During a New Year media session themed “Setting the Narrative for the Year,” leadership from the wellness and lifestyle giant outlined a shift from reactive damage control to a fact-based “Contribution Model.”

The goal for 2026? To move the needle from speculation to clarity in its most critical growth market: Nigeria.

The Three Pillars of the QNET 2026 Strategy

Ayokunmi Solesi, general manager of QNET Nigeria, identified three technical pillars that will define the company’s “Energised Every Day” theme for the fiscal year:

Entrepreneurship Development: Positioning direct selling as a viable economic engine in markets with high informal employment.

Compliance & Consumer Protection: Establishing a “zero-tolerance” policy for fraudulent recruitment and unauthorized brand representation.

Wellness Product Innovation: Leveraging research-driven solutions to meet the rising consumer demand for preventative healthcare.

Addressing the ‘Brand Misuse’ Deficit

A significant portion of the roadmap focuses on Legal and Regulatory Alignment. Kwasi Fredua Agyeman Danso, QNET’s regional legal counsel, emphasized that the company’s 2026 success is tied to its ability to differentiate legitimate direct selling from the “misunderstandings” that often plague the sector.

The strategy involves a “transparency loop” where journalists participate in international conventions and product education expos.

This is designed to create a verifiable audit trail of the company’s operations, ensuring that regulators and consumers can distinguish between official QNET opportunities and rogue actors.

“Strict adherence to regulatory frameworks and zero tolerance for brand misuse… remain non-negotiable,” Solesi stated, reinforcing that Nigeria is the “critical growth market” where these standards will be most rigorously tested.

From Controversy to Contribution

Reflecting on 2025, Cherif Bassirou Abdoulaye Sarr, the deputy regional general manager, noted that collaborative media efforts have already begun to move the conversation toward QNET’s actual economic impact.

By prioritizing “fact-based engagement,” the company aims to build what Solesi calls a “Proactive Narrative.”

The Governance Challenge in Direct Selling

For QNET, 2026 is a “Foundational Infrastructure” year. QNET is attempting to build a Digital Trust System within a business model that has historically operated in a regulatory grey area.

By integrating KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYB (Know Your Business) principles into their recruitment and distribution channels, QNET is attempting to professionalize its independent representative (IR) network.

In a market like Nigeria, where the informal economy is the primary employer, the success of this “Ethical Entrepreneurship” model depends entirely on the company’s ability to enforce its compliance protocols at the “last mile” of recruitment.

Against this backdrop, QNET, a global wellness and lifestyle company, says it is repositioning ethical direct selling as part of the solution, not as a quick-income promise, but as a regulated, transparent pathway into micro-entrepreneurship, as it outlines its Nigeria-focused strategy heading into 2026.

With nearly three decades of experience in the wellness and lifestyle segment, QNET has operated in Nigeria through independent distributors and digital sales channels. QNET has been officially operating in Nigeria since  April 2021.

In recent years, regulators have intensified oversight of informal and semi-formal business models amid growing concerns around consumer protection, transparency, and fraud, reshaping expectations for how direct-selling companies operate in the country.

For Nigeria, where millions of young people rely on informal income streams, the distinction between legitimate direct selling and fraudulent schemes has become a policy and consumer-protection priority.

“Against this backdrop, QNET’s 2026 strategy for Nigeria will place integrity, strict regulatory compliance, and responsible stakeholder engagement at the centre of its operations. As the company adapts to tighter oversight and evolving market conditions, we believe ethical entrepreneurship must be anchored in transparency and accountability if it is to remain a credible pathway for economic participation, particularly for young Nigerians facing limited formal employment opportunities,” says Ayokunmi Solesi, general manager for QNET in Nigeria.

At the core of QNET’s direct-selling model are product value, transparent compensation structures, and strict adherence to consumer protection standards, principles aligned with the global direct selling industry’s performance as reported in the WFDSA 2024 STATS Report, which showed the channel generating around $164 billion in retail sales and supporting more than 104 million independent representatives worldwide.

QNET’s model ensures that Independent Distributors (IDs) earn solely from verified product sales rather than recruitment-based incentives, reinforcing the distinction between legitimate direct selling and illicit schemes.

This distinction, earning from products rather than recruitment, is widely recognized by regulators as the primary line separating ethical direct selling from pyramid-style schemes.

By prioritizing verifiable product demand and transparent earnings, QNET supports sustainable income opportunities and professional skill development that contribute positively to Nigeria’s formal economy.

Product innovation remains a key pillar of QNET’s 2026 outlook in Nigeria. Through its partner Transblue Limited since 2022, the company has hosted workshops and expos, such as the 2025 Lagos Product Expo, to promote innovation and youth opportunities.

These events showcased certified wellness products while addressing misconceptions, with over 8,000 attendees at the Abuja edition alone.

QNET’s product portfolio spans health, wellness, personal care, home living & living. At the heart of its wellness category are the Amezcua range of products – including the Amezcua Bio Disc and Chi Pendant  – which remain among the company’s most recognised offerings and are widely used for personal well-being and lifestyle optimisation. Complementing these are timepieces and accessories under the Bernhard H. Mayer brand, including the OMNI Watch, which earned a Silver Stevie Award in 2025 for its sustainability-forward design.

Together, these products reflect QNET’s continued emphasis on certified wellness, durability, and long-term consumer value within Nigeria’s growing lifestyle and wellness market.

Beyond product innovation, consumer protection is expected to be a central pillar of QNET’s strategy, amid rising financial fraud in Nigeria.

