FDI into China Shot Up by 4% in 2020 to $163Bn Against 49% US Decline

Esan Bolaji
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FDI into China Shot Up by 4% in 2020 to $163Bn Against 49% US Decline

In 2020, foreign direct investments (FDI) sank worldwide as the pandemic brought economies to a stand-still. However, China was among the exceptions, bringing in the highest amount of FDI globally.

According to the research data analyzed and published by Comprar Acciones, China’s inflows in 2020 amounted to $163 billion. That was an increase of 9% from 2019 when the country received $140 billion.

This stunning performance saw China surpass the United States as the top recipient of foreign direct investment worldwide. For the US, its 2020 total FDI amounted to $134 billion in 2020, down by 49% from the $251 billion it received in 2019.

China’s share in poor countries' debt to the G20 reached 63% - Report Brandspurng
Shanghai, China | Photo by Nuno Alberto

Global FDI tanked nearly as much as in the US, shedding 42% year-over-year (YoY). From a total of $1.49 trillion in 2019, it fell to approximately $859 billion in 2020. The annual total was 30% lower than the one reported during the 2009 financial crisis.

Developed countries bore the brunt of the decline as FDI flows sank by 69% YoY to $229 billion. In Europe, the drop was particularly severe as inflow completely stalled to -$4 billion, a decline of more than 100%. On the other hand, the impact was relatively muted in developing economies, which sank by 12% to $616 billion. By the end of the year, developing economies accounted for 72% of global FDI, the highest share on record. For transition economies, there was a 77% decline to $13 billion.

Across various developing regions, the performance was uneven. Latin America and the Caribbean saw the highest decline at 37%. In Africa, there was an 18% drop while in developing Asia, the fall was a mere 4%. East Asia ended the year as the largest host region as it accounted for a third of the global FDI.

India’s FDI Soars by 13% as UK and Italy Post Over 100% Drop

Changes in Foreign Direct Investments Inflows Per Country in 2020

FDI into China Shot Up by 4% in 2020 to $163Bn Against 49% US Decline Brandspurng

India, which is among the top-rated recipient economies, had the highest YoY growth, posting an increase of 13%. UNCTAD attributed the country’s performance to a boom in digital sector investments during the year.

The highest drop among top economies was the over 100% decline in the UK (-$1.3 billion) as well as in Italy. Russia was not spared either as inflows declined by 96%. In the US, the halving of investment inflows resulted from huge declines in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. There was also a considerable fall in greenfield investments.

A handful of countries in Europe posted growth in spite of the regional crisis. Sweden saw its inflows more than double, reaching $29 billion, from $12 billion in 2019. In Spain, there was a 59% increase.

Moreover, despite being the first country to get hit by the pandemic, China managed to stem the spread within its borders. According to data from John Hopkins University, it had less than 100,000 confirmed cases and about 4,800 deaths from Covid-19. Comparatively, the US, whose population is lower than that of China had close to 25 million cases and over 400,000 fatalities.

China bore the brunt of the disease much better than its peers. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, its GDP rose by 6.5% in Q4 2020. Overall, China reported a 2.3% growth in GDP for the whole of 2020, the only major economy with a positive growth rate.

Chinese Stock Market Saw 18 Million New Investors in 2020

Investors took note of the growth in China as illustrated by the level of interest seen in its stock market. According to China Securities Depository and Clearing, there were 18.02 million new investors in the mainland stock market in 2020, bringing the total to 177.77 million.

In aggregate, that translated to about 1.5 million new investors in the market every month. In the month of December 2020 alone, there were 1.62 million new investors. The figure more than doubled the 809,300 reported in December 2019.

The reason behind the massive surge of interest was the stellar performance of China’s mainland stocks during the year. To illustrate, the Shenzen Component grew by 38.7% YoY in 2020, compared to the S&P 500’s 16.26% growth over the same period. The CSI 300 was another top performer, recording gains of 27.2% during the year.

New listings by Chinese companies also flooded the market, giving investors more options to pick from. According to Ernst & Young, IPO deal volume in mainland China and Hong Kong represented a 40% share of the global tally in 2020.

