The Nation Newspaper

Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

  • Olam partners MIT on food production

    Olam International, a leading global agri-business, has partnered the United States-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology Solve (MIT Solve) to design a Challenge aimed at addressing the issues around sustainable food systems in Nigeria.

    Olam International and MIT Solve co-hosted a Challenge Design Workshop, which held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    ‘’MIT Solve is a hybrid business incubator and business ideas marketplace from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that advances solutions from tech entrepreneurs to address pressing global issues. MIT Solve connects innovators with resources such as expertise, human capital, technology, and funding,’’ the organisation said.

    The workshop was designed to engage cross-sector stakeholders in Nigeria, to deliberate on issues affecting the country’s agri-business ecosystem and aid MIT in designing Solve’s 2020 Global Challenges. The event was also aimed at building connections amongst individuals and organisations with an interest in innovation, to address social and environmental challenges.

    Addressing the audience on the rationale behind the event, Country Head, Olam Nigeria, Mukul Mathur,  said: “Olam started as a single-man, single product operation in Nigeria and we have managed to achieve massive growth over a 30-year period. However, we still face problems and we cannot fix these challenges alone. We realise the value of having an ecosystem which can help in proffering solutions, especially around sustainable food systems in Nigeria. It is important to have such an ecosystem of likeminded people. I know that together, we can fix these problems.”

    Read Also: Birthing successful small businesses

    Sustainability Community for MIT Solve, Sharon Bort, Officer, described the programme as an initiative of the MIT aimed at solving identified global challenges.

    According to her, the MIT Solve cycle, which starts in February of each year initiates competitions in the areas of Economic Prosperity, Health, Learning and Sustainability. Bort added that MIT Solve decided to focus on challenges of food to find solutions to issues around sustainable food systems.

    According to Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Olam International, Julie Greene,  the rise in the world’s population presents an opportunity for players in the agricultural value chain with the rapid rate of urban migration resulting in mass movements away from farms where crops are harvested. She said: “For most part of history, people lived near their food sources, they grew their own food. Today over 50 per cent  of the population lives in the cities. This has huge implications because of the channels through which these food products are transported and stored. The bigger challenge is that it inhibits people from having a healthy diet.”

    Ms. Green pointed out that agriculture also has its negative impacts, despite its positive effects. She said: “Agriculture and other land uses are responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from fertiliser, deforestation and transportation. Agriculture is responsible for 70 per cent  of freshwater withdrawals. While these are critical to productivity, they also have polluting effects on the environment. We only grow enough food to feed the population, but the problem is that one-third of that food never actually reaches our plates due to food loss and waste. Therefore, the food system needs innovation and that is why we are here today to answer the question “what are the various opportunities for a sustainable food system?”

    The Vice President, Farming Initiatives, Olam Nigeria Reji George identified food loss and wastage amongst some of the challenges encountered in agribusiness.

    He said: “One third of the global food production is wasted; and this is estimated to be around 1.3 billion tonnes of food. If food losses can be improved upon, global food security, food systems and nutrition will also improve.” He however added that Olam has commissioned surveys in some selected states in Nigeria, while also working with farmers to know the extent of losses incurred during harvest and find ways of reducing such losses.

  • Raising fashion entrepreneurs

    Lagos State has taken a proactive step of promoting local talent. The state’s Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, in partnership with Mac 89 experience,  has developed a platform for showcasing the country’s emerging fashion entrepreneurs, DANIEL ESSIET  reports.

    Textile and clothing is the second largest sector in the developing world after agriculture, according toAfrican Development Bank (AfDB).

    In Nigeria, the  appetite for fashion has grown enormously.

    Analysts believe the sector holds the potential to create jobs for women and youths.

    As a job creation strategy, the Lagos government is empowering young Nigerians to make success  in fashion in partnership with Mac89experience, a fashion startup.

    The goal is to help fashion entrepreneurs who  can lead thriving startups to break through barriers, to scale their businesses to their full potential.

