SLB Opens New Regional Office in Lagos

SLB Opens New Regional Office in Lagos

Global technology company, SLB (formerly known as Schlumberger) (www.SLB.com), officially opened its new West Africa regional office in Lagos, Nigeria. In October 2022, the company launched a new identity focusing on energy innovation and decarbonization to address the world’s energy needs today and to forge the road ahead for the energy transition. The new West Africa office reflects this new identity and will optimize employee experience and create a sustainable business environment for all stakeholders.

 

Its modern design embodies the company’s bold sustainability roadmap through daylight harvesting, interactive and collaborative hotspots for employees, disability access and other exciting features that bring forward the company’s evolved identity and culture.

 

Delivering his speech at the office opening in Lagos, Sopiribo Ideriah, managing director for SLB in West Africa countries, said,” As a technology leader, our unmatched market breadth, differentiated performance, and unique portfolio of products and service, has always positioned us for growth and advancement in the energy industry. All of this is owed to our people, who are the backbone of our organization. I would like to thank all SLB staff – past and present – for their commitment and passion in delivering high quality services to our customers.”

The ceremony coincided with the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of SLB’s presence in Nigeria

 

The ceremony coincided with the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of SLB’s presence in Nigeria. “For seven decades, SLB has worked in Nigeria as a local company.  In 1952, SLB logged Nigeria’s first commercial oil well in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State, and has since logged several other historic wells in the country.  Our ability to continuously drive technology innovation has led to the development of new oilfield technologies that enhance our customers’ operational performance, while maintaining the highest standards in HSE, ultimately delivering value to all our stakeholders. Investing in local socio-economic projects and developing local talent through our borderless career culture, we have significantly contributed to the capacity development of Nigeria and are confident that we will continue to do business in ways that benefit our people, society, and the country.” Ideriah added.

 

Also speaking at the event, Wallace Pescarini, president of the Offshore Atlantic Basin at SLB, said “I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our various stakeholders for their support over the years, including our clients, suppliers, contractors, and other business partners. We are thrilled to live our purpose of creating amazing technology to unlock access to energy for the benefit of all and could not have achieved this without your trust. As we look to the future and its evolving energy landscape, we remain committed to creating value for our customers and key stakeholders in Nigeria.”

 

Following the opening of its regional head office, SLB hosted key stakeholders at a dinner ceremony where the company’s historic past and innovative present were recognized and celebrated.

How Mykmary Fashion Boss, Michael Onyemah Keeps  Empowering Fashion Entrepreneurs to Succeed in Business.

How Mykmary Fashion Boss, Michael Onyemah Keeps  Empowering Fashion Entrepreneurs to Succeed in Business.

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The fashion industry is growing in leaps and bounds in Nigeria, worth billions of dollars annually, but many of the small players in the industry are not benefiting from this exposure and boom.

For many fashion enthusiasts, pursuing a career in the fashion industry seems like a dream come true. The idea of designing beautiful garments and creating unique styles that make people feel confident and beautiful is what draws many to the industry. However, it takes more than just creativity and passion to succeed as a fashion entrepreneur. It requires a solid understanding of business principles and strategies that can help drive sales and grow a successful fashion business.

Speaking to a group of journalists during a press conference, the founder and chief executive officer of Mykmary Fashion House, Micheal Onyemah, said “in today’s fashion industry, to sustain a fashion business over time, it is necessary to have a steady stream of customers. This necessitates a focus on brand development, cultivating loyal customers, and consistent marketing and selling of your services and products. Sewing is a valuable skill, but it is not enough to make a profitable business. The ability to market and sell products and services is what generates revenue and builds a sustainable business. There is a need for fashion business owners to be empowered with tools and the know-how to improve their businesses’ sales, increase revenue and help their businesses get off to a flying start. Our goal is to ensure that fashion business owners can automate their sales and multiply business profits, which in turn enables them to run a business that can fund their desired lifestyle.

“This is where Michael Onyemah, a fashion business advocate, comes in. For the past three years, Michael has been organizing fashion shows and award ceremonies, where he has interacted with numerous fashion entrepreneurs. He has discovered that while many of these entrepreneurs are skilled at designing and creating beautiful garments, they often lack the necessary business acumen to succeed in the industry.May be an image of 13 people, people standing and indoor

To bridge this gap, Michael has decided to start an online fashion business school called Mykmary Fashion Business School. Through the fashion business school, he aims to empower fashion entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills they need to run successful fashion businesses. He believes that by equipping these entrepreneurs with business skills, they can turn their passion into a profitable venture.

