Welcome to Nigeria -  proud people, good country and land of opportunity.

I have had close encounters with an agriculturist turned driver, grass root entrepreneurs, God-fearing hustlers, business minded Pastors, greedy expats, lonely Bankers, cheerful hawkers, reformed crooks, an ex-President, an esteemed academician, a well known technocrat, a confused chieftain, early morning joggers, bread vendors, innocent children – you name it – and there is one common trait they all share – Positivity!

Yet it is so difficult even for an ‘honourably’ unscrupulous businessman from the ‘ever-so-transparent’ Bangladesh to accept the beauty of Nigeria as a destination – and then ofcourse there is the inverted snobbery of Indian and Western businesses who consider the BRIC as their only destination.

Before I start sounding like on the payroll of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Board, my foray into the country had been purely to assess and advise a local company on their sales and distribution strategy – the rest we will wait and see.

CLICK HERE FOR AN INSIGHT THROUGH PICTURES OF NIGERIA

Many investors and business people are aware about the opportunities that Nigeria’s market of 150 million people offers but are still unsure of whether to take the plunge. The sheer scope of my project has helped me to be exposed to various levels of the Nigerian society and today I had the courage to pen down a few thoughts that could answer some common questions I have been asked about considering investing in Nigeria. Nothing is sacrosanct, but you will definitely get an idea of what things are. Try these:

I want to get involved in the Nigerian market but am not sure about the first step to take. What is the best route to follow?

It obviously differs from industry to industry but it is highly advisable to find a Nigerian partner who knows the business environment. Nigerians are generally also more sympathetic to investors with local partners or staff. The next stop would be to visit the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) where you will be able to get advice on investing in Nigeria. The NIPC has streamlined the investment process by setting up a ‘One Stop Investment Centre’. Many countries also have bilateral chambers of commerce that will be able to assist you. It is always a good idea to meet with other established foreign investors to receive some insight from their experiences in doing business in Nigeria.

The political situation in Nigeria has stabilised dramatically since 1999 but how can one be assured that things will stay this way?

As with all young democracies there is always a fear that the situation can destabilise at any moment. Although such a scenario is theoretically possible in Nigeria, it does seem that the majority of the population, including politicians, is sick and tired of struggling and really wants to see Nigeria work. The people are happy with the democratic gains made so far. Corruption is still an issue but this evil is gradually being rooted out; and in most cases should not be a deterrent for investment. Incidents of violence around election time are often no worse than in other developing countries. Nigeria also has a vibrant and firmly established free press that is not afraid to hold politicians and authority figures accountable.

The re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan is another positive in this direction.

What are some of the major challenges in doing business in Nigeria and how can they be overcome?

Many Nigerians would tell you the country’s electricity supply problems are the main hurdle in the way of meaningful economic growth. The lack of infrastructure is also a major problem as anyone who has ever been stuck in Lagos traffic would know. Bad roads and a lack of railway services also create challenges in moving goods around the country. Despite this there are still many highly successful businesses in Nigeria. Most investors are able to look beyond these difficulties when Nigeria’s massive market of 150 million people is considered. The infrastructure situation is however being addressed by the authorities and the situation is improving.

What are the implications of Nigeria’s electricity supply problems for businesses looking to invest in the country?

Nigeria generates less than 30% of its total requirement of electricity.When spending time in a Nigerian office or hotel, there are normally short periods every few hours when the lights and air conditioning go off as the building switches from the national grid to its own generators; or vice versa. Most businesses have generators running the show. The direct impact that using generators will have on your business is that it raises the cost of electricity and subsequently the prices of most products in Nigeria. On an average businesses spend 10-15% on energy. Foreigners are usually surprised at how ‘expensive’ Nigeria is. This situation has made it difficult for many local manufacturers to compete with cheap foreign imports. The federal government has however banned the importation of many products in order to stimulate local production. As with other infrastructure projects many plans are on the table to improve power generation in Nigeria.

Will I have access to a skilled workforce in Nigeria?

Nigeria has a number of good universities and other educational institutions which turn out many highly educated and skilled individuals. A large number of Nigerians also go to America and Europe to study and then return to Nigeria to apply their skills in their homeland. Although investors might have to search a bit longer to find highly specialized individuals in certain fields, educated and eager to learn Nigerians are not hard to come by. Because of its British colonial past English is well established in Nigeria and the vast majority of people are fluent in the language.

