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Genuine Internet Income Experts In Nigeria

Internet fraud has been a recurring stigma in the Nigerian Internet business community and the world at large.

Stories abound daily about foreigners fleeced of their hard-earned money by unscrupulous Nigerians on the Internet.

But can one fall victim of Internet fraud without being greedy? That’s a matter currently being debated in the different forums on the Internet and print media in Nigeria. Most people believe that those who fall victims of the fraudulent acts are all greedy.

A contributor in a recent post on warrior forum expressed his disgust about the subtle way so-called Nigerian Internet players perpetrate scams. But contributors believe that genuine Internet experts exist in Nigeria. The way to look at it is that the Internet is a global phenomenon. The Nigerians in the business should not be seen as residing in Nigeria physically but all over the world from where they operate.

Recently, a friend of mine on a social media lamented how he was duped on the Internet and is lost on how to stage a come back. He will need to find genuine Internet income experts in Nigeria to build his confidence.

The truth is, genuine Internet business experts are in Nigeria like it is in other locations and places across the world. But the question is, where can they be found and what kind of genuine Internet business do they engage in.

In an attempt to answer that question which may also be in many other people’s mind, a recent project was launched to identify the Internet experts in Nigeria so that prospective clients can find the right people to do business with safely and with peace of mind.

Curiously, these Nigerian Internet experts are mostly in their mid twenties and thirties. They are very young and behind the launching of new small-scale businesses in Nigeria right now ranging from Internet payment solutions to Internet marketing and information marketing. These are new lines of income opportunities destined to redefine the way business is done in Nigeria. Foreigners can now easily find genuine Internet experts in Nigeria to partner with and do real profitable business.

Who Are These Genuine Internet Income Experts In Nigeria?

Leading the way is the guru himself, Dr. Sunny Obazu Ojeagbase. He pioneered genuine Internet business in Nigeria. It should be on record that 75% of other genuine Internet experts in Nigeria learned the trade directly from his stable. They include:

Lateef Olajide, the CEO of Internet Marketing Nigeria,

Akin Alabi, the CEO of Alabi Forum,

Efe Imirem, a lady and CEO of Service Forts Ltd,

Onome Maureen, another lady and CEO of Rich Corper,

Dennis Isong, CEO of Experts Hosts,

Iyabo Oyawale, CEO of Iyabo Oyawale Forum

Paul Goodluck Oghogorie,

Samson Olatunde, the Rich Kid and others which space cannot allow to mention.

These Nigerian Internet Income experts reveal their secrets and show the way to do genuine Internet business in Nigeria in an Interview Series published monthly at

http://www.nigerianinternetexperts.com

The Resurrection of the Cinematic Culture in Nigeria

Films such as The primitive, Primitive Man, Buffalo Hill were considered suitable while Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, The Isle of forgotten sins, House of Frankenstein were considered unsuitable for viewing. The Yoruba travelling theatre group of the 60’s and 70’s is renowned for being the arrowhead of movie productions in Nigeria. They took their theatrical skills a step further to film productions using the celluloid format.

Notable filmmakers during the 70’s celluloid boom era include but not limited to Ola Balogun, Eddie Uggbomah, late Herbert Ogunde, Adeyemi Afolayan (father of Kunle Afolayan), Moses Adejumo, Ladi ladebo, and Afolabi Adesanya. Movies released during that era include Kongi Harvest, Alpha, Bull frog in the sun, Amadi, Muzik man, Bisi daughter of the river, Ija ominira, Aiye. Our founding film makers were faced with the herculean task of raising funds to produce their movies.

Nigerians further worsened the situation by opting to watch movies of occidental and oriental origin at the cinemas and exhibition centres. Chinese films with the late legendary Bruce lee thrilled us with films such as Big boss, fist of fury, while Indian films from 60’s to 70’s paraded stars such as Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra singh deol, Amitabh bachchan, Hema Malini and recorded hits such as Bobby, Sholay, kabhi Kabhi, Dharamaveer, Amar Akbar Anthony.

The movies treated Nigerians to outstanding combat/sound and special effects, cinematography, good story lines amongst others. The founding fathers could not recoup their investments and with fewer investors unwilling to take a plunge into the dicey venture, the number of films produced began to decline. The deluge of VCRs in the 80’s provided the alternative of making movies on VHS format than on Cine. Productions turned out to be easier to make, faster, cheaper by a mile stone in comparison to the cine productions.

Cinema houses and other exhibition centres were finally shut down in the early 80’s. The 1992 rise of Ken Nebue’s “Living in bondage” brought forth the Home video industry a.k.a Nollywood, though it was debunked by late prince Alade Araomire who insisted that his movies actually paved the way for the industry. Nollywood, blossomed over the years with the telling of our stories, projecting our lifestyle, culture, local fashion, burning issues and problems affecting our society. However, the presence of over flogged themes and trippy plots, flawed scripts, choppy editing, high predictability rate, formulaic movies amongst others, have added to the declining rate at which home videos are purchased and watched. Home video thrived in the 90’s and early millennium. Foreign movies were still patronised by those who were tired of the lack lusture performances seen in home videos.

