Abuja, Nigeria – In February 2019, Eat’n’Go, the Nigerian franchisee of popular pizza maker Domino’s, introduced a miniature version of the pizza boxes the market was familiar with, for 550 naira ($1.50).
Smaller in size and far cheaper than the medium-sized pizza which costs N3,900 ($9), this new version was designed to be affordable for everyone.
It was a necessary decision given the economic instability at the time, CEO Patrick Michael told Al Jazeera.
“The Nigerian market is diverse, and the potential for profit remains high,” he said. “However, we can’t overlook the economic instability [which] has, in some way, affected purchasing power. At times like this, it becomes pertinent for industry players like ourselves to cushion the effect of this situation on customers.”
Two years earlier, StarTimes, a Chinese satellite TV provider with a strong presence in Nigeria, had added daily and weekly subscriptions – with fewer channels – at N60 (15 cents) and N300 (72 cents) respectively, to its existing monthly option.
Since 2015, Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has gone into recession twice and in that time, the naira has plummeted against the dollar, losing 70 percent of its value. That put the economy in a chokehold. But things could become even worse in the coming days.
According to a recent World Bank report [PDF], by 2022, the number of poor people in the country is projected to reach 95.1 million – more than 40 percent of the population. And even as the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic linger, commodity prices are on the rise due to the effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A 2022 report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), shows that Nigeria’s annual inflation rate accelerated for the third straight month to 16.82% in April 2022, from 15.92% in March. It was the steepest rise in inflation since August 2021 and follows the trend of a global surge in commodity prices.
For Nigerians, the end result is a huge depletion of their purchasing power and ultimately, less money in their accounts.
Indeed, while there were 133.5 million active bank accounts in the country as of December 2021, 99% of those accounts had less than 500,000 naira ($1,200), according to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.
A response to market reality
To cope with this reality, businesses like Eat’n’Go are turning to sachet marketing as a strategy to stay in business.
Scholars Rodolfo P. Ang and Joseph A. Sy-Changco of Ateneo de Manila University in The Philippines, define sachet marketing as “the effort to increase market penetration for one’s product by making it available in smaller, more affordable packs…a tool for penetrating the market at the bottom of the economic pyramid.”
Colloquially referred to as ‘sachetisation’, it has been around in Nigeria for decades and is prevalent in other emerging markets like The Phillippines and India.
Fast-moving consumer goods businesses (FMCGs) adopted it for items like “‘pure water”, powdered milk and instant noodle packs. This, Shakirudeen Taiwo, a Nigerian economist, told Al Jazeera, allowed the companies to cater to up to 80% of the market.
But in recent years, brands have ramped up the strategy, as a new economic reality set in. These products are now sold in even smaller sachets or small nylon bags.
“As at last count, we have over 75% of households in Nigeria living below $3-5 per day, which is huge,” Taiwo said. “So, companies start modelling their products to fit this income bracket of people since they make up the bulk of the population.”
Doing this helps businesses reach more customers and maximise profits as they can sell more products at a cumulatively higher price. But more importantly for buyers, it cushions the effects of inflation even if they have to sacrifice quantity and in some cases, quality, too.
How sachet marketing plays out in Nigeria’s tech industry
The trend is also playing out in Nigeria’s tech industry and influencing how more startups are thinking about product pricing.
The industry may still be in its infancy but is highly regarded around the world. In 2021, approximately 60 percent ($1.7bn) of the total amount ($2.9bn) raised by Africa-based tech startups went to Nigeria alone.
But even giants bow to market forces.
Many technology firms appeal to younger Nigerians because they ease bureaucratic and expensive processes of investing, saving, buying insurance, and accessing loans by introducing lower fees and cheaper payment plans, among other things.
Yanmo Omorogbe, co-founder and COO of investment platform Bamboo, says companies like hers must consider market realities to reach product-market-fit. Leveraging its partnership with a US broker-dealer, Bamboo allows Nigerians to participate in the US stock market with as little as $10.
“Here [in Nigeria], the majority of people are working hard to escape the trap of the poverty line,” Omorogbe told Al Jazeera. “A small middle class is being pulled in different directions, and then you have an equally small segment of high-net-worth individuals.
