By Agatha Emeadi
Kate Isa is the chief executive officer of Katchey Company Limited. The company is everything rolled into one as far as the supplies of laboratory equipment and chemicals, analytical laboratory testing solutions, building and equipping laboratories are concerned. As Katchey joined the league of elite analytical laboratories as a non-governmental analytical laboratory body across the world by attaining ISO 17025 accreditation after a detailed audit by ANAB, an American accrediting body; Sunday Sun spoke with Isa who went down memory lane to give blow by blow account of Katchey’s journey these 33 years and her passion in revolutionizing the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Nigeria.
Please introduce yourself, bringing out your fond memories growing up?
My name is Kate Isa (Nee Ikechi Okwodu) from Umunjam, Mbieri in Mbaitolu LGA, Imo State. My parents, though resting with their maker, were educationists, disciplinarians, hard-working and integrity personified; these attributes fashioned our lifestyles. My mother was a serial entrepreneur and farmer; what we ate mostly came from her farm and she sold some as well. My upbringing was that of an industrious family. My father was an educationist while my mother was more enterprising. I also spent a lot of my formative years with my maternal grandmother who takes me to the farm. She would back me while I held my own little hoe to the farm. At a stage, I insisted I walk to the farm like other adults because I was a grown girl. At the farmstead, I would use my little hoe to pull down the mounds they had mounted, giving them double work. One memorable day, I saw many rings in the soil and fixed them on my 10 fingers and ran to my grandmother in excitement, she screamed out because it was millipede scales. Another auntie quickly removed them and washed me up immediately.
Let’s know your educational background and career progression?
I was admitted into the University of Lagos to study Engineering, but had migraine that gave me instability. At the hospital, the doctor advised me to change from Engineering to Computer Science from where I graduated and was posted to Leventis Technical for my National Service. Though my project supervisor in the university wanted me to develop library management software and commercialize it for the school, but I was already posted to Leventis Technical where I made my mark especially in the area of training for both the executives and junior workers. After sometime, I left and went to work with a company I had a lot of respect for – Data Sciences, owned by Chief Don Etiebet. I was employed as a software designer, Computer Software Engineer. We prided ourselves in the fact that there was no foreigner with us, both software and hardware Engineers were all Nigerians. One of the greatest feats was that he sent us on a lot of overseas training and I smartly queued in by being available for training whenever the opportunity comes. I would go out of my way to get my international passport and all necessary visas ready; at any snap, while others are either waiting for the company to re-new or apply for visa, Kate is up-to-date and ready to fly out. I must also confess that I worked with Data Sciences as if I owned the company. From showing commitment, I got a lot of businesses for Data Sciences; I used all family networks to drive the business. We worked in groups and when any project is assigned to any group, we must surely deliver even if it means sleeping in the office including Saturdays. My team developed packaging for the banking sector. If I am sleeping and remember an idea for our team project, I would wake up and drive to the office between 1:00 and 2:00 am to get it done. Security was not an issue then; and for all these many more, the owners trusted me a great deal. I can finish my work in the morning, get home, and take a shower and then rest before I return to the office. My admin raised an eyebrow and I told them, take a look at my sign-in and out. Interestingly, while in Data Sciences, I applied and was offered another employment in the Computer Department of IMB, but could not cope with that regular early resumption, I needed that flexibility because I was a software designer, and not an officious woman. In the end, I learnt a lot from Data Science, had a lot of experiences, knew most dealers, knew the internals because I was committed, learnt what to do and what not to do; the ovation was not so high anymore and I was not ready to go into private computer business rather something different and a friend of mine got me forms for Harvard Business School which became successful and I left Data Sciences for Harvard though leave-of-absence. One of my greatest lessons which is also my take away is ‘do not just start your own business immediately, work for others first and subject yourself to the learning process. After 18-months training in Harvard, armed with my MBA, I returned to Nigeria, got married to my best friend and went back to resume work at Data Sciences. Shockingly, I was offered the same job designation and salary I had before I went to Harvard. When I brought the letter to my husband and he said, this people do not know your value, stay home, you don’t need this job. Then we lived within Ikeja and was developing our own building, so I became the foreman and a builder until it was completed and we moved in and was there for a couple of years. Though while I was in Data Sciences, I perceived gaps in computer supplies and services and used Katchey as the vehicle to fill those gaps and, therefore, incorporated a company then called InfoTech. It was more of a family business and partnered with some other professionals and started such supplies. One of the team members felt we should incorporate another company for some other reasons and that was how Katchey came on board. We did a few things together and I took back Katchey which also served other business needs.
How did you break into the global market?
On this particular day, my husband came back home with a list of strange sounding products like Ammonium Chloride, HCL, GPR, Fuming Sulphuric Acid… He asked if I could find them because his friend at NAFDAC asked him to source the chemicals because they were having problems with substandard quality of inputs for analysis in their laboratories. I had no idea where to source the materials from, but thanks to my younger brother who helped and I finally found a source in BDH, a global leader in chemicals and laboratory sciences. Big fat files and catalogues in my hand, the list my husband gave me turned out to be a very big order, I sent a mail to the BDH, the manufacturers, we used my husband’s collateral services to borrow money and executed that project. BDH cancelled their entire existing dealership contract and gave Katchey exclusivity in Nigeria. With that network, we were seen as having capacity, properly licensed and do not cut corners. We also reached out to oil and gas industries, environmental, forensic, food and beverage, mining and extractive industries, among others. Before Prof Gabriel Osuide left office, I had made proposals for BDH to programme NAFDAC into their production, so they can always have all they need, but it did not fly immediately.
