The blue collar revolution is coming online, according to Gbenga Sesan, executive director of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), who is interested in investing in the area.
Sesan told HumanIPO the impacts of the revolution, whereby individuals in blue collar professions have greater spending power or are bringing their goods online, could now be seen in the online sphere.
“I don’t know if anybody can see it as much as I see it already. I’ve jumped at it, I fell down. But there is something I saw then, I still see it and it is much stronger now. I wish everyone who is hitting at it the best and I’m sure some of them will earn my interest in terms of investment. It is something that I’m very much interested in,” Sesan said.
According to him, he tried his hands in the sector through the unsuccessful Work Day initiative.
“Artisans need to be brought online. I tried on a project called Word Day. The idea is to bring artisans online – if you need a plumber, driver, gardener, drycleaner, manicure services – anything you want to do that only artisans can do, instead of looking through your phone to call Baba Mulika to ask ‘do you know somebody’ who by the way is a carpenter and you are asking if he knows a plumber you can trust and has a good reference.”
Sesan identified another potential goldmine as media.
“Media is a big deal, I am personally going to invest over the next few months and years in media. Media particularly is about to explode in Nigeria, and somebody has to tell the stories because there are lots of stories to tell. There is growing demand for contents, and somebody has to sell the contents,” he said.
He urged entrepreneurs not to mix funding up with value.
“I think it’s okay to look for money but I think it is much more important to have value before you start looking for money so that you can be sure what you are trying to sell is something that can withstand the test of time.”
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