T h e
O f S m a l l
P o w e r
F i x e s
W h a t
W e
T h o u g h t
W a s
P o s s i b l e .
“ O n l y
t h o s e
w h o
d a r e
t o
f a i l
g r e a t l y
c a n
e v e r
a c h i e v e
g r e a t l y . "
Robert
F .
K ennedy
C elebration
M ode
A ctiv ated
I
am
sur e
ther e
is
an
African
l e a d e r w h o s a i d s o m e t h i n g
similar
to
RFK
but
sinc e
I
am
in
c elebration
mode,
m y
mind
is
w andering
and
only
an
o yinbo
man
has
enter ed
m y
head.
I'v e
p u t t h i s c a v e a t b e c a u s e m y
c e l e b r a t i o n i s a b o u t N i g e r i a n
gr eatness
and
ideally ,
it
should
be
an
all‑r ound
thing.
Ok,
to
the
r eal
deal.
I deas
ha v e
alwa y s
changed
the
world;
sometimes
e v en
the
simplest
can
transform
the
world
be y ond
the imagination
of
its
creators
F or
example,
when
the
W right
b r o t h e r s l i f t e d a f r a g i l e
m a c h i n e o f f t h e g r o u n d i n
Dec ember
1903,
the y
w er en 't
d r e a m i n g o f a w o r l d w h e r e
thousand
of
planes
c ould
cir cle
the
globe
at
incr edible
speed
in
a
da y;
the y
simply
w anted
to
fly
T i m B e r n e r s L e e w a s n ' t
t h i n k i n g o f a g l o b a l
m a r ke t p l a ce o r t h o
n d s o f
videos
uploaded
on
a
massiv e
database
or
liv estr eaming;
he
just
w anted
to
shar e
his
offic e
w ork
inf ormation
mor e
easily .
Y et
those
attempts
at
" small
fix es "
became
the
cataly st
f or
r e v olutions.
The
most
fantastic
ideas
often
start
as
the
simplest
solutions
to
e v ery da y
pr oblems,
and
the
gr o wn
into
one
of
the
boldest,
craziest
endea v ours
in
A frica.
(Y es,
if
we
do
say
so
ourselv es.)
"Courage
is
like
palm
oil
—
it
makes
the
yam
of
innovation
sweet." -
African
Pr o v erb C r a z
y
L i v e s
H e r e !
One
thing
people
should
kno w
about
them
is
that
crazy
liv es
ther e,
and
it
has
ne v er
been
an
afterthought;
it' s
the
v ery
fabric
of
who
the y
ar e.
Y ears
ago,
the y
ask ed꞉
wh y
should
it
tak e
48
hours
to
pr oc ess
a
simple
loan
w h e n i t c o u l d b e d o n e i n
m i n u t e s ? T h a t q u e s t i o n g ave
birth
to
Specta,
and
suddenly ,
what
w as
onc e
a
thr ee‑month
w a i t b e c a m e a f i v e m i n u t e
experienc e.
When
the y
scatter ed
the
table
o f p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t , i t w a s n' t
just
because
the y
w anted
to
do
banking,
no
oh;
that's
too
eas y ,
the y
w anted
better
structur e
to
the
w onderful
chaos
w e
w er e
e x p e r i e n c i n g w i t h p u b l i c
t r a n s p o r t a t i o n ( o f c o u r s e ,
F ar epay
cr awled
so
that
C o wry
c an
run ) So
y es,
craziness
has
ne v er
been
far .
But
when
the y
decided
to
cr eate
their
o wn
c or e
banking
solution,
w e
kne w
this
w as
a
diff er ent
le v el
of
craze
( w e
still
oc c asionally
ask
if
the y
a r e n o r m a l ) . T h i s w a s n ' t j u s t
about
c on v enienc e
or
speed;
it
w as
about
r e writing
the
v ery
backbone
of
banking
in
A frica.
Lik e
Da vid,
who
killed
the
lion
a n d t h e b e a r b e f o r e f a c i n g
Goliath,
the
earlier
battles
w er e
t h e t r a i n i n g g r o u n d . T h e y
f or ged
the
c ourage
needed
to
enter
this
terrain.
A n d a f t e r m a n y y e a r s o f
planning
and
debating,
it
w as
f i n a l l y d o n e T h e y r e l e a s e d
these
craziness
into
the
w orld.
N o t q u i e t l y , b u t w i t h t h e
c on viction
that
if
it
e v er
needed
to
be
done,
the y
w ould
be
the
ones
to
tak e
the
first
step.
“When
the
drummer
is
in
your
backyard,
you
don't
pay
another
man
to
beat
the
drum."
-
Igbo
Pr o v erb
D e y
W o r k !
