It is not all bad news for the Nigerian economy as the novel coronavirus pandemic opens new vistas of opportunities for Nigerian start-ups, forcing them to tweak their business models.
Some start-ups are selling more of their products online while others are diversifying into other new businesses in line with the new normal.
This is a proof that there are opportunities even in adversity.
Steven Nwadike, co-founder, Tringoo, a technology start-up that connects users to vetted professional photographers, tells Start-Up Digest that Covid-19 has forced him to innovate and win.
“Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, we have implemented the work-at-home policy and our productivity level increased,” he says.
“We created two business strategies to survive the economic fallout from the pandemic. As a photography business, we were not able to generate income since the outbreak as government placed restrictions on social gatherings. So we develop a Peexoo Look Alike initiative for people to visit our platform to search for their Look Like images,” he further says.
This strategy, he says, went viral as 5,000 people subscribed on his platforms.
Similarly, Tringoo created a learning platform for photographers on its platform to learn and upscale their skills.
Sanni Sheriff is the founder, Sannikayz Kitchen, a food start-up.
It has not been easy for Sheriff as Nigerians can no longer visit restaurants to eat owing to the pandemic. But Sheriff has adopted a different approach to conquer the situation.
“So, we decide to launch a private kitchen and create a home delivery service to remain in business. Since then, orders from our customers have been on the rise daily.”
Coronavirus has affected over 11,000 in Nigeria, killing more than 300. Weeks of lockdown have put a number of small businesses in Africa’s largest economy out of business. But many start-ups are embracing the new normal, adopting innovation to beat the current economic slump.
Adenike Adedoyin, CEO, Glamour Beauty Salon, no longer relies on plaiting of hair but now produces wigs of all kinds.
“Instead of sitting in my shop and waiting for customers to come, I produce and take to them,” Adedoyin says.
The education system is not left out of this innovation. Charles Obisike, a secondary school teacher, has created an online platform for students desirous of learning physics and mathematics. The lessons are between 20 and 60minutes long, and students are allowed to pay one they have received the lessons.
Chukwubuike Nnoli is the chief executive officer of Zubnol Investment Limited.
Before now, Nnoli had been a producer of throw pillows, bed sheets, baby duvets and embroidery products.
But he now makes quality face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Awka, Anambra State-based manufacturer, says he has the capacity to produce 10,000 to 20,000 face masks every week.
Nnoli says that one major difference between his products and others is that they are fully sanitised and sealed per pack before being supplied to customers.
“This helps protect hundreds of Nigerians from being infected with Covid-19,”he says.
Nigeria has 41.5 million MSMEs in the country which contribute 50 percent to Nigeria’s GDP and accounts for 86.3 percent of jobs (59.6million jobs in 2017), according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University recently conducted a survey on the impact of coronavirus on small businesses.
About 88 percent of MSME owner-respondents said they would tinker with their business models, with 47 percent likely to consider new businesses due to the harsh realities of the pandemic. These are mainly due to to the influence of technology which has now re-defined the way business is done.
Olusola Babatunde, a fashion designer and the managing director of Onestop Celebration Limited, has commenced the production of facemasks and other protective instruments in Nigeria.
“I felt strongly that I could do something to contribute my own little quota to curbing the spread of the COVID- 19 virus in the country,” she notes.
