If this is true that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)is looking for another foreign company, on e-Naira, I have a message for it: do not do it. We can all agree that e-Naira did not deliver on its promises, as the new Naira scarcity tested it, and it failed. If that is the case, what is the next game plan on its evolution? In a nation with Touch and Pay, Interswitch, Flutterwave, and some really innovative banks, we do not need to source for these things from outside the nation:
‘The federal government of Nigeria through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is currently in talks with a New York-based tech firm, to develop a new and improved system to manage the country’s digital currency, the eNaira….Bitt wrote in a statement, “We are aware that our partner, the CBN, works with various service providers to explore technical innovations for their digital infrastructure.” The company added that it continues to work closely with the Nigerian central bank and is “currently developing additional features and enhancements.”’
Simple things can make a product great. Just changing your blog image size from 800×450 pixel to triple that size could reduce your web traffic from Nigeria. Why? No mobile metered reader wants to waste money loading high resolution images. But a New York designer may not understand that for the Nigerian market, putting the highest quality images, and that becomes an own-goal, as people will avoid that website as it costs them tons of money to read contents.
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Yes, business is not about technology, but solving people’s problems, and understanding how to deliver on the products to meet those challenges becomes strategic and catalytic. In the fintech space, local domain knowledge wins because commerce is local.
CBN: if you want manufacturers to source raw materials locally, it may be fair to source your secondary tech partners locally. Allow those young people to have the opportunities to pass or fail.
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This same issue was brought up here last year and was robustly discussed, but it appears like the people who make these decisions are not normal.
The only worrying thing here is the money they will waste, plus the ones they will steal, the project is not meant to be a success.