The Nation Newspaper

Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

  • Life of a cassava merchant

    Life of a cassava merchant

    MR Akeem Salami, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Balkeem Nigeria Limited, an advertising practitioner, has defied the common thinking of most Nigerians about agriculture. He left his cosy job to seek fortune in food production. Today, he is a proud owner of a packaged garri product.

    He started off with a career in advertising, but realised that what he really wanted was start his own business and be his own boss.

    He has no regrets. Today, he has 25 employees and his product Jebulawa garri is doing well in the market. Because of this, Salami has become a force to reckon with in the food processing segment of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector.

    Yet, his journey to success did not start in a day. He has seen some rough times but perseverance and tenacity of purpose saw him through.

    For example, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) rejected his business premises, saying it did not meet their specification for food production. The structure was pulled down. He had to look for money to build a new one.

    He returned to the market when he received the nod of NAFDAC to ‘’go and sin no more’’. Since then, there was no looking back.

    To him, feeding the local population with this basic foodstuff was his priority.

    For a large proportion of the population, garri will continue to be the preferred food product for some years to come.

    Salami practises agriculture with a difference.

    “Our desire to venture into the production of refined packaged garri in commercial dimension is borne out of our genuine passion to tap into the on-going campaign by the government to grow the economy through locally made-in-Nigeria products benchmarked with international standards, while also creating employment opportunity for the abundant skilled manpower in the country,” he said.

    Ijebulawa garri is a final product of a market research, which resulted into the production of a uniquely designed product pack that is water resistant, beautiful, inviting shelf-appeal, and cartooned for easy mobility, available in most super markets across Lagos and elsewhere at affordable price.

     

  • Building exercise books plant

    Exercise books are used in schools, offices and homes. It is most popular among students for recording their lessons, lectures and home works. The number of primary and secondary schools, vocational centres, college of education, polytechnic and universities in the country, coupled with other tertiary institutions owned by the government and private corporate bodies/individuals are quite enormous.

    The high demand and inadequacy of the product, especially at the beginning of every school year or school term is very obvious, and a clear indication of opportunities for interested investors.

    The major raw materials are the sixty-gram papers purchased pre-cut in sheets of about 900 x 620 mm. Others include pins, inks, and printed cardboards for cover. All the raw materials are locally sourced and in abundance.

    Machines for exercise book making are a plant that could be imported or procured from local fabricators. The machinery for this plant includes an automatic feed, covers insertion type, double side disc ruling machine, an automatic wire stitches, a notebook folding machine and a cutting machine. The power consumption for this machinery is quite minimal and may only require a generator set of 10KVA capacity.

    Production process is simple. Pre-cut sheets are fed into the automatic ruling machine capable of ruling both side of a sheet in a single, double up to four colours. This machine has a ruling capacity of about 120 sheets per minute and can handle sheets of even wider dimensions. Feeding speed is free and adjustable and paper carriers are replaceable in such a way as to maintain continuous flow of production. Pneumatic sanction achieved by the inclusion of a 1hp infrared dryer for quick drying. For 80 leaves notebooks, the covers are automatically inserted before stitching takes place. After stitching, the flat products are folded into a book form before trimming. It is however of note that the covers are pre-printed and packed into the machine.

    This project can be located in any part of the country. A location close to educational institution will be very ideal for maximum success. Adequate supply of electricity for production, good access roads to and from factory sites for acquisition of raw materials and disposal of finished goods are factors to be considered in locating factory site. A small open warehouse or two-bedroom flat will be adequate for a start. This project can provide employment for at least seven persons.

    The estimated cost for a small scale exercise book making plant may cost between N450,000 and N1.5 million. This amount can be scaled down or increased depending on the financial strength of the promoter.

    The plant capacity under consideration is for about 12 exercise books per minute. This gives a total of about 1,440,000 units of exercise books in a year of 250 days, working on a single shift of eight hours daily. Giving a conservative selling price of N20 per unit, the gross sales per year will be N28.8 million. Assuming a total expenditure of about 79 per cent, the after tax profit will be N6.048 million. This project has a quick pay-back period, and the viability is not in doubt. It is highly recommended for investors.

