The Nation Newspaper

Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

  • Processing ginger for export

    Processing ginger for export

    The demand for ginger ale, ginger beer, biscuits and other ginger flavored products is expanding locally as well as on the international markets. You can set up a small-scale ginger processing plant and realise more profit from exporting the processed ginger powder concentrate than selling the raw ginger products. There is also attractive local market for processed ginger products by beverage, food, confectionery, soft drink, and pharmaceutical factories in Nigeria.

    Major raw materials required for ginger processing includes raw ginger, which grows abundantly in Kaduna and Plateau States. Other raw materials are lime oils; lemon oil, acetone, ethanol glycerol, sucrose, sodium acetates and other chemicals can be sourced from the open market in Nigeria.

    The machinery and equipment required will include washing and drying machine, cold extractor, milling machine, stripper and hammer, material handling equipment, bagging facilities and other fixtures. All these equipment are available locally.

    Production of ginger powder and concentrates involves the following     process:

    •The raw ginger is cleansed, dried and milled.

    • Thereafter, the resultant product goes through a process of desolventisation encapsulation and extraction, depending on which end product is desired.

    Site should be closed to source of raw material and final market for products. Sitting a plant in Kaduna, Jos or Lagos city will be very ideal. The location of plant must be accessible to transportation to move raw materials to plant site and final products to market. It is also very essential to have basic infrastructures like water, electricity and good access roads.

    Cost of setting up a small scale ginger processing plant ranges from about N370,000 to N1.2 million, depending on expected outputs. The viability of this project is not in doubt. Moreover, the returns are high with very short payback period.

    Processed products could be exported to ECOWAS sub-region and European countries. Local supplies could be made to confectionery, soft drink and pharmaceutical factories in Nigeria.

    For more information contact  krisedbrilliant@yahoo.com or call 08023381900

  • How I became successful in business

    How I became successful in business

    Founder/Chief Executive Officer Proten United Kingdom, Opy Onas is a young entrepreneur, who is devoted to empowering entrepreneurs. Daniel Essiet met him.

    Opy Onas, real name Opeoluwa Onaboye, is an international speaker, author, business coach and entrepreneur. His businesses, which are based in the United Kingdom include Proten Coaching and Development, Proten Youth Development and Proten Publishing House.

    The 27-year-old life coach was  born in Ogun State. He attended Mayflower School, Ikenne. He  moved to the United Kingdom when he was 13. His entrepreneurial plans were hatched when he lost  a huge  amount  of money.

    According to him,  nobody embraced entrepreneurship in his family, even though his father was involved in buying and rental of properties. But at 18, “while in my first year at the University in London, I became involved in fraudulent activities. I spent around four years in different kinds of activities to earn a living and maintain my lavish lifestyle.”

    “This led to my involvement in a burglary where money and my personal possession was stolen. The experience, coupled with my strong christian faith led me to give up the criminal lifestyle and embark on a straight path,” he recounted.

    Why did he venture  into business? “When I gave up my old lifestyle, I gave up all my possessions and gave all my money to a charity,” he said, adding: ”I started looking for jobs and was unsuccessful. Through my job hunt, I came across a friend that owned an estate agency business and I asked him to show me how it works and he took me through the whole process. This was my first experience in business.”

    At 22, Onas  started an estate agency from his bedroom and grew with a good portfolio of clients.

    He said he  started his new business from his laptop in his bedroom. ”I talked a friend into building me a website and designing a business card for me. As the business was generating income, I was using it to grow the business,” he said.

    He further said his wife has supported “my crazy ideas from the beginning,” also played a role.

    “In total, I didn’t have more than £500 personal investment over the years. Everything else has been income that has been re-invested into the business,” he added.

    As the business grew, he explained, expectedly, some challenges set in just like every business does at the start up phase. He  realised that he was not passionate about the business anymore and so  was not giving much attention to it.

    However, while running the estate agency business, many people approached him to teach them how to set up their own businesses.He   found that he  was much more excited and passionate about it  and  that helping people to  achieve their dreams was something he  naturally excelled in.

    Eventually, the estates agency failed. He  had to close it down. He  set up a business consultancy firm to support start-ups through the initial process. This led to his  putting together his first book within a four- month period. The book  was launched in the UK  House of Parliament and has since become a huge hit, among aspiring entrepreneurs across the world, he said.