In
Y our
Own
Language
T h e r e ' s s o m e t h i n g a b o u t
h o m e m a d e t h a t j u s t f i t s . I n
music,
y es,
w e
all
vibe
to
Dr ak e or
E d
Sheer a n,
but
let
the
D J
pla y
O l u w a b u r n a o r R e m a , t h a t ' s
when
the
party
starts.
It' s
not
t h a t t h e f o r e i g n s o u n d i s n ' t
sw eet;
it' s
just
that
local
speaks
y o u r l a n g u a g e , m i r r o r s y o u r
struggle,
and
mo v es
y our
body
in
w a y s
imported
rh ythms
can 't.
T echnology
is
no
diff er ent.
Abi ,
h o w d o y o u w a n t t o e x p l a i n
Nigeria
and
A frica
to
someone
who
hasn 't
liv ed
her e ?
It
was
designed
here,
with
Nigerian
realities
in
mind.
Built
to
handle
the
peculiarities
of
our
regulators,
the
quirks
of
our
customers,
and
the
resilience
our
econom y
demands.
It
w asn 't
stitched
in
a
f or eign
boar dr oom
thousands
of
miles
a w a y ; i t w a s c r a f t e d f r o m
within,
b y
people
who
liv e
and
br eathe
the
same
en vir onment
the
s y stem
serv es.
And
her e ' s
the
thing꞉
usability
is
a b i g d e a l , b u t s o i s
specification.
It
is
wh y
SeaBaas is
made
f or
our
heat,
hustle,
a n d h i c c u p s I t d o e s n ' t j u s t
w o r k ; i t f i t s . T h i n k o f i t l i k e
fashion.
R eady to‑ w ear
(R TW)
f
Okrik a will
sa v e
y our
pock et,
but
n o t h i n g b
s a J e t 2 h
i d a y
agbada
U ncle
Alamu will
se w
the
F r i d a y j u s t b e f o r e K o l a ' s
w edding.
T ailor ed
to
y our
exact
size,
stitched
f or
y our
c omf ort,
designed
f or
y our
day .
That's
what
o wnership
f eels
lik e꞉
not
just
ha ving
clothes,
but
ha ving
clothes
that
fit
y ou
perf ectly .
i n e
B o b o
L e t ' s b e c l e a r ꞉ w h e n w e s a y
local,
it
doesn 't
mean
cheap
or
c orner ‑cutting.
In
the
past,
our
c o r e b a n k i n g s y s t e m s w e r e
imported
‑
po w erful,
y es,
but
hea vy
on
the
pock et
and
light
on
local
r ele v anc e.
E v ery
y ear ,
dollars
ar e
wir ed
abr oad
just
to
k e e p t h e l i g h t s o n . B u i l d i n g
S e a B a a s t h e r e f o r e w a s n ' t a
shortcut;
it
w as
an
in v estment.
T h e r e a l d i f f e r e n c e i s t h i s ꞉
mone y
w as
spent
toda y
to
sa v e
aw esomely
tomorr o w .
spending
billions
on
l u t i o n s , a n d e v e r y
e x c h a n g e r a t e w a s
br eaking
our
hearts
(shoutout
to
m y
ex,
y ou
ar e
the
r eason
I
wr ote
this
song).
Subscription
f e e s h e r e , m a i n t e n a n c e f e e s
ther e,
installation
char ges
that
n eve r s e e m e d t o e n d . B u t i t
w asn 't
just
the
c ost;
it
w as
the
c ontr ol.
Sinc e
the
person
who
o w n s t h e p i p e d i c t a t e s t h e
tune,
w e
r ealized
our
destin y
"Soup
wey
sweet,
na
money
kill
am" -
African
Pr o v erb N a
M o n e y
B e
w asn 't
entir ely
in
our
hands.
In
f a c t , i t w a s l i k e T h a n o s
s n a p p i n g h i s f i n g e
d
disappearing,
w e
hear d
echoes
of
our
fingers
snapping
( O
chim ).
n
m a r k e t , b u t r e i n v e s t e d r i g h t
her e
at
home
to
boost
the
local
ec onom y .
Instead
o f
paying
f or
M onac o,
w e
w er e
paying
f or
Ek o
( All
na
Anc o ).