Lastly, Shanghai Stock Exchange ended the year in first place with a total of 233 IPOs and Shenzen ranked third, behind Nasdaq.

Airtel Granted Verification and Enrolment License for NIN

Esan Bolaji
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0
Airtel Granted Verification and Enrolment License for NIN

… says it will expand footprints to reach more Nigerians 

Leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has commenced the National Identity Number (NIN) registration exercise in its retail outlets across the country following approval from the Federal Government granting the telco a verification and enrolment license to register citizens.

The telco says while select retail outlets in Lagos and Abuja are now fully operational to register Nigerians for the NIN exercise, work is currently ongoing to expand its NIN footprints to cover more areas and States.

It added that residents of Abuja can now visit Transcorp Hilton situated in Mataima or Airtel showrooms at Carpet Plaza and Kano Crescent in Wuse 2, while those in Lagos can walk into Airtel Express Point, Oyin Jolayemi, Victoria Island or Airtel showroom in Adeniran Ogunsanya, Surulere, Lagos.

Lagos residents can also visit the Airtel showroom in Tejuosho, Yaba; Airtel showroom in Isheri Road, Ogba and the Airtel showroom in Oba Akran, Ikeja to register for the NIN exercise.

Airtel Granted Verification and Enrolment License for NIN BRANDSPURNG

Speaking on this new development, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, commended the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, for expanding the registration footprints and taking definitive steps to smoothen the NIN registration process for Nigerians.

“Airtel is always seeking opportunities to cooperate and partner with the Nigerian government on initiatives that will make life easier and better for Nigerians. As a law-abiding and responsible corporate citizen, we are always ready to go extra mile for our esteemed stakeholders and that is why we are pleased to partner with the Federal Government and the National Identity Management Commission on citizens’ registration exercise”, he said.

Customers who already have NINs have the option to send their NINs to Airtel via USSD, SMS or through the Airtel Self Care app or website to update their SIM registration details.

Mercedes-Benz Drops to Third Spot in US Luxury Car Sales Amid 13% Sales Decline in 2020

Esan Bolaji
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0
Mercedes-Benz Drops to Third Spot in US Luxury Car Sales Amid 13% Sales Decline in 2020

Mercedes-Benz Drops to the Third Spot in US Luxury Car Sales Amid 13% Sales Decline in 2020

It was a close race right to the finish line for the top luxury car brands in the US in 2020. For the second consecutive year, BMW clinched the top spot.

According to the research data analyzed and published by Stock Apps, the Bavarian automaker sold a total of 278,732 units during the year. Compared to its 2019 tally, that marked a 17.5% sales decline. Its best-selling model was the X3, which posted 59,941 unit sales.

The Munich-based company had a strong Q4 2020, contributing significantly to its crossing the finish line in the first place. During the three-month period, it sold a total of 98,750 cars. Thanks to this impressive rebound, BMW’s unit sales in Q4 2020 were a mere 2% lower than Q4 2019.

Der neue Mercedes-Benz GLE: Der SUV-Trendsetter, ganz neu durchdachtThe new Mercedes-Benz GLE: The SUV trendsetter completely reconceived
Mercedes-Benz GLE; 2018; AMG Line; Exterieur: iridiumsilber;Kraftstoffverbrauch kombiniert: 9,6 – 8,3 l/100 km; CO2-Emissionen kombiniert: 220 – 190 g/km (vorläufige Daten)*
Mercedes-Benz GLE; 2018; AMG Line; exterior: iridium silver;Fuel consumption combined: 9.6 – 8.3 l/100 km; Combined CO2 emissions: 220 – 190 g/km (provisional data)*

German rival Mercedes-Benz sold a total of 274,916 units in 2020, marking a decline of 13% year-over-year (YoY). Just like BMW, Mercedes too had SUVs in the lead, with the GLC-Class selling 52,626 units during the year.

