Every time I have talked to a Nigerian programmer like me on building software as a service platform for the Nigerian market, the answer I always get is a negative one.

A times, I wonder what the problem is, it's not like we don't want to build or lack the knowledge to build, the problem lies with the users/customers who would rather not pay no matter how cheap or useful the app is, I mean what's there in paying N1,000 per month to use a software, it's not that expensive, these days, even road side food you could finish in minutes could cost you more, what then is stopping Nigerians from patronizing home grown subscription based apps ?

Every time you launch a utility app with a fee, all you hear is, "the app is nice, but make it free", how can it be free when I use my money to pay for servers to store data and spend my time to maintain it ? Why are Nigerians so unreasonable, are we too poor or just too stingy ?

Go ahead and build it..

Nigerians are like that..

We pay for Netflix no forget..

We pay for star link too..

We hardlyspeck the truth when it comes to the truth…

If Nairaland was subscription based even uou will not be on this forum. It is free and Seun is making his cool milions every month. So the key is not monthly subscriptions.

.

Make it relevant and addictive like NL...
You think if Seun after addicting you to NL...if he decides to create a paywall and NL subscription based...like 2m out of the 3m will pay

Seun is making his cool millions of Naira every month without any subscription. If this forum is subscription based no one will be on this forum

.

judatech:
Make it relevant and addictive like NL...
You think if Seun after addicting you to NL...if he decides to create a paywall and NL subscription based...like 2m out of the 3m will pay

Which 3m?
We are not more than 150 on Nairaland. I know all Nairalanders.

KillIgbohoN0W:


Which 3m?
We are not more than 150 on Nairaland. I know all Nairalanders.

So the stats dey lie...?

The world is too big to be making a software for only Nigerians. Think global.

judatech:
Make it relevant and addictive like NL...
You think if Seun after addicting you to NL...if he decides to create a paywall and NL subscription based...like 2m out of the 3m will pay

I don't think an app has to be addictive for users to pay, if it solves a problem, it's worth paying for

tensazangetsu20:
The world is too big to be making a software for only Nigerians. Think global.

You are diverting from my question, this discussion is solely focused on Nigeria. Why can't Nigerians pay, are we too poor or just too stingy ?

YoungCabal:
You are diverting from my question, this discussion is solely focused on Nigeria. Why can't Nigerians pay, are we too poor or just too stingy ?

Probably what you are making isn't valuable to Nigerians. People pay for what they find valuable.

YoungCabal:
Every time I have talked to a Nigerian programmer like me on building software as a service platform for the Nigerian market, the answer I always get is a negative one.

A times, I wonder what the problem is, it's not like we don't want to build or lack the knowledge to build, the problem lies with the users/customers who would rather not pay no matter how cheap or useful the app is, I mean what's there in paying N1,000 per month to use a software, it's not that expensive, these days, even road side food you could finish in minutes could cost you more, what then is stopping Nigerians from patronizing home grown subscription based apps ?

Every time you launch a utility app with a fee, all you hear is, "the app is nice, but make it free", how can it be free when I use my money to pay for servers to store data and spend my time to maintain it ? Why are Nigerians so unreasonable, are we too poor or just too stingy ?

Value! If the value is worth a thousand monthly, many people will pay for it if it meets their needs.

Secondly, everybody is not your customer... You might be approaching the wrong personas/avatars.

judatech:

So the stats dey lie...?

If you believe that 3m at the top of the website is the actual number of users then you still dey learn. It's free so one person can create 2000 usernames. Especially during political session. The real stats should be MAU

Nigerians love paying for entertainment and food


Anything else is not worth paying for


I personally don't fancy paying for app subscriptions and I will never pay for one.

judatech:
Make it relevant and addictive like NL...
You think if Seun after addicting you to NL...if he decides to create a paywall and NL subscription based...like 2m out of the 3m will pay

Most people would leave Nairaland if seun does that

And it'll be the end of Nairaland

tensazangetsu20:


Probably what you are making isn't valuable to Nigerians. People pay for what they find valuable.

