For Dr Kayode Thomas, founder of Rifugio Communications Limited, the puzzle is not why phones are expensive in Nigeria, but why many people assume importers are profiteering.

He argues that the price gap between China and Nigeria is largely explained by structural costs, not greed. Phones may be cheaper in Chinese markets, he says, but Nigerians who compare prices online often ignore what it takes to move a device from a Shenzhen factory floor to a Lagos showroom.

Import duties, port charges, demurrage on delayed containers, and a volatile exchange rate all pile onto the landing cost of each phone. On top of that sit the everyday realities of doing business in Nigeria: high commercial rents, staff salaries, electricity, water, internet, security, and the cost of financing inventory in a fragile economy.

When all of this is factored in, Thomas insists, the final retail price is less a mark-up than a survival strategy. In many cases, he maintains, once you convert what a phone costs abroad into naira at prevailing rates, the difference is marginal. The added value in Nigeria, he notes, is after-sales support.

“If you buy a phone overseas and it develops a fault in Nigeria, you are essentially on your own until you travel again,” he explains. “When you buy locally, you get a warranty and peace of mind for up to two years. That service has a cost.”

Rifugio, which began as what Thomas calls a “pet project,” has grown into a nationwide retail and enterprise player with more than two dozen outlets, corporate clients and online stores. The company offers device financing, trade-ins, insurance and other bundled services designed to keep Nigerians connected despite economic shocks.

Those shocks have been severe. Currency devaluations have made imported phones sharply more expensive, depressing demand. The pandemic briefly froze consumer spending before remote work and online meetings triggered a rebound in device upgrades. Through it all, Thomas says, Rifugio has focused on resilience and long-term opportunity in a country where the population and appetite for technology keep rising.

He believes government’s most powerful intervention would be to stabilise the economy and the exchange rate, allowing businesses to plan. Until then, he urges entrepreneurs to stay patient and dogged, describing Nigeria as a rose bush: full of thorns, but still worth reaching into for the bloom.