Five years in, Zoho is growing 70% faster in Nigeria than anywhere else in Africa

When Zoho, an Indian multinational technology company that specialises in cloud-based business software solutions, formally entered Nigeria in 2020, the world was in lockdown, and businesses were scrambling for survival. Yet in the middle of that uncertainty, Zoho saw an opening: it believed that Nigerian companies, forced to adopt digital tools overnight, were ready for something new, affordable and locally relevant.

Five years on, that strategy is paying off. Zoho Nigeria has achieved a 70% year-on-year increase in customer acquisition, making it the fastest-growing Zoho market in Africa, according to Country Manager Kehinde Ogundare.

This growth stems from a locally tailored approach focused on affordability and a willingness to compete directly with long-established Big Tech players such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, which have dominated the Nigerian software market for many years.

Zoho’s presence was further strengthened in 2021 when Wave, the accounting platform, exited all markets outside the US and Canada. Wave users in Nigeria were automatically migrated to Zoho Books following a partnership in 2020 and given one year of free access, significantly expanding Zoho’s local footprint and establishing Zoho Books as a leading accounting solution for small businesses in the country.

Entering Nigeria in a crisis, and finding opportunity

Ogundare recalls the COVID period as both “educating and interesting,” because Nigerian companies were undergoing the fastest behavioural shift he had ever seen.

“Before 2020, Nigerians always had access to technology,” he told TechCabal. “But today, we are probably one of the largest countries in the African region using technology massively for business.”

The pandemic accelerated digital adoption, but Zoho’s real test was convincing Nigerian businesses to leave familiar, decades-old global brands like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google, for a relatively new entrant. The global giants had long histories, strong reputations and deep pockets. Zoho had to break through that barrier.

Taking on Big Tech

Ogundare prefers the word “collaborate” over “compete,” but he admits that entering a market already controlled by long-established Big Tech names was Zoho’s biggest early challenge.

“For most Nigerians, we grew up knowing the big global software brands,” he said. “Now imagine Zoho coming in and saying: we are the best alternative to these people.”

Convincing customers to switch required more than sales pitches.

Nigeria’s volatile economy, marked by dollar scarcity, currency swings, and weak purchasing power, made it difficult for businesses to afford international cloud services. Between 2019 and 2023, rising exchange rates and limits on foreign currency access and bank card usage for international payments severely hindered businesses’ ability to pay for essential services like global SaaS subscriptions, making global Software-as-a-Service tools like Salesforce and Hubspot increasingly inaccessible to local companies.

Zoho needed a deeply localised strategy. In 2020, the same year it entered the market, it introduced Naira pricing for users in Nigeria. This shift immediately made Zoho’s expansive, integrated cloud suite—with over 50 applications covering every major business function, including marketing, finance and accounting, sales and customer relations, human resources, and operations and management— more affordable and predictable for Nigerian users.

To strengthen its local commitment, Zoho layered on additional measures: standard Nigerian discounts, pricing intentionally lower than global rates, and more value per subscription compared to rival platforms. In markets abroad, an app might cost $30 per user; in Nigeria, Zoho deliberately prices many equivalents well below that, framing it as a long-term investment in the country’s SME ecosystem.

“Everything you see on Zoho today is built on Zoho, by Zoho, for Zoho,” Ogundare said. “That gives us autonomy to price in a way that supports our impact story.”

Its core apps, such as Zoho CRM and Zoho Books, offer “Forever Free” plans suited to micro-businesses and startups. For growing companies that need a unified system, Zoho One provides over 50 integrated apps for about $37 per employee per month under the annual “All Employee” plan. Essential standalone tools are available at lower entry points, such as Zoho CRM Standard at roughly $14 per user per month and Zoho Books Standard at about $15 monthly per organisation.

This strategy has yielded strong results. Zoho Workplace, its bundle of collaboration and productivity tools, has become the company’s fastest-selling suite in Nigeria, according to the company.

How Zoho CRM works

Zoho CRM is one of Zoho Nigeria’s flagship products and functions as the central hub for managing customer relationships and sales operations. The system begins by consolidating information from every customer touchpoint—emails, calls, social media, web interactions—into a unified profile, giving businesses a full 360-degree view of each prospect or client. Sales teams can then manage their entire pipeline in one place, tracking leads from capture to qualification, negotiation, and closure. Routine tasks such as lead assignment, follow-up scheduling, and performance reporting are automated, freeing teams to focus on high-value engagement rather than administrative work.

Zoho CRM also integrates across the wider customer lifecycle. Marketing teams use their centralised data for segmentation and targeted campaigns, while support teams rely on complete interaction histories to deliver faster, more personalised service. 

In Nigeria, this ecosystem is made even more accessible through a robust Forever Free tier that allows micro-businesses and startups to adopt CRM tools without upfront costs. As companies grow, locally priced Standard plans provide predictable, affordable upgrades that maintain continuity and value.

Localising support

Before 2020, Zoho users in Nigeria often had to send support emails to teams in distant time zones and hope for a response before the end of the workday. That has now changed. Zoho Nigeria operates with full in-country teams across sales, marketing, partner management and support roles staffed by Nigerian professionals who understand the local context. 

“You no longer wait for someone five hours ahead of you to wake up,” Ogundare said. “Support is now fully localised.” This local presence is expected to build trust and reduce friction for enterprise users.

At the same time, rising global concern over data privacy has helped Zoho distinguish itself as a privacy-first alternative to the ad-driven models of competitors like Google. The company does not allow third-party tracking on its applications and offers a completely ad-free experience, even on free plans. 

User data is kept strictly private and inaccessible to Zoho staff, with customers retaining full ownership of their information, according to Ogundare. He also notes that Zoho meets major global compliance standards, including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), International Standard Organisation (ISO) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

That privacy-centric philosophy extends to Zoho’s artificial intelligence strategy. Ogundare claims that Zia, Zoho’s intelligent assistant, has been in development for 14 years, long before the current generative AI boom. Every layer of its AI stack is built, trained and secured internally, ensuring user information remains protected within Zoho’s own controlled environment.

For Ogundare, the vision of success is “when we digitise all businesses in Nigeria.”