Kemi Ajumobi 
Austin Okere
Founder of CWG Plc
Austin Okere’s story is one of those inspiring stories to learn from. He wasn’t sure of what he wanted to do except that, initially, he felt he was going to be a priest. That didn’t happen and he did not go to the seminary. Later, he got admitted into the University of Ghana to study Agric Science. He didn’t attend lectures because he was trying to discover himself. The Dean of his school picked interest and told him he may have to leave if he continued that way. He suggested computer science to him, which became a defining period for him because he completely enjoyed it.
After a year, the universities in Ghana were shut because of the revolution going on as at that time. His father then suggested for him to go to Lagos which he did and ended up at University Of Lagos, and continued his computer science. After his NYSC, he got a job with a computer company. He later saw the opportunity to start to proffer solutions to IT issues and wanted to launch out. His father thought he was crazy, his fiancée (now wife) thought he wasn’t making a good move and was worried.
In all of these, Austin’s burden was that in his formal business, as an organisation, they couldn’t keep their word on delivery and it bothered him. He also had faith and knew that as long as one can put in the work, results will follow. But in 1993, there was a coup, everywhere was in disarray. He left the secured employment, and began his own. Many companies died and though his own company was lean in terms of leverage, they were able to sustain the business. His wife describes him as brave and said all his endurance, faith and grit has paid off.
Austin chose to brand his company and said he made up his mind that his company would be different in terms of trust and integrity. Today, Austin, trained in Africa, has achieved a company of $130m turnover, with 650 people present in 4 countries, it gives hope to other people to also say, if Austin can, then I can. “I didn’t have to work at Goldman Sachs to achieve that.” He said.
Austin Okere is the Founder of CWG Plc. CWG Plc is one of the largest systems integration companies in Sub-Saharan Africa with operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon, and the largest security in the ICT Sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE: CWG). CWG is the leading provider of core banking software applications, having deployed the Finacle Core Banking Application in 10 of Nigeria’s 21 banks.
Austin has an MBA from IESE Business School and over 30 years of industry experience. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Columbia Business School, New York and was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Global Business School Network in Washington DC in recognition of his major contribution to the development of business education and knowledge transfer in Africa. He is a recipient of several outstanding awards.