It’s pretty remarkable how you take seemingly ordinary moments, like this short little video, and turn them into high leverage illustrations for your insights. Really enjoyed this piece. Good food for thought at the end too!
One idea that comes to mind about why we have so few platforms is that at least in Nigeria, we don’t consume much of anything (other than food). Platforms need consumption and consequently transactions at scale to make everybody happy.
Yes, that is what it mostly comes down to. And the existence of a food platform is a proxy for the fact that food takes up so much of Nigerians’ incomes
'Africa', despite initial impressions, is bloody young!
There are few African countries whose average citizen isn't a teenager. Ours is 19, if memory serves. That means limited capital and experience in institution-building.
Other than, prolly, two, there are no African countries older than 70. Their extant regimes are even younger. For example, the Fourth Republic will turn 26 in two days. That means few, if any, entrenched elites with reputational and capital investments in a fixed territory that they can't afford to lose, not to mention whose longstanding reputation means their authority is unchallenged.
The only extant Nigerian institution as ancient as your Count is the Oba of the Edo, and I dunno if that institution is into platforming abi laying curses on criminals is more their thing. I cannot think of an African exception.
Finally, and this is especially pertinent south of the Sahara, and in Nigeria especially, our economic geographies have been flipped the wrong side down. We are primarily savannah folk forced south into the forests 'cause of climate change and the revolutionary fervour in the 19th century. That means our cities and urban market infrastructure aren't mature. I genuinely can't think of a global centre of commerce that is less than a century old. Maybe Shenzhen if I squint --- but just like New York is a Dutch transplant, Shenzhen is a Hong Kong transplant too. I doubt (without evidence) that Shenzhen could work if Hong Kong did not exist. In this regards, the mild (compared to South Africans) xenophobia that many Nigerians demonstrate towards groups with greater experience of market economies operating profitably in Nigeria doesn't help matters either.
Anyways, when we compare ourselves to the Europeans, it helps to recall that they've been at this market game for (slight exaggeration) millennia. I mean, say Caesar dey conduct census is the origin story of the religion that many Nigerians follow. We haven't even yet mastered that particular tech tree in the year of our lord, 2025.
Of course, as the Igbos say: If e start today, e good too. I bet Chowdeck knows exactly how many peeps are on its platform. The platform by the Niger will get there too, one day. Just have to abandon that peasant small-mindedness first.
The piece was excellently delivered, as always. Thank you for thoughtfully unpacking what might seem like a minor issue, but which, in reality, has prevented many businesses from scaling and in some cases, delivered a death knell within just a few years of operation. Examples abound in the land.
Answers I could gather on this question that continue to make platforms so scarce in Nigeria and, indeed, Africa could be boiled down to trust deficit and the act of excessively profiting at the expense of consumers, often without sellers fully realizing the true value or sustainability of their gains or even make them expand beyond their too comfortable zones.
The story of Amoke Oge, being a woman entrepreneur, makes it sweeter to hear as this will empower more businesses to explore the opportunities therein in platforms to scale their business and even make them better at what they do. This aligns closely with the principles of the 1914 Gospels: build with an eye toward export, it will sharpen your capabilities and strengthen your business as review by outsiders will make you better.
Yes the trust deficit is a big part of it. And when you have that people don’t really want to play the long game which is a big part of what you need to keep a platform working and thriving
First, thank you so much for this elegant writing.
Secondly, this just helped me solve a funny situation in my head.
So the Nigerian “Ajo” where 10 people contribute 10k each month and every month one person takes 100k and then the circle goes round until everyone “pack their ajo”.
I saw T&C applies, and I was curious enough to ask what the terms were.
I was told Admin and Mgt fee of 1% of the amount you’d collect at the end of the rotation.
I’ve been ruminating over why but this 3 minutes read explained it better than I could have imagined.
Feyi, just take all my money. This is pure elegance. The wordplay in your subheadings? Absolute gold. And the piece itself—masterfully written.
Hats off to Amoke, to Tirole, to Chowdeck and to you, in no particular order.