    Onas  has  built up  a wealth of knowledge on the subject of motivation and personal development. He  has grown  the  consultancy firm, providing support to hundreds of entrepreneurs through one-on-one coaching services, seminars, conferences and workshops that are delivered to several organisations, including universities, colleges and churches, among others. He  has  also  set up a youth development organisation, providing support to disadvantaged young people in Britain, and helping them into employment.

    Last year, he  set  up  a publishing company to help  aspiring authors publish their books. His words: “My aim is to train individuals not just to start a business, but most importantly, pursue a business that they are passionate about as this is the only way they can go through the tough times.”

    On challenges, he said his father did not initially support him. “He knew I was extremely smart and he wanted me to work in a top city firm. I would always lock my self in my room in order to focus, he said. He said his father’s disposition started changing “when I was featured in a full page article in a national newspaper in the UK. Right now, he’s my biggest supporter and probably the person who has bought most copies of my book”.

    Another challenge  to him, was the fact that he got married quite early (at the age of 24) and this was a period where his business was still growing and there was no regular income.

    “I had to do part time and night work to support my business aspirations and also ensure that my family was looked after financially. This was a tough period in my life,” he said.

    He said over the past years, he had worked with over 20 different people as a team working on various part of the company and projects. He  has  worked on various projects and also delivered large government contracts in the UK for youth development. He  delivers coaching services to individuals and small and large businesses. He  has  travelled around the world, speaking and empowering individuals to realise and utilise their passion. talents and gifts.

    He is the author of a  book titled: “Turn your passion into your profession. Known as the “Ideas Midwife”,

    What is the secret of his success? “The most important aspect of my business is my faith in God. Apart from anything else, you must have hope and for me, this is my faith in God.Also, you must get yourself a mentor or coach. You can’t go on the journey successfully alone. Have someone walk with you? Find a dream mate on your journey. All you need is one person who believes in you and walks the journey with you to encourage you when you feel like giving up.”

    His advice: “I don’t believe in motivation alone. That’s why I don’t call myself a motivational speaker. If you motivate someone who is going down a hill, he will only go down the hill faster. People need more than motivation, they need inspiration, education, guidance and strategic input. I try to cover those areas. Mindset is the most important aspect of a human being. Ask any athlete, he will tell you that the race is first won in the mind before they even reach the track. You must first believe that you can before you attempt anything. If you give yourself any opportunity to doubt, then you’ve already been defeated. Focus is key to success. He believe that starting a business young has its advantages as it means one is e in tune with latest technology that can be used to drive the business forward in this age.Apart from his faith, he is passionate about two main things- young people and entrepreneurship.

    “I am passionate about developing individuals and helping them fulfill their God-given potential, especially young people. I am also passionate about promoting entrepreneurship as I believe that we have all been given gifts or talents to use for serving other people.”

    He  is working on setting up some initiatives for promoting entrepreneurship in Nigeria and I will also be delivering employability skills training to companies from 2014.

  • Young entrepreneurs get training

    HOW to solve problems of young entrepreneurs was top on the agenda at a workshop titled: Africa Rising – Market place for young ideas, which held at the Lagos Business School, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University, Ajah, Lagos.

    The forum reflected on  entrepreneurship as well as the significant shifts that need to happen to  address  youth employment creation that have failed and  the need  for governments, big business and policy makers to act with the necessary speed to stop the youth unemployment epidemic.

    Director, Start-up Hub, Lagos, Mr  Chibuike Aguene stressed the need to address the growing youth unemployment crisis and enable young people to create businesses which can generate jobs and economic growth.

    He said the nation was confronted by unemployment and  more young people  were being thrown into the labour market.

    To tackle this challenge, he  said the training  was  held  to encourage, educate and empower young entrepreneurs. With the focus on entrepreneurship and its potential for economic development and job creation, he said the recognition of entrepreneurs as having an important role in the economy has emerged.

    He said the forum was a deal with Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan African University, to feature in the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

    The dialogue, he said, engaged the business leaders, students, Corps members, young and aspiring entrepreneurs, and seasoned educators to chart the course for enterprise development in the youth sector to groom the next generation of new business leaders

    Deputy Director, Enterprise Development Centre of the Business School,Nnneka Okekearu  supported the call  to  empower more young entrepreneurs.

