Charles Udoh - Afrikan Heroes

Online Shopping Explodes

April 20, 2019

Latest figures from the United Nations’ Conference on Trade and Development show more people are resorting to shopping online around the world. Below is a quick summary of the facts and figures.

.Sales conducted on the internet increased by 13 per cent in 2017, reaching $29 trillion.

This number was made possible because, according to UNCTAD, more people resorted to shopping on the Internet. Hence, the number of online shoppers, moved up by 12 per cent so that a total of 1.3 billion, or one quarter of the world’s population now make sales through the Internet. However, though most Internet buyers bought goods and services from their domestic online shops, the number of people buying from abroad rose from 15 per cent in 2015 to 21 per cent in 2017. A significant percentage of this number came from buyers from the United States.

. More Businessmen are Buying from More Businessmen as against more Consumers buying from More Businessmen

The number showed that when the transactions involved two countries, business-to-consumer (B2C) sales reached an estimated $412 billion, making up for almost 11 per cent of total B2C e-commerce. Other B2C sales happened inside the countries. This represented about 4 percent increase from 2016.

The figures also showed that while transactions conducted between businessmen in these countries–that is business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce– has more than 88 percent of all online sales, B2C grew the more in the year under review. To be sure, B2C sales increased by 22 per cent to reach $3.9 trillion in 2017.

.More Online Sales Are Conducted in China Than Anywhere else in the world, while more Consumers in the UK are More Willing to Shop Online Instead of Visiting A Physical Shop.

The facts showed that more consumers in China bought directly from businessmen using the Internet by the accumulation of numbers over the years, obviously because of China’s largest population. However, UK consumers were the most likely to shop on the Internet because a staggering 82 per cent of people aged 15 and older made purchases online in 2017.

Overall, however, about 440 million consumers bought from businessmen on the Internet in China, making China the country with the largest number of Internet buyers followed by the United States, while the United Kingdom held on to third place.

.In Terms Of Who Made The Most Money From These Online Sales, US Did.

In fact, with almost $9 trillion, online sales made in the United States were three times higher than that made in Japan and more than four times higher than that made in China. Germany also overtook the Republic of Korea as the fourth largest online market.

.Findings From The Report Showed That There Is Still A Huge Gap In The Ecommerce Market.

The UNCTAD report showed that there is still a huge gap in delivering digital services such as insurance, financial services or business processes, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria, as the sector grew yearly by 7-8% over the decade, and they were worth $2.7 trillion in 2017.
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While developed countries still retain the market share, that is 77 percent, developing economies in Asia are seeing the biggest increase in exports over the past decade. Sierra Leone, a small-sized West African country emerged Third in digitally deliverable services, as a share of all service exports.

.What These Figures Mean

“The new figures show that e-commerce is indeed creating export opportunities. But the question from a development standpoint is whether businesses in developing countries are prepared to seize the opportunities,” UNCTAD Secretary-General, Mukhisa Kituyi, said.

“From an economic development perspective, this is important, because it shows the potential of digitalisation for businesses in developing countries that are producing such services,” said Shamika N. Sirimanne, who directs trade and logistics division at UNCTAD.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Nigerian Bank of Agriculture is Open For New Investors

April 19, 2019

Nigerian Federal Government is willing to give out the 60 per cent interests it has in the Bank of Agriculture. It said it will divest 60 per cent of its stakes in the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) as part of plans to restructure the bank.

Nigerian Agency in charge of sales of government companies, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), said the bank had been under-performing since 1972 when it first came into existence.

What the Agency Plans To Do

According to the DG of the Bureau of Public Enterprise, once the equity of the bank is restructured:

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s equity in the bank would be reduced to 20 per cent
Federal Ministry of Finance (incorporated)’s equity would be reduced to 20 per cent, so that both government agencies’ equity in the new bank will be a minority of 40 per cent.
Private sector investors would then be invited to subscribe to 20 per cent of the equity;
The remaining 40 per cent equity will be owned by farmers and farmers’ cooperatives, the statement endorsed by the by Head, Public Communications, BPE, Amina Tukur Othman.

