by Sola Akingbade, MD of Realyst Nigeria
The elections this year in Nigeria have ushered in an optimism that the country hasn’t seen for a very long time. The victory of the All Progressives Congress has a number of historically significant features for Nigeria – not least of which is the fact that it is the first truly democratic election since independence, and also because it is the first time that a political party has unseated the governing party peacefully with no military take-over.
The business world is encouraged by the ideals of the new regime, in particular those dealing with curbing corruption and fraud. Some states are already running programmes to put governance processes in place and this will now be incorporated at federal government level and national legislature. This is the perfect time for a company like Realyst to enter the Nigerian market. The awareness of the crucial role that contract management plays will grow as regulation improves and businesses understand the implications of poorly managed contracts.
The experience and knowledge that Realyst incorporates into the product suite places it solidly as a leader in this space as well as the company’s local presence. Realyst’s largest shareholder, Fasyl, holds the software development skills for the contract management software in West Africa, while the bulk of the consultation and implementation skills are based in South Africa. Rotational skills transfer happens on a regular basis though, so support is conducted onsite when necessary.
A significant number of government officials are aware of contract management as a discipline and of its benefits in centralized record keeping. Awareness is also growing in terms of the importance of correctly drafting contracts in the first place, not only from a governance perspective, but also to protect government’s own interests. We intend to do more to influence change of policy and we will be working with government to develop programs around contract management implementation and tightening contract control.