    To achieve this, the government is  providing young entrepreneurs  with strategic support, training and access to the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

    Speaking in Lagos at the weekend during the Wave edition, the Lagos State Commissioner, Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke, said the government was determined to support job creation in the fashion and design value chains. The project, according to her, is part of its effort to create opportunities by connecting artisans to the global market.

    She pointed out that the fashion sector has potential to create jobs along the value chain.

    She added that the programme was implemented by Betti-0/Ruff ‘n’ Tumble.

    Her words: “Some of the organisers of this show were beneficiaries and  about 35 others will be participating in the exhibition. It is part of the initiative of Lagos State Government to skill the youth to be employable and to create wealth.’’

    The Wave programme, the commissioner explained, is a platform designed  to showcase the work of young entrepreneurs.

    She added that, though the ideas and the capacity exist among the talented entrepreneurs, there is a need to bring them closer to the market.

    The commissioner advised the young entrepreneurs to invest in enhancing their productivity and resilience, as the outlook is certain.

    As  part of the partnership, the  fashion businesses will show case  their products through an e- commerce channel created by Mac89.

    The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Boladele Dapo-Thomas, expressed her happiness to see many trainees of previous empowerment programmes become fashion designers and employers in their own right.

    “So, what more do we do for them? We need to expose them. We need to give them that market, believing that when we give them the market we will be enhancing their means of livelihood and survival.”

    Mrs Dapo-Thomas maintained that the drive to further expose the skills of the designers informed the hosting of the fashion show, maintaining that unlike other vocations, fashion needs awareness to attract the  patronage.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Sina Thorpe restated the need for Nigerians to patronise made-in-Nigeria designs.

    The Creative Lead Director, 89 Studio, Michaels Ikediashi, said the  industry has reached new heights, driven by creativity and business.

    He explained that the support of the Lagos State government is going to help the emergence of a large pool of talented fashion designers that has been developing for several years.

    According to him, the exhibition promotes designers by creating avenue for them to improve their skills and creativity, and build awareness.

    With exposure to the platform, Ikediashi said younger designers were more determined, confident and innovative mindset.

    On the training supported by Lagos State,  Ikediash said it  had helped to improve his skills.

    Read Also: Birthing successful small businesses

    The  Lead Communications, Mac89 experience, Victory Oriseowhe, said it  was essential to mobilise youths to take up entrepreneurship to accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy.

    She explained that the industry has the opportunity to stimulate growth, jobs and innovations, adding that the fashion entrepreneurs are vital to the economy.

    On the e-commerce for fashion designers, she explained that it allows artisans to connect with the market.

    Through the initiative, she added that fashion designers listed on the platform will source jobs from all parts of the country.

  • How Adaptive Network Solutions Can Address Business Challenges

    In today’s business landscape, an enterprise IT mandate is characterized by rapidly increasing pressure to deliver the network speeds, technology, and expertise to increase employee productivity, support diverse devices, and provide exceptional customer experiences. One of the strategic ways to make this vision a reality for enterprises is to deploy network technologies as an enabler. However, the existing enterprise-wide area network (WAN) is found inadequate to support the ever-expanding demands for data, applications, and bandwidth. In order to deliver these experiences at scale, IT departments are looking to build adaptive networks using tools such as software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) solutions.

    Delivery of Expected Networking Experience and Legacy Technology:

    There was a time not so long ago where it was possible to meet the immediate enterprise needs using purpose-built wide area networks that were inflexible. Today, top-level enterprises are operating in an environment with an enormous amount of data from multiple sources. Naturally, this has shortened the duration for processing, analyzing, and acting on this information. One of the ways to address this changing business demand is to evolve the individual, static networks to integrated, dynamic platforms.

    Static WANs can be transformed into programmable platforms using software-defined solutions. This simplifies the process of analyzing, prioritizing and delivering workloads for the team members over secure networks that are scalable, flexible, and capable of adapting promptly to shifting operational priorities. For example, SD-WAN creates an overlay network to eliminate the need to manage multiple access providers. This network is decoupled from the WAN, hardware, and links. The teams can make use of all WAN connections and choose the best available path dynamically by managing traffic at the application layer.