The school offers a wide range of courses that meets the pain point of fashion business owners which includes generating high-quality leads, brand positioning, Content creation strategies, building business system and structure, business branding, and planning among others.

The courses are designed to provide fashion entrepreneurs with practical skills that they can apply to their businesses. The school also offers mentorship programs, where students can interact with experienced fashion entrepreneurs who can guide them on their entrepreneurial journey.

Michael’s dedication to the fashion industry has not gone unnoticed. His efforts have been recognized by the industry, and he has received numerous awards for his contributions. His work has been featured in several national and international publications, and he has been invited to speak at various fashion events.

As the fashion industry continues to evolve, Michael’s passion for powering fashion entrepreneurs remains unwavering. Through Mykmary Fashion Business School, he hopes to inspire a new generation of fashion entrepreneurs who not only have the passion and creativity but also the business skills to succeed.

Michael Onyemah is a true champion of the fashion industry. His dedication to empowering fashion entrepreneurs through Mykmary Fashion Business School is a testament to his commitment to the industry. With his passion, expertise, and dedication, he is transforming the fashion industry, one entrepreneur at a time.

Mykmary Fashion was created with the motive of promoting indigenous fashion brands and connecting them to the international market. And ever since then, they have been working to add value and interpret the African fashion business to the world at large.

Tanta Innovative Ltd. Intends to Bring World Class IT solutions to Nigerian Firms

Tanta Innovative Ltd. Intends to Bring World Class IT solutions to Nigerian Firms

 

In an era of a constantly digitizing world, there is a need to have an IT firm that understands the peculiarity of your solutions from building bespoke solution to offering penetration testing for your online platforms. Tanta Innovative Ltd, an indigenous IT solution provider is bringing to you world class IT solution that will cater your local needs.

Speaking to the media , the founder and the Chief Executive officer of Tanta, Abraham Tanta said “We are thrilled to introduce ourselves as a leading IT consulting and software development company. Our team is dedicated to providing innovative and custom solutions to meet your unique business needs.”

He added that “Our expertise includes software development, web and mobile app development, cloud solutions, data analytics, and much more. We take pride in delivering high-quality products that are tailored to our clients’ specific requirements.”

On their attention to clients , Tanta said “At Tanta, we prioritize collaboration and communication with our clients to ensure that their vision is realized. We work closely with you every step of the way to ensure that your project is a success.”

 

Fintrak Software Limited gets recognition at Top 50 Nigeria’s Digital Economy Enablers 2023

Fintrak Software Limited gets recognition at Top 50 Nigeria’s Digital Economy Enablers 2023

 

 

Fintrak Software Limited, an indigenous financial software (Fintech) organization was recent recognised at the Top 50 Nigeria Digital Economy Enablers 2023 for their strides in providing indigenous software and banking solutions to many banks in Nigeria. This award is coming when Fintrak Software Limited is bringing their world-class electronic channel solution to Nigerian financial space now that the country is moving towards a full digital economy.

Speaking to the media after award, Bimbo Abioye, the Group Managing Director of Fintrak Software said “we are very grateful for this recognition and what it stands in our organisation. We will ensure that we keep providing world-class banking solutions to financial houses and organisation in Nigeria and beyond. This is a source of encouragement and it goes to show that people are appreciating the little things we are doing and this energizes us to do much more “

On the electronic channel solution, Abioye added that “our vision is to be top enterprise solution provider, we have provided tremendous support for our clients especially in the private/financial sector. Some of these solutions ranges from core banking system and we are supporting about fourteen commercial banks locally and internationally this enables them to achieve efficiency and run profitably, some of these solutions ranges from financial planning, budgeting platform, performance management system and platform that helps them run efficiently on the back end such as supporting and reconciling their payment and electronic channels. These solutions help these banks to strengthen customers confidence, our tools can help in electronic corrections and reducing human errors in banking.”

Abioye also opined that “For us that one of the critical solutions we have in the area of reconciliation, is our electronic management solution, this Fintrak solution tackles the service failure in bank. This Electronic Channels reconciliation and management system helps banks to tidy up transactions that might not be successful. Apart from reconciliation, the system can monitor volume of traffic in these channels, types of channels and location of these transaction.”

