On the 28th of January, industry professionals gathered for Mobile Monday Nigeria to hear about the Technology Outlook for Nigeria in 2013. We were pleased to see that attendance was better than the last event when the ICT policy document was discussed and explained to the audience by Gbenga Sesan. This showed that our efforts to give industry professionals a place where they can come to listen to trends, recommendations and presentations are paying off.
Lanre Folarin and Mayowa Owolabi of Mobile Monday were there to give the opening remarks and to moderate the event as the audience listened to five speakers and engaged in a Q&A session after each speaker came up. The speakers were: Ope Adeoye (Consumer Solutions and VAS, Interswitch), AdeAtobatele (Nigeria.com), Yomi Adegboye (Mobility Blog), Nubi Kayode (oTekBits and Easy Appetite) and Shina Badaru (Founder, Technology Times).
Here is a summary of the presentations:
The Year of Mobile
With mobile fast becoming the primary means of accessing the internet in Nigeria, data has shown that there are more mobiles than computers in Nigeria at the moment and this is because a lot of the tasks that previously had to be done on a PC are now done on mobile devices. Also, sales of smart phones are set to increase due to the influx of cheap phones which offer a very low price point for buyers. The oncoming sales are going to be driven by the rise in influence of social media among young people.
Bottom line: If you are a developer, make sure your desktop/web app is either mobile-web compatible or has a native app. Businesses also need to have a mobile presence where people canhave easy access to information about the company. That’s where the people are.
Knowing the Law
Pay attention to the policies that are changing the landscape. You need to know the law that guides the technology you use. If you don’t, then the laws might not be favorable to you by the time it is passed. There are many laws that are currently at the House of Assembly and the House of Representatives that are going to affect the lives of millions of Nigerians. These laws include Cybersecurity and lawful interception laws which will come into place once they are approved.
Bottom line: Make sure you know about the laws governing the technology you use so that you don’t end up being on the wrong side of it. Also keep abreast of government policies that can putyour app at the mercy of others.
Social is going to be big in 2013
This is because people are buying smart phonesspecifically to access social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Phone manufacturers like Tecno have also recognized this and have incorporated social media into their phones to serve this growing number of users thereby allowing you connect with more customers. As powerful as social media is, care needs to be taken because if not handled properly it can backfire and give the brand a negative reputation.
Bottom line: Use social media to promote your brand. Hire someone you can trust to do this so that your reputation is kept intact.
Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate
Collaboration is what makes small companies grow into the reputable behemoths they become in future. Without collaboration, labor is not divided and then the weight of all the processes involved in the day to day running of the start-up falls on the self-proclaimed MD /CEO. This then leads the company to failure because that individual tries to do everything alone. The main reason why companies fail is because the individual loses focus on the main goal of the business and that goal is to make money.
Bottom line: Collaboration is the only way for your start-up to survive. Without it, you just end upscrambling to do everything yourself and eventually you run it into the ground.
Foreign Money – What to do with it?
The influx of foreign money is beginning to increase in Nigeria. This is because there aren’t many local sources of funding that are willing to invest in technology companies. As such, the industry is starting to feel the effect in terms of competition, quality of service and so on. The question now is: What are we going to do with all this money? Are we going to allow foreign companies come and take away the market or are we going to build brands that will attract outside funding and keep the profits within Nigeria? This influx of money is either going to help us or give control to those companies that are coming in.
Bottom line: Make sure your idea/business is profitable enough to get funding so that you can buildyour brand locally and build up the industry.
*This article first appeared on Momo Nigeria
