GIMAC Cameroon visits CWG facility, seeks collaboration

ITRealms:

The Managing Director of Cameroon’s interbank agency, “Groupement Interbancaire Monétique de l'Afrique Centrale (GIMAC), Mr. Valentin Mbozo’o led a delegation of the agency on a working visit to the corporate head office of Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG) in Lagos, recently, reports ITRealms.

The objective of the team, ITRealms gathered was to appraise CWG’s cloud offerings and identify areas of potential collaboration between both firms.

Welcoming the visitors, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at CWG, Mr. James Agada, explained that CWG has garnered a rich history of offering business enabling IT solutions to the finance industry in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“CWG has rolled out a plethora of innovation products and excellent support services to financial institutions in Nigeria that has improved their customers’ experience and expanded the business scope.”

He also said that CWG in partnership with First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) plc powered Firstmonie, an innovative product that enables customers to access financial and other value added services offered through their mobile phones.

“We have recently followed up with Diamond Yello account in conjunction with Diamond bank and MTN. We have also deployed the Finacle banking application to leading banks to enhance their operations. We deployed about a third of the aggregate ATMs in the country and support quite a number as we speak.” “Today, the visit by GIMAC bears the possibility of replicating this history in Cameroon and Francophone Africa,” he explained.

                          

For GIMAC, the visit presented the team with a unique opportunity for the agency to partner with CWG in her bid to extend her scope of operations and service delivery.

As said by Mr. Mbozo’o, their objective at GIMAC, code named vision 2017 is to introduce a unique payment card that will be adopted in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) countries by 2017 to enable a functional, regulatory financial ecosystem in the entire region in the nearest future.

“We have seen that CWG has the technical expertise and the credibility to help actualize our vision and we are willing to partner with them to make this vision a reality” he declared.

Also speaking, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CWG Plc, Mr. Austin Okere, observed that growing GIMAC’s transaction base to include the unbanked and underbanked population is a precursor for a successful actualization of her vision and that CWG has the capacity to boost the transaction base geometrically through financial inclusion and SME empowerment.

“We have rolled out a number of solutions that address the issue of financial inclusion. FINEDGE is designed to give Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) sustainability and mechanisms for control. With it they can automate their services and serve the SMEs community effectively. Diamond Yello account has brought banking to the door step of everyone capable of operating a mobile phone. We introduced SMERP; an ERP solution that allows SMEs keep their inventory and track sales. Another is Openshopen, an e-commerce platform that will help them boost their visibility and improve sales. With these, not only will the SMEs be able to secure loans and increase profitability but MFIs will feel safe to grant them these loans,” he said.

Okere emphasized that in all CWG has created a technology platform in the cloud where the various players in the economy transact using technology. Stressing that CWG believes that GIMAC will leverage on the unique opportunities offer thereof through these solutions to actualize its vision.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms)
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Pix: (L-R): Mr. James Agada, CTO, CWG Plc; Mr. Austin Okere, CEO CWG Plc; Mr. Valentin Mbozo’o, MD GIMAC and Mr. Valentine Essimbi Jean Valentin, Head Applications, GIMAC; during Groupement Interbancaire Monétique de l'Afrique Centrale (GIMAC) during a working visit to Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG)’s corporate head office in Lagos recently.

‘CWG is Oracle partner of the year award 2015’

ITRealms:

Acclaimed leading Pan-African Information and Communication Technology (ICT) company,  the Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG),  is the Oracle partner of the year 2015, reports ITRealms.

This, ITRealms gathered follows an award presentation to CWG at the Oracle ‘Spread the Red’ event which held in Lagos to celebrate outstanding partners in the country.

ITRealms recalls that Oracle Specialized Partner of the Year Award is given to Oracle partners in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) in commemoration of their outstanding performance in identified areas, which includes specialization in Oracle products sales, excellent customer service delivery and innovative value added services.

In addition, ITRealms reports that ‘Partner of the year award winners’ are adjudged by a panel of executives from Oracle EMEA Alliances and Channels. They are also considered as the regions nomination for the Oracle Global Award.

Oracle Nigeria country manager, Mr. Bayo Sanni, said CWG’s commitment to both companies’ partnership drive is satisfactory.

