Covid-19 causes decade worth of progress in tech, says Mmobuosi

The Covid-19 pandemic may be causing more positive disruption in the technology space while creating an acceleration of remote working, and a rapid focus on evaluating and de-risking end-to-end value chain, Tingo International Holdings Inc said on Monday.

Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian UK and US-based firm, Dozy Mmobuosi, noted that the development could have caused a decade worth of progress in the sector though it affected raw materials supply and caused an inflationary risk on products.

On one hand, Mmobuosi stated that the general paralysis and uncertainty occasioned by the development has seen a slowdown in sales and a more difficult environment to hire new staff or close funding rounds but the situation echoes Nigeria’s dependency on the digital world.

To him, the pandemic highlighted the critical need for the best medical cover, adding that with the US struggling to cope with the number of cases and the dramatic rise in the cost of medical insurance policies, the US branch of the company has seen an enormous surge in the demand for Tingo Health Care policies.

“These policies give Nigerian both at home or in the diaspora the peace of mind that should our country experience a spike in cases their loved ones are covered and will be taken care of by the best doctors in the country,” Mmobuosi said.

Speaking on the development in agrictech, he noted that through Nwassa, the company’s digital agro platform, there was initially lower demand for agriculture inputs at the beginning of the pandemic, stressing that the hard work of the country’s government has pushed demand for inputs and agro output to pre-pandemic levels.

“We have seen a decade’s worth of progression in six months and I have taken to saying that 2030 happened a decade early. We are making great strides in testing and vaccination of deadly diseases and learning more about what customers really want, need and expect from digital service providers.

“We have also seen a spike in the rate of adoption of technology and implementation of digital strategies. These will only serve to make our lives better and our companies more efficient and greener. I am very excited for what is to come in all areas of technology and will continue to be a driving force behind technological innovation and adoption in Nigeria,” Mmobuosi stated.

He said the prevailing situation creates an opportunity for not only Nigeria but the whole of Africa to show the deep pool of talent across the continent.

That according to him, we help the continent compete on the global stage, noting that Africa has some of the sharpest minds, greatest innovators, thinkers and doers in the world.

Mmobuosi said: “We need to encourage the next generation of leaders to look at the challenges being faced in Africa and across the globe and to develop innovative strategies and products to deal with them.”