Zoho, a global technology company, has reported a remarkable 50% growth in Nigeria for the year 2022. This significant development was announced alongside a strategic partnership with #StartupSouth, an organization committed to nurturing startups in South and South-East Nigeria. These announcements were made during the company’s annual user conference, Zoholics Nigeria, held in Lagos.
Ali Shabdar, the Regional Director for MEA at Zoho, attributed this growth to Nigerian businesses increasingly embracing cloud technology and unified platforms for digital transformation and resilience in challenging market conditions. Zoho’s comprehensive, unified technology stack has been a key factor in meeting these transformation needs with robust, user-friendly solutions.
The company’s growth in Nigeria has been primarily driven by the adoption of Zoho One, an operating system for business, and Zoho Workplace, an enterprise collaboration platform. Other top-selling products in Nigeria include Zoho CRM Plus, Zoho Books, and Zoho Desk. Additionally, Zoho expanded its partner network by 22% and more than doubled its employee count in the country, enhancing its local presence and customer service.
Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head for Zoho Nigeria, emphasized the company’s “transnational localism” strategy, which involves being locally rooted while maintaining global connections. A key aspect of this strategy is offering services in Naira, helping protect Nigerian businesses from fluctuating dollar rates and making enterprise technology more accessible. The partnership with #StartupSouth and the special offer on Zoho Contracts further demonstrate Zoho’s commitment to serving the Nigerian business community.
Under the Zoho for Startups program, startups associated with #StartupSouth, as new customers, can avail Zoho Wallet credits worth ₦ 470,000. These credits can be used across Zoho’s 55+ products over 360 days. Startups will also receive training to effectively use Zoho’s products for scalable growth.
Uche Aniche, Convener of #StartupSouth, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership with Zoho, highlighting the potential for startups to access a wide range of business applications that support digitalization and streamlined operations.
Zoho is also providing its contract management solution, Zoho Contracts, free for three months to help businesses comply with the Nigeria Data Protection Law (NDPL). Zoho Contracts aids businesses in creating compliant contract templates, using analytics for contract management, anonymizing counterparty data, and tracking contractual obligations.
Kuppulakshmi Krishnamoorthy, Global Head of Zoho for Startups, underlined the program’s goal to onboard startups and support them from the outset, aligning with Zoho’s vision of serving the underserved.
Zoho’s growth and initiatives in Nigeria reflect its commitment to providing robust technology solutions and support to the burgeoning entrepreneurial landscape in the region. These steps are significant in promoting digital transformation and fostering a supportive ecosystem for startups and businesses in Nigeria.
