Peritus Exim: Infrastructure Development partner of Africa
Infrastructure contributes a lot to the development of a country. The development of the first bullet train in Korea created a great boost for the Korean economy and the situation was the same in Japan. China couldn’t have achieved this much economic growth and couldn’t have achieved the title of “the world’s factory” if it lacked infrastructure.
If you have no roads, railroads, ports, or other infrastructure necessary to support transportation, then you can’t transport goods or people to where they are wanted or want to go. Infrastructure makes it easier to engage in economic activity.
If you have no schools, it is harder to educate people in groups. You have to do it one on one. If you have no medical equipment or places to store and use medical equipment, it is harder to provide medical services. If you have no factories, it is harder to make the things people want. Without the infrastructure to make and transport the things people want, economic development is much harder. The more infrastructure that is already available, the easier it is to facilitate further economic activity.
There is an increasing gap between the haves and have-nots. While in developed countries there is an excess of everything, under-developing countries lack even the basic infrastructure for its people and this is only reducing further their capacity to survive and compete with the rest of the world. To overcome this gap, a team of engineers started Peritus Exim, an infrastructure development company.
Peritus Exim has shown tremendous growth since it’s inception in 2014 and is now becoming an essential partner in implementation of various multidimensional Infrastructure projects in the East Africa Region.
“With a vision of improving access to basic infrastructure for all and using our technical background as a tool to do that, we have started Peritus. We aim to promote technology transfer advantages from developed to developing world by providing most advanced technology solutions & equipment, customized to meet our client’s requirements ” says Tripurari Goyal -Co-Founder, MD & CEO at Peritus Exim and a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur.
“In a conventional sector such as Infrastructure and technology trade, there is little commitment shown by any multinational infrastructure company towards developing solutions, customized to African Market,” says Mr. Goyal. “Our clients in Africa need Infrastructure solutions equipped with the latest technological advancements but they have limited exposure to modern technologies. Thus they needed someone who is focused on developing solutions specific to their requirements, invest time and resources in bridging the technology gap, and offer solutions best suited to them and not just dump any product randomly. This is where Peritus is making a difference. We can proudly say that in such a short span, Peritus is now the most preferred company to offer Smart metering solutions to the Govt. of Tanzania. We are also working on developing community metering and smart utility payment solutions for our clients.” shares the CEO, Tripurari Goyal.
As companies are closing to prevent the spread of COVID transmission, economic slowdown and other direct impacts are the repercussions that are visible in every sector of the economy. Not knowing how this pandemic will play out also affects our economic, physical, and mental well-being. Despite this fear, businesses and communities in many regions are a ray of hope to the falling economy.
Mr. Goyal shares “As we are dealing with basic infrastructure development, we have not faced any direct disruption due to Covid-19 Pandemic. People need water, electricity, etc, and the government. needs to keep improving its revenue collections from such supplies. Thus we are as busy as we were before the pandemic. Yes, we are forced to work remotely and reduce our physical engagements with our clients, however, this has in a way helped us convince our various clients to opt for smart technology solutions, even for the community infrastructure.”
Peritus has two branch offices i.e. in Rwanda and Tanzania. With a decade’s experience in developing infrastructure projects in Africa, Peritus is proving to be the right partner even for the other leading Infrastructure companies from around the world who are now shifting their focus towards Africa, be it in the field of basic Infrastructure such as water and electricity or in more advanced sectors such as Renewable energy, Oil & Gas & Railways.
Mr. Goyal says, “We can proudly claim that with the help of our technology partners from Europe, India & China, our smart technology solutions for Water Infrastructure are now adopted by more than ten Water Utilities across Africa. Peritus is the first company to Implement Smart Community Water Dispenser Infrastructure in Tanzania at large scale under Govt. of India funded Projects.
We wish to build Peritus for Africa similar to what L&T is to India, with a vision that in the coming years, African infrastructure becomes a benchmark and technology marvels for the rest of the world to follow for centuries to come.”We had a conversation with the co-founder to bring you some exclusive insights on how they work and what they believe in. Here’s a quick glimpse.
HOW DO YOU ENSURE TO CONSTRUCT A PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTING AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION?
Peritus always brings innovative solutions to various community Infrastructure challenges faced by our high-end clients such as Utility ministries of various countries, parastatals, etc.
Peritus team engages with the implementation teams of our clients and identifies the right innovation suited to handle their challenges. We build our client’s confidence in the solution with such engagements and further implement the solution on a pilot scale. This makes it easier for us to implement any innovative solutions to a new market.
HOW YOUR COMPANY’S WORK CULTURE IMPACTED YOUR GROWTH?
We call Peritus a family. I must admit we run it less like a business and more like a family where irrespective of individual roles, we all are available to each other for any support be it professional, social, or emotional. The same principle also reflects when our team members are associated with our clients. We connect with them, with their problems, and commit ourselves beyond our contractual obligations. This brings practicality to our solutions and gives our clients unique confidence in our services. I agree, it’s quite involved in the beginning, but once you match your frequencies, it’s very rewarding.
HOW ARE YOU OVERCOMING THE PANDEMIC CHALLENGE?
Except for a few logistical challenges, we haven’t faced any major challenge in our company due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of our projects are part of long-term development programs that are already funded and thus secured in terms of financial risks etc. We do face slight challenges when we need to engage outside agencies in our work, however, with the following measures, we have managed to keep the show going
Our teams in most affected areas are working from home and engaging with clients through online mediums.
We have changed our current focus on existing projects, dealing with our existing clients and technology partners. This reduces the need for many physical interactions and helps our operations run smoothly with our trusted partners.
Still, for any outside engagements, our teams are well equipped and empowered with the right resources to take all precautions needed while on work during these Covid-19.
HOW DO YOU CONTINUE TO GROW AND DEVELOP AS A LEADER?
Growing as a leader is a process. I attempt to understand people, within or outside our organization, and act towards solving their challenges. It’s that simple. It keeps me focused on what I have to do next, what I should learn next, and how I can assist my teams.
As His Excellency, Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda, arguably one of the greatest African leaders of current times once said – “Leadership is about being practical, result-oriented, problem-solving and of course, it’s about people—it is not just theory.”
