‘Pirated software, a huge risk for West African businesses’

Financial Expert,Magnus Nmonwu,  has warned that   the rate of software piracy in the West African region  remains high by world standards and could hurt business bottom line in the long run.  Nmonwu, who is the Regional Director for Sage in West Africa, explained that West African business builders are beginning to embrace the benefits […]

Financial Expert,Magnus Nmonwu,  has warned that   the rate of software piracy in the West African region  remains high by world standards and could hurt business bottom line in the long run.

 Nmonwu, who is the Regional Director for Sage in West Africa, explained that West African business builders are beginning to embrace the benefits of legally licensed business management software, understanding how these solutions power their operations to greater efficiency.

He said: “The unauthorised duplication, distribution or use of business management software is an illegal practice that is subject to civil and criminal penalties.

“Software piracy undermines economic development and also potentially costs companies more in legal penalties and reputational damages than they would need to pay for legally licenced solutions.”

He explains that the Nigerian Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, has been quoted saying that Nigeria loses about $287 million to software piracy each year, and this has to stop.

According to Nmonwu, software piracy is far from the victimless crime many businesses imagine it to be. 

Piracy robs computer resellers and software vendors of their hard-earned revenues. This, in turn, undermines the ICT industry’s ability to create jobs, invest in product research and development, and pay taxes, says Nmonwu.

He explained that local resellers suffer because they don’t get the revenues they need to invest in their businesses. 

The only party that benefits from software piracy is the criminal profiting off someone else’s work and intellectual property.