ZKTeco harps on ICT advancement, set to establish R&D Center in Lagos

….urges FG to synchronize different biometric exercises to build a national database

In an effort to encourage technology advancement in Nigeria, the foremost and leading biometrics technology firm, ZkTeco has revealed its plan to establish Research and Development Center in Lagos, Nigeria.

The global president and founder of ZKTeco, Mr John Che during an interactive session with pressmen said the plan is inline with his company motive to establish its business in Nigeria as well as serving as the hub for the sub-Saharan market.

Having operations in more than 35 countries, Che posited that their choice in Nigeria is driven by the passion exhibited by Nigerians, government’s efforts to transform the economy via its diversification agenda and the country’s strategic position on the continent coupled with the market size and GDP.

Determined to establish its presence in Nigeria, Che noted that Nigeria has been considered to act as hub for the rest of Africa, therefore ZKTeco will build a branch office in Nigeria.

The company whose products are in use in 180 countries with over 14 R&D centres across the world and a wide array of private and public sector clients alongside the office will be the establishment of an R&D centre at the University of Lagos to take advantage of the abundant local talents to create solutions that can run on ZKTeco platforms.

Mr Che stated that with ZKTeco’s expertise in biometric technology, identity security management, and time management, the company hopes to collaborate with Nigerians, both in the private and public sectors, in line with the company’s growth objectives, to help fast track the country’s development.

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“ZKTeco already has a presence in South Africa and Egypt, but based on our growth objectives and the fact that Africa has a strong growth prospect, we decided to increase our stake in Africa and we identified Nigeria as the epicenter of Africa, representing the strongest growth prospect on the continent, with opportunities to collaborate on its identity management and biometrics standard needs,” Mr Che said.

Biometric technology, the ZKTeco boss said, is the future of society. He stated that Nigeria will achieve its developmental goals faster if it got its biometric identity management right.

He gave the example of China’s remarkable growth over the past three decades, which he said was largely driven by the Asian giant’s ability to establish a robust identity management process.

“Identity management through biometrics is very critical to growth and development. Biometrics helps to drive the efficient management of time and resources, helping to boost productivity,” Mr Che said.

He gave the example of the efficient immigration processes in China today due to biometrics deployment compared to the laborious practice of the past to buttress his point.

He said for a meaningful and sustainable development, it is imperative that government undertakes a robust database that will help in the effective management of people and resources.

“A country’s development aspirations must be matched by biometric standard. If you don’t have this the country will waste huge resources without commensurate result,” Mr Che said.

While commending the government for its efforts at building a comprehensive database for the country through its data capture exercises, Che, however, said there is a need to synchronize the different biometric exercises to ensure a national database.

The Chief Executive Officer of SB Telecoms and Devices Limited, Mr Afolabi Abiodun, added that ZKTeco’s relationship with Nigeria started about eight years ago when SB Telecoms became its accredited partner in Nigeria, also servicing the West African sub-region.

According to him, the partnership is a win- win relationship seeing that ZKTeco’s has planned to invest in Nigeria technological development.

“I want to appreciate ZkTeco for not seeing Nigeria as a dumping ground but they have the interest of Nigerians and the youths in mind”, Abiodun said.