In a country with a growing rate of access to the internet, Nigeria boasts of at least 10 new businesses springing up everyday online. By this I mean, not physical shops, just businesses that exist purely on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Some even go the extra mile to develop and operate custom e-commerce websites. These new businesses and already existing businesses face a certain challenge in selling their goods and services which emanates from their inability to acquire customers at an appreciable rate. I will give an overview of why this is the case even with the growing rate of internet access in the country

In 2018, Statista recorded that “Nigeria had 92.3 million internet users and went further to say that the figure is projected to grow to 187.8 million internet users by 2023”. So it is safe to say that any business yet to have an online presence, is running at a loss daily and will eventually fail in the nearest future based on this statistic.

Naijatechguide also reported that Instagram users spend an average of about 53 minutes per day on the platform. A look at these statistics will have you convinced that a new and easy way to build a profitable business has been unlocked, and you might be so quick to conclude that these businesses make substantial profits. This can be accepted as a rational conclusion but is that the reality being faced? This is not in a bid to prove you wrong of your assumptions. A number of these businesses are doing really well, which is approximately 20% of them., What, you might ask, happens to the other 80% of businesses that sell online? 

With all the potential that the internet brings to building a remarkable brand and running a profitable business, majority of entrepreneurs have failed to mine as much gold as they should. Below, I have enumerated a few reasons why I think businesses are not maximizing their potential to make profit through social media platforms.

• Businesses have failed to recognize where a majority of their target market can be found, which of course remains the internet.
• Businesses have failed to learn how to sell on the internet.

• Customers don’t trust businesses with their money.
• Customers don’t trust the quality of the products on offer.

With the list curated above, alongside my initial argument, I have come to the undeniable conclusion that “Trust”, as a factor, is the most obvious reason majority of online businesses are not as profitable as they ought to be. The team at Vesicash has studied this recurring trend amongst others, and have gone ahead on their mission to secure transactions and eliminate the trust issues encountered by businesses and their viable customers online and in marketplace situations. I’ll give you a walk through on how this brilliant idea has created an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, thereby leaving enough room to focusing on what is important – The business.

Where Vesicash Comes In

For example, as a social media user, you came across a good pair of sneakers that you would like to own, so you messaged the seller and after all negotiations, the seller insists that you have to pay first before they file your product for delivery. Rationally, you begin to have distrust for the business, knowing fully well that you only just met online, and you really have no measure with which to rate their trustworthiness, so you back out of the transaction.

Now here comes the good news, you need not back out of such transactions anymore, neither is there a need to be scared of buying anything you like on the internet. Vesicash Escrow service provides a means where you can have your money secure in the Vesicash Escrow account, and the seller of the pair of shoes only gets his money if he has delivered the product and you as the buyer are satisfied.

Vesicash Innovative technologies has rolled out a number of products to handle all forms of transactions and sectors; from contract transactions where you have to pay in parts after a certain goal has been met, to instances where you’re seeking to employ the services of a portrait artist to deliver a portrait of your best pictures, you can safely transact on Vesicash and have no reason to worry. Online transactions have not been free of their risks since the invention of the internet, but Vesicash serves as a panacea to the dangers of transacting online. Pay with Vesicash today. Create an account on Vesicash and start transacting securely.

This is a guest post written by Chukwualasu Okpala, a software developer based in Lagos. You can read more of his thoughts on Tech, Personal Development, Entrepreneurship and more here

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