About one year after the seed was planted, it was harvest time phone manufacturer, RLG and Osun State government, recently when the company rolled out a new range of products from its factory, the RLG Adulawo Technology City in Ilesha, Osun State.
The project, a joint initiative between the Osun State government and RLG, a telephone and computer manufacturing company, owned by Ghanaian-born Roland Agambire.
Speaking at the commissioning, Osun State governor, Rauf Aregebesola, had said: “Our philosophy is that political power is not obtained for its sake, but to be used in the service of the people. At the inauguration of our administration, we set many objectives for ourselves. Two key among these are the need to create jobs for our teeming youths and making Osun the hub of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria. It was a tall order and it looked impossible then. The opening of this complex, however, is an indication that we are on the right path and we will get to the destination if we keep at it.”
That dream seemed to have found a good ally in Roland Agambire, the Ghanaian business mogul with an estimated net worth of $2billion. Based in Dubai, he is the owner and Group Chairman of the Agams Holdings, which has diversified interests in ICT, oil and gas, construction, real estates, security, banking, finance and media. The Holdings is made of 11 integrated companies.
The partnership is aimed at training about 20,000 youths through the state’s OYESTECH scheme. The factory took off with about 5,000 youths, out of which 100 were later sent to RLG’s headquarters in Ghana for further training.
Convinced that the African continent has the capacity to become the IT capital of the world, Agambire said Africa’s tremendous huge population is an asset which the people can exploit to develop the continent.
Agambire noted that gone are the days where oil was the mainstay of world economy, that ICT was the new money spinner and the RLG/Adulawo Technology City is an ambitious project that will play a major role in the technology revolution that is sure to come to Nigeria.
A very passionate African, Agambire, in 2013, unveiled an ambitious plan to construct the continent’s biggest ICT enclave, known as HOPE City. The project is estimated to cost $10billion to be sited in Prampram near the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
Roland Agambire’s yearn for the transformational development via ICT made him incorporate ROGAMS LIN, now Rlg Communications Group, as the leading pan African computer and handset manufacturing company.
The company is the first indigenous African company to assemble laptops, desktops and mobile phones and offer ICT training in computer and phone repairs. The Accra-based company is modeled to generate mass, high-skilled employment for thousands of African youth and meet the rising demand for computers and other ICT devices. The company, according to Forbes Africa 2013, has an annual turnover of $ 850million per year.
Speaking on his decision to come into the Nigerian market, Agambire said: “Reflecting on the day I made my intention to come into the Nigerian market, the first thing is that I feel I am a Nigerian, but I live in Ghana.”
He maintained that RLG was not in Nigeria to look at the population and take money home, adding that: “The first step was to sow a seed so that the people of Nigeria would recognize that we are here to stay. We did not just want to rent an office, but we made sure we bought an office in Nigeria and started work in Nigeria. Five years ago, as my Country manager mentioned earlier on I met the Governor at a presentation. What made us go the extra-mile was the commitment and the vision.
“RLG has an ambitious vision which is to bring Africa out of poverty. We want will train young people to lead and make wealth-through technology. But, no matter how a child is brilliant, I see the governor as a father, brother and friend. When you have a vision, you expect the assurance of the elders and that is what has happened with the RLG in Osun State.”
The rolling out of the new products from the Ilesha factory and the signing of an agreement between RLG and GSM giant, Airtel Nigeria, is a confirmation of a positive result of Agambire’s self-confessed vision to bring Africa out of poverty.
A visibly happy Agambire described the introduction of the new products as a milestone in the history of the company, adding that the partnership is a stamp of approval on the quality of RLG handsets, which he said can now be found in all Airtel retail shops across the country.
Agambire’s vision for a greater and richer Africa did not just start yesterday. As a kid, Agambire had dreams and strong passion to become an expert entrepreneur.
Driven by the passion, Roland Agambire would go on after the completion of his secondary education to complete various courses in different fields.
Born in the Upper East Region town of Sirigu, Agambire’s educational background was based upon a strong desire to gain the skills with which to become an expert entrepreneur. After his Secondary education, Agambire completed various courses in Export and Marketing with the Ghana Export Promotion Council, Business Administration programmes in GIMPA and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.
Having established Roagam Links in March 2001, then as a mobile phone repair outlet, he later transformed it into the pioneer indigenous ICT assembly and technology institute in Ghana and the West African sub-region, rlg Communications Limited.
This pioneering organisation now has a presence in China, Dubai, Nigeria and the Gambia, and continues to expand. The pinnacle of this transformation will be the completion of work on the establishment of its Global Office in Dubai. Its eventual commissioning by the end of the year will make it one of the first African companies to site its global hub in that part of the world.
Agambire is also the Group Chairman of the AGAMS Group of Companies and is responsible for the overall strategic planning and management of the several integrated companies that make up the AGAMS GROUP. He has a flair for continuous improvement and it is this flair which allows him to continually re-affirm his credentials as an exceedingly successful entrepreneur and an accomplished business man. A testament to this flair are the global media headlines that were seen subsequent to the unveiling of ambitious plans for the construction of one of the biggest development enclaves and ICT park in Africa, known as the HOPE City at an estimated cost of $10billion.
Roland Agambire is young, driven and extremely passionate about assisting the youth to become economically resourceful. In his home country of Ghana, his business employs close to 500 employees and has created jobs for over 30,000 youth over the last decade. Philanthropy is his passion and for many years he has offered charity and humanitarian support to government, charitable organisations and individuals. In furtherance of this commitment he has set himself an ambitious undertaking to provide employment for 1 million people in Ghana alone.
He has won both local and international recognition and numerous awards for innovation, entrepreneurship, commitment to growth and philanthropy.
In September, 2012, the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana adjudged him Ghana’s Marketing Man of the Year for 2011, the youngest ever. One of his products, an RLG phone, was also adjudged Product of the Year 2011.