Related: Nigeria’s Forex Market Gets 210m CBN Boost

Aim of the New Strategy

The BPE stated that the new strategy is to transform the bank into a truly agriculture finance bank modeled along the lines of Agriculture Bank of China and Rabobank of the Netherlands.
The model would ensure that farmers form clusters of cooperatives and thrift societies throughout the six geo-political zones for the purpose of participating in the ownership of the Bank.
The model would fundamentally ensure that the BoA becomes a farmers’ bank owned by farmers.
The BPE also said measures to make the bank attractive to investors and attract cheap funding from multilateral development institutions and other institutional investors with a focus on agricultural financing.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

5 Best Ways Any Startup Can Use To Attract Investors

April 18, 2019

Despite the intimidating number of startups on the rise today, lots and lots of startups still keep finding new investors for new businesses. Nigeria’s Wakanow, despite bad balance sheet, recently secured the global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group to invest $40 million in the online travel agency focused on West and East Africa, with principal operations in Nigeria. While this may be quite easy for the company, it may be entirely bad for other startup businesses, with little or no business history. However, here are five ways you as a startup can apply to attract investors to your business.

Join A Network of Investors

As a startup, you may not even have enough funds for your business, not to talk of being an investor, but joining a local network of investors may turn out to be a way out of maze. There are so many angel investors who provide funding for a startup, often in exchange for an ownership stake in the company. An angel investor likes to see:

The integrity of the founders.
The gap in the market which your business seeks to solve
business plan, clear, definite and ambitious
Any early evidence of obtaining traction toward the plan.
Interesting technology or intellectual property.
An appropriate valuation with reasonable terms.
The viability of raising additional rounds of financing if progress is made

Also See: How To Invest In Startups And Make Gains

There are so many angel investors network within your locality. In Nigeria, Angel Networks such as Nigeria Angel Investors, Lagos Angel Network, Entrepreneurs – Lan
collect together all the angel investors around towards helping startups to grow.

Online Fundraising Platforms

While equity fundraising is banned in certain countries like Nigeria donation-based crowdfunding may be an alternative. These crowdfunding platforms have become so popular that startups now resort to using them. You may consider the A.Y.E Trust Fund, Donate-ng.com, Imeela and others. Getting money here is not guaranteed, but you would get the necessary publicity for your business.

Startup Accelerators

Startup accelerators, also known as seed accelerators, are fixed-term, cohort-based programs that include seed investment, connections, mentorship, educational components, and culminate in a public pitch event or demo day to accelerate growth. There are popular startup accelerator programs around, most of them asking for an open invitation for applications from serious startup entrepreneurs. Once accepted, you get to keep developing your work, as well as introductions to other investors, business advice and help in staging future fundraising rounds. No matter how frustrating some of them could be, there are still startups that preserve and get funded. Just make sure you know the terms and look for a good fit before you apply, or accept the help. It is always better to do your research well and find the best of the best based on success stories. Popular accelerator programs in Nigeria include Tony Elumelu Foundation, Co-Creation Hub, Wennovation Hub, Startpreneurs, Itanna, etc.

Venture Capitalists

Venture capitalists professionally manage venture capital funds and invest in companies with huge potential. They usually invest in startup businesses with expectation of equity and move out when there is an IPO or an acquisition. They provide expertise, mentorship and act as a litmus test of where the organisation is going, evaluating the business from the sustainability and scalability point of view.

However, venture capital investment is often appropriate for small businesses that have passed the startup phase and are already generating revenues.

However, venture capitalists often have a short term focus. They come, invest massively in the company and often look to recover their investment within a three- to five-year time window. Thus, having a struggling product or service, venture capitalists may not be interested in you. They usually focus on larger opportunities that are a little bit more stable, especially companies with a strong team of people and a good traction. Sometimes, they often expect to control your business. There are a lot of venture capitalist firms in Nigeria, such as Cordros Capital Ltd, Venture Garden Group, Unique Venture Capital, Lighthouse Investment Ltd etc.

Find co-founders

Investors are not only interested in your products or services; they are also interested in your team. “Angel investors and venture capitalists often look for talented co-founders, as opposed to a single founder, which is a rarer case,” says Ben Lang of Mapme.

You may, therefore, consider choosing the right leadership team for your startup as having the wrong co-founders can ultimately be more hurtful to your business than having no co-founders at all. However, if you can find the perfect co-founder, it can make the starting process infinitely easier—even beyond attracting investors. “Starting a company alone is very difficult,” says Ben. “Having partners gives you people to rely on, which can be a huge boost for your company.”

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.