In the last ten years, many startups in Nigeria have benefited from an inflow of global venture capital investments. However, a steep decline in funding secured by African startups in 2023 suggests the tides may be changing. Data Tracker reports that startups raised between $2.9 billion and $4.1 billion in 2023, from $4.6 billion to $6.5 billion in total funding raised in 2022.
The consequence is that some startups are tethering on the edge of folding up, while some have had to shut down. In light of this, it has become pertinent for emerging startups and technology companies to identify companies that have successfully built profitable businesses through a combination of vision, value creation and grit.
A worthy flagbearer is Nugi Technologies, a company founded by Ugi Augustine Ugi, a veteran software developer in 2016. At a period when the technology ecosystem in Nigeria was still finding its feet, Ugi conceived and established Nugi Technologies to offer a range of software solutions to businesses and government parastatals, while doubling as a technology hub for upskilling ambitious youngsters and imbuing them with leadership skills.
Nugi Tech was not Ugi’s first venture into entrepreneurship, he had previously co-founded GTCO Calscan, a software engineering company in 2012. He left the business in 2015 because the company’s vision no longer aligned with his. With Nugi Tech, he was out to lead the creation of technology-driven solutions for various business challenges, nurture the development of world-class talents and correct some of the operational anomalies prevalent among existing Information Technology companies at the time.
Describing the company’s services, Ugi said, “For business to business, we offer partnerships to take over their software management and development life cycle, so we do some heavy lifting for fintech companies. On projects we take on, we often build the core backbone of the technology or a mobile application in the ecosystem of that company.”
Under Ugi’s leadership, Nugi Tech has made giant strides in developing technology solutions for private clients such as eTranzact, and Bosscab, and public clients such as Cross River Internal Revenue Service, Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria, and the National Insurance Commission among others. Notably, the company has built successful products such as One Money and 360 Governance.
With One Money, Nugi Tech was able to remedy leakages in revenue collection for businesses and the government. On the heels of success, the product was sold to e-Tranzact; while 360 Governance has facilitated seamless governance by enabling integrated services for government Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Leveraging the 360 Governance, Cross River State has achieved a remarkable 60% increase in its Internally Generated Revenue, from ₦22 billion in 2022 to an impressive ₦30.8 billion in 2023. Nugi Tech’s delivery of innovative technology solutions for Cross River has earned the state accolades such as ‘The Most Innovative State’ prize at the 8th Innovation, Science and Technology EXPO convened by the Federal Ministry of Innovation Science and Technology in March 2024.
Core Principles Behind Nugi Tech’s Success
Nugi Tech has been able to establish itself as a leader in the tech ecosystem by following three core principles namely tenacity, innovation and integrity. On tenacity, Ugi explained that Nugi Tech was able to overcome financial challenges in its early phase by taking and executing audacious projects excellently. As a result, the team has been able to build the capacity to deliver projects efficiently regardless of magnitude.
“If we set out to get something done we always get it done. It might take us some time but that’s a spirit that we have built into everyone in the company. We have never had a client that complained about our ability to deliver both in the past and the present. That speaks a lot to our tenacity and our competencies,” Ugi observed.
Ugi has earned the nickname “Mr Integrity” among clients because of his emphasis on transparency when executing projects. According to him, he does not take client education with levity, stressing that he is diligent about ensuring that clients are briefed on what is obtainable before a project commences and regularly updated with vital information throughout a project.
Innovation has been at the forefront of Nugi Tech’s partnership with clients and collaboration with other companies. Ugi explained that Nugi Tech commits huge resources to research to be able to identify problems and develop innovative solutions for them. “At Nugi Tech, we reimagine what the impossible looks like because we are solution-oriented with the work we do. We are Innovative and care deeply about the problems that we are solving,” Ugi added.
Passion for Talent Development
Another significant driver behind Nugi Tech’s growth over the years has been an unwavering commitment to staff welfare and talent development. The company which currently has over 60 staff in its employ prioritises regularly upskilling its people and training them on leadership. Similarly, Nugi Tech has been committed to offering inexperienced youngsters an opportunity to embark on their tech journey at no cost.
In his words, “Nugi Technologies is an ideology. We have a mantra that we are a company by developers for developers. As a software developer who had worked with several organisations, I was dissatisfied with how developers were treated and I noticed that it was prevalent among companies then. We wanted to change that.”
As such, Nugi Tech is particular about creating an enabling environment for talents to do their best work. Ugi noted that the company has had to take the burden of providing accommodation for its staff at various times and it periodically reviews financial incentives for staff among other initiatives aimed at improving the overall welfare of its people.
Since the company’s establishment, Ugi disclosed that Nugi Tech has recruited and upskilled over 100 NYSC graduates with Software Engineering, Web Development, and UI/UX Design among others. He noted that this recruitment strategy was integral to the company’s growth in the early phase when it was yet to secure major clientele and projects, but it also came with the huge cost of human development along with the downside of staff turnover.
However, Ugi submitted that he was not deterred by these challenges because he has always been passionate about impacting society by empowering ambitious youngsters, stressing that he realised this approach would pay off in the long run for Nugi Tech.
“When I studied in business school, I learnt that successful businesses are built on their strength and my strength is the passion I have for young people. So I embraced it as my strategy for building a sustainable company. I know it was expensive because of the resources we had to commit to it, but I knew that we could raise young people like myself who will be passionate about impacting society and that is how we have been able to build Nugi Tech to what we have today,” Ugi narrated.
Building Nigeria’s Silicon Valley and Global Expansion
Nugi Technologies is currently embarking on building a tech-powered city in Calabar to drive its global expansion vision. According to Ugi, the city will be situated on 300 hectares of land and it will house the infrastructure and amenities required to host multiple technology hubs and offer accommodation for ambitious professionals looking to build landmark products.
“We want this new city to be driven by technology. We are currently transitioning to a group so that one of our subsidiaries will be in charge of city management and take care of vital amenities such as security, water, electricity and other vital aspects,” Ugi explained when asked to outline plans for the city. “We are currently working on the framework. The city will have a university, that is the Nugi campus which will be situated on six hectares of the allocated land. We will be focused on producing tech talents.”
Meanwhile, expansion has seen Nugi Tech metamorphose from a tech hub based in Calabar to an ecosystem with offices in Lagos State, Abuja and most recently, the United Kingdom. Ugi disclosed that Nugi Tech recently built Q-Loop, a B2B mailing product that enables businesses and government parastatals to dispatch emails faster and at a cost-effective rate.
The product, which the Cross River Internal Revenue Service has adopted has further optimised the state’s revenue collation process and boosted internally generated revenue. Also set for rollout by July 2024 is Syncventory, an inventory management product that will improve administrative processes for businesses.
What Nugi Tech has been able to demonstrate through its success over the years is that tech entrepreneurs can build profitable businesses in Nigeria, despite the country’s volatile climate, if they ruthlessly focus on delivering customer-centric value, creating a time-tested organisational culture that prioritises human development, and forging credible reputation among clients by imbibing culture-defining principles.
Wonderful
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