As the CEO of Internet Solutions Nigeria Limited, Harb Cynthia Ige is responsible for running all facets of the business. Cynthia has a proven executive management track record in management, operations, digital transformation, and over 10 years of experience driving sales growth in the technology industry.
Before her appointment as the CEO in 2020, Cynthia served as the Chief Operating Officer and Business Development Manager at ISN respectively. As a dynamic leader, she led the transformation into an enterprise-focused company while growing sales year over year.
Driven by Cynthia’s vision of customer satisfaction and inspired by the possibilities in the tech world, ISN has continued to evolve over time, yielding to customer’s needs. “When our customers are happy, only then are we truly in business”, based on this philosophy, as well as her background in management, she has built her mission around shaping the concept of business performance around continuous service improvement.
As a believer in positive internal change to foster improved performance, and the tenets that “We are nothing without our people”, Cynthia’s leadership style, visionary capability and compassionate demeanor enabled her to both retain and engage employees during the period of substantial corporate change.
With an exemplary performance history, Cynthia is committed to driving commercial growth while maintaining her focus on customer satisfaction and passion for innovation.
Certifications she has includes: Masters in Business Administration from the University of South Wales UK, BSc. International Relations from Igbinedion University, Senior Management Professional – Lagos Business School, Leading with Finance – Harvard Business School and member of Project Management Institute (PMI).
Take us through memories of your childhood
Growing up as a product from a broken home from age 5, with parents who were not in talking terms, in the home of the less privileged one, with glitz and glamour at the other end, it wasn’t fun. I am one of those kids that experienced psychological and emotional abuse as a child. But like the saying, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”, to a large extent, the choices I made, the level of determination and commitment to have it better, the drive to be an inspiration to those with similar stories, were born out of my childhood experience and this shaped who I am today.
What is ISN into and have you fulfilled your goals so far?
ISN was established in 1997 with the sole aim of providing connectivity solutions in Nigeria, utilising the best available technology. As one of the foremost ISP’s in Nigeria, we have provided internet and connectivity services to clients across the country through the dial-up days, VSAT, broadband radio and fiber. We have evolved through different phases of technological advancements, not just to provide connectivity, but enable businesses with innovative solutions and security in the cyber space. Understanding the needs of our clients, our mission is to empower our clients with a host of services using cutting edge technological innovations to achieve their goals.
We unlock potentials for our B2B and B2C clients using our comprehensive portfolio of intelligent technology and services, as well as our extraordinary team members who work tirelessly to help create smarter businesses and deliver value to our clients. Our team of experts design solutions that help our clients become more efficient and agile. ISN’s commitment is to always exceed expectation, and this culture guides our business strategy which is centred around customer satisfaction. Our portfolio of connectivity solutions, cyber security, managed services, and, digital solutions – in partnership with our world-class strategic partners, enables us to give our clients the power to do more, especially in this fast paced business environment.
What are the challenges you are experiencing as a company?
One of the major constraints we experience is the high cost of operations, vide access to forex, low availability of power, (as you have to rely mostly on diesel-powered generators/Solar for a 24/7 operations) and high cost of importation. Network infrastructure is capital intensive and usually requires huge, clean power for its operations, whether via the public utility or privately owned diesel generators. Infrastructure deficit in Nigeria is a challenge to us as a company, getting access to constant electricity and good power supply has impacted us negatively over time. Also, we face challenges importing critical equipment in-country. The Federal Government’s policy on forex has adversely affected telecoms companies.
In addition, the impact of devaluation of naira to the dollar has been felt by most telecoms operators since most of our revenues are in Naira with expenses in foreign currencies. We currently import all our equipment from outside the country and with the forex constraint; we have had to almost double what we were spending on equipment two years ago. There is global uncertainty around economic growth. More so, When you are unsure of the direction that the entire economy is going to take in Nigeria, the effect of the continued devaluation of Naira, upcoming elections and security challenges in the country, it makes business planning and strategy development challenging and risky in a disruptive environment.
What can the Nigerian government and private organisations do to better improve the sector?
The Federal Government should provide the best enabling environment that encourages additional investment in telecommunications infrastructure as essential to economic growth, as adequate infrastructure contributes to the efficient operation of the sector. There is the need for enabling policies as well, to drive the diversification from an oil-dependent economy to a service-focused one. Policies such as pioneer status for indigenous operators, tax exemptions, priority access to forex will go a long way to help Nigeria’s IT operators, and get us ready for the IT revolution that is in progress.
What are your responsibilities as the CEO of Internet Solutions Nigeria Limited?
The role entails managing the overall operations of Internet Solutions Nigeria Limited, including the vision, mission, direction and overall strategy. This involves delegating and directing, driving profitability, managing company organisational structure and culture, strategy development, communicating with the board, public relations, as well as ensuring and protecting the interest of all stakeholders of the business.
How are you carrying out your responsibilities?
Saddled with the responsibility of ensuring we achieve success as a business, it essentially requires you drop the zeal of being a boss and wear the cap of a servant leader. The most important tool for efficiently carrying out my responsibility is communication, communicating the vision and mission, so when you give direction and come up with strategies, it is a team effort with buy-in from all stakeholders. Being familiar with the dynamics of the company’s industry, has aided the management of the business and reflected in our ability to grow market share, reduce costs, and even expand into new markets.
