I’m Abel G. and I live in the largest city in Nigeria. In 2018, at the dawn of a fateful day, I had an idea that would shape the manner in which people trade within my city. It was going to be a fantastic app for businesses and the intention was to link customers and shop owners. So I put together a team since I read computer science.

Fast forward to November of 2019, after blood, toil, and sweat, the app was ready so we decided that we were going to launch at private universities first because our market survey suggested that. We spent the whole of the last quarter of 2019 seeking approval at a private university that is just a few kilometers away from my city. Meetings upon meetings, adjustments upon adjustments, finally, the approval would be given in March of 2020 after some due diligence.

I was very hopeful about the forthcoming approval so I began a fundraising campaign with my colleagues. This was an idea that had touched down on my soul some 15 months back and now, it was coming alive after so much struggle. I sent out our business model to many potential investors and one of them was a retired general. We met in February, at the time, the news of the novel virus was just outside Africa so we didn’t really brace for any impact because we thought that our government would shutdown airports and seaports early enough.

Sadly, my expectations were cut short. in March of 2020, I received a call from the private university, the time had come for us to get the deal. It was either going to be an approval of our business deal or disapproval. I informed my team and we were set to go the next day but unfortunately, the federal government declared a nationwide lockdown on the day we were to go.

Furthermore, some of the potential investors we were to meet with, canceled the meetings due to the impact of COVID-19. March was supposed to be my major month of a breakthrough but my plans were collapsed. The fundraising campaign was called off and we are now like watchdogs, looking for a beam of hope.