By Ebenezer Mabinuola

According to Business Day, a leading business newspaper in Nigeria, 80% of businesses in the MSME category in Africa, fold up within 5 years of establishment.

To avoid failure in business, here are some 5 strategies to deploy.

1. Have a business structure- Never run your business casually. Have a defined structure guiding your operation, payment of salary (including yours),
Knowing when to take a loan and when not to, having records....etc...

2. Be ahead- Be innovative with your business.
Look for ways to always stay ahead of awkward government policies by thinking ahead.

For example, always be on the look out for alternative supplier of raw materials in case government policy affects your current supplier.

3. Deliver top notch service always-A lot of Nigerian businesses don't prioritize customer service.

Always remember: One customer is a gateway to other customers when one customer is treated right.

One customer can equally bar other customers from coming when that one customer is treated wrongly and shares the negative review.

For Nigerian tailors, this has been a very big issue.
A number of them never keep to their word or treat customers poorly. I have experienced this myself on a number of occasions.

4. Choose value over aesthetics- learn to choose quality service and value on money spent over packaging with low value.

When starting out, focus on being known for the value you bring to the table not your packaging.

In the end, your brand worth is based on the value your customers derive from your product/ service not your branding.

So, do what you can to reduce cost...power generation cost- you could stick with fan instead of AC, office rental cost- choose a mainland location in Lagos instead of Island to save cost, office maintenance cost- use someone around the office axis to clean instead of employing a company to run it...etc

5. Be accountable- Belong to a community of business leaders who can guide you and hold you accountable to your dreams.

Carefully select an established business person to mentor you. This way, you can avoid pitfalls and move faster progressively.


People like Naijabrandchick, Triciabiz, Emeka Nobis, Paul Foh etc have strong communities for business owners. They have a track record of delivering and You can join any.

What other areas do you think people need to focus on when running a business in Nigeria?

Mods naijacutee, dominique, FOD, puskin FP please