“Your strategies will need to account for the differences, but the core product should be able to accommodate everyone,” she said. “For us, it meant adding features like fractional shares that allow people to invest with what they have and also lowering the minimums so you can get more people in.”
Eke Urum, Lagos-based investor and financial analyst agrees, saying the strategy is “a response to a bad reality” as “demand backed by purchasing power is getting smaller.”
Rise, the fintech startup he runs, allows Nigerians to make dollar investments into real estate and the stock market in the United States, with as little as $1.
In Nigeria where insurance penetration is less than 2%, Reliance Health, a startup, created a system where people do not have to be formally employed to access health insurance. It introduced plans from 3,500 naira ($7) to 148,500 naira ($297) that allow users to pay monthly, quarterly, or annually.
A solution or a problem?
The Nigerian government seemed to understand this, too, when it launched a micro-pension scheme in 2019.
It expanded the country’s contributory pension scheme to allow individuals in the informal and semi-formal industries to create accounts without a plan sponsor – typically their employer – and save small amounts over a long period.
While the scheme has not fully caught on yet for various reasons, it illustrates the state of the market and how institutions operating here are adapting.
But experts and industry stakeholders say satchetisation is as much of an innovative solution as it is evidence of a large-scale problem.
“[It] can be a form of democratisation where companies desire to bring products to people who otherwise cannot afford them,” said Bamboo’s Omorogbe. “But a second perspective is that rapidly growing poverty, where most people in the economy can’t afford [a] product or service and are increasingly moving farther away from affording them.”
As inflation rises while purchasing power inversely declines, more companies in various sectors of the economy could turn to sachetisation, even service providers that previously served only the upper and middle class.
“A trip to the mall will show you that the concept of sachetisation is gaining more traction,” Taiwo said. “We might also start seeing it in terms of services. Companies offering integrated services might start offering specific services at lower prices [to] ensure affordability and business survival.”
VANCOUVER – Supervised injection sites are saving the lives of drug users everyday, but the same support is not being offered to people who inhale illicit drugs, the head of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS says.
Dr. Julio Montaner said the construction of Vancouver’s first indoor supervised site for people who inhale drugs comes as the percentage of people who die from smoking drugs continues to climb.
The location in the Downtown Eastside at the Hope to Health Research and Innovation Centre was unveiled Wednesday after construction was complete, and Montaner said people could start using the specialized rooms in a matter of weeks after final approvals from the city and federal government.
“If we don’t create mechanisms for these individuals to be able to use safely and engage with the medical system, and generate points of entry into the medical system, we will never be able to solve the problem,” he said.
“Now, I’m not here to tell you that we will fix it tomorrow, but denying it or ignoring it, or throw it under the bus, or under the carpet is no way to fix it, so we need to take proactive action.”
Nearly two-thirds of overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2023 came after smoking illicit drugs, yet only 40 per cent of supervised consumption sites in the province offer a safe place to smoke, often outdoors, in a tent.
The centre has been running a supervised injection site for years which sees more than a thousand people monthly and last month resuscitated five people who were overdosing.
The new facilities offer indoor, individual, negative-pressure rooms that allow fresh air to circulate and can clear out smoke in 30 to 60 seconds while users are monitored by trained nurses.
Advocates calling for more supervised inhalation sites have previously said the rules for setting up sites are overly complicated at a time when the province is facing an overdose crisis.
More than 15,000 people have died of overdoses since the public health emergency was declared in B.C. in April 2016.
Kate Salters, a senior researcher at the centre, said they worked with mechanical and chemical engineers to make sure the site is up to code and abidies by the highest standard of occupational health and safety.
“This is just another tool in our tool box to make sure that we’re offering life-saving services to those who are using drugs,” she said.
Montaner acknowledged the process to get the site up and running took “an inordinate amount of time,” but said the centre worked hard to follow all regulations.
“We feel that doing this right, with appropriate scientific background, in a medically supervised environment, etc, etc, allows us to derive the data that ultimately will be sufficiently convincing for not just our leaders, but also the leaders across the country and across the world, to embrace the strategies that we are trying to develop.” he said.
