Cryptocurrency Trading in Nigeria: Why Now’s The "Right Time" To Introduce Nigerians To Remitano (And What's In it For You)

Cryptocurrency had always been on my mind. I’d heard alot of high level description about it, but nothing in-depth. Therefore, I did not take any step to try it out. This is probably the story of several Nigerians currently trading on Remitano. It was in late February 2020 that someone then told me about Remitano.com and I decided to visit the site. The very moment I opened it, I fell in love with
it. As regarding why, a few candidate answers: firstly was the simple and beautiful user interface, and then the self-explanatory steps to buy/sell cryptocurrencies on the home page. Moreover, I saw the actual values of these currencies converted in Nigerian naira--which hinted me that I can probably readily perform transactions without a need for some forex conversions. I decided to give it a
try, and purchased 0.001BTC (~N3,006.25 then) from a trader and to my surprise it worked very fast! Right then, I knew that this would be something I'll be engaged in doing and which others would be interested in.

A resilient breed, Nigerians have a genetic makeup of
survival through both storms and light winds. But one thing they’re also good at is laying firm hold
opportunities when they see them. They only need to see that Mr. A successfully made it, then Mrs
B, and then Mr. C also was successful, and I tell you, they’ll run after it willing to take the risks
involved--it's this principle that made victims through the MMM scam and other ponzi schemes that had hitherto chewed the purses of many. You may say that’s natural to mankind, but Nigerians will keep pursuing it even when the
prospects don’t seem as promising as in the beginning—they’re such opportunity loyalists. Almost any company that identifies the need of the majority of Nigerians (I'm speaking specifically of Nigerians) would gain their loyalty in patronage. Even the scams mentioned above identified that the economy was hard on many and people needed quick profits to measure up against the quick rise in the cost of living in Nigeria. This is what I call "The Right Time" factor of business investment. It is on this obscured foundation that several companies and businesses have successfully thrived in
Nigeria. The “right time” for launching a business is defined on the basis of the present need. In this
article, I’ll sight some business ventures (in no particular order) which were launched at the “right time” in Nigeria, and
why they were successful. Then I’ll propose why I think now’s the right time for a cryptocurrency
boom in Nigeria. You’re welcome to air your views too!

MTN

Photo Credit: BusinessAmLive

Yes, it’s hard to talk about successful businesses in Nigeria without mentioning the formidable MTN (Mobile Telephone Network).
It’s really an “everywhere you go” kind of business. Forbes magazine state that MTN Nigeria is the
market leader in the mobile telecom space in Africa’s most populous country, with more than 67
million customers at the end of 2018, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission.
With a market capitalization north of $6 billion, MTN Nigeria is the second largest company on the
Nigerian bourse after Dangote Cement which has a current value of more than $8.3 billion. It came
into Nigeria in May 16, 2001, and became the first GSM network to make a call following the
globally lauded Nigerian GSM auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission
(NCC) earlier in the year. Thereafter, the company launched full commercial operations beginning
with Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Effective commuication was the need of that time.
Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) used to be the bone of communication in the 1900s and even
early 2000s. Note that though GSM technology was relatively new in Nigeria, it had already seen
widespread acceptance in developed countries, especially those in Europe. In fact, the technology
had been in usage 10 years earlier. It would’ve been quite a futile attempt for MTN to try
establishing grounds in the UK without anything special to offer when there were already
telecommunication operators by 2001. Nigeria was a very ripe target because for a technology that’s
seen such wide acceptance, and which was spreading globally because of it’s effectiveness and
efficiency in solving the problem of long-distance communication, it was only a matter of time
before it’d have a foothold in developing nations—such as Nigeria. This was a "right time". Though expensive at the first, it
quickly gained popularity and became affordable to the common man, thereby reaching a wider
population (67 million subscribers by the end of 2018). It’s like you’re in a community where
there’s only one cab, and that cab belongs to you. You’d gain grounds!

Dangote Cement

Photo Credit: DangoteCement

I know you expected this to be here, and you’re right. I’ll go straight to the point. Founded in 1992,
Dangote Cement had a market cap of $9b and about 16,793 employees as of May 2019. In 2000,
Dangote Industries acquired Benue Cement Company from the Federal Government as part of its
privatization exercise. BCC operated a 0.9Mta plant in Gboko, which was subsequently upgraded
by the Group to 2.8Mta. But worthy of note also is that during this period, there were hardly enough
competitors who produced cement locally. He capitalized on
this and ramped up productions until he became the major supplier of cement in Nigeria. Cement
was a need and building structures will continue to be as long as humans live on this earth.
Importation was harming Nigeria’s economy and policies were being put in place—import
substitution. This was the “right time” for an indegenous cement company to spring up. His wasn’t
really the first—there was Lafarge’s WAPCO, but there was no “world power” in that industry in
Nigeria yet. Right now, his company is that power, and that also, without sufficient competition. In June 2016, the
World Bank published a report examining the impact and costs of lack of competition in a number
of industries in Africa. They found that African cement prices averaged $9.57 per 50kg bag
compared with $3.25 globally. Put another way, Africans paid 183% more than people around the
world for the same product. But don’t blame him, he’s “world power” right?

