Nigerian Startups Are Doing Better Than You Might Believe

There’s no shortage of pessimism when discussing the startup climate in Nigeria. Yet, surprise, surprise: trends suggest Nigeria’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. The same country that gave birth to several important brands in the history of Nigeria is today producing a new generation of startups with the potential to shake up markets, grow economies and boost jobs.

Let’s start with the numbers. Nigerian startups are having it easier than at previous times. Tech firms are setting new investment records that would previously have taken years to achieve. Think about these two examples: in 2014, South African multinational mass media corporation Naspers acquired a 50% stake in Konga after it invested USD50 million, and in May of this year, startup hotels.ng secured $1.2 million, about N240 million investments from international investors. Both deals brought in more than 10.1 trillion naira; double  Nigeria’s 2014 budget. Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this is that these two businesses didn’t exist five years ago! And these are just two businesses. Consider what that entire industry is worth and generating in terms of foreign direct investments.

Now let’s look beyond the numbers for a minute and at cultural influence. Some of the most watched pieces of content on YouTube across the continent are musical videos from top Nigerian acts like Davido, PSquare and Wizkid. Today it is not unusual for a new Nigerian music video published to have millions of views just in less than 24hrs. And this isn’t just for music videos. The Nollywood industry has also benefited greatly from the new online economy. YouTube channels focusing on Nollywood content (e.g. IbakaTV, Realnollymovies) are generating massive views from outside the country thus helping to export the Nigerian way of life and culture. The Nigerian pidgin English is today one of the most recognized pidgin English versions across the continent. Even Nigerian developers creating apps focused on Nigerian news, fashion  and lifestyle are reaping the rewards of the new online movement.

Ambitious Nigerian companies are charting the future of the music industry. Android Apps like Spinlet, Gidilounge and SoundCloud are changing the way Nigerians interact and purchase music. Since its launch in 2006, Spinlet for instance has been downloaded between close to 500,000 times on Google Play alone. These platforms are providing the much needed exposure for chart-dominating Nigerian acts via their mobile platforms.

YouTube is helping to create an entire new type of field: the online video entrepreneur.  With a simple camera, a YouTube account and the hunger to create video content, Nigerian video content creators like Yomi Black have built channels which have today has crossed over to offline television restructuring the original offline to online flow of video content.

In fact, YouTube is helping to birth a new category of celebs who are taking their trades mainstream. When the popular YouTube channel NdaniTV created video skits with Mr Donga,  not very many people knew the man behind the character Kunle Idowu. But now, his face is well known within comedy circles. Even beyond helping people connect to their passions, YouTube is helping content creators access a new revenue source. Today, thousands of YouTube channels are posting six figure revenues annually and total revenue amongst our YouTubers has grown by 50 percent in each of the last two years.

For the advertising industry, YouTube has been revolutionary. For one thing, YouTube allows brands to reach the consumer right at the moment they need or want something specific. If, like I was, you’re searching for instructions on how to fix your bike, you might be in the market for a screwdriver, or a chain keeper. You might even want to buy a new bike. On YouTube, brands can respond to this need and surface just the thing you’re looking for, just when you want it.

Brands have also been quick to embrace YouTube as a creative platform, delivering breakthrough, iconic advertising moments which have become a part of culture and conversation.

So, what will the future bring? The truth is, I don’t know. We don’t know because where we go will be driven by the visions of our creators and the interests of our users. One thing we do know is that the world is coming online. Currently, around three billion people have access to the Internet. By 2020, we estimate that number will be five billion. That’s five billion potential YouTube contributors and five billion potential viewers. Where YouTube goes will only be limited by their imagination.