Technology is not yet indigenous in our great country today. An organization must first source for it, acquire it from overseas and learn to apply it to manufacture goods for domestic consumption.
Some of the good overseas companies are not willing any longer to part with their technology and set up in Nigeria. The few that operate will only do so through multinational organizations. The explosion in information technology as well as globalization that has made the world a single market place is hurting our nation rather than help us. No organization will go through the rigors of setting up in another country if it can gain access to the same market through the information superhighway.
The indigenization programs that were intended to help us were apparently cornered and messed up by fleeing investors. The small business operator was left behind in all of this and not much got indigenized. Thirty years after the first effort, we are still seeking to transfer technology to manufacture the smallest of products whether it is for basic necessity, medical or luxury.
Overseas industries are no longer extending services to our country because they can do so via the internet/intranet. Unlike the past when they extended services to us unavoidably, they now brand us as undeserving and unreliable to do business with. There are not many Nigerian salesmen. There are no more factory operators. The few there are, are attached to large multinationals that monitor the whole process through the information superhighway. We can no longer easily procure overseas products through letters of credit, bills for collection or telegraphic transfers.
In the Chemical and Paint industry for example, there is no indigenous Nigerian company that is represented in the respective international trade associations. Instead, the Nigerian industry is represented by some overseas based parent company which supports its Nigerian affiliate or subsidiary.
The transfer of technology group in our firm is to deal with the unique challenges in specific industries on transfer of technology. We can help clients source for reliable medium scale industrial manufacturers in Europe and the Americas to transfer state of the art technologies to Nigeria. We can also help to pool small scale investors to form formidable organizations with strong capital base to buy technology. Our experience in Eastern Europe and Asia indicates that organizations that are willing to part with technology may only do so through outright purchase. The idea of joint ownership is new. The concept of private ownership of business as in Western Democracies is underdeveloped. Proposals for shared ownership or alliances or joint ventures are viewed with suspicion. In most cases the intending investors have no resources of their own.
Other services in this category of our clientele include:
- Identifying prospects including acquisition of existing factories and production facilities to Nigeria
- Initial contact to establish trust, credibility and credit assessment
- Search for strategic and dependable partners and investors
- General regulatory issues including transfer pricing
- International tax consulting including consideration of tax holidays tax exemption, tax elections and provisions in the tax laws to minimize rate on venture capital.
- Technical service agreement
- Investment guide and industry planning
- Employment and training of indigenous personnel at home and overseas
- Technical advice on hand over or exit strategies of departing expatriate at end of technical service agreement.
