The Nigerian music industry has seen enormous growth in the country. It has evolved from the crude sound it was once known for to become a global genre popularly known as Afropop. The genre keeps grow…
Banking is a service, it’s time we started treating it that way
People need banking, but they don’t need banks. — Bill Gates. The words “bank” and “banking” elicit many negative sentiments/reactions from Nigerians. When we say “bank”, the first i…
How to run a company in your first month
Hello New Company Head, I bet this is the biggest professional promotion you have gotten in your life. Your job is to head the company and determine the fate of (insert the number of employees here) e…
Nigerian entrepreneurs are missing out on the $2 trillion global Islamic economy
In 2015, Muslim women spent over $243 billion on fashion items that represent their Islamic principles, generating $44 billion estimated revenue.…
Is Nigeria ready for a digital-only bank?
One day, all banks will be digital-only. Gone will be the days of physical branches, human tellers and long queues. All customer interactions with the bank will be through digital channels. It will ha…
Ending CoD won’t resolve Nigeria’s eCommerce trust issues, but fintech startups can
Recently, I went on my first dentist visit in about 7 years for check up and clean up. Just after the dentist finished the consultation, he told me straight away that he has one golden rule for all hi…
African millennials can help strengthen the continent’s eCommerce industry
In mid-November, the news of Nigerian eCommerce giant, Konga laying off over 60% of its workforce sent shock waves across the eCommerce industry in Africa. The eCommerce industry in Africa is still de…
The psychology of a profitable pricing strategy: Lessons from Apple
Apple makes really costly products, yet sells them massively! Something really psychological is happening. Implementing this pricing strategy, whether in your freelancing career, e-commerce or general…
Lessons from working remotely for the first time
According to a survey conducted by Gallup, there has been a 7% increase in the number of people working from home between 2012 -2016. In the tech world (at least where I’m from), the term “working rem…
Online freelancing and the Nigerian mindset
I received my Payoneer income survey doc the other day, and I was not quite surprised at the report. One of those things I expected was the gap between male and female freelancers. I also wasn’t surpr…
4 practical strategies to quickly generate leads for your new startup
So, he sought my advice as a copywriter. “Fouad”, he said, “what can I do to effectively market this educational app I developed to as many as possible schools in a short while?” Mind you, he’s the fo…
How the copy-copy syndrome is affecting the Nigerian tech industry and what we can do about it
Do you feel that using a .com.ng domain or a .ng domain will make your website seem local? Do you still feel that a successful Internet company can be built by copying any interesting foreign concept …
4 simple tips on how to outsmart electronic fraudsters
The most important step to take in order to outsmart fraudsters is to define them properly. A fraudster is someone (or an organisation) that uses deceptive tactics for the purpose of unfair, undeserve…
I shut down my VoD startup, Afrostream after 2 years. Here’s why
Editor’s note: The following exposé was originally published in French by Afrostream founder, Tonjé Bakang Dear subscribers, partners, entrepreneurs and friends, On September 13, 2017, two years…
4 cost-effective ways to build a minimum viable product
‘Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort’. — Eric Ries If you …
Why Nigeria does not need more data centres
The infrastructure that businesses depend on is extremely important to the success, the level of expenditure and the reputation of the organisation. We need to come to the realisation that in this pre…
16 essential Dos and Don’ts of teaching yourself how to code
“I want to learn how to code, how do I get started?” If only I had a penny for each time I’ve heard that question, I’d be… ; well you know the rest. Being a developer seems to be the new c…
How Nigerian banks can compete in the area of customer experience
The banking industry is arguably one of the most competitive sectors in Nigeria. This is due to many reasons, the vast similarity of product offerings within the different banks, and more recently, th…
5 productivity hacks for startup entrepreneurs
Featured Image: Wiertz via Flickr (cc) Staying productive is one thing you can never do without as a startup entrepreneur. Especially, at the early stage of your business. This is so because, you are …
Race to the bottom: The fate of Taxify and Uber in Nigeria
Uber has come to become the buzzword for everything on-demand. But it took the company years of name change, legal battles, series of funding and expansion to earn its place in hearts and minds. In it…