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Nigeria: Coscharis Technologies Targets 500 PCs Per Day By 2009

Emeka Aginam

20 August 2008

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interview

Lagos — Mr. Emecheta Ofondu, chief executive officer, Coscharis Technologies spoke to our reporter, Emeka Aginam recently on its latest brand of indigenous computer brand, why current vendors are not meeting market expectations and what government should do to help the industry and a number of other issues in the emergingNigerian local PCs market. Exerpt

Gap in the PC market

We believe that there is gap in the information technology market. At the point we were entering the market, what we discovered was that a few companies were playing in the market and that service delivery was poor, prices were not competitive. Generally, customers were short-changed. Our entry in 1998 redefined the market space in terms of service delivery and price.

Some of the product offerings we entered the market with strongly contested with what our existing competitors was offering and they were forced to bring down their prices. We were all trying to ensure we have sufficient foothold in the market; we were all compelled to bring down our prices to the benefit of the customers. Our entry brought a lot of benefit to the ICT users in this country in terms of service delivery.

World Bank report on Nigeria

This is a country of 140 million people; the World Bank report says we have 1.8 per cent computer penetration rate in this country, which means we have about three million PCs, which is abysmal. It is very depressing. That in itself presents a huge opportunity to be filled. I do not believe the present vendors and manufacturers have enough capacity to fill this gap.

That itself begs for a company like ours to come into the market and we believe that we will broaden the market; we will help increase the computer penetration rate in the country. We are entering market with some solutions, solutions in terms of flexible financing, solutions in terms of what the users stands to benefit. You have situations where people are just having boxes in their hands or on their desktops; they are not actually maximizing the use of the computers.

We are packaging Cosmos with unique solutions that will address the needs of the individual user whether he is in banking, education segment or government sector. We are not saying people are not addressing these needs but they are not being sufficiently addressed.

You find a teacher has a computer and all he is doing with it may be Word Processing, much more can be achieved by the teacher. Much more can be achieved by the student and in fact, the student-teacher payment relationship can be delivered to those three parties- the parents, teachers and the students. We intend to fill these gaps.

Installmental arrangement

We do have arrangements with UBA, C&I Leasing and some other banks to ensure that people can easily pick laptops or desktops by paying only 10 per cent and that 10 per cent may be about N10, 000 or less. Subsequently, the user may over 12 months. Recently, we have come to a point with the banks where we have agreed that the user can pay over 24 months.

That makes it a lot easy and smooth for anybody who intends to acquire a personal computer. We intend to serve different segments of the market. Our mission is to address the middle and bottom segments of the pyramid. Those who are ignorant of the use of information technology tools we want to reach them, those who cannot afford to use these tools we want to reach them.

As a matter of fact, part of our mission is to ensure that by the year 2020, we would have been able to empower about one million people in the use of information and communications technology tools in a very knowledgeable way, their lives are enhanced and that they are empowered.

Assembly plant capacity

Every tree starts as a seed. The oak today they say started as a mustard seed. What we have today, the 50 PC per day capacity is merely a seed. We have an expansion programme that we intend to roll out over time. In the next six months or so, we would double our capacity. By the year 2009 we hope to be doing about 500 PCs per day since the market is there.

I see more of unfulfilled needs than competition. I see a vacuum that present vendors and manufacturers are not capable, not that they are not willing but that they are not capable of filling all of those needs. I see a universe of infinite possibility. There is so much good to go round. There is so much wealth that can go round. My mentality is an abundance mentality.

The opportunities are huge. What we need to do in this county in terms of empowering people with ICT tools is a very big challenge. I do not think we have come to a point we think competition is going to blow one out, I do not think so.

Government support for PC makers

Presently, I will say government is not doing badly but it can do better in terms of Value Added Tax (VAT). We hope that if government does this it will go to a very large extent in ensuring that this business helps to get this country where it ought to be. What I think we need the government to do is not to offer any special incentive apart from what they are already giving, but to provide enabling environment for smooth business.

Government should ensure that power is working, that we do not face the kind of situation we are facing today, government should ensure that we have constant electricity. Government should ensure that there is improvement in terms of security. It should ensure that infrastructure generally is taken care of.

These are areas we think government should focus on. If government can focus on these areas and improve them, people like us will be happy to do business very well. I do not seek for any special incentive outside of what government is granting today.

PC access and Internet penetration

You see, there are different stakeholders or different people who are expected to play different roles to get us to where we intend to be in terms of internet penetration. What is lacking presently is cheap broadband. All we need is for government to give potential and willing investors in that segment the kind of incentives that will encourage them to invest in cheap broadband.

I think companies like Globacom are investing in fibre optics and if we have other companies investing in fibre optics that will help in achieving cheap broadband. Considering the flexible payment modes some companies like us are coming up with that improves access to computers, I believe by the time companies like us play the role we want to play by granting credits that there will be improved access in terms of ownership of personal computers.

PC branding

The name Cosmos is synonymous for the universe. The universe as we know it is an amazing arrangement of different planets, stars, moons, etc. It is the original signs made by God. Cosmos itself has to do with signs, harmonious arrangements of different elements. We think that in itself has some linkage with the computer and with what it can achieve in peoples lives by bringing in some kind of harmony.

The brand name I believe is unique. It somehow aligns each and every one of us with the universe. It brings us into unity with the universe. We are hoping to build on the brand, give it the kind of premium that it deserves in the market. The only way we can build on the brand is by way of service, the kind of things we intend to do. Our attention is going to be shifted away from Cosmos as a box, as hardware, much more into solutions, what it can achieve in people lives.

There are solutions we will unfold for schools, local governments and state governments that have different needs. There are states whose concern is security; we have a coalition of other partners we intend to package solutions that can address security, traffic situations, solutions that can address different needs of different states apart from different departments of the government.

But beyond that we are coming out with three years warranty. If a company is telling you it is giving you three years warranty it has confidence in that product. And with the Coscharis name, our reputation is at stake to back the three years warranty offering. Beyond that part of what we can solve is the financing, we do have a service centre right now at our Ikeja location. We are opening up another one at our Abuja office and in the next few months will open up a service centre at our Port Harcourt office.

Investments and channels

We cannot begin to mention specific amount we have sunk in but we have invested a lot in coming out, in launching this product and the chairman is willing to throw in much more than what we have presently to support our expansion plans to achieve the one million personal computers by the year 2020. We have a roadmap that outlines how we intend to get there ultimately.

We do have a company in Singapore we are partnering with. We also do have Intel and Microsoft. The three of them are partnering with us to launch this product. Our channel strategy is not to go direct. We intend to deliver to the market through our various dealers. These are dealers who have dealt with us over the years. They are ready to go with us and we want to share the benefits with our channel partners.

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