Thank you for your comment @Edenitis.

You are right on all counts, fear should not dictate creativity although it should be put into considerate for one to not seem naive.

I hope this thread takes a life of its own and i don't intend to stop till it does.

Unlike the case studies above Nigeria has major sectors to develop, Not recyclable sneakers or phone apps.

We have Agriculture Produce Trade, where billions in monies is lost due to a lack of structure in export that leads local farmers stranded with their goods and or not getting the true value for it when they barter (yes, trade and barter still exists).

Or real estate where the potential for building low cost housing and still being profitable is huge and yet a few greedy short-sighted people would still overcharge there by reducing the numbers of buyers significantly and in the process thereby erasing the potential of creating a community with benefits of secondary services that would create revenue continually for developers. I would elaborate on this when we meet.

Or is it the piggery or fishery or poultry or sesame seed planting or just name it that can be done with expert supervision and provide employment for several young persons in the country.

By the way, do you know their are over 1 million graduates in Nigeria or is it even just Lagos, that are without Jobs??

With a continent that holds so much untapped possibilities, from agriculture to mining to name it and the people with the monies to see this possibilities become a reality, i think this is an idea whose time has come, i know this is an idea whose time has come.

Its time for us to create something so unique it would draw the worlds attention. The problems of the people would be solved by the people. Businesses would be built, jobs would be created.

But we must do it the right way.

Please keep your comments coming in. I am so glad i am finding people who share in the passion of a collective progress.

Good morning people.

What do you think of a database company. A genuine one that holds real information of persons in a country, their buying habits,place of employment, their religious orientation amongst other things.

Is it ethical to have this kind of information?
How does it help with marketing?

I think a crowd funding company should be deep in data, I believe this data can go a long way in knowing which person is ideal for a deal.

I had initially wanted six persons, I think more people would be needed.

This is a project that would require your full dedication. You can have a Job, you can own a business it does not matter, but still that dedication is very very important.

Just found out Iroko TV owner and some two others have launched a VC with a 1 million dollar fund.

Bellow is an excerpt from linda Ikeji's blog.

"iROKOtv’s Jason Njoku, Bastian Gotter and
Nollywood superstar Mary Remmy-Njoku have
launched SPARK - a $1m-backed company to
support and develop aspiring Nigerian tech and
Internet entrepreneurs.
Based in Lagos and launched just a few weeks
ago, the new company has attracted attention
from around the world, having featured in US-
based black entertainment website BET as well
as BBC World radio. It has been praised as
a pioneer in revolutionizing the start-up
ecosystem for young, talented Nigerians looking
to make their mark in the country’s emerging
tech sector. Continue...
Since its launch on 8 May, the company has
received hundreds of emails from entrepreneurs
looking to join the SPARK network, as well as
interest from investors around the world looking
to collaborate with the new company.
Jason Njoku says: “Myself, Bastian and Mary
meet so many young, talented tech
entrepreneurs who fall at the first hurdle
because the culture for funding start-ups
doesn’t exist in Nigeria at the moment. Lagos is
the gateway to the tech scene in Africa. It is
currently worth about $200million. In 3-5 years
time, it will be $1billion. We, SPARK, plan to be
behind Nigeria’s first wave of
dotcom millionaires”.
Bastian Gotter says: “The reaction to SPARK has
been fantastic and it proves that now is the time
to be investing in the tech market. Following on
from our success with iROKOtv, we feel that
there is no-one in a better position than us to
drive forward the tech start-up sector in Nigeria
and this is why we’ve launched SPARK.”
So far, SPARK has funded 13 companies, all
internet based, supplying services such as
dating, property letting, hotel booking and other
service that more and more Nigerians are going
online for. The 13 companies
include Hotels.ng, Christians.ng, Bus.com.ng,
Giddimint.com.ng, Borro.com.ng, Insured.ng,
ToLet.com.ng, Foto.com.ng, blink.com.ng,
Healthy.com.ng and Drinks.ng
Mary Remmy-Njoku says: “Three years ago,
no-one thought to come online to watch
Nollywood movies and now, it is an every day
occurrence for millions of people around the
world and in Nigeria. People log in
to www.irokotv.com and they have instant
access to Mercy Johnson, Majid Michel, Mama
G….. whoever is their favourite star. They have
iROKOtv as their first port of call for their
Nollywood movies.
“The same is going to happen for these SPARK
companies; people who are interested in fashion
will go online to Giddimint to buy a cool t-shirt,
to Hotels.Ng to book a hotel room or
to Drinks.ng to order good priced drinks for a
wedding or big occasion. Our SPARK companies
will become an everyday part of Nigerian lives in
the next few years”.
"

I think its brilliant what they are doing, and also their analysis of the future potential of the tech market is one to be taken very seriously.

