• Friday, March 29, 2024
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BusinessDay

What are you building?

Niyi Yusuf

This was one of the questions that Niyi Yusuf, Managing Partner at Verraki posed to me during my first ‘chat’ with him. He was, at the time, Country Managing Director (CMD) of Accenture, trying to set up an African practice and I was Marketing and Communications Manager at MainOne. My knowledge of Niyi was limited to the little I had seen in the newspapers. I knew he succeeded Omobola Johnson as CMD, after she became Minister for Communications and Technology and wasn’t born with a silver spoon. I cannot remember what I said but I believe I must have mumbled a satisfactory-enough answer around my purposeful work at MainOne and what I was interested in, as well as why I wanted to become a Verraki employee.

I had spent almost seven years at MainOne and had led the company’s communication efforts, ‘converting’ African media partners to our cause. At the time, I had tried to live with a ‘why’; a purpose for existence, even before I heard about Simon Sinek. I had been fortunate to work with people who espoused purpose for living. Working with Funke Opeke, Nigeria’s cyber-revolutionary also contextualized this and gave me a raison d’être: helping to digitize Africa via broadband connectivity.

But that question shook me. Long after my session with Niyi, my mind kept going back to that question. I rephrased it several times in my mind; what am I building, what have I built, what should I build, what can I build, what will outlast me?
The question, a blend of four simple words with so much emotion had no easy answer. No one had ever asked me such a question before. I tried not to be the typical Nigerian graduate who gets a job after school, moves jobs, each time, adding a little extra, with little or no satisfaction or purpose on the job and eventually goes abroad to a better country where electricity or armed robbers do not conspire to rob you of peace. But I was, like most Nigerians, still a consumer.
The average Nigerian is a consumer. He wants good roads, 24/7 electricity at less than N5,000 monthly and full healthcare insurance cover or free. He demands free education and security but does not want to pay too much tax. While most Nigerians have the capacity to innovate, they do not take time to invest in its intentional process. Most companies do not dedicate enough time and resources to support innovation but want quick solutions within a short time. They sufficiently tick the ‘what’ and ‘how’ boxes but do not demonstrate a ‘why’; no fundamental purpose of existence.

Sadly, this is displayed in an illness that has gripped most Nigerian entrepreneurs, Acute Copycat Manifestation Syndrome (ACMS). ACMS has stunted potentially innovative practices. I will use two business ideas that have manifested the most complex copycat mentality; noodles, and Okada (motorbike).

Since the late 1980s when Indomie, a brand of instant noodles was introduced into Nigeria by Dufil Prima Foods, at least 10 noodle manufacturers have attempted, unsuccessfully to take a big slice of this market. While motorbike taxis in Nigeria predate the regime of military ruler, Ibrahim Babaginda, the attempt to digitize them has led to a flurry of online commercial motorcycle apps in Nigeria, the latest being Max.ng, Gokada, O’Ride and SafeBoda. Cumulatively, these four companies have received more than $15million.

While ACMS may seem attractive to your business, because of developed markets and consumers in Nigeria, it may indicate a bigger problem – you don’t have a ’why’. When you copy another’s ideas, you lose the context of the original idea by not asking the questions that are relevant to the future of your business and your possibilities. You are merely closing doors to the things that only you can create. Copying closes your mind to what you can truly build, the path that works best for you and the enjoyable adventure you should take.

In ‘The Prosperity Paradox’ by Christensen, Ojomo, and Dillon, the authors assert a line I continue to ponder on ‘What might seem hopeless on the surface is often actually an opportunity to create new and thriving markets’. Africa’s teeming hurdles provide us a call to innovate, not a flag of caution. What hopeless situation can we devise answers to? What troubling situation can we deconstruct and solve?

I paraphrase President J.F. Kennedy’s commencement address at the American University, Washington in 1963 “Our problems are man-made — therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable — and we believe they can do it again.”

Africa’s problems are man-made and will be solved by Africans, supported by others. At Verraki, we believe that the answers to Africa’s challenges and problems are within the continent. We, and no one else, can take up this challenge. Verraki, comprised of former Accenture management in Nigeria, has the right blend of international exposure, grit, and passion for Africa to take on these intractable challenges and turn them around. We know that innovation is not sexy; in fact, it is messy, uncertain, scary and fraught with failure. But. Someone. Has. Got. To. Build.

Truth be told, Niyi won me over with his optimism about Africa and commitment to building. At the time I hadn’t quite seen anyone so filled with purpose. Life was about service and mentoring. Our conversation made me realize I wasn’t doing as much service to Nigeria as I should, as I could. I had thought Niyi was a unicorn till I interacted with other partners of the firm and understood they all lived the same values: stewardship, partnership, integrity, commitment and excellence. As well as a focus on people and an intentional focus on building Africa.

Verraki has taught me two major things; a truly great company culture isn’t about the perks – it’s about the people. A company is only as extraordinary as its people and Verraki people are truly extraordinary because they genuinely care about each other and the success of the business. Secondly, you must be a positive thinker to see possibilities. Nigeria is already full of pessimists and unbelievers with a tendency for negative thinking, and that working in a place filled with energy, optimism, and enthusiasm is like fresh air. The world will also have vacancies for builders and innovators; inspired people who plan to leave the world better than they meet it. Not consumers or copycats; we already have too many of that.

The journey to purpose starts with a question.

What are you building?

 

Temitope Osunrinde

Osunrinde works with Verraki Partners, a business solutions firm focused on changing Africa’s narrative by helping enterprises and governments accelerate the development and transformation of Africa