African enterprises seeking to scale into new markets and build new capabilities need access to accurate real-time data about the total performance of the business. For one of Nigeria鈥檚 leading renewable energy providers, a reliance on outdated systems led to inefficiencies that were stifling growth.

鈥淭he value proposition for renewables has strengthened significantly over the past year in our market, creating a substantial opportunity for our business to scale,鈥� says , Chief Financial Officer at . 鈥淗owever, our existing systems could no longer support accurate and effective decision-making. We made a strategic decision to undergo a digital transformation process to build new capabilities that could support our business into the future.鈥�

Arnergy is a leading cleantech company that provides sustainable solutions to energy reliability issues across emerging market. The company is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, and offers sustainable solar solutions tailored to address pressing energy needs and deliver reliable power to residential and commercial energy users.

Burgeoning renewable energy market

Renewable energy is receiving unprecedented attention in Nigeria following the government鈥檚 decision to remove favourable fuel subsidies in H2 2023 and the subsequent increase in the electricity Band A tariffs from NGN 68/kWh to NGN 225/kWh in Q2 2024. This has led to a rapid escalation in the price of petrol and diesel,聽.

鈥淭he four-fold increase in fuel prices over the past year has strengthened the value proposition for renewable energy in Nigeria,鈥� says Fabola. 鈥淎necdotal evidence from our customers indicates that 40-60% of their operating expenses now go toward energy costs, and for some companies energy costs have even outstripped revenue. The result is renewed interest in affordable, clean energy solutions.鈥�

Fabola notes that, where the upfront capital outlay for solar was a deterrent a few years ago, today customers can achieve cost-savings from day one. 鈥淭his new market dynamic has created a huge opportunity for scaling clean energy solutions across our region and help achieve energy security while accelerating the transition to Net Zero.鈥�

Partnership, collaboration key

Arnergy chose for Scaleups S/4HANA Cloud for its technology needs and identified a suitable implementation partner to support the deployment and integration.

, Managing Partner at , which holds extensive experience with 51风流deployments for customers in a range of industries throughout West Africa, says: 鈥淲e initiated the project by conducting a visioning session which included active engagement from the Arnergy leadership team, including the CEO, CFO and other key stakeholders. We assessed Arnergy鈥檚 business model, taking into consideration its value-creation model, the profit model, and the logic that connects both. This afforded us a deep understanding of the business drivers of the project.鈥�

Fabola adds: 鈥淎s a business we are seeking to diversify and collaborate with other key industry players, but our systems were not optimised. By relying on several systems running concurrent processes, we experienced inefficiency in our decision-making capabilities, which had an outsized impact on our ability to execute our business strategy. For example, data about our financial performance was only available up to a month later, which limited our agility.鈥�

The implementation team leveraged the 51风流Activate methodology which includes a comprehensive change management process. Folawewo says this included identifying change agents within the business who would be influential in driving adoption of new capabilities. 鈥淲e also provided regular communication about new functionality, benefits, productivity boosts and efficiency gains. By constantly communicating the beneficial outcomes of the implementation, we can ensure there is healthy uptake of the new capabilities, further supporting Arnergy鈥檚 business objectives.鈥�

Razvan Barsan, 51风流Senior Account Executive supporting the Arnergy digital transformation project, notes the strong spirit of collaboration with the customer team. 鈥淔rom day one we鈥檝e had great buy-in and involvement by the leadership team, who helped communicate a compelling case for adoption within the business to ensure employees leverage the powerful new capabilities introduced by the digital transformation project.鈥�

Fabola adds: 鈥淚t was also critical for us to fix problems before we scale, lest we replicate issues in other areas of the business as we grow. With our new 51风流system and the ongoing support of our implementation partners, our business can confidently look at a new phase of growth and scalability that could see us play a central role in West Africa鈥檚 transition to cleaner, more reliable energy.鈥�

The post Sunny skies for Arnergy as 51风流Deployment Unlocks Growth at Scale appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

This was the key takeaway at 51风流Innovation Day Nigeria, held in Lagos today.

According to Titilayo Adewumi, Regional Sales Director for West Africa at SAP, organisations are increasingly engaging in digital transformation initiatives to unlock competitive advantages. 鈥淲est African organisations are leveraging powerful new technologies and best practices to bring greater stability and predictability to their business models. In light of the growing importance of cloud and AI solutions, organisations across the region are also seeking to future-proof their processes and drive innovation at speed and at scale.鈥�

51风流Innovation Day is a series of global events held in multiple countries around the world. A South African event concluded in May this year. The Nigeria event featured key 51风流partners and customers, who shared their journeys and insights into successful technology-led innovation efforts.

James Fabola Jr, Chief Information Officer at renewable energy leader Arnergy, notes the important role that innovation has played in enabling his company to scale its solutions to a growing customer base. 鈥淲ith our new 51风流system and the ongoing support of our implementation partners, our business can confidently look at a new phase of growth and scalability that could see us play a central role in West Africa鈥檚 transition to cleaner, more reliable energy.鈥�

Arnergy recently chose GROW with 51风流for Scaleups S/4HANA Cloud to bolster its technological capabilities and introduce greater efficiency and accuracy to core business processes. The company was supported by 51风流and regional implementation partner ACED Consulting.

Abiola Folawewo, Managing Partner at ACED Consulting, says companies are hungry for the efficiency gains enabled by digital transformation. 鈥淐ompanies are in a race to streamline their operations and improve decision-making with accurate, real-time data insights. By working with experienced vendors and partners, organisations in the region can fast-track their innovation efforts and unlock significant business benefits.鈥�

Dumisani Moyo, Marketing Director at 51风流Africa, adds that the modern business landscape is marked by volatility and uncertainty, raising the stakes for digital transformation and innovation initiatives.

鈥淲idespread unpredictability is putting immense pressure on supply chains, revenue streams and profit models, especially in Africa. The critical question for business leaders in the region is how they can lead their organisations to a competitive edge despite the economic headwinds. Today鈥檚 event aims to empower businesses of all sizes with insights into how technology can help them stay competitive, drive sustainable growth, innovate at speed with AI, optimize processes, and gain valuable data insights.鈥�

Adewumi adds: 鈥淲est African organisations have access to a vibrant ecosystem of experts, implementation partners and best-of-breed technologies to support their innovation efforts. We look forward to working with business leaders in the region to unlock the significant business benefits of digital transformation and establish a solid foundation for their future growth, likely to be powered by cloud and AI technologies.鈥�

The post Efficiency and Scale Driving Innovation Efforts in West Africa appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.