I think we as Africans are sitting on a bomb, the good kind of bomb, the type that just may make us look back at our continent a decade or two later and wonder where we were when all the change happened.

I believe as youths we must take charge. A wise man once said "the best way to predict the future is to create it".

Gosh! I hate to sound like this, all inspirational and all, but this is how i feel and i feel it to my bones.

Let your passion show in action.

I have a couple of friends who just launched a digital animation company that is currently valued at 50 million Naira. But that is not the best part. They are currently being courted by people who head corporations in africa and global leaders who recognise that they are in the fore front of what is arguably the next best place to start something like that since china back in the 80's.

Please let us not be complacent, let us not let our current situation blinden us to these FACTS that stand before us.

Let us bring this FACTS to light, let it be said that it started here.

Also i would like to partner with Nairaland on this project.

All meets would be confidential as an NCNDA (Non Circumvent Non Disclosure Agreement) would be signed by all participating persons.

I think at the end of the day it boils down to motivation.

Those who would do great things dont immerse themselves in what ifs to the point of creative paralysis.

I am glad some people here have shown interest in this concept, your enthusiasm would be rewarded.

@charcoalblaq this is very educative and encouraging.I for one believe theres a lot of creative 'minds'with creative 'project'out there in our society,but lack d much needed fund to kickstart them.God bless u for this thread.

Sunglow: @charcoalblaq this is very educative and encouraging.I for one believe theres a lot of creative 'minds'with creative 'project'out there in our society,but lack d much needed fund to kickstart them.God bless u for this thread.

Thank you.

Its very encouraging to have people like you who understand the need for this say something about it.
I hope you join in the movement as this is an idea that is going to materialise.

Just got this quote of Jason Njoku's Blog.

It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out
how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds
could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust
and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs, who
comes short again and again,
because there is no effort
without error and shortcoming;
but who does actually strive to
do the deeds; who knows great
enthusiasms, the great
devotions; who spends himself
in a worthy cause; who at the
best knows in the end the
triumph of high achievement,
and who at the worst, if he
fails, at least fails while daring
greatly, so that his place shall
never be with those cold and
timid souls who neither know
victory nor defeat. -
Excerpt from the speech
“Citizenship In A
Republic” delivered at the
Sorbonne, in Paris, France on
23 April, 1910 - THEODORE
ROOSEVELT


This words reflects the true spirit of a pioneer.

;DI have always tot of bn a venture capitalist... Count me in kbamidele@yahoo.com

charcoalblaq:

Thank you.

Its very encouraging to have people like you who understand the need for this say something about it.
I hope you join in the movement as this is an idea that is going to materialise.

'MATERIALISE,IT MUST AND SHOULD'for i believe its time,Nigeria n Nigerians begin to Live up to our name as'D GAINT OF AFRICA'.For we have come of age.Am in,all d way!

kanjay: ;DI have always tot of bn a venture capitalist... Count me in kbamidele@yahoo.com

Thank you, this is awesome!

adaonuchukwu@ymail.com

Sunglow: 'MATERIALISE,IT MUST AND SHOULD'for i believe its time,Nigeria n Nigerians begin to Live up to our name as'D GAINT OF AFRICA'.For we have come of age.Am in,all d way!

Thanks a lot, we would definitely materialize it.

What makes for a good business?

I am now a big fan of this Njoku guy, spent all of last night reading his blog, and I think he is an awesome guy.


Now, the first question. My opinion.

Crowd funding is not legal in Nigeria. I just found out this fact and for many reasons i am not saddened by it. There are several gray areas around the concept and we would find and exploit them.

Like herbal medicine before Nafdac realised it was easier regulated than eradicated, crowd funding is here to stay until the government realises the immense power the public plays in building its own economy.

A lot of people are passionate about an idea but lack the wherewithal to make their ideas into anything substantial. Very few have succeeded through blood and sweat and i believe theirs is the earth, but there still remains a whole lot of possible projects in Nigeria that can provide massive employment and even provide a platforms for people to employ themselves. This i would love for us to explore.

I heard of a guy, Tunde Delano i think, a young guy barely in his 30's who earlier in his life ran a very successful company that had to do with wine distribution in China. He sold off that company for a few million dollars and has since re-invented himself as a venture capitalist with a billion dollars under his management as his company is looking to explore Agriculture and Real Estate in Nigeria and i believe Africa.