You seem to have missed the part I mentioned that the same Nigerians confess that they find the apps useful but always demand that it should be made free instead

dawnomike:
Value! If the value is worth a thousand monthly, many people will pay for it if it meets their needs.

Secondly, everybody is not your customer... You might be approaching the wrong personas/avatars.

I believe if someone frequently uses an app, they use it because it provides value to them but Nigerians are always against paying no matter how small the fee is

Hideaki:
Nigerians love paying for entertainment and food


Anything else is not worth paying for


I personally don't fancy paying for app subscriptions and I will never pay for one.

I love your honesty ! That's just the pure truth, Nigerians don't like paying for apps. It's obvious from your response, it's out of shear stinginess not because you can't afford it, I wonder why we are like this, we don't like paying for apps and we would rather spam than pay for ads, it's why we can never have homegrown companies like the big microsoft, openai and the likes, the western part of the world has a culture for paying apps and that has been used to fuel innovation across the whole world, we will continue to remain behind for many years if you continue thinking everything that doesn't entertain you should be free, this attitude is why when AI are trained, less relevance is given to us, it's why our accounts are easily suspended on most platforms for very little offenses and most times when apps are launched, we are the last on the list to get to use it.

airsaylongcome:


If you believe that 3m at the top of the website is the actual number of users then you still dey learn. It's free so one person can create 2000 usernames. Especially during political session. The real stats should be MAU

What's MAU?

YoungCabal:
I love your honesty ! That's just the pure truth, Nigerians don't like paying for apps. It's obvious from your response, it's out of shear stinginess not because you can't afford it, I wonder why we are like this, we don't like paying for apps and we would rather spam than pay for ads, it's why we can never have homegrown companies like the big microsoft, openai and the likes, the western part of the world has a culture for paying apps and that has been used to fuel innovation across the whole world, we will continue to remain behind for many years if you continue thinking everything that doesn't entertain you should be free, this attitude is why when AI are trained, less relevance is given to us, it's why our accounts are easily suspended on most platforms for very little offenses and most times when apps are launched, we are the last on the list to get to use it.

Bro you don’t have to be angry, but your observation is valid. I have an app I made freemium for about a year. Few months ago I removed the Watch Ads to Use option and made it strictly subscriptions as Google took the app down from their store for some reasons. The number of emails I get from Nigerians and Indians on a daily asking stupid questions complaining why is the app no longer free is just too much. I no kuku send.

Best market is US by far. Those folks don’t mind and they will always take time to give honest reviews on your app. Only time most Nigerians take time to post a review na to complain.

Too stingy.

Millerules:


Bro you don’t have to be angry, but your observation is valid. I have an app I made freemium for about a year. Few months ago I removed the Watch Ads to Use option and made it strictly subscriptions as Google took the app down from their store for some reasons. The number of emails I get from Nigerians and Indians on a daily asking stupid questions complaining why is the app no longer free is just too much. I no kuku send.

Best market is US by far. Those folks don’t mind and they will always take time to give honest reviews on your app. Only time most Nigerians take time to post a review na to complain.

Nigerians are just something else, Indians even do better a times. Most of us spend N600 every two days just to buy data and watch tiktok and instagram videos but can't pay N1,000 for a whole month to use an app that we find valuable, it's irritating. I think we the developers are the cause, maybe if we all gang up and enforce a fee on every app without any free usage option, they will be forced to change. I'm glad big apps like chatgpt, facebook, tiktok and twitter are slapping subscriptions on everyone's face, we really need to learn the culture of paying for the apps we use.

CodeTemplar:
Too stingy.

Obviously ! It's stinginess not that they can't afford it.

judatech:

What's MAU?

Monthly Active Users

Making your software free and open source should be the goal

You can add a donation link in your software or a premium feature that the user will like

DyingFetus:
Making your software free and open source should be the goal

You can add a donation link in your software or a premium feature that the user will like

Don't let the open source rant you see all over the space get into your head, donations don't go far.

