When Heirs Holdings announced the launch of a tech-focused subsidiary, Heirs Technologies Limited, a few weeks ago, many industry watchers were excited by the prospects that a new player brings to the Nigerian tech ecosystem. The company’s potential is also uniquely hyped by the backing of a proven and renowned parent company.

Founded by African business leader, Tony Elumelu, Heirs Holdings’ investment portfolio spans the power, energy, financial services, hospitality, real estate, healthcare and technology sectors, operating in twenty-four countries worldwide. So, many were sure a full foray into tech would be driven by the energy and success that is characteristic of the UBA brand.

Indeed, at the unveiling event, the chairman of the group, Mr Elumelu (CFR) was clear about about the mission of the technology entity: to harness the potential of tech to improve lives and transform the African continent.

From the onset, The company listed its range of offerings to include IT consulting, which encompasses advisory services, business transformation, system integration, licencing, and partnerships. Heirs Technologies will also offer managed services with a core focus on IT operations and business process outsourcing.

Industry watchers like yours sincerely were interested to know how the new entrant plans to make a difference owing to its potential capacity. Will Heir Technologies build local solutions, invest in local capacity or simply compete in the technology solution sales market alongside other established players?

The leadership of Heirs Technologies invited some stakeholders to a recent media parley to share their journey and the vision of the company as it steps into the spotlight. The session provided useful insights into the company’s strategic focus, range of services, pre-launch activities and what the new company plans to achieve in the coming years.

Heirs Technologies: From a visionary beginning

Although Heirs Technologies commenced business operations in January 2024, the company has been incorporated since 2004.

Explaining the 20 years gap, CEO, Obong Idiong explained that the early incorporation date is a testimony of the visionary leadership of the group. “This entity was set up at a time when most of what we have come to know today as tech were either not existing or mere buzzwords. Even at that time, the leadership of Heirs Holdings have set up a vehicle to tap into the potentials of tech to make a difference”, he explained.

On his part, Executive Director, Anant Rao explained that the company had been operational well before the official announcement. He noted that a few of its underground activities include reaching partnership agreements with foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) as well as equipping local talents with software development and support skills. “The recent unveiling is making public our intention to extend our services to support companies outside of our group”, he added.

Notably, the leadership team of Heirs Technologies was clear about the mandate of the company: to primarily serve the B2B segment.

When asked if the company plans to build local solutions for the market or partner with established OEMs to provide existing solutions to help businesses, Obong noted that product development is not an immediate priority. The company will focus on delivering value and it will only consider building indigenous solutions if that will guarantee the best value delivery.

“We don’t want to build for the sake of building. We want to build something only if we are sure that it will add value”, he said.

Dr Fumbi Chima, a Nigerian-American technology executive, and the chairman of Heirs Technologies, reechoed the message: “It is good to point out that we are not going to be a product company. We are going to localise global solutions using local talents and nuances to help businesses grow.”

Competing in a well-established market

At the core of Heirs Technologies’ mission is a commitment to addressing key challenges and driving positive change, says Obong. According to the CEO, using a multidisciplinary approach, the company specializes in several key areas. These include:

• Managed Services: provide businesses with a seamless and secure IT environment businesses that do not have the in-house expertise or resources to manage their IT systems effectively to allow them to concentrate on their core operations.
• IT Consulting: help businesses improve their operations by advising them on how to use Information Technology (IT) effectively as well as provide clients with access to world-class solutions that are specifically tailored to requirements and budgets.
• Business process outsourcing: provide IT Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services involving a range of technology-based solutions to clients.

The CEO explained that the company has a partnership with renowned global OEM companies. The list of partners includes Infosys, Xdaon, Microsoft, Huawei, Oracle, YABX, HP, Cisco, Fortinet, Tech Mahindra, Dell, Newgen and Bluechip Technologies. “Heirs Technologies understands the power of collaboration and partnerships in driving innovation and fostering growth”, Dr Chima said.

The ICT solutions and service delivery market in Nigeria is renowned for its stiff competition. The sector has notable local players like Chams, CWG and Signal Alliance who provide bespoke software and hardware solutions for public and private companies. The market has also the presence of non-Nigerian players like Dimensions Data and BCX as well as direct participation by international OEMs like Oracle, Huawei and IBM in the local market.

Commitment to Social Impact with i-Academy

Beyond innovative service delivery, CEO, Obong noted that Heirs Technologies is committed to promoting sustainability, ethical practices, and social responsibility. According to him, one of the early ways the company has demonstrated this commitment is through training local tech talents both for its use and for other players in the space using the i-Acdemy.

The i-Academy is Heirs Technologies’ training institute, dedicated to enhancing technical proficiency across the Group companies and external recruits. The academy has the mandate to build a talent pipeline of resources committed to rendering exceptional service delivery across 3 business lines – OEM Support, Business Process Outsourcing, and Managed Services.

“As an action-oriented company, we have already commenced the process to train 75,000-100,000 young people on relevant digital skills”, the CEO said. Specific areas of training include IT monitoring, cloud support services, licensing management, cybersecurity, business management, data management and application development.