If you wait for the perfect condition, you’ll never get anything done – anonymous

Are you thinking about starting a business? Well, quit thinking and just start! There has never been a better time to start a business in Nigeria than right now.

After gaining our independence in 1960, a wave of nationalistic fervour swept Nigeria, and what followed was the creation of many state-owned enterprises (SOEs), from transportation to telecommunications, to power, banking transportation and the like. The Nigerian government virtually owned and operated all forms of businesses. The regional governments also floated their own enterprises, controlled and managed by the different regions.

Following a string of failures caused by mismanagement and inefficient allocation of resources, Nigeria, like most African governments, is beginning to sell off their stakes in a number of these enterprises and is handing over the management of these firms to the private sector. The most recent is the case of the power sector privatisation, where the behemoth that was NEPA was unbundled and sold to private investors.

These privatisation programmes have opened opportunities for not only large-scale investors and businesses but also small businesses. In addition to the opportunities created by privatisation for private ownership, these SOEs now operate more efficiently, making the business environment more conducive.

Nigeria, a land of opportunity

One investor once famously remarked, “Anything you sell in Nigeria, you will always find a buyer.’’ He was no doubt alluding to Nigeria’s huge population with a sizeable effective demand. Another investor also remarked; “if you throw anything up and it lands on any soil in Nigeria, it will grow.’’

He wasn’t far from the truth. Nigeria has approximately 923 square kilometres of land and 90 percent of this is arable. Better still, only about 40 percent of this is currently cultivated, leaving a huge room for agricultural activities. The agricultural value chain is also still underdeveloped and this presents opportunities for businesses to operate around the transport, storage, distribution and preservation and financing value chains in the agricultural sector.

How about the building, housing and construction sector? It is estimated that Nigeria has a housing deficit of 17 million units of houses. Rural urban migration is also fuelling demand for housing, accommodation and office space. With each unit of house that is being built, there is going to be a need for furniture, sanitary equipment, cement, doors, door knobs, lighting, electrical fittings and the likes. That’s a huge value chain for businesses to get involved in.

We are only just waking up to the opportunities in the E commerce space. With twin phenomenon of a high and growing level of internet usage and a growing acceptance of cashless channels of payment for goods and services, this sector is primed to explode, with a potential to account for as much as 2 percent of Nigeria’s GDP in the not too distant future. The barriers to entry in the online space are low. What is often required is an internet enabled device (phone, laptop, tablet) and more importantly a business model that is able to drive traffic and awareness to a platform and then trust. The emergent entertainment industry has taken the country by storm. In just a short period, it has proved to be an area of high growth and opportunities to create employment and do real business. Nigeria’s rebased GDP shows that this sector now accounts for approximately 1 percent of the country’s GDP, that’s about $5 billion in monetary terms. The traditional and glamorous players in this sector are the comedians, actors, musicians and maybe directors/producers. But there are a huge number of professions that go beyond these obvious ones. You have the artiste managers, the costume designers, the make-up artistes, the technical, sound and post production people, the publicists, the event planners, the financial advisers and the likes.

In the above narrative, I’ve just tried to bring out some sectors and point out the opportunities that are available for business to plug into and take advantage of the policies of the government and the opportunities that are currently available or are going to be opening up very soon. This is by no means exhaustive as there are many more opportunities in virtually all sectors of the economy.

‘Landmines’ still exist

Some ‘landmines’ exist though, and it’s always good to acknowledge the negatives along with the positives. Issues like inadequate infrastructure, multiple taxation, lack of access to finance, lack of access to information and business support services still exist. The refreshing aspect is that the Nigerian government recognizes this and is continuously putting in place structures and polices to address them. The infrastructure challenges are also being tackled head on. The international development partners are also playing their part, offering support and funds to improve the overall business environment and remove barriers to doing business. Essentially what I’m saying is that a number of these landmines are either being addressed or there is a clear road map towards addressing them.

Just start!

Of course, there are bottlenecks in starting and running a business, and this is not peculiar to Nigeria. Some other countries offer better environments than others, but make no mistake about it, to be successful in business as with any venture in life, you will face challenges which have to be overcome. A recent Harvard research found out that businesses that faced competition and difficulty at the early stage had a better chance of succeeding and longevity.

The logic is that start-ups that face challenges early are forced to be more efficient, be leaner in their operations and get more creative. So, the business environment should not be an excuse, but an opportunity to come up with various business models and strategies.. However many aspiring business people rather choose to focus so much on the negative aspects that they lose sight of the positives. The message is that Nigerians need to keep abreast of the emerging opportunities and build businesses to take advantages of them.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has just launched The National Enterprise Development Program (NEDEP) to encourage more Nigerians to start businesses and remove bottlenecks on their path to growth and expansion. There are reforms in various sectors to further open up the economy to more participants.

However, More people need to start businesses, take the plunge, take advantage of the change sweeping the in the country continent and position themselves for the increased growth in the economy. Nigeria is attracting the foreign investments, but local innovation, risk taking and entrepreneurship will ensure inclusive growth for more Nigerians. What are you waiting for… just start Naija!!

OGUCHE AGUDAH