The correlation between a nation’s economic development and the caliber of its professionals is unequivocal. Professionals, endowed with the requisite skills and intellect, play a vital role in charting the trajectory of growth and progress in any country. The advanced economies of the world owe a significant part of their success to the expertise and contributions of their professionals.
Nigeria, blessed with an abundance of human and material resources, stands out globally due to the exceptional quality and competence of its professionals. These individuals have consistently demonstrated a drive for excellence, breaking barriers and setting new benchmarks. Their impact is felt both domestically and internationally, earning them numerous accolades and recognition for their contributions to global development.
In this special report, we highlight some of Nigeria’s top professionals who have made remarkable impacts on the economy. Through their expertise, innovation, and dedication, they are shaping the nation’s future and leaving an indelible mark on the global stage. Read on to discover the stories of these exceptional individuals and the industry.

Championing Homegrown AI And Cloud Innovation At Scale

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, Chuma Ukeagu, the Chief Executive Officer of Snapnet Solutions, has played a pivotal role in shaping the continent’s technological future. With a storied career spanning over two and a half decades, he has honed his skills in the finance and telecom sectors, leading high-impact teams to deploy scalable platforms that drive significant business transformation.
Through his visionary leadership, Snapnet Solutions has emerged as a leading force in the technology industry, delivering innovative solutions that meet the needs of a rapidly changing business environment. As the Chief Executive of a cutting-edge Cloud and AI company, he has overseen the remarkable growth of the organization from a modest systems integrator to a multi-product innovation hub. Today, the company’s suite of in-house platforms is powering HR, procurement, meetings, and digital infrastructure across multiple sectors, cementing its position as a leader in the industry.

The company’s innovative solutions, designed to meet the needs of a rapidly changing business environment, are a testament to the power of African ingenuity and technological expertise. Snapnet Solutions’ mission is simple yet ambitious: to power Africa’s transformation through smart, scalable, AI-driven, and human-centered technology.

According to Ukeagu, “Our mission is simple. We power Africa’s transformation through smart, scalable, AI-driven, and human-centered technology. Our vision is to build Africa’s most respected AI and cloud powerhouse, delivering products and platforms that solve real business problems, unlock productivity, and enable sustainable growth. We’re not just delivering services. We are creating ecosystems.”
At the heart of Snapnet Solutions’ success is its bespoke IT solutions development process, which is built on empathy and intelligence. The company doesn’t just write code; it immerses itself in the client’s business logic, constraints, and aspirations. “Everything we build starts with empathy and intelligence. We don’t just write code, we immerse ourselves in the client’s business logic, constraints, and aspirations. We use a discovery-led process involving domain experts, technical architects, and UX designers,” Chuma Ukeagu explained.

Despite the challenges facing the IT industry in Nigeria, including talent flight, infrastructure gaps, and procurement bias, Chuma Ukeagu believes that Nigerian tech professionals remain resilient, creative, and globally competitive. “Only in perception, and that perception is changing fast. Nigerian tech professionals deliver world-class results, often under tougher conditions and with fewer resources. What we lack in capital, we make up for in grit, local insight, and speed,” he said.

As Snapnet Solutions looks to the future, it is focused on scaling its proprietary AI and cloud platforms into full SaaS businesses with multi-country rollout plans. The company is expanding into Ghana and Kenya, and investing heavily in artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and automation. According to Chuma Ukeagu, “The future belongs to platforms, not projects, and that’s our focus. We are expanding into Ghana and Kenya, and investing heavily in artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and automation. Snapnet is no longer just a technology services company. We are building the AI and cloud infrastructure for digital Africa. This is our decade, and we are ready to lead.”

With its innovative solutions, commitment to excellence, and visionary leadership, Snapnet Solutions is poised to continue shaping the technological future of Africa. As the company continues to grow and expand its reach, it is likely to have a lasting impact on the continent’s business landscape, driving sustainable growth and unlocking new opportunities for businesses and individuals alike.

