Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

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”.

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.

 

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

 

Startup leaders from across the Southsouth and Southeast will be converging on Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital, later this month to position the emerging startup ecosystem in the region, DANIEL ESSIET writes.

Entrepreneurs in the Southeast have opted to grow their companies to maturity. But they cannot  do it alone. They need the help and experience of peers who face similar growing pains — and they need to join forces so that problems they encounter can be quickly addressed.

To this end, Startups South 5 will,  in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital,  gather mentors and innovation leaders good at fostering ideas and startups to network and deepen connections.

The event is billed for between October 29 and November 2. It will hold at E3 Event& Banquests, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Themed: Unlocking the next 60 million people, the  convener,Uche Aniche said the conference would promote entrepreneurship and help develop world-class regional startup hubs as well as highlighting the regional startup sector to global entrepreneurs, innovators and research and development teams.

The agenda would centre on experience sharing, regional goal harmonisation, startup funding options.

For him, the programme is a fantastic opportunity for those who are thinking of starting a business, those who want to scale their business or others who might want to invest in startups to come together, be inspired by each other and share new ideas.

He believes the region has all of the vital ingredients to become a global startup hub, and that what they need now is to bring them together to make it a reality.

According to him, Startup South is about driving real change across the startup sector, creating better networks, connections and collaborations with all of the players across the entrepreneurship spectrum – the startup leaders, investors, the government, research centres, universities, large corporates, and multi-nationals – to work collectively to build on the region strength.

Amazon, an American multinational technology company-based in Seattle, Washington, has announced the investment of $15 million globally on tools and services in an effort to support their merchants to succeed on the marketplaces.

The investments, according to the company were injected into programmes such as Amazon Handmade, Amazon Launchpad, Amazon Business, Amazon Advertising or Fulfillment by Amazon.

Globally, Amazon merchants currently account for 58 per cent of global sales oi the marketplace, contributing significantly to Amazon’s success. It is estimated that these companies have created 1.6 million jobs worldwide, up from 900,000 in 2017. The number of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that exceeded $1 million in sales in Amazon stores globally grew by 20 per cent last year. In Spain alone, the 8,000 companies that sell through Amazon created more than 10,000 direct jobs.

The Head of Amazon Marketplace, Spain, Ryan Frank, said: “Small and medium-sized businesses are the soul of the Spanish economy, from Amazon we are fully committed to helping and promoting them. As part of our dedication to supporting independent retailers, we have thousands of employees worldwide who work developing specific tools and services to grow their sales in Amazon stores and expand their business. Ultimately, our success depends on your success. ”

The tools and services that Amazon offer – from inventory tracking to price management, marketing and brand promotion tools through sales reports and webinars – help to reduce entry barriers for small and medium businesses in ecommerce.

Through Seller Central, the operations centre for sellers, small and medium businesses have access to information about their sales and inventory, as well as resources to help them manage it and grow their business on Amazon.

Henrietta Nwanji Ogechukwu and her business, Hetty Coconut World, have been hailed as pioneers. She has created an environmentally-friendly enterprise by producing things from coconut waste. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

International award-winning entrepreneur, Nwanji Ogechukwu Henrietta, founded her business, Hetty Coconut ,two years ago.

She said: “I didn’t plan to go into the business. I stumbled on the vision and ran with it. My quest for the solution to my hair problem led me to coconut in 2017. I started with coconut oil and the first coconut oil looked more like palm kernel oil, the only difference was the smell. Through research, I discovered that there was more to coconut than just the oil. I also discovered that what people call waste, that is the coconut shell is disguised fortune. These coconut shells are improperly disposed into the environment or used as firewood for cooking, thereby causing pollution to the environment. To tackle this problem, I discovered a means of eradiating this pollution by recycling these coconut shells into valuable eco-friendly products.”

A graduate of Computer Science from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Henrietta, popularly known as “Coconut Professor”,  started  the business with five  coconuts, which was equivalent to about N1,000 in her location.

But the business has grown. Her words: “The business has grown rapidly beyond the N1, 000. I started with N1000 and have sold over 2000 products.” She has three part time staff.

After harvesting the coconut flesh, farmers discard thousands of shells, which are usually burned or used as landfill.

That was then. Now she is turning trash into treasure by using discarded coconut shells to create bowls.

The popularity of such bowls on cafe menus and at home has helped in driving her business.

She is not stopping at coconut bowls. She has expanded the range to include other products made from coconut off-cuts. On her stable are eco-friendly products, such as wristbands, buttons, key holders, soap dishes and bowls made with coconut shells.

Building a sustainable business has become increasingly important to her.

Words of mouth has proved a tremendous growth vehicle for her business. She is using various social media channels to post photographs of the coconut bowls.

The life of an entrepreneur is motivating her to improve herself daily. It is motivating her to learn new things and do things differently and more efficiently.

She has been able to cultivate a knowledgeable business network to turn to for expert advice.

