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.

FINTRAK’S E-CHANNEL SOFTWARE ADDRESSES BANKS’ DRAWBACKS IN DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS

FINTRAK’S E-CHANNEL SOFTWARE ADDRESSES BANKS’ DRAWBACKS IN DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS

 

 

 

 

The reconciliation module enables maintenance of record of channels transactions, enabling near real-time representation of transactions and refund in case of technical machine problems.

E-Channel Solution reconciliation module comes with an inbuilt algorithm that decodes complex Electronic Journal Files, carry out data extraction from all available sources

 

 

 

Fintrak Software, an indigenous Fintech solution and software development firm in Lagos recently brought to fore their electronic channel (E-Channel) solution forvarious  tiers in the banking and other financial space. The product is designed  to address many drawbacks bankers face in various forms of electronic banking transaction, such as data collation and analysis in their various electronic channels.

Speaking on the importance of the solution, Bimbo Abioye, the Group Managing Director of Fintrak Software Limited said” Fintrak E-Channels solution aims to aid financial institutions to extract and create insights from data obtained from all the electronic channels customers carry out transactions through. These electronic channels include ATM, POS, USSD, Agency Banking, Mobile Banking, AND Internet Banking.”

He also added that “The solution that banks and other financial institutions need, must be able to quickly and accurately collect data off of all electronic channels and other data sources (where applicable), analyse and visualize them in order to enable stakeholders can easily make informed decisions to increase sales or boost other performance metrices on those channels. These are the core things that Fintrak e-Channel solutions are addressing.”

With loaded features embedded in the solution such as reconciliation module, ATM module, POS module, SSD module, Agency banking, Internet banking, Mobile banking and debit/credit Card business module.  The reconciliation module stands out. This module enables maintenance of record of channels transactions, enabling near real-time representation of transactions and refund in case of technical machine problems.

Speaking on this particular feature, Bimbo Abioye opined that “With the use of a consolidated database (picking data from CBA, e-Journals among others), the solution is able to store the opening and closing balance for each day or for each cash cycle of every ATM. This helps the users to keep a track of all the source data. The data being extracted from various sources can be consolidated from all legitimate bank sources; it becomes easier to trust reports which are generated on periodic duration. This helps the user determine settlements for shortage or excess of cash observed in the ATM Machine and other channels.”

Made up of different modules that will be addressing various types modules such as ATM module, POS module, SSD module, Agency banking, Internet banking, Mobile banking and debit/credit Card business module. The software is designed to specifically addresses these drawbacks in one platform.

Olakekan Adewale, Unit Head, Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence, Fintrak said “The Fintrak E-CHANNELS solution is a highly scalable and robust management solution, An E-CHANNEL solution that provides all the functionality needed. There are many modules in the e-Channel solution, including ATMs, POSs, USSDs, Agency banking, Internet banking, mobile banking, and card business modules based on what channels the client offers.

Adewale added that “Unlike most of the solutions in the market currently, Fintrak e-Channel solutions has many objectives such as an automated end-to-end e-Channel solution that displays data as needed by teams. “

“With various scope of the software such as Data Extraction, Data Integration, Data Cleansing, Data Analysis, Report Building and Visualizations, Volume and Value Monitoring, Transaction Management, Revenue Analysis, Budget Analysis and all other Reporting Requirements as needed by client. E Channel software helps organizations in cleansing and analysis of data, each module provides reports such Transaction Count and Value by branch, region and customer. Successful versus Unsuccessful transaction summary. Also reports on other transactions such as Actual ATM (volume and value) versus budget, Transaction Failure rate analysis, Transacting Customer Analysis, Active Ratio analysis and Predictive Analytics”,Adewale concluded.

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.

 

 

Anthony Emeka Nwosu

 

 

“With various scope of the software such as Data Extraction, Data Integration, Data Cleansing, Data Analysis, Report Building and Visualizations, Volume and Value Monitoring, Transaction Management, Revenue Analysis, Budget Analysis and all other Reporting Requirements as needed by client. E Channel software helps organizations in cleansing and analysis of data, each module provides reports such Transaction Count and Value by branch, region and customer. Successful versus Unsuccessful transaction summary. Also reports on other transactions such as Actual ATM (volume and value) versus budget, Transaction Failure rate analysis, Transacting Customer Analysis, Active Ratio analysis and Predictive Analytics”

 

 

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

UNION SYSTEMS LIMITED BANKING SOLUTIONS MEET GLOBAL STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES

UNION SYSTEMS LIMITED BANKING SOLUTIONS MEET GLOBAL STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES

 

 

Union Systems Limited (USL), Africa’s leading  finance software company  located in Victoria Island Lagos has recently made industry players in finance and tech space to understand the unique product(s) offerings that they have and places they have deployed in in various banks in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. This product(s) expose to the media has been lauded by financial players, describing their various solutions like Kachasi international Trade Finance solution and other financial solutions such as Sakobia, Optimus, EGORA and Tentacles as world-class.

