My Suggested Business Models For NVS

By Uche Nworah (info@uchenworah.com)

It is that time of the year again when villagers (members and visitors to the nigeriavillagesquare.com website) have to put their money where their mouth is. The annual fund raising campaign is currently on and as at the time of writing this, over 100% of the targeted $4,000 required to keep the website functioning for the next 365 days has been realised, courtesy of kind contributions and donations from writers, commentators and friends of the website. Please if you have not already donated, kindly do so here.

This annual fundraising ritual has been running now for about 3 years and has so far worked, but I know that our very own Big K does not like doing this, if he could avoid it, he would and I can see why. Who enjoys going about ‘begging’, especially in the World Wide Web with a hat in hand? But he has to trigger this every other year. I really felt for him in 2006 which was why I kicked off the 2006 campaign with a piece aptly titled – What If This Website (NVS) Shut-Down Finally?

However, I think that the present system of annual fundraising to support the website may not be the way to go in the longer term, especially if we are thinking of sustainability. Their is a risk that apathy may set in eventually as experienced by Raymond Dokpesi and his DAAR Communications Ltd (Ray Power, AIT etc) when Mr. Dokpesi attempted the Donate-A-Naira campaign few year ago. Some Nigerians at the time could not rationalise the request to put their personal money into a private venture without any promise of a return on investment.

Concerning NVS, there is also the ever present danger that another NVS clone or website may rise up tomorrow and provide an alternative or even better platform. Without any serious emotional attachment, or otherwise, some visitors may migrate, the same way NVS founders migrated from another website/forum to set up NVS.

There is a need therefore for all stakeholders connected with NVS to start now to think about alternative models of keeping the website alive for a long time to come.

I have benefited immensely from NVS which has given me a global and unrestricted platform to express my opinions on social, political and economic issues. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift from Big K and his crew. Through NVS, I re-discovered my passion for writing and have gotten better over the years through constructive feedbacks from villagers.  NVS gave me my first book – The Long Harmattan Season, and will give me a few more. Through my writings on NVS, I have attracted the attention of CNN and BBC and several other media houses who have variously invited me as an interview guest. Not to forget the business, professional and personal friendships I have forged with visitors to the site. I am now so emotionally attached to NVS that I would love to see it outlive us all.

I think that NVS has grown much bigger than Big K (the founder), and the few others who constitute the back room team (e.g. the kunu drinking Shoko Loko Bangoshe, The Article Publishers, the Moderators, The welcomers led by the Welcomer-in-Chief Abraxas aetc) can handle, this means that the time has come to think about an alternative and longer term model for survival and sustainability which will take NVS to the next level.

Strategy A: Shared Ownership

I was inspired after reading the fascinating story of Ebbsfleet United Football Club (EUFC), a conference league football club in the UK which is partly owned by football fans who used the MyFootballClub.com website set up by football journalist Will Brooks to contribute £35 each towards buying the club. Of the amount contributed, £27.50 went towards buying the club while £7.50 is reserved for administrative costs. They have so far raised over £700,000 from the 50,000 subscribers and counting, which was used to purchase 51% equity in EUFC. The fans now control what happens at the club showing that collective effort (Igwebuike) could be a good business strategy if well packaged. You can read the EUFC full story here.

A report on the UK Guardian newspaper website says that “In return for payment, each fan becomes a stakeholder in the club, and can use the website to vote on all decisions affecting its future, from team selection and new signings to kit design and beer options in the club bar. Only decisions made in the hours before a match, or between the first and final whistles, are beyond the vote. It's a heady mix of sport, entrepreneurship, and democracy. And, as far as its creator is concerned, it could change football forever”.

This model could be trialled by NVS but first Big K and co have to agree to open up NVS to general ownership, that way contributions from the annual fundraising could be converted into shares. As the founder, Big K could retain controlling shares (51% etc), and then release the remaining 49% equity to other villagers.

