MICROSOFT Nigeria rakes N25.1b locally in 5yrs

MICROSOFT Nigeria has raked in over $18.6 million, about N25.1 billion at the end of business year 2004, according to the Country Manager, Mr. Gerald Ilukwe.

He disclosed this in a remark to mark the firm’s fifth year of exploring the nation’s market in Lagos.“… From a modest $3.1 million as revenue in 2000 when it (Microsoft) started operations in Nigeria, the company posted six times the initial figure by the close of business last year,” he said.

Mr. Ilukwe also said that the leading software proprietor has had a successful experience so far in the country, mostly in the area of the ability to achieve its core value of being a local company.

Nigeria, he said, has joined Russia in becoming one of the fastest growing establishments within the Microsoft Corporation, even as the firm has been consistent in its growth to about 40 per cent year after year since 2004.

In this capacity as local player, he said, the company has offered services that were significantly developed in various aspects of the larger Information Technology field “thereby contributing to the overall success of its clientele and the public”.

Stressing that within the last five years, we have tried to make Microsoft a local company in Nigeria; to make sure that what we are selling is relevant to our local environment,” the country manager asserted.

While chronicling the achievements of the company in Nigeria, he said it has added value to the government by being a key partner in driving the Federal Government Information Technology policies, adding that the company has played the leadership role in supporting initiatives that are favourable to the country.

He further said the anniversary which has ‘Celebrating the Best of Nigeria,’ as theme, would be a celebrated in full scale with various aspects of Nigeria that have made the achievement possible and for international community attraction.

“We will be aligning our story to similar success stories in unrelated fields like sports and music, especially in fulfilling Microsoft’s global geo-expansion policy” he said.

The celebration, he said, has been scheduled for September 29 and would be hosted by the Vice President EMEA and Regional Director MEA, Microsoft Corporation, Mr. Ali Faramawy.