There is an abundance of enthusiasm in the workforce. Tapping it and channeling this enthusiasm to ones advantage is the real challenge.

How big is the Nigerian middle class and at what rate is it growing?

The size of Nigeria’s middle class is estimated to be 38 million strong and sales of consumer goods such as cars, fashionable clothing, air conditioners, computers and satellite television decoders suggest that it is growing at a steady pace. Nigeria’s economy is fast expanding, albeit from a very low base, lifting more people out of poverty every day and pushing many into higher income brackets.

Nigeria has a very young population with a median age of 18 and more than 60% of its 150 million people aged 25 years or younger. This segment of the population has become very trendy, with widespread exposure to Western lifestyles through the internet, satellite TV and magazines.

What kind of assistance can investors expect from the Nigerian Government?

The Nigerian Government has demonstrated its desire to grow the non-oil sector of the economy by introducing various incentives for investors and reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks. Although investors should still expect some red tape there is definitely a political will to increase foreign investment in the country. Generally the Nigerian Government, on federal and state level, will help investors out in the areas of land acquisition, incentives, infrastructure provision and financing. The situation however differs from state to state and investors should go and meet with the local authorities where they want to establish their business.

Will I have to fear for my safety in Nigeria?

Nigeria’s image as a dangerous and lawless society is vastly exaggerated. I feel much safer in Nigeria than in many other countries. As is the case with the rest of the world, Nigeria’s metropolitan areas have more problems with crime than the rural areas. Most crime is however purely a result of poverty. Foreigners have told me that although they sometimes experience crimes like petty theft they have never felt as if their lives are in danger in Nigeria. Incidences of kidnapping in the Niger-Delta area are confined to the oil industry where the local population wants to draw attention to the fact that they are being exploited by multinational oil companies – this area should however be avoided if possible. Visitors in Nigeria should just use common sense !

As a foreign investor, will I be accepted by local Nigerians, or will I be seen as trying to exploit the country?

Nigerians are generally very friendly and hospitable but also a proud people who don’t like to be trampled upon. Most are aware of the advantages of foreign investment in terms of job creation and economic growth. As an investor the key is to always treat people with respect and to behave like you are a guest in a foreign country.

NIGERIA – Some Facts

The Nigerian industrial sector primarily depends on oil extraction and refining. It employs approximately 10% of the labour force and accounts for 34% of the GDP.

•        The service sector is also gradually emerging in the country. Almost 20% of the population is engaged in service sector jobs. This sector contributes 32.5% of the total GDP

•        23,982,200 Internet users as of December/2009, 16.1% of the population

•        Nigeria’s population sits at about 150 million with about 38 million people making up the middle class. This market continues to remain upwardly mobile, which presents great opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors.

•        The upwardly mobile Nigerian middle class is still avidly shopping for consumer goods. The recession has not dampened the needs and desires of Nigerians

•        Nigeria will be the next “gold rush” on the continent as investors take advantage of a booming economy, according to former South Africa reserve bank governor Tito Mboweni.

•        Nigeria’s gross domestic product would overtake South Africa’s in the next three decades, says Mboweni, who is now an adviser for Goldman Sachs Group. Its economy of $169-billion compares with South Africa’s $286-billion, according to World Bank data.

•        Nigeria is targeting annual economic growth of 10% in the coming years and intends to boost spending on power plants and attract more investment. The government is preparing to sell its first Eurobond of $500-million this year.

•        The collective buying power of households in Nigeria earning $1,000 to $5,000 a year doubled from 2000 to 2007, reaching $20-billion. Nearly seven million additional households have enough discretionary income to take their place as consumers, according to a report by consultants McKinsey and Co.

•        Unilever Global chief executive officer Paul Polman recently announced the consumer foods giant plans to over 100-million Euros in Unilever Nigeria within the next three years.

•        Polman says there is great potential in Nigeria despite the challenges in the business environment. Unilever plans to double its business in the country.

This is Suleiman – he makes a living out of portraits and passport photos of local traders in the Suleja wholesale market, Niger State, Nigeria. This market also has a regular footprint of buyers from neighboring villages who make Suleiman a sought after photographer!

Nigeria – fascinating! Africa – amazing!

