Dapo Ajuwon

I am of the school of thought, that Nigerian tech ecosystem will scale a lot more, if we can move away most of our focus from software. I think foodtech would be the most scalable sector locally. By foodtech, I’m not talking about ordering food online, I’m talking of food production, preservation, quality control and research and development of food products. I might be wrong, but I think there’s only a limit to how much software one can sell in Nigeria. I feel software in Nigeria is still extractive to a large part, and unless we build things that add value, the average Nigerian will not connect with the products. I get that there are tons of govt inefficiencies hindering the growth foodtech in Nigeria, but it’s something I believe that money can solve. I saw the video of the lady who made frozen soup to export. It might sound funny, but I know how much I spend to ship Nigerian food down here. Customs don know me now, as the guy that’s always fighting for his African food. I know tons of others who will do the same too. If we have companies repackaging our local delicacies to export to the rest of the world, turning them into “over the counter products” and promoting them globally, I believe there’s billions of dollars to be made. Again, I might be wrong, but I have interacted with lots of startups from other emerging ecosystems, and most of the startups doing great are biotech, foodtech and even retailtech. Maybe, we need the same in Nigeria.