The Nation Newspaper

Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

  • Capacity devt solution to unemployment, says Kumuyi

    The General Superintendent, Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, has said capacity building is a panacea to unemployment

    Kumuyi stated this during the maiden edition of the Young Professional Forum (YPF) of the church’s Mega Summit, tagged: Gaining the edge, held at the international headquarters of the church in Lagos.

    He said youths are important in God’s plan and, as such, must live a transformed life so that they could make progress in their careers.

    Kumuyi, represented by the Lagos State Moderator of the church, Pastor Kenneth Nwosu, said due to the global economic meltdown that led to hardship in many countries, including Nigeria, there is a problem of unemployment. Moreover, there are only few white collar jobs  available for the huge population of qualified young people to vie for.

    ‘’The need to become self-employed and create businesses and enterprises that eventually will generate jobs that will reduce the problem of unemployment becomes very necessary, hence the church felt the need to, as part of her social responsibility, organise the Skill Acquisition Programme (SAP), through its in-house Young Professionals Forum (YPF) as a vital capacity building event to assist youths gain the required skills needed to enhance their employability and equally empower them in the quest for self-employment and also become employers themselves.

    He further noted that as part of efforts to assist in reducing the congestion in government owned universities, the Church established Anchor University as a way of contributing its own quota to the development of the young people with character and leadership skills for the advancement of the nation.

    During the summit, which attracted about 3,000 participants from various parts of the country, the keynote speaker, Dr. Famuyiwa Abiodun, who is the Head of Retail Business and Community Banking, FirstBank Nigeria, talked about “Winning in a competitive world”. He charged the participants to remain focused in order to remain at the top in life, saying: “To win in life, attitude is everything.

    YPF President Mr. Daniel Bamigbayan expressed optimism that there is hope for Nigeria and Africa.

    Other speakers were Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Executive Motors, Dr. Ayo Ogunsan; Group Chief Information Officer, WAPIC Insurance, Tobe Nnadozie and Group HR Director Chanrai Summit Group Africa, Mr. Victor Adebayo.

    The highpoint of the event was the graduation of about 800 participants in the church’s third Skill Acquisition Programme (SAP).

  • Making a fortune in hair styling

    From being jobless, Ngozi Vivian Nkadi has become an employer via hair styling, reports Daniel Essiet

    Ngozi Vivian Nkadi’s dream was to get a well-paying job. That was not  to be for the Business Administration graduate of Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State.

    After staying at home for six months without making a head way, she decided to go into hair-styling, an area she loves.

    Ngozi said in school, she was helping her colleagues make their hair. Her first leap of faith was switching careers. Then she decided it was time to explore opportunities in hair business rather than stay home.

    To prepare for the next phase of her journey, she decided to go into  apprenticeship in the market and researched every aspect of the hair styling business. She spotted a gap in the hair care market, especially wigs and hair extensions. It was this discovery that prompted her to find out how she could create her own line of extensions, knowing that the quality and accuracy of the hairs’ look and feel would be a crucial selling point.

    After some time, she adjusted to make the hair look good. She also made braides. For six months, she  learnt the trade.

    She told The Nation the first three months were very tough, but she managed to push forward and continued to focus on the business. After a modest start, her popularity spiked, thanks to social media and word of mouth. Today, with two staff, she is happy. She attributed her success to perseverance and clients’ satisfaction.

    Watching other stylists work in the market kept her up-to-date and knowledgeable in a competitive market.  She was taken in, too, by how collaborative she was with the other stylists. She asked for their opinions and advice.  She tried her styles as well as new products.

    What challenges did you encounter? The first challenge was building her business. This is an ongoing struggle. She has to learn to manage her expectations as well as those of her clients. She has high standards for herself and for others

    Being a small business owner has given her the freedom to be who she wants to be. Seeing where she came from and believing that she will continue to achieve success, is very rewarding.

    The experience has given her a command, authority and confidence. She just wants to help people feel and be their best. What has she learnt from her successes and failures? She learnt that one must  have a vision about which one is and hold on to it.