    She  noted  that there were many  opportunities tosupport  entrepreneurs  to explore  them  and help the government to create jobs.According  to her, the traditional job for life career path has become rarer and youth entrepreneurship will need to beseen as an additional way of allowing the youth into the labour market and promoting job creation.

    She  said  the perceptions of good business opportunities amongst the youth are particularly low ,

    badly impacted by the economic situation.She  said  youth in Nigerian perceive lack of capital, lack of skill, lack of support and

    lack of market opportunities as the main obstacles to entrepreneurial intention.

    EDC,she  noted,  supports  addressing  the  problems of youth entrepreneurship specifically,

    with the goal of increasing understanding of what constrains, motivates and assists young entrepreneurs in the entrepreneurial process and how best catalyse the role that youthentrepreneurship can play in economic and social development.

    Group Head of SME in Heritage Bank Company Bayo Ogunnusi, Limited said   many young entrepreneurs face challenges that prevent them from succeeding in their endeavors.

    This including limited access to financing and capital, underdeveloped or insufficient

    skills and lack of mentoring support. Though access to capital financing and capital is, without question, a critical enabler for young entrepreneurs, he noted  that  young

    entrepreneurs  lack  adequate  training  in preparing  business plans to  help  them qualify  for bank assistance.

    He  encourage d  young  entrepreneurs  without  a strong credit to   tap into personal savings, in addition toobtaining money from family and friends, to finance

    their early operations.

    Head of SME Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Akintunde Oyebode,  said  new entrepreneurs would be  able to

    achieve a modest start with their own savings

    and help from loved ones.

    Head of SME,Bank of Industry, Ganiyu Jimoh, said  sourcing  finace  has   proved challenging in many cases.In order to be eligible for funding from NGOs or loans from banks, he  urged  young entrepreneurs to prove theyhad a viable business model and demonstrate that they had other sources of funding and capital. According  to him,  outside funding was crucial when it came to growing and sustaining their businesses .

    Other speakers that contributed to making the event a success include Mrs  Yemisi Joel –Osebor,Manager,GEM,Lagos amongst others.

    The programme was held by the Enterprise Development Centre,the Pan-Atlantic University,was organisedin partnership with Startup Hub, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Etisalat Nigeria as part of the events to mark the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

     

  • Embracing ethics and creativity management in your firm(3)

    Last week, we said you need to give employees time to dream and remember that creative employees need downtime to recharge. We added that you should ensure that your employees are given time and room to think, explore, question, even play.

    We educated that another strategy for managing creative staff is to stress the importance of balance by surrounding them with semi-boring people, especially that the worst thing you can do to creative employees is to force them to work with someone like they are, a situation that can lead competition for ideas, eternal brainstorming, etc.

    We submitted that creative people need to spend time working without being micromanaged, meaning giving freedom to spend time developing uncommon ideas without having to constantly report on their progress.

    We said another thing is to direct creative staff at your actual problems and provide them with information and direction so that they grasp the big picture rather than becoming obsessed with the smaller details.

     

    Never put pressure on creative people

    Creativity is usually enhanced by giving people more freedom and flexibility at work. If you like structure, order and predictability, you are probably not creative. However, we are all more likely to perform more creatively in spontaneous, unpredictable circumstances — because we cannot rely on our habits. So do not constrain your creative employees by forcing them to follow processes or structures. Let them work remotely and outside normal hours. This is the secret to managing Don Draper, and why he never went to work for a bigger competitor. This is also why so many top athletes fail to make the transition from a small to a big team, and why business founders are usually unhappy to remain in charge of their ventures once they are acquired by a bigger company.

     

    Poor pay

    There is a paradox about motivating creative people. This is that you need to pay them poorly. There is a longstanding debate about the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of Business Psychology at the University College London (UCL) and vice president of Research and Innovation at Hogan Assessment Systems says over the past two decades, psychologists have provided compelling evidence for the so-called “over-justification” effect, namely the process whereby higher external rewards impair performance by depressing a person’s genuine or intrinsic interest.

