, some surpassing the $1 trillion valuation, the challenge is gradually shifting to players in Nigeria.
Other players, including Triple Gee and Company Plc, which was listed on April 2, 2013, had N283 million capitalisation. Courteville, as of July, had N745.9 million capitalisation and was listed in April 2009. Omatek Plc got listed in 2008, and market capitalisation is N2.94 billion . Chams Plc, which got listed on September 8, 2008, had, as of July, a market capitalisation of N4.69 billion .
President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria , Olusola Teniola, agreed that the new unicorns in Africa that could hit the $1 trillion valuation in ICT would most likely come from Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria. He, however, noted that the unicorns might grow into the likes of Apple and Amazon by 2050.
“It is very apparent over the past decades that the growing importance in the ability to automate processes and develop smart communities is now upon us. The transition in Nigeria has just begun and these tech giants are attempting to define the way we work, rest, play and live our daily lives. COVID-19 demonstrates the potential,” he stated.
Agada had told to The Guardian last year that Nigerians often placed value on companies based on their ability to pay dividend, “but if you go and check, Amazon has never paid dividend, but their Chairman and CEO is the richest man in the world. They don’t pay dividend and they are not about to pay. Even if you check their figures, they are barely breaking even.
Agada said the country might end up seeing Nigerian-majority owned companies operating from the U.S., to adopt American operating system to grow very large, as is already happening in startups, like Flutterwave. This firm is registered as a U.S. company, even though it is mainly run by Nigerians, and same goes for Andela.”
“Amazon is now over $1 trillion. This Amazon doesn’t have a factory anywhere. They don’t have any oil well at all, but have over $1 trillion in market capitalization — richer than Nigeria with twice its GDP. It is because they embraced technology and the Internet.” “Every company will consider the cost-benefit analysis of quotation in an environment characterised by uncertainties at different levels. This creates a barrier for more tech companies to come. The companies offshore have better operating environment,” he said.
“Such collaborative techniques enhance the company’s operations with multiplier effects on top and bottom lines. Amazon leverages customer purchase and offers them free products such as e-books and free premium streaming videos among others. Adonri noted that Nigerian firms operating in the tech space were able to also demonstrate the resilience of the sector by making good profit during the pandemic in spite of the competitive disadvantage.