Speaking to the team of journalist, Chuks Onyebuchi, the Chief Executive Officer of Union System Limited described Union Systems as “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.

He added that “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…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).”

On the Union System seamless integration to the CBN monitoring, Chuks opined that “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.”

On products acceptability in various countries and banks, Onyebuchi said “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 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.”

The company has built a robust support system for their clients and customers that have virtually eliminated downtime in their platform,” 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”, Chuks said.

As Africa’s leading trade finance software company for over 20 years, the company has been delivering future thinking trade finance software solutions to banks and corporates in Africa to achieve full automation and digitization of their trade operations. Our trade finance software solutions deliver growth, profitability, and regulatory compliance to banks and corporates.

With headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, the company has a deep understanding of the African market and a team of highly qualified consultants with real-world experience in the delivery of complex software solutions. They have been creating software solutions that solve business problems and provide professional services that give value to our customers such as Kachasi (previously Trade-X), Optimus (Single and multibank), Isura, Sakobia, Tentacles and Egora were all designed and developed by USL in their Lagos, Nigeria Head office. A major advantage of adopting their solutions is the elimination of the need to source for FX to license them

 

 

 

 

 

 

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”

 

 

 

 

 

WE PROJECT TO GO-LIVE WITH THE CROWDBUX SOLUTION IN TEST MODE BY FEBRUARY 2023 – CHIDI, DEXTER BOSS

WE PROJECT TO GO-LIVE WITH THE CROWDBUX SOLUTION IN TEST MODE BY FEBRUARY 2023 – CHIDI, DEXTER BOSS

 

In this interview, Chidiebere Onwuzurike, the founder of DEXTER, A fintech firm and research based firm talks about the fintech ecosystem, Crowdbux and how they will introduce robust credit scoring solutions for Nigerians. ANTHONY NWOSU Captured this in an exclusive interview.

 

DEXTER has been into Fintech space, tell us more about your solution?

Yes, we are a research-based software startup company founded in May 2021, we are leveraging the boundless powers of data and insights from curated user research to develop and innovate more powerful, and inclusive software for the fintech sector.

Your brand has Crowdbux as a solution do you think that it will make the needed impact in the industry?

Yes, I’m confident that it will. We only innovate software premised on credible insights and Crowdbux is one such innovation as a result of diligently curated consumer research. We have received early validation for the Crowdbux solution from potential investors, current and prospective partners as well as intended users. For context, during our waitlist marketing campaign in October, we successfully waitlisted over 2000 individuals in 3 weeks – a few of whom we identified to be decision makers of potential partner organizations.

When do you intend to launch?

We project to go-live with the Crowdbux solution in test mode by February 2023.

You also said that you are a R&D firm in the fintech space. How has this been?

Yes, research and development are the bedrock of our operations at Dexter, however I must point out that it has been most profitable for us in the sense that, we do not compromise on research as we rely heavily on quality feedback for iterations. It has also been some shades of challenging, largely due to limited resources to recruit volunteers and paid analysts to curate research online and offline, sort through volumes of responses and analyze the data for product development.

What are the challenges you face as a startup?

The same as every other startup creating amazing innovation, access to financing – whether credit or investment facilities – can be challenging when you are new in software industry because you have to prove your worth even to your team – that your solution(s) eases the pain-points of a large group of people and that you are uniquely positioned to generate huge revenues from that as a result.

Are you open to investors or are you okay bootstrapping?

Oh yes, though we have bootstrapped up to $15,000 in the past 1 year, we are very open toinvestment and have been in talks with a few notable potential investors recently.

When are you launching your mobile app?

This for us is a research-informed decision, we want our customers to tell us if and when they want it, however the crowdbux web application will be accessible using any web enabled device from February 2023.

 

Tell us about the people behind this innovative brand called Dexter?