    Most notably, two large-scale meta-analyses reported that, when tasks are inherently meaningful (and creative tasks are certainly in this condition), external rewards diminish engagement. Chamorro-Premuzic stresses that this is true in both adults and children, especially when people are rewarded merely for performing a task. However, providing positive feedback (praises) does not harm intrinsic motivation, so long as the feedback is perceived as genuine.

     

    Moral of the story

    Chamorro-Premuzic says the moral of the story is that the more you pay people to do what they love, the less they will love it. I am sure this assertion may not hold here in Nigeria because of desperation for survival. In the words of Czikszentmihalyi, “The most important quality, the one that is most consistently present in all creative individuals, is the ability to enjoy the process of creation for its own sake.” More importantly, people with a talent for innovation are not driven by money. Research on over 50,000 managers from 20 different countries indicates that the more imaginative and inquisitive people are, the more they are driven by recognition and sheer scientific curiosity rather than commercial needs.

     

    Building a team

    Employees want the respect of their peers; peer recognition and the power of the team are great motivators. Find ways to ensure that your workers can earn the respect of their peers, and if necessary employ group pressure to hold them accountable for their work. Ensure that people’s productivity is measured in terms of more meaningful criteria than mere hours spent working.

    According to T.S. Eliot, “Most of the trouble in this world is caused by people wanting to be important”. And the reason is that others fail to recognise them. Fairness is not treating everyone the same, but like they deserve. Every organisation has high and low potential employees, but only competent managers can identify them. If you fail to recognise your employees’ creative potential, they will go somewhere where they feel more valued.

     

    Surprising them

    Few things are as aggravating to creative people as boredom. Creative people seek constant change, even when it is counterproductive. They take a different route to work every day, even if it gets them lost. Creativity is linked to higher tolerance of ambiguity. Creative people love complexity and enjoy making simple things complex rather than vice-versa. Chamorro-Premuzic asserts that instead of looking for the answer to a problem, they prefer to find a million answers. It is therefore essential that you keep surprising your creative employees or at least let them create enough chaos to make their own lives less predictable.

     

    Final note

    Even when you are able to manage your creative employees, it does not mean that you should let them manage others. Research shows that natural innovators are rarely gifted with leadership skills. There is a profile for good leaders, and a profile for creative people and they are rather different. Chamorro-Premuzic says Steve Jobs had better relationships with gadgets than people, and most Google engineers are utterly disinterested in management. One of the reasons for the rapid collapse of start-ups is that their founders tend to remain in charge.

    Mark Zuckerberg brought in Sheryl Sandberg to make up for his own leadership deficiency. Research confirms that corporate innovators, that is, intrapreneurs exhibit many of the psychopathic characteristics preventing them from being effective leaders. They are rebellious, anti-social, self-centred and often too engaged to care about the welfare of others. If you manage them and their inventions well, they will impress you. By putting ethics in place and managing creativity well, the sky is the beginning not the limit of your firm’s potential for great achievements.

    Till we meet on Wednesday.

    •GOKE ILESANMI, Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Certified Public Speaker/MC, Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker and Career Management Coach. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.

    Tel: 08055068773; 08187499425

    Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com

    Website: www.gokeilesanmi.com

     

  • Employing more staff for your business

    If you have reached a point where you need to employ more people for your business in order to remain competitive and become more empowered, you need to understand that extra manpower entails a whole new string liabilities, expenses, paperwork and even of legal obligations before bringing just anyone on board. Research shows that hiring mismatches can result in high turnover, absenteeism, higher healthcare costs, workplace violence and theft, which mean huge costs to an organisation’s bottom line as well as corporate reputation.

     

    Precautions

    In the course of your hiring process, you should take precautions and ensure you make informed decisions, while staying within legal and ethical boundaries. One of the things you must not do in the hiring process is to trust your instincts. According to Erika Welz Prafder, a human resource management expert, “Whether your new recruit will be filing reports or configuring computer networks, realise that criminal, under-qualified, and emotionally unstable minds hide in all uniforms and job titles.”

     

    Unwanted behaviour

    Another thing is to screen for unwanted behaviour. Depending on the position you are trying to fill, there are supplementary screening options available. Psychological testing, handwriting analysis, skill and aptitude tests and even lie detector tests are additional assessment tools that business owners exercise today to help them select the best job candidates. Prafder says such profiling allows you to select people who have the skills and the temperament needed to succeed in your business.

