Sometimes, the business simply didn't understand the market before launching.

Before putting money into a new business in Nigeria or anywhere else in Africa, I would research these things first.

1. Find out if the problem actually exists.

Don't ask only:

"Would you buy this?"

People are usually polite.

Ask about what they currently do.

"What do you use now?"

"What frustrates you about it?"

"How much do you currently spend?"

"What would make you switch?"

Their current behaviour is often more useful than their promises.

2. Study how people already solve the problem.

If you're launching a food delivery product in Lagos, don't just study other food delivery apps.

Look at restaurants taking orders through WhatsApp.

Instagram vendors.

Dispatch riders.

Direct calls.

People ordering through friends.

Your biggest competitor might not be another app.

It might be a habit.

3. Understand how people actually pay.

Don't assume everyone will use your preferred payment method.

Look at bank transfers.

Cards.

USSD.

Mobile wallets.

Cash where relevant.

Also consider transaction fees, failed payments, network problems, and trust around online payments.

A customer can love your product and still abandon the purchase if payment becomes stressful.

4. Research the price people can realistically afford.

Don't price based only on your costs.

Find out what customers currently pay for alternatives.

Then ask:

"What would make this worth paying more for?"

You may discover that your market wants the product, but not at the price you imagined.

5. Understand distribution and logistics.

This is especially important in Africa.

Can you actually deliver the product reliably?

What happens when fuel prices increase?

What happens when delivery takes longer than expected?

Can you serve customers outside Lagos?

What happens in Abuja, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, or smaller cities?

A business model that works perfectly on paper can struggle once logistics enter the picture.

6. Talk to people before you build everything.

You don't need 1,000 responses.

Start with 10 to 20 people who actually fit your target market.

Watch how they behave.

Listen to how they describe the problem.

Pay attention to what they complain about without being asked.

Then look for patterns.

Don't build your entire business around one person's opinion.

7. Test before you scale.

Before spending millions on an app, office, inventory, or advertising, run a smaller version.

Create a simple landing page.

Take orders manually.

Run a small ad.

Use WhatsApp.

Offer the service to a small group.

See what happens.

If people won't use the simple version, building a bigger version probably won't solve the problem.

The biggest mistake is researching only whether people like your idea.

Research whether they'll actually use it, pay for it, recommend it, and come back.

That's the difference between proving that people like an idea...

and proving that you may have a business.