The Dexter Force as we fondly call ourselves is a 6-member team of determined, cross-functional, diversely skilled and uniquely qualified professionals, led by my noble self, who are collectively positioned to ensure the overall success of the company. We are driven towards the same objectives and trained in several disciplines that make working and creating together, brainstorming new ideas and sharing solutions worth all our whiles. We are committed to throwing our best weights in all the ways necessary behind all our products now and in the future to simplify access to financial services for all.

What is your take of the Nigerian Fintech space?

Oh, what a time to be offering a revolutionary fintech solution in the Nigerian fintech sector. It’s clearly an ever-burgeoning space attracting over $507m in 2022 alone, and I think this trend is going to continue for the foreseeable future as innovation and globalization continue to evolve business transactions in Nigeria.

What do you think about credit ratings and how can you make Nigerians key into this?

Credit scoring is essential in helping us to determine who is creditworthy on the crowdbux solution, we have innovated a fantastic proprietary scoring model that takes important data points into account, constantly learning data and patterns in order to provide accurate scores for users. We are also partnered with Nigeria’s biggest credit bureau to further substantiate our model in order to provide a more robust credit reportage for users, and also provide our lenders with quality information to inform their lending decisions. In same vein, we are leveraging the expertise of our partners to provide 1 free comprehensive credit report to our users annually. Furthermore, as the CBN’s cashless policy continues to soar, the fintech’s in the credit market would begin to experience a growing demand for credit scoring as it’ll become a pre-requisite risk assessment accessory to accessing credit finance in the future.

What advise do you have for startups?

A quote that I picked up during a mentor session on Lagos Innovate’s IdeaHub program, it says “As an entrepreneur you’ll always have problems. That’s what you signed up for. So, my advice would be, consumer research is gold – never compromise it, stay the course of your vision, network as much as possible – seek mentorship, be visible and courteous, protect your IP, delay tough decisions until you have the solutions, feed well, rest well and remain coachable.

What do you think that the regulator (CBN) can do to improve the fintech space?

I must commend the CBN for systematically implementing its cashless policy which has enabled innovation to unlock several layers of alternative transaction channels, in conformation with global social development benchmarks. The CBN can also be commended for creating safe test environments – sandboxes – for financial companies, but must in same vein create safe spaces for information sharing amongst financial institutions (FIs), other financial institutions (OFIs), and other financial regulators (OFRs). More specifically however, I implore the CBN to begin implementing pertinent components of the credit insurance policy which will widen the financial safety net to substantially provide additional incentives for credit finance institutions (CFIs) to encourage long-term lending and cover against non-performing credits. Furthermore, since the CFIs rely heavily on FIs and vice-versa, the CBN can foster the partnership and conversations between these stakeholders to improve the global standing instruction (GSI) guidelines to include a memorandum on the execution of liens between FIs and CFIs on defaulting accounts to improve credit repayment culture and security of credit in Nigeria. Lastly, the CBN can consider creating monitored credit operator groups to categorize licensed CFIs into specialized groups, with each group guided by set standards, differentiated policies and internal operational frameworks based on operating license category, partnerships and public sector affiliation, as well as modes of operation, this will stimulate cooperation amongst relevant stakeholders and bring about standardization of the credit market operation guidelines.

 

 

 

 

Credit scoring is essential in helping us to determine who is creditworthy on the crowdbux solution, we have innovated a fantastic proprietary scoring model that takes important data points into account, constantly learning data and patterns in order to provide accurate scores for users

MITIGET: BRINGING WORLD-CLASS TECH SERVICES TO THE NIGERIAN FIRMS IN AREAS OF CYBER-SECRITY, DATA CENTER SOLUTIONS AND CAPACITY BUILDING

MITIGET: BRINGING WORLD-CLASS TECH SERVICES TO THE NIGERIAN FIRMS IN AREAS OF CYBER-SECRITY, DATA CENTER SOLUTIONS AND CAPACITY BUILDING

 

Globally, corporate organizations and businesses are digitizing and protecting their infrastructure, Nigeria inclusive. In this light, Mitiget Assurance and Technology Services Limited operating with the brand name Mitiget, an indigenous information security (InfoSec) company with international affiliates has promised Nigerian business ecosystem of offering a robust and unmatched data security, IT, and compliance solutions to them.
Speaking to the media, the Chief Executive Officer of Mitiget, Sunny Ukeachu said that “as an enterprise Information Security company, we are enabling small and large organizations and business to build efficient information management and functional security resilience. We hand-hold them through building governance for their critical information while using technological innovations to support their strategies of meeting business goals. Our promise is to deliver measurable value from where we take over, a 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.”

