Nigeria’s OEMs form new body to champion local content growth

Bode Pedro, Chief Executive Officer of VEDA Technologies

Five leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in Nigeria have come together to form a body that would further strengthen local content advocacy in the country.
According to the OEMs, which included BRIAN Integrated Systems, BETA Computers, OMATEK computers, VEDA Technologies and ZINOX Technologies, formed a body known as Certified Computer Manufacturers of Nigeria (CCMON).

The coordinator of CCMON, Bode Pedro, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of VEDA Technologies, said that the coming together of the firms have been in the pipeline for quite some time but that the right time has come for it, especially now that there is renewed impetus from the government towards the support and growth of local content in ICT.

The main objectives of CCMON, according to Pedro, included working with all relevant stakeholders to grow the capacity of Nigeria computer manufacturers that will generate increased employment, strengthening the Naira and ensure the growth of local economy.

In meeting these objectives, the group pledged to work closely with the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Office for Nigerian Content in Information Technology (ONC), the Ministry of Communications and the office of the Vice President (VP) that heads the nation’s economic team to ensure that the laudable objectives of the government Guidelines on local content adoption in ICT is properly implemented to the benefit of the country.

It will be recalled that the drive to encourage and support local manufacturers of computers started back in 2002 when the then president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, through the office of the Secretary of the Government, issued a circular dated March 7th, 2002, to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, that only locally manufactured computers, certified to be of acceptable quality standard should be patronized by all federal establishments.

This directive was followed up during the last government with the establishment of the ONC to drive this process deeper to ensure increased implementation monitoring, compliance and value addition to all stakeholders, especially the MDAs who are the major consumers whose satisfaction are uppermost in the whole value chain.

With the coming of CCMON, it is now expected that the manufactures will have a unified platform to drive their operations to the highest international quality standards that will lead to increased capacity to meet local demand and export to other African countries.