Generally, Mercedes’ SUV lineup had a strong year in the US accounting for close to 65% of total annual sales. However, Mercedes was not the second best-selling premium brand. The honour went to the Japanese brand Toyota Lexus, which sold 275,041. There was a difference of only 125 units between the second and third best-sellers.

Total Sales of the Top Luxury Car Manufacturers in the US in 2020

Mercedes-Benz Drops to Third Spot in US Luxury Car Sales Amid 13% Sales Decline in 2020 BRANDSPURNG
Source: Motor1

Compared to the two German brands, Lexus had the best year in terms of percentage decline, dropping by 7.7% only. Lexus RX was its top-selling model, posting 101,059 unit sales, almost as much as BMW and Mercedes’ best-selling models combined.

Audi took the fourth spot on the list of best-selling luxury brands in the US. With a total of 186,620 unit sales, the automaker posted a 17% YoY decline. Rounding up the top five was Cadillac with 129,495, down by 17.1% from 2019.

Volvo was in the sixth position, the only US luxury brand to post a percentage increase in sales. It sold 110,129 units, marking a 1.8% increase YoY. Lincoln sold 105,410 units (-6.1%), Infiniti 79,502 (-32.5%) and Porsche 57,294 (-7%).

Worldwide Vehicle Sales of Mercedes-Benz in 2020

Mercedes-Benz Drops to Third Spot in US Luxury Car Sales Amid 13% Sales Decline in 2020 BRANDSPURNG1
Source: Auto Industriya

Mercedes-Benz Clinches Top Spot Globally with 2.16 Million Unit Sales

On a global scale, Mercedes-Benz narrowly outpaced BMW to secure the title of the best-selling luxury vehicle brand worldwide in 2020. It was the fifth consecutive year in which Mercedes beat its archrival and topped the ranks.

Over the 12-month period, it sold a total of 2,164,187 units according to Auto Industriya. The figure marked a decline of 7.5% over 2019 when it sold 2,339,562 units.

It is worth noting that while its sales in North America and Europe sank compared to 2019, the Asia Pacific market saw a 4.7% increase. China was the major force behind the uptick as it had a sales increase of 11.7%.

The GLC was its best-selling model during the year, moving a total of 320,000 units. Mercedes reported a 12.9% increase in SUV and crossover sales during the year. For its all-new S-Class, there are more than 40,000 customers on the waiting list.

On the other hand, BMW was the world’s second best-selling luxury car brand, falling 136,000 units behind #1. It posted a slightly lower decline in sales, -7.2% YoY, with a total of 2,028,659 units sold. Audi took a distant third spot with 1,692,773 unit sales in 2020 and a decline of 8.3% YoY.

Li Auto Deliveries Soar by 530% in December 2020

Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen’s Audi have had over 60% of China’s luxury car market under their control for years according to Bloomberg. But while the Chinese market drove their growth in 2020, they ceded share to Tesla and electric upstarts, Nio and Li.

Nio delivered a total of 43,728 electric vehicles (EVs) in 2020, marking an increase of 113% YoY according to Inside EEVs. These included 27,945 ES6s, 10,861 ES8s and 4,922 EC6s. The automaker launched its first EV sedan, the ET7 on January 9, 2021.

As of mid-December 2020, Li Auto announced cumulative sales of 30,000 units year-to-date (YTD). In December 2020 alone, the upstart delivered 6,126 vehicles, an increase of 530% YoY. Q4 2020 saw a total of 14,464 deliveries from the automaker.

In response to the growing threat from these brands, the aforementioned German car brands are rapidly expanding their offerings of electric vehicles. Daimler is planning to launch four purely battery-powered EV models in 2021, including the EQA compact set to launch in January. Meanwhile, BMW is planning to double its offering of pure EVs and hybrids to 25 by 2023.

In total, Mercedes sold 160,000 EVs in 2020, compared to BMWs 193,000. Audi was far behind the two with 47,000 deliveries of its e-tron SUVs.

New COVID-19 variants fuelling Africa’s second wave – WHO

Esan Bolaji
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New COVID-19 variants fuelling Africa’s second wave – WHO

28 January 2021 – COVID-19 cases and deaths are surging in Africa as new, more contagious variants of the virus spread to additional countries.