Really impressive right?

But what is my point?

Venture capitalists do not invest in ideas, they invest in surety, they invest in startups that are proven to work or has an un mistakenly strong potential to work.
This was the case with Iroko TV when they got funding to the tune of 8 million dollars. The part that may get lost in translation is that his friend and now partner raised 150,000USD ( a little over 20 million Naira) firstly before he gained the world's attention and the Venture capitals that followed. Now they have a little venture capital project, Sparks. They screen PROVEN internet startups for investment. These startups had started and were already making something with a huge possibility for revenue increase.

Kuluya is one of its success stories with a current valuation of 2 million USD.

See the thing is, i am not much of an internet guy, but i am one for understanding, and my understanding is this, money begets more money. And also that bigger or at least similar can be done in the world of "physical" businesses such as animal farming, real estate and commodities trade. But how do they get started to the point of profitability enough to gain the attention of VC's.

Unlike some dotcoms which can be started with a great idea and a thousand dollars, businesses involving both physical and intellectual assets require a lot more than most family and friends can provide. And on the positive note are a lot more stable and less prone to disruptions hence probably less risky.

Large Venture Capital firms are abundant in this world, i mean the one's like Tiger Capital which funded Jason's Iroko TV. However, they are out of reach to 99.9999999% of the people for the simple fact that they are mostly interested in already established companies or startups with a very huge buzz around them as a result of their potential.

So.

How can one build a company to the point that it attention of Venture capitals. To build a company however small in scale that would be able to attract investments upwards of 5 million USD,

HOW?

Especially since its not cheap to build such a company, especially since these kind of companies do not rely on online traffic and ad commissions.

Lucid.

keep it flowing.

We need guys like you with intelligence, spirit and charisma.

This thing must work.

I see an explosion in a matter of months.

As men of like minds in this area meet, potentials that have been locked by the pedestrian and corruption laden banking system will be let loose.

China, here we come!

Thanks @edenitis, your cheering drives me.

I think that is where the topic of this discus comes in.

Crowdfunding is the missing precursor to creating several businesses at least to the point of venture capital attention.

This maybe is the first step in the creation of companies of our generation that down the years may just go public.

I am not a computer programmer, and the only technical skills i have with the computer is typing on MS word, browsing and of course watching a movie. But i am not disillusioned in thinking the internet does not play a mighty huge role in the world of physical businesses, i felt i had to point that out. But my only argument here is that some businesses would need to focus 99% of their resources on the physical before the need to go digital becomes a possibility.

So my conclusion for innovation involving crowd funding as regards physical businesses and the reduction of risk goes thus..

Bring 10 veterans with a minimum experience of a decade in a particular industry, lets say agricultural commodities trade.

Then bring in 5 young bloods who carry with them a heavy dose of ambition, passion, creativity and enthusiasm as proven in other projects they had done before or been a part off.

Make them all share holders of the project then have them map out a direction based on a one year plan, then Crowdfund it.

Repeat this process in 10 different market areas that have not been fully exploited and has a gaping hole you can fill.

The only criteria for all these companies is that they make a profit in 6 months.

I believe strongly that the result of this would be the creation of companies that would gain investor attention and raise more monies from them to expand and some may not even need more capital.

There is no fool proof road to success, none. Some say it is a gamble, i dont believe that.

@charcoalblaq,when i said there were a lot of'creative minds'out there,i dare say u are one of them.keep it coming,am following

Thanks @Sunglow. Deep calls unto deep my friend, and you are deep for being able to recognise the need for this project.

Thought to share some quotes i just came across.

“The brick walls are there for a reason.
The brick walls are not there to keep us
out. The brick walls are there to give us
a chance to show how badly we want
something. Because the brick walls are
there to stop the people who don’t want it badly
enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
like
tags:


“The beginning is the most important part of the
work.”
― Plato, The Republic
like

This sounds all too familiar....

Why do u sound like someone I know.

Send me an e-mail wilife1@yahoo.com

Wilife: This sounds all too familiar....

Why do u sound like someone I know.

Send me an e-mail wilife1@yahoo.com

I hope its the good kind of familiar.

Went through your website related topics and your website. What you have going is good and i would love to have you on board this project.

If this sounds familiar then we have not met, cos if you have met me based on this concept would suggest a while ago then it would have passed this 'pitch' phase. Lol.

I am completely dedicated to seeing that this is not just talk.

I would send you a mail as soon as i have completely mapped out a direction for this project.

Thank you for your show of interest, it is appreciated.