On his relationship with the Data Protection Agency of Nigeria, Bimbo said that they are looking at collaboration in public sector. He said that the public sector, they are working with Federal Mortgage Bank which is running on Fintrak Management System. He also opined that there are digital channels that they have deployed for the bank and this helps them to deepen their market penetration.

The FinTrak E-Channel Solution reconciliation module comes with an inbuilt algorithm that decodes complex Electronic Journal Files, carry out data extraction from all available sources and provide a status for any transaction ID in no time.
The Top 50 has become an institutionalised agenda (on its own) to identify the industry leaders in general and specific aspects of the IT market. The 2023 edition is all about the coming together of industry players.

 

The 2023 edition of Top 50, the first after COVID 19, opens a new chapter for a general and specific assessment of the industry that will allow for measurements across verticals for Top 10, Top 20, Top 50 and Top 100. Some of the companies recognised for their impact in the ICT industries include regulators like NCC, NITDA, Data Protection Agency and private players like Open Access Data Centres (OADC); FinTrak Software Co. Ltd; Ezzential Global Services Ltd; Crystalfix Nigeria LTD (CNL); Cedarview Communications Limited (CCL); Zora Communication Limited; Information Connectivity Solution Limited (ICSL); Unitellas International Limited; Swift Telephone Network Ltd (STN); HD Technologies; Smart Web Nigeria Limited.

 

Anthony Nwosu

 

 

 

“our vision is to be top enterprise solution provider, we have provided tremendous support for our clients especially in the private/financial sector. Some of these solutions ranges from core banking system and we are supporting about fourteen commercial banks locally and internationally this enables them to achieve efficiency and run profitably, some of these solutions ranges from financial planning, budgeting platform, performance management system and platform that helps them run efficiently on the back end such as supporting and reconciling their payment and electronic channels.”

 

TEZZA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS GETS RECOGNITION AT THE TOP 50 DIGITAL ECONOMY ENABLERS

TEZZA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS GETS RECOGNITION AT THE TOP 50 DIGITAL ECONOMY ENABLERS

 

Institutional Recognition Award presented to the Tezza Business Solutions as a Digital Economy Enabler in Nigeria

The award was presented by the Lagos State Honorable Commissioner of Science & Technology, Mr. Hakeem Popoola Fahm at the Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers Event which held on 14th February 2023 at Sheraton Hotel Lagos. The event was organized by IT Edge News Africa.

Never been one to really care much about awards but we are excited about the recognition because of the work our talents have put in over the course of the last 12 months.

We started out as an outsourcing outfit creating IT talent capacity to be utilized by clients in North America. We eventually evolved into an IT & Business Consulting company offering Business Agility, Customer Experience Management, Healthcare and Technology services across the Banking, Insurance, Wealth Management, Technology and Healthcare verticals.

We’ve had zero (0) layoffs in 13 years, more than 5 inter-staff marriages not mentioning the number of Tezzanite children born into our midst. We’ve managed to do all this by bringing in foreign currency into each of our African offices and we’ve so far surpassed 1 Billion Naira in new business in 2023 alone…no investors, no debt!

We are super excited to be seen and recognized as a digital economy enabler in my country of birth, Nigeria!

ROLAND OMORASEMI
CEO
TEZZA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

Nigeria’s privacy ombudsman, NCC, NITDA, industry leaders converge for future of sector at Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers in Lagos

Nigeria’s privacy ombudsman, NCC, NITDA, industry leaders converge for future of sector at Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers in Lagos

 

National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, will be joining other regulators including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and other industry leaders to stake out the sector’s opportunities and challenges at the Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers 2023.

The Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers 2023 holds February 14, 2023 at the prestigious Providence by (Mantis) in Ikeja GRA, Lagos as a gathering of regulators and operators as the industry recognises its champions and discusses its future in a changing global economy.

Designed to examine the challenges that have emerged to drive Africa’s fastest growing digital economy and honour its iconic actors, Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers including a mix of legacy and new players – “all dynamic and all embodiments of the struggles and triumphs of playing to win a peculiarly tough but rewarding environment,” said Chairman of the Top 50 2023 team, Dr. Shola Afolabi.