    Her words: “Know what you’re great at and believe in it.” She love helping clients see something in themselves they’ve never seen before. She can update their style and create something new and more flattering for where they are right now. She loves it when clients look in the mirror and say, “perfect.”

    As an extension of the natural hair community, the wig and extension business will keep growing for as long as it remains profitable. And though mass-produced items threaten to overshadow the market, she believes the women running their small businesses still hope to inspire and cultivate their own loyal client base.

    Her business is her focus. She sees herself doing more. Her goal is to get as many women as possible and experience their hair beautiful.

  • Opportunities in Blockchain

    Blockchain, a technology that uses online distributed ledger, is creating jobs. Stakeholders speak on the opportunities in the subsector on the sidelines of a MeetUp forum in Lagos, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Blockchain, also described as distributed ledger technology (DLT), is changing the economy by making transactions more efficient and reliable.

    This is because it helps organisations and individuals organise data into blocks, which are chained together in an append only mode. The system enables recording of interactions and transfer “value” peer-to-peer, without a need for a centrally coordinating entity.

    Organisations are deploying the technology to speed up transactions.

    This has created jobs opportunities for Nigerians.

    Founder/coordinator, Blockchain Nigeria User Group, Chuta Chimezie, said Blockchain technology helps to maintain and verify digital records in “blocks” that can be shared between various parties.

    Also called “distributed ledger technology”, ledgers can be updated instantly in any  location. The information can never be erased.

    Chimezie said Blockchain is among the most sought-after abilities workers will need in the future.

    He said the development of Blockchain distributed ledgers for businesses is one of the fastest-growing jobs.

    To take advantage of such opportunities, youths must acquire skillset in programming languages. According to him, for Blockchain technology to gain traction, it will require more developers to acquire the skills to work with the technology. For the moment, he said developers that do have experience in the field are in high demand. He said there are jobs for Blockchain project managers, engineers and web designer.

    He added that people with experience in specific Blockchains are in higher demand.

    He said local firms are posting a plethora of Blockchain jobs, but there is a dearth of talents to fill them.

    The Managing Director, Jelurida Africa DLT, Adebayo Adebajo,  said the organisation is empowering Nigerians in viable and feasible business ventures they can engage with the use of the Blockchain.

    Aside conferences, he said Jelurida teamed up with the Nigeria Blockchain Alliance (NBA), a sub-division of the Cryptography Development Initiative in Nigeria (CDIN), to organise a Campus Blockchain Hackathon.

    The objective, he explained, was to engage the academic community on the importance of Blockchain technology, its relevant use cases and more specific, its adoption for enterprising solutions.

    The first of the campus hackathon sponsored by Jelurida was held last year in Kwara State University.

    According to him, it was a delightful moment to witness, as the enlightened young minds were able to create amazing and relevant use cases for the Blockchain technology. Hackathon is one of the many platforms that Jelurida is employing to create technological awareness and to make Blockchain technology popular in Africa.

    The second campus hackathon programme took place at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The programme was held, in collaboration with ABU developers (ABUdevs) and KadICT Hub. He said  the students were exposed to the use-cases of the Blockchain Technology and enlightened on creative and innovative solutions that can be worked on using the Blockchain technology, especially ideas on governance (E-voting), agriculture, education and real estate.

    He said students were made to think creatively about how Blockchain can be used for financial inclusions and services in their schools.  Ideas and Blockchain based solutions were also generated and pitched by the students.

    He said the organisation is promoting activities to generate business ideas from startups and small businesses towards the goal of a decentralised and transparent ecosystem.

    He said his organisation has developed training programmes to enable Nigerians benefit from opportunities emerging from the sector.

    His words: “There are lots of available jobs in the Blockchain space, but there are not enough of people to apply for them as the current graduates aren’t equipped with the experience required.”

  • Capacity devt solution to unemployment, says Kumuyi

    The General Superintendent, Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, has said capacity building is a panacea to unemployment

    Kumuyi stated this during the maiden edition of the Young Professional Forum (YPF) of the church’s Mega Summit, tagged: Gaining the edge, held at the international headquarters of the church in Lagos.