I
w as
sat
listening
to
the
Gr oup
C I O a t S t e r l i n g r e e l i n g t h e i r
s p e n d b e f
, G o d
saf e
us An yw a y ,
f or
the
tech
b r o s i n t h e a u d i e n c e , h e
m e n t i o n e d t h a t t h i s n e w
s y stem
is
deplo y ed
on
a
384‑
c o r e d a t a b a s e e n g i n e w h i c h
c osts
appr o ximately
$250,000
a n n u a l l y t o m a i nt a i n , a g a i n s t
$5
million
on
f or eign
lic enses
a n d $ 1 . 2 5 m i l l i o n y e a r l y
s u p p o r t d e l i v e r i n g 8 0 %
s a v i n g s o n p u rc h a s e w i t h o u t
s a c r i f i c i n g p e r f o r m a n c e o r
s c a l a b i l i t y . I n p l a i n n u m b e r s ;
f o r e i g n s y s t e m s o v e r f i v e
y e a r s ? B e t w e e n N 2 1 b n a n d
N34bn
( depending
on
ho w
the
n a i r a d e c i d e s t o w a k e u p ) SeaBaas ?
Just
N12.8bn.
That' s
b i l l i o n s s av e d ; t h e o n e s p e nt
w as
not
dashed
to
Uncle
Sam,
The y
ar e
no w
pa ying
salaries
t h a t g r o w f a m i l i e s a n d
str engthen
our
ec onom y .
M or e
t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 n e w j o b s ( d u r i n g
d e p l o y m e n t s t o c l i e n t s , t h e y
“Person
wey
give
up
for
road,
na
him
no
go
see
the
end.” -
African
Pr o v erb
W h o
T o l d
Y o u T o
B e
N o r m a l ?
A t
first
glanc e,
y ou
might
think
that
its
all
about
sa ving
Naira.
But
this
journe y
has
ne v er
been
j u s t a b o u t c u t t i n g b i l l s ; i t ' s
about
r e writing
what
it
means
to
o wn
y our
futur e.
And
be y ond
the
numbers,
something
s w eeter
h a p p e n e d . E v e r y n a i r a s p e n t
locally
cr eated
jobs.
Engineers
and
de v elopers
sharpened
their
skills,
and
a
support
structur e
w a s b o r n E v e r y " c o n s u l t i n g
i n v o i c e " t h a t u s e d t o l a n d i n
d o l l a r s i s n o w a N i g e r i a n
w ork er' s
pa y slip.
d
support
structur e.
It
didn 't
just
,
b u i l t p r i d e , a n d r e t u r n e d
c ontr ol
to
us.
It
took
what
w as
onc e
an
outsour c ed
bur den
and
t r a n s f o r m e d i t i n t o
homegr o wn
expertise.
E v ery
customisation
that
onc e
took
months
no w
happens
at
the
speed
of
our
o wn
de v
team.
E v ery
do wntime
call
no w
r outes
t o p e o p l e w h o n o t o n l y
u n d e r s t a n d o u r s y s t e m s , b u t
a l s o o u r r e g u l a t o r s . N o t i m e
zone
games,
no
w aiting
f or
an
email
fr om
halfw a y
acr oss
the
w o r l d , n o c u l t u r a l t r a n s l a t i o n
needed.
surfac e
of
what
SeaBaas can
do.
Lik e
w e
said
earlier
about
gr eat
ideas
—
the y
start
small,
then
gr o w
be y ond
imagination.
That' s
wh y
giving
up
is
not
an
o
B
seen
what' s
possible,
it' s
har d
to
go
back
to
what
people
y ou
w as
" normal. ”
T h e
P r o m i s e a t
O n e .
A t
one,
the
pr omise
is
simple꞉
the y
will
do
e v erything
possible
to
expand
this
solution
acr oss
A frica.
This
one
is
lik e
Nigerian
J o l l o f , e g o b a n g ! N o t j u s t
because
it' s
local,
but
because
it
carries
the
fla v our ,
r esilienc e,
a n d c r e a t i v i t y t h a t A f r i c a
deserv es.
SeaBaas will
c ontinue
to
pour
t h e i r h e a r t a n d s o u l i n t o
deliv ering
ex c ellenc e,
using
it
as
a s t e p p i n g s t o n e t o
r e v o l u t i o n i s e b a n k i n g a n d
t e c h n o l o g y o n t h e c o n t i n e n t
A n d y e s , t h e y w i l l h a v e f u n
while
doing
it
because
if
w e
ar e
not
enjo ying
it,
w etin
w e
gain ?
The
sky
is
not
the
limit;
it' s
only
the
beginning.
The
horizon
is
v ast,
the
vision
is
bold,
and
the
e n e r g y i s e n d l e s s . T h e y w i l l
c ontinue
giving
banking
what
it
truly
deserv es꞉
the
gift
of
their
best.
A t
the
end
of
the
da y ,
N a
who
giv e
up
lose and
giving
up
has
n
can
go
f orth,
find
their
small
f i x e s a n d g o c r a z y , N i g e r i a
needs
it
and
A frica
definitely
needs
man y
and
much
of
it! Crazy
people
needed!
With
pride,
Lady
Khaf
& Baba
Ik ok o
to‑be!