    Target market remains the educational institutions where the product is highly consumed. Arrangement can be made specifically for some schools. Various bookshops and departmental stores can also be used as wholesale outlets for the product. Distributors and sales agents could be appointed on commission basis for quick turnover.

    For details, please contact krisedbrilliant@yahoo.com or call 08023381900.

     

     

  • Vocational centres train 75

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration vocational centres at Lugbe and Bwari have graduated 75 commercial sex workers and 109 physically challenged persons who have acquired various skills.

    Secretary, Social Development Secretariat (SDS) Mrs Blessing Onuh said at the ceremony that the training received by the graduands would enable them to better their lives and contribute meaningfully to the society.

    She recalled that the FCT had engaged the services of an NGO, Society Against Prostitution and Child Labour in Nigeria (SAP-CLN) to evacuate commercial sex workers and beggars from the streets.

    Onuh said the establishment of the centres was borne out of genuine desire to address the menace of commercial sex workers and street begging in the Territory.

    “The establishment of these centres was borne out of genuine desire to adopt a new approach with emphasis on skill acquisition to address street begging and menace of sex workers,” she said.

    She said since their inauguration in 2011 they had trained about 3000 participants in various skills such as hair dressing, tailoring, carpentry, computer appreciation, shoe making, beads making and catering among others.

    “I make bold to say that this initiative is beginning to yield desired results as witnessed in the drastic reduction in the illicit activities.

    “It has equipped beneficiaries with useful skills that will help to their enhance social and economic wellbeing,” Onuh said.

    She called on the graduands to make good use of the money given to them and appealed to girls still in the illicit trade to quit it and acquire skills.

    “I will advise other girls in the street to come and acquire skills for free because it is better than being on the street,” she said.

     

     

     

    The Minister of State for FCT, Ms Olajumoke Akinjide, represented by her Special Assistant on Social Development, Mrs Uche Nwafor, noted that the skill acquired would add to the Value graduands

    She called on other non-governmental and international organisations to partner with the administration to assist the graduates.

    Coordinator , SPA-CLN Mrs Grace Adogo, also noted that the girls had been “transformed into better women.“These girls were once misled but we are happy they are back to track for better living.”

    Ibrahim Ahmed, who trained in carpentry, said he was grateful to the administration for what it had done to improve his life.“I was arrested by SPA-CLN and trained and given equipment so I can be self-employed. I thank FCT administration for helping the poor and destitute,” he said.Miss Chioma Ezeh, who acquired skill in bead making, expressed joy for being rehabilitated and transformed into a better person.

     

  • Young women graduate from IT camp

    The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEd), has empowered young girls with Information technology (IT) skills that can make them self-employed, its Executive Director Ms Oreluwa Somolu has said.

    Speaking at the sixth graduation of W-TEC Girls Technology Camp, she said the programme was geared towards equipping girls and women to enhance their life with IT.

    A feature of the campaign is the belief that one of the best ways to learn is by making something, whether that’s an app or website.

    She said the programme will further the ongoing bid to bolster the technology industry.

    Participants were delighted to be part of the programme as many of them were on scholarship.

    The skills, according to them have deepened their awareness of technology and will be a useful tool to their future career.

    An SS2 science pupil, Hope Phillip, who exhibited her web design said: “Before I used to see website and I was like I can’t do this, how will I import pictures but when I came here, I found out that it was something I could do. My challenges were importing pictures from Google or other websites so I met my teacher and he explained everything to me.”

    Ighodalo Omoze, an art pupil, who aspires to be an advertiser believes her skill in application design will help her ambition.

    Ms. Somolu said W-TEC is established to check the under-representation of women and girls in science and technology examine issues concerning how women use technology as well as see to the barriers limiting the use o f technology and strategies for more proficient and effective utilisation of ICT. W-TEC is set to begin a technology club which would enable the girls improve proficiently on the skills acquired.

    “We realised that it is very important to start engaging people at a very young age so for us that is why we started the camp. In September we are launching our technology club to improve on the technology of the girls who come to us. We also realise that introducing technology among girls is not enough; we need to have a continuous and sustained efforts so that is what we are hoping to achieve with this technology club.’ She said.