Over 175 000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 6200 deaths were reported in Africa in the last week while infections rose by 50% on the continent between 29 December 2020 and 25 January 2021 when compared with the previous four weeks.

Covid 19 in Mauritius
COVID-19: MAURITIUS
RNA samples extracted from throat swabs are tested at the Candos Virology Lab. Mauritius responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by imposing a countrywide lockdown, combined with WHO guidance to increase testing, contact tracing, surveillance and clinical care.

In the past week, there has been a small dip in cases in South Africa, but 22 countries continue to see their case numbers surge. Deaths rose two-fold in the same four-week period, with over 15 000 concentrated in 10 mainly southern and northern African nations.

The 501Y.V2 variant, first identified in South Africa, is predominant and powering record case numbers in South Africa and the sub-region. It has been found in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, the French Indian Ocean region of Mayotte, Zambia and in 24 non-African nations.

“The variant which was first detected in South Africa has spread quickly beyond Africa and so what’s keeping me awake at night right now is that it’s very likely circulating in a number of African countries,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.

The variant that was initially detected in the United Kingdom has been found in The Gambia and Nigeria. Further research is needed to determine whether the new strain causes more severe illness.

WHO is working to track and tackle new variants by helping countries build and boost the complex genomic surveillance capacities needed to detect and respond to new variants, shipping samples to sequencing laboratories and providing supplies and technical guidance.

With the Africa Centres of Disease Control and Prevention, WHO helped set up a COVID-19 genomic sequencing laboratory network with laboratories in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.

WHO calls on all countries to ship at least 20 samples to sequencing laboratories every month to help map the fast-evolving situation and best target responses at all levels.

“In addition to the new variants, COVID-19 fatigue, and the aftermath of year-end gatherings risk powering a perfect storm and driving up Africa’s second wave and overwhelming health facilities,” said Dr Moeti. “Africa is at a crossroads. We must stick to our guns and double down on the tactics we know work so well. That is mask-wearing, handwashing and safe social distancing. Countless lives depend on it.”

Facing a second wave of infections, African nations must ramp up testing, the isolation of contacts and the treatment of patients, as well as enhancing proven prevention measures.

“Our shared goal is to get ahead of the virus. Unfortunately, the journey will be longer, harder and far more costly in the absence of consistent, all-of-society commitments to blocking infection,” said Dr Moeti.

Dr Moeti spoke during a virtual press conference today facilitated by APO Group. She was joined by Professor Tulio de Oliveira, Director, KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform, the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and Dr Amadou A Sall, Director of Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal.

Top 5 Reasons for The Rise and Rise of Sports Betting in Nigeria

Esan Bolaji
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Top 5 Reasons for The Rise and Rise of Sports Betting in Nigeria

Nigerian is home to the largest contingent of betting sites in Africa. For a long time, the culture of betting has been prevalent in the West African nation, but not as high as it is today.

There is an increased usage of mobile phones and internet access across the country, which accounts for much of the betting rise. The number of foreign and local betting companies also keeps rising, with competition for new users resulting in high player bonuses, among other incentives.

Top 5 Reasons for The Rise and Rise of Sports Betting in Nigeria

Other factors contribute to the new wave of betting in Africa’s most populous state.

#1. Growing number of betting sites

Nigeria has witnessed an influx in the number of betting sites operating in the country. While the state licenses some, there are reports of unscrupulous dealers who are out to milk unsuspecting bettors dry.

The involvement of top brands like Betway is streamlining the industry by setting standards and giving Nigerians new hope amid rising numbers of betting sites. The vice could be blamed entirely on relaxed government regulations across the industry.

#2. Betting Bonuses

One of the surest ways of enticing new users is through offering bonuses. Betting sites operating in Nigeria are using bonuses as bait to lure high numbers of prospects, which is playing a massive role in growing the industry. There are joining bonuses given to new users, sometimes up to 100 percent of your first deposit sum.

