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Showing posts from February, 2016

The Tomato Nigeria Will Get From Akwa Ibom In 2 Months

Update : Dangote Suspends Tomato Paste Factory Because He Can't Find The Raw Crops   In December2015, I had a close meet-up with Sir Goodluck Etom Obi (KSC), Chairman of GateGold Nigeria at MMA, Lagos. I discussed with him the prospects of investing in Akwa Ibom State; and he shared with me his experiences in other places as one of the nation's top tin tomato manufacturers. As I expressed my concerns about President Buhari's Economic policies, the lack of them (pardon me) or maybe the lack of public awareness of them; he took the time to walk me through the President's activities in the development of the Economy at the grassroots, as he knew it. He shared the challenges facing the Federal Government's programme to intervene in several sub-sectors of our Agric Super-sector, citing one commodity for an example; the red tomato used in making the tomato paste. "Do you know that the tomato we plant in this country is not suitable for canning?" He p

ST LOUIS SUGAR: COMPLACENCY OF MARKETING

St Louis have stuck to their brand since they broke into the Nigerian sugar market. Competing brands did nothing to upset the St Louis dominance, and complacency along. Then all competition phased out. As Nigeria kept transitioning into a 21st Century Commerce-homely society, re-branding became 'law', with companies running willy-nilly in every marketing direction. But St Louis sneered at the riot, calmly concentrating on sales. Industry shifts would have demanded a rethink on this moribund Marketing policy, but it appeared there was no Marketing department at St Louis. No ads (or have you seen any? you must be working at their factory if yes); no CSR; no press releases; no media facility tours; no public relations; nothing but sales trucks raising dust on bumpy Nigerian roads. But something is praiseworthy. St Louis branding has been as consistent as their trademark product quality.Still they would be wrong to depend on quality of product to drive sales endlessly. For i

Banana Island; A State Within A State?

It will cost you a minimum $103 million to buy an apartment at Pollock’s Path, a residential area in Hong Kong, where A-list Chinese Actor and Movie producer Stephen Chow (director of Kung Fu Hustle and the Mermaid, China’s biggest movie ever) and HSBC brass live – the world’s most expensive neighbourhood; with price increasing at over 10% every year. Since Prince William and Princess Kate moved in, the cost of property in Kensington Palace City, London started increasing yearly at about 2%, but it will still cost you a minimum $195 million to buy property here – Europe’s most expensive real estate.  Africa’s most expensive neighbourhood is arguably a 1.6million square meter piece of real estate in Nigeria. It has not (yet) been named a political entity, but the residents have a Local Government of their own. This cluster of administrators oversee the area, providing taut land-marine-security, electricity delivered to you via intricate underground wiring, healthcare,