On the list for the institutional lights for 2023 are Open Access Data Centres (OADC); FinTrak Software Co. Ltd; Ezzential Global Services Ltd; Crystalfix Nigeria LTD (CNL); Cedarview Communications Limited (CCL); Zora Communication Limited; Information Connectivity Solution Limited (ICSL); Unitellas International Limited; Swift Telephone Network Ltd (STN); HD Technologies; Smart Web Nigeria Limited.

The list also has among others: Skymax Integrated Network Limited; ipNX Nigeria Limited; Infratel Limited; Switch Solutions Limited; Broadbased Communications Ltd; Medallion Data Centres Limited; UNICCON Group of Companies (The UNICCON Group); Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN); Precise Financial Systems Ltd; Tezza Business Solutions; and Data Services Protection Limited (DSPL).

The Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers 2023 is a rallying ground for private sector players to mutually advance the interest of the industry.

“The event is featuring a mix of old, rugged and new, innovative actors helping to remodeled an industry in transition,” added Dr. Sola Afolabi stressing that the event is “a platform for industry Recognition, Industry Stock-Taking & Industry Insights with a view to provide a guide as to what direction Nigeria’s entire spectrum of ICT ecosystem will take as the transition for a new government begins.”

Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers has its lens on industry’s leaders within the rank of CEOs/Director Generals across corporate Nigeria and great team members of management helping to drive the agenda of their organisations’ at advancing Nigeria’s digital economy agenda.

Powered by the continent’s major tech-biz publication, published since 2007, IT Edge News.Africa (www.itedgenews.africa) and its Partners including TechEconomy; ITPulse; TechandBiz.com.ng ; and TechTV (NTA), the Top 50 holds as an industry-sponsored event. “This event is driven by collaboration of stakeholders within and outside the media to ensure a wide, and more inclusive selection of the sector’s leading lights as well as to offer a broader understanding of the challenges and the inspirations that drive it,” said Top 50 team lead, Olusegun Oruame.

CYBER SECURITY: ZORACOMS’ NSOC CENTER AS A GAME-CHANGER IN THE NIGERIAN IT SPACE

CYBER SECURITY: ZORACOMS’ NSOC CENTER AS A GAME-CHANGER IN THE NIGERIAN IT SPACE

 

In a constantly evolving digital world that is fast paced, many organizations today are going fully digital or virtual. These processes have been known to deepen corporate organizations productivity and business continuity, but there are snags such as exposure and cyber threat. Criminals today are constantly evolving and finding new ways to breach the virtual and digital security infrastructures of organizations and individuals. These breaches cost as much as bullions of dollars in damages and loses when it has to get to fintechs and , identity firms other financial institutions. Having seen this loophole in the ecosystem in the area of having skilled manpower to monitor, abate and proactive these cyber threat, Zora Communications, an indigenous information technology (IT) firm Located in Lekki Area of Lagos recently launched one of a kind facility that will offer public and private sector players the desired and required tools and manpower that will curb and reduce their virtual exposure to cyber threats. The facility known as NSOC center meaning Network & Security Operations Center.

The Network & Security Operations Center (NSOC). Zoracom’s Network and Security Operation Centre (NSOC) will provide unified command, control, communication, intelligence sharing and analysis capabilities to enable physical security of the key state assets which includes IT infrastructure, real-time monitoring of events happening across ICS/SCADA networks and provide dynamic decision support, incident reporting, workflow management and system monitoring capabilities. The Network and Security Operation Centre (NSOC) is equipped with state-of-the-art facility which serves as the cornerstone to consolidate our core services in Observability, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure management.

The NSOC center is coming at a time that youthful and tech adaptive population in the country is driving such a full digital adaption of their solution at a fast pace. With fast adaption of ePayment, eCommerce, online activities, there is need for many firms offering this solution to plug into the new Zora Communications NSOC center for full security that is hundred percent proactive with over 99.999% uptime.

The Nigerian IT space has grown rapidly and the dynamic industry that has seen significant growth in recent years. With a population of over 200 million people and a burgeoning middle class, Nigeria is a prime market for technology and digital innovation. The IT sector in Nigeria is diverse and includes a range of industries such as software development, ecommerce, cloud computing, mobile technology, and cybersecurity. In recent years, the sector has attracted significant investment from both local and international companies, and many startups have emerged as well. This are the things that inform the launch of NSOC center.