The cinematic culture was resurrected through the establishment of the Silver bird galleria (which houses the cinema) by chairman of the Silver bird group (Ben Murray Bruce). At first people thought it was a flash in the pan judging from the fall of yester years, but over time the galleria has played host to thousands of movie enthusiasts through its release of latest movies(dominantly Hollywood). The galleria capitalizes on its synergy (silver bird TV and rhythm 93.7fm radio station) and of course movie listings in Friday Vanguard and The Sunday edition of the Nation newspapers. Nollywood movies have also been accorded the same opportunity to be viewed by all.

Kunle Afolayan’s “Irapada”, Jeta Amata’s “The Amazing Grace”, kingsley Ogoro’s “Across the Niger”, Teco Benson’s “Mission to nowhere”, were among the early set of Nollywood movies viewed at the galleria. Perhaps, the booster for the film makers to have their movies on the big screen came with Stephanie Okereke’s “Through the Glass” which made N 10 million in two weeks at the galleria. This has further prompted filmmaker / producers to go for the big screen rather than the customary straight to the VCD /DVD approach. Tunde kelani’s “Arugba”, Vivian Ejike’s “Silent scandal”, Emem Isong/Desmond Elliot’s “Guilty Pleasures”, “Nollywood Hustlers” co-produced with Uche Jumbo, Lancelot Imaseun’s “Home in exile”, kunle Afolayan’s “The Figurine, araromire, Teco Benson’s “High blood pressure”, Jude Idada / Lucky Ejim’s “The Tenant” have towed the cinematic path.

Nu metro and Genesis Deluxe cinemas also exist and even the cinema halls at the National Theatre have come alive! Foreign investors can catch in on the growing profitable trend to establish cinema houses in other parts of the country. We can only hope that the cinematic culture will thrive across our Greenland and will never undergo the dearth experience of the 80’s.

Venture Capitalism and Enterprise Revolution in Nigeria

The African Capital Alliance (ACA), a private equity fund manager in western Africa, announced the raising of $200 million from investors in July last year. The third installment of the Capital Alliance Private Equity (CAPE) fund will target important sectors such as power, oil and gas, communications and financial services in Nigeria and across the sub-Saharan region. The ACA is confident of eventually raising a total of $350 million for the fund from aid agencies, international banks and Nigerian institutional investors. The development reflects mounting confidence in Nigeria’s resurgent economy, considering the country’s fist such fund that started out in 1998 with a capital of just $35 million.

While there is no conclusive data on the size of the Nigeria equity market, estimates for the whole of Africa put it over $6 billion in 2000; South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, accounting for half the share. High economic growth fuelled by an enthusiastic reforms programme has seen Nigeria’s growth scale to almost double the figure for developed markets in recent years. The country’s GDP growth rate in 2006 stood at 5.6%, significantly higher than the US (3.2%) or the UK (2.8%)1. Although the private equity market is still in its infancy here, increasing opportunities to invest in high-growth businesses have succeeded to some extent in eroding the conventional insistence on public equity and debt. However, there continue to be significant risks attending investment in Nigeria due to unhealthy policies, a volatile security situation and massive infrastructure shortfalls. Much of this holds true for the continent at large and explains why it receives only a fragment of global foreign direct investment (FDI). Out of the estimated $250 billion in global FDI to developing countries in 2001, Africa received only $11 billion2.

For many international investors, venture capital and private equity in Nigeria are risky propositions because of political instability, violence, social unrest and corruption. Progress in this direction has been impeded by several other reasons as well:

* Poor corporate governance and lax regulatory mechanisms.

* Red tape, legal restrictions and hostile investment policies.

* High trading costs in the primary market for equities.

* Market volatility and the resulting high-risk perception.

* High exit risk for investors because of low liquidity.

* Difficult and often confusing ownership and property rights.

Over the last decade, Nigeria has displayed a steady commitment to reforms. The Investment and Securities Decree was passed into law soon after the return of civilian rule in 1999, opening up the economy to foreign investment. The government of former president Obasanjo also established the Investment and Securities Tribunal for speedy resolution of disputes arising out of investment deals. More recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission slashed transaction rates for equities from 6.9% to 4.2%. International venture capital investors have shown increasing interest in Nigeria after the liberalisation of several important markets like telecommunications, transport, and oil marketing. The fact that fresh policies have persuaded at least some investors to overlook the high cost of doing business in Nigeria is a significant achievement in itself.

Its large population and market size bestow tremendous potential on the Nigeria economy – Africa’s third largest and among the most rapidly growing. The country’s ambitious Vision 2020 programme and the UN Millennium Development Goals together represent considerable challenges in terms of economic revival. Past experience favours strongly against big businesses, which have had a dismal track record and a high-failure rate under both private and public operation. Undeniably, the fate of Nigeria’s long term goals rests on rapid proliferation of SMEs and their ability to drive an enterprise revolution that will sufficiently diversify the economy away from oil and reverse decades of stagnation. The objective is to use SMEs to deliver sustainable development, employment creation and most importantly, poverty alleviation.