    Meanwhile, the Public Relations and Marketing Manager Intel, Mr Adim Isiakjzona, said Intel has keyed into the idea because it believes technology is the bedrock of development and should be made accessible.

    ‘’We strongly believe that young people are the future of tomorrow and technology is a key to achieving it. We’ve heard some of them say that they want to become an engineer, doctor, lawyer, fashion designer and it is interesting to know that whatever they want to become in the next 15 years, technology, and access to internet will enable them to achieve their goals.”

     

  • Custard powder processing

    Custard powder processing

    Custard powder is a powdery meal for Nigerians, especially those in the urban areas. Due to its aesthetic look, good taste and short time of preparation, the product has found place on many breakfast tables. As a result of the continuous rural – urban drift and the eating habits of most urban dwellers in Nigeria, this product will continue to command high demand.

    An investment into this line of production is a step in the right direction that is definite to yield great returns.

    The raw materials for processing custard powder are – corn flour, arrow root starch, food colours and essence. The raw materials are available and can be obtained 100 per cent from our local market.

    A small scale plant envisaged for this project consist of the following machinery and equipment – electric oven, milling/ grinding machines, mixers, dryers, weighing instruments, etc. All the machines and equipment can be procured from our local fabricators.

    Production of custard powder takes the following stages: drying – the ingredients for the custard powder are dried in a drier. The electric oven is used for the drying process. The dried ingredients are then poured into the milling machine for grinding into powdered form as finished products. The products are measured and package in either a 450 gram plastic/tin containers or packed into polythene bags of various sizes and sealed, before sending to the market.

    The project can be located in any part of the country where there are abundant supply of corn and the other raw materials. The required accommodation is a two bedroom flat for a start. The environment should be healthy and free from any form of pollution.

    Investment cost for setting up this project is estimated at about N700,000. This amount can be scaled down or increased, depending on the financial position of the promoters. The machinery in consideration has a capacity of producing 250,000 units of the 450 grams/ year, working at eight hours per shift of 250 working days. Assuming a wholesaler price of N35 per unit, this will give revenue of N8.75 million/ year. A conservative pre-tax profit of 35 per cent or N3.06 million is realisable in the first year of operation.

    The viability of this project is not in doubt considering its high turnover and envisaged profit margin.

    Sales outlet for this product include supermarket, catering outfits, the open market and appointment of sales agents. A high standard of hygiene and good packaging makes the product sell fast.

    For a well-packaged and feasibility report, which is also a pre-requisite for fund sourcing and proper implementation of this project, please contact us through krisedbrilliant@yahoo.com or call 08023381900.

     

  • From bleach supplier to soap maker

    From bleach supplier to soap maker

    GANIYU Bolarinwa, Chief Executive Modemi Roral Ventures’started small, but today he is big.

    Bolarinwa studied marketing in France. On his return home, he joined a Lagos-based engineering firm that supplies spare parts to organisations.

    Then, the supply business was good.

    Bolarinwa saw a big market for machine parts and went for it. That was in 1989. This first entrepreneurial gamble got him fired up. He started supplying manufacturing companies.

    One day, he was with the Head of Procurement of a quoted company, when he over heard a discussion on a local purchasing order (LPO) to supply bleach.

    He asked the procurement officer if the company was ready to accept more contractors.

    He was asked to bring a sample. Leveraging on his knowledge of chemicals formulation, Bolarinwa went home and prepared a sample and brought it in three days. On submission, the product was taken to the lab.

    His product was the best. The order for other supplies was cancelled. This was the opening he needed to prosper.

    For seven years, Bolarinwa supplied the company bleach until it outsourced its laundry department.

    He consequently went into bleach production.

    He started selling bleach in the market.

    He wanted to make more sales.

    His key customer are low income earners and older people, hospitals and public institutions.

    But he had much bigger plans for the future.

    Bolarinwa veered into cleaning products, including soap.

    His major challenge was competition.

    The business empire he started with N500,000 is now worth N5 million and he employs five persons.

