The Igbo wholesaler who imports mortice locks at Idumota can do one product as he has a lock on sourcing and distribution. The trader he supplies to can not sell only locks. The trader provides a myriad of options typically in one category. As you go down market, options increase

With services as an African startup, many believe that they are wholesalers when they don't have a lock on source and distribution. I keep harping on ”distribution first” approaches because that is how you sustain any advantage without early diversification.

You don't have any special advantages in an app store. No special advantages with digital marketing. The only advantage you can get is the sole attention of a distribution channel that already serves the market you are targeting. Many don't search hard enough for this advantage.

This is because many don't even understand the markets they are trying to serve. Each time I hear a startup struggling with marketing for what they think is a seemingly great idea, I tell them the truth that if the idea was truly great, the challenges would have been different.

Inbound > Outbound

The @mcuban equation for market fit. Very simple and to get more inbound, you look for what will make your life easy and not hard. Hard selling is NOT a virtue. Easy selling is the best advantage you can have in a market.

This is why telcos used the same channel others used for commodities to sell airtime. It is how they also sold financial services. It was the same market just consuming different products from the same entity.

Facebook can sell advertising as they have locked in billions of people. They can decide to also do other experiments. That ”focus” people keep telling startups to do should be qualified in Africa. Focus on getting distribution advantage, not focus on one product. Find what works

What Facebook, Google and others sell to you is access to a market they have cornered. It is now up to you to understand if that channel is the best for your market especially when they are still struggling in the emerging markets as you are. Try to be bought by them not buy them

What many people don't understand is that these major tech entities have traditional sales organizations that also try to find the best distribution to reach businesses that can advertise. What they are looking for in Africa and new markets is also distribution.

Facebook and Google still dey find market and money.

In summary, if they find the path to the market before you, they will sell you the market. Find your path. That is the greatest opportunity of emerging markets. Many more companies can still be acquired.

Finally:

Communities > App Stores.