In recent times, Nigeria, West Africa and Africa as a whole have seen a spike in the amount of tech-savvy young people that have brought about change-driven tech solutions across the board.
We’ve seen the likes of Michael Elegbe of Interswitch, Ezra Olubi and Shola Akinlade of Paystack. Khalil Halilu is a norm defier in this space, as many creative founders have not emanated from the Northern part of Nigeria.
Khalil Halilu, a Muslim born of Hausa origin on the 29th of October, 1990 in Kano city, Kano state Nigeria has since grown to become one of the notable tech investors and CEOs in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. His prowess in serial business development, investment and management is clearly matchless. Seeing how he moved from his family-owned businesses, Scirrocco the tea and cold beverage company, and its sister company Gongoni which together form a group with 300+ products in Nigerian & African markets.
His rich portfolio boasts of founding and co-founding the first eco-friendly tech hub in the whole of West-Africa dubbed The CANs park, ShapShap on-demand delivery app, OyaOya, the first on-demand commodity marketplace in the whole of Africa, Zabe election monitoring system, Centre For Civic, Citizen’s Welfare And Community Development (CWCD Africa), Gongoni Company Limited and its sister company Scirrocco International Limited which he joined in 2010 as COO and remains on the board of directors till date.
It can be concluded that Khalil Halilu’s success story is worthy of emulation.
Haven attended the Rainbow Primary School in Kano from 1996 He soon after began his Secondary School Education at St. Thomas Catholic School (2001-2003) which he completed at Prime College, in Kano (2006).
After graduating from high school, Khalil enrolled at the University of Hertfordshire and obtained his Bachelor of Science (B. Sc) degree in Business Administration in 2009, as well as his Master’s degree in International Business in 2010.
As part of his University course requirements in 2008, Khalil and his team successfully planned and operated a fully functioning business venture in a time frame of just three days with Khalil leading the unit. Instead of settling for the usual buying and reselling business scheme, Khalil and his team took a different route from their competitors. They started their business, a gaming centre that attracted a substantial number of customers in a short time.
After three days of managing the gaming centre, Khalil and his team used the profits generated to plan and host an African themed party. Khalil performed as the DJ, and tickets sold out in a couple of hours.
In the end, the team raised a significant amount of money from their business ventures. They generated the most in their class group and even broke the historical record of the university. Until this day, Khalil and his team’s record remain unchanged.
Talking about career and achievements, Khalil can be called a ‘‘true born entrepreneur.’’ This only became clear in the later stages of his life when he developed a passion for providing affordable yet sustainable technological solutions to businesses operating in the agricultural sector. His continuous efforts and willingness to help others, has added value to humanity and positively changed the narrative of technological innovation in Africa.
After graduating from the University, Khalil held a position as an admin clerk at Archimode & Associates before proceeding for his Youth service in Abuja where he lives to date.
Khalil also served as Chief Operating Officer at Scirrocco and held this position for a little over three consecutive years. At the young age of only 23, Khalil already held positions in various companies as well as established an outstanding reputation for himself in the business sector.
Some positions Khalil has held over the time frame of three years include:
• Managing Director (MD) at Khash Strategic Services Ltd. In 2014.
• KSH Construction & Design LTD in 2014
• Creative Director/Business developer- Africa Infotech Consultancy–2015
• Operations Manager at ZCET Global Meter Services Ltd. in 2017
In 2018, KSH, as he is fondly called, started the Centre for Civic, Welfare and Community Development (CWCD Africa).
CWCD is a non-governmental Organization particularly interested in Health, Education, Transparency and accountability, Environment and Climate Change, Peace and Security, Sustainability, Inclusive Development, Refugees, Migrants and The Displaced.
Ahead of the Nigerian General Elections in 2019, CWCD Africa launched the Zabe mobile application as a civic tool that sought to deepen democratic participation in late 2018. In the words of OSIWA’s, Program Coordinator for West Africa, Nadia Ahidjo-Iya, “Zabe.ng is an election monitoring app that provides a fast and better method of collating results.’’
Zabe enjoyed amazing success, hitting more than 3000 downloads, calculated to 2000% user growth. Zabe was a very useful tool in the 2019 election recording only a 3% difference from the Independent Electoral Commission’s results. In his own words, Khalil has said, ‘’…E-voting will go a long way in improving the electoral process and in-turn the democratic system in Nigeria…’’
CWCD Africa also collaborated with OSIWA, National Assembly, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to launch the UNSUB platform during the lockdown in 2020. UNSUB is a digital platform that connects victims of sexual and gender-based violence to stakeholders working in the space.
Very close to the top on the list of Khalil Suleiman Halilu’s works is the CANs park. The CANs park exists in the heart of Abuja providing Workspaces, technical and strategic consultation, and social innovation matchmaking to start-ups and Investors from all over Africa.
Private and public events are held at the CANs park, including the send forth ceremony of the outgoing German Ambassador that took place at the CANs park in 2019.
Asides from The CANs park and ShapShap Logistics operating in Lagos and Abuja, Khalil is confident in proffering more localized tech solutions. In his own words, “There is no doubt,” Halilu says, “African problems are best addressed by home-grown solutions.”
