Kenneth Nwanganga is a technology leader with a passion for developing innovative solutions to complex business problems. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer at GIGM, a leading transportation company in Nigeria. He oversees the company’s technology strategy and drives its digital transformation initiatives.
Earlier this year, precisely in March, Kenneth’s article on Code Reuse attracted a lot of attentions. So, in this interview, Kenneth speaks on his journey as a digital expert:
TE: You appear deeply rooted in software development. How did you get into it?
Kenneth Nwanganga (KN): My interest in software development began back in 2004 when I started computer training, I have always been interested in web development, I started learning HTML using notepad. When I created my first html file, and I opened it in Internet explorer to see the result, I was so excited to see my first code displayed on a browser; that made me pursue a diploma in software engineering. I have learnt a lot of programing languages like Java, C#, HTML, CSS, and C++.
TE: Can you remember the first gig you executed?
KN: The first major website I did was an ecommerce website back in 2009.
TE: What has been your best project so far?
KN: One of my best projects so far has to be the ERP I built for GIG Mobility, the joy that comes from having a product that everyone uses is somehow unexplainable. When I check social media I see a lot of customers talking about the app and how it has revolutionised the industry. Anyone that wants to build a transport app in Nigeria always uses the GIGM app as a benchmark to what they want to build. When we make changes to our apps, it doesn’t take long other transport companies will do same as well.
TE: In the present digital economy, software is everything. But most large corporate prefer to patronise foreign software. Why?
KN: The main reason for this is because business owners still don’t understand that we have a lot of talented individuals in the country, I can tell you for a fact that some foreign software companies prefer to use Nigerian developers for projects simply because of how hardworking we are. One other reason will be because they trust these foreign organizations to protect their data unlike the local developers.
TE: Is there something indigenous software developers need to get right?
KN: For anyone to be relevant in the digital industry, he/she needs to keep leaning new technologies. Right now, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are most talked about technologies right now, indigenous developers need to study these technologies and put them to use in different sections of the country.
TE: In your recent article, you discussed software reuse. What is the concept about?
KN: This for me is one aspect of software development that is not being talked about the way it should be. Making use of this technique will save people time and it will also enable individuals who are enthusiastic about the digital world to get into this as quickly as possible. Imagine having access to a lot of codebases and all you need is to make little changes or combine different source codes and create a fantastic product, that’s a big achievement, you don’t necessarily having learn line-by-line. I believe we need to educate people more on the importance of code reuse.
TE: Who is the most important in a team: The software developer or product manager?
KN: For me, everyone is very important, and it would be difficult to say that one is more important than the other. Each role brings unique skills and perspectives that are essential to the success of a project.
To successfully launch a product, a team of software developers and product managers collaborate closely. Although the software developer uses their technical expertise to construct and improve the product, the product manager establishes the product strategy and priorities.
While the software developer relies on the product manager to establish the direction and vision for the product, the product manager depends on the software developer to ensure that the product is designed to match customer expectations and is technically feasible. I have played both roles in my career and I can confirm that both are crucial to the success of a product launch.9. What should the industry expect from you in the nearest future?
I will be focusing a lot on AI for payments, I want see how I can embed AI into the payment space.
Creating products that are AI driven, with Apple, you have Siri that is able to do a lot of things for you on your phone; I want to study about how AI can help simplify everyday payments. Having something that studies your spending habits and know how often you make some purchases, with that, it should be able to set reminders and let you know when you need to make those purchases and possible do them for you with a click or a voice command.
TE: Thank you so much for your time.
Kenneth Nwanganga: It is my pleasure and thanks to TechEconomy’s team for all you do for the ecosystem.
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