     

    Personal knowledge

    Personal knowledge of a candidate is one of the ways to a successful hiring process. Martin E. Davis, a human resource management expert educates that the best candidates are usually not hunting for a job. He adds that they may be people employed by one of your customers, your competitors, people in the same industry but not in the same line of business, or people in other industries who have exhibited the talents necessary for the job. Experts say if the selected candidate works for a customer, it is appropriate to contact the customer and let him know that his employee is a candidate for your position.

     

    Paying the price

    Paying the price constitutes yet another strategy in the hiring process. If the first approach could not provide a candidate, the next best avenue to getting the right candidate(s) is a toll road. A search firm or a highly reputed employment agency is a good but expensive route. The value of an outstanding employee is more than what you may want to pay. Your agreement with the search firm or agency should include the right to reimbursement if the hired candidate does not work out within a reasonable time period, perhaps six months and one year. This may be negotiable with each individual firm. This avenue is most often appropriate for higher-level positions and not entry-level jobs. The search firm or agency should do all preliminary screening, which often includes intelligence, personality, aptitude and skills testing, the cost of which should be included in the agency’s fee.

     

    Hiring additional employees

    After the initial process of hiring employees for your new business, you may also need to bring more people as the business continues to grow. One challenge that business owners normally face here is when and how to hire additional employees. David Javitch, an organisational psychologist, internationally-recognised author, keynote speaker and consultant says as a business owner, one of your most important tasks is workforce management.

    It is your job to make sure you have the right people—and the right number of people—to keep your company running smoothly. Javitch adds that if your business is growing and you are sensing you need to hire new employees, there are common clues to guide yourself.

     

    Persistent complaints

    One of the clues is persistent complaints from your hardworking employees. Complaints of this nature are common, but your task is to determine if they are legitimate by talking to your employees and asking them to validate their concerns of being “overworked”. Then look at attendance and productivity indicators to substantiate their claims. If what you find confirms their feedback, then you might decide to re-organise and restructure roles and responsibilities to better deal with the workflow. Javitch says you could use your new knowledge as a guide to hiring additional employees.

     

    Growth curve and new set of skills

    Another sign that you need to employ more people is when the growth curve for your products or services is increasing, and you identify that as a positive trend that you need to get additional people. Javitch illuminates that when you determine that your employee’s existing job skills and knowledge are fine for your company’s current level of productivity, but to expand, you will need either increased skills and knowledge or a new and different set of skills, then it is a clue for you to get more people.

     

    High profitability

    Finally, when revenue is at or above target and you project it to continue; other than financially rewarding yourself and/or your employees, you wonder what to do with the increased revenue, then it is time to empower your business with more hands.

     

    Last words

    When it comes to actually choosing the best candidate for a job, hiring someone simply because you need an “extra body” is not wise as this inevitably results in poor performance, decreased productivity and decreased morale. Ensure that you hire only people who actually fit the job descriptions you have created when employing people for your business. You need to emphasise skills not fruitless experience in your job advert.

     

    PS: For those making inquiries about our Public Speaking, Business Presentation and Professional Writing Skills programme, please visit the website indicated on this page for details. Till we meet on Wednesday.

  • ‘Incubation schemes vital to entrepreneurship’

    ENTREPRENEURS have been urged to embrace incubation programmes to boost their productivity.

    The Centre Manager, Technology Incubation Centre (TIC), Abeokuta, Dr. John  Oni, gave the advice during the inauguration of the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria(ASBON).

    The incubation programme, he said, enables entrepreneurs to get mentorship, advice, fund, skills and practical training.

    He spoke  on the theme, “The importance of technology incubation programme to economic development – experiences of some developed countries”.

    “It is quite unparalleled in its development mission and comes with huge dividends for the society,” he said.

    As part of efforts to serve entrepreneurs, he said many incubation programmes have relevant activities such as youth entrepreneurship.

    Many entrepreneurs and community leaders involved in technology, he said, would benefit from the scheme.

    He said the centre will assist entrepreneurs todevelop programmes for industrial growth.

    He said technology incubation centres were  necessary  nationwide  and  that  the  centre  was  already reaching out to a lot of entrepreneurs to be the hub of  its innovation ecosystem.

