As they should. That’s the fundamental definition of business: taking advantage of existing conditions to turn a profit.
Now this is what should be tackled (the cause), and not the actions of the investors (the effect - be it good or bad).
Are you sure they’re still silent? 
at least 1 person gets it. That is all i need
Like i said, i have left u. Everyone is entitled to their opinions
competition is good. Competition in unfair environments when the scales are tipped beyond your control is bad
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Was that reply really meant for me?
thw competition one?
oh nope. for @techscorpion
You are making valid points but you tend to ignore the fact that @dataguru points are factual. Our government policies are purposely set up to favour foreign investors for personal gains while downplaying the growth of local startups. Many politicians use their positions to bring in foreign investors with a deal of getting a certain percentage of the profits. Worst still they have this money paid into their foreign accounts. I’ve got a family friend who was a PA to a state governor. During that period he helped a US company to gain access into the country. Now he has left the position, but still receives a monthly payment from the US company plus easy access and all expense paid trips to the US.
i am only so glad nigerians r understanding the point. we really should not be encouraging SMEs to be put out of business. This is a real problem and it is becoming the common trend. We r not talking google, shell, total, CNCC, microsoft here. even if these company take trillons away, we still stand to benefit from their mere presence regardless of how they operate.
i do not see why a local coffee shop owner, or cab service should feel the need to cross the Atlantic/ Mediterranean seas in the name of ‘investments’ when over 15% of pple living in abuja are cab drivers. these companies pay next to nothing on taxes and while we struggle to buy fuel at N145 per litre to run our business, this is simply candy money to them.
we need to set up policies that benefit investors that “we need” [wherever they may come from] and support locals that the country needs as well. we do not need investors in cab services, coffee making, etc. we need capital investments.
we need rules, standards, fair competition, quality assurance and nigerians need to learn about service delivery & market research.
Government policy is different from private corruption or nepotism. Corruption exists but it is not gazetted in our tax policies. Even the discretionary tax waivers that the former Minister of Finance used to give out liberally were mainly targeted at local cronies.
It’ll be easier to understand @dataguru’s points if she was not all over the place. She started off literally saying foreign companies must not be allowed to compete in a space where a local company exists. After several rebuttals, she clarified that she was referring to foreign SMEs only, and not multinationals. Then when confronted with the fact that foreign SMEs present in Nigeria are a rounding error and Nigerians typically go to other countries to patronise foreign SMEs, she flip flopped between attacking the airlines and now I think she’s narrowing her focus to Uber, a company whose $50bln valuation hardly counts as an SME.
I won’t even add the bizarre self-deprecating references to racism and bigotry which are a recurrent theme in her arguments.
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bcoz i had to rule that out immediately b4 it blurs the discussion. u seemed to want to toe that line. what i said is true. n still stand by it. [quote=“techscorpion, post:52, topic:7024”]
foreign companies must not be allowed to compete in a space where a local company exists.
[/quote]
if a local company offers the service, policies must favour the local company. now obviously companies that naturally fall into this category are foreign SMEs.
Elitists nigerian capitalists who offer large scale services do not have to worry about favorable conditions coz they av dose connections. we, at the middle class, have to worry a lot about this. e.g telecoms, oil&gas, construction, ETC. Why can’t the govt open up the space to cement producing factories n they r trying so hard to frustrate MTN?
nigerian smes in nigeria is the point of this conversation. i have always made this clear that what we need is standards for quality assurance and orientation on service delivery to nigerians.
i am not attacking any specific company, i am only trying to back my points with examples and facts of what is happening on ground. and these r the few i know of. no company is the target here. uber is just one of many that i feel should not even be allowed to operate in nigeria. we have cab drivers n cab services that make up at least 10% of the population. they should be supported first b4 the space is opened for such unfair competition.
u called me a “protectionist” remember? n i merely clarified u. halting any attempt to use sentiments to blur the real underlying issues that need to be addressed.
and guy, this is naija oo, ur “left-wing”, “right-wing” mantra is not effective here. we see things n call it. no stepping on egg shells. they r investments we need n those we dont need. filter n sort is the name of the game.
we must discriminate based on merit within “NIGERIANS” with access to the same means and cost of production. Ethnicity/tribalism is not existent in nigeria [this is my stance]. these r artificial divides created to hide corruption. the only divide in nigeria is a class divide. the pple/the elite/the politicians of which is not stratified by tribe or state or religion but simply by how much your bank account reads. any other percieved divide is artificially created.
it is 2016, no1 cares where u r from in job interviews, it about what u can do that will create value for my company.
@PapaOlabode, @87_chuks, @asemota, @xolubi, or you “mr lurker”, or any of the deep thinkers and great debaters on Radar - please save me. I feel Iike I’ve entered one chance with @dataguru this morning. Heck, even my brother @wkyo, please throw in a gif to distract her. 
On a serious note, my sister, I love your passion and I respect your views but I think the unintended consequence of trying to overprotect the proverbial child is that you end up with a below-average adult who is unable to deal with the real world. Competition is real, global and irreversible, and Nigeria is a richly diverse country whose citizens have freedom of choice. If you want them to patronise you, step your game, and stop waiting for the government.
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Hehe. I will only continue to lurk.
Guy - why na? Epp your brother.
@ncodes - abeg introduce dat your UFC gif wey u use finish me dat day.
we know this. this is really not a big deal. why should our local business policies support foreign companies at the detriment of locals? it is simple, our policies should be set up so local businesses can thrive. the provision of the means of production, the cost of production, cost of skilled labour, these r factors that determine the quality of service a business can offer. nigerian smes do not have easy cheap access to these things. such payments have to be accounted for in the prices of goods they sell.
for most foreign companies, this is chicken change. they can afford double this n still offer services at half the price. the environment is just not enabling for local start-ups n this is a real problem.
I can’t say I have not enjoyed the back and forth, plus it didn’t particularly take long for @dataGuru to bring the thread home and make it about Uber. That said, she should see a prior conversation here for context.
To the fine gentleman who said there is no reason for UberNigeria to exist, that is ridiculous. Even the beloved China example that has been touted to make the protectionist point has UberChina playing in it, albeit constantly losing.
Oh, and I should address these.
You can say the same about our local airlines.
Your previous problem was foreign companies not employing and empowering the populace. I am pretty sure the drivers manning those Uber rides on the streets are Nigerians.
That said, your argument is all over the place and clearly simply grasping at straws. Of course that’s ignoring your references to race and bigotry.
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@techscorpion, @lordbanks, @seyitaylor @othermods_if_this_exists
There was a time doxing was not allowed.
Regardless of the context and points you are trying to make.
It is in-appropriate to link to @dataGuru’s LinkedIn profile.
Otherwise carry-on.
my name is on profile. so “doxing” didnt happen here. but then again, still inappropriate