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Founded in 1985 as a computer maintenance outfit, the company has grown to become one of the most valuable tech firms in Nigeria. Shares in Chams are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange– a fact that’s true of only a few other tech companies in Africa’s largest economy. Its fortunes were helped early on by the background and experience of its founder, Demola Aladekomo. He graduated from the University of Ife in (now Obafemi Awolowo University) 1982 with a degree in computer engineering. He also earned an MBA from the University of Lagos in 1984. Between 1991 and 1992, he served as Chief Executive Programmer at the Lagos Business School. As one of Nigeria’s oldest technology firms, Chams boasts landing many firsts in the country’s tech scene. It deployed Nigeria’s first Wide Area Network (WAN) on personal computers and was responsible for introducing its first e-payment card (Valucard) in association with Visa. Today, Chams is well known as a facilitator of many of Nigeria’s government-driven ID initiatives. The firm was in charge of the deployment of the Central Bank’s BVN program across the country. It also takes on the front end aspect of the NIMC’s national identity card project.
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Chams Plc has handled identification and verification for INEC, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the National Pension Commission (PenCOM), Nigerian Customs, and the Nigerian Air Force. Others are the Adamawa, Anambra, Benue, Osun, and Ogun State Governments, and the Head of Service of the Federation. It also provides ATMs, POS Terminal Services, transaction switching, and mobile payment solutions for several indigenous banks. Chams has an identity, credit, and credential confirmation platform, called ConfirmMe. It’s used by financial institutions regulators, academic institutions, and government regulators to verify the identity and credentials of individuals, including academic and professional qualifications, BVN, marital status, birth and death statuses, etc. There’s also an e-voting system, VOTA, which makes it easy for organizations to conduct elections. Chams Plc anticipates a general switch to electronic voting and believes this product will come in handy for both private and public sector users. The company has won several awards for developing these technologies. They include the Leadership award for ICT Company of the year (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012); Total Solution Company of the Year at the 2008 National ICT Merit Awards; and the National Merit Award for ICT Company of the Year (2008), among others. Featured Image Source: Leadership Newspaper
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