Driven by a passion for the people of Nigeria and the dedication to introduce new technologies, Dizengoff Nigeria is pioneering its field of expertise.
EMPOWERING NIGERIA
Dizengoff Nigeria Ltd has established a sound reputation for close to 60 years of operations in Nigeria, consistently adding value into the operational systems of its many public and private sector clients within Nigeria’s key industries.
The Company is a subsidiary of UK-owned Balton CP Group, which boasts of a massive physical presence across sub-Saharan Africa, comprising more than 1,000 employees. The brand’s reputation is underpinned by its core values; including quality, reliability, responsibility, integrity and professionalism, which every member of the Company abides by. Clients place a lot of trust and confidence in Dizengoff, and in return the Company invests heavily in them to justify that.
“We have been based in Nigeria for 59 years – since 1958 – and are in fact older than Nigerian independence itself,” explains Antti Ritvonen, Country Manager at Dizengoff Nigeria. “The Company was originally set up by Israeli businessmen to import Israeli agricultural and communication equipment and other supplies to Nigeria. For a long time Dizengoff has been owned by British companies, currently in the hands of Balton CP, which has companies in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia.”
At present Dizengoff Nigeria has two business divisions – Agriculture and Communications Technology – with the latter including solutions such as cyber security, radio communication, physical security, Wi-Fi, IT infrastructure and project implementation services. The Company’s agricultural services include mechanised farming solutions, irrigation solutions, greenhouse technology, agrochemicals, seeds and fertilisers.
Supporting these services requires excellence in all aspects of business, particularly in order to maintain such a well respected reputation in both industries.
Davidi Elkayam, General Manager for the Communications Technology Division interjects: “Our Communications division’s core solutions include Motorola for a two-way radio communications, Ruckus Wireless for Wi-Fi connectivity, Palo Alto, Radware, Skybox, Allot for networks security Bosh, Pelco, Arecont, Genetec, Abloy for security, as well as other value-added services, projects implementation and maintenance systems.
“Dizengoff proudly represents world-leading products and solutions provider. We always review our customers’ needs and requirements and provide them with tailor-made solutions; the best and most cost effective technical and commercial solutions which match their diverse requirements. We don’t leave it there either: in addition to this we always give customers very strong training for delivered solutions.”
Dizengoff is renowned for providing excellent after-sales and technical support to its customers, building longstanding relationships with its customers and ensuring that its solutions continue working without any problems.
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY GROWTH
Consistent with the Company’s innovative nature, it has signed an exclusive agriculture contract with CASE IH to enable it to import CASE IH tractors into Nigeria. Not only this, but Dizengoff greenhouses are also becoming more and more successful, strengthening its position in the agrochemical segment.
As such, Dizengoff has become the one-stop-shop for everything a customer could possibly need in that market.
“We want to be working closely together with Government and private sector developments in moving Nigerian agriculture forward,” affirms Ritvonen. “Nigerian agriculture has great potential for growth, and we know it can be far greater than the place it holds in the market today.”
Similarly, communications technology has been growing very fast, particularly with cyber security solutions such as Palo-Alto, Radware, Allot, Skybox and Checkmarx entering the Nigerian market.
Cyber security solutions are being used by some of the main players in the financial sector. Most recent in our communications technology division, radio communication solutions is being used more by major oil & gas companies in Nigeria.
“Efforts are constantly being made to continually improve and develop the solutions that we provide to our customers, paying incredibly close attention to the developments occurring in the sectors that we are involved in,” adds Elkayam. “We always provide the best and most suitable solutions for the Nigerian market; constant work and consistent improvement are vital to success.”
TRAINING FOR SUCCESS
One of the most important facets of the Company is its staff. Continuous training and education of staff occurs so that Dizengoff remains the leading professional in each area of expertise; this training occurring both in Nigeria and overseas.
Not only is excellent training provided to staff, the Company believes in giving customer training, both upon delivery of a product, and in the form of after-sales. Dizengoff values how pivotal technical support is for customers and has found that clients have been able to successfully utilise the solutions provided by the Company.
Elkayam continues: “We are well aware that a satisfied customer will come back to us, and the fact that we have been around for 59 years means that we must be moving along the right lines.”
In order to match both the skills provided by its staff and the training for customers, the Company is making great investments into the facilities it has, currently putting more funds into its agriculture-technical centre in Ibadan.
Ritvonen describes: “We are building a new showroom and improving the technical facilities we have on offer there, also providing us with a base for our mobile service units that visit our customers and provide services for their agricultural equipment.”
In providing tailor-made solutions for customers and providing the best and most cost effective commercial solutions based on its diverse selection, the Company really stands by its customers, which is a strong differentiator in the market and subsequently why the Company has lasted so long in the industry.
“We were able to grow our sales throughout the difficult economic circumstances that many companies such as ourselves have been faced with,” Ritvonen concludes. “We will continue to remain the leading Company in our field that successfully provides quality and reliable solutions which suit specifically Nigerian circumstances.”
