Uber, GSK, ShopRite and oda foreign companies wey don comot for Nigeria - why dem dey leave?

Nigerians wake up on Wednesday to hear di tori say online ride hailing company Uber dey close down dia business for Nigeria and dey comot for di kontri.

Uber say dem dey comot for Nigeria afta spending close to 12 years.

Di company say na "veri difficult decision" for dem to comot for Nigeria but dem gatz do am sake of dia "business priorities".

According to dem, di decision dey specific to Nigeria and Uganda and no affect Uber operations for oda African markets".

Just like Uber, some oda major foreign companies don leave di kontri sake of one reason or di oda.

Hia na list of ten companies wey don comot for Nigeria in di past five years.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

GlaxoSmithKline na company wey dey produce majorly pharmaceutical products and oda goods.

Di British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company bin dey produce products like Panadol and Sensodyne.

Di company shut down dia business for 2023 and pack comot from Nigeria.

Dem no dey specific about di exact reason dem leave di kontri. However some of di complaints dem bin dey lay out months and years bifor dem comot di kontri na scarcity of forex.

For di company 2023 H1 report, dem lament say di business environment dey continue to dey veri challenging as foreign exchange (FX) no dey too dey available and e dey affect dia ability to settle businesses wey dem need to pay wit foreign currency.

GSK Nigeria say "e don dey difficult to dey maintain consistent supply to di market,"

Di company operate for Nigeria for 51-years bifor dem close market.

Dem now adopt distributor-led model to supply products to Nigeria.

Anoda reason be say di company complain say dem dey face increased competition from local companies and imports from India and China.

ShopRite

For 2021, one owner of di South African outfit sell dia shares for dia business for Nigeria. Locals buy ova di share and begin operate as franchise.

Dem say dem decide to leave sake of tough operating environment, currency devaluation, and foreign exchange shortages.

However, dia local franchise company Ketron Investment continue to dey operate.

But for March 2026, di last ShopRite outfit for Nigeria also close dia shop sake of di state of di kontri economy.

Di trading company bin enta Nigeria for 2005 and become di tok of di town.

Many families bin depend on dem for household supplies and dia retail prices bin dey pocket friendly to plenty customers.

Since dem comot for Nigeria, plenti supermarkets and shops dey try fit into di business brand pattern and fill di gap.

Proctor and Gamble (P&G)

Procter & Gamble (P&G) na di main producers of different household items wey include Ariel, Tide, Downy, Gain, Cascade, Dawn, and Febreze.

Dem dey also produce Pampers, Always, and Tampax plus Bounty and Charmin.

Na dem dey also produce Crest, Oral-B, and Vicks plus Gillette and Braun.

Dem end dia local manufacturing operations for Nigeria for 2023.

Di reason dem give be say di company dey face high cost of production and find am hard to access currency.

Dem still dey sell dia products for Nigeria but dem dey import am from oda kontri.

Diageo PLC

Diageo PLC na di parent company wey dey produce Guinness drinks.

Dem decide to leave di Nigerian market and sell di company to anoda local company for 2024.

Diageo PLC sell dia 58.02% majority stake for Guinness Nigeria to di Tolaram Group sake of severe inflation, currency devaluation, and high operating costs wey according to dem make direct local production unprofitable to dem.

Dem tok say harsh economic climate and rapidly rising costs and unstable economic policies make am hard for dem to run large manufacturing business.

Dem also complain of currency devaluation. According to dem, di steep drop in di value of Nigeria naira against foreign currencies drive up di cost of imported materials and operations.

Dem also raise di issue of low consumer spending wey occur sake of high inflation for di kontri. Dem say pipo no get money again to make purchase, so dem dey face low demand.

Afta di sale, di Singapore-based Tolaram Group bin take ova majority shares of Guinness Nigeria.

Diageo go still maintain ownership of di global Guinness brand, but dem license am to Guinness Nigeria for long-term local production.

Unilever

Unilever na anoda ogbonge company wey millions of Nigerians dey depend on dia products for daily use.

Na dem dey produce detergents like Omo, Sunlight and Lux soap.

Dem no entirely leave Nigeria but dem end production and sales of some products for Nigeria and move di production of dose products to outside di kontri.

However dem begin produce oda products wey fit give dem profit inside Nigeria.

Analysts say several severe economic factors force Unilever Nigeria to shrink dia operations.

Di company complain of persistent shortage of US dollars and historic devaluation of Nigerian naira, say e make am expensive for dem to import raw materials or to service foreign debt.

Dem suffer massive drop in revenue too sake of high inflation as pipo no gree bring out money to buy products again.

Anoda issue di company raise na heavy cost dem incur sake of unreliable power supply and also complain of unpredictable govment policy changes wey dey badly affect local manufacturing.