Building a Better Healthcare System: Ultimate Health HMO’s Commitment to Excellence

Otunba Lekan Ewenla, MD & CEO, Ultimate Health Management Services

In the dynamic landscape of Nigeria’s healthcare industry, visionary leaders are driving transformative change. At the helm of Ultimate Health Management Services is a seasoned executive with a proven track record of excellence.

With over three decades of corporate experience, Otunba Lekan Ewenla, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer has developed a profound expertise in healthcare financing, managed care administration, and corporate governance. Since 2004, he has held various executive positions in the health insurance sector, applying global best practices to local initiatives.

Under his stewardship, Ultimate Health HMO has evolved into one of Nigeria’s most respected Health Maintenance Organizations, following its accreditation by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2009. His leadership has been marked by a commitment to enhancing healthcare outcomes, driven by membership in prestigious organizations such as the Chartered Institute of Directors and Africa Health Business.

Throughout his career, he has served on several influential national boards, including the NHIS Governing Council, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) Governing Council, and Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) Governing Board. His focus is on delivering fit-for-purpose solutions to healthcare accessibility, ensuring regulatory compliance, and building sustainable, people-centered healthcare systems that align with Nigerian law.

In this special report, Otunba Lekan Ewenla shares insights into the industry’s notable achievements and Ultimate HMO’s remarkable growth, highlighting the organization’s successful integration of global best practices into its operations. Excerpts…

Ultimate Health Management Services has established itself as a leading HMO firm in Nigeria. What key factors have driven these achievements, and how do you attribute your organisation’s success?

Ultimate Health HMO was accredited by the National Health Insurance Scheme in 2009 and has firmly established itself as a leading Health Maintenance Organization in Nigeria. We attribute this success to our deep knowledge of business development / strategic marketing, outstanding understanding of health risk management, fundamental principles of social health insurance program / managed care / health care financing, the importance of volume of enrolees in health care management and the importance of relationship management with the critical stakeholders. Another fundamental success factor is driving the business with zero level of desperation in taking prospective private sector accounts with low premium to cover the health risk, visible integrity, professionalism, innovation / flexibility, implementation of world class working environment, implementation of competitive reward system for the workforce, effective communication within the organization and regular capacity building program that cut across generic and professional needs for the enhancement of the capacity of all staff.

What measures have you implemented to ensure prompt service delivery and improve the overall quality of healthcare services offered by your organisation?

At Ultimate Health HMO, we treat the enrolees like Kings and Queens while we also recognize the Health Care Facilities – as critical partners. To ensure prompt service delivery to our enrolees, we prioritize prompt settlement of claims for secondary and tertiary services on the public sector social health insurance program as the Health Maintenance Organizations are the risk managers on the program while we replicate the same settlement approach / commitment for the private sector health insurance program as we manage the risk 100 percent on this program. This payment system was deployed intentionally to ensure the provision of qualitative services by the facilities. We also established Providers Network Relationship Management unit in our Medical and Quality Assurance department for the development of comprehensive database of all service providers and professionally band the facilities in accordance with our private health insurance products.

Based on our internal feedback mechanism which has reveals that enrolees spend quality time waiting to access care, we have included Pre-Booking System into the public sector social health insurance program and our private health care bouquet so that our enrolees can notify us of their intention to visit their chosen facilities we thereafter pre-book them to minimize their waiting time. It is heart warming to mention that it takes less than Three minutes to transmit pre-authorization codes to facilities through our Portal and less than Ten minutes through email, SMS and direct calls. We recently introduced dual transmission of pre-authorization codes to the facilities and the concerned enrolees as we have discovered that facilities most times due to crowd and pressure, delay the transmission of requests to the Health Maintenance Organizations. We also use our Portal to transmit self explicit explanation of the claims vetting process to facilities to minimize queries and conflict between us and the Health Care Facilities.

Can you describe your organisation’s process for handling customer complaints and feedback, and how you utilise this information to drive service improvements?

