Why not made in AFRICA?
For a few years now, whenever I buy a product or pay for a service that is not made in Nigeria (and by Nigerians) I am really concerned because I am in Nigeria.
The truth is that many a time, there are no indigenous substitutes available.
I'll be glad to pay for an indigenous African product or service like Kwese Tv, it is sure that the money stays within Africa to further develop Africa.
This led me to look into the possible reasons why African products and services do not thrive. I discovered many things but one of the major challenges is indeed shameful; many Africans do not trust the African brand. They prefer their foreign competitors. This is plain for all to see even at the African airport, where the white man is treated as a god just because of the colour of his skin.
There is this trending business, it is called mini importation, things are bought cheap online (quality unverified) and sold cheaper than the indigenous products here and of course people rush them. They make us feel that products done in Aba are fake but those from China are authentic.
This rejection of the African brand has really been a plague to the growth of African start ups and SMEs.
Do you purposely ignore African products? How many made in Africa things do you buy? Do you pay the full price for those products or you frustrate the producer or service provider to sell it to you at a suicidal rate because he hasn't sold all day long?
Buy African to grow Africa