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It was a completely new experience. I’d been in many countries and cities, but what I saw and felt in Nigeria has changed my view of the world entirely. We spent four days in Lagos, Africa’s largest city. Our team came to Nigeria at the invitation of prospective partners to experience everything first-hand, study the growing Nigerian market, and make a decision on the possibility of bringing the Dodo Pizza brand to this country. So what have I learned in Nigeria?

I saw what an unsafe environment looks like. I’ve been to different places, but...

Nigeria. You leave the British Airways plane and simply enter a different world. I’ve seen rough places, but compared to this country, they were just Disneylands. It doesn’t even look like Russia in the 90s. It’s a real stern Africa. I realized that this wasn’t a game when two cars arrived to pick us up at the airport—a black Land Cruiser and an off-road vehicle with a flasher. It was full of guys in uniform with assault rifles. They escorted us up to our hotel encircled by a huge metal fence in the city’s richest district. We were driving through this city, strangely dark, but filled with cars and people jumping in front of the vehicles stuck in traffic jams to offer some snacks. From the highway, we saw a glowing and enormous Domino’s sign. For now, they are alone here, but the first Pizza Hut is opening soon… It’s a country of big risks and opportunities.

Departing for Nigeria. Nigeria is a country with the highest GDP in Africa. Oil, 190 million citizens, 13 million of them in Lagos, which is considered one of the world’s most dangerous cities. You better steer clear of certain districts there. At the same time, Nigeria is a market for the future. It will see growth for sure. Domino’s Pizza is already building its business there. Their unit in Abuja, the country’s capital, is among the most profitable pizzerias in the whole global chain. There are no other international pizza brands in the country—yet. We’re going to Lagos at the invitation of prospective partners who are building a food retail business in the country and are interested in Dodo. We want to get to know each other better, study the market and experience it firsthand, and make a decision on our partnership in bringing the Dodo Pizza brand to Nigeria.

Dodo Pizza is coming soon to the welcoming and beautiful Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. For our first pizzeria, we secured an awesome location close both to the old city center and Metelkova, the famous underground district.