YoungExec:


***Sigh ***
So fast o. My greatest frustration this year has not been the economic outlook but the uncertainty caused by lack of clear govt policies. No one knows what they are really up to 13 months into their administration. The uncertainty means most people are not willing to invest.
1. Journey so far:
I tried the Agro processing for export and found that my prices ended up higher than could successfully compete on the international market due to my overhead costs included power generation, road transport and high export processing costs. At the international market, I was competing with sellers who enjoyed subsidies on power, ultra low cost rail transport and low export processing charges. Once I found I could not compete, I had to get very creative. You can't come to the international market and cry expecting them to pity and buy your stuff at higher cost simply because your cost of production is higher. It's a free market and competition is fierce.
I didn't bother about entertainment in Nigeria but invested in Africa wide entertainment. With the crisis in the Nigerian economy many people can barely eat let alone pay to be entertained. Many people can't afford fuel at 145 and have deactivated their pay tv services.
Finally, in Nigeria I'm still hedging until I get a clear sense of govt's policy direction. For me this is not a good time to invest. I almost did but the resurgence of millitancy in the Niger Delta slapped me back to reality.
2. Rest of the Year:
For H2 2016, I intend to seriously look beyond Nigeria (at least until I figure out what govt is put to), I'm looking at mining opportunities in African countries especially Uganda.
The pain we are going through now is self inflicted. A clear policy direction by govt instill confidence and encourages investment however when the policy is not clear, investors turn to bears.
Still I am highly adaptive as I'm never one to give excuses.

Let me know how it's been for you so we can rub minds for the 2nd half.

This govt policy is clearly towards infrastructure development, hence construction takes the lead for this administration. This can be confirmed if you check govt procurement adverts which are majorly construction.

YoungExec:


***Sigh ***
So fast o. My greatest frustration this year has not been the economic outlook but the uncertainty caused by lack of clear govt policies. No one knows what they are really up to 13 months into their administration. The uncertainty means most people are not willing to invest.
1. Journey so far:
I tried the Agro processing for export and found that my prices ended up higher than could successfully compete on the international market due to my overhead costs included power generation, road transport and high export processing costs. At the international market, I was competing with sellers who enjoyed subsidies on power, ultra low cost rail transport and low export processing charges. Once I found I could not compete, I had to get very creative. You can't come to the international market and cry expecting them to pity and buy your stuff at higher cost simply because your cost of production is higher. It's a free market and competition is fierce.
I didn't bother about entertainment in Nigeria but invested in Africa wide entertainment. With the crisis in the Nigerian economy many people can barely eat let alone pay to be entertained. Many people can't afford fuel at 145 and have deactivated their pay tv services.
Finally, in Nigeria I'm still hedging until I get a clear sense of govt's policy direction. For me this is not a good time to invest. I almost did but the resurgence of millitancy in the Niger Delta slapped me back to reality.
2. Rest of the Year:
For H2 2016, I intend to seriously look beyond Nigeria (at least until I figure out what govt is put to), I'm looking at mining opportunities in African countries especially Uganda.
The pain we are going through now is self inflicted. A clear policy direction by govt instill confidence and encourages investment however when the policy is not clear, investors turn to bears.
Still I am highly adaptive as I'm never one to give excuses.

Let me know how it's been for you so we can rub minds for the 2nd half.

Lol, I feel you on the uncertainty in policy thingy. Its definitely a killer for business/investments, as you don't know where Govt is going to turn to the next minute.

At least you were able to wet your feet with the agro-packaging industry... I'm sure you've learnt some things from the experience, which is in itself valuable.
We'll talk more about the Agro processing thing later.


*****MY STORY SO FAR****
I considered going into the Agro processing/packaging niche like you suggested earlier on in January, but as I did some preliminary research, I realized that the time commitments I would require to fully understudy and get familiar with the field enough to feel comfortable putting my funds in it, was more than I was willing to allocate to it at the time. ( I was looking for something I could combine with my other pursuits). So I had to shelf it for the time being.

I then considered going into importation and distribution of medical and surgical consumables (which was an area I was quite familiar with and I knew could be lucrative). However, the instability in the exchange rates and skyrocketing dollar made me press 'Pause' on that too.
So I basically adopted a wait and-see stance for a major part of H1, preferring to hold my limited resources than see it fly away into thin air.

But, towards the end of H1, I decided to shift my focus out of Nigeria like you did too, and so I built and currently focused on running an online services company, which provides some services to businesses in US and UK. Its a niche I'm quite comfortable with, and its time requirements are well within my alloted 'time budget' for developing new businesses, so I'm quite happy with it.