    His hard work paid off. He can motivate a lot of people. For Bolarinwa, any one can start a small-scale enterprise, adding that entrepreneurs need a high level of discipline, dedication, persistence and creativity and work.

    With the right business environment, he said micro entrepreneurs will be able to run ventures that produce sufficient income to justify the time and energy invested in the venture.

    The right business environment, to him, means what is available and required in terms of raw materials and local demand.

     

  • ‘I failed in my maiden business’

    THE state of the economy notwithstanding, more students are starting their own businesses instead of seeking employment.

    Such budding entrepreneurs manage to maintain their full-time course loads while taking on the drivers seat, with many sleepless nights to show for their efforts. Jerry Osagie is one of them.He is setting the IT world on fire .

    A University of Benin postgraduate student of Petroleum Chemistry, Osagie having been mentored by leading entrepreneurs, is producing some products.

    He launched his first on-line business in 2007 with N5000. The income he earned gingered him to go on.

    He started his own business when he was an undergraduate at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. It helped him to pay his fees.

    Osagie is from a family of six. Most of his siblings were in the university then and things were difficult. He had to look for ways to support himself.

    A friend introduced him to online survey jobs. He tried to make some money from it. But he failed.

    “Istarted attending seminars on GSM recharge card printing and googleadsensein various states.

    “There was a particular one I attendedin Awka, Anambra State.The seminar made impact on me.

    “I was exposed to internet business. We closed late that day and couldn’t get a bus to return to Benin that same day. Luckily, I was able to find a tipper driver who agreed to help me to Benin. I arrived home around midnight. Since then, I have relented my efforts at creating extra sources of income.”

    In 2009, he went underground, painstakingly researched and came out with hot ideas and cutting edge tools on traffic generation, seo, article writing, Google Adsense, PPC advertising, professional copywriting, and web design, which eventually gave birth to his first breakthrough online via Google Adsense in 2010.

    His deep knowledge and experience in web design helped him to expand the business.

    He has since designed websites for someindividuals,business organisations and some churches in Nigeria.

    He has a network of successful blogs.

    He is the author of the book: eCash Hybrid (ECH101) – how an average Nigerian can easily make $250 daily on clickbank.

    For Osagie, starting his own business is a way of earning some extra money, as well as gaining invaluable experience. His master’s year has means well for him. He has time to get the business up and running and iron out any difficulties. His business and degree course are flexible, allowing him to organise his schedule.

    In the long term, he hopes to expand the business, to provide employment for people and to reach more customers.

    He wants his products to transform the lives of Nigerians, allowing them to provide for their families, educate their children, and pursue a limitless future.

    He stressed that true passion must be at the core of any business. According to him, if there’s no passion behind the idea, then there will be no substance to anything else one does. Osagie believes one must live and breathe his mission and idea.

     

  • Banks starving SMEs, says group

    THE Association of Micro Enterprises of Nigeria (AMEN) has blamed banks for starving small businesses of cash.

    Speaking in Lagos, its President, Prince Saviour Iche, said it was ‘heartbreaking’ to see so many businesses collapsing because lenders refused to assist them.

    Specifically, he criticised Bank of Industry (BoI), saying that it has done nothing to assist micro enterprises.

    The small-scale industrial sector, Iche added, if properly harnessed and given financial backing, technological and market back-up, can trigger economic development.

    Despite billions of naira claimed to have been pumped into the economy, Iche said small businesses were getting them.

    He said banks have refused to even consider the request of micro entrepreneurs simply because they were start-ups and their turnover wasn’t high enough.

    According to him, the industry was awashed with stories of healthy small businesses mucked around by banks, either by withdrawing a finance or with massive increases in their charges.

    He insisted that one of the key priorities for banks is to support small businesses if they want more jobs created.

    The goal of banks, he added, should be encouraging investment practices and the SMEs.

    He added that efforts were made by the government to create an investment-friendly environment, adding that these were not enough.

    He urged the government to engage infrastructure in economic activities, and to fast-track the process.

    The unemployment problem, which has crippled the youth because of lack of jobs in the formal sector, Iche said, could be absorbed by the small-scale industries.

