Can Nigerian startups ever rule and dominate the big stage? Can a Nigerian really conceive and execute the next Google, Facebook or Coca-cola? (I do not mean that we build a new search engine or social network, I mean building something that is as prominent as these global brands)
Despite all the noise we make online, the reality of the situation is that Nigerian startups are not as big or successful as they would like you to believe. Even Nairaland has just 1.3 million registered members to show for its 10 years of operation. Personally, I observed that polls on a site like Mashable gets much more results than polls conducted on our biggest websites.
With some bravery, good education, correct thinking and God on our side, I believe we will eventually build brands that can hold their own on the big stage, but these brands will have to be first Nigerian, relevant locally before they can go global. At the heart and soul of these brands must be something truly Nigerian. What we see currently is that most of our startups are merely building things we lifted verbatim or semi-verbatim from foreign sources, we are yet to dig deep into what makes us Nigerians and then build up from there.
We will be able to play on the big stage when we can answer this question: What can we show the world as Nigerians that no one else can?
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Watching The World
- Today’s post was semi-inspired by Roye Okupe who is completing a story about a Nigerian superhero in E.X.O. — The Legend of Wale Williams . Yes, a superhero like the Superman, Batman and co.
- Facebook has taken things to a brand new level by launching Messenger.com, a standalone messaging service.. just like their app.