John Nwachukwu, the Chief Information/Executive Officer of ZORACOM Communication said “The life blood of any business is its network systems and as we all know, the digital landscape is constantly changing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect against the various forms of cyberattacks that are targeting organization’s networks of all sizes. That is why Zoracom has invested in the latest technologies and strategies to ensure that we are always one step ahead of the hackers by setting up Our Network & Security Operations Center. Zoracom’s Network and Security Operation Centre (NSOC) will provide unified command, control, communication, intelligence sharing and analysis capabilities to enable physical security of the key state assets which includes IT infrastructure, real-time monitoring of events happening across ICS/SCADA networks and provide dynamic decision support, incident reporting, workflow management and system monitoring capabilities.”

“Our Network and Security Operation Centre (NSOC) is equipped with state-of-the-art facility which serves as the cornerstone to consolidate our core services in Observability, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure management… Zoracom as an organization, we invest a lot in training and development programs to build the skills of our employees/consultants, as well as offer competitive salaries and benefits packages to attract and retain top talent. We also work with educational institutions to promote cyber security programs and help develop the next generation of cyber security professionals. Furthermore, we also consider outsourcing some cyber security functions to specialized firms, additionally we leverage automation and artificial intelligence which helps alleviates some of the workload and improve efficiency, freeing up our cybersecurity professionals to focus on “, John concluded.

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

EVENTNEWS Lagos hosts gathering of Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers 2023

EVENTNEWS Lagos hosts gathering of Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers 2023

Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, is hosting the opening edition of Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers February 14, 2023 at the prestigious Sheraton Hotel & Towers.  Nigeria’s Digital Economy is evolving positively in spite of a diversity of challenges for organisations in the public and private sectors.

Inspired by the need to express both the challenges and the iconic actors that have emerged to drive Africa’s fastest growing digital economy, the continent’s major tech-biz publication, published since 2007, IT Edge News.Africa (www.itedgenews.africa) and its Partners will be focusing on Nigeria’s Leading Lights referencing Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers at an Industry Colloquium &Award Ceremony this February just before as the country goes to the poll to elect new political leaders.

The One Day Industry event is featuring a Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers Recognition Ceremony; an Industry Networking Lunch; Nigeria Digital Economy Special Report; and the forum on  ‘Nigeria’s Digital Economy – Myth or Fact?’

According to the Project Team Lead, Dr. Sola Afolabi, The event is “a platform for industry Recognition, Industry Stock-Taking & Industry Insights with a view to provide a guide as to what direction Nigeria’s entire spectrum of ICT ecosystem will take as the transition for a new government begins.”


He adds: “This event is driven by collaboration of stakeholders within and outside the media to ensure a wide,and more inclusive selection of the sector’s leading lights as well as to offer a broader understanding of the challenges and the inspirations that drive Africa’s largest ICT market. Event partners include TechEconomy; ITPulse; TechandBiz.com; and TechTV (NTA).

Also, while the event is focusing on the leading lights within the rank of CEOs/Director Generals across corporate Nigeria, the Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers team recognises the great efforts by certain members of management in helping to drive the agenda of their organisations’ at advancing Nigeria’s digital economy agenda.

The event, therefore, will be specially recognizing the commitment of certain individuals in being not just their organizations’ voices but als articulate purveyors of themes of progress around Nigeria’s Digital Economy.

OUR SOFTWARE KACHASI IS IN PRODUCTION IN MANY COMMERCIAL AND MERCHANT BANKS IN NIGERIA TODAY – ONYEBUCHI

OUR SOFTWARE KACHASI IS IN PRODUCTION IN MANY COMMERCIAL AND MERCHANT BANKS IN NIGERIA TODAY – ONYEBUCHI

 

In this media chat, Chuks Onyebuchi, the Chief Executive Officer of Union System Limited an indigenous fintech and software development firm with “solid” footprints in financial sector in Nigeria and beyond talks about their various solutions in Nigerian banks and how they have been able to deploy world-class financial trading solutions with robust support system. He talks about other issues bedeviling the industry such as dearth of human capacity and skills and perception of Nigerians towards indigenous software. Anthony Nwosu captures this in an exclusive interview.

 

Union System Limited has been in the ICT ecosystem for some time, can we know the journey so far?

USL has been a player in the delivery of financial software solutions to financial institutions for over 2 decades, in this time, we have seen a steady increase in the intricacies of software requirements from these institutions as their process have evolved to suit the increasing sophistications of their customers. This has inevitably brought about the demand for more efficient but simpler to use solutions, this is what USL prides herself in being able to continuously deliver.