    By using adaptive networking solutions, procurement of bandwidth and related network functions is possible for the enterprises, in an on-demand manner. It is also possible to ensure faster response by centrally defining, configuring and managing network policy administration.

    Today’s Enterprise and Adaptive Network:

    Transitioning into SDN powered solutions allows IT leaders to turn technology into a significant competitive advantage by reducing networking complexity. Mentioned below are some of the top factors influencing the IT decision-makers to focus on building adaptive networks.

    • More effective data harnessing: Data is the nucleus of all interactions in today’s business environment. Enabling real-time adaptive network response becomes much easier for businesses by using SD-enabled solutions. As an example, this can drastically reduce the analytic request queues for an organization. As data-driven decision making becomes more critical for enterprises, it is possible to make a significant difference with the help of a network capable of accessing and analyzing packet flows and reacting quickly to changing requirements at the network level.
    • Improved operations and visibility: Better operational tools and visibility leads to higher efficiency and control. IT teams using SD-WAN toolsare more likely to be able to deliver better network-based results within a shorter timespan. With software-defined architecture,  IT administrators have access to tools capable of application performance monitoring, real-time changes, and adapting network performance according to the most important priorities of the organization.
    • Closing knowledge gaps: More and more enterprise IT leaders are now enjoying the benefits of expertise, technology, and tools to upgrade networks by teaming up with providers of managed and co-managed SD-WAN solutions. This helps them overcome the obstacles of tight IT budgets and the lack of specific in-house talent.
    • Lean IT teams: New approaches such as network functions virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking can be critical to alleviating the fast-emerging IT-focused human capital challenges.
    • Supports technology innovation: Multiple network functions can be virtualized by adaptive networking. Virtualization of functions such as load balancing, security, and routing onto a single device creates the required efficiencies for the team to function across the enterprise as strategic advisors.

     

  • Lagos seeks CBN partnership to boost SMEs growth

    By Daniel Essiet

     

    Lagos State Government has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to partner it (the state government) in its bid to achieve industrialisation through Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    The Head of Service (HoS), Hakeem Muri-Okunola, said the government is creating an enabling environment for SMEs to grow by deploying expertise, technology and financial resources to support entrepreneurship.

    He spoke at the weekend during the 31st anniversary reunion meeting of the Pioneer 1988 Class of the Lagos State University (LASU), held in Lagos.

    The HoS, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary, Office of Establishments and Training, Mr. Abiodun Bamgboye, said the nation needed business enterprises that would contribute meaningfully to the growth of the economy if it must meet the needs of the people.

    He said this explained why the government has been supporting SMEs through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.

    Muri-Okunola said the government would come up with policies and programmes that would encourage SMEs.

    “This is to ensure that more people are job creators and employers of labour.”

    He said the government is raising agro-entrepreneurs to boost the economy through its schemes.

    The Director, Development Finance Department, CBN, Dr. Mudashiru Olaitan, said lack of capital was hindering the development of start-ups.

    Speaking through the Deputy Director, Development Finance Office, CBN, Adedeji Adebisi, Olaitan emphasised the need to increase credit culture to boost SMEs growth.

    He said in Nigeria, Micro, Small and Medium    Enterprises ( MSMEs) are the engine for economic growth and industrial development, adding that of over 41.5 million MSMEs, 99.8 per cent  are micro enterprises.

    Olaitan said MSMEs employ 96.3 per cent of the national workforce as well as contribute 49.78 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

    According to him, “the total credit required to fully finance these SMEs is over $2 trillion – equivalent to 14 per cent of total developing economies’ gross domestic product (GDP).”

    In view of the peculiar challenges SMEs face in accessing financial services in Nigeria, he said  the CBN has established the N220billion Micro, Small and Medium   Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF), Agric Credit Guarantee Scheme, Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and financial inclusion programmes.