    He said youths are important in God’s plan and, as such, must live a transformed life so that they could make progress in their careers.

    Kumuyi, represented by the Lagos State Moderator of the church, Pastor Kenneth Nwosu, said due to the global economic meltdown that led to hardship in many countries, including Nigeria, there is a problem of unemployment. Moreover, there are only few white collar jobs  available for the huge population of qualified young people to vie for.

    ‘’The need to become self-employed and create businesses and enterprises that eventually will generate jobs that will reduce the problem of unemployment becomes very necessary, hence the church felt the need to, as part of her social responsibility, organise the Skill Acquisition Programme (SAP), through its in-house Young Professionals Forum (YPF) as a vital capacity building event to assist youths gain the required skills needed to enhance their employability and equally empower them in the quest for self-employment and also become employers themselves.

    He further noted that as part of efforts to assist in reducing the congestion in government owned universities, the Church established Anchor University as a way of contributing its own quota to the development of the young people with character and leadership skills for the advancement of the nation.

    During the summit, which attracted about 3,000 participants from various parts of the country, the keynote speaker, Dr. Famuyiwa Abiodun, who is the Head of Retail Business and Community Banking, FirstBank Nigeria, talked about “Winning in a competitive world”. He charged the participants to remain focused in order to remain at the top in life, saying: “To win in life, attitude is everything.

    YPF President Mr. Daniel Bamigbayan expressed optimism that there is hope for Nigeria and Africa.

    Other speakers were Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Executive Motors, Dr. Ayo Ogunsan; Group Chief Information Officer, WAPIC Insurance, Tobe Nnadozie and Group HR Director Chanrai Summit Group Africa, Mr. Victor Adebayo.

    The highpoint of the event was the graduation of about 800 participants in the church’s third Skill Acquisition Programme (SAP).

     

  • Transforming lives

    Co-founder, Ritetrac Consulting Nigeria Limited, Mrs Ojiugo Ajunwa, is passionate about sharing knowledge and supporting people to reach their goals. She trains professionals from various fields to be change agents, writes DANIEL ESSIET.

    IF there is anything that entrepreneurship has taught Mrs Ojiugo Ajunwa in the past few years, it is that Nigerians are longer affected by boundaries. Thanks to the internet.

    Mrs Ajunwa, co-founder, Ritetrac Consulting Nigeria Limited, earns six-figure yearly coaching people to use their gifts to create profitable businesses.

    The mother of two helps entrepreneurs to build and launch online businesses so they could make extra income.  She has achieved success using online platform to bring innovative digital products to market and enable consumers to be part of positive change.

    How did the idea of her business come about?

    She said: “We saw a gap 11 years ago in the professional management capacity building space, especially project management and business process improvement training consulting space. With these two ideas, we kickstarted our organisation in January 2008.  Today, she is a success story exploring opportunities in the knowledge industry. She has been in the business for about 12 years.

    She explained: “We actually didn’t start with much money, but tasked our brain with coming up with our own conceived conferences and workshops, which was basically funded by stakeholders in any industry that we may need to impact. We also leveraged the use of internet, working online to gain visibility, authority, popularity and relevance through our blog career and business mentor so down the road the blog sent business and we were able to rent a small office space to kick off our operations.”

    She continued: “We run a lean organisation of three permanent staff and 36 contract based staff which comprises mainly of consultants and trainers across Nigeria and in the diaspora.”

    But she later had a problem. “Our main failure was not segmenting the market. We focused on just one service to one target market. So, over the years, we offer virtual consulting and training classes at different price points to ensure sustainability. The hotels and other rented facilities were not kind at all. In fact, that is the major set-back for new beginners that I see. Thank God for the advent of virtual offices and spaces.’’

    Her advice for young entrepreneurs? “Ensure that you have clarity of purpose on the business you will like to start. If you can have a clear picture of where you want to be, then start taking those baby steps, which include researching the market, creating your minimum viable product, testing this out in the market as quickly as possible, getting your results and evaluating if you should go with this particular service or product. Also, don’t over analyse things.’’

