Eiiwa_ilread

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@ChuksEmma947401 I'm interested 🙏

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@GlobalEllah I am interested

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@Ify__oma @Chimaforkeeps Not only you 😭 even normal SIM sef 😂😭

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@OMOLUABIDAVY @edinsoncode I think it's just for engagement 🤷

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@PatricSegu38567 @edinsoncode Not as though we are not really good.. I have an idea but not an expert 🤷 but I'm good at being willingly to learn... You'll be surprised 🫠

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@PatricSegu38567 @edinsoncode We are two here 😂😭😭 not me scrolling to find my mate 😭

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@Omo_Afeja @jekodamo @odunayo_owo All I'm saying is a few Igbo people should not equate the whole tribe..
You're welcome sir 🙂

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@Omo_Afeja @jekodamo @odunayo_owo Does that automatically make it a decision of ALL the Igbos'???

[JerryXHub💫 @JerryXhandle]

🔥 DON’T WAIT FOR POWER TO INVITE YOU. ENTER THE POLICY CONVERSATION.
You don’t need a political title to make a difference.
Start by learning how your country works.

📙Know the Constitution.
📙Understand your levels of government.
📙Know who represents you.
📙Read proposed laws and policies.
📙Follow parliamentary decisions.
📙Understand public budgets.
📙Join or build civic organizations.
📙Develop research and writing skills.
📙Use evidence, not rumors.
📙Engage decision-makers consistently not only during elections.

Civic power begins with civic knowledge.
Learn the system.
Understand the issues.
Ask better questions.
Bring evidence.
Make your voice count. 🌍

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@larrychris321 @Sifon_Bassey Yea that's my next move

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@Dami90D @RemotejobWtessy 😮‍💨😮‍💨 it is really tiring 😫

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@TechersOS I need pls

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@Halosznn_ I've just applied 🙂 hopefully I'll make it 🙂‍↔️

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@sansbrown_zz @Sifon_Bassey So we plenty for this table ehh 😂😭😭

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@Destavic And we say the Chinese shouldn't come into the real estate sector?? If this is what it takes to reset our heads then finee...

Worst is, it is seen as normal 🤦

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

And let us pls too the tribal shenanigans 🫩

It has become tooo old 😒

[Osaretin Victor Asemota @asemota]

What should the Igbo traders do? I think that is the wrong question. It should be: What should all Africans do? Everyone sees Africa as a continent ripe for extraction, not collaboration. The reason the Chinese will try to go to consumers is that our retail is grossly inefficient.

Twiga Foods in Kenya went into receivership yesterday after raising a lot of money and couldn't crack or optimize the informal market in Kenya. What are the lessons they have learned, and how can we use those lessons to move forward?

We don't have proper retail playbooks, and you will be surprised by how messy our distribution is right now. Everything starts with banking, and one thing people will find hard to say in a place like Nigeria, and which will come to other markets, is that it is easier for the Chinese to do retail when they have already gained a foothold in payments and banking. It shouldn't have happened, but we let it happen anyway.

From the national roadmap below, the Chinese are more interested in dominating manufacturing than retail. We cannot beat them there. What we can beat them at is the last mile and in consumer experiences.

Losing in that space now is only a temporary setback. We must learn from past mistakes, modernize our playbooks, and dominate consumer interfaces and experiences because we still have some cultural advantage.

The Chinese will not open corner shops but can create efficient distribution to them. I have seen the massive China Malls in Ghana, but surprisingly, they also sell a lot of local products there. One thing that shocked me was getting local plantain chips from them at wholesale prices.

The retailers now go to these places to shop and sell locally. The reason they can dominate this layer is very simple. We waited till it was too late. All their POS devices are from Palmpay, another Chinese-backed company. They have been able to study the market and build efficiency in ways we have not.

All is not lost. We just have to start thinking about the future and acting the way the Chinese do. We can't beat them in manufacturing, but we can make it impossible for them to beat us on the ground in our markets. Collaboration is the way forward. It is not about silly ethnic politics or flaunting “wealth” in the midst of poverty.

African tech should forget eCommerce and support StreetCommerce.

cc: @the_wendyq @Omniretail @Infibranchesng

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@BabaDuduu @NafdacAgency Chinese people are coming for this too 😂😂😂

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@iamsuperwhales And next comes the tribal playbook 😂😭

[Eiiwa_ilread @Meel_dread]

@amanzeprecious8 We are our own problem..

[Ologunwa Temitope mercy @abikeade_mii]

The funny thing about all this crying is that you people actually created this situation yourselves.

It was when some wholesalers, especially around Trade Fair and Mandilas, started doing this rubbish of coming online, paying influencers and selling directly to end users that a lot of retailers started looking for the source themselves.

People who were buying from you started going to China.

A lot of vendors started importing directly because they realized, “Wait, if you’re going to bypass me and sell to my customer, then I might as well find the manufacturer myself.”

I know what I’m talking about because I have personally bought contacts for Chinese suppliers. Some of the contacts I have cost me ₦30k and above. I have Chinese suppliers based in China, and I also have suppliers based here in Nigeria that I’ve been buying from for years.

So when I talk about sourcing, I’m not talking from theory.

You can’t tell me something costs ₦2,050 in China, and after shipping, clearing and all the other costs, your landed cost is around ₦3200 remember, you’re buying in bulk, not one piece and then somebody brings it here and sells it to retailers for ₦7500 or ₦8500

Meanwhile Chinese seller can still make a reasonable profit selling around ₦5500.

At some point, you have to ask yourself what is happening.

And before somebody starts saying, “But Chinese suppliers are competing with us,” please understand how these people operate.

They are largely selling wholesale.

You want one shirt? No.

You want two? No.

You buy bundles. You buy bales. You buy cartons. You buy 100 pieces, 200 pieces, 400 pieces. The more you buy, the lower your unit cost becomes.

That is BUSINESS.

And some of you are only angry now because you’re beginning to realize that you’re losing customers.

But who pushed those customers to start importing directly?

You did.

You bypassed retailers for years. You came online and started selling directly to their end users. You used influencers to reach their customers.

Now the retailers have learned how to source for themselves, and Chinese suppliers are becoming more visible.

So what exactly are we supposed to do? Feel sorry for you?

And let’s not even start with the people selling counterfeit products while complaining about competition.

This is a free market.

You cannot dictate who Nigerians should buy from. You cannot tell people where they should source their goods. You cannot manipulate people into thinking they must continue buying from you at whatever price you choose.

People have access to information now.

People are learning.

People are travelling.

People are importing.

People are comparing prices.

Gaslighting will not work anymore.

You helped open this door. Now that everybody has walked through it, you cannot ask them to close it because you’re uncomfortable with the competition.