Tell us about digital transformations, why it cannot be ignored and its benefits
Digital transformation is the use of digital technology to capture all areas of a business leading to a change in operations and value delivery to customers. Basically, re-imaging of business in the digital age. It’s about leveraging cutting-edge technologies to build a business that can move with true agility in response to the breakneck pace at which markets are changing.
Executives in virtually every industry are facing a turning point with every passing year, I think the pandemic propelled an existing reality, it has become clear that many traditional business processes are becoming irrelevant or antiquated. The refinement and advancement of technologies such as cloud computing, blockchain, AI, and the Internet-of-Things have set the stage for radical changes in businesses, regardless of the sector. We will undoubtedly continue to see a tremendous divide between those who digitally transform their organisations early and those lagging behind. These days, deploying the right technology and tools is essential to success. For example, having an ERP like Odoo, the benefits can’t be over emphasized, especially for efficiency, this includes; full visibility of the business, enhanced data collection, stronger resource management, data-driven customer insights, a better customer experience, encourages digital culture (with improved collaboration), increased profits, increased agility, improved productivity.
Read also: Olajumoke Aleoke-Malachi, Lead, People and Culture
How can sales growth be driven in the technology industry and how can the growth be measured?
Driving sales growth in a digital era requires that you develop business niches, improve customer base through aggressive marketing and informed data. To propel sales growth in the IT industry, you need to add value. What are the value propositions? What are the existing problems or challenges identified?, how can you solve them?.
On the other hand, you need to leverage enabling tools to grow and measure. Collecting and organising actionable, understandable customer data can be a time-consuming process, but thanks to improved tools like CRM (Customer Relationship management), smart businesses are able to use relevant, targeted content that improves sales performance and measurability by leveraging data. The more you know about your customers, the better you’ll be able to provide customized experiences, and the more you can drive sales growth. This tool categorizes and quantifies vast amounts of customer information that sales teams can easily reference for future usage. CRM also enhances communication and efficiency by aiding cross-departmental communication and information gathering within the organization. Technology has indeed simplified and automated an array of processes that drives productivity.
How did you lead the transformation into an enterprise-focused company while growing sales year over year?
As a leader, it’s necessary to explore the possibility of failure in strategy implementation. The negative prospect is not because the proposition won’t be able to solve a technological or strategic problem, but because of intractable human responses associated with change. Knowing this helps you strategise better in response to issues such as fear, ingrained habits, incrementalism, driving adoption, building the right skill set, and other business risks. The radical steps for me are simple; envisioning the possibility, breaking down the resistance, and prototyping the future. However, every step of the way, effective communication is required to overcome people’s inability to imagine or react to what doesn’t yet exist, override powerful cultures and routines that prevent them from changing, and create compelling narratives about the organization’s future and how to get there.
ISN’s mission is to empower our clients with a host of services using cutting edge technological innovations to achieve their goals. Our approach is simple, we listen to our clients spoken and unspoken words then strive to exceed expectations. It is also a conscious mind-set and culture in the business that we either stay ahead of the pace of change or we’re toast. Hence, focusing on the clients as “the boss”, driving the right culture, and, building a formidable team that believes and shares the same vision, leading to the future becomes easy.
How has your background in management helped you in shaping the concept of business performance around continuous service improvement?
Effective management requires structure and having this in place has given us unity of direction and improved business performance. I believe strategy is everyone’s job, hence, our strategies are cascaded to everyone in the organisation, so all team members can see how their roles contribute towards our big-picture goals. Inculcating discipline within the business has also helped foster business performance. Organisational rules, philosophies, and structures were put in place to align with our goals, with efficient and digitalised compliance monitoring process and accountability, and we have built ownership with KPI’s for strategic objectives to individuals and teams.
To foster high-performance in business and continuous service improvement requires more than structure and discipline. You need a leader to motivate and inspire your team to perform. The art of leadership has to come to play and taught across the business. It is common for the attitude/approach of managers to filter through the entire organisation, so having managers with leadership qualities working across the business sets the tone of what is expected to trickle down. Efficient and well intentioned management sets the tone for the rest of the staff. We have built a culture of mutual respect and motivation, grooming leaders and not bosses. As a leader, I clarify and communicate values that drives our day to day, reinforce positive behaviour by motivating the team to work rather than force them to, encourage open and effective communication, empower employees by giving them a voice in decision-making, and give room for feedback.
What are your personal and professional challenges?
As much as we try to be wonder women, it is really challenging balancing work, family, continued learning, commitment to my volunteering platforms and foundation. Time always seems to be the enemy and sometimes there is the feeling of maybe I am not doing enough. Thank God for my support systems, my dear, husband, daughters, mum, sisters and my special nanny.
Tell us about celebrating the 25th anniversary of ISN today
As we celebrate our 25th anniversary and looking back at our journey so far, it has been years of growth, expansion, breaking barriers, and transformation. Today, we have completely automated our process and increased teams productivity and efficiency, increased our product portfolio to satisfy the needs of our clients, and built a committed and well equipped team. The journey of the business means so much to me because I have witnessed the different phases of growth and transformative years and it has impacted my career and personal growth.
Going forward, what should your customers expect?
Our esteemed customers should expect nothing less than unparalleled customer service and support, profitable engagement, bespoke solution delivery and value for money. We have a bouquet of customised solutions and products to make our customers’ digital transformation journey easier.
Final words
We have built our business around our clients and team with the notion that our employees stage life-changing transformations for our clients, and that’s what drives business growth.
