Nigerian entrepreneurs must move beyond winning local contracts and deliberately use strategic corporate partnerships, trade platforms and institutional ecosystems to build businesses capable of competing with global multinationals, Ayeni Adekunle, founder and chief executive officer of BlackHouse Media (BHM), has said.
Adekunle made the call at the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce (NSACC) breakfast forum held in Lagos, on Thursday, where he argued that Nigeria’s biggest competitive advantage lies not only in its market size but in the intellectual capital of its entrepreneurs and professionals.
He said structured relationships with large corporations could provide indigenous businesses with the scale, operational discipline and market access required to transition from small local operators into internationally competitive companies.
“My vision is for local Nigerian and African companies to be so empowered and visionary that they can compete anywhere in the world,” Adekunle said.
He pointed to BHM’s evolution from a modest communications startup in Lagos into an international public relations and technology consultancy with operations in London and Edinburgh as evidence of what Nigerian businesses can achieve when they build capabilities beyond their immediate market.
According to him, African businesses should stop viewing partnerships with large corporations merely as opportunities to secure supply contracts and instead use them as platforms to develop intellectual property, strengthen systems and create solutions that can be exported to other markets.
“I travel around the world, and I see that we are not less intelligent than anyone elsewhere; what we need is to leverage structured corporate partnerships to build institutions that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with European and American multinationals,” he said.
Adekunle also called for deeper commercial cooperation between Nigeria and South Africa, arguing that the relationship between the continent’s two largest economies should increasingly focus on developing and exporting African intellectual property, technology and professional services.
He said bilateral trade should therefore evolve beyond the exchange of goods and conventional business services to creating African-owned companies with the capacity to operate across global markets.
The session featured a keynote address by enterprise leader Modupe Kadri, alongside insights from fellow panellists Udeme Ufot, Group Managing Director of SO&U; Yemi Chukwurah, CEO of Seams and Stitches; and Afolabi Sobande, Group COO of Computer Warehouse Group. The panellists underscored how corporate anchors, including MTN Nigeria, have provided the scale and institutional discipline needed for indigenous service providers to refine their operations, expand workforce capacity, and compete globally.
The panellists highlighted the role of large corporate institutions in creating opportunities for indigenous companies to build capacity, improve governance and adopt international operating standards.
They noted that corporate anchors such as MTN Nigeria have increasingly become important platforms through which local service providers can gain access to larger markets, develop their workforce and improve operational capabilities.
For Nigerian businesses, Adekunle said, the challenge is now to convert such access into enduring institutional strength rather than remain dependent on individual contracts or corporate relationships.
He argued that sustainable global competitiveness requires entrepreneurs to deliberately build systems, talent, intellectual property and governance structures that can survive beyond the founders and operate at international standards.
The NSACC breakfast forum brought together business leaders and professionals to examine opportunities for deeper Nigeria-South Africa commercial cooperation.
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