    In  20 years, she sees herself as an Impactpreneur, who will be touching women and youths especially and encouraging them to step up with their investments.

    “For our business, I see our stage enlarging to Africa, especially where we can provide quality virtual or in-person consulting and training services where ever you may be. The world needs us to build capacity in Africa,” she said.

    She stressed the importance of defining dreams and taking action daily to make them a reality.

  • Fresh boost for upcoming start-ups

    An international non profit organisation, Mass Challenge and University Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P) in Ben Guerir, Morocco, launched its ‘Impulse Accelerator Programme, to support start-ups in Nigeria and the rest of Africa, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    With more than 75 per cent of its people under the age of 35, Nigeria and the rest of Africa can boast of one of the world’s youngest populations. However, the number of startup companies founded by young  Nigerians and the rest of Africa is still  low compared with that of Europe. This has been a source of concern to analysts. To them, giving the youth opportunities to build new businesses will reduce the number of irregular migration to Europe.

    Consequently, there are concerned efforts to see more African youths start or run new businesses. These include a series of initiatives designed to promote entrepreneurship and incubate start-ups.

    To this end, the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic  (UM6P) in Ben Guerir, Morocco, in collaboration with a United States (US)-based not for profit organisation, Mass Challenge, has launched its ‘Impulse Accelerator Programme, to  support  startups in Nigeria and the rest of Africa  in the fields  such as agritech, bio-technology, mining technologies, materials sciences, and nano-sciences. The global programme aims to pool resources, integrate and accelerate startup projects the incubator will be fostering across the continent. It  is designed to equip young entrepreneurs with the skill sets to develop and grow  startups.

    Impulse Programme Director, Adnane Soulimani, said the programme was dedicated to start-up businesses, fostering innovation and supporting entrepreneurs with their projects through its acceleration programme.

    In addition to opening doors to new technology entrepreneurs, Soulimani believed it will boost  the drive towards economic diversification. It will see startups receive guidance from local and international experts to help grow their start-ups.

    Soulimani stressed that  incentivising investment in start-ups and small businesses are key to creating a successful ecosystem.

    According to him, the goal of impulse is to cultivate a healthy innovation ecosystem that drives economic growth and societal impact.

    He said participating startups will have full access to state-of-the-art research facilities and laboratories, equipped with the latest equipment. They will be supervised by OCP experts, professors and Ph.D. students from the UM6P, and mentors from the world of entrepreneurship.

    Impulse, he said, is open to Moroccan and international start-up projects, with an aim to foster the development of an innovation hub that will respond to African needs.

    Through the programme, Soulimani said start-ups will have the opportunity to compete for a $250,000 prize at the Demo Day where the projects will be presented to a panel of judges.

    He said start-ups interested and selected by a jury of local and international experts and mentors will pitch in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Lagos.

    According to him, the programme will provide financial assistance to entrepreneurs and will also provide business skills training, like when and how to raise funds for a project.

    He explained that applications for the programme are open until October 1. The accelerator programme will start on January 15, with the Demo Day taking place on April 8.

    Secretary-General, University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), Hicham El Habti, said the university was determined to bring together all the players in the business of innovation in Morocco, Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

    From the emergence of an idea, to the technological maturation, through the acceleration of high-tech companies and assistance in fundraising, he said experts will cross skills within its ecosystem to detect startup projects and accompany them right from their early stage of development.

    Habti said the institution in partnership with OCP Group, launched “Impulse,” a 12-week accelerator programme to support start-ups.

    He said the programme was designed with Mass Challenge, a global start-up accelerator, which has supported more than 1900 start-ups around the world, raising $4.3 billion in funding.

    The university, according to him, provides dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society.

    Chief Communications Officer, Mohammed V1 Polytechnic University, Khalid Baddou said the institution has five founding principles: applied research; innovation and entrepreneurship; addressing Africa’s socio-economic development challenges; adopting a partnership approach; openness on the world with national focus; social equity and merit.

