E-Business Solutions and Advisory in Nigeria: An Interview with Dr Adebola Akindele of Courteville

Interview with Dr Adebola Akindele, Group Managing Director of Courteville Business Solutions

What are the competitive advantages of the company? What can you bring that is different to what is happening already in your field?

One major advantage that we have is that we are the biggest custodian of the largest database of records in Sub-Saharan Africa. Over the years, we have been approached several times by different institutions, money and mobile money banks, banking institutions, ATM operators, everybody comes to us because we have this database, a platform that comprises over 3,000 points across Nigeria. In Lagos we have over 1,000 points where cash is exchanged every day of the working week and that provides the opportunity to do a lot of things around FinTech and banking and cash exchange activities. That is what we decided to take advantage of. I call it backwards integration and that allows us to not only utilize this database, but also allows us to utilize those points. Each point, each center, each unit that processes the document on our behalf has a few resources that are going to be very expensive when you are the operator to want to start. There is equipment like laptops, internet, printer, telephone, and everything that allows you to do this kind of service. It is going to be something that will deliver on what you currently have already, that you have not optimized yet into bringing about extra services, particularly to the public and to the private sector. We already have learned how to find an easily identifiable clientele base that will come back immediately. There is also the online service and online model available where you can sit in your home and use our services. That involves having to relate payment gateways with all sorts of FinTech institutions and that is what we are chasing after now. We are going for the license that will allow us to do that without having to rely on any other institution.

Are you in a position where people are coming naturally to you or are you still looking for ideas or potential services and companies to partner with?

One major advantage that we have is that we are the biggest custodian of the largest database of records in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We have already done the research, the legwork, and the brain work into what the industry has for us. We have always been approached by different institutions, including banks. For example, we just started motor vehicle documentation and motor vehicle licenses. Within a month or two, we realized that the best point to get your vehicle insurance is at the point where you get your motor vehicle registration done. Now, there are so many other services attached to that. That is what has created our database. Lagos State alone does about 10,000 transactions daily in terms of motor vehicle documentation. We collect not only transactions and data; we collect about $500,000 in cash. That opportunity for cash has changed business. The good thing about our platform is that right down the line of the structure, every single operator, every single member of that structure earns something. If there is a port that has been used by a number of people, a number of operators, a number of business owners, that allows us to want to continue to sustain the whole project. The same model is going to apply to the new area that we are moving into. To the insurance industry as a whole, we supply the application that allows them to monitor not only motor vehicle insurance documentation and processes but also import and export insurance activities. This has been given approval by the Central Bank overall. That is part of what is expanding other services or other revenues. We also work with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) which allows us to be able to deal with companies in the different food and drug industries.

Is it more complex to move outside of Nigeria because of the different networks?

We have shortened the time to less than five minutes for every single transaction process. We have come up with this improvement for the government and created that cottage industry. Now, we have different models in going to other countries. We are partnered with local entities, we have gone on our own, we have also been able to get approval and work with suppliers. We have done all sorts of models. In West Africa, the banks are having their own issues like with any other business that has lasted long. After 10 years, in many of these economies, they are frustrated. Our business model is very flexible. In a few states, we use the staff of the agencies of the state because some of them are worried about loss of employment. We do that where we needed to expand. For example, when we started in Lagos, there were just 26 stations across the state to service over 2 million. We expanded it over 1,000 within a year. That has reduced the processing time. In Nigeria, for example, it is not enough for that kind of result. In this political situation, it does not matter what you do. Outside Nigeria, we can replicate that. We have calmed down on the African expansion. We are focusing on the Caribbean expansion now and it is working very well for us.

How has the Caribbean expansion been faring?

During in the Olympics in London, we sponsored one program called the African and Caribbean Expansion Experience in the UK. That was done in conjunction with the Caribbean Agency for Business. That led us into joining a trade delegation to the Caribbean, specifically to Jamaica and to Trinidad and Tobago. Whatever we do is required to be approved by the government. We realized that if we could start doing things that are not totally dependent on government approval, we may get some more success. When we offered them what we had they were very interested and when we told them that our model does not require you to give us money to start, they just could not wrap their heads around what we were saying. They did not trust us. An opportunity came with one of the trade delegation members who had an investigation and assessment business. They have this system whereby if you want to make a claim or if you want to insure your paper, you will need to approach an industrial registered agent that allows them to know the real valuation or the state of your vehicle. That will determine how much they ask you to pay for your insurance. There was a struggling business that had been there for a long time, very well known in terms of the industry. It came onto the market, it was offered, and we bought it outright. It is still a 100% owned subsidiary of Courteville Nigeria. It was run entirely by Jamaicans, so they trust themselves. We have left them in charge. We only manage them within our strategy and work with them. We have also been approached several times by different investors that are asking to invest out of Mexico. But for now, we want an organic growth. From a loss making venture of over 15 years, a young woman that we retained in the system that was just one of the clerks that we converted to the chief executive has turned that place into a profit making venture over the past three years. The plan for us is to now be able to expand to the likes of Trinidad and Tobago that has a more robust economy. We are also looking at Barbados and others.

Now, you are based very strongly in Jamaica and you want to expand into other countries around the region. Is it easy to build that reputation outside of Nigeria?

We are convinced that we can replicate our successes in Jamaica in other areas of the Caribbean. We will start looking towards Cuba and Mexico. Those are very big economies. We will take our time, but we will get there. We now have direct flights from Lagos to Kingston. When we move into any space, we are the one that is tied to marketing for aggressive business development, getting openings for others, etc. We have been very careful in Jamaica.

Project yourself three years’ time, the medium term. What do you want to achieve?

In three years, Courteville will grow to the size of our Interswitch which is a very useful platform. In terms of data collection and data capture, we want to become a lot more robust. It will be easier for us to go more international with the FinTech services because now we are crossing the border a lot faster than having to go to the government because it involves individuals. People want to do day to day transactions. It is not just security involved. In addition to that, in five years’ time, I probably will have retired or gone on to doing other things. I have an executive team of people who have been working individually that combines close to 50 or 60 years of experience across the industry. We have been running since 2006. We installed this growth system in the company about 10 years ago because we knew that we needed to start preparing the next generation of our staff. We realized that there was a huge gap between ourselves and the next set. So, we put them through all the middle management training programs. About four sets of them comprising about 100 of them now are at various levels in different departments that can take over different roles here. You need to understand our history, our procedure, to understand how we got to this level. If we have to bring anybody from outside, it will be someone that will also need to be supported by those that understand us. All of us have grown. I was 41 when I started collecting data and I am now 58. Everyone here has grown so much in their work life and also their personal life. Growth all around is the model and the goal. That is the objective.

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