Your second point is what I am talking about, Nigerians don't like paying for it

You talking how many paid software do you use?

People have problems paying for premium to use any app no matter the country.


Standard of living and past exposure is the only difference other countries have against Nigeria.

Increase Nigerian standard of living and they won't mind parting some cash to pay for a service.


Why would they pay if there's a way to get it free?


I bet you if Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube becomes 100% a paid platform even you will have objections paying.




Only solution is to build a very good product worth what you're charging.... Even if some people don't pay or use illegal means to access your app, Others who pay will cover up your lost.


Forget USA or some European countries... Those ones have strict law for piracy and people who distribute hacked or pirated software/product which in turn discourages people to use or illegally access products.


Yes When it comes to using illegal means to access paid apps.



You will and must rank Nigeria below India, Pakistan or most asian countries


Why because it's those countries who creates the hack and cheats that Nigeria uses

BlackhatMentor:
You talking how many paid software do you use?

People have problems paying for premium to use any app no matter the country.


Standard of living and past exposure is the only difference other countries have against Nigeria.

Increase Nigerian standard of living and they won't mind parting some cash to pay for a service.


Why would they pay if there's a way to get it free?


I bet you if Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube becomes 100% a paid platform even you will have objections paying.




Only solution is to build a very good product worth what you're charging.... Even if some people don't pay or use illegal means to access your app, Others who pay will cover up your lost.


Forget USA or some European countries... Those ones have strict law for piracy and people who distribute hacked or pirated software/product which in turn discourages people to use or illegally access products.


Yes When it comes to using illegal means to access paid apps.



You will and must rank Nigeria below India, Pakistan or most asian countries


Why because it's those countries who creates the hack and cheats that Nigeria uses

This has nothing to do with standard of living, You have money to buy data 100 times within a month but can't pay N1,000 once for an app, it's pure stinginess

YoungCabal:
This has nothing to do with standard of living, You have money to buy data 100 times within a month but can't pay N1,000 once for an app, it's pure stinginess

What app are you even talking about?

Is it by force they use your app or what?

Because I know if an app is good people usually pay for it irrespective of country or anything.


There's usually a free version or test period for an app then people who love the app eventually opt in for pro version.


There's no way you won't get people to use pro version of an app if it's good after they test the free version.... OF course they're people who will always want free version.


If you insist Nigerians don't pay for Apps then you're underestimating the purchasing power of Nigerians and need to really study the Nigerian market before launching any app.


U usually only need as low as 10% or 15% of your total users to opt in for pro to stay profitable.


What you need is roll out free version and gather more users so people who love your app pay for pro.



If you want them to pay immediately without a trial period when you're not a household name then you're wasting your time irrespective of the market

Which kind of application the guy self dey talk about cos I don't understand. Why is the guy so pained like that? In every app there is free version and go pro version for users. Free version will be limited to some options that pro version has so this is how to run an application. If users find your application worthy, application that solve their problem they will keep coming back even pay for the pro version.
Mind you! There are a lot of users who will always want free version.

YoungCabal:
I love your honesty ! That's just the pure truth, Nigerians don't like paying for apps. It's obvious from your response, it's out of shear stinginess not because you can't afford it, I wonder why we are like this, we don't like paying for apps and we would rather spam than pay for ads, it's why we can never have homegrown companies like the big microsoft, openai and the likes, the western part of the world has a culture for paying apps and that has been used to fuel innovation across the whole world, we will continue to remain behind for many years if you continue thinking everything that doesn't entertain you should be free, this attitude is why when AI are trained, less relevance is given to us, it's why our accounts are easily suspended on most platforms for very little offenses and most times when apps are launched, we are the last on the list to get to use it.

The western world you mentioned have strict laws in place to reduce software piracy. So ask yourself why the western world have these strict piracy laws in place?

YoungCabal:
You are diverting from my question, this discussion is solely focused on Nigeria. Why can't Nigerians pay, are we too poor or just too stingy ?

Nigerians are too poor. One way to know how people are poor, check what they spend the most on. If it is food, then they are poor.