Manufacturers of locally electric inverter have capitalised on the epileptic nature of electricity supply to create regular streams of income for themselves. An inverter is an electrical device that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The inverter is similar to electric generator. However, while a generator makes noise, an inverter does not. Lack of steady supply of electricity in the country has created a very robust market for operators in the inverter-making business. Of course, the inverter form mainly used in Nigeria is battery-backed. A back-up battery provides power to a system when the primary source of power is unavailable. Back-up batteries range from small single cells (meant) to retain clock time and date in computers to large battery room facilities that power uninterruptible power supply systems for large data centres. Small back-up batteries may be primary cells. Rechargeable back-up batteries are kept charged by the prime power supply.Some unemployed Nigerians, especially youths have taken advantage of the lucrative local inverter market to make a living for themselves. One of such youths is Mr. Remi Afariogun, who resides at Iyana-Oba, a Lagos suburb. Afariogun, who left a tertiary institution a few years ago, says he has worked in many one-man business companies without anything to show for his sojourn. The inverter maker, who married about four years ago, says he chose to go into inverter making to make better income for himself and his family. He says, "I started out by learning how to produce the inverter from a friend, who is into the line of business. This was in 2009. Within six months, I became an expert in the making of inverters. "However, I chose to spend more time with my friend for some months in order to gain more experience in terms of marketing and other schemes. In 2010, I decided to start my own. It has been interesting since then. I have not regretted the decision to go into this line of business." Afariogun, who is the Managing Director of Adrevin Technologies, says he started improving after he started his own inverter making business. According to him, there are several small and medium scale enterprises among his clientele. Several individuals, who are fed up with power outages in the country, have also become his clients. Apart from selling the locally made inverters, the Adrevin boss says his company also offers after sales service to buyers of his products. This, he says, is usually at reduced prices. "Those of us making inverters are getting more patronage because of the after sales service we provide. There are lots of imported inverters but people hardly get to find people that can repair them whenever they develop faults. And this is usually because of the way they were manufactured. But the ones we make locally are easily repaired whenever they develop fault," he adds. Mr. Theophilus Ekundayo, another inverter maker in Ikorodu, says although imported inverters have their own advantages, it is always good to patronise "manufacturers whom the buyers have access to." The inverter expert, a polytechnic graduate, further notes that locally made inverters have their own advantages over the imported ones. Information has it that Ekundayo, the managing director of Rehotech Power Solutions, has been rated one of the best in that line of business in the state. He is said to have travelled to Ghana and other states in Nigeria to build and install inverters. "There is no other power source as economical as electricity. Inverter is an alternative to electricity," says the Rehoboth boss. On the training of apprentice, Ekundayo says he does not have a fixed price, stressing that educational background and other factors are usually taken into consideration. He says, "I am not among those people that promise to teach you how to make inverter in one day, and thereby take your money without any result. When I want to teach you, then I know I must let you know all that you need to know."On the prices of the inverters, Afariogun says a 2000 watts inverters goes for N65,000; 3,000 watts for N90,000; 5,000 watts for N120,000; 7,500 watts N150,000; and 10,000, N230,000. Afariogun says a prospective student may be asked to pay N70,000 for training. Depending on educational background, he notes that the skill may be mastered in less than a year. After learning how to make an inverter, a student needs about N20,000 to buy tools for making the inverter. Mr. Sola Adeola, another inverter maker in Gbagada, says the business has helped to lift his status significantly. Adeola, who recalls that life used to be very tough until he discovered the line of business, also stresses that the venture is quite lucrative. According to him, he makes several inverters on a quarterly basis.
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