
rate in the world, and technology can be
used to tackle these challenges.
With access to connectivity and cloud
services, the information that is gathered
from every patient and child can be stored,
shared and analysed, with the data being
used by the government to make informed
decisions when it comes to planning and
using resources.
Outlook for 2018 and beyond
Added to this growing awareness around
the benefits of technology is the Nigerian
government’s vision to become one of the
largest economies in the world by 2020 – a
bold goal – but one that’s being driven by a
clear focus on digital adoption and the use
of innovative, accessible and modern tools.
Similarly so with the city of Lagos, which is
looking toward several smart city projects
to improve government service delivery and
quality of life for residents.
The emerging IoT economy will likely
continue its steady growth with both
government and private sector organisations
paying close attention to cloud and its
potential. It seems that lack of interest is not
the issue – it is budget – and as the costs
come down, Nigeria is shifting into new
gears and markets.
For all these reasons, the outlook is positive
and the uptake of cloud solutions across
Nigeria almost boundless. The biggest shifts
for 2018 will very likely be in the fintech
space followed by the hospitality market,
both influenced by the receding recession
tide and the rise in tourism.
Organisations are looking for partners that
can support them as they prepare for a more
connected and technology-focused strategic
vision and future. Many businesses in Nigeria
have used the lessons learned during the
recession to lead the way in new ideas, start-
ups, and entrepreneurial endeavours that
are using technology to develop solutions to
tackle the country’s numerous challenges.
If a problem as simple as a taxi can be
utterly transformed with cloud, IoT and
mobility, what will happen when both public
and private sector work together to create
innovation? The answer to this question
lies in the next 12 months as the Nigerian
government forges ahead with its plans to
take on cloud solutions, drive support services
and push positive growth and expansion. n
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