Thank you! 😄
It’s pretty remarkable how you take seemingly ordinary moments, like this short little video, and turn them into high leverage illustrations for your insights. Really enjoyed this piece. Good food for thought at the end too!
One idea that comes to mind about why we have so few platforms is that at least in Nigeria, we don’t consume much of anything (other than food). Platforms need consumption and consequently transactions at scale to make everybody happy.
Yes, that is what it mostly comes down to. And the existence of a food platform is a proxy for the fact that food takes up so much of Nigerians’ incomes
Hypothesis on the lack of platforms:
'Africa', despite initial impressions, is bloody young!
There are few African countries whose average citizen isn't a teenager. Ours is 19, if memory serves. That means limited capital and experience in institution-building.
Other than, prolly, two, there are no African countries older than 70. Their extant regimes are even younger. For example, the Fourth Republic will turn 26 in two days. That means few, if any, entrenched elites with reputational and capital investments in a fixed territory that they can't afford to lose, not to mention whose longstanding reputation means their authority is unchallenged.
The only extant Nigerian institution as ancient as your Count is the Oba of the Edo, and I dunno if that institution is into platforming abi laying curses on criminals is more their thing. I cannot think of an African exception.
Finally, and this is especially pertinent south of the Sahara, and in Nigeria especially, our economic geographies have been flipped the wrong side down. We are primarily savannah folk forced south into the forests 'cause of climate change and the revolutionary fervour in the 19th century. That means our cities and urban market infrastructure aren't mature. I genuinely can't think of a global centre of commerce that is less than a century old. Maybe Shenzhen if I squint --- but just like New York is a Dutch transplant, Shenzhen is a Hong Kong transplant too. I doubt (without evidence) that Shenzhen could work if Hong Kong did not exist. In this regards, the mild (compared to South Africans) xenophobia that many Nigerians demonstrate towards groups with greater experience of market economies operating profitably in Nigeria doesn't help matters either.
Anyways, when we compare ourselves to the Europeans, it helps to recall that they've been at this market game for (slight exaggeration) millennia. I mean, say Caesar dey conduct census is the origin story of the religion that many Nigerians follow. We haven't even yet mastered that particular tech tree in the year of our lord, 2025.
Of course, as the Igbos say: If e start today, e good too. I bet Chowdeck knows exactly how many peeps are on its platform. The platform by the Niger will get there too, one day. Just have to abandon that peasant small-mindedness first.
The piece was excellently delivered, as always. Thank you for thoughtfully unpacking what might seem like a minor issue, but which, in reality, has prevented many businesses from scaling and in some cases, delivered a death knell within just a few years of operation. Examples abound in the land.
Answers I could gather on this question that continue to make platforms so scarce in Nigeria and, indeed, Africa could be boiled down to trust deficit and the act of excessively profiting at the expense of consumers, often without sellers fully realizing the true value or sustainability of their gains or even make them expand beyond their too comfortable zones.
The story of Amoke Oge, being a woman entrepreneur, makes it sweeter to hear as this will empower more businesses to explore the opportunities therein in platforms to scale their business and even make them better at what they do. This aligns closely with the principles of the 1914 Gospels: build with an eye toward export, it will sharpen your capabilities and strengthen your business as review by outsiders will make you better.
Yes the trust deficit is a big part of it. And when you have that people don’t really want to play the long game which is a big part of what you need to keep a platform working and thriving
This is a classic,one for the ages. On another level. Tiree gbosa for you
Thank you!
First, thank you so much for this elegant writing.
Secondly, this just helped me solve a funny situation in my head.
So the Nigerian “Ajo” where 10 people contribute 10k each month and every month one person takes 100k and then the circle goes round until everyone “pack their ajo”.
I saw T&C applies, and I was curious enough to ask what the terms were.
I was told Admin and Mgt fee of 1% of the amount you’d collect at the end of the rotation.
I’ve been ruminating over why but this 3 minutes read explained it better than I could have imagined.
Thank you once again Double Eph.
Thanks for reading!