Despite economic and political instability that destroyed many firms, several Nigerian enterprises have survived for over 60 years.
These enterprises survived military coups, civil conflict, the 1970s oil boom and recession, the COVID-19 epidemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, John Holt Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Royal Exchange Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc, UAC of Nigeria Plc, Shell Petroleum Development Company, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Wema Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Aero Contractors, and Sterling Bank Plc.
BusinessDay found that these firms thrived by adjusting to changing market circumstances, diversifying their operations, and investing in innovation despite economic challenges.
The oldest Nigerian company is First Bank, established in 1894. Throughout its 125 years, it has survived economic storms, political turmoil, policy changes, and financial crises.
John Holt, founded in 1897 in Nigeria, is second. The company’s business areas include engineering, air conditioning, fire and safety equipment, building, and property development.
Union Bank, once Colonial Bank, ranks third.
The Nigerian Businesses Promotion Acts of 1972 and 1977 helped the bank alter its name and transfer ownership to Nigerians.
Royal Exchange Plc (1921) and Unilever Nigeria (1923) follow.
UAC of Nigeria Plc, created on April 22, 1931, and Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, founded in 1937 as Shell D’Archy, are also on the list.
May & Baker Nigeria was founded in 1944. 1945-founded Wema Bank is Nigeria’s ninth-oldest corporation. The 1949-founded UBA follows it in longevity.
Julius Berger was founded in 1950, 10 years before Nigerian independence.
After a rough fiscal year in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic interrupted operations and depleted profitability, the firm announced ambitions to diversify away from construction, its primary sector. After-tax profit fell 85 percent to N1.4 billion, the lowest in four years.
Aero Contractors arrived in 1959, a year before Sterling Bank (formerly NAL Bank).
Expert opinion
Mutilinks Consultancy Ltd. managing director Michael Ohiare said the firm had adjusted to market changes.
Several corporations had to diversify after the oil boom. “To survive, they had to be more productive and efficient,” Ohiare added.
Fummi Kuku, a Lagos-based asset manager, credited these firms’ success to strong management teams, innovation, and excellent goods and services.
Nigeria has a huge and rising economy, but doing business there takes a lot of work.
Certain unforeseen circumstances might make it tough for enterprises to thrive in Nigeria’, African Development Bank Group president Akinwumi Adesina said at BusinessDay’s CEO Roundtable on Thursday.
“You win by overcoming various industrial production restrictions, not because of ease of doing business. “In short, it’s the misery of conducting business,” he said.
Former Kingsway Stores general manager Olumide Ayodeji noted that limited customer buying power, supply chain disruptions, and failure to innovate or adapt to change are reasons a firm may only endure a generation, particularly after its founders.
“Nigeria is a terrible location to conduct business; we couldn’t deal with the hard working environment,” Ayodeji added.
Kingsway opened 13 contemporary department stores and supermarkets in major cities in 1948 and employed 1,000 workers.
Kingsway Stores closed in the late 1980s due to pricing, currency constraints, and a recession.
Inadequate power supplies, lousy roads, enormous taxes, administrative bottlenecks, and weak rules hindered our operation in many states. Ayodeji claimed the firm struggled to break even.
Firms get cheaper money as the interbank rate decreases substantially.
A.G. Leventis, established in 1937 by Cyprus merchant Anastasios G. Leventis, failed like Kingsway.
UTC Nigeria Plc and Domino Stores were also pre- and post-independence department shops.
Cavazanni Human Capital Ltd CEO Kelvin Atafiri stated family enterprises and firms seldom outlive their founders.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola formed the Concord conglomerate.
African CEOs, especially Nigerians, don’t want to speak about death, tragedy, or lifelong incapacity. Atafiri claimed they had no succession planning.
