How CWG escaped the hardware squeeze and built a digital infrastructure engine

CWG is beginning to reap the full benefits of a business transformation launched more than a decade ago, with strong growth in its IT Infrastructure Services business emerging as a major driver of its H1 2026 performance.

The company said the 142 percent growth recorded in its IT Infrastructure Services line in the first half of 2026 was the result of deliberate strategic positioning and investments made over several years, rather than a one-off windfall.

CWG’s transformation dates back to 2009, when the company embarked on a private placement ahead of its eventual listing on the Nigerian Exchange. Vetiva Capital valued the company at N6.97 billion ($50 million) at the time, while the offer was oversubscribed, with private equity firm Aureos Capital LLC taking a major stake despite the global economic recession.

The company subsequently listed on the stock exchange on November 15, 2013, at N5.48 per share, nearly twice its 2009 private placement price of N3.40, giving it a valuation of about $90 million.

However, the listing came at a turning point for the business. Although CWG recorded a turnover of N20 billion in 2013, profit before tax stood at N613 million, representing a margin of only 3.1 percent.

CWG said the performance exposed the limitations of its traditional hardware-led business model, which had become increasingly fragmented as competition intensified and margins narrowed.

“It was clear to us that the business model that had brought us thus far would be inadequate to take us into the future. The hardware business had run its…