This is where venture capitalism derives its significance in the context of Nigeria’s long-term ambitions. Private equity investment has been responsible for some of the most notable economic success stories across the globe. Entrepreneurs starting out with angel loans turned India around into the largest software exporter in the world. In South Korea, booming small high-tech businesses bypassed larger firms to lead the country’s recovery from the Asian economic crisis. Equity funded enterprises have likewise recorded high growth figures in developing countries from Asia, across Europe and in South America. The global experience with venture capitalism throws up a number of important considerations in terms of providing the right environment for rapid growth. The following are some of the most important challenges and considerations facing Nigerian policy makers in this regard:

* Establishing a venture capital technical assistance programme to enhance SME performance in diverse economic sectors.

* Institutionalising tax benefits for equity investment to attract foreign investors.

* Providing risk guarantees to create strategic venture capital industries that improve self reliance and curb import quotas.

* Enhancing venture capital capacity to stimulate and promote the industrial expansion.

* Focusing equity investment on SMEs that optimise resource utilisation and assist local raw material development.

* Promoting innovative business ideas, processes and techniques that boost both productivity and profitability.

* Hastening industrialisation through equity infusion in high-growth areas like telecommunications and tourism.

Nigeria’s reforms process prompted a unique voluntary initiative at the turn of the last century when the Nigerian Bankers’ Committee launched the Small and Medium Enterprise Equity (SMEEIS) scheme. Billed as an attempt to promote entrepreneurial expansion, the scheme required all locally operating commercial banks to earmark 10% of pre-tax profits for equity investment in small and medium enterprises. Even though more than Naira 18 billion had been set aside by 2003, utilisation of the funds remained abysmally poor at less than 25%. The Nigerian Central Bank owed it to a lack of viable projects and general reluctance toward equity partnership. If poor managerial and business packaging skills are areas of concern, the prevailing mindset against venture capitalism in both existing and emerging enterprises is even more so.

To quote former Central Bank governor Joseph Sanusi (29 May 1999-29 May 2004), accelerated economic development is not possible until Nigerian entrepreneurs learn to appreciate that “it is better to own 10% of a successful and profitable business than to own 100% of a moribund business”.

Essence Of A Well-Positioned Brand – Lessons For Corporate Nigeria

The word branding is not a relatively new business concept. More than three decades ago, marketing expert Michael J Baker wrote an introductory text on the importance of brands and branding. What is new is the degree of attention and sophistication it has gotten the world over in recent years.

Maybe this has to do with the increased mental clutter in our lives and in the marketplace, which makes it difficult for companies to get across their messages.

“Brands are quickly becoming the basis for most critical business decisions,” an observer noted. Branding is the sum total of whatever a company or an idea represents. For most part of it, branding is as simple as doing the right thing, consistently and clearly.

Today as expected, Nigeria parades herself with her most celebrated brands of all time – her super brands! Indeed, for a few of them, branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problems.

While a brand is the uniqueness a customer perceives of an organization or idea; there’s a connection between a brand name [identity], brand image [perception] and brand reputation [respect].

All strong brands depend on, more than anything else, its reputation. In as much as corporate executives try to build a good brand, they ought to be mindful of corporate reputation also. In essence, a good reputation accounts for a good brand.

However, for obvious reasons, Nigerian entrepreneurs are quick at building strong brands to their advantage only to allow them crumble in no distant time, for lack of brand management skill.

I have to admit I used to buy UAC’s Gala Sausage, until Leventis Meaty came along. The experience was always positive and I always had the feeling of that tasty snack with pure beef filling. But where did Gala go wrong? Gala lost its unique positioning in the heat of competition. Apart from the sudden change of wrap [which I think I don’t like so much], the sausage in it has become so lean.

UAC failed to realize that branding is more than just putting on new clothes.

The problem with many of these great brands is that they don’t usually realize the repercussion of their actions and inactions until well after the time and money have been invested or after it is too late.

How many times have you pulled into a company’s parking spot and saw a sign that read, “Parking reserved for xxxx customers only. All others will be tolled,” or “Cars are parked at owners’ risk”? Have you ever met a lousy school proprietor raining indecent words on parents? Or how many times have you had to queue for long hours somewhere, only to be disappointed at the way a customer service officer treated you?

These are all negative branding and reputation at work. We experience it everyday. It affects the way customers perceive us.

Corporate bodies should pay great attention to their messages – spoken or written.

Words do the talking for our business, so it’s worth investing in the best copy we can afford. Unprofessionally written communications and marketing materials can actively work against us, telling potential customers things we didn’t mean to say.

Instead of the stereotyped “Cars are parked at owners’ risk,” why not try something like “While we ensure your vehicles are safe, we don’t accept any risk”? Long but it’s full of great impact.

Our dear economy has suffered from a breakdown resulting from her choice of words. They cost money, but words efficiently applied produce great wealth.

So let’s begin to take a good look at everything we do: our message; our corporate identity; our approach to communicating with clients; our demeanour; our products; our packaging; our advertising and our staff.