There was an article in yesterday’s FT suggesting that the term emerging markets is obsolete. Whilst the article makes some valid points, I disagree with Marko Dimitrijevic when you think about emerging markets in the context of Africa. I address those points below:
Even though emerging markets have very large economies, the common misconception is that they have fairly small, illiquid, and volatile financial markets
Emerging markets comes in different shapes and sizes. Apart from South Africa and Egypt, liquidity remains very limited across the continent. To some extent, liquidity was responsible for the closure of the New Star Africa fund in December 2008. It is also why there are very few traded funds focused on Africa (at least in UK). In my experience, the funds tend to have a more general emerging markets theme, rather than focus on Africa only.
Another argument against emerging markets is that they are too volatile and have unstable, unpredictable governments that leave them susceptible to coups or revolutions
It is fair to say that political environment is improving but things remain tense in certain parts of the continent. That itself could be a motivation to invest – high risk, high return (or total loss).
Two other popular knocks against emerging markets is their reputation for poor corporate governance and less market-friendly government policies
South Africa and Egypt stand out for good corporate governance relative to the rest of the continent. I still find that listed companies in Nigeria and Ghana still don’t provide annual reports on their website or the latest annual report is out of date. I would think that’s the first box on the corporate governance checklist.
Whilst Africa as an emerging market has come a long way – there is still some work to be done in terms of increasing liquidity in market and improving corporate governance. This will be helpful for both local and international investors.
I’m terrible at networking. Imagine my joy when I found this great post on Unreasonable Institute’s blog on The Key to Powerful Relationships. The recommendations are simple and easy to follow. (via Change.org)
JFactor is a successful gospel talent show which was started by two Nigerians, Fola Oyeyinka and Chiamaka Ezenwa in 2007. The pair started the project as a platform to encourage and nuture talented singers whilst providng a launch pad into the music industry. Past winners include Nwando Okeke and Tito Fagbenle.
You can join the 2009 Jfactor finale this September!
Date: Saturday, 26 September 2009
Venue: JH Centre, 112 Brent Terrace, Brent Cross, NW2 2LT
Time: 6pm
Tickets: £10 online. £15 at the door
A new film called “District 9” by Neill Blomkamp (and Sony), has caused a bit of stir amongst our people around the world due to the way Nigerians were depicted in the film. I won’t focus too much on the film itself as various commentators with authority have talked at length and reviewed in depth. For your reference, I have attached copies for your reading pleasure.
The purpose of my letter is to explain what I believe your government can do to help. It was refreshing to see how our Minister of Information and Communications, Dora Akunyili was able to apply enough pressure on Sony to pull its PS3 ad. Unfortunately, we can’t always do that. We must improve how we communicate with the world and how we showcase our diverse culture. I have 4 proposals with details below.
Modernise the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA)
Have you seen any NTA stations recently? It looks like we are back in 50/60s when analogue colour television just arrived and improved sound quality had not yet been invented. I understand that Sony (Yes, that same Sony) has been engaged to upgrade NTA’s equipment. This is good news. I hope the upgrade brings same kind of quality one enjoys when watching BBC.
Promote high quality local talent NTA should be at the forefront of supporting and promoting local talents. This goes beyond showing Nollywood movies on its 47 main stations. NTA should engage local producers/directors to produce documentaries & programmes to educate Nigerians (home & aboard) and the world about our rich history.
Please fix the NTA website
NTA’s website was re-launched in May 2009. It looked like a great upgrade; the only issue is it was last updated in June 2009. Again look at the NEXT to understand what we need.
Everyone else will follow if NTA steps up
If NTA steps up, this should raise the standard across the industry–AIT, HiTV, BEN and rest will all have to step up as well. Currently they are all “just” better than NTA.
Of course, some people will call it propaganda – my advice is supply the necessary capital and try not to interfere with the news reporting to favour one party or one group of people.
The recent announcement by Grofin on its successful US$170m fund rasing, got me thinking about which other funds are focused on Africa. I was particularly interested in funds targeting start-up and growth opportunities. There is a useful reference list on the OPIC website. The Africa Venture Capital Association (AVCA) website also has a list (without description).
In the last few days, the #lightupnigeria campaign has gathered a huge following in the Nigerian blogosphere. The current momentum has centred around using the hashtag #lightupnigeria on Twitter. The idea is to get #lightupnigeria to be a trending topics on Twitter.
edundayo: @agegelabs Looks like you haven’t join #lightupnigeria. Join and let’s all make a change in Nigeria..#lightupnigeria
As I read Nneoma’s review on NigeriansTalk, I couldn’t help but think this was Phase I: getting #lightupNigeria on the agenda and making the Nigerian government realise how frustrated the youths are with all the empty manifesto promises on power generation.
What next? Phase II: The Youths making a difference through constructive collaboration. Essentially creating a forum/platform to bring people and ideas together. Here are my initial thoughts:
Form a small working group to brainstorm on how to move the project forward
Collect information on technologies available in Nigeria for power generation (focusing on alternative energy sources). I’m sure some individuals will have come up with innovative solutions out of frustration.