“CWG has been a dependable partner in the Nigerian market space overtime. And, this special award represents our appreciation of their contributions to our business and indeed the entire industry in the out-gone year. “It is also an assurance of our commitment to continue to work closely with you on driving the Oracle business in the bid to actualize our mutual business priorities in 2015”, he said.

For the Chief Executive Officer, CWG Plc, Mr. Austin Okere, the award is a testimony to CWG’s commitment to the provision of business enabling technology solutions in diverse sectors of the economy.

“Our business profile is defined by the deployment of consumer-centric IT products and solutions over the years. In turn, this has distinguished us to be a partner of choice to Original Equipment Manufacturers. The Oracle Partnership award is in recognition of this commitment,” he said.

He pointed out that for his team, this award calls for greater commitments, pointing out that CWG could only build on this to do better.

“We are poised to continue to provide these excellent services and products in the form of solution sales, installation, hands-on trainings, integration, migration, support services to solution optimization and enhancement”, Okere said.

ITRealms further gathered that the Oracle award adds to CWG’s list of local and international recognitions over the years.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms)
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Pix: (L-R) Austin Okere, Founder and Group CEO, CWG Plc; Adebayo Sanni, Country Managing Director, Oracle; Abdulahmed O. Mustapha, DG, Lagos State Financial Systems Management Bureau and Toju Onaiwu, Director, Software, Edo State ICT Agency  during an official visit to Oracle in Lagos recently.

NBC DG commends Okere’s CWG over teleport

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Mr. Emeka Mba has commended the Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG) led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Austin Okere, over its teleport facility, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Mr. Mba gave this commendation during an courtesy visit to CWG headquarters in Lagos, saying the visit has afford his team at NBC the opportunity of inspecting CWG’s satellite facility that will serve as the support base for the soon to be launched SES digital TV platform.

He applauded CWG’s vision for introducing a free to air Direct-To-Home (DTH) Television to the Nigerian broadcasting populace. 

“The idea of a free to air satellite TV platform is novel to the TV experience of average Nigerians. Its coverage capacity will be instrumental in our quest to take quality broadcasting to every corner of the nation. More so, it will allow indigenous stations compete competently and affordably with regional and global ones, in terms of picture and content quality,” he said.

Mr. Mba also assured CWG management that NBC will provide the necessary support the company may require to make certain this project is a success.

Welcoming the NBC delegation with a presentation, the Head, Presales at CWG, Mr. Gbenga Odegbami, gave an overview of CWG’s history of innovation and service excellence.

Odegbami, DigitalSENSE Business News reports, told the guest that CWG offers integrated ICT solutions that add value to the operations of diverse clientele, using highly skilled and well-motivated workforce.

”At inception, CWG was basically an Information Technology (IT) infrastructure sales firm. The group has since evolved into a pan-African ICT powerhouse, with focus on enabling businesses through strategic partnerships with world-class organizations and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs),” he said.

According to him, CWG recently innovated her business model to be based on Subscription and Cloud Computing under an umbrella aptly tagged CWG2.0. Odegbami explained, the business concept, of CWG 2.0 is a cloud based subscription business model birthed and driven by the quest to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) grow and make notable social impact. 

This, he said, includes Openshopen, an e-commerce platform that allows shop owners open their own virtual stores online; and SMERP, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution built to assist business owners manage their Accounting and Financial Record Keeping.

“Our strategic collaboration with SES Astra, a foremost global satellite company to bring the first Direct to Home digital TV is an integral part of our CWG 2.0 vision. The partnership entails SES providing space segment, using their ASTRA 2F satellite, at 28.2 degrees East, while CWG will manage the teleport services required to project the signals to viewers, using high operational standards”, he added.

Addressing NBC delegation earlier, Mr. Austin Okere, thumbed up NBC for its efforts in ensuring that the nation beats the ITU June 17 deadline for migration to digital TV broadcasting. “The CWG/SES platform, beyond being a business idea, is our social impact investment contribution to ensure that none of the 27 million households in Nigeria are left out in the digital TV switchover,” he said.

Firstly, Okere said, visual content will be made available to millions of households at no cost, through a Free to Air (FTA) medium.

Stressing that secondly, CWG is offering a platform that will enable broadcasters deliver their content to a broader audience cost-effectively.

