Russian Tech Manufacturers Might Overtake Chinese in Nigeria -By Oluwafemi Arowoshola

The Nigerian and African environment is opening up to many new ways of developing and advancing the stance of its economy. This means making different choices and generally doing things in new and improved ways.

The monopoly of Chinese manufacturers and tech-partners created a relaxed environment, with little incentive to do better, both with quantity and quality. This has had a lot of negative impact on the end users – the masses. There are rising stories and complains about counterfeit and low quality products flooding the Nigerian market. The buyers blame the suppliers/wholesalers and the wholesalers blame their foreign partners. This vicious cycle ultimately creates lowering economic condition resulting from too many substandard products in the market, weak perception of quality and slowed development.

The rejuvenation of the Nigerian economy and industrial system rests on the ability of the everyday business man to seek to diversify their business and make new and more informed choices in an attempt to provide the solutions Nigerians need. Achieving new and profitable partnership will require Nigerian entrepreneurs to take a different route, especially in sourcing tech partnership for new and existing business.

With B2B Export leading the way, there is an already an established channel of interaction between Russian producers and Nigerian buyers. Proof of this is seen in the successful Russian-African Forum Conference which was held in Lagos in 2017. The aim of this forum is to facilitate a conversation that creates a networking avenue and allows for profitable long-term partnership. Although faced with quite a significant competition from the well-spread Chinese manufacturers, Russian Manufacturers find uniqueness in their ability to combine the affordability that many of their Chinese counterparts are known for with the quality that a large percentage of them are being called to question over in Nigeria. Also the platform created by B2B allows both big business operators and the everyday Nigerian an opportunity find reasonably-priced solutions to their everyday small-business problems.

B2B export creates an opportunity for Nigerians to access solutions and products that are duly accredited and tested for quality. The presence of Russia as a new player in the region creates a sense of healthy competition. Putting both buyers and sellers alike on the edge of their sits and allowing for significant steps towards long term growth in the key industries.