    He   said technology transfer and knowledge exchange represent a significant investment for the institution, adding that it has developed a vibrant entrepreneurial environment that is becoming an increasingly strong competitive driver for attracting students.

    He said there were programmes to help students’ fast-track the commercial development of their ideas and strengthen their entrepreneurial skills, adding that OCP international is championing a new regional effort to transform African  agriculture.

    Director, Global Partnership, Mass Challenge, Brittany McDonough, said the incubator looks for high-impact startups, with a viable path to success and some traction/progress in their plans.

    According to her, MassChallenge does not take equity from the startups they support.

    Herve Pillaud of Digital Africa said there is need for exchange of ideas between African entrepreneurs on digitalisation.

    He emphasised building capacities for adapting technologies by different farmers, adding that there has been increase in the number of startups in the field of precision farming, offering a variety of products, from sensors that obtain accurate data to the products that simplify the decision-making process.

    Co-founder, SOWIT, Hamza Rkha Chaham, said the startup  technologies has helped to resolve real-world problems in food security and precision agriculture.

    Chief Executive, Small Enterprise Funds, Meriem Zairi, also said venture capitalists are committed to funding innovative entrepreneurs, working closely with them to transform breakthrough ideas into emerging growth companies that drive job creation and economic growth.

     

  • VPWM Business Summit: Women entrepreneurs set for exploits

    The second half of 2019 is here. The Victorious Praying Women Ministry (VPWM) has held a business summit in Lagos where participants were given successful business tips and enlightened on the power of mentorship. The Premium Business Luncheon presented an opportunity for participants to network and strategise on how to maximise opportunities in the remaining part of the year and beyond, and to grow their businesses. Facilitators from banking, real sector and investment coaches made a case for multiple streams of income and the need for quality customer services, reports COLLINS NWEZE.

    Successful businesses are not built overnight. They take painstaking efforts and planning to be established, nurtured, and sustained.

    That explains why the Victorious Praying Women Ministry (VPWM) last week, organised business summit in Lagos where facilitators from various segments of the economy coached women entrepreneurs on ways to grow their businesses.

    Speaking at the event, which held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Investment Coach, Sola Adesakin, said women need to make the best use of business opportunities in the second half of the year and beyond. She said: “As you go into the second half of the year, getting the right information and knowledge on how to run a successful business, will guide you through the year and beyond.”

    According to her,  women can make a difference in building successful businesses, adding that achieving exploits in one’s business requires knowledge.

    “In your personal finances, you need to know the right things to do. For you to do well in business, you need to have deep knowledge of what you are doing and the opportunities in the sector. Becoming financially successful is not about academic qualification, but knowing the right step to take at each point in time. It is about being financially literate and investing wisely,” she disclosed.

    Adesakin added: “You need to have oversight on your business. You can outsource certain areas of the business, but you also need to know the job. Achieving exploits is time-sensitive as there is always need to take timely decisions. If God is putting something in your heart, go ahead and do it. There is no need to delay or sit on your ideas,” she advised.

    She said challenges can also push one to achieve success. “In the Bible, David, Joseph exploits were challenges-induced. Some of us want to do exploits, but cannot handle challenges. You need to take risks, as there are no exploits without challenges. You need to move away from your comfort zone. Exploits require action. Women entrepreneurs need to take action to realise their goals. They also need people and build quality friendship to drive and achieve their goals,” she added.

    Another speaker, Mrs. Funmi Arowo-ogun, said women need to be active members of the society. She said: “There are three sets of people: people that make things happen, people that observe what is happening and people that did not even know that anything had happened. People that make it in life will always be problem solvers and focused individuals. You also need to be multi-tasked and explore opportunities in multiple streams on income. Always have work-life balance.”

    She said women entrepreneurs need to take additional responsibilities, and increase their knowledge levels. She also advised participants not to allow their homes suffer because of the business they are doing.