    He  restated the bank’s commitment to reducing poverty by increasing their access to credit facilities so as to enable them participate in economic development of the country.

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    He urged financial institutions to focus on creating business knowledge and managerial capacity among SMEs.

    The chairman of the occasion, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, said the performance of education sector was very unimpressive, as capacities to promote services through the sector were  poor.

    He said the performance of the educational system has dented the reputation of the country, adding that the sector requires very high commitment to the cause.

    He noted that inequality within the public school system is also immense, adding that so far governments have not been able to change matters much.

    For many Nigerians, he observed that the costs of higher education are an obstacle they cannot overcome.

    According to him, the sector needs an enabling environment for both private and public institutions to meet internationally accepted standards.

     

     

  • Touching lives

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Seed of Compassion Outreach (SoCo), is providing succour to people via its empowerment and donation programmes in the country and other parts of the West African sub-region. JOSEPH ESHANOKPE reports.

    THEY came from various parts of Lagos and Ogun states to attend the event, which held in Surulere with one aim: to acquire skills. But they got more than that. They received career talks on how to grow their businesses, cash and start-up kitss that would put their business on a sound footing.

    The 25 beneficiaries were trained on how to make perfume, Vaseline, hard soap and detergent, lotion and cream, air fresheners, as well as insecticides, among others, courtesy of Seed of Compassion (SoCo), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Badagry, but with other support outposts spread across the state.

    On why she embarked on the programme, the NGO’s Founder/CEO, Pastor Benedicta Gbemisola Olagunju, said it was because it is more beneficial to let people have a means to an end rather than give them an end in itself. She explained that it is better to teach people fishing and they would have fish forever than give them fish all the time, saying she was touched by the level of poverty in the community and decided to contribute to its reduction and ultimately, eradicate it.

    The cleric said true religion meant helping those in need, a reason she adopted “Restoring hope to the hopeless” as her slogan.

    The group started 13 years ago as a donor body, donating cash and equipment to individuals and communities, such as pumping machines to farmers whose farms were flooded in Badagry, paying bills of patients at the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, donating books and materials to the Correction Centre at Idi Araba, Lagos and erection of boreholes.

    But three years ago, she branched into training. So far, she has trained over 250 people, with appropriate follow-ups on the graduates.

    On feedback, she said the alumni had given a good account of themselves, adding that none has either absconded with its cash or abandoned their businesses.

    The SoCo chief said she had been doing the humanitarian work alone but with support from her husband, partners and few well-meaning Nigerians. ‘’The government has not been supporting us,’’ she claimed. She, however, thanked her supporters for their assistance. Specifically, she praised Chaplain J. B. Olawepo, the founder of We Save and Care, an NGO, her representative in Nigeria, for his immense support.

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    Mrs. Olagunju advised the beneficiaries not to give up, adding that successful businesses are not built in a day. Perseverance, creativity, tenacity of purpose, among other factors, she counseled, lead to business growth and survival.

    Two beneficiaries Prince Chinedu Wisdom and Mr. Edet Okon expressed gratitude to SoCo for the gesture, saying the training would give them a leeway in life. Okon, who had just come out of prison, said the training, cash and materials would give him a new life.

  • ‘Failure is a highway to success’

    Women are breaking barriers to become successful entrepreneurs. Among such is Tessy Isaac Umoh, chief executive,Teesocial Collectables. She took a leap to start her business of retailing. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Nothing could be truer for women entrepreneurs of today who are charting unknown territories with courage and determination.
    Be it in e-commerce, education, investing, travel, fashion, retail, fitness, hiring and others, they are proceeding with gumption and unbridled enthusiasm to change the world around them and make a difference with their ideas.
    One of them is Tessy Isaac Umoh. She is a fashion junkie, and on course to building a successful fashion start-up. In five years, she has grown her business to a notable platform with customers across the South-south region.
    Based in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Miss Umoh, whose business name is Teesocial Collectables, has made it selling male and female wears. She offers well-curated collections, which are available at affordable prices.
    How did the business idea come about? She said: “I love looking good always, so most of my friends want to buy what they see me wear. So, each time I buy stuffs for myself, I end up not wearing them. My friends will take them from me. So, one day I said to myself that it will not be a bad idea if I buy and sell to them. That was when the idea came up. “I went into the industry because I love fashion and making people look good. There’s an African saying that the way a man or woman dresses is the way he or she will be addressed. So, the fashion industry is huge and largely unexplored. I am happy the industry is booming but we are just still scratching the surface.’’