Other bonuses may include the number of picks won or daily bonuses on every first deposit. Also, there are continuous promotions attached to specific markets, giving users more freedom and betting power to increase their profit potential.

#3. Unemployment

Nigeria is by far the most populous country in Africa, and the bad news is that more than 80 percent of youths above 18 are unemployed, despite being educated. The high unemployment levels mean that most of these youths resort to all sorts of daily hustles to eke out a living.

Responsible betting is seen as a rewarding venture, and the entry of Betway and other market players looks to have taken betting to another level.

#4. Mobile betting

The number of people owning or having access to smartphones is rapidly increasing. Chinese phone manufacturers are making a kill developing mid-level gadgets for third-world countries, and Nigeria is one of the beneficiaries.

On their part, betting companies continue to develop mobile-friendly betting apps for ease of use with smartphones. That means you can bet from anywhere, provided you have an internet-enabled gadget.

#5. Availability of internet

The growth of the betting and casino industries is mainly attributed to the advent of the internet. Where initially punters would converge in land-based casinos to place wagers, online betting has opened the way for new opportunities.

The distribution of internet supply even to the remotest of areas in Nigeria has played a considerable role in the rise of betting. More people can easily access betting sites and earn from betting.

Other significant factors like the launch of mobile banking options across multiple networks have also allowed betting companies to appeal to more users. For example, Betway allows you to deposit or withdraw winnings straight to your mobile wallet.

5 Books Every Marketing Communications Practitioners Should Read

Oreoluwa Aderinkomi
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5 Books Every Marketing Communications Practitioners Should Read

The Marketing Communications landscape in Nigeria is getting more competitive than many would have expected. Communication agencies from Advertising to public relations to digital marketing agency are out to outsell each other and one of the best ways to do that is an investment in talents.

As a Talent or professional who needs to improve their knowledge about the job and learn from people’s mistakes and experiences, one way to do that is by reading books.

5 Books Every Marketing Communications Practitioners Should Read Brandspurng5
Photo by Suad Kamardeen

Books cover aspects that even workshops, training and courses might not. For marketing communications professionals who need to stand out, there are a lot of books and resources to read however reading these books ground you on how to think and plan towards making your plans stand out.

Here are the 5 books that every marketing Communications professionals should read:

1. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan:

5 Books Every Marketing Communications Practitioners Should Read

One of the core themes in this book is the medium is the message. The book proposes that the media is a powerful tool that should not be overlooked when communicating a message. The media shapes the way and context a message is delivered.

For marketing Communications practitioners, this book is a must to get in order to deepen the knowledge about how your time of the media. It would enable you to develop the right mindset on how to view media and messages.

2. How Brand Grow by Byron sharp:

5 Books Every Marketing Communications Practitioners Should Read

This book is filled with myth bursting concerning the way people think marketing works. It encourages the concept of market penetration and disagrees on the notion that brand loyalty is as important as marketers make it look like. The book also talks about how brands should be physically and mentally available as that would make it easier for customers to buy.

3. Positioning: The battle for your mind by Al Ries and Jack trout:

5 Books Every Marketing Communications Practitioners Should Read

The core idea here is on how to position your products or brand in the minds of your customers. It talks about ways by which you can create a position that allows you to appear distinct or different in the mind of your customers.

It is a great read for anyone in marketing Communications.

4. Lateral thinking: creativity step by step by Edward Debono:

5 Books Every Marketing Communications Practitioners Should Read

This book is filled with lessons and techniques on how to approach thinking, ideas and even generate strategies and it is an essential book that would help ground you in ideas generation.

5. Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt:

5 Books Every Marketing Communications Practitioners Should Read

This is a gold mine among books on strategy. It gives you a clear meaning of strategy and what your strategy should entail. This book might not be focused on marketing Communications but it teaches you strategy and this can be applied to marketing Communications. The book advocates for a well-defined problem, a guiding policy and coherent actions as to how your strategy should look like.

Reading these five books is going to change how you approach marketing and Communications as a Practitioner and it would serve as a guide in how you execute plans to attract customers.