A committee (B.O.V: Board of Villagers) could be constituted to run the affairs of NVS on a yearly basis with Big K acting as Non-executive Chairman. Roles will be allocated in the committee depending on members’ skills and professional experience.

This model will require that NVS be registered as a private limited company in order to formalise the share issues, and for corporate governance and compliance purposes. The benefit of this model is that villagers will work more for the progress of NVS if they have financial stakes in it. They may be encouraged as well to source for advertising support (something NVS desperately needs) from the organisations where they work knowing that they would be paid an agreed commission, and that their efforts will contribute to overall profitability.  

There is also an added advantage of a feel-good factor for villagers who would count themselves as worthy members of the media owners club. Perhaps a little mathematics here will drive home the point better, at the moment; NVS has over 5,000 registered members, if they could all be convinced to buy $50 shares each, that would raise about $250,000. If you increase the $50 to $100, then you have about $500,000. With this sum, a dedicated IT staff could be recruited, and NVS could also buy its own server and engage temporary advertising canvassers in Nigeria. This will put to an end permanently the issue of the annual fundraising and provide NVS the funds it needs to drive long term growth. There may even be funds left for it to pursue other profit yielding media-related projects, including taking over other attractive sites such as www.nairaland.com, www.saharareporters.com etc.

There is no reason why online versions of newspapers such as Guardian, Punch, and This Day, and Nigeria2Day (the global email list serve) etc will continue to attract advertising patronage from Nigerian advertisers but not NVS, especially when we pride ourselves as the hottest Nigerian address on the internet. Perhaps, a dedicated team on NVS may need to tackle this advertising aspect head-on, I have tried in the past with Big-K to no avail but I still believe there it is an untapped goldmine and source of revenue.

If this model is adopted, I will be one of the first subscribers.

Strategy B: Social Enterprise

Alternatively, NVS could go for the social enterprise model where the site is registered in the UK, U.S.A and Nigeria as a charity or Non-governmental organisation (NGO). This model will open up income streams as NVS could then bid for funding from the UK National Lottery, DFID, Community Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation and other such Foundations. This means that NVS will have to submit itself to strict corporate governance and compliance regimes.

The funds are there to be applied for, from many sources as long as the evidence of value added to the Nigerian diasporan and general community by NVS could be shown.

Conclusion

My preferred model is Strategy A but villagers are welcome to suggest alternative models which will lead towards the survival, sustenance, sustainability and profitability of the NVS brand.

November 2007.

http://thelongharmattanseason.blogspot.com/                           www.nigerianbrands.com

Robot  # 1 | 18.11.2007 14:55

My Suggested Business Models ForNVS By Uche Nworah (...Read the full article.

BiafranPrincess  # 2 | 18.11.2007 15:30

Uche, Count me in on strategy A.

admin  # 3 | 18.11.2007 15:36

brilliant Article.

salstep  # 4 | 18.11.2007 15:39

Kudos to Uche for a brilliant write up. if it is adopted, i am up for strategy A.

purple  # 5 | 18.11.2007 15:40

Strategy B: Social Enterprise sounds great. A registered charity has access to so much funds and other resources, as long as they comply by the guidelines. Way to go NVS.

