The Dangers of Overpromising in Nigeria’s Unpredictable Business Environment
By Hassan Yakubu
First off, I do not claim to know all businesses or their profit stories. Even in the telecom industry, where I have been working for almost 20 years as both an employee and a small dealer, I can’t claim to know everything.
Yet, something needs to be reiterated.
In a country where a leader can just wake up one morning and decide that this is the best time to move the country backward, one must be careful about how they present numbers or profit stories to potential partners or investors.
I say this because many of my people who come here to teach or talk about business are sometimes overly assuring. Wallahi, it’s dangerous because business comes with many challenges!
Some months ago, a nice woman indirectly called upon her followers to support the weak or upcoming entrepreneurs because some only needed small amounts of money to do business (Iโm paraphrasing). That post turned into a platform for many people to pitch as though investors were listening. People shared what they could do with certain amounts of money. Lovely and encouraging analyses were everywhere. Hajiya PhD, may Allah reward you in ways you never imagined.
However, some of the comments were unrealistic and, at the same time, scary given today’s economy. One person who commented said he had the capacity to convert 1 million Naira into 6 million Naira in 6 months, and he mentioned the sector he wanted to invest the said 1 million: agriculture. I think he mentioned rice farming or something similar. A 600% growth rate, “gaba daya”!
Imagine for a moment that someone gave him the money, and the unexpected happened: not enough rain, and many rice farms failed as a result. Or, bandits imposed conditions for harvest, assuming he was lucky enough to harvest a quality product and in good quantity. What about the cost of labor, fuel, electricity, transportation? These factors would naturally affect his margin, which might reduce the profits to around 2 million Naira (that is if heโs lucky). The investor or partner may not understand what truly happened. All they know is that they were assured of 5 million Naira or a little less.
It’s okay to partner or collaborate with others who have money, but know that some people just want to help you because they see you have good ideas, or they have the money but don’t have enough time to run the business you pitched to them. It’s important that your numbers are very precise, accurate, and truthful. Don’t exaggerate due to desperation or to prove a point.
The Nigerian business environment is very chaotic, very crazy, and very unpredictable. Nobody can tell with certainty what will happen in the next few minutes with the kind of leaders we have.
Many good people over-promise partners and are now under-delivering. This is damaging the reputations of many people I know to be good.
I repeat, it may damage your reputation, if you have any to protect!