Zoho, the global technology company, has reported a remarkable 50% growth in Nigeria for the year 2022. The company unveiled this information during Zoholics Nigeria, its annual user conference held in Lagos.
As part of its commitment to supporting startups, Zoho has also collaborated with #StartupSouth, an organization dedicated to the development of startups in South and South-East Nigeria.
Zoho has been a key player in the digital transformation of Nigerian businesses, offering unified platforms to enhance efficiency and resilience in challenging market conditions.
The company’s growth in Nigeria has been driven by the adoption of Zoho One, the operating system for business, and Zoho Workplace, a unified enterprise collaboration platform. Other popular products include Zoho CRM Plus, Zoho Books, and Zoho Desk.
Ali Shabdar, Regional Director, MEA, Zoho, highlighted, “Our growth is a direct result of Nigerian businesses embracing cloud technology, especially unified platforms, to digitally transform and build resilience to adapt to challenging market conditions. Zoho’s unified technology stack, built from the ground up, allows us to meet such transformation needs of businesses with robust solutions that deliver consistently seamless user experiences at unbeatable value,”
Zoho’s growth in Nigeria is primarily driven by adoption of Zoho One, the operating system for business, and Zoho Workplace, a unified enterprise collaboration platform. Additionally, Zoho CRM Plus (unified customer experience platform), Zoho Books (accounting software), and Zoho Desk (helpdesk software) are the other top-selling products in the country. Zoho also grew its partner network by 22% and more than doubled its employee count in 2022 in Nigeria to reinforce its local presence and better serve the customers.
Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria, emphasized the importance of Zoho’s offerings in Naira, he said: “Our transnational localism strategy of being locally rooted while staying globally connected is also key to our growth in Nigeria as we are able to serve our customers directly with our locally hired teams in Lagos. Zoho is also one of the few vendors in Nigeria today that continues to provide their offerings in Naira, thereby protecting businesses from the fluctuating dollar rates, and ensuring that enterprise technology remains accessible to businesses of all sizes. Our partnership with #StartupSouth, and the special offer on Zoho Contracts, are further steps that underscore our commitment to serve the business community in the region.”
Partnership with #StartupSouth
Zoho’s partnership with #StartupSouth, through its Zoho for Startups programme, aims to empower startups associated with #StartupSouth with Zoho’s comprehensive tech solutions. Startups in the program will receive Zoho Wallet credits worth ₦470,000, which can be used to purchase or upgrade any of Zoho’s 55+ products over 360 days. The partnership includes training to help startups leverage Zoho’s products for their growth and scalability.
Uche Aniche, Convener, #StartupSouth, expressed excitement about the partnership, stating, “One of #StartupSouth’s goals is to provide startups associated with us easy access to comprehensive tech solutions that offer great value, are easy to use, and have the capability to grow with the businesses as they scale. We are happy to partner with Zoho, as they offer a wide range of business apps that can empower startups to quickly digitalise most of their business areas in one go, and streamline and unify their operations for better management and holistic visibility. With this partnership with Zoho, we are looking forward to helping budding businesses by removing access barrier to enterprise technology.”
“Through the Zoho for Startups programme, we intend to onboard as many startups as we can, and be a part of their entrepreneurial journey right from the start. Keeping in mind Zoho’s vision and mission on ‘serving the underserved’, we carefully choose whom we collaborate with. I am glad to be partnering with #StartupSouth whose passion and focus on supporting the startups is very much in sync with the ethos of our programme. Nigeria is one of the hotbeds in Africa for entrepreneurs to thrive and innovate,” said Kuppulakshmi Krishnamoorthy, Global Head, Zoho for Startups.
Zoho Contracts to Support NDPL Compliance
Zoho also announced the provision of its contract management solution, Zoho Contracts, free for three months to aid businesses in adhering to the Nigeria Data Protection Law (NDPL). NDPL mandates businesses to ensure contracts include provisions for data security and breach notifications. Non-compliance may result in a fine of up to ₦10 million or 2% of annual gross revenue.
Zoho Contracts allows businesses to create NDPL-compliant contract templates, use analytics to identify existing contracts with specific clauses, anonymize counterparty data on request, and track contractual obligations with reminder alerts.
