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Corporate Story: The rise and fall of HiTV

In this latest installment of Corporate Stories, we are going to tell the story of a young man, who dared to take on a mighty monopoly with his start-up. The story navigates through the murky waters of corporate competition. It is about displacing a corporate monopoly and the perils of riding that success. It navigates the […]

Toyin Subair
Toyin Subair Founder and CEO of the defunct HiTV

In this latest installment of Corporate Stories, we are going to tell the story of a young man, who dared to take on a mighty monopoly with his start-up.

The story navigates through the murky waters of corporate competition. It is about displacing a corporate monopoly and the perils of riding that success.

It navigates the intersection between crony capitalism, patient capital and executive exuberance. It serves as a lesson for any self-determined visionary out there who is building a start-up to take on the next vulnerable monopoly.


Defeating the monopoly

“Power is about to change hands,” a newspaper headline read in late 2006.

A week before then, on November  6, 2006 to be precise, a competitive bid was being held somewhere in the United Kingdom. For the first time, a “proudly Nigerian owned” company was about to displace a foreign owned monopoly that had cornered Africa’s largest market for about 13 years.