Start-ups Urged to Emulate Konga Strategy for Business Scalability

A former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof Oye Ibidapo-Obe has advised tech start-ups to emulate the new Konga business strategy in order to enhance scalability that will enable them remain competitive in business.

He gave the advice in a recent engagement with budding entrepreneurs, business owners and some Ph.D. students in Lagos.

According to Ibidapo-Obe, Konga has sprung a surprise in the last six months, noting that the impact of the new owners of the business has been felt in the e-commerce landscape.

“The new Konga is a very good case study for tech start-up to emulate as it is obvious that there is a clear plan by the new investors. If we consider their omni channel strategy which is quite expensive, only a few Nigerian banks can match the fusion of online power with the number of stores being rolled out across the country, mostly in Lagos as I have seen.

“What we can learn from this is that, apart from strategy, planning and tact is very critical in the Third World. I am sure the former owners of the business will be amazed at the transformation the business had undergone within the last six months. A company like Konga has proven that Nigerians have the capacity to make things happen and though I am not sure what their figures look like today, I am sure it must have appreciated over 200 per cent,” he said.

The professor of systems engineering and fellow of the African Academy of Science, however, cautioned that startups must be seen to deliver on their promises and not just raising funds or using investor capital to fund flamboyant lifestyles.

According to him, “The Konga example shows that African entrepreneurs can hold their own and succeed. It is very important, however, for budding entrepreneurs or startups to go through an incubation period and excite their investors to inject more funds rather than being on negative and still asking for more funds. It has become fashionable for startups to keep looking to raise money without looking at the book balance while unconsciously signing off their equity.

“When entrepreneurs gradually liquidate equity, they must see a bigger future even as they continue to dissolve their shares. Modern investors are very smart and when they see that they are gradually getting a foothold in the business, they can see that you are gradually liquidating and their funds is at risk. This is why there is a high failure rate among startups as investors must, at a point, take a business decision not to put in more money because the owner has reduced his stake substantially that he has nothing to lose anymore.”