    The AMEN chief added, however, that this could only be achieved if concerted efforts were made to transform into a meaningful platform.

    He urged the nation to wake up to assisting the small-scale industrial sector, noting that it could be the engine to drive the economy.

    To this end , he said there was need to create a SMEs credit portfolio to look into the requirements of this sector .

    One objective of this idea, he said, is to develop a financing mechanism for SMEs, which would enable business owners to access the loans without being subjected to unattainable requirements put forward by the traditional banking sector.

    The requirements of collateral, business plans, proper maintenance of business records and the impressive deposits would not be a factor in considering loans for the SMEs.

     

  • OAU, firm to train entrepreneurs, students

    OAU, firm to train entrepreneurs, students

    THE Institute for Entrepre-neurship Development Studies of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and a firm based in Lagos, Garu Tech, are to hold a two-day training for students and prospective entrepreneurs from August 17 to 18 at the university auditorium.

    According to the Chief Executive of Garu Tech, Lukman Garu Lawa, the partnership involves training students and professionals to meet the evolving demands of the auto diagnostics market and foster economic stability.

    Students, he noted, would learn about auto business entrepreneurship, self-assessment and starting a business plan.

    Whereas students continue to demand an entrepreneurial education, he said the downtrodden economy craves an influx of jobs from small firms.

    He said the workshop should inspire members to take innovation and entrepreneurship into their own hands, sharing key lessons they learned while developing their own businesses.Given the current challenging job market, he said the students need to learn to become more entrepreneurial in bringing in new businesses.

     

  • Raising quails for a living

    Raising quails for a living

    HE started his business by accident. He was aboard a vessel when he had an accident which affected his hand, thereby truncating his career as a marine engineer in the 90s.

    Thereafter, Stephen Oladipupo started arable farming, an area he had a background in. He later branched into mini-livestock.

    He started with N4,000. But, today, his business Adeoyin Farm Nigeria Enterprise, Otta, Ogun State, has grown and he is in the forefront of promoting quail birds as an alternative.

    According to him, quail eggs are a remedy against digestive tract disorders, such as gastritis, stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer.

    He said the eggs can help cure anaemia, increase hemoglobin level and remove toxins and heavy metals from the blood.

    It also helps in the treatment of tuberculosis, bronchial asthma, diabetes and vegetative-vascular dystonia.

    Besides, it promotes good memory, enhances brain activity and regulates the nervous system.

    Quail farming is a new venture for poultry farmers. Nigerians are becoming more aware of the benefits of healthy eating and have started looking for healthy supplements. This, he said, is responsible for the demand for quail eggs.

    Currently, there is a large and rapidly expanding market but supply is low. This, in his view, is the greatest advantage that those already in quail farming are enjoying.

    Through hard work and perseverance, Oladipupo wants to run a successful quail farming enterprise, supplying quails and pickled quail eggs to a niche market.

    Quail eggs take about 16 days to hatch and the birds are adults at six weeks. At six to eight weeks, under artificial lighting, they lay an egg a day. He learnt the hard way – through trial and error. He threw away a lot of eggs, because they would rot after two weeks.

    He set very high standards for himself.

    He said young graduates can go into raising goats, rabbits, poultry, quail, guinea fowl and snail farming.

    For him, networking and staying up to date with the latest trends is key to entrepreneurial success. According to him, persistence, hard work and having an idea that doesn’t “suck” are keys to small business success.

    He said entrepreneurs have to adapt to changing conditions, learn from failures and success. He wants to make a difference by informing, encouraging, and inspiring others.

    According to him, entrepreneurship is the vogue now, especially with the economy. The unemployment rate is very high.

    As university graduates can’t depend on finding a job right out of school, he said. New entrants have to be able to create opportunities where there are none.

    Across the country, there is a resurgence of domestic animals in backyards. He said the industry needed people with entrepreneurial drive, plus strong sales, marketing and operational skills. According to him, farmers are and can be great entrepreneurs.

    He noted that there is a need for people to shift from simply being food consumers to food producers. The opportunities for raising micro-livestock, he maintained, are many and there is a number of resources that provide the necessary tools and resources to raise the animals intelligently.