Roland Omoresemi

Interview by Visual Collaborative
April 2020 5 min read

Roland Omoresemi is a veteran Information Technologist, Strategist, and Entrepreneur based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He presently serves as the Chief Executive of Tezza Business Solutions, an IT & Business Consulting firm with offices in East and West Africa. As a feature in our TwentyEightyFour interview series, this thought leader talks to us about his roots, businesses, and shares timely advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.

(VC) Outside the work you do in and around America and the African continent, who is Roland Omoresemi?

(Roland) I’m a fun-loving, easy-going husband, father, and grandfather to Christine, my wife of 18 years, to Courtney (24-year-old daughter), to Myles (16-year-old son), Maya (13-year-old daughter) and Carter (4 year old granddaughter). Besides my family, I draw strength from my Christian beliefs and from my aspirations to see a positive change in Africa. I practically live for my family and mostly to make a difference in Nigeria.

(VC) As an astute professional, what can you candidly tell aspiring entrepreneurs about success and risk in business?

(Roland) If success were easy, we would all be multimillionaires! I find that to be successful, one has to take calculated risks, put in a lot of hard work, endurance, perseverance and one must constantly validate the present with the past. An entrepreneur would be one that has a boatload of experiences to tap into and mentors to bounce ideas at. There have been none of the ventures I had ever embarked on that came easy and it is also fair to say that being an entrepreneur in Africa requires twice as much the attributes I had just mentioned. Without risks in business, it would almost be a cakewalk dreaming up ideas and seeing them to fruition. Even with the best of plans, its the risks that make it all worth it sometimes because not everyone can calculatedly bet against some odds.

I’m definitely for the adoption of these technologies to overcome human limitations such as disabilities, physical ailments and, reduction of suffering. We must also be cognizant of the fact that humans will continue to push the envelope

(VC) You have done loads of work in both the finance and technology sector, was this a natural career progression or all part of a plan?

(Roland) I’d say it’s been mostly a natural career progression and partly part of a plan. My first major while going to college in Nigeria was Agriculture. Back then, the idea was to get a degree within a marketable field but upon my arrival in the US some 29 years ago, Agriculture wasn’t it. Computer science-related programs were touted as the most promising careers to pursue hence my choice of a college program that included both technology and business. Upon graduation from college, I found out that it was a lot easier to get the type of work opportunities I wanted within the BFSI (Banking Financial Services Insurance) sector and I just stayed within that space.

(VC) In our present times, AI and Big Data are no longer buzzwords but a reality. What are your thoughts on Transhumanism?  Do you foresee dangers or there are more societal benefits to reap from this converged trajectory?

(Roland) Whether it’s Big Data, AI, IoT, Social Media, or Cloud, I’d say there’s a lot the society can benefit from the converged trajectory of all the disruptive technologies currently at play in our world today. I’m definitely for the adoption of these technologies to overcome human limitations such as disabilities, physical ailments and, reduction of suffering. We must also be cognizant of the fact that humans will continue to push the envelope where immortality of the person is concerned and I’m sure there would be ethical issues that will arise as this school of thought gains more acceptance.

(VC) As a business leader and entrepreneur who has run businesses internationally, how has the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected your outlook on life as it relates to your collaborations?

(Roland) COVID-19 will have little or no impact on my outlook as it relates to collaborations especially since the ability to collaborate has always been an essential element of our business model at Tezza. When we started Tezza Business Solutions some 11 years ago, our vision at that time was to get companies in North America to outsource of some their IT projects to Africa by leveraging our qualified IT resources. We thought location and distance won’t matter but we were wrong because it took us 5 years to convince some of our first US clients to utilize our services. Also, while we’ve experienced some successes in Africa getting companies to outsource some of the IT functions, we still run into companies who struggle with having any work happen outside of their office premises. The lockdowns and social distancing mandates associated with COVID-19 will forever change the perceptions associated with working from home and outsourcing companies. We expect to see more companies outsource some of their critical functions post COVID-19.

(VC) At this stage of your professional milestones and accomplishments, If you could partner with any brand or public figure in business who would it be and why?

(Roland) There’s still a ton of work to do as such I don’t consider myself as accomplished by any means. If we could, we’d like to do more business with the likes of Zenith Bank – Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank – Nigeria, Equity Bank in Kenya.

(VC) What kind of enterprise or personal work can the world expect from Roland Omoresemi within the next 12 months?

(Roland) I see this period in my life as my pre-retirement season as such I don’t expect I’d be starting any new. I plan to spend time growing the Dreamfield Brand; this is our 30-Acre Farm and its associated Restaurant in Nigeria.