UAC Foods

Photo Credit: UACFoods

UAC Foods Limited is a leading manufacturer and Marketer of tasty, nourishing convenience foods.
The business is a joint venture between UACN Plc of Nigeria with 51% equity stake and Tiger
Brands of South Africa with 49%. This company pioneered the Sausage Roll market in 1952 and for
over 50 years, Gala has kept Nigerians going in their journey to success. Other brands from their
stables include Mr. Bigg’s fast food restaurants, Supreme Ice Cream, Swan Natural Spring Water,
Fun Time Cup Cake and Fun Time Coconut Chips. These brands are not unfamiliar to Nigerians
because of how ubiquitious they are nationwide. They started early, and it’s indisputable that
they’ve carved their own niche in the daily lives of Nigerians. Notice that they’re also pioneers in
most of the products you see above. They recognized the need especially of fast food, but perhaps
not more than the next on the list.

Indomie

Photo Credit: Yaoota

Indomie is a brand of instant noodle Indonesian company PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk,
better known as Indofood. It is distributed in Australia, Asia, Africa, New Zealand, United States,
Canada, Europe and Middle Eastern countries. Outside its main manufacturing plants in Indonesia, Indomie is also produced in Nigeria since 1995 where it is a popular brand and has the largest
instant noodle manufacturing plant in Africa. In 1988 Indomie was introduced in Nigeria by export,
and in 1995 the company opened its first production factory in Nigeria under Dufil Prima Foods –
the first instant noodles manufacturing plant of its kind in Nigeria and the largest in Africa. Indomie
Instant Noodles has grown to become a household name across the country. This is because the major need was a quick and easy-to-cook food. Today, a consumer may
intend to buy another Noodle brand, say, Cherie, and may end up saying, “I need Cherie
Indomie” :D . But really, the principle remained the same: see that it’s a need, supply
the need especially if you’re a pioneer.

Transsion Holdings

Photo Credit: TechPoint

There are many other examples to be considered, but to keep this post short, last but not the least is
Transsion Holdings. Based in Shenzhen China, it was established in 2006, and focuses on the
development, manufacturing, sales, and services of mobile communication products. Within the
period of 2006 and 2008, a market research was conducted in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin
America, and it was found that Africa was the most lucrative region. As a result of this, in 2008, the
company stopped doing business in Asia to exclusively focus on Africa. Transsion released its first
smartphone in 2014. It operates mobile phone brands Tecno, Itel, and Infinix (shocker right?), as well as after-sales
support service, Carlcare, and accessories brand, Oraimo. It’s success in the African market has
been attributed to tailoring its phones' features to the needs of the African market. It’s a remarkable
story for a Chinese company that has never sold one phone in its crowded, competitive home
market. In June, all three brands featured high up the Top 100 Most Admired Brands in Africa list
compiled by African Business magazine. Tecno, itel and Infinix ranked 5th, 17th and 26th
respectively. QZ Africa rightly points out that Transsion has focused on designing its products for
the African market including features such as phone cameras better calibrated for darker skin tones
in low light and long battery life in countries with poor electricity supply. And in order to keep its
costs down and thereby lower the end user price Transsion leaves out high-end features such as
artificial intelligence assistants or cloud storage. It also understands that for many users in Africa,
the phones, particularly features phones, have to be priced as low as $10. With the release of its
smartphones in 2014, its subsidiary Tecno quickly gained popularity among the masses because of
its surprisingly affordable price in comparison to the then dominant Samsung phones. *In fact, it was
Tecno that really brought the awareness of Android phones in Nigeria; most Nigerians used to be conversant with Nokia (which wasn't Android) and Tecno/Itel "China" phones if you know what I mean. * By 2017, Transsion had
surpassed Samsung in market shares to become the largest manufacturer of smartphones for the
African market in the fourth quarter of 2017. **This success is largely anchored on the affordability of
its phones as well as the introduction of its dual SIM phones in 2008 to tailor the need for a backup communications network in case one failed. It was an opportunity well identified as many Nigerians
could not afford Samsung Android phones then...much less Iphones. Android phones were already widely accepted in developed nations, and it was a need in the African market; Transsion Holdings really got the "right time" on this one, so much so that it'll be very very difficult for another company to overtake them.

