Isaac Adewumi
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How to Scale and Penetrate New Markets in Nigeria: Raw Truths from the Trenches
Scaling a business in Nigeria isn’t for the faint of heart.
Between broken logistics, inconsistent internet, power outages, hyper-local preferences, and the difficult task of building customer trust.
“Founders here quickly realize that growth isn’t just about raising capital or running digital ads. It’s about grit, structure, and above all local intelligence.”
Last Thursday, we hosted a candid LinkedIn Live session on Scaling and Penetrating New Markets in Nigeria, featuring two brilliant founders navigating these waters in real time: Ikedichi Egwu, Co-founder of PrizeSkout, and Oluwamayowa Oshidero, Founder of Equilibrium Zone.
They brought zero fluff. Just the raw truths, hard-earned lessons, and practical frameworks that more Nigerian founders need to hear.
Here’s a breakdown of the insights that stood out most:
1. Start with the problem not your passion
Founders often get caught up in the passion trap. They love their idea, their mission, or the “potential” of their solution. But as Mayowa put it during the session:
“Passion is nice. But solving the problem is better.”
Both Ike and Mayowa agreed that true product-market fit in Nigeria begins with deeply understanding and solving a specific, painful problem, not just launching a cool idea or building another clone of a Western startup.
This is especially true in a market where customers are skeptical and cost-conscious. If your product doesn’t immediately resonate with a local need, you’re going to burn time and money fast.
Key takeaway:
Before thinking about expansion, make sure your business is grounded in solving a real, validated problem. Then, back that with systems that drive sustainable growth especially in marketing, sales, and customer service.
2. Avoid the market size illusion
Many founders in Nigeria grossly overestimate their total addressable market. It’s easy to look at the country’s 200+ million population and get carried away with actual market size in reality. But as Ike pointed out:
“Most founders overestimate their market size. They assume visibility equals demand.”
You can spend millions on ads, get a ton of impressions, and still struggle with sales performance and hitting KPIs. Why? Because true demand and product market fit is shaped by affordability, trust, access, and buying behavior - and all of those are deeply local.
Mayowa echoed this point, stressing how many startups completely miss the mark on things like pricing, cultural nuance, and language in their messaging.
Key takeaway:
Market penetration in Nigeria is less about spending more on visibility and more about understanding how people behave in different regions, what they prioritize, and how they make purchasing decisions. Lagos and Kano are not the same.
3. Hiring: do it slow, do it right
The conversation then shifted to a familiar startup dilemma: hiring with limited capital. And both founders were brutally honest:
“Don’t hire to look busy.”
Mayowa shared that startups often feel pressure to grow their team as a signal of momentum. But that can quickly backfire. If you don’t know exactly what kind of help you need or worse, if your team doesn’t contribute to revenue or critical operations, you’ll burn through your money.
Ike added that hiring especially in sales staff should be tied directly to execution. It’s not about team photos, it’s about moving your business forward in a measurable way.
Key takeaway:
Only hire when you’ve identified clear revenue opportunities or operational needs. Every new team member should serve a function that moves the business toward growth, not just optics.
4. Define your brand strategy
Your brand is not your logo or colour palette. In markets like Nigeria, your brand is how your audience feels when they encounter you.
Do they trust you? Do they relate to you? Can they recommend you?
Both Ike and Mayowa agreed: a culturally-rooted brand is a powerful asset in Nigeria.
Mayowa emphasized the need to analyze data region by region. What works for sales in Lagos might fall flat in Kano or Onitsha. The words you use, the people you hire to represent your brand, your pricing, even your delivery format, may need to shift based on local realities.
Key takeaway:
Think micro-markets, not mass-market. Shape your brand voice, messaging, and pricing strategy based on region-specific insights, not a one-size-fits-all model.
5. The hard truths of scaling in Nigeria
Toward the end of the session, both founders dropped some of the most powerful lessons from the conversation: truths many founders only learn after costly mistakes.
Truth 1: Structure everything
You can’t scale chaos.
Both Ike and Mayowa stressed the importance of building clear processes especially for your sales and marketing team. Hustlebean, for example, is big on training field agents to deeply understand the product they’re selling. Because surface-level sales won’t cut it here.
Truth 2: Don’t mistake noise for traction
Getting leads from ads is not the same as closing deals. If you don’t have a follow-up system to convert leads into paying customers, you’re just burning ad spend.
“You need a plan for what happens after the lead comes in,” said Ike.
This is where a solid sales budget, funnel, CRM tools, and disciplined follow-ups come into play.
Truth 3: Test, iterate, and detach
Not every good idea makes a good product. And not every good product becomes a successful business.
“Start small. Iterate fast. Know when to pivot or walk away,” Ike shared.
Too many founders get emotionally attached to ideas that clearly aren’t working. The best ones know when to kill what’s not working and double down on what is.
Key takeaway:
Your audience will tell you what’s working, if you’re listening.
Bottom line
Scaling and penetrating new markets in Nigeria isn’t about grinding your way to growth. It’s about being strategic, structured, and flexible.
You need more than just a great idea or a flashy brand. You need to hire the right people. You need to understand your customer at a local level. You need systems that convert attention into revenue. And you need the humility to adapt when things don’t go as planned.
That’s where startup success comes from.
Thinking about your next field sales push?
We’d love to help you plan smarter, hire better, and stay on budget.
Book a free call with Hustlebean now to get started.