Logistics Challenges are Crippling the Activities of Nigerian Entrepreneurs
The Tony Elumelu foundation is the leading champion of entrepreneurship in Africa. African entrepreneurs are the heart of the foundation and what bothers these entrepreneurs bothers us all at TEF.
On today’s episode of #TEFAdvocacy, we will be discussing challenges affecting entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Quintessentially policy-based logistics challenges.
We started advocacy [through the Tony Elumelu Foundation] to get the public sector to understand the need for businesses to do well.
Tony O. Elumelu, CON
In a discussion with some Nigerian entrepreneurs, the foundation found that logistics poses a major challenge for entrepreneurs in commerce. We had a chat with two entrepreneurs; Hills-Tech Stores and The Salesman Phones & Gadgets. They deal in buying and selling of smart phones and gadgets in Ikeja computer village Lagos, and they represent majority of similar businesses.
These businesses have the same challenge with logistics. They stated how the cost of deliveries through dispatch riders within the same city are incredibly high and continue to increase. It was discovered that the state government exploits these logistics companies dry with one payment or the other and so they have no option but to correspondingly increase their fares.
Inter-state cargo logistics is now a grave opposition to these entrepreneurs. There is a need to ship fragile and time sensitive items within the shortest timeframe through the airports, but the exorbitant prices and frequent flight cancelation has crippled these efforts.
Road users are not left out. “There is always the issue of police stop and search or the no movement in the south-eastern part of the country.” These things cripple business activities and raises the issues of extra cost and integrity issues between these entrepreneurs and their customers. Items spend longer on the roads and even get damaged in some cases.
Recommendations
With the mind that entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the nation’s rise, the Nigerian government ought to do right by these young entrepreneurs in providing a smooth landing into starting a business and running same. The government is responsible for policy making, and should be such that champions entrepreneurship. We propose that certain fees and charges specially pertaining to logistics services should be properly regulated and standardised to favour all parties involved.