Three of Nigeria’s biggest technology firms have staged a remarkable turnaround, posting a combined after-tax profit of N9.18 billion in 2025, up from a collective loss of N2.39 billion in 2020.
The growth coincides with a 209 percent surge in revenue, reflecting a strategic pivot toward infrastructure-heavy services across SIM card manufacturing, banking software, and payments solutions.
Investor confidence has mirrored the recovery, with share prices reflecting the turnaround. Chams’ stock has risen 1,833 percent since 2020, eTranzact has climbed 1,025 percent, and CWG’s has gained 798 percent on the Nigerian Exchange.
The shift underscores a broader trend: companies that move away from low-margin consumer products in favor of high-value infrastructure are increasingly attracting investor attention.
Chams’ transformation was anchored on reducing dependence on government contracts. In 2020, Bank Verification Number (BVN) sales and maintenance contributed 38 percent of N2.11 billion revenue.
By 2025, BVN-related income had dropped to less than 1 percent, replaced by growth in biometrics and card production, which together now account for nearly 96 percent of revenue.
The company’s CardCentre subsidiary produces three million SIM cards and 5,000 bank cards monthly, with plans to scale to 100,000 bank cards daily by year-end. The expansion has been aided by Nigeria’s 2022 ban on SIM imports, boosting local manufacturers’ market share. Chams’ share price has risen 1,833 percent since 2020, reflecting investor approval of its manufacturing-led strategy.
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CWG has shifted its focus from hardware sales to software solutions for banks. In 2020, software contributed 12 percent of N11.85 billion revenue. By 2025, this segment accounted for nearly 32 percent of N65.66 billion revenue, while IT infrastructure (hardware, ATMs, and installations) remained 36 percent.
Partnerships with Indian multinational Infosys enabled CWG to distribute the Finacle core banking platform to major Nigerian banks, including GTBank, First Bank, UBA, and Fidelity, underpinning its revenue surge. CWG’s share price has climbed 798 percent since 2020, reflecting its repositioning as a critical provider of backend banking infrastructure.
eTranzact has deliberately reduced reliance on airtime sales, which contributed 93 percent of revenue in 2020 but 56 percent in 2024. In 2025, the company generated N29.82 billion, with a focus on switching, merchant acquiring, and government-led payment initiatives, including the national e-invoicing system.
Administrative expenses rose to N9.24 billion as the company invested in manpower and technology to support its pivot. Despite slower revenue growth compared with peers, eTranzact’s share price has climbed 1,025 percent since 2020, signaling confidence in its long-term strategy.
The performance of Chams, CWG, and eTranzact illustrates the rewards of infrastructure-led business models. Chams is capitalising on Nigeria’s SIM and card manufacturing boom, CWG is leveraging software-driven banking solutions, and eTranzact is positioning itself as a government-preferred payments partner.
