After years building telecom and enterprise software, this founder is now focused on HR for African businesses

Chuma Chukwujama’s first real encounter with technology came at a time when personal computers were just beginning to gain relevance. Starting out by helping companies computerise their operations, Chukwujama eventually went from systems integration into software development, telecommunications and later, into building cloud-based solutions tailored to the needs of African businesses.

Today, he’s the founder and CEO of Xceed365HR, a cloud-native human resources management system designed to serve mid-sized and large enterprises across Africa.

In this edition of After Hours, Chukwujama shares how a step away from a career in engineering evolved into a decade-long journey of building, adapting, and evolving with technology.

Early encounters with technology

When I think back to my earliest interaction with technology, I have to go all the way back to my final year at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, where I studied Electrical and Electronics Engineering. This was the late 1990s.

Back then, computers weren’t something you found everywhere. Universities had mainframes, and personal computers were considered high-end equipment used mostly by large corporations. So my first real exposure to technology came right at the dawn of the personal computer revolution.

Interestingly, I didn’t set out to build a career in technology. When I finished university, I knew for sure that I didn’t want to work as an engineer; that led me to start my first business, helping companies computerise. 

It was a time when Nigeria was opening up economically, and businesses were beginning to adopt technology in their operations. That created an opportunity, and I stepped into it.

Building systems for telecommunications, cloud and HR

In the early years, my company focused on what was then known as systems integration. We helped organisations set up computers and build logical networks, leveraging emerging tools from companies like Microsoft.

But after about three to four years, it became clear that what we were doing was becoming commoditised, and we needed to evolve.

What I noticed from working with clients, especially banks and telecom companies, was that while many were buying foreign enterprise software, there were clear gaps, particularly in payroll and HR systems. So, we pivoted from hardware and systems integration into software development.

Around 2000, I founded my second company, AlliedSoft. For over a decade, we built bespoke software solutions, including payroll systems, telecom tools such as SIM registration platforms, educational portals, and banking applications.

At the time, software was built using client-server architecture. It was resource-intensive: clients needed servers, databases, and infrastructure to run applications. That limited us to mid-sized and large organisations and made deployment and maintenance quite heavy.

Around 2010, we began to explore cloud technology. But back then, the idea of the cloud was met with scepticism. Many enterprises simply didn’t trust it. Even global players were still figuring it out.

Still, we experimented. Around 2015, we made a bold decision to go fully into cloud-based solutions and focus specifically on HR. That decision led to the birth of Xceed365HR. Today, Xceed365HR is more than just an HR platform; it’s evolving into a pan-African ecosystem for workforce productivity.

We’ve gone through multiple generations of the product. The early versions struggled with market acceptance, especially among larger organisations that were slow to adopt cloud solutions. But over time, as businesses became more comfortable with cloud-based tools, adoption improved significantly.

Now, we’re in our third generation: an AI-driven, agentic HR platform. This version integrates artificial intelligence at its core, not just as an add-on. The goal is to create systems that don’t just manage HR processes but actively support decision-making and productivity.

What excites me most is the scale of opportunity. Africa’s population is growing rapidly, and with that comes an explosion in businesses that need structured systems to operate efficiently. We want to be part of that story, building infrastructure that supports the next generation of African companies.

Technology in my everyday life

Technology is deeply embedded in my daily life, both personally and professionally.

AI, in particular, has transformed how I work. I use intelligent agents to fetch and process information, delivering insights I need on a daily basis. Instead of manually searching for data, I have systems that bring it to me.

One of the most powerful ways I use technology is through an insights dashboard that aggregates data from multiple sources, from CRM systems to financial tools, and presents it in a way that helps me make business decisions quickly.

Two tools I can’t do without would be Claude and ClickUp. I use ClickUp to organise both my personal and professional life. It’s central to how I manage tasks, workflows, and priorities.

I’ve also explored some creative use of tech tools. For instance, I use AI orchestration tools to pull information from different systems and synthesise it into actionable insights. It’s like having a personalised intelligence layer across my business.

I also use agents to stay updated. Every Monday, I receive curated updates ranging from competitor insights to domain trends and other relevant information, delivered directly to my Microsoft Teams channel. This used to be a manual, time-consuming process; now it’s automated.

Despite all the advancements, one of the biggest challenges I face has nothing to do with software; instead, it’s infrastructure.

Power and data access remain major issues. There are times when team members go days without electricity. We’ve tried various solutions like solar, batteries, and generators, but none are perfect. It’s an ongoing challenge that directly affects productivity.

In many cases, developers who could work efficiently from home are forced to come into the office or find alternative workspaces just to access reliable power and the Internet. It’s easily one of the most frustrating aspects of running a tech business here.

I don’t really take extended breaks from technology. It’s too integrated into my life. That said, I do occasionally step away from my phone for short, deliberate periods, just to focus, reflect, or think deeply. But beyond that, technology remains a constant presence.

One interesting thing I’ve done recently is build a personal tool. I wanted a way to capture thoughts, very personal reflections, and even prayers in a structured format. I couldn’t find any existing tool that did exactly what I needed, so I built one using AI-assisted coding tools. It’s not a public product, just something I use personally, and I’ve shared it with a close friend. But it reflects something fundamental about me: if I can’t find a tool that solves a problem, I’ll try to build it.

I’m incredibly optimistic about the future of technology in Africa. Nigeria alone is projected to have a population approaching 400 million by 2050. That kind of growth will drive massive demand for productivity tools, business systems, and digital infrastructure.

I believe we’re on the brink of exponential growth, not just in population, but in economic activity and innovation. And with the rise of AI, we have an opportunity to redefine how businesses operate. For me, the focus is clear: building solutions that help African businesses grow and thrive at scale.

If I weren’t building in tech, I would still be building something. I’ve always had the instinct to create, to produce. So I imagine I would probably be in manufacturing, maybe even producing food. Whatever it would be, one thing is certain: it would still be business.