We handle customer complaints and feedback through our Relationship and Client Retention Unit that was established in the Business Development / Marketing department. This unit sole responsibility is to organize regular interactive session with our enrolees to directly listen to complaints and feedback.
However, we utilize this information to immediately address the raised issues by formally communicating with the concerned health care facilities which most times leads to physical meetings between the concerned enrolees, the facilities and us. Depending on the nature and the gravity of the issues, we may formally report the issues to the regulatory agency for notification and attention. Generally, we notify and invite some health care facilities and the representatives of the regulatory agency to the interactive session based on the set standards in the Operational Guidelines of the program. Furthermore, we have circulated all the available channels of communication in our organization to our enrolees for direct contact and resolution of operational issues daily. The communication channels are basically managed by our in-house contact centre personnel who are trained and qualified nurses and our Relationship and Client Retention team that are also trained in emotional intelligence, importance of effective communication in an organization and other specific and generic training modus.

How is the company tackling challenges in the industry?

The challenges are multi-faceted and are dealt with based on the nature and the colour of the challenges. By and large, our deep knowledge of the business, high level of business management skills and our commitment to driving the business with integrity, professionalism, commitment to customer satisfaction, innovation and flexibility and our commitment to work in accordance with the law and the operational guidelines of the business has helped greatly in managing and addressing challenges in the industry.

What are your projections for Ultimate Health Management Services’ growth and portfolio expansions in the years ahead, and what strategic initiatives will drive this growth?

Our growth trajectory is ambitious and yet strategic as it is our intention to set a new agenda for the operations of health insurance in Nigeria. Any moment from now, the management of Ultimate Health HMO would be rolling out a media campaign that will unpack the fundamental components of the law for the benefits of policy makers, employers of labour and the public to further enhance their knowledge on the importance of embracing and enrolling on the health insurance program. It is a known fact that the knowledge base of Nigerians about the benefits and the importance of the program is low. We would use the media campaign to clarify the confusion surrounding the marketing of family health insurance program for corporate organizations by health maintenance organizations as this is a major challenge which has directly impacted negatively on the premiums charged by the health maintenance organizations and the treatment tariffs of the various categories of facilities which has created negative perception about the program, negative perception for the health maintenance organizations. This issue is worrisome as the desperation to grow the business by some of the accredited health maintenance organizations has translated to arbitrary negotiation and acceptance of health insurance premium that are not adequate to cover the health risk that are supposed to be managed which eventually translate to inability to settle medical claims from health care facilities. This challenge has forced the NHIA to introduce the issuance of letter of non-indebtedness by providers to the health maintenance organizations.
In conclusion, we are embarking on strategic media campaign to enhance our brand visibility and create a niche for Ultimate Health HMO in order to drive the expansion and growth of our business.
Launch of specialized health plans and we are currently running our diaspora health insurance coverage where Nigerians abroad are encourage to buy Health insurance for their dependents back home
Deepen digital transformation efforts through integrated mobile platforms, AI-supported analytics, and enhanced enrollee self-service options.
Strengthen partnerships with public institutions and corporate clients to scale service reach.

Driven by our mission to innovate and deliver customized healthcare solutions, and our vision to be the trailblazer in managed care, our focus will remain on redefining healthcare access for millions of Nigerians.

Transforming Skincare: Avila Naturalle’s Ambitious Plans for Global Recognition

Dr. Mrs. Temitope Maiyegun, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Avila Naturalle, boasts an impressive academic and professional background. With a BSc in Accounting from the University of Lagos, she furthered her education with an Executive MBA from Hilton Business School in the United Kingdom and executive training at Harvard Business School. Additionally, she completed a leadership course at Lagos Business School, focusing on “Leading in the 21st Century” in 2021. Dr. Maiyegun is also a distinguished graduate of the Ten Thousand Women program. Her professional affiliations include being a Fellow Member of the Institute of Research of Nigeria and the Institute of Leadership and Manpower. She holds an honorary Doctorate degree from the Institute of Leadership in the United Kingdom and is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Business and International Studies in Switzerland. Outside of her professional pursuits, Dr. Maiyegun is a devoted wife and mother of four, with a passion for reading and dancing in her free time.

