To make it big in Africa, a business must succeed in the continent’s largest market. #Nigeria is the only country in Africa with at least 10 large cities with a population over 1 million - and growing. No one said it would be easy. Nigeria’s promise has made it a test-bed for the Africa strategies of consumer-goods firms. This is not only because of its size. It is also because of the spread of Nigerian culture—its music and movies—around Africa. Just as the country of 170m is used as shorthand for the business opportunity in Africa it is also a summary of the continent’s shortcomings. An outbreak of #Ebola in #Guinea has spread to #Lagos. Attacks by #BokoHaram are a reminder that conflict is never far away. Transport and power infrastructure is poor and the rules of the game for business can change quickly. Reaching a mass of consumers is no small task, but a growing band of companies believes the business opportunity in Nigeria will outweigh the risks. Three lessons emerge for doing business in Nigeria. First, be even more careful than usual about your choice of partner. A second error is to assume that a model that works elsewhere will be successful in Nigeria. The third mistake is to run a Nigerian business by remote control. Companies do well by becoming Nigerian. These businesses give power to local managers so they can adapt to shifting conditions. Nigerias problem lies primarily in its government which needs to recognize that its good policy to empower its people to become productive income-generating citizens. When Nigeria invests more heavily in educating its citizens, building and maintaining decent roads, incentivizing sufficient electricity supply, expanding its ports, building out rail lines that move cargo efficiently between urban hubs, and maintaining effective law and order then it ticks off all the right checkboxes for growth. NOTV-Online #Lagos #Kano #Abuja #Ibadan #Kaduna #PortHarcourt #Aba #Ogbomosho #Maiduguri #BeninCity #AfroBeat #WizKid #ShowYouTheMoney #AfroBeat #WizKid #ShowYouTheMoney
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 13:07:22 +0000
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