We encountered the diversity of Nigeria in the process of identifying The BusinessDay Top 100: a list of the 100 most influential companies in Nigeria.
As was reported four months ago, our ambition was to find out what companies resonate with the Nigerian people, and we have successfully completed that process.
We made it the centre of our research to find out what companies Nigerians identify as those that have raised the bar in terms of innovation, CSR, quality product/service delivery, quality of work environment, competitive product pricing, and customer care. (These are six paramters that distinguish the best global companies.)
To determine the best places to work, we adopted the results of Jobberman’s 2013 survey of 10,482 respondents (made up of experienced, entry level and executive management staff of different companies operating in Nigeria).
Jobberman’s survey used workplace metrics including Company Culture, Salary, Non-Salary Benefits, Prestige/Company Brand, Management Integrity, and Commitment to Staff Welfare to select its list of top companies. While Jobberman worked on the workplace parameter, BusinessDay’s Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU) supplied results for other parameters.
This quest took BRIU’s researchers to 12 cities scattered across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria – Jos, Kaduna, Abuja, Sokoto, Gombe, Bauchi, Akure, Enugu, Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Benin City.
We directly administered questionnaires to over 1,500 individuals. The sample was composed of students (10%), doctors (5%), media personnel (19%), graduates/job seekers (20%), bankers (5%), civil servants (15%), traders (20%), etc.
The element of bias was thus reduced. The process was exhilarating and eye opening. Based on the exercise, it can be reasonably concluded that Nigerians love their brands and they are loyal and committed to those brands that have impressed them across the parameters, which were used for our selection. They are also interested in companies and products that have touched their lives.
Across the zones, there is optimism that Nigerian companies and brands are doing well. We asked respondents about their perception of the performance of Nigerian brands in the past two years; 47% of them said the brands recorded “good” performance, while 21% said companies’ performance had been ‘very good.’
In terms of CSR, they were very definite about companies that had touched them. And some known brands top the list. But there were also many small institutions (which are not necessarily companies) that were mentioned by respondents. A good example was the Kanu Heart Foundation.
Different zones came up with their peculiarities as we travelled across Nigeria. The journey from Abuja, through Nassarawa to Jos revealed one striking feature of agriculture in Nigeria: Most sales are still done without the sophistication that will make farming more attractive. Women and children can still be seen hawking the rich agric produce of their farms, pointing to the potential of better institutionalised agriculture. This is pretty much replicated in Gombe and Bauchi states. But in the North-East, there is the palpable fear that terrorism has imposed.
But the people, especially those from Gombe, are excited about visitors and are ever willing to help. Our analyst who visited the state “discovered that it is very easy for strangers to be assimilated into the midst of the Gombe people. The Gombians, as they are called, love individual attention and assimilate strangers easily, they are very friendly.”
The list of Nigeria’s Top 100 Companies will be in the public domain in no time. It rewards companies that have maintained quality while carrying out business.
Essentially, companies that made the list are appreciated by the Nigerian people, ultimately the message from across Nigeria to the companies is ‘carry on the good work.’
Obodo Ejiro
