Orange Business Service, the B2B division of the French telecommunications firm Orange Group, has established a new sales office in addition to the existing customer support activities in the country. The telco has witnessed an increase in technology investment among financial services providers as digital transformation continues.

Customer demand for services is fuelling demand for solutions and driving a closer relationship between commercial banks and ICT service providers. Giogio Heiman, Vice President, Africa at Orange Business Services, says opportunities can only be leveraged if service providers have a local understanding.

"There are many growth opportunities in IT, particularly in high-growth markets like Nigeria and across West Africa, but these can only be harnessed if service providers have a local understanding of strategic, political and cultural sensitivities in a region," he said.

The company believes multinationals are increasing their investment in the West African country and the ecosystem is growing thanks to an improvement in awareness of the advantages of increased collaboration between the financial services community and IT service providers.

Leaders in the field have recognised that, by collaborating with telcos and service providers, a win-win situation can be achieved because new technology means that telecommunications providers are now in a unique position to help retail banks meet the demands of their customers, says Orange.

"Nigeria is one of the most dynamic countries of the region and is expanding fast. It made full sense to extend our presence in order to better serve our customers from inside the country. Nigeria is ramping up its ICT infrastructure and more customers need to be supported in their business developments taking place in the country. We are already serving 75 customers in Nigeria through mainly network services. These customers are multinational companies from Europe & Americas mainly," the company states.

Heiman adds, "We act as a trusted advisor to help our customers compete on an equal footing in what is rapidly becoming a global market. This includes competitive, high-quality IT services delivered in all countries in which they operate."