Now Is Crypto’s Time

Photo Credit: Forbes Post

I really love this article on Cryptocurrency in Nigeria, published by Remitano in late February of 2020. It rightly points out the
high level of curiosity among Nigerians, who have made more Bitcoin searches than any country in
the world, as well as the ironic little “real adoption of blockchain and
cryptocurrencies in large volumes.” In 2017, I went to Imo State of Nigeria for an assignment and
passed a night at a house belonging to a friend of my brother. He’s a very curious man and an
autodidact, ever teaching himself. He was operating his phone when he suddenly stopped and asked
me, “What do you know about Bitcoin? This...cryptocurrency stuff?” I didn’t know much then so I replied,
“Um nothing much. I do know it has something to do with online trading, but how it works exactly I’m not
sure.” He then said, “Well it seems to be a lucrative investment. I’m just wondering.” By the word
“wondering” he actually meant “considering to invest", but he was not sure about it yet. He was
looking for someone to convince him into it, and if I’d played that role, he’d have ventured into it at the time. But this actually depicts the current state of many potential Bitcoin traders in
Nigeria—they’re looking for who would convince them; but people are not willing to play that role
because of the innate fear that if they fail those they’d convinced, the victims would be on their necks. Many Nigerians I've interacted with liken cryptocurrency trading to either forex trading or a ponzi scheme. This mindset is a symptom of misinformation and lack of correct knowledge about cryptocurrencies.

We know that we’re currently facing a terrible crisis in the world attributed to COVID-19. Last time
I checked, in US alone there are over 6.6m people who’ve reported jobless and to a large extent this
is due to the crisis. It’s a global effect and Nigeria is not exempted; many people are reporting
jobless. Several states in Nigeria even issued a stay-at-home order, and there has not been a longer holiday teachers have
faced than this. And once again school reopening has been shifted to 18th January, 2021. Point of note is that private schools and business enterprises will not pay workers
who’re doing nothing at home. If the pandemic continues, private school teachers will suffer
because they’ll not be paid their salaries—they did nothing. Similarly, shop attendants, clerks, men-
of-labour, spare-parts dealers, everybody gets affected one way or another. Right now, people in
Nigeria are looking for alternative means to earn extra cash. Few days ago, a former colleague of
mine in an ICT firm called me asking quite desperately, “So, do you know of any means to make extra cash online?
Can you teach me digital marketing? Bro, things are getting really hard!” I gave him my candid
advice. A woman also asked me how to make extra cash through blogging, and another friend of
mine has gone into making online tutorials on Graphics Design and charges as low as ₦500 ($1.3)
—he teaches in a private school and with the current lockdown there's no salary to receive, another commented on nairaland.com, Nigeria’s biggest online forum, “I am a Teacher!! I am at
home resting!! I am running out of supplies!!” All these because of the current pandemic.
So, it’s no news that people are looking for alternative means to make money. Right now is the "right time"
to introduce them to cryptocurrency! One thing I’ve discovered about every successful business is
that they first make the intended consumers/customers curious about their product, and then satisfy
that curiosity! That is, don’t disappoint, and you’ve won their hearts. Cryptocurrency trading has sparked more than enough curiosity in the minds of Nigerians but what I've noticed is that they need someone to explain how it works, and where to trade them. Luckily, we have Remitano which even went as far as dedicating a whole series on how to trade cryptocurrencieshow to trade cryptocurrencies! In addition, Remitano offers bonuses for
referrals. Want to get those bonuses? Now’s the time! I would recommend Remitano any day
because of its easy user interface and responsive services. During any lock-down, partial or full, people have more time to watch their TVs and listen to the
radio. It’s a good time to advertise the Remitano platform in one or more of the national broadcast
stations (Channels TV, NTA, etc). I’m more than confident that Nigerians are already curious enough, and
the first company to step in at this time, this Right Time, will become the “world power” of cryptocurrency trading in
Nigeria. Let's introduce Remitano to Nigerians: it's for everyone's benefit. Remitano user @wealthway rightly predicted
its effect in a debate competition. Tell them of the recent spikes in Bitcoin value and Remitano will join the list of companies above; plus your wallet will increase in value through Remitano's Referral Program! Now’s the time. What do you think?