E-Business
HR – an Important Contributor to Business Longevity Through Acquisition and Partnerships
By Yewande Ayowole-Oso, HR Director, Anglophone West Africa at Schneider Electric
Business continuity and longevity remain a focal point for businesses in the constantly evolving world. In a time of emerging technologies, acquisitions, and an increasingly diverse and inclusive workforce, HR teams have emerged as all-important contributors to organisational business continuity.
The ever-transforming global workplace has triggered a rapid shift in how HR professionals around the world adapt to these changes. Indeed, the HR team’s role has moved beyond personnel managers to strategic business contributors. And like our counterparts across the globe, Nigerian HR teams are now focusing on delivering strategies for employee wellbeing, diversity, equity, inclusion, and talent retention – all to realise business continuity.
The focus now is on harnessing the potential of employees within the organisation, growing a pool of truly talented individuals who will contribute to organisational success whilst working in a nurturing, opportunity-abound environment.
Critical to the above, are HR professionals’ ability to understand the nuances of the organisations’ operations well enough to develop a strategy which contributes towards corporates’ focus on business success and longevity. The areas in which the HR function can contribute strategically are highlighted below.
Realising acquisition success
Acquisition and partnerships play in a vital role in ensuring business continuity. However, these are very sensitive processes in business growth and how this is managed can make a dramatic difference in the desired organisational growth.
HR teams play a pivotal role in organisations’ acquisition endeavours. Navigating cultural integration, especially during acquisitions, demands finesse and cultural awareness, which HR’s business acumen help achieve.
Whilst Nigeria might not experience acquisitions frequently on a local level, it is safe to say that if you are part of global HR team, your role, like your global counterparts, will be to ensure that the process runs smoothly.
When going through an acquisition process, HR’s role starts early, even before the ink dries, as the team is responsible for establishing a clear and transparent communication path amongst the stakeholders.
The ability to conduct cultural due diligence becomes paramount, ensuring a smooth transition by identifying potential clashes and differences whilst identifying existing similarities and areas of strength.
Importantly, it is HR’s role to assist employees, both existing and from the acquired entity, to ease into newly merged organisation by integrating and redefining the culture and corporate values of the newly evolving organisation.
Fundamental to a successful business growth is ensuring that the merging companies develop a shared vision, mission, and strategy. The HR team remains critical in building trust and solidifying relationships during and after the acquisition process.
In summary, the first step is unpacking the merging organisation’s existing culture by discontinuing current practices, attitudes, and behaviours. The second stage is transition which involves familiarising the workforce with new concepts based on a desired culture. The final stage is establishing the culture by reinforcing new practices, attitudes, and behaviours.
Also, decision-making processes, collaboration tendencies, communication styles, and organisational concepts are also critical factors that will contribute to establishing an integrated plan that allows for a seamless transition and the realisation of a new organisational culture.
Additionally, change management remains a continuous process within organisations particularly during new acquisitions and partnerships. HR can play a dual role here by both initiating and leading the change and serving as a facilitator for the changes initiated by the other stakeholder. Stakeholder concerns should also be addressed, and the relevant solutions communicated to foster a successful partnership.
Technology also has an innovative role to play in smoothing the acquisition and transition process. It acts as an enabler, simplifying and streamlining processes, tasks, and enhancing productivity.
Technology and digital HR systems provide the tools with which the HR team can analyse data and provide valuable insights into changing workforce demographics, employee knowledge, skills and abilities landscape which is particularly beneficial when working with diversified and expanding workforce.
There is no doubt that HR professionals play an integral role in company’s acquisition and partnership processes. HR teams are responsible for the organisation’s most important asset, its people. HR has and can truly solidify its role as strategic business partner in organisations when acquisitions and partnership are adapted as a means of enhancing business longevity.
Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.
The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.
GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.
In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.
Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).
GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.
At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.
“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”
Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.
A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.
Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”
Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.
“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”
Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.
This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.
The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.
He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.
This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.
GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.
The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”
As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.
With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.
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