Ebe  # 6 | 18.11.2007 17:58

Excellent write-up. I have pondered over some of these issues myself and it is only for lack of time that I have not broached the subject publicly on the square or privately to Big-K. This is very timely. I lean toward strategy B, although I would have no problem with A. My reason is that managing a largely online, faceless enterprise with so many stakeholders and diverse ideas would be corporate chaos. And every move of the BOV would have to be debated ad nauseam before it could be implemented without arousing suspicions of executive tyranny. As we know, debates on NVS hardly yield consensuses. I fear that this may hamper efficiency and nimble decision making. But if the BOV runs only the business/management aspect of the site and not the intellectual/content aspect, that might work--especially if they can devise a model for fiscal self-sustainability and/or profit making. Strategy B, in my opinion, is a safer model because the board of directors (or whatever it is called) will have a freer hand to run things and to innovate for the interest of the site without subjecting everything to the scrutiny and approval of the members, who in this scenario would have no financial stake in NVS. The caveat here, of course, is that even without direct financial stake in the site, NVS members would be justified in demanding a say in how the board is run because without their intellectual, emotional, and participatory input, the board would be a hollow cyber presence and would not be able to attract any funding from anywhere. In addition to Uche's proposal, I see no reason why NVS, with the villagesquare brand, cannot establish a print newspaper or magazine to be published either solely in Nigeria as a counterpart to the site or simultaneously in Nigeria and in, say, London and New York. This is a new phenomenon in the media. I believe it is called integration or something like that. Most media companies are doing it. In our case, we would be expanding into print and synchronizing the two operations, unlike most other media organizations that expand from print and broadcast to webcast and website. Advertising to sustain such a paper should not be a problem. Advertisers are looking for credible, independent mediums that are trusted by readers and are not beholden to any political/economic tendency or bloc. In fact, whether this proposal for an independent print newspaper is accepted or not, I would urge Big-K to quickly register "Villagesquare" and "Nigeria village square" with the CAC, so that if in the future this expansion becomes necessary, it would be easy for us to use our popular existing brand for the purpose.

Akinyi  # 7 | 18.11.2007 18:53

I have serious problems with scenario A. This is because NVS has never been a profit oriented enterprise. In the example of a football club used by the Author, the Author failed to apparently mention that the football club is a "for-profit" organization. Soon, someone will suggest subscription to access NVS. If and when NVS becomes "for-profit" outfit, then the author's scenario A can come into play. Scenario B is more like it. NVS is in the business of provision of news and ideas to its various users at no cost. Anything that will hinder this role must be shot down at least for now. Our Scenario C. The yearly annual fund drive is thus far working. This year has been exceptional, a testimony that villagers love the outfit and are willing to sacrifice. In past years, it took for ever to raise even a thousand dollars. It took approximately 14 days this year to raise $4000. I read even old members and donors' names who though are no longer contributing in commentaries still donating. That is an affirmation of belief in NVS. This fund drive also gives you a stake and makes this site more democratic. The founders of NVS should hold their heads high. I am. Their is nothing to be ashamed of. It is better to beg than ask the numerous POLIICIANS begging BigK and the founders of NVS to have NVS sponsored. HELL NO! Finally, whether NVS will be cloned in the future is not in doubt. However, the success of NVS is in the management team-whether through those giving advice and suggestions or the hands- on management team. NVS has come to stay. For the sake of NVS, I am not ashamed to be a begger. If I am, I wonder what the Red Cross would feel. To all NVS members and Guests, I say ALUTA CONTINUA Thanks Uche for this thought-provoking piece.

Exxcuzme  # 8 | 18.11.2007 20:24

Not to bust your burble, I don’t like Uche's idea. He is been looking for a ways both straight and crooked to make money. 1. Propagandizing for Andy Uba 2. Slyly wanting UMYA's spokesman to "use" him as NVS propaganda. 3. Ways he has been trying to use this medium to promote himself 4. Lastly I think Uche is looking for a way to take over this Brand. Beware Big K.....don’t trust a babe with a big butt and a:D

truthsayer33  # 9 | 18.11.2007 20:27

For weeks the NVS site featured a photo of Andy Uba.I thought it was an income generating wheeze by Uche! Enough of this non-sense.NVS is a great brand and can be easily sustained by some attention to marketing. I am sure that diaspora and home based businesses would be interested in advertising/sponsoring NVS. Revenue can also be generated by publishing 'best of NVS' books. Annual NVS award ceremonies can be massive fundraisers.....e.g NVS man of the year...NVS woman of the year....NVS author of the year ....NVS Nigerian scientist of the year etc

Zanderlex  # 10 | 18.11.2007 22:30

I am not sure of the best strategy to sustain this site but one thing is certain I will invest in the NVS if need be because it has proven to be a great brand. Thanks Uche for a nice suggestion ie the option A, I think that it may work but what about the not for profit idea that has been the bedrock of NVS.

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