Nigeria's educational problem is a 20 year challenge. Even if you revamp the sector now, it will take 20 years to start producing the first HR products.
So, one of the things hitting our burgeoning start-up ecosystem is the mad scramble for management talent as the companies start to really grow.
The industries producing top management - multinationals & consulting - are really good at retaining their staff. Start ups can rarely afford them even with stock options. It's also expensive to grow internal talent that can leave at any time. You need to build redundancy.
So, one of the key decisions fast growing start ups will face is whether to maintain Nigeria as a critical market but relocate their HQ elsewhere and build core talent there.
Our regulatory, policy and legal challenges also mean that core investors prefer to invest in the foreign arm of the Nigerian company. There are also added perks like access to cheaper capital, an environment that actually wants you to succeed and that values IP/innovation.
Because COVID has decimated many economies, foreign markets will keep promoting immigration incentives for entrepreneurs who set up businesses there as well as for highly skilled workers with in-demand qualifications.
Even now in Nigeria, there are certain industries that are dominated by foreign nationals. They bring certain skills and international capital with them.
Nigerians in Diaspora (and those returning from Master's) used to be a key source of talent. Now, they no longer want to come back home.
Increasingly, Nigeria is becoming a place to make money but not a place you really want to spend your wealth in. This is troubling. Are we really paying attention to all these social dynamics? We should.
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