Prof. Dora Akunyili and the fake drug war
The moment Professor Dora Akunyili came on board as the NAFDAC DG, she was determined to fight fake drugs to a standstill which were prevalent at that time. She knew that her laboratory network was critical to ensuring that no result from any NAFDAC laboratory could be successfully contested. Her search for a crown agent in Nigeria led her to Katchey, and after much pressure she invited me for a meeting in her office. When I got there, she had my proposal in her hand and said this is too good to be true. I said it is real. She asked how soon can we see your principals; we all met in London and I took her to all the facilities, we had meetings and formalized all documents through Prof. ABC Nwosu and got an exclusive supply agreement that was approved by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo. Katchey then proceeded to re-equip and modernize NAFDAC laboratories network across the country and also evolved from being just a supplier of laboratories chemicals and reagents, to providing total solutions to different kinds of laboratory needs.
What’s doing business with NAFDAC like?
When I was summoned to Enugu, Mrs. Eke, one of the directors, was angry and asked why I was wasting time in my supplies. In her words: ‘Do you know how many companies that are looking for this opportunity and you are wasting time?’ They gave me the list which I sent to my Lagos office and asked them to start coding immediately and got a ticket to London proximately. As I worked into the manufacturer’s office in pool, the list was already on their bosses table, all hands were on deck and we supplied the first part of the list which included atomic assumption and others. Prof. Dora loved NAFDAC and her laboratory so much, and didn’t want all those brief-case carriers getting contract and messing things up, she never wanted such. After five years when the first executive order expired, there were agitations from other suppliers and we started the bidding. That is our story even as we served NAFDAC until Prof. Dora left for the Ministry of Communication.
How was it working with successive DGs at NAFDAC?
We were doing well under NAFDAC while Prof. Gabriel Osuide was the DG. NAFDAC did not discover us. We were there long before Prof. Dora came on board in 2002. Prof. Akunyili’s name boosted NAFDAC and made it a very popular agency. Former President Obasanjo would always tell that he never knew anything about NAFDAC until Prof. Dora Akunyili came on board. We were also doing big things with National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRED). To this end, I can tell that our real breakthrough was in 1999, when we had our biggest job before Prof Akunyili came on board. It was under Prof. Wambebe who gave us a list and after the quotation, we discovered it was quite large and huge. My husband was introduced to Prof. Momah who was impressed with the quality we brought, and the quotation was on the desk of the Minister then, about to be approved when that government of the late General Sani Abacha came to an end. That was going to be a major breakthrough for us. I cannot give credit to anybody, but my God who is my way-maker, miracle worker and owner of my life; only Him deserves all the glory in this business.
Revolutionizing teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Nigeria
I have preached this sermon since year 2000. we equip schools as well. I have not forgotten our exhibition at Nicon Nuga Hilton Hotel, Abuja, and the Director of Science and Technology, Federal Ministry of Education came, after she saw our products, she was impressed and said they were about to set WAEC examination, they wanted us to supply chemicals and HSCs. I told her that it was too late; it will confuse the students; therefore, let us plan I have preached this sermon since 2000. We equip schools as well, I have not forgotten our exhibition at the ministry and we did a report to determine WAEC/NECO to prepare a catalogue of all the unity schools will need; before it could be implemented, the minister was removed likewise many others. This is my hottest passion. Let us stop teaching our children with analogue, but digital. Researchers and inventors are not produced through analogue teaching. Let the curriculum be changed immediately for the 21st Century children, they cannot compete with analogue.
Katchey complex and ground-breaking ceremony
We are not just a laboratory, but we have been equipping laboratories with the support of our foreign manufacturing partners who have a lot of scientists in their system. If we need information, we can get to them for training and knowing. Therefore, proposed KATCHEY complex will house manufacturing of laboratories equipment and consumables, additional capacity for Independent Analytical Laboratories, Training Centres for Laboratory Analysis and Bio-Engineers, conferencing and seminar facilities, offices and warehouses. That facility is four times as big as the Ikeja laboratories.
How did you meet your heart-rob, AbdulRasaq Isa?
While still working with Data Sciences, operating Katchey quietly, we got an order and supplied, got a cheque, but needed cash to make some payments on the same day. The places I had accounts could not offer me such services. So, I had met the Chairman of a new generation bank who was just starting a new bank. I got him informed and he directed me to two other staff, and the first was Rasaq, I sat in front of him as he took my details which I thought was part of the requirement for the cash transaction and referred me to the person that would open the account and I got the cash. Surprisingly, that weekend, Rasaq showed up in my house and I had someone somewhere. He started visiting seriously and made all necessary moves, one thing led to another and here we are today happily married.