Zoho, tech company, records 50 per cent growth in Nigeria

A global technology company Zoho Corporation, on Friday announced its 50 per cent growth in Nigeria in 2022.

Regional Director, Middle East Africa, (MEA) Zoho Corporation, Ali Shabdar said at the sideline of Zoholics Nigeria in Lagos that the growth was due to high adoption of cloud technology in the country.

It was reported that Zoholics is the annual users conference of Zoho.

Shabdar said that Zoho’s growth was a direct result of Nigerian businesses embracing cloud technology, especially unified platforms, to digitally transform and build resilience to adapt to challenging market conditions.

According to him, such growth creates an economic impact in the nation’s economy as well as job creation.

The regional director said as such, it has partnered with StartupSouth to work towards the development of startups in the South South and the South East region.

He said that the partnership was to empower startups with basic digital tools and unified platforms to help businesses scale rather than giving free money.

Shabdar said that Zoho Contracts would help businesses improve compliance with National Data Protection Law (NDPL)

He said that NDPL which came into law in June mandated all businesses to ensure that their contracts include provisions for data security and breach notifications among others.

According to him, in case of non-compliance, businesses risk the loss of consumer trust and potential legal action, apart from a potential fine of up to N10 million or two per cent of annual gross revenue.

He said with Zoho Contracts, businesses could create contract templates with new revised clauses for NDPA compliance.

“Through the partnership, Zoho will be providing its contract management solution, Zoho Contracts, free for three months to help businesses improve compliance to the Nigeria Data Protection Law.

“Zoho’s unified technology stack, built from the ground up, allows us to meet such transformation needs of businesses with robust solutions that deliver consistently seamless user experiences at unbeatable value,” Shabdar said

The Regional Director, said that Zoho’s growth in Nigeria was primarily driven by adoption of Zoho One, the operating system for business, and Zoho Workplace, a unified enterprise collaboration platform.

He said that Zoho also grew its partner network by 22 per cent and more than doubled its employee in 2022 in Nigeria to reinforce its local presence and better serve the customers.

Country Head, Zoho Nigeria, Mr Kehinde Ogundare said that Nigeria was number five in the Middle East Africa in the growth of Zoho and had witnessed 87 per cent growth in five years.

Ogundare said that the transnational local strategy of being locally rooted while staying globally connected was also key to Zoho’s growth in Nigeria.

He said that Zoho was able to serve customers directly with locally hired teams in Lagos.

According to him, Zoho is also one of the few vendors in Nigeria that continues to provide their offerings in Naira, thereby protecting businesses from the fluctuating dollar rates.

Ogundare said that the step ensured that enterprise technology remained accessible to businesses of all sizes.

“Our partnership with #StartupSouth, and the special offer on Zoho Contracts, are further steps that underscore our commitment to serve the business community in the region,” he said.

Ogundare said that as part of its partnership with StartupSouth, new customers would be availed Zoho Wallet credits worth ₦ 470,000.

He said the wallet credit could be used to purchase or upgrade any of Zoho’s 55+ products, including Zoho One, the operating system for business, over a period of 360 days.

According to him, e startups will also receive training to help them leverage Zoho’s products for their growth and in a way that they can easily scale.

The Convener, StartupSouth, Uche Aniche, said that one of #StartupSouth’s goals was to provide startups associated with it an easy access to comprehensive technology solutions.

Aniche said that technology solutions that offered great value was easy to use and had the capability to grow with the businesses as they scaled.

“With this partnership with Zoho, we are looking forward to helping budding businesses by removing access barrier to enterprise technology.

“Through the Zoho for Startups programme, StartupSouth tend to onboard as many startups and be a part of their entrepreneurial journey right from the start.

“Keeping in mind Zoho’s vision and mission on ‘serving the underserved’, we carefully choose whom we collaborate with.

Global Head, Zoho for Startups, Kuppulakshmi Krishnamoorthy said that Nigeria is one of the hotbeds in Africa for entrepreneurs to thrive and innovate.