Sticking to the rules. Better and proper regulationBad reputation of the country and its peopleMost of the points are self-explanatory, and of course, I adopted some of the metrics of the World Bank EODB which I believe is only partially correct. Businesses do need energy to stay alive anyhow you slice and dice it. Right now, the tariffs have gone through the roof and the DisCos are threatening more hikes. Diesel cost is also killing companies. But that is not the whole story about businesses.
There are other real issues that hold Nigerian businesses down, as I have captured above, such as our generally bad reputation as a people and a country. This means that, unlike the foreign companies for which the WB EODB report was designed, our indigenous businesses could never access foreign countries easily, thus limiting their growth.
The low purchasing power among the populace is one factor I added to my own EODB index for local businesses. Add to this the increasingly prohibitive rental and property acquisition costs. Landlords are wont to exploit businesses especially if they believe such businesses are doing well. On the flip side, however, generally low purchasing power means that eventually, most businesses will struggle as Nigerians have less and less disposable income.
I believe that these factors that I have listed may be easier to measure and relate directly to the vast majority of the businesses in Nigeria. I wish some of the points may be adopted and the general idea, refined. Lastly, I just want to say that the best place for anyone to do business – based on my own experiences and empirical evidence – is in one’s own country. Connections and networks are essential to business anywhere in the world. No one should be deceived that a Nigerian will do better in business in the UK or USA just because the processes for opening businesses there may be less cumbersome than what obtains here.
topefasua Interesting read.