Happy Child! – Lagos

Originally uploaded by Mohul

Click here for a Nigerian journey through pictures of my travel into the interiors of the country – as a market survey project for FMCG goods the pictures portray various aspects of life and people’s buying habits. Places visited include – Lagos, Kano, Gusau, Funtua, Sokoto, Kebbe-Birnin, Katsina, Abuja, Suleja and Port Harcourt. All the pictures have been with my Blackberry and a very cheap and dated camera – so please pardon the quality. It is more about the pictures themselves and not technicalities!

Contrary to media reports and perceptions my experience was highly enriching and fascinating to say the least! Politeness, positivity, innovative ideas, smiling faces, diversity and a great zeal for life – not common in the Western world today, sums up what I encountered!

Great Country, Good People!

The Stone of Unction

Originally uploaded by Mohul

Click here for more pictures!

Like everyone I had heard of Jerusalem (Yerushalayim in Hebrew, Al Quds in Arabic) and had an image in mind. A chance visit to Israel in December 2010 gave me a taste of the real thing!
Sacred to three religions and once considered the centre of the world itself, the Holy City, for all its fame is quite small, and packs in much too much that leaves one wondering what life would have been when David, Solomon or Jesus walked these streets…….
Today a city of many under-currents where the two halves live uneasily side by side, there is an omnipresent feeling of strife in the air.
Israel’s claims of Jerusalem being the single indivisible capital of the Jewish state is interfered with similar claims of a Palestinian capital – however unrealistic that may seem, it still remains the focus of the Palestinian culture and aspirations.
If you can keep these worldly punctuations aside and walk the streets of Jerusalem with a neutral state of mind……you may just go back three millennia to the fascinating history that today’s 7 billion cannot ignore.
A must visit in one’s lifetime!

The pictures on the link are focussed on the core areas of Jerusalem and does not represent new Jerusalem.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2010. That’s about 26 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 2 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 35 posts. There were 2 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 186kb.

The busiest day of the year was March 16th with 102 views. The most popular post that day was The Indian Premier League (IPL) goes abroad – is this is the Real Opportunity?.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were mahalo.com, flickr.com, mystufie.co.cc, facebook.com, and obama-scandal-exposed.co.cc.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for shilpa shetty, hamilton island, iguazu falls, city of joy, and shilpa.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) goes abroad – is this is the Real Opportunity? March 2009
4 comments

IGUAZU FALLS – Argentina/ Brazil / Paraguay February 2009
3 comments

‘The Best Job In The World’ – Shortlists Bangalore Boy….. April 2009
5 comments

BUENOS AIRES – Argentina February 2009
3 comments

RIO DE JANIERO – Brazil May 2009

Stark reminicses of the brutal era!

The cricketers have been relegated to a second class status and are subject to criticism for the slightest drop in standards – it is also amazing how the configuration of the team changes every few months – almost seeming like a trial and error game. But when it comes to football – the national sport - fortunes change and millions are made, stories of ‘rags to riches’ are told. PR Gurus work hard to groom raw talents with social skills to carry them forward, the media make heroes over night, the clubs get into bidding wars and suddenly every kid in town has a new ‘idol’!

Professional WAG

With fame comes money and then comes attitude – arrogance and a feeling of ‘untouchability’. The zipper seems to get the first knock – and as if a malfunction, often finds it hard to keep up in place! But then fame and infidelity have long been great friends and partners in many upsets, heartbreaks and ‘sudden deaths’ – we saw the Tiger come out of the Woods (so smooth – we thought he couldn’t even break wind)!

The ex-partner. Trophy indeed!

Our much groomed boys then hunt their trophy partners, some get the real ones while the others tag on to fading lingerie models. Either way the media love them, till one day somebody finds out more. They are still loved though - where would the tabloids go without them?

But hang on.

All that is said before is part of our lives till a footballer decides to dump their partner for good AND his best friend (married or not is not MY problem) finds access to the much tormented ex-partner and consoles her into her ‘drawers’. The world falls apart – Celebrity footballer sleeps with best friend’s ex-partner!

Fine, so?

But best friend doesn’t like it. He runs to his tormented EX to console her and even shed a tear. Wow – Hollywood come forth, willya?

And then he decides to forego a place on the national squad. How brave and patriotic! And ofcourse grossly stupid….

The verdict:

Terry grabbed a knicker that shouldn’t have rocked the boat – probably put it back too  

Wayne proved an idiot, giving up the opportunity of his life  -  a Bridge too weak and wobbly !

