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GOOGLE: An Unfair Competition And Killing Of Nigerian Local Web Businesses

By on December 8, 2011

There is no pressing issue today in the Nigeria’s online business than the entrance of the behemoth called Google. Google’s entrance has send shivers down the spine of Nigeria online businesses and seen them frantically grabbing what hitherto was Nigeria’s domain. Google is innovating by killing local businesses.

Mashable recent post has this about Google earnings, ‘…the search giant’s third quarter, they reported $5.7 billion revenue, up 7% from the same time last year. The company generated $2.54 billion in free cash flow during the quarter, bringing the company’s total cash on hand to a staggering $22 billion’.

Google came into the Nigeria’s market with a war chest of over $22bn and ferocious assemblage of the smartest to conquer the Nigeria market. It seems to have achieved that. The past few weeks has seen Google with its war chest and network of associates and strategic linkages pushing hard to take Nigeria’s businesses online whether they want it now or not. Even with a free web portal that didn’t factor in services firms but basically meant for product sales. It has taken on tradestable , nairalist and dealfish through Google Trader which is just ubiquitous on the internet.

As a result, the Nigeria web designers are going jobless and what seemed an opportunity has suddenly turned into a nightmare. These web designers in the past decade stumbled on the internet; they joined the platforms and started a self-learning process that saw them becoming useful in providing I.T services which in the past weren’t in existence. They could have been cybercriminals, cyber-bullies, ‘yahoo-boys’ and thieves and others but the choose the right path.

Now all that could be over as these youths struggle to be useful again to a society blinded by financial recklessness and corruption with weak regulatory bodies who aren’t abreast of the disruptive innovations or the need to restricted entrance for companies like Google; one that is so insensitive to the unfair competition which Google represents today.

Any government that knows its onion wouldn’t allow Google, the elephant to stampede its way into Nigeria online businesses leaving its wake soon-to-be dead firms; and leading frightening ballooning of the unemployment market, more idle youths, and the possibility of a Nigeria’s own version of the Arab Spring.

If there is anything I had expected from Google’s entrance it was robust innovation by creating new products or services and not compounding our unemployment plight which is a ticking time bomb. If there any opportunity to turn the table, it is the opportunity to help Nigeria conquer the skill shortage by empowering the thousands of youth that litter the urban areas with over 30-35% unemployment rate.

In all, Google needs to do better than it is doing now. We understand the place of market forces. We also understand that market system suffers from some many distortions which can be corrected by relevant agency oversight. This makes the need for rigorous regulation, especially one that borders on unfair practices and undue advantage or possible destruction of burgeoning home industries like Tradetable, Nairalist etc.

Google’s way to innovate is killing local businesses and disengaging the employed.  And this is a recipe for disaster. Google can do better by buying these Nigerian web companies for a good sum so these youths’ effort wouldn’t be a waste.

 

3 Comments

  1. Oladipo

    January 30, 2012 at 3:41 am

    they  should sue them to court or make an awareness for all Nigerians to understand..so,people can support them to fight for there business…silence wont solve it….they cant do that in China…..China wont allow outside influence that will make its citizen jobless…..i hope these big heads we have in government can care for people they govern  not just there pocket.

  2. Appasino

    February 3, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    Their service is garbage, imagine the unhealthy site builder tools they are using, after paying N1, 500, you cant still upload your own pages, all you do is use the garbage they called sitebuilder….

  3. managment

    June 18, 2013 at 1:32 pm

    good day every one,
    Nigeria custom ware house management has decided to option out all the unreleased goods like laptop,hand phone,cars and shoes to our Nigeria traders at cheaper rate. you can call our agent Mr olakpo on 08143548460 or email us on [email protected]