A friend who runs a SME in Nigeria recently told me about their struggle to get paid for work they did for a Nigeria company. While the service was confirmed satisfactory and invoices were accepted nine months ago, payment has not been made. Understandably, they are reluctant to involve lawyers or otherwise escalate the situation.

This is more common in Nigeria companies and it is bad for our economy. Many people work for a SME that has had trouble getting paid. So many SMEs take loans to run projects for their client. When payment isn't made on time, loan interest eats into project profit and sometimes wipes it out completely.

That's the Nigerian factor we are talking about. May Nigeria never happen to you.