And England will once again try to repeat its 1966 feat in SA.

Time to sift the Boys from the Men.

This diary of the much awaited travel through Chile and Argentine Patagonia starts here. My experiences of this tour could be a reference point for you at a later date. Ask me if you have questions.

We just wanted to travel light through the extremes of the Atacama desert in the north to the glaciers of the south – clothes, camera, sun screen, books, hiking boots, laptop – what do we get rid of? Much thinking and creative packing later, we got down to probably the lightest luggage we have done in a decade! And we didn’t miss anything.It all started on our departure from London on the 2nd of October – 17 days to go!

CLICK HERE FOR ATACAMA PICTURES

CLICK HERE FOR TORRES DEL PAINE PICTURES

CLICK HERE FOR PERITO MORENO GLACIER PICTURES

Ever since, the desire to go further in the continent has been lurking, it needed a plan and some resource to make it a reality. And so it is, just another few days to go for that long awaited tour. Our final itinerary includes ‘top to toe’ of Chile and the Argentine Patagonia.

The Whole Length of It

However, this time I wish to share our experience in this diary on a day to day basis with a few pictures if possible, depending on the internet availability in wilderness. But I will surely catch up whenever base camp allows.

And so, inspired by the Motorcycle Diaries, this will be a humble attempt to journalise our experience in this exotic land, but ofcourse without using Ernesto’s and Alberto’s ‘magic formula‘ for a survival!

The itinerary roughly includes:

• 2 nights in Santiago de Chile
• 2 nights in San Pedro de Atacama ( Atacama desert)
• 1 Puerto Natales
• 2 nights Torres del Paine national park
• 2 nights Perito Morino glacier (Argentina)
• 1 nights El Calafate (Argentina)
• 2 nights Bariloche (Argentina)
• 2 nights Puerto Varas and Chiloe
• 2 nights Valparaiso

This day by day account will under Chile & Patagonia, and I look forward to your reactions and questions. The ultimate purpose is to entice you on a similar journey!

A Scene from 'The City of Joy'

A fresh graduate from the Oberoi School of Hotel Management, The Oberoi Grand was my first assignment in 1990 and one of my charges was the rather rudderless night-club ‘Pink Elephant’, the only one in the city for a long time. At that time there were 900 odd staff working for the hotel, so what makes my time so special?

My initial encounters with Patrick were at the night club. The whole unit would have Thursdays off, so Wednesday would be their night out! Those days he was known to wearing a torn off T with tattered jeans and pair of ‘Kolhapuri’ sandals which he had picked up from nearby New Market. Nights at the ‘Pink Elephant’ would roll on with many a Dry Martinis, and it is Patrick who taught me to make one ‘extra dry’, his way! In the course of seven months, we would have conversations about his childhood, how he would watch his mother choreograph shows, and how he picked up his interest in ballet. Today I remember his stories about graduation from high school in Houston, TX and his subsequent gymnastics scholarship to college. How he dropped off from college to tour Disney on Ice as ‘Prince Charming’. Then on were the stories about his knee injury from a football match in school, which stayed on with him and forced him out of gymnastics and ballet, his tryst with martial arts, riding etc etc.

This is where we met - The Oberoi Grand

It was my first exposure to an international personality and his humbleness won me over. Ever since, I have come across many a star but has never been ‘star struck’. Patrick did it for me – I was initially in awe of him but eventually he made me feel equal! He told me and a few others about his love for Lisa (his childhood sweetheart from the ballet days) and how she would still count his drinks and disliked his smoking. One Wednesday night Patrick wasn’t drinking much, just because Lisa would be arriving the next morning, he didn’t want to be ‘shit faced’ to meet her at the airport! That was him! Infact, many may not know, that at that time the only person he trusted to be driven around by, was Lisa’s brother, and Alex was travelling with him in Calcutta as his chauffeur cum Jeeves.

City of Joy, Poster

There is a lot of memory coming back to me, but nothing to match the night when he asked me if the DJ could play ‘Time of My Life’ for Lisa and him – ‘ofcourse’ and there was nothing stopping it. The floor was theirs, no one dared to shake a leg while they romanced the floor – and Calcutta had a treat. For me, it was more than a treat – an experience difficult to replicate!

Rest In peace – Patrick Swayze.