Hello, I'm Peter Mac Job. This is Business Daily from the BBC World Service.

On today's program, we'll be looking at the role of the middleman and how it impacts Africa's economy.

Are middlemen predatory rent seekers looking to cash in on other people's transactions?

Or are they indeed the invisible

link that connect businesses and serve as cultural brokers?

Basically, speaking generally in Nigeria, there's no business, none at all, that you

need a middleman.

Everything involves a middleman.

The middleman is not necessarily a negative part of businesses,

especially for investors coming in into Africa.

That's all to come on Business Daily on the BBC World Service.

A middleman, in general terms, is an intermediary who facilitates business interactions between parties for a commission or a fee.

They come in various shapes and sizes, from small companies to large corporations.

Middermen are known to also make money by selling products or services for more than its purchase price.

The term middleman comes with a negative connotation, particularly from a Western standpoint.

But in Africa, the verdict is far from unequivocal because your view of who a middleman is depends on what sort of business you run

and your encounter with a middleman.

Bola or Molulu, a local businessman, has had many of such encounters.

Basically, in my environment, I'm speaking generally in Nigeria, there's no business, none at all, that you only the middleman.

Everything involves a middleman. Even getting a spouse, even getting a house, getting a car, getting a school for your kids, everything involves a middleman because there's so much distrust amongst establishment and institutions.

How so?

Corruption has been institutionalized in our environment here.

...