I see and hear a lot of young Nigerians complain about and castigate the state of affairs in the country and you hear comments like; “a whole Nigeria imports toothpick” or “how can Nigeria not be producing cotton buds?” My first response to these types of comments and concerns is “Nigeria is not the name of anybody” or ‘Nigeria’ is not a person and I follow it up by taking you cerebrally into the business terrain to do a somewhat quick feasibility analysis so you can appraise the ease of doing business.
The cost of producing one hypodermic needle in Nigeria is within the region of 17N to 30N, while the cost of importing one hypodermic needle falls almost within the same range or even lower. Energy inputs accounting for a major chunk of the cost due to the special energy requirements for the production hypodermic needles. Most businesses in Nigeria that requires energy as an input will almost face the predicament, so why should i produce locally?.
Personal experience has thought me that whatever business venture that requires electricity as a direct input, should be studied with extra eyes and caution as majority of the micro small and medium scale business mortalities stem mostly due to high/increasing cost of fuels to usually require to power alternative power generating sets. This write-up proposes some tips based on personal experience on how to maneuver the business terrain in Nigeria, with its peculiar complexity.
First step to start any venture in Nigeria no matter the size is to conduct a proper market research by asking a lot of questions stylishly from people who currently operate in the sector; this is the first and most important step and enables you to gather all the necessary data you need for your business idea. It is Imperative learn if there is a market for your product, proper location and correct pricing of your product or service and even competition in the desired location.
Next is to have business plan, a solid business plan enables the entrepreneur to create a structure for operating and managing the business and also makes it easier for you to secure investments. A business plan should contain; A detailed description of your company, aims and objectives, your vision and mission statement and how you plan to make profit , Detailed Market analysis, the structure of your company, shareholders and management, a detailed description of the product, Financial projections of the business for the next 2 or 5 years and a marketing strategy. It is also important to determine how you will fund your business before starting in Nigeria using either Self funding, Loan or Investors funds. It is also always advisable to register your business name in Nigeria so other entrepreneurs do not infringe on your intellectual property rights or steal the name of your business.
In my personal opinion, during the market research, look for businesses that have died in that sector and obtain information from the owners (if they are willing to share). Secondly, with the power situation in Nigeria, it is not advisable to venture into any business that requires 24/7 power for operations (frozen foods, livestock, production/manufacturing in general) without an expert feasibility report of the sector and a revenue/profit projection for 5 years with fuel increase projections for the same period. Doing business in here is like walking on hard lava, thread cautiously!
You want to run a business in Nigeria? be ready for anything and everything.
Don’t miss the next reading.
#MMBA5
