Most Innovative Companies & Institutions in Nigeria

BusinessDay published the maiden edition of the Most Innovative Companies & Institutions in Nigeria Report 2018. The Report showcases the Companies and Institutions that contributed immensely to the growth of their customer-base, bottom-line, overall organisational growth, as well as the socio-economic development of our country via Innovation.

The report profiles the Organisations that are advancing the frontiers of innovation in the Country spurring transformations in new markets and disrupting existing industries.

Innovation is a prerequisite for corporate survival and the lifeblood of sustainable business growth and development globally. Organisations that innovate successfully are those that drive the future of the sectors or markets in which they play and indeed the overall economy they are located.

According to the Economist “Innovation in Africa is helped by a peculiar confluence of economic and political circumstances.” The World Economic Forum elaborated further in its article published in January 2016 titled: “Is Africa leading the Innovation Revolution?” that “Necessity is the mother of invention, and in Africa it has been the mother of innovation.”

Indeed, Africa’s peculiar set of problems has necessitated that innovation becomes a key ingredient for Companies and Individuals to thrive. Largely fuelled by the equalising nature of technology and mobile telephony, Nigeria is slowly but surely emerging as a force to be reckoned with, especially with the economy in recovery.

Technology has further deepened the advancement of Nigeria as a frontier market when it comes to innovation. Furthermore, technology is also helping to transform business models, especially across all sectors of the economy.

For instance, in the banking as well as the media & entertainment industries, technology is revolutionising the market space. Leading Innovators in the banking category are spearheading their Company’s growth and improving bottom-line through technology.

Most notable in the innovation emerging in Nigeria’s banking sector is the digitalisation of banking and e-payments, as well as the growth of the fintech segment.

Another notable factor of the innovators that made the list for BusinessDay’s Innovation
Awards is the fact that collaborations between players operating in different sectors also create innovative results.

Overall, the 88 Companies that made the list of Innovators for BusinessDay’s Innovation Report: Companies to Inspire Nigeria 2018 Edition emerged from different and diverse sectors of the Nigerian Economy. Innovation takes place in various forms; it can be to transform business models; disrupt existing markets or create new ones; develop a new set of products; revolutionise service facilitation and deployment, among others.
For the different categories, the Research & Intelligence Unit employed various parameters and criteria in the process of selecting and short-listing Innovators out of hundreds of organisations, institutions and businesses registered and operating in Nigeria.

Summarily, the benefits of innovating successfully leads to cost reductions, growth in revenues and increase in the bottom-line. Most importantly, the ability to exploit and tap into unexplored markets is key. The capacity to develop new and unexplored solutions to prevalent and existing problems is a major underlying foundation for any innovative venture.

BusinessDay seeks to advance the philosophy and culture of innovation in our nation space; and to recognise the people and companies that are driving it. Today, innovation is a key driver of organic growth for all companies—regardless of sector or geography. Recognizing the Organisations, Agencies and Individuals that are driving and advancing the culture of innovation, BusinessDay brings together industry leaders across all sectors.

Subsequently, as part of the Report, BusinessDay Research conducted a survey to gauge the level of adoption and deployment of innovation and innovative strategies across Nigerian Companies and Organisations, especially those recognised and selected in our Report as the leading innovators and disruptors in their respective sectors, markets and industries.

The first BusinessDay Innovation Survey focuses on how Companies in Nigeria define and implement innovation, find a forum for innovation; involve customers in the innovation process, among other key factors and characteristics. The Survey was addressed to key Executives of local Companies ranging from start-ups to large Companies, from various industries such as financial services, technology, media & telecommunications, healthcare, as well as from the industrial and commercial sector.

The Report, which is over 200 pages, seeks to showcase the Companies and Institutions that contributed immensely to the sustainability of their customer-base, bottom-line, overall organizational growth, as well as the socio-economic development of our country. The full report, which will be published in December, contains profiles of the 88 Companies covered, as well as interviews with 12 of the leading innovators and CEOs, in addition to the results of a survey conducted with key Executives of the Companies in the Report focusing on their Innovation strategies, future plans and prevailing challenges with respect to innovating in Nigeria.