Cowrywise raises $3M pre-Series A

Esan Bolaji
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0
Cowrywise raises $3M pre-Series A

Nigerian fintech company, Cowrywise has closed a $3mn pre-Series A fundraise, led by Quona Capital.

The new funding will enable the fintech company to expand its product offerings, build out nascent investment management infrastructure, onboard more fund managers in Nigeria, broaden financial education program and continue to hire top talent.

Cowrywise raises $3M pre-Series A
Cowrywise founders (Edward Popoola and Razaq Ahmed) | www.brandspurng.com

“We believe making wealth management mainstream among first-time, retail investors has the potential to positively impact the financial future of any country, especially a country like Nigeria with young demography. Change in digital behaviour, innovation in digital infrastructure and continuous growth in the adoption of digital products have set the stage for a digital-first and scalable wealth management solution for the next generation”, CEO Razaq Ahmed stated.

Cowrywise raises $3M pre-Series A

Speaking on the new fundraise, Johan Bosini (partner at Quona Capital) shared his view on this investment and it demonstrates how our visions align:

“Razaq, Edward and the Cowrywise team are providing everyday Nigerians with easy access to powerful and flexible wealth-generating tools that have typically been reserved for people who are already wealthy. In a market of 200 million people, we think this will be very impactful for individuals to have more control over their financial future. We like the wealth tech space and the impact it can have in Nigeria in particular”.

The Cowrywise platform is designed to solve the problem of access by using a combination of free wealth advisory and consumer education paired with savings and investment offerings that can advance financial inclusion.

5 Business Opportunities that a Landowner can exploit.

Oreoluwa Aderinkomi
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0
5 Business Opportunities that a Landowner can exploit.

A landowner has various opportunities or ways by which the land can be utilized apart from selling it. A landowner needs to think like a good businessman and see opportunities where others are not looking.

In order for you to see that opportunity and seize it, you need to have a clear picture of where your land is located and how things are being run there, you have to consider the kind of development the location is undergoing and what kind of businesses thrive or can thrive in such places.

5 Business Opportunities that a Landowner can exploit BRANDSPURNG
Warm Spring Road, Ikogosi, Nigeria | Photo by Oshomah Abubakar | www.brandspurng.com

Here are five businesses that a Landowner can venture into:

1. Agriculture

Agriculture is a very good option for landowners especially if you can easily monitor the agricultural activities and you have money to venture into it. One can always start small and then scale. One way to build your farm as quickly as possible is to patronise indigenes around that area who are into farming if where you have landed is a bit rural.

They can have their own farm and still work for you. The indigenes would not just help you grow your farmland but also protect it.

Rearing of livestock for sale in another area of agriculture you can easily use your land for instead of having a farm or you can even do both depending on your motive for starting one.

There are so many types of livestock you can breed on a single land plot and it doesn’t even have to be a large plot.

2. Storage Facilities

You can build storage facilities on your land and give out for businesses and companies to use. In order to achieve this, you would need to put in place, a tight security network to ensure that goods stored here are safe.

3. Open Field for events

If your land is located in a popular area it can be easily turned into a hot event spot for festivals, conventions, and corporate events. You can also rent it out for marriage ceremonies, church programmes and other social activities

4. Food Market

You don’t need to be directly involved in agriculture to make money from it. You can provide support service, make your land a farmer’s market or food market where farmers and buyers meet.

5. Recreational Centre

An open Field can be used for social gathering. Depending on the size of the land you can create a place where recreational different activities going on. An open field Hangout spot can be created where people come out to hang out over a bottle of beer or a location where couples can create experiences.

You can even use your land in the form of a park where people hangout for free. You can get vendors for food and drinks and those who provide fancy services to rent space in your park.

As a business-oriented landowner learn to see opportunities in the obvious and also opportunities where they seem not to exist.

You can always make the obvious seem less familiar and more attractive or make the unknown or less obvious seem more familiar in order for people to quickly adapt. People love ideas that seem a bit new but also love ideas that are obvious but can be utilized in an unexpected way.

