Netcompany-Intrasoft is Using its Innovative Solutions to Ride on the Digital Transformation Wave Across the Globe

CIO Africa caught up with Wambui Mbesa, the CEO of the Netcompany-Intrasoft East Africa subsidiary, in an exclusive interview. She shared that the company has a lot planned out for the continent especially because of the promise of the continent.

As an emerging European IT leader, Netcompany-Intrasoft, is expected to compete against some of the global tech giants, with its presence across the region. Wambui says that the group will now be targeting markets and sectors across the region, taking advantage of the unique digitalization opportunities that are emerging throughout the enterprise and public sectors.

Here is what Wambui Mbesa had to share;

Kindly introduce yourself and what you do at Netcompany-Intrasoft:

My name is Wambui Mbesa. I am the CEO of the Netcompany-Intrasoft East Africa subsidiary, with the honour and pleasure of leading a dynamic group of talented professionals in delivering IT solutions and services to our customers. My experience spans 24+ years in the technology sector, either as an industry entrepreneur or an executive in various technology companies. Over the past 7 years, I have been overseeing Netcompany-Intrasoft East Africa operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Zambia creating value in both public and enterprise sectors in the region.

You have rebranded from Intrasoft to Netcompany-Intrasoft, what has been the inspiration behind that?

Denmark-based Netcompany Group, a pure play next generation IT services company, acquired INTRASOFT International SA in November 2021, in a move that created a European IT leader in-the-making, with a total employee count of over 6,500+ and with a very broad reference list in the public and enterprise sectors. The new name, logo and overall brand identity reflects the company’s new positioning and vision in the technology sector, having as a main purpose to build strong sustainable societies through digitization.

After the rebrand, do you plan to also expand to other markets? How many countries are you currently in?

The Company’s new name, updated identity and renewed purpose, vision and mission are the starting points for a new era of growth as part of the Netcompany Group.

The complementarities between INTRASOFT and Netcompany are a strong competitive advantage for the new strong player, with combined expertise across the EU Institutions, the Public sector and large market verticals such as Utilities, Banking and Telcos. INTRASOFT’s product suite in the areas of Taxation, Customs and Social Security in combination with Netcompany’s Govtech platform, tried and tested in some of the most advanced digital markets, are creating synergies that go far beyond the sum of the two and will be leveraged in emerging opportunities across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

What are the opportunities you want to take with the rebrand? Any new opportunities in the tech industry?

Netcompany-Intrasoft, building on its 26-year experience, is already using its strategic positioning and innovative solutions to take advantage of the digital transformation wave across the globe. Being part of the Netcompany Group, and given that the two companies, as mentioned, operate almost completely complementary on a geographical and customer basis, the intention is to focus on the up-selling and cross-selling of combined products, platforms and services and the strengthening of our investments for the public and private sector, which concern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In your opinion, is Africa at the right place in terms of tech development/advancement?

Africa is the Cradle of Humankind and I dare say that it is the place where great technological advancement is happening, to respond to Africa’s unique development challenges. The continent has the youngest talented population in the world, from Kenya in the East to Nigeria in the West, Egypt in the North and South Africa in the South, and it’s worth mentioning that many innovative projects and concepts have taken place in Africa during the last 15 years including “MPESA”. Africa is now well positioned more than ever, to play a great role in the globe from a tech perspective. Revolutionary ideas, such as “Mpesa” have changed peoples’ lives ensuring financial inclusion. Governments are playing their role in ensuring that the right IT infrastructure is in place for the digital era. Kenya is known as the Silicon Savannah for a reason – it is the cradle of great innovation. Africa is also increasingly becoming the hub for global technology giants who are taking advantage of the tech talent availability to set up development centers resourced locally.

What can be done to accelerate Digital Transformation in Africa and/or improve the continent’s tech growth?

Digital transformation can be accelerated through increased smartphone adoption and ubiquitous availability of the necessary infrastructure across the continent. According to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) in a 2021 survey, Sub-Saharan Africa mobile subscriber penetration was 46% and projected to grow to 50% by 2025, while smartphone adoption which is at 64% is projected to grow to 75% by the same year. Affordability of the phone device and connectivity costs also needs to drop significantly to allow for democratization and proliferation of the mobile devices and to ensure that all can be connected anywhere through their devices in order to promote equitable participation in the digital economy.

The same GSMA report gives the regions’ technology mix for mobile networks generation as 2G (26%), 3G (57%), 4G (16%) and 5G (1%). The projection is that this will not change much by 2025, with a switch from 2G to 4G. Governments and private entities (telcos) must invest aggressively in building the necessary infrastructure for the digital economy.

Finally, there should also be more initiative to support development and adoption of digital solutions that cater to local challenges; this can be through financial support of local startups which provide solutions to unique African challenges by ensuring more locally developed Applications are published within the various App stores and adoption of such solutions. It goes without saying that more focus should be given to security and data integrity of digital solutions availed as this will enhance trust among the targeted users and increased adoption and usage.

What else is Netcompany-Intrasoft planning for the year, after the rebrand?

An emerging European IT leader, Netcompany-Intrasoft, is expected to compete against some of the global tech giants, with its presence across the continent and beyond. The Group will now be targeting markets and sectors across the region, taking advantage of the unique digitalization opportunities that are emerging throughout the enterprise and public sectors for the provision of digital services to customers, governments and their citizens and businesses alike. The combination of Netcompany-Intrasoft strong brand and already existing customer base in the financial services, tax and customs, social security, health insurance and compliance space, places us in a unique position to create great value in Africa.