In 2023, 10 people lost their lives skydiving.

As someone who does not see any pleasure at all in these extremely dangerous physical activities — from riding a roller coaster, hiking, bungee jumping — it genuinely beats my understanding that people willingly take pleasure in them, fully aware that in the event of any malfunction, the chances of survival are almost zero.

But here’s the twist: the failure rate of these activities is extremely low. In fact, less than one percent of Mount Everest climbs have resulted in death since record-keeping began.

And for the 10 people who died skydiving in 2023, there were 3.65 million jumps.

So imagine my shock when I stumbled on a Moniepoint Group report revealing that 50 percent of businesses in Nigeria fail in their first year, and by the fifth year, 95 percent shut down completely.

Think about that for a moment.

Skydiving is statistically safer than running a business in Nigeria. Climbing Everest — which is for me one of the most dangerous physical feats known to man — offers better odds of survival than launching a small business here.

Of course, the usual reasons are always cited: lack of understanding of the market, poor infrastructure, insecurity. And yes, those matter. But there’s more to the story.

In my recent article — which has now found a home on BellaNaija — Shina Memud, convener of MarTech Africa, one of Nigeria’s largest marketing gatherings with over 1,000 professionals, made a point that has stayed with me.

He believes that knowing how to acquire, engage, and retain customers is an essential survival skill for every business. Memud, who is also the founder of Yournotify, a growth-and-automation platform, said that watching many promising small businesses struggle or die simply because they lack marketing knowledge is what inspired him to start the MarTech Africa summit in the first place.

And when you look at the numbers, it’s hard not to agree.

Most businesses aren’t failing because their owners are lazy or unserious. They’re failing because the terrain is tough — and because no one taught them the skills needed to stay alive in it.

Maybe the real question isn’t “Why do so many businesses die?”

Maybe it’s “What would it take to finally give Nigerian entrepreneurs better odds than Everest climbers and skydivers?”