Her challenges: “I will rather call it challenge instead of failure. I have been unable to acquire industrial machines needed to upscale production to reach more people. Currently, I work with simple tools for production. I have learned that we can only create limitations for ourselves with our excuses. I didn’t wait to acquire all the big machines I needed, instead I started with my simple tools and produced amazing products which are appreciated locally and internationally. I believe that this is only a stepping stone to the exploits I will do with coconut shells.

What has been your most satisfying moment in business? “My most satisfying moment in business is being able to create valuable products from what people call waste (Coconut shells)

 

Looking Ahead

 

The future is bright for her coconut-based products. More products lines, more distribution deals and continued success ensure she won’t quit the business.

She wants to use coconut shells to produce more eco-friendly products. So far, she is proud of her accomplishments. “I am very proud of my achievements so far, the journey that started as a joke,” she said

She has been featured as one of the 10 Innovative Young Leaders in Nigeria in African Women in Leadership Organisation (AWLO) 10th Anniversary Magazine. She is an alumnus of the United States Exchange programme – Academy for Women Entrepreneurs; Enactus Nigeria, and The Platform: Young Professionals. The founder of Hetty Coconut World is a recipient of Innovation award at International Youth Summit by Jamie Pajoel International.

Her advice for young entrepreneurs: “Believe in yourself. Put God first. Be consistent in whatever you are doing.’’

In 10 years, she sees her business creating employment for over 500 people and impacting the lives of one million people through Corporate Sustainability Responsibility (CSR).

The yearly founder’s conference organised by Sales Ruby, an empowerment organisation in Lagos, brought together celebrated entrepreneurs who advised youths on how to avail themselves of opportunities and utilise innovative solutions for sustainable development, DANIEL ESSIET reports .

The yearly Founders  Conference, which held at Pistis hub, Maryland,  Lagos, brought together celebrated  entrepreneurs to offer expert  advice  to young Nigerians, explore business opportunities and innovative solutions for development challenges.

The event was a gathering of entrepreneurs, business owners, corporate executives and many others, with an aim to help 1,500 businesses and startups scale up their growth.

Some of the speakers during the programme include: Founder, CWG Plc, Austin Okere; Chief Executive, IO Furniture, Mrs Munira Shonibare; Chief Executive, Alpha Mead, Femi Akintunde and Chief Executive, Sales Ruby, Bunmi Jembola.

By drawing attention to celebrated entrepreneurs, Bunmi Jembola, said the conference hoped others would feel inspired to not only devise fresh approaches to solving challenges, but also adopt and attract support to upscale and achieve greater impact.

Said Jembola: “This year, we have constituted an uncommon team of very erudite speakers who have proven in their various businesses that getting unusual results is indeed very realistic.”

Keynote speaker Austin Okere, who is the founder of Computer Warehouse Group, (CWG), stated that leaving one’s job to start a business is very difficult and it was of high importance to build trust in a business.

He further stated that getting one’s first client could be tough, but if the business owner could push through that and gets repeat patronage, and then he would make money.

Okere said fear and excuses were  major factors that stop people from starting something, adding that hitting brick walls of frustration and stress cannot be avoided.

He said building capability, functionality, partnerships, diversification and succession were key ingredients needed to sustain a business

He said technological impact is bigger and so is the opportunities open to startups and enterprises if they embraced and lead their transformation.

He said the timing of bringing innovation to commercial fruition is a new competitive advantage that set apart the winners.

Speaking about CWG, Okere said the company was established in September 1992 with $16,000 and six staff. He recalled: “We built the company up slowly and steadily in the ICT markets and began to expand. We thrive on staying ahead of the curve in the ever-changing technology landscape and maintaining a dominant leadership position. We have evolved from being a Dell PC sales and support company, through providing enterprise systems, becoming an outsourcing company providing managed services to major clients, such as MTN, where we have over 100 badged engineers managing their IT infrastructure, to becoming a dominant IT utility enabler in our region, providing Software-as-a- Service through Cloud Computing on a subscription basis.

He said the company enjoyed steady growth since 1992.

On  the key success factors, he said it was the decision to adopt a strong innovation strategy with long-term objectives.

He said the journey to the company’s achievements had been documented in a case study by the Columbia Business School, New York, United States.

He advised startups and entrepreneurs to re-evaluate their strategies to take into account the eruption of new technologies, specifically the effects of digitisation.

Another speaker, an interior designer and Chief Executive, IO Furniture, Mrs Munira Shonibare,  started the  business in 1987.The first job she did came from her father; thereafter, she started having referrals.

Her winning formula was creating furniture designs that could be sold abroad. The company was started from the scratch. The intricacies and systems required for a successful business were learnt in that manner. Her philosophy is simple –  to innovate and explore and push the boundaries of the furniture and design world.

She sees challenges as learning experiences and not as setbacks.

As a woman, she had to work extra hard to be a good mother and business woman. But she loves what she does and that translates into every aspect of her life.

It has taken commitment to stick to her core ethos and values and to develop a business model that she can be proud of and support.

She revealed that having mentors who have succeeded in areas where a person wants to be could never be over-emphasised.

Also, that hard work, determination, discipline and focus, as well as knowing when to scale up, either due to risks or increase in demand in business, should also be looked into.