    Read Also: Boosting entrepreneurship through green opportunities

    Tessy started the business in 2014. Her words: “I started the business in a very small form that was 2014. This is my fifth year on this business.” adding: “It’s a small business which I started with funds raised from friends and family members.”
    The business, according to her, is self-sustaining.“Right now, the business has grown immensely. I give God the glory,” she said.
    As a woman who founded and built her business from scratch, she knows how difficult it can be to turn a dream into a lucrative business. As a start-up firm and because she works alone, she often needs to oversee all the aspects of the business.
    However in the course of her pursuit, she has faced some challenges, such as difficulty getting access to funds. It was her perseverance that has made the business grown.
    On failures and what she learnt from it, she noted: “Failure is a highway to success. I learnt a lesson when I first ventured into fish farming. I was saddened when I suddenly lost all my fish. They all died because I never took that serious. So, when I started my fashion business, I took it more seriously because I realised that I failed in my fish farming because of my lackadaisical attitude. So, that was the lesson I learnt from my loss; whatever one is doing to eke a livelihood deserves one’s time and attention,” she said.
    She has identified new opportunities and markets. She nurtures her prospects and reaches out to them regularly, asking what they need from her. She also tries to address their concerns timely.
    Her advice for young entrepreneur: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step forward as the Chinese proverb says. They should not allow initial set back to weigh them down.
    “Manage time and resources, don’t spend your capital; take part of your profit as running cost and plough it into the business. Stay focused and never ever allow initial setbacks to distract you. You must set a goal for yourselves and work to achieve the goal in the short-, medium- and long-term.”
    Her most satisfying moment in business is when she goes to the market and gets customers to buy them off her shelf.
    On the whole, she has made a lot of sacrifices to be a successful entrepreneur. She explained: “I made a lot of sacrifices. I remember taking goods on credit, which some of my customers will not pay for as expected. To keep the business going, I have to source money elsewhere to pay for my goods, so I could retain the trust of my suppliers while I wait for my own profit in the hands of my customers patiently.”
    This notwithstanding, she is proud of what she has accomplished. In 10 to 20 years, she believes with hard work, perseverance and abiding faith in God, her business will expand to employ hundreds of young people. Among her plans is to establish an online e-commerce platform.

  • Inspiring disadvantaged entrepreneurs

    A non-profit organisation, Project Enable Africa, is creating jobs for the disabled. It is a community development initiative that advocates empowerment of persons with disabilities in Africa, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Disadvantaged young people across Nigeria can now run their own businesses and social change projects, thanks to a nonprofit organisation, Project Enable Africa, a community development initiative that advocates empowerment of persons with disabilities in Africa.

    Its Executive Director, Mr. Olusola Owonikoko, who visited the headquarters of Vintage Press Limited, said the organisation  has established an Inclusion Hub in Surulere, Lagos  dedicated to enabling people with disabilities get support services.

    The project, supported by the United States government through the Alumni Engagement Innovation Funds and the US Consulate Small Grant, is aimed at promoting access of young persons with disabilities to ICT skills and opportunities, saying the organisation through its Fellowship Programme, offers training opportunities to 20 selected young persons living with disabilities in the hub. A few of them, according to Owonikoko, have participated in  coding and computer skills workshops, adding  that the organisation  aims to promote technology sector careers among disadvantaged  Nigerians in digital roles.

    He said technology and innovation create opportunities to accelerate problem solving, enabling people and societies to thrive, adding that the organisation is working to ensure people with disabilities are not left behind in the digital revolution, with challenges, including impaired vision, and hearing challenges.