5 Basic Steps that can help you build a successful business.

Oreoluwa Aderinkomi
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0
5 Basic Steps that can help you build a successful business.

Starting a business is no an easy task especially one that needs adequate preparation in order to succeed.

Most neglect the adequate preparation needed to fully kickoff and join the crowded number of businesses doing the same thing.

Determine the Business Opportunity:

Most people just enter a business without proper research and knowledge about that business or venture they just think that the business would generate money. Before entering any business you need to determine how profitable that business is or can be.

5 Basic Steps that can help you build a successful business Brandspurng
Photo by heylagostechie

What can you see in that business that once you implement it, it would change that industry and bring about growth and profit for you. So ask today why you are entering that business and what potentials do the business have to offer?

What value can you bring to the table that would be useful to your customer? One way to see an opportunity is to look at another industry that is different from that you intend entering and look for businesses that are successful in doing things differently that bring value to their customer and see if there is something you can copy from them.

Who would buy from you:

You have a rough idea of who would be interested in your product or service. You can’t sell to everybody but you can sell to everyone that buys things from that industry but it is one step at a time.

First, Carve out a niche and sell to those who your current product appeal to. When you have gained ground with them then you can set out to capture other sets of potential buyers. You can gradually target anyone who buys from that industry.

Capital:

Do you have enough money to start that business after identifying the opportunity to pursue and determining the target audience to serve?

Therefore determine how you would source for money in order to start your business. Is it from personal finance or from family and friends or from investors? Knowing this and how you will get your hands on the capital is very important in starting your business.

Business Model and Plan:

Setting a direction for your business is also important and requires a lot of thinking. How are you going to exploit that business opportunity that you discovered, what target segments or audience are you going after, how do you intend to make money, who are you partnering with, what channels would you be using to sell and communicate with your target audience, all this are necessary and also a business plan would help you in the forecasting of potential profits to be made if implemented well.

Marketing:

One of the aims of every business is to create customers or appeal to existing customers.
A good Marketing system can help make your business visible to your customers both physically and mentally.

A smart business should prioritize Marketing and treat it as an essential component of business development. Therefore Marketing should be viewed as a necessary investment and not as a cost to the business.

Having these five steps in mind and building towards it are necessary for building a business that can stand the test of time.

How Brands are changing the face of smart cities.

Oreoluwa Aderinkomi
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0
How Brands are changing the face of smart cities.

The emergence of smart cities has changed the way and lenses in which people view the development of states and nations.

The emergence of smart cities can be attributed to various factors and drivers of change. One of the drivers of smart cities is Brands. You heard me well, brands can be attributed to being the enabler and driver of the kind of change and innovation that makes the concept of smart city evolve.

Brands are trying to solve the pain points and Problems of humans using their products and services and some even go further to attempt solving societal Problems thereby providing value. Many of the solution provided involves the use of technological capabilities to improve the quality of life enjoyed by consumers.

How Brands are changing the face of smart cities brandspurng
Amara Eko Atlantic

As Brands compete for the acquisition of new customers and retention of old customers, competition, therefore, serves as the breeding ground for innovative products and services to be delivered thereby increasing the tendency of the evolution of smart cities.

In the bid to stay ahead of the competition, there has been a lot of futuristic planning and creation of products and services that solve various needs. Some of the products and services that would shape the city of the future include products and services in the area of housing, transportation, health, payment solutions and so on.

Brands are developing a sustainable business model of the future and taking immediate steps to implement solutions that would be human friendly. Eco-friendly brands are being created and solutions are being made to create environmentally sustainable businesses. Brands in different sectors are going green in their production of goods.

Brands needing to achieve their vision are adopting artificial intelligence, internet of things and another technological driver to help improve their product and services.

Brands such as Amazon, Google, Tesla seem to be among the list of brands developing solutions with smart cities in mind. Products and services that make adoption pretty easy and of great value to human helps smart living.

The city of the future is here and the faster it evolves the faster great positive changes can happen in the way cities are planned, built and inhabited.

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