One thing has happened since competition went to the high temperature in the ICT sector in Nigeria: many local players went under. For anyone to tell you that business is booming for all the early investors in this sector, that person is not honest. The problem is simple: the ecosystem is difficult and extremely unfriendly.
Where do you start? You run a generator. You pay multiple taxes. You get nothing from the government.
This is exactly what is happening in the Internet Service Providers business. They invested millions thinking that the future will be under then. It just the same thing that happened to the cybercafe. Of course we know what happened in the latter. When people began to have their phones as Internet hubs, the model of cybercafe was disrupted.
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According to Vanguard, there are more than 21 ISPs that have gone under. Why not, these companies have no cybercafe to serve. People are getting the Internet via phones.
Already, about 21 Internet Service Providers were said to be operating illegally in the country due to expired licences. The licences granted to them in 2005 were only valid for five years, and many of them became invalid between December 2010 and April 2011. The ISPs currently find it hard to renew their licences.” he pointed out.
This calls into question vision and planning. What looks like a good business can be disrupted and that is why you need to have a strategy and stay in shape. And of course be adaptable. That is the only way of being sustainable.