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    He noted that technology and the acquisition of digital skills in particular can level the playing field for people with disabilities, adding that the NGO wants to ensure people with inpairments develop the skills needed to fill job opportunities created across the economic super structure.

    Owonikoko said students with disabilities have benefited from IT courses, stressing  that helping people with disabilities develop technical skills is a win-win. This is because it enables them to get jobs, build careers, gain personal independence, and overcome cultural stereotypes.

    He said the organisation has supported initiatives nationwide, including vocational training for physically challenged people.

    Guided by the goal to improve the labour force’s skill levels, Owonikoko said the organisation has launched a programme to improve the quality of technical and vocational education and training for disabled persons to have skills that respond to the labour market’s demand, and contribute to the nation’s economic development.

    At its centre in Surulere, disabled persons are exposed to core skills and competencies that they need for their future jobs and life-long development.

    According to him, Nigeria needs to do more to support people living with disabilities who want to run their own businesses. At present, he said,  it is hard for them to make a living, adding that helping them would benefit the broader economy too.

    Employability skills to meet

    business needs

    While the unemployment rate in the population of people with disabilities is worrisome, there is reason for hope.  This is because the hub is offering many examples of creative job training programmes and work opportunities for people with disabilities.

    With industry participation, he said disabled persons gain workplace skills before graduation, adding that it helps to address a recurring challenge where new graduates cannot get jobs while companies cannot find workers with the right skills.

  • Tapping into cassava industry’s opportunities

    Cassava flour has become an ingredient in snacks. This may be because it is gluten-free and high in fibre. Some youths are exploring the opportunities provided by Vitamin A cassava to make gluten-free baked goods, DANIEL ESSIET reports

    Cassava-based chips business is becoming upscale as more young entrepreneurs enter into the industry.

    The hitherto cottage industry is now becoming high-tech.

    One of the entrepreneurs involved is Pelumi Aribisala. He is the chief executive, Cato Foods & Agro Allied Global Concepts, a bio-fortified food processing company. From the start, he had to overcome the hurdle of unfamiliarity. This was because people were not used to eating cassava as part of or as a snack.

    He knew he was in for the long haul in his attempt to get Nigerians to embrace cassava-inspired snacks. It was not like he was in a big category, such as plantain chips. He was creating a new category. Defying the popularity of pre-packaged snacks, made by multinational companies, Aribisala has made bio-fortification his unique selling point.

    Today, he is a success story selling bio-fortified cassava chips, Combobite Fried Snack, made from a combination of Vitamin A cassava flour and cowpea.

    His belief in the power of food fuelled his success. His cassava chips are in convenient packets under the Cato brand name.

    Indeed, the snack industry is growing rapidly, and much of it can be attributed to entrepreneurs exploring the opportunity to change how Nigeria eats and how food is created.

    Many cashew-based products are rapidly hitting the market, many with high-end beautiful packaging and savvy marketing.

    Aribisala said there was a huge opportunity for the organised sector in the production and marketing of cassava-based chips and snacks.

    He has made efforts to get his products into as many customers’ mouths as possible, by adapting recipes and producing to suit modern health concerns. His company produces and markets Vitamin A cassava garri, fufu and flour.

     

    Growth opportunities

    For the Country Manager, HarvestPlus, Dr Paul Ilona, the major changes that have occurred in the industry have been consumers’ willingness to experiment.

    On the positive side, cassava snacks are perceived as low-fat, low-salt alternatives to traditional snacks, so the potential is great.

    According to him, a lot of young people are able to gain a stronghold in the snack market because it needs little capital of about N50,000 to start the business.

    Also, his organisation trains new entrants on how to produce them.  As a result, they are able to copy successful products while introducing local variants or new ones more suitable to local consumers.

    Running their business, according to him, also means that they are deeply involved in day-to-day operations and have a firm grip on costs.