He added that “As part of our security solution offering, we bundle information technology as a leverage for businesses to create value. For instance, in delivering a secure data center, record management 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, configuration and hardening of switches, routers, firewalls and access points, the deployment of IT hardware with supporting applications and services including cloud 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.”

The organization has recently made impact in other African nations making it an export for Nigeria and bringing in the much-needed foreign exchange. Mitiget has overtime demonstrated capacity to deliver solutions not only locally but to an international scale. Ukeachu said “We have done couple of interventions for organizations in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa helping them improve business and IT risk management maturity especially around relevant frameworks and international standards. We also have done a lot of work in reducing operational risks for many businesses by helping them go paperless. You are aware that business communications are largely paper based. Over-time, the paper documents grow in an uncontrollable volume exposing the organization to financial and reputational risks. Our end-to-end records management solution is the answer to this challenge. It does not matter the volume, how messy your archive is, we guarantee 100% success in all our projects. 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.”

Sunny Ukeachu,CEO ,Mitiget Ltd.

On capacity building, Mitiget Learning Academy (MLA) is an arm of Mitiget that provides cutting edge technical and specialist learning interventions and capacity building endeavors for small, medium, and large-scale enterprises both in public and private sectors in Nigeria. Ukeachu opined that “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 a 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.”
Mitiget also provides cloud service to firms. “Apart from the adoption of remote working and enabling services and technologies, focus also shifted to hybrid cloud, solid-state storage, and sustainability measures in the data center space. 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 information management and security expertise. Whether you need a complete design, incremental improvements, accredited servicing, and maintenance or even IT infrastructure decommissioning, we make them happen”, Ukeachu concluded.

 

 

Anthony Emeka Nwosu

 

SPECIAL MAN GLOBAL SOLUTION LTD MAKES SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT EFFICIENT, AFFORDABLE AND BETTER FOR NIGERIAN ORGANIZATIONS

SPECIAL MAN GLOBAL SOLUTION LTD MAKES SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT EFFICIENT, AFFORDABLE AND BETTER FOR NIGERIAN ORGANIZATIONS

 

 

Software and mobile apps have come to be a part of our lives today. In a highly digital world, organisations are deploying software to either aid them to be more productive or make their customers find lives easier, Nigerian firms aren’t left out of this. In line with the trends, many indigenous firms have come out to offer software development solutions to many Nigerians that need it. Ranging from business to social software, one of the Nigerian firms with tremendous strides in the software development ecosystem is Special Man Global Solution Ltd. An indigenous firm located in Ikeja Lagos.

Speaking to the media on the importance of software development processes and client management, Ifeanyi Ezeofor who is the chief technology officer (CTO) of Special Man Global Solution Ltd said “Special Man Global Solution LTD software development process is born out of a desire to see products delivered to the highest possible standard while taking into consideration the affordability of our service.”

He added that “We have built a process for every project we get to work on…“ and this was further reiterated by Onyeka Ubazue, Client services personnel and Operations manager, “We collaborate with our clients to ensure that their projects are successful. From building and fostering communication during development time, our clients are in the front-row seat on their project development.”

As a unit, they mentioned that the focus is to simplify information as much as possible for the client as this process starts even before they become clients. Precious Anigbo, growth and Marketing personnel, stated that “our social media contents and pages are a reflection of information simplification, we like to bring technology to the human point of view by treating topics that we believe the general public should have a better grasp on as well as explaining technical terms and processes in an easy to understand way.”

On their engineering and product development, Ifeanyi made it known that excellence is non-negotiable in their process, “for us there’s no one way to building a product. As a practice, our team is constantly researching and optimizing our product development methods and options so that we can deliver excellent software every time. Excellence is the nature we inherited from God so we must shine that light in every project we undertake”

On their support services and client relations, Onyeka highlighted that from conception to execution and deployment, they have it as a policy to carry clients along during any project. In her words, “We are a very communicative organization, so we take the time out to first establish a communication pattern and channel so that we can be present when we need to be. Also, having a communication pattern allows us to collect feedback when needed so that the project time is not delayed.”

Over the years, the company has developed a strong capacity in Mobile App Development, Web Development, Game Development, Blockchain Project Development, and Fintech Solution Development. They can be reached online at specialmansolution.com and also on their social media pages.

 

“We have built a process for every project we get to work on…“ and this was further reiterated by Onyeka Ubazue, Client services personnel and Operations manager, “We collaborate with our clients to ensure that their projects are successful. From building and fostering communication during development time, our clients are in the front-row seat on their project development.”