    He said the centre has  identified some areas, adding that it would assist entrepreneurs in those areas with technology facilities as well as land and building.

    ASBON President, Dr Femi Egbesola said the objective of the group was to help the entrepreneurs get technical and financial assistance.

    He assured that funding was available, but to get it would-be beneficiaries must demonstrate creativity.

    He said the association was  looking up to the young entrepreneurs and businessmen and women that are taking part in the  group as the key drivers of development.

    To address unemployment, he said, Nigerians should be more enterprising and that this was the only way they could attract more  funding.

    In the challenging economic environment, he  said,  start-ups could bring new ideas to the market, adding that the association would open its resources to these companies in a new initiative to help the next generation of entrepreneurs get new opportunities.

  • ‘You can live your dream’

    ‘You can live your dream’

    CAN one live his dream? Yes, says Mustapha Yakubu, a young  entrepreneur  from Niger State.

    He has defied the thinking that  entrepreneurship is difficult.

    A graduate of National Certificate in Education from the College of Education, Kontagaro, Niger State, he started by selling  satchet water in Lagos. With N120, he said he was able to raise N38,500, an amount which helped him to venture into selling of pineapples in 2004.

    Later, he discovered that it was profitable to buy pineapples from Cotonou.

    From his profits, he bought a motor cycle worth N60,000, which he gave out on hire purchase.

    He received N80,000 from the deal. Encouraged by this outing,  he bought another bike, which he handled himself. He made more cash and added four more to his fleet.

    But he had other plans. He sold all the motorcycles and used the proceeds to rent a shop at the popular Mile 12 market in Lagos.

    He travelled to Nnewi in Anambra State to learn how to produce insectides and body cream.

    He returned six months later and started the business with N6000.

    Driven by his  love for  entrepreneurship  and inspired by concepts that he was exposed to during his training, he developed a range of insecticides and  creams for  the skin. For example, he  has  developed products with unique medicinal properties.

    Today, he is the Chief Executive, Must Best Products Nigeria with nine staff. Sales, he said, had increased.

    He  has a strong presence in the local market. As demand for his  products is set to grow, investment in the business also is set to generate more job opportunities, more demand for sustainable raw materials and, thus, contribute significantly to reducing poverty.

    With the proceeds from his  business he was able to buy more equipment.  Focused on building a brand, he wants to buy a processing equipment to push his  cream  to become quality level.

    Yakubu  believes that to be successful means to be of benefit not just to oneself, but the people around one in the communities. He  desires  to upgrade from an artisan to industrial giant. He wants to modernise his firm’s operations to meet ISO standards. He is, therfore, seeking financial support to increase the company’s production capacity.

    In terms of challenges, he  faces regular power shortages, a common concern among businessmen and women. Brave and courageous, he  believes no challenge is insurmountable.

    For him, to succeed in the face of so many problems, young  entrepreneurs need courage, patience and resolve. His financial stability has allowed him to dream big and  to grow his  business.

    He attributes his success to determination and hard work. He has bigger plans to expand his business.

  • NDE distributes self-employment packs to Akwa Ibom youths

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has distributed self-employment packs to 100 youths in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.

    They include ovens, electrical tools, sewing machines, computers, generators, hair dryers and wheel barrows.

    NDE state Coordinator, Mrs Patience Osunkwo, said at Upenekang at the weekend that the beneficiaries were trained in carpentry, hair dressing, computer application, electrical installation and barbing, among others.

    She said the training, which lasted for six months, was at the directorate’s School on Wheels Training Scheme.

    She said: “The school on wheels adequately equips youths to set up and run businesses in their chosen fields.’’

    According to her, the beneficiaries received resettlement packages, according to their chosen trades.

    She urged the beneficiaries to use the skills to multiply wealth and reduce poverty in their communities.

    The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Adasi Ubulom, said the programme would provide the beneficiaries and their dependants with the means of livelihood, adding that it would remove them from criminal activities.

    The commissioner said the programme would also help the beneficiaries to avoid being used as thugs during elections, urging other local governments to follow embrace the training.

    He advised the beneficiaries to regularly update their knowledge to keep abreast of developments in their chosen fields.