    Ilona said the market for cassava- based snacks is exploding, especially in Oyo State. According to him, there are young Nigerians using cassava flour in baked goods, including in cookies and cakes.

    He said there were hundreds of young entrepreneurs in states, such as Benue, Akwa Ibom and Imo, that have found new means of livelihood with Vitamin A cassava – also called yellow cassava.

    According to him, entrepreneurs, who sell Vitamin-A cassava products, such as garri, fufu, abacha, bread, snacks and cakes, talk passionately about its nutritional benefits to consumers who patronise them.

    For him, adoption and sustained acceptance of cassava snacks requires greater consumer awareness about its health benefits.

    To this end, Ilona said his organisation was empowering new and existing entrepreneurs with training on product preparation, packaging, agri-business models and linkages to markets.

    He said his organisation conducts agricultural entrepreneurship training for young entrepreneurs. The training aims to equip them with skills in pioneering entrepreneurship in farmer-led agricultural enterprises in the rural areas.

    According to him, development of agricultural entrepreneurship system has more advantages and has a positive impact on improving youths and agricultural business actors in rural areas.

    On the whole, he added that the market for cassava snacks would grow, as more consumers become aware of cassava and its innate, desire free-from properties.

    He said entrepreneurs seeking to enter the market will need to do due diligence, just like they would for entering any market, including a thorough market feasibility study and establishing a clear strategy for entry.

    As diets, such as paleo, keto and gluten-free, have proliferated, cassava flour has emerged as a go-to ingredient for snack brands.

    So far, cassava-based snack foods that do exist are typically consumed by people who are already familiar with the product.

    A further bottleneck is that those who attempt to compete against the large snack food manufactures typically must find a niche product that can be sold through alternative markets first, such as health food stores.

  • Making a living in crypto currency world

    Crypto business is a male-dominated industry but women are making a success in the business.  One of them is the Chief Executive, BFC International Investment Services Limited, Eloho Oyinvb. She is using investment crypto to change lives, writes DANIEL ESSIET.

    The Chief Executive, BFC International Investment Services Limited, Eloho Oyinvb is one of the few Nigerians who make $200 daily. She is a Chemistry graduate. She is an entrepreneur and investor. She has a passion for the crypto space. But she started as a sales representative for a top pharmaceutical industry. She is a medical representative at Nomedi Pharmaceutical Limited, Lagos.

    She is involved in crypto currency trading. She is very successful. It wasn’t easy by any means. She worked hours to get where she is. She started with N10,000. She was able to grow her investment to N150,000 within three weeks. Her crypto currency earnings are enough to take care of her basic needs. In the long run, she is financially independent and free.

    Her desire to learn and understand crypto currency trading took root four years ago. As a young entrepreneur, she invested in crypto currency. She bought them low and sold at higher prices. She did make good money as a young crypto trader. As she advanced, she discovered there was more to the technology than just trading cryptos as she conducted diligent research. It then came to her consciousness that crypto currency is only a product of the blockchain technology.

    According to her, crypto is essentially part of the mainstream financial spheres. Being savvy has helped her to hop onto the train.

    A crypto-investment consultant since 2015, she has helped over 700 investors to increase their investment without losses, even when the crypto currency crashed in 2018.

    She aspires to eradicate poverty by helping individuals build on their investment by proper guidance on ways to invest by taking advantage of the crypto currency plunge or dip.

    For her, traders, male or female, trade in various styles, approaches, and risks. Over the years, she has   seen traders with small positions with consistent profits and some with consistent losses. There are also, large risk takers that show big profit and also lose big money.

    She is  inviting more Nigerians into the crypto space as traders, developers and executives.

    To achieve this, she has committed time, resources and money to make a more significant impact.

    She has started organising crypto currency events aimed at encouraging young people, and older Nigerians to join the industry. The response so far was extremely encouraging.

    What she has learnt is patience in building a business. For her, it takes patience, persistence and a lot more to stand firm as a successful entrepreneur. The other thing is that it takes time to build and grow anything into a beautiful reality.