That way, I'm reasonably insulated from the instability of the current Nigerian economic environment and Buhari's policies (or lack of it), while waiting for the present govt to get its acts together.

YoungExec:


I didn't bother about entertainment in Nigeria but invested in Africa wide entertainment. With the crisis in the Nigerian economy many people can barely eat let alone pay to be entertained. Many people can't afford fuel at 145 and have deactivated their pay tv services.

Lol @ the bolded part. Very true sha. I know some real-life examples personally.

Cmeo:



This govt policy is clearly towards infrastructure development, hence construction takes the lead for this administration. This can be confirmed if you check govt procurement adverts which are majorly construction.

Bro,
I have my tentacles in construction. The minister (fashola) has not even received the part of the 350 billion promised for paying contractors and 'reflating the economy' (according to Fin Min. Mrs Adeosun).
I saw the calls for tender but the politics is just too much. You need not apply if you are not a Card carrying party member who 'verifiably contributed meaningfully towards the party's success in the 2015 elections'.
Unfortunately we that are not party men are still being owed for successfully executed projects let alone bidding for new ones. My only saving grace was that I never took bank contract financing plus I really worked to get jobs that were partly or fully sponsored by international development agencies.
Now, the only stuff I bid for are World Bank, USAID or EU funded projects. Many contractors who are being owed by federal and state govts (esp state) are hospitalized both in Nigeria and abroad due to high blood pressure.
Why? Many took heavy loans to partly execute jobs and finance the PDP with certainty that the party would win. PDP lost and the rest is history.

DonX001:


But, towards the end of H1, I decided to shift my focus out of Nigeria like you did too, and so I built and currently focused on running an online services company, which provides some services to businesses in US and UK. Its a niche I'm quite comfortable with, and its time requirements are well within my alloted 'time budget' for developing new businesses, so I'm quite happy with it.

That way, I'm reasonably insulated from the instability of the current Nigerian economic environment and Buhari's policies (or lack of it), while waiting for the present govt to get its acts together.

Exactly, when the bird decides to fly without perching, the hunter learns to shoot without missing. I had to get creative very fast by identifying stuff that I could export that the western international market was willing to pay premium for. The problem with agriculture for now is that global commodity prices also sank along with oil prices. Hence competition is fierce on the international commodity market.

YoungExec:


Exactly, when the bird decides to fly without perching, the hunter learns to shoot without missing.

Na the way ooo, my brother.

YoungExec:


Unfortunately we that are not party men are still being owed for successfully executed projects let alone bidding for new ones. My only saving grace was that I never took bank contract financing plus I really worked to get jobs that were partly or fully sponsored by international development agencies.

I wonder how you guys that are primarily contractors manage to survive while being owed for years after completing projects, especially capital-intensive ones like in construction.

You must have quite a fat capital base to be able to keep going.

YoungExec:


***Sigh ***
So fast o. My greatest frustration this year has not been the economic outlook but the uncertainty caused by lack of clear govt policies. No one knows what they are really up to 13 months into their administration. The uncertainty means most people are not willing to invest.
1. Journey so far:
I tried the Agro processing for export and found that my prices ended up higher than could successfully compete on the international market due to my overhead costs included power generation, road transport and high export processing costs. At the international market, I was competing with sellers who enjoyed subsidies on power, ultra low cost rail transport and low export processing charges. Once I found I could not compete, I had to get very creative. You can't come to the international market and cry expecting them to pity and buy your stuff at higher cost simply because your cost of production is higher. It's a free market and competition is fierce.
I didn't bother about entertainment in Nigeria but invested in Africa wide entertainment. With the crisis in the Nigerian economy many people can barely eat let alone pay to be entertained. Many people can't afford fuel at 145 and have deactivated their pay tv services.
Finally, in Nigeria I'm still hedging until I get a clear sense of govt's policy direction. For me this is not a good time to invest. I almost did but the resurgence of millitancy in the Niger Delta slapped me back to reality.
2. Rest of the Year:
For H2 2016, I intend to seriously look beyond Nigeria (at least until I figure out what govt is put to), I'm looking at mining opportunities in African countries especially Uganda.
The pain we are going through now is self inflicted. A clear policy direction by govt instill confidence and encourages investment however when the policy is not clear, investors turn to bears.
Still I am highly adaptive as I'm never one to give excuses.

Let me know how it's been for you so we can rub minds for the 2nd half.

Have you thought about online forex trading? You can take some free lecture online and invest In it if you can handle the risk.

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3/4 of the year is gone. Today the Dollar is $1/N440 at the parallel mkt. Anyine up for a review of the journey so far?

3/4 of the year is gone. Today the Dollar is $1/N440 at the parallel mkt. Anyone up for a review of the journey so far?