So another thing that has been happening in this country is the talent shortage. There was a particular news that was trending in my country. About a company owner who made a statement that they are open for a vacancy of 500 guys in tech.
And he's saying that all over the country he couldn't get 500 people to fill in that position. That statement did not go well with a lot of people. Though some people are actually saying that he's lying and he's exaggerating.
Some are saying that that is actually true. To me, I don't believe he's true. And the reason is simple.
You see, when we talk of a company as big as Moneypoint. Telling us that they are struggling to fill over 500 vacancy. Due to lack of qualified Nigerians to fill in the job.
Because they are using the global standard kind of a thing. For me, I think that is a matter of training and developing. You are not a startup.
It's a startup that can actually have that issue. It cannot be for a company that has been in the game for close to 10 years now. And they've developed a multi-billion dollar company financial market base.
The notion that a company cannot find a suitable candidate among thousands of applicants points to a fundamental misalignment in our organization's approach to hiring. Moneypoint itself demonstrated this paradox when they selected just 20 people from 9,000 applicants for a tech talent development program. The irony is impossible to miss.
If the talent truly doesn't exist, why did 9,000 people apply? If only 20 were deemed suitable, then what criteria are we using to define being qualified? We can go on and on around this table. But trust me, this country can do better when it comes to looking at things in a good way. There is a cost that comes with running a perfect game.
If you are not running after perfection, then I think there are some things that you can make do with. You can intern some young guys who are coming into the game. Or you can train them.
Or do everything possible. Vacancies remain open for months. Existing teams become overboarding and projects get delayed.
Meanwhile, talented individuals who could excel in those roles with three to six months of structured training are passed over because they don't need arbitrary experience threshold. This perfectionism becomes especially problematic in emerging markets like Nigeria, where formal education, training, and infrastructure may not perfectly align with global corporate standards, but raw intelligence, problem-solving ability, and determination aren't in short supply. There is also this idea of build versus buy, which is a talent question.
Some people are saying that it should build the database of skill sets that he wants. Some people are saying so far the company is a multi-billionaire company. They should just buy the talent off the market and pay them their standard and let them work.
But all this is still open to a lot of things. Whenever a CEO is coming out to say this kind of a thing, I don't even know what to put the entire scenario. But he's sending the wrong signal of an underdeveloped country to outside world, and I don't really find that okay with him.