Vision and Mission of Avila Naturalle
Avila Naturalle was founded in 2017 with a mission to develop pure natural body care products. After conducting research on the Nigerian skincare industry, we discovered that many products contained harmful chemicals, with 77% of Nigerians using bleaching products, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In response, we created natural alternatives to promote healthier living and reduce skin cancer risks.

Since starting with coconut oil, we’ve expanded our product line to over 400 items, helping millions of Nigerians transition from chemical-based products. Our customer base is balanced, with 51% women and 49% men.

Our business comprises three main divisions: Water and Drinks- We offer premium table water and flavored drinks, including Rosel, a best-seller that has sold over 5-6 million pieces in a few years that we launched it and our water is now a household water in Nigeria, especially in Lagos. Food Division- This division includes 90 products, such as teas, spices, custard, cocoa drinks, oats and natural supplements made from fruits. And our Fashion Brands is basically for export.

We operate five factories in Lagos and a farm outside the city, supporting our commitment to natural ingredients and sustainability.

Challenges in The Industry
Avila Naturalle operates a structured business model that maintains control over its supply chain from manufacturing to distribution. The company tracks product movement and provides high-level customer service through systemic customer relations. Products are sold exclusively through authorized distributors and dealers to ensure product integrity and prevent unauthorized sales, enabling effective monitoring and control of business operations.

Comparing Nigerian Professionals with their Foreign Counterparts
At Avila, we prioritize research and development to ensure the quality and authenticity of our products. Through our travels and sampling of products from various countries, we’ve discovered that many products often contain synthetic ingredients, fragrances, or flavors rather than the actual ingredients claimed on the label. Given that Africa is a major source of natural raw materials, we trust the quality of our products here, particularly in our niche.

Our benchmarking process involves comparing parameters and raw materials metrics, which has shown that our products consistently outperform others in terms of using real active ingredients. In contrast, many other products rely on artificial coloring. We believe that standardization and quality control are crucial in Nigeria, and organizations like NAFDAC and SON are working to achieve this.

By ensuring that only genuine products are available on the market, we can better protect consumers. As a result, we prefer to use products from Nigeria that we know and trust, rather than unfamiliar brands. Our experience with international markets has shown that even products labeled as “body butter” may contain only a small percentage of the actual ingredient, whereas our products are made with real and authentic ingredients.

Feedbacks from Customers
We have an active Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that enables customers to reach us at any time. Our dedicated team of five representatives attends to customer inquiries and messages, often extending into the evening and night. We also maintain a comprehensive database to track customer feedback, which informs our decision-making process and drives improvements based on their reviews and suggestions.

Managing Your Homes, Business and Social Life
Achieving a harmonious balance between work and family life requires intentionality. It’s essential to prioritize and set boundaries, allocating time and attention accordingly. I’ve learned to differentiate between work and family time, ensuring I’m fully present and engaged in each domain. When it’s time to work, I focus on delivering quality results, and when it’s time to spend with my family, I’m committed to being there for them.

By planning my time effectively, I’m able to manage the demands of my business and social life while nurturing my relationships with my children and husband. This approach has been a part of my life even before starting my business. When I’m at work, I’m fully dedicated, and when I’m at home, I prioritize quality time with my family, staying involved in my children’s lives, knowing their friends, and participating in their school activities.

Future of Avila Naturalle
Avila Naturalle aims to become a globally recognized brand with a presence in at least 5 countries, including the US, UK, Europe, and Africa. The company plans to establish a minimum of 10 stores across these regions in the short term and compete with major cosmetic brands worldwide. Avila’s long-term goal is to be the most trusted natural skincare brand, synonymous with skincare in Africa, and make a lasting impact in the industry.