Companies not giving IT Projects to Nigerians

we all talk about big companies here and forget to mention our govt and their agencies

i don't think those coys should be blamed when even our own people do not apreciate what we have in here may be due to complex of inferiority or selfish interest or whatever.

Tanx to Yar'adua admin as things seem to be improving now at least

I have been on Nairaland pushing 18 months and at this point can confidently say that I can use the programmer/webmaster sections of Nairaland to paint a broad brush with respect to why companies aren't giving IT projects to Nigerians.  Of course, though not specified, I will assume these companies are based in Nigeria (because if that is not the case, there is basically no argument here  ).  A few reasons:

• Most of us don't market ourselves.  We code "in the dark" so to speak and hope that someone will discover us
• 419 syndrome: how many people do you know who have paid for a service they didn't get or for a service whose delivery wasn't what they asked for?
• Poor customer service: Most business is via word of mouth.  Treat A wrong and he will tell B, C, D, etc
• Unfortunately, there is a lot of stereotyping going on.  If I do a google search for the Naval Institute of Nigeria for example, and see crap, without digging a bit further, chances are I will never use a Nigerian coder
• Pricing:  If I make millions a year and I ask you how much you charge for even a simple website and you tell me N300K, I will probably not use you.  Why? because appearance is everything.  People with taste spend money.  This leads to the next point:
• Presentation: If I ask you to come in for a presentatoin and you come in ill-prepared or ill-dressed, and can't answer even the most basic of questions, why should I hire you?
• From experience, some of us are too much into "do you know who i am?  By that I mean, rather than focus on the customer, we want to, in the case of web dev, wow them with our flash capabilities.  On a side note, the horse at http://www.unionbankng.com/ has been running around in circles for at least 2 years now.  E never tire? 
• Man-know-man: enough said here
• Most of us operate as individuals and not as companies: Again, if I own a large company, who do you think I will hire? Okoro the greatest coder in naija who just happens to carry his office in his briefcase or Okon who is an average coder but owns a well-furnished office?  In other words, if something goes wrong, is it easier for me to lay in wait for an individual or a company that I can sue (for example) readily?  Mind you, I am talking perception and first impressions here folks.
• For multinational companies, chances are that it is cheaper for them, from a tax perspective to go with the guy back at home than with someone in the country they are operating from.  Also, could be the case of nationalism.  If I am french, why would I pay a Nigerian?  Seems fair to me.  Before anyone talks crap, I say: In Nigeria, we call it triabalism, so it's the same difference
• (In the case of web dev) Portfolio pages that no longer exist: I see it all the time on Nairaland.  Someone says, "I am the man for the job, here is my portfolio" and showcases 10 URLs of which only 3 at most are still functional.  If a client is like me and clicks links at random and after 3 links all he sees is broken URLs, why would I go with you?  Who's to say those sites ever existed in the first place?
• Lack of professionalism:  This can show itself in many ways.  Here is one: You visit a site, say www.abc.com and on the contact us page, it says, "email us at abc@yahoo.com". Get it?  You own a company but can only afford a free yahoo account?

Okay, I am off my soapbox now.  And as always, my 2 cents

What is probably required is a local website like www.elance.com where individuals or businesses can post samples of the IT projects that they have completed in the past with a view to responding to bids from potential customers. This should attract individuals/businesses without deep pockets.

As the service providers demonstrate very good quality of work and diligence (demonstrated by good feedback and ratings) at good rates, the bigger clients will come. Maybe this is a project for someone out there.

Nigeria should NOT be outsourcing IT to other countries. It should be the other way.

Hey My friend from Atlanta:

Therein lies the problem. It is assumed that once the website is developed, the job is completed. That's just like any company manufacturing products and hoping someone would drop by to purchase the product without any active marketing.

One of the main issues is usually a lack of content one. The website owner does not network with parties that stand to benefit in order to get them to contribute their works. An easy way of doing that is to advertise that you need a product that does such and such.

As people respond, help them to get the products out into the website. And use other methods to get the word out too. People need to use very innovative approaches to selling themselves.