Group Chief Executive Officer of Wakanow.com, Bayo Adedeji, emphasizes leveraging technology for customer experience and profitability while enhancing transparency. Speaking at the Wakanow Unpacked event last week, Adedeji highlighted the travel and tech firm’s focus on transparent pricing, ease of payment, and overall convenience.
Adedeji stated, “It’s really a transformation. When you think about it, it’s about how you leverage technology to stop the bleed-out that’s happening on our continent? How do we use technology to make the customer’s life easier? How do we use technology to make more money at the end of the day? And what we’ve done, and what Wakanow has always stood for, is the ability to leverage technology to do that. That’s exactly who we are.”
Adedeji elaborated on Wakanow’s disruptive entry into Nigeria, marked by the introduction of advanced technology and transparency. Despite initial mistakes, the company built a strong, transparent business that gained customer trust. He recalled, “I remember when Wakanow started in Nigeria, people were afraid of what Wakanow would do because we were aggressive. We went to market with the right technology and transparency. Of course, we made mistakes along the way. We stumbled, but we got back up and then built a formidable business that is transparent. I say, when people call travel agencies in Nigeria, they also go check Wakanow.com. That’s the revolution.”
Adedeji envisioned extending this approach to other sectors such as car rentals, hotel bookings, and visa services. He outlined the future plans, stating, “Now imagine us doing that for cars, imagine us doing that for hotels, imagine even visas, making it easy for customers: number one, to see the price; number two, transparency; number three, ease of payment. That’s what we intend to do. Again, we are a private business that’s in the business of making money. Our goal is to eventually make money from this business we’re doing. And to make money, you must create value, and to create value, you must leverage technology for customer experience create value.”
Discussing Wakanow’s long-term plans, Adedeji emphasized building a lasting, reputable business across Africa that makes travel experiences seamless and accessible. He expressed ambitions to make African destinations attractive for international tourists, showcasing the continent’s technological and innovative capabilities. “The long-term plan is to take over the world. The long-term plan of Wakanow is to build a formidable business across Africa that can stand the test of time, take care of customers, create transparency, and make the travel experience no different for you versus another person from another part of the world. It’s where your card can work everywhere you go, where you can pay for travel, where you can afford to pay ‘small-small’ and go to a country you’ve always desired.”
In his concluding remarks, Adedeji highlighted the potential for promoting inbound tourism within Africa. “We can make Lagos attractive for inbound tourism, where we can make Abeokuta attractive for inbound tourism, where we can make Sierra Leone attractive. Furthermore, we can bring customers from all over the world to visit and enjoy Africa and be able to see the technology they’re used to in their countries. We want to show the world we don’t live in trees and can build technology and innovate. That’s our focus, and as I would say, it’s by Africans for Africans. That’s our mantra.”
