1. Engage your regulator; better yet as a group. Understand their concerns and what they are optimizing for.
@eldivyn@JasonNjoku 2. Get political, maybe join a party or observe from a distance but keenly, learn the ropes and understand the power dynamics, figure out how agencies & regulators work and how this is related to politics and economic power.
@eldivyn@JasonNjoku 3. Pride is the enemy. Avoid feeling superior because we are the private sector, & “innovators will innovate.”
😀
Understand the cultural nuances of our region and play them to your advantage, not the opposite.
“Don't join Whatsapp group and be yabbing your regulator, oh.”
@eldivyn@JasonNjoku 4. Decide how you want to put skin in the game; via funding, supporting, lending your mind or time, or even joining any political action groups. Or parties.
It’s not even 9:30 am yet, and I have had so many exciting conversations already & am on my 2nd thread.
This is one of the benefits of my brief & rare period of solitude and reflection. #Thread
A random chat about HOV & DMX with egbon @obiasika this AM soon drifted to us talking about hubs, talent vs. opportunity in Nigeria, and the importance of solving the disparity across this vast land.
My egbon wanted to embarrass me with this line;
“I remember coming to your spot like five years ago and thinking this is the level and I can’t do this, but I can do something, so thank you, bro.”
When the coronavirus pandemic first really hit Nigeria in March, we all didn't know what to expect. As the impact on supply chains, employment, funding rounds & national economies became more manifest, many startups braced themselves for The End.
As layoffs were announced, some businesses folded up, VC’s (we @vp_fund kept investing) warned of dark times ahead & restructuring experts predicted the beginning of a “great unwinding” after a decade-long boom.
Five months later while challenges persist, especially with the impact on consumer spending & access to working capital, startups that offer virtual learning, telehealth, e-commerce, streaming, and software for remote workers are seeing a surge in demand.
What that title doesn’t easily giveaway is that this new paper shares 3 practical steps for entrepreneurs & innovators who are keen to tackle non-consumption and successfully build market-creating innovations, that we desperately need in the global half I call home.
Step 1: How to discover market creating opportunities. With some practical examples including Nigeria’s own @maxdotng
@MariusJurgilas who is a Board Member of the Bank of Lithuania & one of Europe’s foremost thought leaders on the future of banking. He is known as the godfather of Fintech in Lithuania. I referenced our memorable conversation in this tweet:
As @EfosaOjomo says, “all innovations are not equal.”
I have since drank this ”kool-aid” and am further convinced that as we work to eradicate poverty & democratize prosperity in Africa we must focus our energies on Market Creating Innovations.
This is why I have always loved the product that @paystack has built.
When Nigeria turned 58, 2 years ago; I was invited to speak at an independence celebration even where I delivered this speech: link.medium.com/nJEVRCUwz7