Montaner said building the facility was possible thanks to a single $4-million donation from a longtime supporter.
Construction finished with less than a week before the launch of the next provincial election campaign and within a year of the next federal election.
Montaner said he is concerned about “some of the things that have been said publicly by some of the political leaders in the province and in the country.”
“We want to bring awareness to the people that this is a serious undertaking. This is a very massive investment, and we need to protect it for the benefit of people who are unfortunately drug dependent.” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
FREDERICTON – The six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick distributed a survey on Indigenous issues to political parties ahead of the provincial election, which is scheduled to kick off Thursday. Here are some of the answers from the Progressive Conservative, Liberal and Green parties.
Q: How does your party plan to demonstrate a renewed commitment to recognizing our joint treaty responsibilities and acknowledging that the lands and waters of this territory remain unceded?
Progressive Conservative: The party respectfully disagrees with the assertion that land title has been unceded. This is a legal question that has not been determined by the courts.
Liberal: When we form government, the first conversations the premier-designate will have is with First Nations leaders. We will publicly and explicitly acknowledge your treaty rights, and our joint responsibility as treaty people.
Green: The Green Party acknowledges that New Brunswick is situated on the unceded and unsurrendered territories of the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq and Peskotomuhkati peoples, covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship. Our party is committed to establishing true nation-to-nation relationships with First Nations, grounded in mutual respect and co-operation as the treaties intended.
Q: How does your party propose to approach the issue of provincial tax agreements with First Nations?
Progressive Conservative: The government of New Brunswick operates in a balanced and fair manner with all organizations, institutions and local governments that represent the citizens of this province, including First Nations. Therefore, we cannot offer tax agreements that do not demonstrate a benefit to all citizens.
Liberal: Recent discussions with First Nations chiefs shed light on the gaps that existed in the previous provincial tax agreements with First Nations. Our party is committed to negotiating and establishing new tax agreements with First Nations that address the local needs and priorities and ensure all parties have a fair deal.
Green: The Green Party is committed to fostering a respectful relationship with First Nations in New Brunswick and strongly opposes Premier Blaine Higgs’s decision to end tax-sharing agreements. We believe reinstating these agreements is crucial for supporting the economic development and job creation in First Nation communities.
Q: How will your party ensure more meaningful participation of Indigenous communities in provincial land use and resource management decision-making?
Progressive Conservative: The government of New Brunswick has invested significant resources in developing a robust duty to consult and engagement process. We are interested in fully involving First Nations in the development of natural resources, including natural gas development. We believe that the development of natural gas is better for the environment — because it allows for the shutdown of coal-fired power plants all over the globe — and it allows for a meaningful step along the path to reconciliation.
Liberal: Our party is focused on building strong relations with First Nations and their representatives based on mutual respect and a nation-to-nation relationship, with a shared understanding of treaty obligations and a recognition of your rights. This includes having First Nations at the table and engaged on all files, including land-use and resource management.
Green: We will develop a new Crown lands management framework with First Nations, focusing on shared management that respects the Peace and Friendship Treaties. We will enhance consultation by developing parameters for meaningful consultation with First Nations that will include a dispute resolution mechanism, so the courts become the last resort, not the default in the face of disagreements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A crew member of a Canadian Coast Guard ship has been lost at sea off southern Newfoundland.
The agency said in a release Wednesday that an extensive search and rescue effort for the man was ended Tuesday evening.
He was reported missing on Monday morning when the CCGS Vincent Massey arrived in St. John’s, N.L.
The coast guard says there was an “immediate” search on the vessel for the crew member and when he wasn’t located the sea and air search began.
Wednesday’s announcement said the agency was “devastated to confirm” the crew member had been lost at sea, adding that decisions to end searches are “never taken lightly.”
The coast guard says the employee was last seen on board Sunday evening as the vessel sailed along the northeast coast of Newfoundland.
Spokeswoman Kariane Charron says no other details are being provided at this time and that the RCMP will be investigating the matter as a missing person case.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