“Most importantly, our platform offers the nation the opportunity of meeting the core requirements needed to beat the ITU transition to digital broadcasting deadline,” he assured.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +NBC News +Austin Okere @CWG
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Pix:  L-R: Mr. Philip Obioha, COO, CWG Plc; Mr. Emeka Mba, DG, NBC; Mr. Austin Okere, Founder and CEO, CWG Plc and Mr. Gbenga Odegbami, Head, Presales, CWG Plc when MR. Mba visited CWG’s corporate headquarters in Lagos.

SME: Okere prescribes 3 Powers for Success as entrepreneurs

DigitalSENSE Business News:

FOUNDER and Chief Executive Officer, Computer Warehouse Group Plc, Mr. Austin Okere has prescribed three antidotes owners of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) must abide with to become successful, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The three antidotes are what he tagged “3 Powers of success” which include the Way power, the Will power and the Wait power.

Okere who gave this insight at the maiden edition of the Annual Fidelity SMEs conference in Lagos as a panelist on the theme “Leveraging Technology for SME Growth”, noted that the three powers are secrets that will keep every entrepreneur going.

The panel featured outstanding entrepreneurs in the ICT sector of the country, including Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, the Founder of Zinox Technologies; Mr. Nicolas Martin, CEO and Co- Founder of Jumia , Mr. Charles Anudu, CEO, Swift Networks, Mr. Bankole Cardoso, Founder Easy Taxi, Mr. Opeyemi Awoyemi, Co-Founder Jobberman and Mrs. Funke Opeke, CEO of Main One.

“Will power is the competence you possess to run your business. The knowledge of how to run the enterprise you want to venture into,” he said.

Many people, he noted, will start a business, create solutions then go about looking for the problems. And when sales are not made they become disappointed.

“You first ought to be finding out peoples’ problems and pain points then create solutions that ameliorate the pain. This is the best way to ensure patronage,” Okere advised.

The will power, Okere said is “the resolve to keep going when everyone say give up”. “Sometimes people close to you will advise you to dump your venture and seek a proper job. But, what should keep you going at such times is your passion. It is the passion of a footballer that makes him complain when he is benched, despite the fact that he will still receive his pay at the end of the day. Your will power makes you go the extra mile, while your passion makes you persist in your venture while waiting for pay day.”

“Most businesses fail because the proprietors abandon them as soon as they face challenges, because it is not yielding as much as they want. After you have put so much effort into your business, you need to patiently wait for the benefits that will accrue from it. This is the essence of the third power; the wait power, which takes you eventually to light at the end of a dark tunnel,” he concluded.

On how SMEs could leverage on technology to maximize results, Okere advised merchants to explore the opportunities that the CWG 2.0 platform offers.

“SMERP and Openshopen platforms are designed to meet the peculiar needs of SMEs in Nigeria. Openshopen will give you the visibility your business requires to thrive in this age where businesses are going online, while SMERP will take care of your accounting and generate the records banks like Fidelity will require from you to access loans. Beyond that, they are reliable and affordable, and are available on a subscription basis,” he said.

Okere emphasized on the essence of developing the CWG2.0 platform to democratize the technology that companies such as Jumia and Konga have erstwhile used exclusively to great advantage, and make them available to the over 17.7m MSMEs in Nigeria.

“Seeing the value that this platform shall bring to the SME’s in the country, SMEDAN recently signed an MOU with CWG Plc culminating in a partnership that will address the technology needs of the sector.” Austin asserted.

The Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, in his opening speech maintained that the bank’s commitment to building Nigerian entrepreneurs is one of its core business focuses. 

“We have gathered here today to deliberate on the challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria and proffer solutions that would guide entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses,” he explained.

“Our goal is to produce more successful businessmen like Alhaji Aliko Dangote from our entrepreneurs that are in SME category for now. We have watched Dangote transform from a merchant who went into manufacturing and later transformed into an owner of a multinational conglomerate,” he said.

Earlier, Mr. Okere was given a Distinguished Partner Award for his role in the building of Nigerian entrepreneurs by Fidelity Bank plc.

In a commemorative statement, the bank appreciated Mr. Okere for sharing his ideas on the panel. 

“We have continued to receive excellent feedbacks from the audience who are inspired by the insights and knowledge you shared.” he explained.

 

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