The Nigerian Software industry has improved in recent times, with various organisations creating solutions that are tackling major national issues. I recently had a chat with Yele Okeremi, CEO, Precise Financial Systems and the topic of our discussion was on the analysis of the Software industry in Nigeria and solutions to the problems existing within the industry.
Yele is of the view that, some progress has been made on the growth of the software industry in Nigeria, but, he feels that the industry could have done a lot better. He is, however, of the opinion that it could still do a lot better.
On what things he will like to see done, to improve the lot of the Software industry in Nigeria, Yele stated that, Software Startup companies should start judging themselves by how much challenges they are able to solve, rather than how much money that they are able to raise. He stated that, as Nigerians, we have solutions to our problems. “We do not have to take all our problems outside, looking for solutions”, he reiterated. In his opinion, when we go outside the shores of our country to look for solutions, most of the solutions that we get are substandard. “When I say, substandard, I’m not saying that they are not good but, they are not tailor-made for us, so, if we really want to develop as a people, we need to have confidence in ourselves”, he stressed. Yele said that, we should be patient and follow through, on the process of development.
On the notion that people go outside the shores of Nigeria to seek for world class standard solutions, Yele is of the view that the notion of ‘world class’, is a bogus one, as those who bandied the idea cannot even define it. He explained that, obtaining standard certifications obtained by Software companies are standards for how you operate, telling you the best practices as a Software company. “So, the standard we are talking about here, is about the companies processes, not about the product. If your focus is right, your results are guaranteed” he stressed.
Yele is of the view that, we need to evolve a national strategy that will assist Nigerian Software and other institutions, to easily penetrate the international market. He stated that Government Agencies, such as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, Bank of Industry, BOI, etc., could be the vanguard in this regards. “Until Nigeria takes a look at these things, we are going to remain where we are and it is sad. Yes, we are going to make some progress, but a lot of the progress will be in spite of what the government did not do and not because of what the government did, unfortunately”, he emphasised.
Yele stated that the National Automated Clearing System recently deployed, will ensure that we have a more efficient clearing system in Nigeria, that can lead us into the future. He stressed that the importance of the National Automated Clearing System, is that, it will improve the GDP of the country. “There are reports by the World Bank, that shows that, countries that have advanced clearing payment systems, automatically improve on their Gross Domestic Product, GDP”, he concluded.
You can view the full interview .