Nigeria is poised to capture a significant share of the projected $109.1 billion global remote work market, but the country’s preparedness will be a key determinant. According to a recent report by polarismarketresearch.com, the remote work market is expected to grow by 20% annually over the next five years, generating $109.1 billion in annual income by 2025.
Also the Cloud Migration Services Market in terms of revenue estimated to be worth $11.23 billion in 2022, is estimated to hit $58.24 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 22.8% according to a new report published by The Insight Partners. (see: https://bit.ly/3FZooMu)
The data projects a bright future for companies offering Cloud migration services and remote work, especially for those in Africa, Nigeria in particular.
Nigeria is well-positioned to benefit from this trend due to its large and young population, its growing middle class, and its improving infrastructure. However, the country’s ability to capture a share of this market will depend on its preparedness.
Business analysts say the growing demand for remote workplace services is largely driven by rapid digitization, the rising demand for better work-life balance, and technological transformation to create a digital workplace, with the growth of the cloud migration services market driven by the adoption of cloud-based applications, platforms, and infrastructure which eliminates the need for businesses to invest heavily in hardware, software, and IT infrastructure. Instead of upfront capital expenditures, organisations can now leverage cloud services which significantly saves costs.
CEOs of Alluvium HQ, fast rising Tech/ICT company, Wale Olojo and Taiwo Ojo, speak to Remotework News on how Nigeria can get a slice of the huge markets.
Remotework: The graph above illustrates North America, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific as regions projected to benefit largely from the remote workplace services market. The middle East and Africa are the least gainers in the market according to the data. Where do we focus our energies?
WALE OLOJO: Infrastructure is key. Federal and state governments are naturally saddled with the task of providing critical infrastructure and the enabling environment for it’s citizens to thrive. This in turn enables shared prosperity.
Let’s go back in time. During former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) trained a lot of graduates in skills and applications which ideally they could not afford on their own. I remember back then as a process engineer I learnt to use tools which ordinarily I couldn’t have afforded at the time. Even some organizations could not afford those trainings but the PTDF fund was there to subsidize. The trainings were bankrolled by the government. Some of the engineers who were trained ended up working at multinationals like EDCO, NNPC, TOTAL.
TAIWO OJO: It’s also important to note that government can’t do it alone. We recognize the need to support in our own way. The JayTee Ojo Foundation runs several programs where youths are being taught programming from a very early age. We also support many government and community initiatives. The key is to prepare the youngsters early for the foreseeable future.
I actually think that people in government know the value and potentials of remote work and the huge foreign income it can bring into the economy.
I and Wale identified these 2 huge markets a long time ago and we were convinced we wanted a share. Alluvium HQ was set up to provide the requisite training for our software and computer engineers. To enable them compete favourably in the global market.
The main issue right now is that the talent needs to grow vertically and horizontally. Each of those talents needs to be reached and developed. The vertical growth is about the quality of talents and the horizontal growth is about the quantity of talents. Talking about training and retraining more people who can follow the premise of engineering, people who can understand the processes and gains. At Alluvium we are people-centric; the investment and the training enables the people.
Remotework: Despite the huge gains in the ICT/Tech sector as highlighted by you and Wale we still find youths still attracted to internet fraud and cybercrime. It’s common knowledge that the vice has given the country a negative image despite the gains made. How do we channel them to ICT? To become globally competitive?
WALE OLOJO: I will make references to some of the popular songs that our parents made us sing while I was growing up. Goes into song in Yoruba- “Iwe kiko, laisi oko….. koipe ooo koipe ooo… eni kosise, a maa jaale ( translated: education is not complete without appropriate tools, whosoever does not work will eventually steal).
That song is not as thought-provoking as it ought to be today due to certain negative vices. We need to restore dignity in labour. Also accountability and the prioritization of the people’s needs. This will in turn enable a saner, productive environment.
Our engineers at Alluvium are a perfect example of how we can build a working system. That’s what myself and Taiwo are doing with the Alluvians right now. We are still not satisfied because we want them to reach the peak of their excellence. To be the best tech professionals. Their mates who see their development, evident in the common responsibilities and the better pay they get, would be encouraged to become certified tech engineers. They must put in all the necessary effort and work hard to get more skills and certifications. Tech from the learning stage to where you become a pro. These are some of the models of how we can sanitize a system and reorientate a generation.
So for us to get our share of those projected big markets we have to put in the work. We are also available to work with government at all levels to equip our youths with ICT/Tech skills which are pretty much in high demand in the global market.
Pls follow @Wale O and @Taiwo Ojo on LinkedIn.
Philips Babatunde