  • Creating wealth from waste

    Creating wealth from waste

    MRs Titilola Cynthia Saka is the owner of an outfit which collects industrial waste and sells to companies. Her outfit is helping to confront the environmental and social challenges facing the nation.

    Mrs Saka, chief executive, T. Cynthia Nigeria Limited, has been in the business since 1986, when she was a student of the College of Education in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

    She started as a part-time industrial waste collector. As the business matured, she realised how much industrial waste firms discard and the need to process them into other products.

    She told The Nation her mother, also a business woman, advised her to go into business when she was a student, seeing a great future as an entrepreneur than an employee.

    With a vision to ‘transform waste into wealth’, the company has withdrawn many plastic and cotton waste and created more than 20 jobs.

    She also has the support of her husband.

    Mrs Saka said industrial waste collection is an alternative to the teaching job she was doing after graduation.

    One material that holds a great potential is polyester fibre. It has a huge market in many industries and is used as packaging material for beverages, food products, pharmaceuticals, consumer and industrial products.

    She collects cotton waste. Materials such as aluminum, steel, copper, brass, and glass have a reliable market and make for good business opportunities.

    Buried among the junk are valuable metals which fetch her good money. She deals with large specialist metal companies, firms and tries to broker deals on scrap materials that leave her with a profit.

    The major sources of revenue include sale of scrap materials, extracted metals and glass.

    Those employed process and produce. She hires young men and women as waste collectors.

    The combination of cheap labour, relatively low entry costs and more limited regulatory controls make the business a money spinner.

    She said one could start a business with a small budget.

    She started with about N40,000; a chunk of it came from the bursary the Ogun State government gave her as a student.

    Later, she received Local Purchasing Order (LPO) generated by commercial/industrial sources, for plastic and metal waste supplies.

    What motivates her is giving value to the society by clearing it of the refuse.

    While there, she learnt the true value of scrap metal. For her, it is about the economies of scale and sorting until it’s sorted as waste. As soon as they are sorted out, they become useful materials.

    Beyond waste, Mrs Saka developed a working arrangement with a local entrepreneur, who opened her eyes to the commercial opportunities in processed materials. Since she began working with him, she disclosed that she has been making money selling reprocessed wastes.

    She operates from three locations in Lagos, collecting reprocessed materials, aluminium and scrap metal.

    Haulage is a key factor, so she has acquired trucks to help in the deliveries. Looking ahead, she would like to start working with big organisations would enable her to tap into larger volumes of industry waste.

    She is increasing the scope of the project by scaling up production capacities. She has buyers lined up and is in talks with other ones.

    She is also looking to replicate her business model in other parts of Lagos and is negotiating with large chains for additional supply opportunities. She has taken cost-cutting measures to improve industry productivity. In making these improvements, she is better- positioned to compete in the market.

     

  • ‘Technology’ll drive SMEs’growth’

    The Director, Southwest Zonal Office, National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), Mr Akindele Famurewa, has said the application of technology to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will grow them.

    He spoke on the opening of the third trade fair of the Premier Industrial Estate Cooperative Multi-Purpose Society Limited, Yaba, Lagos.

    Famurewa,who was represented by the Principal Scientific Officer and Research Coordinator of the centre, Mr Sunday Amiolemen, said the government’s role and policies were critical to encouraging greater innovation and optimal performance among SMEs.

    He said though various challenges affect SMEs, the key to enhance performance lies in the “government’s ability to formulate workable policies to drive the sub-sector and their capabilities to harness and take advantage of intervention schemes.

    He advocated regular interactions among the key actors of the national innovation system (NIS), noting that “this was critical for developing linkages and enhancing innovation capabilities of SMEs’’.

    On the fair, the President of the Trade Fair group of the estate, Alhaji Olayiwola Jaji, said it was a sign of good things because “previous fairs had opened the door for industrialists to get financial support’’.

    He urged the Federal Government to encourage banks to grant soft loan to industrialists through their cooperative societies.

    The Lagos State Commissioner of Commerce and Industry, Mrs Olusola Oworu,said tenants of the estate would have a cause to smile as the state government was ready to renovate the estate.

     

     

     

    The Commissioner ,who was represented by the Head of Industry, Mr Lekan Ogunbowale, said the progress experienced at the Isolo industrial estate will be replicated at the yaba industrial estate.