Ajulo: Harnessing Youths’ Technological Skills for Innovation

Nelson Ajulo is the Chief Executive Officer of Zarttech, a social-driven software and technology consultancy company fostering uniform and strategic relationships between Africa and the world. He explained to Funmi Ogundare, in this interview, why his organisation is passionate about empowering the youths in the tech industry and how its academy arm has been able to harness their skills to lead innovations in the face of improvement in technology

The decision to compete, innovate and change the global landscape for good is a no-brainer for Zarttech, a social-driven software and technology consultancy company fostering uniform and strategic relationships across multiple continents such as America, Europe, South and North America. The organisation’s academy, Zarttalent, aims to provoke technological innovation among talented youths and challenge them to compete globally.

The Chief Executive Officer of Zarttech, Nelson Ajulo, recalled that one of the things the organisation set out to do when it commenced operations four years ago was to connect Nigeria and African talents with global work opportunities and increase the efficiency of the industrial economy in Nigeria.

He stated that if the youths are well positioned and equipped with skills such as software development, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence, etc., that meet the needs of the global economy, they can easily tap into opportunities.

“That is what we will be working towards, especially because the youths are much more inclined towards technologies, so we can easily teach anyone that has analytical skills, software development, cybersecurity, data Analytics, etc. Through this, they can become senior developers and engineers, and those who have the skills can also easily tap into global or international opportunities as well,” he said. 

With 60 per cent of the almost 200 million Nigerians over 25 years old, the CEO noted that human capital is a significant part of the economy that will position the country for the future. 

“Nigeria has a population of 200 million, and an average Nigerian is entrepreneurial and can grow a huge organisation if the infrastructure and financial support is there. Unfortunately, we don’t have the ease of doing business and infrastructure that will help an entrepreneurial mindset,” Ajulo stated. “However, with Zarttech, our vision is to accommodate these great minds, Nigerians and Africans with great expertise, to come together to build and showcase innovation and possibilities to the rest of the world in a different way.”

He added, “It is no better time than now, particularly in the face of artificial intelligence and technology. It is not rocket science. We have a huge amount of youths and individuals that can compete, innovate and change the whole global landscape for good.”

Ajulo said quite a number of youths had been empowered and are now working with global companies through Zarttech Academy, adding that the empowered group also train the next generation in Nigeria.

He said, “That is where we have Zartech Academy, which is our foundation where we train young Nigerians in tech knowledge based on the skills that are vital and needed in the international marketplace and much more.”

He expressed concern that some of the courses taught in Nigerian universities no longer align with the global economy, saying that since there has been a shift from analogue to digital, youths should begin to look at skills that will increase expectations and make them globally competitive. 

“Your education has to be vital to economic operations. If you could go to a university and learn a skill that the economy does not need to operate, that means that skill is useless,” Ajulo noted. “What we see in Nigeria are skills that are no longer vital to the global economy. Your recognised skills have to align with the international marketplace that will actually increase expectations and you become competitive.”

Ajulo explained that this “is what we also try to showcase in the academy that if we train people within a period of four of five months, and they become employable after one year of investment of their time, they are able to earn something much more than somebody who has gone to the university and invest four years of their life and have to work for six, eight or 10 years for a salary.” 

He stated that the academy also dedicates a 30 per cent allocation to women, which includes a free scholarship for them, adding that they are encouraged more to participate in the technology skill programme aimed at bridging the gender gap and boosting the economy.

Ajulo stressed the need for tech companies to include women in their leadership positions, noting that such a move is economically necessary because, often, they are more productive than their male counterparts. 

“It will be a shame if organisations are not increasing female leadership. Definitely, they will miss out on inclusion because they will not be able to perform as much especially with the new generation now,” Ajulo explained. “They are becoming more aware of this kind of situation, and they want to patronise companies that are much more inclusive. More than ever before, it is an economic necessity for companies to become inclusive.”

Asked how many youths have benefited from the organisation’s impact in the last four years, the CEO stated, “We have provided almost more than 350 employment opportunities to organisations. We are also hoping to train 200 youths per year through our foundation. We are hoping that in the next five years, we are able to create 5,000 jobs and train 2,500 youths. We also want to make sure that the top 15 per cent of these youths get employment right after this training.” 

He described coding as a universal language in software development, saying that it is an advantage to Nigerian youths as they can begin to leverage it in the right direction that will minimise criminal tendencies.

Ajulo stated, “In terms of software development, there are amazing developers, and we have been working with great, amazing minds from different parts of Nigeria and other African countries as well. There are super creative entrepreneurs. Sometimes, when it comes to software development in the US, they don’t really think about the business benefits. They just want to code. They are excited about how the gadget works. 

“However, technology enables business. So being able to think about the business logic is quite important, and code is important, and that is where Nigeria becomes very interesting because as Nigerians are thinking about the logic or the practicality of the code, they are also thinking about the business benefit. 

“That makes the overall innovation better. Companies that are artificial intelligence-enabled are solution platforms that will take them maybe four, five, or six years to build. But we have been able to see the interface and build it in one single solution,” Ajulo pointed out. “Well, we made a very complicated field into a no-brainer kind of simple interface, and that’s the beauty of Nigerians and the way they think, in general, with a different kind of intelligence, which I believe that we are not yet leveraging in the right ways. If we leverage it in the right direction towards innovative solutions, we can minimise crime.”

On the future of technology and entrepreneurship and how his organisation can help in shaping these skills, Ajulo stated that there is a dedicated fund to invest in local startups that are heavy in software in Nigeria and Africa and that it plans to support them in building technology and connecting them to international markets that will enhance their expansion.

He disclosed that the firm had dedicated a fund “where we can invest” in local startups in Nigeria. 

“We can invest between €50,000 and €500,000 in companies that are very software-heavy in Nigeria and Africa as well. And we can also support them with building technology and connecting international markets that can actually help these companies to expand beyond the local markets in Nigeria,” said Ajulo. “We have got a lot of international connections, and we are hoping that more youths in Nigeria can be aware of these opportunities so that we can share knowledge and ensure their rapid growth overall.”

He recalled that his organisation launched an e-commerce solution last month, KOKO, that automatically gives bank accounts to local SMEs and individuals so they can start their businesses and find customers on the platform. 

Ajulo stated, “For instance, if you want to start a personal trainer business or online medication services, you can go on our platform and get a bank account, and you also get to manage your own team on this platform. You can find customers and input your services. It will enable entrepreneurship and stimulate the economy even better.”

He described diversity and inclusion as the backbone of what the organisation does, saying that it is the reason they are bringing Africa to the global front regarding technology.

Ajulo said, “I remembered that when we started, a lot of people didn’t know that there was internet in Nigeria or Africa, and a lot of ridiculous questions were asked. All we can do is to educate people about the possibilities. So, indeed, diversity and inclusion are at the backbone of what we do. More than ever before, it is also very Important because when you have very diverse organisations and you also have different views.

“Every culture and humans have their strength or weakness. When you have different kinds of people from different backgrounds with different wealth of experience and a different way of thinking, you can make an increasingly amazing difference. Even from research, organisations that are quite diverse and inclusive have been seen to flourish increasingly better. I know that it’s something that everybody that comes to our office usually say we are still diversifing all over the place, and I will also say that is the secret of our success because we want to scale up.

“Another secret of our success is also the fact that we have people from different backgrounds, different thinking, and bringing up different knowledge together, which actually help us to create this catalyst that propels us to where we are now as an organisation.”