Draft:Webb Fontaine
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Webb Fontaine is a technology company providing software systems for customs administration and trade facilitation to government agencies. The company was founded in 2002 by Jean Gurunlian and is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[1] It operates in several countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, where it has contracted with national customs authorities to deploy and maintain customs management systems, single window platforms, and port community systems.[2][3]
In Nigeria, the company held a long-running contract with the Nigeria Customs Service that was phased out in 2025 when the Federal Government replaced the company's system with an indigenously developed platform.[2]
History and background
Webb Fontaine was established in 2002 by Jean Gurunlian, who described the company's objective as using technology to simplify international trade transactions. In a 2019 interview with the Armenian technology publication Itel.am, Gurunlian stated that the company opened a research and development office in Yerevan, Armenia in 2006.[1]
Webb Fontaine's first major government contract was with the Nigeria Customs Service, beginning around 2005–2006, for the deployment of the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS). The company is listed as a service provider on the Nigeria Customs Service's official website.[4]
In 2015, the company won a contract from the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority, financed by the European Union, to replace Ethiopia's legacy customs system. Coverage of the deployment appeared in Capital Ethiopia and The Reporter Ethiopia.[5][6]
Products and services
Webb Fontaine's product portfolio includes customs management systems, electronic single window platforms, and port community systems. According to its CEO Alioune Ciss, in an interview with CIO Africa in 2025, the company's research and development centres work on artificial intelligence, data analytics, and customs management technology, with national government officers involved from early development stages.[7]
In January 2026, at the World Customs Organization Technology Conference and Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, Webb Fontaine introduced a concept called Webb Fontaine Zerø, described by the company as a large language model-based approach to customs technology. The event drew over 1,500 delegates from more than 100 countries, and the announcement was reported by Nigerian Communications Week.[8]
Nigeria
Webb Fontaine held a contract with the Nigeria Customs Service from approximately 2006, under which it operated the NICIS and NICIS II customs declaration systems. The contract was financed through the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS), a levy on imports. In February 2025, Nigeria Customs Service suspended the CISS levy while explaining it was phasing out service providers including Webb Fontaine, according to Premium Times.[2]
In August 2024, Webb Fontaine's Nigeria managing director, Ope Babalola, told reporters that the Nigeria Customs Service had collected N2.7 trillion in the first half of 2024, surpassing its half-year target by 8 per cent, attributing part of this to the company's ICT systems. He also stated that the World Customs Organization had appointed Webb Fontaine to its Private Sector Consultative Group.[9]
A separate ThisDay investigation into Nigeria's broader e-customs modernisation programme, published in 2022, referenced Webb Fontaine's existing system in the context of a proposed $3.1 billion concession project. A retired Customs comptroller quoted in the article questioned the need for the new project, stating that Webb Fontaine's existing electronic system already performed the relevant functions.[3]
Controversies
Nigeria contract transition and B'Odogwu
In March 2025, Eye Witness News reported that the Federal Government of Nigeria had ended its contract with Webb Fontaine and that the Nigeria Customs Service had developed an indigenously built replacement platform called B'Odogwu. The same outlet reported that Webb Fontaine had shut down its infrastructure at the Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) command during a pilot period for the new system, temporarily disrupting customs operations there. Webb Fontaine did not issue a public response to the reported incident.[10][11]
Prior to the contract's end, industry associations had raised concerns about the reliability of the NICIS II platform. In February 2022, The Guardian Nigeria reported that the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) had written to the Minister of Finance alleging recurring server outages and financial losses for importers, and threatening a port shutdown if the issues were not addressed.[12] In September 2024, Tribune Online reported that clearing agents under the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents alleged discrepancies between the server infrastructure deployed at Nigerian ports and the specifications in the original government contract.[13]
In 2022, a non-governmental organisation called the Transparency Awareness Group alleged that Webb Fontaine was responsible for a loss of N110 billion in customs revenue over a 30-day period. Webb Fontaine denied responsibility, stating in a response published by Premium Times that the platform in question — the Import Duty Exemption Certificate system — was not developed or managed by the company, and that Customs revenue for the period in question was the second-highest monthly figure on record.[14]
References
- ^ Itel.am. "Jean Gurunlian: The development of Webb Fontaine's Armenian office is remarkable." 3 May 2019. itel.am/en/news/10800
- ^ Premium Times Nigeria. "Manufacturers urge Customs to suspend 4% levy until December." 26 August 2025. premiumtimesng.com
- ^ ThisDay Live. "How Competing Interests Stalled Signing of $3.1bn e-Customs Project Six Years After." 17 January 2022. thisdaylive.com
- ^ Nigeria Customs Service. "Service Providers." customs.gov.ng
- ^ Capital Ethiopia. "Paperless e-system." Interview with Pascal Minvielle. capitalethiopia.com
- ^ The Reporter Ethiopia. "Digitizing an historic work process." 21 November 2020. thereporterethiopia.com
- ^ CIO Africa. "Closing Africa's Digital Skills Gap in Customs." 28 November 2025. cioafrica.co
- ^ Nigerian Communications Week. "Webb Fontaine Unveils AI Customs Revolution at WCO Abu Dhabi Summit." 10 February 2026. nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng
- ^ ThisDay Live / AllAfrica. "Babalola: Increasing Nigeria Customs Revenue Attributable to Webb Fontaine's IT Support." 5 August 2024. allafrica.com
- ^ Eye Witness News. "As Federal government sacks Webb Fontaine, Customs develops, deploys indigenous trade platform." 3 March 2025. theeyewitnessnews.com
- ^ Eye Witness News. "How Webb Fontaine tried to sabotage B'Odogwu — Customs." 4 March 2025. theeyewitnessnews.com
- ^ The Guardian Nigeria. "Freight forwarders threaten ports closure over server failure." 25 February 2022. guardian.ng
- ^ Tribune Online. "Clearing agents fault Webb Fontaine server services at seaports." September 2024. tribuneonlineng.com
- ^ Premium Times Nigeria. "Allegation of N110 billion loss by Customs, importers in 30 days false — Webb Fontaine." September 2020. premiumtimesng.com (Note: published under Premium Times' "promoted" section; treat as company statement)
External links
- Official website — webbfontaine.com
- WCO Technology Network listing — World Customs Organization
- Interview with founder Jean Gurunlian — Itel.am, May 2019
- Nigeria e-customs project investigation — ThisDay Live, January 2022
- Nigeria CISS phase-out coverage — Premium Times, August 2025
Category:International trade facilitation
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