Currently lightupnigeria.com redirects to twitter search page for hashtag #lightupNigeria. Add a blog to showcase innovative solutions coming out of Nigeria or solutions that can be tailored to the country.
As Emeka Okafor suggested, organise local events to educate people about alternative technologies and showcase what other communities are using “light up”. Focus on DIY energy sources which can be implemented easily and at low cost to the communities.
Solar energy seems like the obvious one to chase and Barefoot College is a great community example to follow. I will blog about Barefoot College some other day.
I know I’m probably jumping ahead of the #lightupnigeria project. I wanted to get my thoughts down ;)
Other blogs and resources on #lightupnigeria The Real Archiwiz – great illustrations. The blog is handwritten! Global Voices – good summary of what is going on in the Blogsphere and twitter Adebayo – Learn about how to join the campaign DFID on Nigeria Power Sector – Interesting case study Nigerian Curiosity – Detailed post on #lightupnigeria and how to move forward
The guys behind 2wheels2africa, Jeremy Brown and Keith Lynch alongside Bill Zimmerman have started Limbe Labs, a not-profit IT training centre and incubator for IT start-ups in Cameroon.
Limbe Labs is based on Y-combinator / Appfrica model–identify good ideas, mentor, give seed funding and develop a sustainable business.
The guys also hope to develop a strong IT community by organising BarCamps which will bring together local developers and entrepreneurs to provide local solutions.
Limbe Labs is still in the early stages of development and you follow their progress on their blog.
There has been a lot of buzz around the Nigerian web community over the last 12 months with great coverage from Loy Okezie (StartupsNigeria1), OotheNigerian and StartupAfrica. I thought it might helpful to compile a list of the 10 Nigerian web start-ups to watch. I have included the name(s) of the individual(s)/company behind the start-up where possible. The list below is not in any particular order.
1spotsearch
Think Kayak, add domestic flights within Nigeria and you have 1spotsearch. The site is functional and has the potential to become huge. Do check out my full review from May.
Izogn Movies (Chidum Okwue) Izogn Movies is an online movie streaming services focused on Nigerian movies. If you love Nollywood, you’ll love this site! Although this award winning site is not a new startup, still worth mentioning.
MapNTL (Ireti Ajala) MapNTL is a tool that allows users to find street locations (currently only Lagos, Abuja coming soon!) and provides point-to-point driving directions across the country. Certainly ahead of Google maps in terms of street data but the visual design has some way to go. Read my full review here.
NaijaBorn (Franics Oghuma and Mambe Nanje) NaijaBorn is a social network platform that connects Nigerians across the globe and launched earlier this month. Probably the most talked about web start-up in the Nigerian scene right now. Read my full review here.
Nairalist (Seun Osewa) Nairalist is a classified adverts website modelled after Craiglist. The site faces fierce competition from other market participants (Nairalists, Whogobuy, Ariaria). However, Nairalist’s close association with Nigeria’s most popular forum, Nairaland should keep it on top.
NaijaLingo (Obilo Nwokogba and Adim Ofunne) NaijaLingo is an online dictionary for all your pidgin/broken English needs. The site allows users to add new words and edit existing ones. I really like the implementation of pronunciations. With the NaijaLingo platform, I wonder if the team has considered creating an online dictionary for the 3 main languages (Yoruba, Ibo and Hausa) in Nigeria.
NaijaPulse (Naijand) NaijaPulse is a microblogging service that lets you post text updates (140 characters) about yourself and what is happening around you. The site is based on Laconica microblogging open source platform. It is also helpful that you cross post to Twitter and Facebook.
RiRanWo! (Ademola Morebise) RiRanWo! based on the Elgg open source platform, is a social media site which can be used to bookmark, blog and share Nigerian content online. The site also has an aggregator called xplore that gathers Nigerian content from news websites and blogs2.
Sturvs (Temi Kolawole & Antigravity) Sturvs (Nigerian slang for “stuff”) is a sharing and voting website similar to Digg. Users are given the ability to vote on stories, music and videos submitted by other users. Make sure you check out the Sturvs radio for the latest Nigerian music.
Turenchi (Nnanna Obuba) Turenchi is a news aggregator which sources content from several Nigerian Newspapers as well as other sources covering the country. The site stirred up some minor controversy earlier in the year but this hasn’t stopped the team. I really like the concept and hope a business category will be created for my reading pleasure. Another site doing exactly the same thing is Nigeria 70.
Let me know if I missed a particular start-up or have comments on the list I have put together above.
Footnotes:
1 Archives of Loy Okezie’s old blog can be found here
2 Disclaimer: This blog is featured on Xplore News aggregator
VC4Africa is an online community for investors and entrepreneurs dedicated to connecting African SME projects and businesses. Despite its name, VC4Africa is focused on both venture capital and private equity in Africa. The site which has over 1000 members, has developed into a powerful network of individuals dedicated to the promoting African businesses.
One of the great things I like about VC4Africa is the incubator sites created for each country which helps narrow the focus for those looking for just that.
