CWG’s 2.0 Business Model Yields Fruit In H2 2015 –Okere

Mr. Austin Okere, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) Plc, has said that the company’s subscription business, which was conceived five years ago, has begun to yield fruits since the business initiative took off.
Okere, who disclosed the development during his speech at the 10th Annual General Meeting of the company in Lagos recently, said the subscription business was conceived as a result of the CWG’s need to re-invent and transit itself to become a company that could predictably grow revenue and profit.
Mr. Okere noted that the opportunities that CWG has successfully pursued under its subscription business include providing a cloud solution for micro finance institutions in partnership with MTN (a solution dubbed MTN XaaS), building a cloud-based solution for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to manage their businesses, partnering with openshopen.com to build an e-commerce platform for increased visibility and sales.
The company’s investment in building technology that addresses power theft, which is a major concern of most power distribution companies, has gained significant traction with the first commercial order, and four other proofs of concepts completing and progressing into commercial sales.
It has also partnered with SES Astra to operate a digital satellite television teleport service.
The CWG boss noted that certified by the CBN as a payment terminal service provider (PTSP) will enable the company to deepen its offering in the Point of Sale and Payment systems.
Recognizing the need for automation and effective management of internally generated revenue, CWG has recently launched technology solutions that help state governments to increase their internally generated revenue in the area of third party insurance management system.
Okere explained, “Not unexpectedly, this has been a slow and difficult journey into innovative and uncharted territory that is beginning to show green shoots in sales, that will be consolidated in the second half of 2015. For instance, adapting the FinEdge technology platform to power the backend of the Diamond Yello Account product has generated platform subscriber base exceeding expectation to 4 million in less than a year after launch, and with potential to grow to 10 million by the end of 2015.
“Also, the first order for the power theft detection and prevention system has been secured with one of the electricity distributors opening the way for a foray into a market with estimated potential in excess of $200m within the next two years.”
He further highlighted that the company’s SMERP business management platform has been extended to various verticals including medical, retail and manufacturing and is fast winning deals, including one with a major retail chain about to build out more than twenty outlets in Nigeria within the next two years.
The CWG-SES teleport infrastructure is said to have also begun re-broadcasting digital television signals for more than 8 broadcasters.
The CWG boss said, “CWG’s Mobile Financial Services partnership with CIT Vericash is set to power the mobile financial services of one of the largest banks in Nigeria with plans for full scale Africa-wide deployment in the coming months.
“Most significantly, CWG and her consortium partners have started their first phase of the deployment of a unique third party insurance management system for one of the largest states in Nigeria. This system is projected to help the state generate significant revenue while ensuring that the public gets benefit for their mandatory third party insurance on their vehicles.
“While not yet Africa’s number one Technology Platform Provider, the increasing pace of roll-out of platform solutions and growth in subscriber numbers are clear pointers of reaching that ambitious goal sooner than later.”
CWG commenced operation about 23 years ago with a seed capital of barely N160,000, and has grown to become one of Africa’s largest system integrators with revenues of more than $100m, 650 staff and operations across Nigeria and three other African countries.
Till date, the company has always been at the forefront of innovative information technology solutions that enable growth.

By Patrick Aigbokhan

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