Adedapo Fabowale is a native of Osun State. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Fabiomatic Solutions, an Information Technology (IT) solution and services company that specialises in website development, mobile application development, digital marketing and IT infrastructure.
Although a graduate of Computer Science from the University of Ilorin in 2012, he proceeded to complete his Masters of Information Technology at the University of Lagos in 2017. He was inspired to start his business after his National Youth Service. He could not get a white collar job early enough and did not want to remain idle. Eventually, he got a job as an IT administrator, which he accepted for corporate experience and communication purposes. Few months later, he resigned and established his company fully in March 2018.
He initially started his business when he built a website for his cousin, who eventually referred a friend. The entrepreneur built a website for the person’s company with N250, 000 and from there he was able to get more referrals and build his clientele. Some of his web projects include Sproutjet Farms, the Palms Shopping Mall, and Herosplus Shipping International, among others. He says that his business growth has not been easy but has been steady and encouraging.
Although he has been able to acquire certificates from trainings and seminars, he is still working on getting more, as he attends various trainings to gain expertise that will help him grow. He says the IT world develops fast with new innovation, which means that every techie person has to be kept in loop with new trends.
Currently, Dapo has five ad-hoc staff members, whom he employs whenever he has a project to work on. He is yet to have enough resources to employ permanent staff members but is working on growing his business to bring in more and permanent employees.
Speaking on some of the major challenges confronting his business, he complains about the problem of electricity, lack of infrastructure and outrageous data charges, which usually gulp a lot of his revenue.
He asks that government should help provide adequate power supply and also pay attention to the ICT sector, as the world becomes increasingly digitalised.
“It will not be fair to leave Nigeria out of the development,” he says.
He advises that the government should, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) work on the outrageous charges by telecommunication companies.
Speaking on his expansion plans, he reveals that he intends to have a very good office space, expand to other major cities in Nigeria and eventually build Nigeria’s Silicon Valley. He also plans to have one of the most sought-after IT solutions and services company in Nigeria and Africa.
His mentor is Mitchell Elegbe, founder of Interswitch, who he tries to emulate while applying his life values, which include honesty, innovation, personal development and hard work.
Advising other entrepreneurs, he says, “Make a conscious effort to develop yourself regularly, ensure you grow your people network and work hard.”
Faminu Gbemi
