How and Why Techpreneurs are Dying

High interest rate; banks’ apathy to financing startups; multiple taxation;  poor accounting system; weak management system; marketing are some of the  factors impeding the growth of technology entrepreneurs (techpreneurs) in Nigeria according to technology experts.

A technopreneur is simply an entrepreneur in the field of technology. He can be best described as an innovator in a certain product or service, and who bears the risk for promoting and supplying this product or service.

But the experts who spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek at the weekend said some of the attributes and responsibilities of traditional entrepreneurs are lacking in the Nigerian techpreneurs.

Harry ‘Tomi Davies, chief executive officer, TechnoVision Communications, identified “indiscipline” as a major roadblock to the realization of the dreams of techpreneurs.

“Discipline! There is this inability to have long-term expectations and the lack of managerial prowess to nurture and manage ideas for the long term” he added

On his part, Peter Asolo, chief executive officer, PetVini Global Concepts Limited, blamed unsavory economic policies and lack of patronage.

He said, “The Nigerian economy like, already said severally is very harsh for a quick breakthrough. The Petvini tab is one device that targets the students and schools to eliminate physical notebooks and do away with the level of little or no knowledge of technology among our people. But some of the challenges we are currently experiencing is lack of access to investable funds. Most people do not see any reason in investing in technology yet.

“What many see as doing technology business ends up at selling the already known foreign brands. They will never believe an African or a Nigerian can be innovative to the extent of bringing about innovation that not only compete with the foreign brand but tackle our local challenges”.

Nodding in agreement, ‘Tomi Davies, who is also the chairman, Mobile Monday (Nigeria), said, “In Nigeria, we tend to be short-term about a lot of our business plans. What that means, if you take a tech opportunity, the first thing is to get attraction, then the skills.

“So, we get the attraction accompanied by a lot of noise, but when it comes to scaling only people like Sim Shagaya, founder & CEO of Konga.com, the Jumia co-founders, the Jobberman founders, and a few others. Why we revere these people is because they have shown managerial competence in their ability to scale.

“That kind of skill is not what you get your head around easily, especially when the focus in the environment you have to operate in is not about how satisfied your clients or customers are rather the amount of cash you make daily, monthly or yearly, or how swollen your bank account is”.

But, Asolo believes that the technology adoption awareness level among Nigerians is still low.

“Other challenges are the (Nigerians) awareness level is still low. Though we have a reasonable pocket friendly pricing but the purchasing power is not still widely spread.

“Many people often believe the lack of stable energy is another form of obstacle, but we have also devised a solution to that by embarking on OEM of power banks to charge not only the tablets but also charge other devices such as phones, laptops and other mobile devices”.

While TD believes that Nigerian entrepreneurs in the technology ecosystem should submit themselves for mentorship, Asolo, also highlighted the need for the government to redouble efforts in providing conducive environments for them to thrive. 
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