    She foresees Blockchain technology having profound applications in Nigeria outside of comprising a vehicle for financial autonomy. Blockchain-based smart contracts provide an excellent solution to problems of contracts being denied or destroyed, an underhanded business practice.

    She hopes to “develop a Blockchain-powered marketplace for the pharmaceutical industry”.

  • ‘What women need in Nigerian business’

    A new International Trade Centre( ITC) report has identified the support women-owned and led businesses in Nigeria require to grow and engage in international markets.

    Women’s participation in the labour force is low and hasn’t evolved much over the past 20 years. Last year, only 50 per cent of all women in Nigeria participated in the labour force – a mere three per cent increase since 1990. Yet, recent shifts to a services-based economy and the prestige associated with women’s entrepreneurship are opening up opportunities for women to play a more active role in business.

    However, according to a new ITC report, women will only be able to seize these opportunities with the right support systems in place.

    The publication, ‘SheTrades: Promoting SME Competitiveness in Nigeria’ is based on results from the ITC Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Competitiveness Survey of about 400 women-owned or led businesses in Nigeria. The report identifies the societal and economic challenges facing these enterprises and underscores the support Nigerian women need to grow their enterprises.

    “The study helps policymakers understand not only how competitive Nigerian women entrepreneurs are today, but also how ready they are to compete in the future – a future that looks even brighter thanks to the opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area,” said Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, Arancha González.

    More flexible work environments

    Most of the surveyed firms recognised that there is prestige associated with being a woman entrepreneur in Nigeria.Yet, women continue to have a low rate of participation in Nigeria’s labour force. This is attributed, in large part, to the pressures on women to marry and assume family responsibilities at a young age.

    Flexible working practices can encourage more women to enter the workforce and stay employed once they are there. This ITC report recommends that policies are put in place to incentivize enterprises to offer more flexible working conditions. These policies would help Nigeria to widen its tax base and get more women into the labour force. Childcare facilities would also help women find more time to work outside the home.

    Business registration and certification

    More than half of the women-owned or led firms surveyed were not registered with a local or national authority, and about half of all surveyed firms reported poor access to information on domestic standards certification. Certification bodies received a poor rating by 42% of respondents. These are both impediments to growth, as registering a business and attaining certifications are often required to reach international markets.

     

    To encourage women to register their businesses, the ITC report recommends that trade and investment support institutions (TISIs) build awareness among women entrepreneurs about Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission, which is in charge of registering businesses. The report also highlights that sector associations, TISIs and Nigeria’s Standards Organisation are well placed to help firms of all sizes become compliant with international standards by building awareness of certification options and their benefits.

    Establishing formal relationships with banks

    Only about half of surveyed firms (52 per cent ) had a business bank account. Without a bank account, firms cannot access loans among many other financial services needed to grow their business. The ITC report recommends that women-owned and led enterprises be encouraged to set up bank accounts as soon as they are established so that they can begin building a relationship with a bank. Technical assistance trainings on financial management, applying for a loan, and business plan creation could also help firms meet their financial requirements for growth.

    Hiring skilled employees

    About 64 per cent  of surveyed firms in ITC’s report employ staff whose skills match the needs of the company, yet, just under half of these firms have an established hiring process. The ITC report suggests that capacity-building activities on the importance of a systematic hiring process would enable more firms to hire the right candidates that meet the needs of the company.

    Access to training

    Almost 60% of surveyed firms said they are growth-driven, motivated by building a successful company rather than supplementing family income. The most popular export training topics among surveyed firms were international markets and trade flows, how to raise financing, international standards and building an export strategy. The ITC report suggests that special trainings targeted at women entrepreneurs could result in more women-owned and led firms engaging in international trade.

    This SME Competitiveness Survey in Nigeria was carried out as part of ITC’s SheTrades Initiative to connect three million women to markets by 2021. SheTrades provides women entrepreneurs around the world with a unique network and platform to connect to markets. The initiative also helps corporations to include more women entrepreneurs in their supply chains.

    Culled from International Trade forum