Victory makes relations, enabling more victories: pursue a first major win with vigor. It could be a talk, an article, an exam, a trade, or whatever you find yourself doing. There is always a First for all legends who have built or transformed empires.
Digital technologies are tackling Africa’s food challenges including low farm productivity, high transaction costs, limited use of modern inputs, minimal levels of commercialization, climate change, and rural-urban migration. While digital tools have already proven to be effective elsewhere in the world, agricultural technology pioneers in Sub-Saharan Africa face roadblocks to scaling up, as the majority of the continent’s farmland is managed by smallholder farmers.
This is particularly evident in Nigeria where agriculture is the backbone of the economy, while its practice has remained unchanged over millennia. Digital agricultural technologies present an opportunity to leapfrog traditional technologies and redefine how food is produced, processed and marketed, disrupting the status quo across the Nigerian agricultural value chain.
A nation where more than 60% of the working population works in agriculture, and yet still farming mass poverty, in the communities of farmers, certainly needs a redesign. Nigeria must adopt emerging digital technologies to feed its growing population.
30 Agro and Agtech Venture Ideas – Execution and Commercialization (Videos & Text)
*Adapted from World Bank newsletter.
Remittance from Nigerian diasporas (those living outside the country) has exceeded the national budget if you use black market rate. Remittance brought in $25.08 billion last year while our 2019 national budget is $24.53 billion if you use black market exchange rate. Of course there are many elements of the remittance inflow which the World Bank system does not capture. Largely, if you add all of them, the government may decide to create another ministry – Ministry of Remittance Taxation – to boost internally generated revenue in Nigeria! Lol.
With the burgeoning trends of the African diaspora, the citizens of the continent provides a massive economic opportunity both inside and outside Africa. According to the World Bank, the 10% increase in remittance inflows from 2016 to 2017, and is only expected to grow more in the coming few years. While the outside world may see the rising number of Africans moving abroad, this is actually fueled by the relative improvement of economic activities in OECD countries, not by a relative declining of the conditions within Africa. The economic value that Africans creating abroad are the main sources of remittances for Sub-Saharan African countries.
[…]
Nigeria which led the continent in remittances in 2017, fell to second in 2018. The figure, however, increased by 10% from $19.64 billion in 2016 to $22.3 billion in 2017. There are two main reasons behind this growth.
This number for Nigeria is more than the total national budget.
Looking at the chart, in other words, if a country is making progress, or show signs of development, less people travel out, and you have decreased remittance…
Head or tail, it’s a pathetic situation, the paltry national budget of less than $25B is nothing, with the level of deficits we are already in. So as the remittances grow, the national productivity output lowers; and decay in infrastructures will accelerate…
There is serious problem here, the countries that have been answering “developing countries” may remain so forever, because the tides are already against them.
You cannot develop a country of Nigeria’s size via remittances that go to families, herein lies the challenge.
We are about to spend half of the year on elections and squabbles that go with them, while more people line up at Immigration offices, waiting for their “calls” to be answered.
Poor execution destroys more startups than any competition. That is why after they are gone, the market frictions remain unfixed. Spend more time thinking on your execution than worrying about competition which may not really matter in inventive but not innovation societies. Inventive societies are full of ideas but innovation societies are full of products and services.
It is in execution that capabilities are tested, not at ideas or talking stages. Both in football stadiums and TV studios, we have ‘coaches’ all over the place, until you bring them to sit on the bench; then the brain begins to short-circuit…
Of course when you are starting a business, it’s very easy to sit in your house and imagine how you will acquire 10k customers in six months, or sell N50 million worth of products/services per quarter. By the time you go out to talk to the first prospect, you suddenly realise how tough it really is out there.
Yes, ten people can have similar product ideas, including those who are worried about their ideas being stolen. Anyone who can execute better will always have better chance of winning. What makes a TV or car to come alive is not found in any textbook, it’s always hidden!
You must have received an email from our team if you did register for the webinar which takes place tomorrow (and to be repeated on Saturday). If you have any question, reach the email they have provided below. Of course, you can still register before today’s midnight in Lagos; learn how here.
Hello,
Thank you for joining us for Q1 2019 Tekedia Business Innovation Webinar on Friday (repeat on Saturday). We are truly honoured to be spending hours with you.This is the page where the webinar will hold tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday. You are free to join either. Click and login as a test now: [link via your registered email]
Please login with your Tekedia credential and password, as provided, by the webmaster. Please note a minor adjustment on time to accommodate more participants.
Dates: Friday March 22 2019 (repeat, Saturday March 23, 2019)
Venue: Online.
Time: 10am – 12noon (Webinar); 2.00pm-4.00pmFor Questions which you want answered: email tekedia@fasmicro.com or comment below the link.
Again, thank you for joining our community. Any question, email me.
Regards,
Tekedia Team