ICT presents more opportunities for Nigerian entrepreneurs

Even with the current state of the economy, the growing smartphone market provides a unique opportunity for more Nigerian entrepreneurs to grow their profits through e-commerce.

Speaking recently in Lagos, the Managing Director of Align academy, Winston Ikekeonwu, said the Information Technology (ICT) presents trade opportunities for entrepreneurs, especially with Nigeria being one of the top 10 nations in Internet usage with over 46 per cent of the population actively using the it.

“The Internet helps remove some of the overhead cost burdens linked to traditional businesses, and that empowers smart entrepreneurs to design business models that will grow profits faster.

“Even with the challenges we have with infrastructure, we still have one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in the world, with over 80 per cent of our smartphones connected to the Internet.

A recent study by PayPal ranked Nigeria 3rd in the world in online mobile shopping, with over 70 per cent of the shopping done on smartphones. The opportunities really outweigh the challenges,” he stated.

Ikekeonwu added that a lot of entrepreneurs were yet to take advantage of the business opportunities offered by improving payment systems in the country.

“Not so long ago, you couldn’t go into affiliate marketing here in Nigeria. But with today’s improving payment systems, you can increase your income streams by simply promoting other people’s products and get paid instantly here in Nigeria without any hassles.

“Thereby, you increase your profits without even having to create your own products,” he said.

Ikekeonwu further hinted that alignacademy.com was founded in 2014 to train entrepreneurs on how to leverage on their skills to build profitable businesses.

“The site offers resources and trainings for the business-minded,” he said.