Contributor: Tech Mistress is not a so young ‘ecentric’ tech loving lady. She likes to share information in funny and witty ways, to inform but yet motivate. You can follow her on twitter – @TechieMistress, and check out her blog – Mumuocrats.
I saw this in the recent news and I was as usual excited and hoped it was going to happen soon. Alternative power generation on a large scale by Omatek computers, the company has been in existence for twenty five years and is the only computer company listed on the Nigerian stock exchange.
This is a huge plus for the power sector in Nigeria in terms of alternative power generation which has been strongly advocated for due to the irregularity of the government owned electricity company, the Power Holdings Company of Nigeria, (PHCN), a disadvantage to budding entrepreneurs and SME owners.
Power can be said to account for failure of start ups to break even as most of them find it difficult to cope due to the neck breaking high costs of diesel and petrol to power their generators.
A couple of years ago there was this huge buzz about solar panels and inverters. It was everywhere in the dailies with too good to be true offers and as usual Nigerians fell for it. Certain unscrupulous elements made money organizing bogus seminars claiming to teach people how to make their own inverters.
At the end, it fizzled out and the era of the inverters ended – or not, basically, because these inverters were too expensive to make and purchase for SMEs and individuals and because it was relatively relying on one form of power that wasn’t readily available. The inverters had to be powered either by electricity from PHCN or generators. The purpose was defeated.
So hopefully with the solar and electric bulb factory in Nigeria owned by Omatek, it will be a smooth ride for business people as one of the products is said to be a solar/inverter/battery hybrid. And with the factory being situated in Nigeria, the huge shipping cost which was often the cause of the high prices of industrial goods will be non-existent.
Omatek computers is owned and managed by Mrs. Florence Seriki, the company was reported to have made a billion naira turnover in 2011; originally a training outfit for bank professionals and their counterparts in oil and gas. The company was once a vendor for Dell, Compaq, IBM, Acer before becoming Microsoft’s premium partner in Africa.
Now Omatek manufactures computers. Their brand includes desktops, notebooks and network servers. These products are also exported to other African countries. – a great feat accomplished by an African company despite the not so favorable terrain.
While preparing this post I noticed something rather peculiar. I am yet to see any of the Omatek notebooks on display in any shop or with anyone. I am particular about the Omatek 8’ and 10’notebooks. Which brings to light the question- if you had a choice, will you pick a made-in-Nigeria computer over a popular foreign brand? If yes, why? (I know all the responses will be yes)
