Yesterday I had a Skype chat session with a Pakistan based Poultry Farm CEO, about my Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager. At a point, he wrote: “it is good to see that kind of work from Africa”(screenshot below).

I knew he meant it was rare to find an African based in Africa, selling functional, and customizable Excel-Visual Basic software to a global audience.

Incidentally, he was not the first to do say that to me. Others have expressed similar sentiments in the past.

For instance, I’ve been friends with a “Singaporean” professional Excel-VB developer for about 5 years now…for the same reason…

He’d found my Excel Heaven website, and after watching my video demos, sent me a web form message to express how impressed he was.

Below: This video demonstration of a Financial Reporting App I built for a large Lagos based hospital in 2007, was one of those that got his attention:

He also pointed out that I could make a few additions to some of my demos, for better effect.

In that regard, he was referring specifically to an enhanced version of an MS Excel workbook for engineers, that I’d downloaded from www.structural-engineering.fsnet.co.uk – which (I think) is now also accessible via www.structural-engineering.co.uk.

See screenshot below.

I replied saying I really did not have much interest in doing more than I had already done, as I doubted that potential buyers in my target market (Africa), would be interested in that kind of solution.

My only reason for going as far as I had, was to “test” the idea that came to me after I’d browsed through the workbook. When I saw how the query interfaced I’d added really boosted the speed and reliability of data retrieval from the different spreadsheets, I decided to put it online.

I still recall sending a copy of the enhanced menu driven version of the workbook to the author of the original workbook (at www.structural-engineering.fsnet.co.uk), just to let him know what I’d done.

[NB: Back then, my spontaneousdevelopment.com domain was still active. So I’d sent it via tayo at spontaneousdevelopment dot com. As I’ve since explained on this blog, that 9 year old domain got taken over by Aplus.net, on 4th may 2014. Click here to learn why/how that happened.]

My Singapore based enquirer pressed further, saying that if I made the modifications he proposed, it would be MORE useful to others from developed societies.

I then told him I’d created that improved version and offered it for FREE download, only to give interested persons from any part of the world password free access to study what I’d done, and improve on it if they so wished.

At a point in our email exchanges, he expressed surprise that I claimed to be based in Nigeria (this was late 2007).

[NB: I’ve since relocated from Nigeria, and have been based here in Cotonou since 1st April 2013. ]

As he put it, he did not imagine anyone from that part of the world, could produce Excel-VB driven apps of the quality that he’d seen on my site.

I replied that I was indeed a Nigerian based in Nigeria.

He countered that he’d checked the headers in my emails and found they were coming from servers in the US.

I explained that I used a US based web host (Aplus.net at the time), and that that was why the headers showed GMT data suggesting my mails originated from that end.

To convince him, I offered to call him on the mobile phone number he’d supplied when he first submitted the web form message on my website.

This was so as to prove to him that I was indeed physically in Nigeria.

He agreed.

So, I dialed his number and on the first ring he picked up, and we spoke for about 20 seconds. I asked if he now believed me, and he said he did.

We then ended the call and returned to exchanging emails.

It was an interesting experience. Two developers from opposite ends of the world, more or less, establishing what would go on to crystallize into a long standing friendship.

Today, “KC” (his initials from his real name) is connected with me on one of the popular social media platforms.

And over the years we have shared all sorts of project ideas.

I recall one time I had a request from a large hotel in Allen Avenue area of Ikeja, in Lagos, Nigeria.

They wanted me to make my Excel-VB driven Hotel Records Management Software automatically tap into the electronic door key cards software database.

And they wanted it to link each guest’s name with my software’s modules for accommodation, restaurant, laundry etc. That way, each guest’s bill would be generated by my app without need for manual addition of corresponding records from the electronic door key cards software.

I tried to meet with the MD of the electronic door vendor company. He was initially reluctant to give me access to the disk for the software, so I could determine how best to connect to the database from my Excel app.

That is, until the Manager of the hotel told him they would NOT purchase the key card software, unless it was established that it would work with my app.

KC had offered some experience based suggestions…he’d been in the “business” much longer and had massive experience from developing custom high performing apps for use by clients in various industries – including oil and gas.

But by the time I was able to examine the software on the hotel PC, and the files on the installation disk, I discovered it was a normal MS Access database that the key card software used!

That made the task much easier than I’d thought it would be.

And I soon setup the needed code to dynamically connect my app to the database.

The point I’m making however is that if I’d needed support to do something much more advanced (which KC had thought would be the case), I already had a competent online colleague/friend I could reach out to.

And that happened courtesy of my decision to put my work online, from my small corner of the world right here in Africa.

As for my Pakistani Farm CEO prospect, his web form enquiry to me had indicated he half-doubted I actually had the competence my video suggested. See his exact words below…

My Youtube video for the Poultry Farm Manager had led him to me (See below)

But when I read what he wrote in the comments field, I knew again that the stereotype about people from my part of the world was causing some “noise” in my marketing message, for him.

So, when we finally had our chat session on Skype, I was not surprised when – after I’d supplied detailed responses to his queries – he wrote:

“it is good to see that kind of work from Africa”.

Non-Africans, from Asia, Europe and America especially, are so used to meeting people from our part of the world, who lack skills like those I display online.

Even what I do using my own brand of Web Marketing, to generate search engine based leads for myself, and my clients, is something I’ve had people from developed societies express surprise at.

I periodically encounter this (often involuntary) stereotyping online, and also offline when I meet non-Africans face to face – even here in Cotonou.

Over the years I’ve tried to interest fellow Africans I meet (especially colleagues and younger persons) in doing what I do, the way I do it, using PC and Internet technology…

But very few have been interested. Not even those who studied IT or some related subject. And those who showed interest never had enough passion to develop the needed proficiency to excel at it.

For some reason our people always want to take the “easy” route. Especially something that does not require much mental exertion.

Ironically, PC and Internet technology if well used, offer Africa – and Africans – the most cost-effective avenue to create jobs/employment and also generate income – as individuals, groups, and even as nations.

I am hopeful that the work being done by a few of us will over time inspire more of our people to wake up and take their destiny into their own hands, like we have done!