Can you consider yourself as a Fintech considering that you deal with Trade Finance Software?

Yes, USL is a financial technology provider, we however deal primarily at the provision of business to business (B2B) enterprise financial software solutions. These solutions have a longer development cycle, a longer implementation cycle and are very integral to achieving the objectives of the financial institutions that adopts them.

You have deployed your solutions for notable financial houses and banks such as Access, Coronation, FCMB etc., how has this been?

These implementations and many others have not only been successful but have helped these banks meet their strategic objectives. Our solutions are very flexible and highly configurable eliminating almost completely the need for customizations. This has increased the rate of adoption within our client’s organization and faster return on investments (ROI).

You recently had a seamless integration to the CBN monitoring, can we know how this happened?

The TRMS is one of several regulatory portals through which the CBN monitors specific international trade and treasury related transactions. Through collaboration with major financial institutions in Nigeria, we had integrated to similar regulatory portals such as the NSW, NCS and the NIBBS portal, so the integration of the TRMS portal was achieved with little challenges. It also helped that we were involved, also through our existing collaborations, with the testing of the initially release pilot version.

Do you think that Banks are investing much in IT infrastructure now that a lot of skills are leaving the country especially in the area of software development?

Yes, banks are investing more in technology as the volume and sophistication of the transactions and process they must do is increasing. However, banks should concentrate on banking and investing more in technology partners such as indigenous OEMs. Whichever way they choose to invest, whether directly into the business or by paying the right prices for indigenous software solutions, they would be saving money in the long run. These savings can take the form of little or no need to source for FX to pay for software solutions, the availability of local support, reduced maintenance cost, just to mention a few.

What is your take on capacity building in the industry?

We are losing a lot of talents to the sweeping “japa” syndrome engulfing us, as such more targeted social welfare initiatives must be invested in by both the public and private sectors to not only build new capacities but retain existing ones. If there are deliberate regulations in place to support home grown systems and they are paid appropriately for their solutions, these companies would in turn be able to pay those with the needed skillset commensurately with their international counterparts, ultimately reducing the brain drain plaguing the industry.

Do you think that Nigerians have the capacity to build a world-class software?

Definitely yes, USL has demonstrated this already with our flagship Kachasi international Trade Finance solution and our other financial solutions (Sakobia, Optimus, EGORA and tentacles). The same can be said about other sectors of the economy such as health, agriculture, education and so on where we have Nigerians driving change and competing effectively. As the support and adoption for world-class indigenous solutions, such as ours, increases, Nigerians will continue to break the glass ceiling and produce software that can compete on a global stage.

Kachasi, tell us how and where you have deployed this important trade software?

Kachasi is in production in 5 commercial and merchant banks in Nigeria today. We are in advanced stages of negotiation with several other banks in Nigeria and Kenya.

What is your support system like?

Our approach to support starts with building capacities within the banks right from the implementation stage thereby ensuring a formidable first line of support from within and that the right sense of ownership is attained before the end of the implementation project. Where the bank is unable to solve the problem with its first line of support, the issue is logged on our support portal, ISURA, where our team of experts representing a second line of support are available for prompt resolution.

ISURA is accessible by all our clients 24/7 for receiving and managing support request and a dedicated support team that ensures that all support requests are attended to in the shortest time possible. We also provide premium level support services for clients with more intense support requirements.

Did you build Trade-X, Isura and Optimus as software and what are the advantages?

Yes, Kachasi (previously Trade-X), Optimus (Single and multibank), Isura, Sakobia, Tentacles and Egora were all designed and developed by USL in our Lagos, Nigeria Head office. A major advantage of adopting our solutions is the elimination of the need to source for FX to license them. Our multiple decades of experience and understanding of the challenges of a particular market coupled with the ease of configuring a system to adapt to that market while providing international/standard best practices guarantees that all our solutions give the needed advantage to our clients and partners.

What differentiates your Tentacles software from others?

Tentacles is our Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) managing integrations and interoperability between diverse applications, channels, and portals both within and external to a financial institution. The drag and drop simplicity of setting up mediation for multiple message types, real time monitoring of all integration nodes and channels, and the very friendly user interfaces, requiring no technical knowledge are some of its advantages.

Can we know the challenges that you face as an organization?

