Krystal Digital Network Solutions Ltd is a rapidly growing ed-tech company based in Nigeria. The company is the proprietor of MySkool Portal and The KITA Academy.
Krystal Digital specializes in the development and deployment of customized and service-oriented software applications as well as IT training. TechMoran spoke to Krystal Digital, in a bid to lern more about the company and their plans for expansion in the future.
Tell us about yourself and your team, your educational and professional backgrounds?
My name is Temitope Ogunsemo is an alumnus of Kings College, Lagos. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the prestigious University of Ibadan and also obtained a Masters of Science degree in Information Management Systems from the University of Salford, United Kingdom. I have also attended various specialist and executive development courses in Nigeria and overseas. I am a member of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Nigerian Internet Group (NIG), British Computer Society (BCS), a three-time delegate at the Young CEO’s Business Summit and a delegate at the 6th High-Level Dialogue held in South Africa. I have been a recipient of several awards including the Nigerian Technology Personality Award and the Distinguished West-African Personality of the year 2017, ECOWAS Youth Council Award. In 2018, listed on Forbes’ 30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa and recently received an award as the Young CEO of the year 2018 at the 7th edition of the Young CEO’s Business Forum (YCBS Atlanta).
Team Members
Abiodun Olapeju – (Director)
Abiodun is an alumnus of Federal Government College, Lagos. He has a first degree, BSc, in Economics and a second degree, MSc, Financial Economics from the University of Abuja. He is also an alumnus of the Lagos Business School (Pan Atlantic University), a member of Founders under 40, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), and a Member Nigeria Institute of Management (MNIM).
Nkiru Okeke – (Head, Business Development)
Nkiru is an alumnus of Queen’s college, Yaba Lagos. She has a degree in Modern European Languages from the prestigious University of Ibadan. Nkiru is an associate member of the chartered Institute of Marketing, England. She has almost ten years of cognate experience in marketing and sales and has attended several professional marketing trainings and seminars both locally and internationally.
Tolulope Adebisi – (Project Manager)
Tolulope is an alumnus of Federal Government College, Lagos. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ilorin, Kwara. He is a certified Hardware and Software expert and a CISCO Certificate Network Associate. He has over six years’ experience in project management and currently oversees the deployment of the Krystal IT Academy Services in Federal Government Colleges.
How would you best describe Krystal Digital, what does it do?
Krystal Digital is a fast growing ICT company which specializes in the development and deployment of customized and service oriented software applications as well as IT training. The Company is focused on strengthening the application of ICT in the Education sector, especially the Basic and Secondary Education Sub-sector. We also provide proactive, onsite and remote system management, system administration and support most variants of technology
What we do?
We are a group of experienced Technology Consultants, application Developers, Technical Leads and Project Managers. Our focus at the moment is providing modern IT solutions to improve and simplify day to day activities. Our services include; E-commerce, Access control, Web development etc. Our flagship product are:
MySkool portal
MySkool Portal is an Online/Offline web based School Management Software with a well-structured database for proper storage and documentation of school data. This software application handles all the requirement for easy school management and better interaction between students, teachers, parents and administrators. MySkool Portal has been adopted by more than 50 Government owned High Schools in Nigeria and more than 65, 000 active student and parent users on its platform.
The KITA Academy
The KITA Academy was developed in partnership with Microsoft curriculum, to equip students’ with the relevant IT skill set which they require in today’s technology driven job market and to provide adequate development resources for teachers/educators. The KITA Academy operates both in the junior and secondary schools.
What market gap did you spot that motivated you to start this company?
The idea that spawned Krystal Digital was initiated when I attempted to secure my academic transcript. It was a difficult and frustrating experience. It was then I saw potential to develop a School Information Management System that would not only improve the storage/preservation and retrieval of academic records but would also position these schools to harness the benefits of digitization.
The changing dynamics in the educational sector introduced by the western world also signaled me to tighten my focus on the Basic and Secondary Education sub-sector.
Who is your target market?
Aside the educational sector in Nigeria, we also proffer solutions to organizations both locally and internationally that will likely have a need for a database solutions.
How does your company make money, what are your revenues so far?
As a brand known for the School information management system, we make money from charges levied on clients for our continuous timely service delivery from the various products we offer. At the moment Krystal Digital Network solutions has an annual revenue of more than $3 Million.
Who would you say is your major competition in this space at the moment?
Our major competition is “we” as a company. Every day we try our best to become better than what we were in any previous project. As a company, we understand that our clients come first so we make it a priority to outdo ourselves by coming up with a better innovation to beat our previous solution.
On the global market we try to attain or even surpass ICT companies providing solutions. These companies include Moodle, Blackboard, Share Points etc.
What is your vision for the company in the next 5 years?
We believe deeply in the power of creating values by harnessing all the resources within our disposal. Our vision is to become a household brand both Nationally and internationally, known for its innovative database solution in the private and public sector.
What advice would you give upcoming entrepreneurs?
My advice to upcoming startups generally is to be a problem solver i.e. identify a problem, create a solution to meet the need and you eventually get returns for your hard work.