Victor Ibizube, our territory retail Executive in Nigeria who has been with Cellulant for 2 years and 10 months. Narrated that he got attracted to Cellulant because of its pan-African outlook. For him having the opportunity to be part of the company he was able to appreciate the company more through its people and culture as well as the value placed on learning and development.
When he is not busy solving Africa’s payment problems. He enjoys spends his free time reading fictional and religious books, listening to music across all genres or spending time with his family.
Victor Ibizugbe shares his Cellulant story:
Where and what did you study in university?
I studied Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
What drives you?
I’m driven by the promise of what lies ahead or the mental picture of what will become of me if I decide to grow as a person, learn and work hard. Secondly, it’s the simple fact that I know for sure that whatever I do in Cellulant is impacting and shaping the way people perceive and see Africa’s payment ecosystem and Africa as a whole.
What would you say has been the most exciting part of the job?
The most exciting part of my job is the opportunity to understand how the retail industry works across verticals and be at the forefront of piloting a pan-African product within the territories managed. I’m more like the face of the product around the region I manage and I think that alone is intriguing to me.
What’s the one problem you are solving for clients in this market?
The problem has always been around trying to get a suitable and reliable product. A product that that will always come in handy for the retail and SMB outlets. Especially confirming and completing payments. Before now most retail stores had to reach out to the head of the accounts department to confirm transactions at the store level. This was an issue because the accountants were not always present at the store. Phone calls were placed to them for transaction confirmation and the customers had to wait. This adversely affected the average confirmation time. With Tingg by Cellulant, this major issue has been solved by offering them a unique payment method that is fast and seamless.
What has been the most rewarding moment?
The most rewarding moment was when we were able to hit the highest GPV within a month. It was something we’ve looked forward to as a team and owing to how we started the team. It was really exciting seeing our countless engagements with merchants, series of road trips within states and frequent nocturnal phone calls from store managers and cashiers translate into good results. The feeling was top-notch.
What has been the greatest challenge/learning opportunity about the job?
I feel my journey so far has been challenging owing to my transition from customer service to my current position. In my current role, you have to be very conversant with your numbers and metrics, this to an extent has required me to game up and learn. Aside from trying to manage a long chain of merchants, I also understand that every single dollar counts. I need to be able to track my territory performance, my inactive merchants and loads of other metrics. This has prompted me to want to learn more and do more.
Who has been the biggest influence in your career & why?
I’ll mention 3 people. The first would be my former boss Kingsley Ishiguzo, he was top-notch and also an excellent person. You could see it in his work. The second person happens to be my current line manager Shadrach Oloche. He is very sound and understands how to carry the team along while showing empathy in his style of leadership. Then the last person will be Moses Abidabizemu the Chief marketing officer. I met Moses last week when he came to Nigeria and I felt he did challenge me to become better.
What do you love most about working at Cellulant?
I love the energy, I love the culture, and I love the idea and thoughts behind Tingg by Cellulant.
Read Also; Cellulant and Solv Kenya Partner in Payments Deal to Serve Tens of Thousands of MSMEs
How do you want to be remembered?
I want to be known as the guy who was a builder. Builder of people, companies, products and humanity in general. I just want to live, pour out a lot and die empty with fulfilment and impact.
What do you do during your free time to relax?
I take out time to read books, be they fictional, inspirational or religious. Also, I love music across all genres. You can catch me listening to old-school blues, Afrobeat, trap, soul music and non-Nigerian acts like Eddy Kenzo, Angelique Kidjo, Sauti Sol, Kaligraph Jones and a host of others. Lastly, I spend time with my family.
In your own words, what does Cellulant want to do in Africa and why is that inspirational for you?
Over time, Africa has been referred to as the “dark continent”. This is only because we are seen as underdeveloped or maybe for some other ethnocentric reasons which I don’t think is relevant. I think the only way the narratives can be changed is when we start having strong loyalty and passion towards Africa. One way this can be done is by delivering quality products in Africa, for Africans be it technological products or non-technological products.
Cellulant is already at the forefront of it being a trusted payment company in Africa by helping Businesses with seamless payment. This is inspiring and indeed a milestone.
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