Sir Demola Ben Aladekomo | |
Native Name: | Demola |
Native Name Lang: | Yoruba |
Birth Date: | 31 December 1957 |
Birth Place: | Lagos, Nigeria |
Occupation: | Computer engineer |
Institutions: | DATA Foundation |
Known For: | Pioneering the first e-card in Nigeria |
Spouse: | Titi Aladekomo |
Children: | Four |
Sir Demola Aladekomo (born 31 December 1957) is a computer engineer from Lagos, Nigeria. Aladekomo is the chairman of SmartCity Resorts Plc,[1] Card Centre Nigeria Limited,[2] Treasure-nest Limited, Crops Nigeria Limited, Chams Consortium Limited,[3] Insider Concepts Limited, and the founder of Chams Plc.[4] He is a Fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society (FNCS)[5] and the Computer Professional Registration Council (CPN); a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), and the immediate past President of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA)[6] and the Nigeria Computer Society, respectively. Aladekomo has also served as the vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of SmartCard Society of Nigeria. He is the founder of DATA Foundation[7] and Volunteer Corps,[8] non-governmental organizations engaged in corporate social investments in Nigeria. He is a Patron and "Handler of the Order of Anchor (HOA)" of the Lagos State Council, of the Boys' Brigade in Nigeria.[9]
Aladekomo graduated from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1982 with a degree in computer engineering and obtained an MBA from the University of Lagos in 1984.[10] He was Chief Executive Programmer at the Lagos Business School (LBS) from 1991 to 1992.[11] He is married to Titi Aladekomo, an entrepreneur and philanthropist. They have four children, one of which is Tomiwa Aladekomo, and three granddaughters.
Aladekomo founded Chams Limited (now Chams Plc, and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange) as the first indigenous computer maintenance outfit in Nigeria in September 1985.[12] Working as the chief engineer at the time, the company deployed Nigeria's first Wide-Area-Network WAN) on personal computers, and deployed the country's pioneer card technology. The company also contributed to the development of the first e-payment card in Nigeria: the Valucard[13] project, working with a consortium of five local banks.
Aladekomo helped transform Chams from a privately held company to public company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It attempted to differentiat itself in the Nigerian market by focusing on the business of identity management, ceding the increasingly cluttered card technology and transaction payments segments to its subsidiaries, ChamAccess Limited[14] and Card Centre Nigeria Limited.
Aladekomo is the founder and past chairman of the Board of Trustees of Volunteer Corps and the DATA Foundation; a non-governmental organization committed to professional volunteerism for public school education which has repeatedly awarded scholarships to students in public schools.[15]
Aladekomo has served in the following capacities: