Electricity
This is the biggest obstacle in Nigeria. It is a problem that hinders productivity and make huge dents financially. When writing your business plan you should always include the acquisition of a generator as a dependable power source, and costly fuel in terms of both time and money.
Traffic(Logistics)
Unless you plan to pickup or deliver products by water or air, your business is bound to experience a huge logistic problem. The traffic in Nigeria is simply appalling, just terrible. Extended travel time, increase in fuel consumption, and a prospect of financial casualties as well.
Competition
This is very tricky in Nigeria. It’s not your average business competition you see in the U.S or in Europe, better product doesn’t guarantee better results. You need to know people, this is very different from what we know as networking, you need people of certain caliber on your side. Think of Eleganza vs Bic pen, even the most avid Eleganza fans in Nigeria knows Bic are a much bigger company with better products, but because the Eleganza family’s connection both to the government and the entertainers esp.( Wasiu Ayinde) their company was able to challenge. This is not true all the time though.
Pricing(Unstable Naira)
Pricing your products or services is a very precarious situation in Nigeria especially if you’re getting those products from a foreign country. The Nigerian currency is currently facing a tumultuous time, the naira has never been more unstable that it is now. This plays in important role in the pricing of your products, the devaluation of naira to some decree is good news to people coming to Nigeria, but bad for those who live in Nigeria which in turn will be bad for your business.