Every sector has its peculiar challenges, I’d like to believe that one of the major challenges with the sector we operate in is that of a mindset. A lot of decision makers still believe that foreign solutions are always better than indigenous ones, and that the indigenous solutions are synonymous with less quality, this is not true for us as Union Systems. There is also this believe that indigenous software must be cheap because it is indigenous. What most people fail to realize is that the skillset required to create a software abroad is the same required in Nigeria. This is important because we must pay our people commensurably with their counterparts . This faulty mindset and low pricing push local software providers to lower their standards thereby creating products that are subpar when compared to their international counterparts. Ultimately there needs to be a concerted effort in the push for more partnership with credible and experienced local OEM and in turn increased adoption of indigenous solutions.

 

 

We are losing a lot of talents to the sweeping “japa” syndrome engulfing us, as such more targeted social welfare initiatives must be invested in by both the public and private sectors to not only build new capacities but retain existing ones. If there are deliberate regulations in place to support home grown systems and they are paid appropriately for their solutions, these companies would in turn be able to pay those with the needed skillset commensurately with their international counterparts, ultimately reducing the brain drain plaguing the industry.

WE TRY TO BALANCE LEADING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION WITH HIGHLY SKILLED RESOURCES – MITIGET BOSS

WE TRY TO BALANCE LEADING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION WITH HIGHLY SKILLED RESOURCES – MITIGET BOSS

 

 

In this media chat, the Chief Executive Officer of Mitiget Assurance and Technology Services Limited, an indigenous information technology (IT), Sunny Ukeachu talked about how Mitiget has been able to help public sectors and financial sector in the area of cyber security and business continuity. He also made a case of challenges of power as it affects their operations and also their strides in other African nations. Anthony Nwosu captured this in an exclusive interview.

 

Mitiget Assurance and Technology Services Limited  is a leading Enterprise Information Security company in Nigeria, tell us more about the company?

Mitiget is an enterprise Information Security company enabling small and large organizations and business to build information management and security resilience. We help them in critical areas such as cyber-immunity by using people, process, and technological solutions. Our promise is to deliver measurable value from where we take over, minimum of 25% improvement. Just as our mission statement, we are poised to make a mark in African markets and globally by providing superior assurance and technology solutions to our customers through innovations, professionalism, and ethics. And we have done quite a bit.

Mitiget Assurance and Technology Services Limited has been into the IT ecosystem for some time, tell us more about your strides in this ecosystem?

As part of our security solution delivery, we have bundled information technology (IT ) as a leverage for businesses to create value. For instance, in delivering a secure data center or server room for our customers, we design, implement, secure and support all the IT infrastructure, be it, structured cabling for data, voice or power, physical security including CCTV, Access control, vaults, perimeter reinforcement and networking covering supply and configuration of switches, routers, firewalls and access points, the deployment of hardened IT hardware with supporting applications and services. If you are moving into a new office and need a partner to work with for your end-to-end IT and secure tech services, you cannot go wrong with Mitiget. We try to balance leading-edge technology innovation with highly skilled resources to deliver cost-effective, dependable, and adaptive IT solutions that meet or exceed our customer needs.

Mitiget is doing a lot to help organizations go paperless, tell us more about your strides in this space?

You know that our communication in Nigerian and many parts of the world are largely paper based. Many organizations have been carrying operational risks associated with storage of legacy documents with significant impacts. Many may have been exposed to looming financial and or reputational losses without knowing. Mitiget created a model that successfully helps many businesses in different industries to digitize, store and retrieve these critical documents in a controlled manner. From issuing the governance framework for effective records management to setting up a secure archive for documents within the retention period to scanning paper documents to any format, irrespective of volume, to deployment of a document management software to workflow automation. Because, we are an information security company, whenever we are implementing projects of this nature or we are hand-holding organizations through their digital transformation roadmap, protection of information asset is paramount. Apart from our projects with clients, we have also done some interventions for some past failed projects. We cannot stop until you go paperless because it gives any organization competitive advantage.

You have made tremendous strides in the public sector, tell us about these strides such as GDPR Implementation, PCI DSS Implementation, and ISO 22301 Certification?

