By Our Reporter,The Nation

Copyright thenationonlineng

In a candid interview conducted in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, Nigerian entrepreneur Femi Sanni reflected on his decades-long business journey in Nigeria, emphasizing innovation, niche creation, and adaptability as keys to thriving amid economic challenges.

Sanni, who returned to Nigeria, building a successful phone business before pivoting into a slew of other businesses, highlighted how he pivoted from mobile phone warranties to fabricating mobile clinics and launching Kwara State’s first English-only radio station, Flow FM 92.7.

Sanni, a civil engineer by training, credited his success to “thinking outside the box” and avoiding crowded markets.

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Recounting his early ventures, he described launching Africa’s first third-party mobile phone repair assurance in 2003, a concept that provided warranties on phones regardless of purchase source. “We were the first or third company in Africa to do that. Google it,” Sanni said.

“We created that niche. It was more like insurance,” he stated further.

However, as major brands like Samsung introduced their own warranties, Sanni adapted by extending coverage, only to pivot again when competition intensified. “The mistake businesses do in Nigeria is this: They get emotionally attached to something,” he explained, likening it to treating property as an investment rather than a sentimental asset. This led him to large-format printing and eventually mobile clinics, which he now fabricates locally in Ilorin after initial partnerships in the U.S. and Kenya.