March 2012

The explosion in smartphone numbers is driving the expansion of AIM-listed technology recruitment business, Nakama Group, according to the company’s managing director.

Stefan Ciecierski told Recruiter: “The market is growing too quickly for us to be able to calculate. As soon as someone buys a smartphone they are on the web. They [smartphones] are a sort of gateway product to other web services in developing countries.”

According to data from technology research fi rm Gartner, the total sales of smartphones reached 472m in 2011, 58% higher than 2010.

Nakama specialises in three aspects of the web: the creative side of websites — the way they look and feel; electronic commerce and customer relationship management; and the IT sector that provides the architecture of the web, Ciecierski explained.

On the back of this, Nakama has applied for a licence to operate in Shanghai, China. The company already plans to open a new offi ce in Singapore in April.

The company was also keen to exploit its niche position in emerging markets, said Ciecierski: “We operate in an area of the recruitment industry that falls between the marketing sector, and the IT recruitment sector. It’s an unusual sector because it is a combination of design and technology, and there are very few people [competitors] that really focus on it.”

Ciecierski added that while London is currently Nakama’s largest offi ce, “I expect that other offi ces will overtake London, just because markets like China are so big”.

He expected staff numbers to grow from 50 now to 75 by the end of the year.