Yes, we have enabled public sectors to come up with their digitization process and we have been on that journey with select few of them.  Recall that earlier it was stated that we approach security from process point of view. That we have done helping businesses implement and comply with both privacy and security standards in Nigeria. Some examples of them that we or example, GDPR, NDPR, ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and PCI DSS. Apart from helping them walk-through the implementations of the requirement of each of the standards, we hand-hold them through successful certification. We do this once and hit the target for them while entrenching the culture of continual improvement. Our footprints are in financial and public sectors in Nigeria.

What about the ECOWAS Region and other parts of Africa, what are your footprint in these areas?

We have done couple of interventions for organizations in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa to help them improve maturity in their frameworks around these standards. Another area we have excelled is in the provision of Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Disaster Recovery (DR) solutions. We are the number BCP facility provider in Nigeria. Some financial institutions use our facility to run their periodic BCP/DRP tests to ensure resilience and to meet regulatory requirement. Apart from that, both individual and corporates use our cloud-based data backup solution with cybersecurity protection for an assurance that their data is secure, and business can quickly recover at any unforeseen event.

How can Nigerian’s key into your training programs such as Cybersecurity, risk management, programming?

Mitiget Learning Academy (MLA) is an arm of Mitiget that provides cutting edge technical learning interventions and capacity building endeavors for small, medium, and large-scale enterprises both in public and private sectors in Nigeria. This was our way of helping to develop relevant skills to support our teeming unemployed and unemployable youths. All our courses are hands-on, and project driven with the objective of exposing the trainees to real-life tasks and problem solving. Those that would want to take up career in cybersecurity, risk management, python programming, web and mobile app development should make Mitiget learning Academy their starting point to build requisite capability to be relevant in the marketplace in their job of dream. We are discussing with a strategic partner, a tech incubator, to collaborate with us in identify and bring together some of our trainees who excelled and are ready to take their solutions and ideas to a startup level to nurture them. Our focus is around tech services using the skills we impart on young people.

What can you say was your greatest achievement this 2022?

Mitiget’s greatest achievement in 2022 was its deliberate stride in helping the governments at all levels to build and deliver physical security and effective surveillance to protect students and staff of schools. We use an innovative technology powered by solar system to help support government efforts in fighting the prevalent insecurity in our country Nigeria. This is apart from helping a financial institution digitize and secure more than 10 million document ranging from active to legacy ones.

What are your challenges that you face as an InfoSec firm in Nigeria?

Inadequate power supply and efficient internet are the biggest challenge tech services ecosystem faces. The cost of generating our own power stifles creativity and innovations. It drains resources that would have been channeled to spark up economic activities and foreign exchange earnings for the country. Another challenge is the lack of a skilled workforce. The ‘Japa’ syndrome has aggravated the issue. However, we see opportunities in all these.

You deploy Acronis as a cyber security solution. tell us more about it?

Yes. We have a strategic partnership with Acronis in delivering disaster recovery solutions with cyber protection. For CIOs or even CTOs, Acronis Cloud is one platform that gives a simplified management console for automation of data backup and cybersecurity. It gives rest of mind to those that value their critical data. More so, the solution is affordable.

Data Centre, Business Continuity and Disaster recovery are huge areas that you have made an impact on. How will you describe this space?

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a lot of paradigm shifts. Apart from adoption of remote working, enabling services and technologies were also adopted. In the data center space, focus shifted to hybrid cloud, solid-state storage, and sustainability measures. Demand for cloud services will continue even in the coming year. For MSMEs and large organizations conscious of protecting their data, they should think of Mitiget. We do data right anytime, any day, anywhere. We are the home of data center management expertise. Whether you need a complete design, incremental improvements, accredited servicing, and maintenance or even IT infrastructure decommissioning, we make them happen.

What are we to expect from you this 2023?

Great things are coming in 2023. Mitiget is an ambitious brand. Apart from continuing providing superior assurance and technology solutions to our customers through innovations, professionalism, and ethics, we will be a robust solution for schools to secure our children’s future. This is big and will disrupt the educational technology (EduTech) industry. Our goal is to provide exceptional and innovative solutions that enable our customers to make smarter decisions and maximize their potential.

 

“…That we have done helping businesses implement and comply with both privacy and security standards in Nigeria. Some examples of them that we or example, GDPR, NDPR, ISO 27001, ISO 22301, and PCI DSS. Apart from helping them walk-through the implementations of the requirement of each of the standards, we hand-hold them through successful certification. We do this once and hit the target for them while entrenching the culture of continual improvement. Our footprints are in financial and public