Lagos is Africa’s largest city, a business hub “force” to reckon with, a major financial center in Africa and many other things.
Lagos is famous for festivals, vibrant nightlife and an alluring music scene you cannot escape.
As the megacity that Lagos is, the current metropolitan area population is 14,368,000; which is a 3.44% increase in 2020 and the megacity is still growing and continuing to stay afloat. Which should be like the eighth wonder of the world in my opinion.
There are many perks of doing business in Lagos and rightly so as it has been known as the foremost default business hub of Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
I like to relate doing business in Lagos to a farmer planting seeds in a field he knows would definitely yield harvest at the appropriate time. Lagos is that forever fertile field, its population a force to reckon with and a human capital goldmine. Which is yet to be explored.
Even with the economic prowess that Lagos has, there is still a lot to be harnessed, a lot lying dormant.
Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria with only 3,345 square kilometers with a population over fourteen million people strong. Major factories have decided to name Lagos their abode, Apapa sea port, these are major business points.
It begs the questions; will the resources go round? Can businesses continue to thrive despite the continuous rise in population? Will competition amongst businesses increase? Will human capital suffer a supply to demand disequilibrium? Increased crime rate?
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These questions are very much valid. Foreign and Local businesses alike have chosen to make Lagos the center of the business operations in Nigeria, who could blame them?
Doing business is Lagos is a strategy to employ especially if you want gain momentum in order to enter the rest of the African market.
For someone thinking of using Lagos as a launching pad for their business (rightly so); what should be their mentality? What kind of challenges should they be prepared to face?
The perks of doing business in Lagos are awesome but how can an entrepreneur prepare for the challenges associated with a megacity like Lagos? Environmental issues such as, air pollution, sanitation issues.
Other problems such as the growing emergence of settlements/slums; 65% of people living in Lagos are urban poor and squat in slums.
Despite all the challenges, Lagos thrives and still maintains its undeniable position as the financial hub of Nigeria and Africa. A major revenue generator for the African continent.
Which brings one to the conclusion that succeeding at business in Lagos is dependent on the entrepreneur. What is your mindset? Do you see challenges or you see possibilities? You have to choose.
You can live out your Lagos dream, doing business does not have to be a dread, no matter the challenges.
See the possibilities.