The VC4Africa forum continues to seek innovative ways to harness the full potential of its network. Last week, VC4Africa formed a strategic partnership with Appfrica “to promote social entrepreneurship by making it easier for the entrepreneurs to find the investors”. The partnership hopes to capitalise on business aggregator, Afridex by crowdsourcing funds from potential investors for investment. The details around this should become clearer as the partnership develops.
VC4Africa was founded by Ben White, a freelance consultant currently working through a Master degree at the University of Amsterdam and focusing on ICT as an empowering agent for entrepreneurship
“There are dollars: Africa is home to more gold, cobalt and diamonds than anywhere else in the world and sells more oil to America and China than the Middle East” (CNBC on Africa, NigeriaVillageSquare)
“I want to see real technology powerhouses grow within Africa – ultimately with African investors and with solutions that will take the world by storm” (Hash)
About a month ago, I was searching for a website with a list of start-ups focused on Africa, similar to Crunchbase. Then I found this post from last year about Afridex on Appfrica, unfortunately the Afridex database was empty. I enquired and Jon Gosie was kind enough to drop me a line saying the site was been updated and the project should relaunch soon. True to his word, Afridex relaunched last week all because of me ;)
What is Afridex? Afridex is a business database of business professionals, start-ups, NGOs, non-profits and government institutions operating in Africa. The purpose is to make it easier to look-up information about companies operating throughout the continent.
Companies and organisations focused on Africa are starting up everyday and this tool is a great way to monitor them and make contact if necessary. Afridex also serves as a repository of information for potenial investors or for students looking for a internships or full time jobs.
For bloggers like me, you have the option of using Afridex’s portable data which give a description/CEO of the company and link to their website (as seen as Techcrunch).
My Thoughts
Initially I had hoped for a site that would focus on just web start-ups in Africa. I’m still torn on that issue. I don’t neccessarily think it’s a bad thing that business professionals, NGOs, non-profits and government institutions can also register on the site.
The design of the site still needs some improvement. It took me some time to locate the navigation buttons on the company listing page. Even though the project is open to public, the site is still very much in beta. Don’t be surprised if you get the occasional error page. If you encounter any issues, give feedback to the Afridex team, it will help improve the site.
The project which is led by Moses Mugisha under the leadership guidance of Jon Gosie, (CEO, Appfrica) hopes to release new features in the coming weeks. Great work, guys! I’m really looking forward to it.
Please support the site by registering your company.
I was beginning to get used to reading the Punch Nigeria online. I really liked the Best of Punch Today list which enabled me have a quick glance of major headlines without digging through the site. The mobile site is also very handy.
Last month, Loy featured an article questioning the mobile web strategy of Punch Nigeria. I didn’t pay too much attention to it for some reason. Last week, I was trying to read an article on my mobile and noticed a online subscription request. I thought “fair enough”. I went online and got the same message. It is not possible to view a single article on the site, not even a preview.
Free versus paid model
There is a seriousdebategoing on about the merits of the free versus paid model, particularly given the current downturn. There is nothing wrong with charging for niche media content but not for general news, your readers will simply move elsewhere.
Some suggestions for Punch Nigeria
Restrict subscription to niche articles and not on general news. This will provide some free articles to your target audience. This will keep readers coming back to your site which increases the chance of them actually subscribing. It also helps if show preview of subscription articles and mark them clearly
Make it easier for readers outside Nigeria to be able to subscribe by using paypal. If you don’t plan to attract international readers, you can safely ignore this point. However, international readers are probably more likely to subscribe
If you follow these suggestions, you will get free readers and fee-paying subscribers. Punch Nigeria was the No.1 most visited site in May in Nigeria, let see what June brings.
Now to find a replacement for Punch Nigeria – Nigeria Next and All Africa are looking like strong contenders. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
NaijaBorn officially launched to the world yesterday after a few months in private beta. NaijaBorn is a social network platform that connects Nigerians across the globe. The team behind the start-up is Qubestreet Media’s Franics Oghuma and the AfroVisioN’s Mambe Nanje. In recent months, the team has been joined by Ann Daramola, Ahmad Mukoshy and Adekunle Samuel Owolabi.
On registration, you get a short profile on NaijaBorn profile and can contribute to the public user-generated blog, upload music and showcase your artwork to other users. NaijaBorn has a status update tool similar to Facebook which keeps you updated on what people in your network are doing.
Initial thoughts
I like the public user-generated blog. I hope they will implement a way for users to add content to their user-generated blog without having to log in and pasting the text manually every time I update my blog.
I know new features are going to be introduced as the site develops. However, there is no way to change the privacy setting to prevent other users seeing your status updates. You can’t yet create a special interest groups.
Another trivial point is on links formatting, personally I found it difficult to differentiate between links and non-links – a different colour would do ;)
The NaijaBorn team hopes their platform “will be a valuable way to network for people looking to reach out to the Nigerian audience”. The site currently has just over 100 users and growing by the day. Like most social networks, path to generating revenues (apart from ads) is not clear. Whilst NaijaBorn has not defined its niche, I don’t think it’s your “classic” Nigerian social network skewed towards dating. It will be interesting to hear more about their plans in this respect.
About a month ago, I was searching for a website with a list of start-ups focused on Africa, similar to 
