Economic Landscape of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria
Author: OYENUGA, Olamide Habibat | oyenugaolamide3@gmail.com
Despite facing numerous economic challenges, the Nigerian people are involved in a vast number of entrepreneurial ventures, both locally and across the continent . These ventures have contributed significantly to the growth of the nation, both economically and socially.
Several socioeconomic analysts and commentators have characterized Nigeria as a middle-income, mixed economy, and an emerging market that possesses manufacturing, financial services, communications and technology, and a thriving entertainment sectors. It is ranked as the 39th-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, the largest in Africa and the 27th-largest in terms of purchasing power parity. The country’s re-emergent manufacturing sector became the largest on the continent in 2013, producing a large proportion of goods and services that serve primarily the West African region and Africa as a whole.
Nigerians debt-to-GDP ratio was 36.63% in 2021 according to the IMF. Entrepreneurship in Nigeria, has the potential to expand and boom exponentially, owing to its vibrant youth population, which are capable of producing, and its overall population, making it a promising market for consumption. However, the challenges in the country that entrepreneurs faces are a consequence of poor infrastructure, capital problems, insufficient business knowledge, and corruption.
These infrastructural drawbacks such as bad roads, epileptic power supply cause challenges to both large scale and small scale business owners especially by increasing capital and operational expenditure. Capitalization is another problem entrepreneurs face, due to insufficient database that make financing through credit a herculean task. Receiving loans is also difficult because the interest rates are usually exhorbitant. Contributing to one of the economic challenges being faced by business owners.
Nigeria has a remarkable number of successful entrepreneurs who has constantly placed the country in a global spotlight over the years. Nigerian billonaire, Aliko Dangote, who is the richest man in Africa and the wealthiest black man in the world, is a testament to this fact. Over the years, his business ventures in Cement, Sugar, Flour and more have demonstrated exceptional production and the distribution
capacity causing the ventures to blossom beyond imagination. His cement business produces a highly popular and widely used cement product, not only in Nigeria but also across Africa.
Equally inspiring is the story of Ibukun Awosika, the first female Chairperson of First Bank of Nigeria in the business and finance sector. This achievement is groundbreaking in a male-dominated finance sector and demonstrates what can be achieved through sheer will. Another groundbreaking business success story is that of Femi Otedola, a Nigerian entrepreneur involved in the oil and gas sector, the power generation sector and various other industries. Tony Elumelu, a notable Nigerian philanthropist and the Chairman of the UBA (United Bank for Africa) group, has also achieved revolutionary strides and prominently recognized in the oil and gas sector of Nigeria.
Through their entrepreneurial journey, they have shared storied of the struggles and challenges that come with owning or even managing a business venture in Nigeria, and the peculiar problems they faced. And their experiences inspire new entrepreneurs in the business sector. This information was cited by notable sources such as Forbes and The Financial Times.
Nigeria has experienced a surge in entrepreneurship opportunities, as a response to Government initiatives. Initiatives ranging from tax policies has created a conducive environment for business growths in Nigeria. However, a comprehensive evaluation of these policies is needed in order to suit different business sectors.
In the years to come, entrepreneurship in Nigeria will undergo remarkable changes with the increasing integration of technology into our daily lives. Businesses are gradually adapting to the use of technology, expanding their business on a large scale. Business owners are making use of technology and media to advertise their businesses, leading to numerous rebranding in Nigeria to align with current media trends and lifestyles. Technology has immensely improved so many entrepreneurial ventures, and will improve many more in the nearest future.