Building on recent advocacy and enforcement efforts, the company says it is expanding both preventive and defensive measures to safeguard consumers.

In an environment where financial fraud continues to undermine public trust, QNET says consumer education and institutional accountability must go hand in hand.

The company’s “Say NO!” public awareness campaign, launched in 2023, focused on helping citizens identify fraudulent schemes through mass outreach and community engagement across Nigeria and other West African markets.

This effort was reinforced through structured collaboration with Nigerian authorities, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), aimed at disrupting impersonation networks and protecting the integrity of legitimate entrepreneurship.

Such measures place QNET among a small group of direct-selling firms in Nigeria publicly aligning enforcement, education, and regulator engagement as part of their operating model.

In addition to external advocacy, the company believes ethical direct selling must be enforced from within. Between 2022 and 2023, QNET suspended more than 80 distributor accounts across Sub-Saharan Africa for ethics violations, underscoring its zero-tolerance approach to misrepresentation and misconduct.

Continuous monitoring of digital platforms for brand misuse further reflects QNET’s view that compliance is not a one-time response, but an ongoing responsibility essential to sustaining trust in the direct-selling sector.

Complementing these legal efforts are educational programmes, such as QNET’s signature financial literacy programme, FinGreen Programme, launched in 2022 in partnership with Transblue Limited, which has trained over 1,500 young people and women across Nigeria in budgeting, saving, responsible spending, and digital financial literacy skills to avoid exploitation.

Moving forward, QNET aims to strengthen its role in Nigeria’s formal economy by positioning ethical direct selling as a viable pathway for micro-entrepreneurship, income diversification, and skills development, particularly among young people navigating an increasingly competitive labour market.

As Nigeria’s gig economy matures under tighter regulation, QNET argues that the future of direct selling will be decided less by scale and more by trust, measured in transparency, consumer protection, and the economic literacy of those it empowers.

These concerns have resurfaced following the arrests of several suspects in Niger State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. 

QNET commends the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its actions in apprehending those responsible and is actively supporting the authorities to prevent further misuse of its brand.

QNET Says NO to Brand Misuse and Criminal Misrepresentation

QNET is a 27-year-old international direct selling company offering wellness and lifestyle products through a network of independent distributors.

These individuals are customers who have purchased QNET products and have chosen to build their own direct selling business using the company’s platform. They operate independently and are not employees of QNET.

Unfortunately, certain third-party entities such as Mighty Infinity Millionaire Ltd, that have no affiliation to QNET, “and operate without our oversight or recognition,” have grossly misrepresented the QNET business model and acted in a manner that is in no way a representation of QNET business ethics or values.

“We unequivocally state that such entities and individuals are not affiliated with or endorsed by QNET. QNET reiterates that Transblue Nigeria Limited remains our sole partner in Nigeria.”

Operating Within Legal and Ethical Boundaries

In Nigeria, QNET operates strictly within the legal and regulatory frameworks through its official local partner, Transblue Nigeria Limited.

“We remain committed to ethical business practices and protecting both our brand and the public from exploitation. We urge members of the public to remain vigilant, verify the authenticity of individuals or entities claiming affiliation with QNET, and report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.”

Statement from QNET’s Regional Leadership & Legal Nigerian Partner

Responding to the fraudulent activities being perpetrated in QNET’s name, Biram Fall, regional general manager of QNET for sub-Saharan Africa, states,

“We are extremely disturbed by the way unscrupulous individuals have misused the QNET brand to deceive innocent Nigerians with false promises. At QNET, our values are rooted in honesty and empowering people to build better lives through genuine means. We remain committed to supporting law enforcement agencies in their efforts to bring these fraudsters to justice and encourage the public to verify any claims of affiliation with QNET before getting involved.”

To avoid further confusion, QNET wishes to emphasize the following:

• QNET does not operate or endorse any physical or online university under the name “Q-University” in Nigeria. QNET is part of a larger business conglomerate that operates the Quest International University in Malaysia, which does not have any overseas campus. 
• QNET is not involved with online medical courses or academic institutions in Nigeria.
• QNET does not support or condone recruitment-driven models that promise employment, scholarships, or guaranteed returns unrelated to the legitimate sale or purchase of QNET products.
• QNET strongly condemns the unauthorized use of our intellectual property – including company logos, founder portraits, and promotional materials – by fraudulent actors aiming to mislead the public.
  

QNET’s Awareness Creation and Consumer Protection Efforts

Since entering the Nigerian market in 2022, QNET with the support of its local partner, Transblue Nigeria Limited, have prioritized financial literacy and consumer protection.

In November 2023, the direct selling company launched the Say NO! Awareness Campaign to educate the public about scams and promote responsible entrepreneurship. The campaign has reached thousands through multilingual billboards, radio messages, educational pamphlets, and online platforms.

As part of this campaign, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FMLE) and the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) were also engaged.

Cooperation with Law Enforcement

QNET expresses its full support and appreciation for the EFCC’s efforts to protect citizens and crack down on cyber and financial crimes. We are actively cooperating with the Commission in its investigations and are committed to further educating the public on the nature and values of QNET’s legitimate operations.

Public Advisory: How to Stay Safe

To protect yourself from scams falsely linked to QNET:

• Verify all QNET-related information here
• Report suspicious activity via email: network.integrity@qnet.net or WhatsApp: +233 256 630 005
• Learn how to identify scams here

QNET remains fully committed to ethical business practices and transparency. We stand with Nigerian authorities in protecting citizens from fraud and will continue to cooperate fully to bring those misusing our brand to justice.