    A public speaker, Olufunke Fajimi, spoke on customer-seller interaction. She said: “ The way you handle your customers determines your success level. You need to ensure that your business relationship with customers is symbiotic. You also need to give your customers value for their money.

    “Once your customers are not getting the desired value, they may not continue and the business will suffer. Always go the extra mille for your customers, but not at the expense of the business because the business also needs to stay afloat. More so, never fight your customer and ensure that you target the rich,” she advised.

    Another facilitator, Dr. Bukola Adewakun, spoke on the opportunities in the agricultural sector. She said as an entrepreneur, she is into cocoa farming and palm oil production. She said women have so much capacities to be successful and should work hard to realise their life goals. “We have so much in us. There are too much power when pressure is put on the human brain. Put pressure on yourself and you won’t believe the result that you will achieve,” she advised.

    Former banker, Mrs. Ope Wemi-Jones, spoke on customer services. She said: “You need to use service to drive growth. You need to be clear about where you started and where you are going as well as find the best route to your destination.”

    Convener of the summit Pastor Mayokun Oreofe, said the event was meant to inspire women entrepreneurs to greater heights. She also used the opportunity to open mentorship opportunities for the participants.

    The participants were given the opportunity to pick one of the facilitators as their mentor at zero cost. “The conference is for business women, who want to go the extra mile in their businesses. We are committed to ensuring that women achieve their life ambitions and we guide them on that path to success,” she said.

    Oreofe said the conference was also a great opportunity for women to succeed in their businesses because in a competitive business environment, one needs determination, knowledge, skills and quality customer services to achieve desired goals, adding that these are issues that were addressed in the summit.

  • Poor power supply: Startups to the rescue

    Poor power supply is affecting economic growth. Tech startups are tackling the problem, reports Daniel Essiet.

    Energy is an essential factor for reducing poverty and boosting economic growth. But across Nigeria, there is inadequate energy to spur the much- needed development.

    About 70 per cent of households are either off-grid or have a ‘bad grid’ connection with less than four hours of electricity per day, according to a report by Dalbery.

    To this end, analysts say expanding electrification is an important step towards building an economy. This has created opportunities for tech startups, which are preoccupied with delivering transformative change through solar and other forms of alternative energy.

    Now, there are entrepreneurs powering solar street lights and solar projects. Some are processing waste into biodiesel and solar energy.

    One of them is Quaint Global Energy Solutions. The firm develops renewable power projects and provides solar energy solutions to rural Nigeria. The company has been given a grant by the United States Trade and Development Agency for a solar power project that they are developing in northern Nigeria.

    Quaint Global Energy Solutions is working with California-based Tetra Tech. On its completion, the project is expected to bring 50 megawatts of clean energy to Kaduna State and generate more than $160 million revenue.

    Another one is Rensource Energy,  aimed at delivering affordable solar energy to households and businesses to replace the use of generators.

    It introduced a segmented subscription-based business model in March 2017 that enabled customers prepay for energy, rather than own the infrastructure. This means customers can save a lot of money by switching to solar energy. The system uses a combination of long-lasting lithium-based batteries and solar energy. The service is offered through a mobile-based user interface that allows its customers to pay their bills, and to understand how they use their power.

    Read Also: Poor power supply killing SMEs

    Since its inception in 2015, Rensource has managed well over 1,500 customers.

    Last year, the firm secured a loan of €500,000 from Trine Financial Limited.

    Early last year, the renewable energy startup also secured $3.5 million in bridge financing to expand the business. In 2016, Rensource had secured a previous funding of about $1.1 million, bringing its total investments from external funding to $5.5 million.

    Other startups have also entered  the sector. But that of OneWattSolar, a startup based in Lagos, has been significant. It allows Nigerians to pay for solar energy with Blockchain tokens.

    The company allows customers to purchase tokens in  naira  using the platforms of third party tech finance firms.

    It seeks to help people pay for the energy using Blockchain without  owning the solar infrastructure that provides the power.

    OneWattSolar uses blockchain in three ways: raises funds to buy and install the solar systems, helps users track energy use and allow users buy energy credits for their homes.The startup targets customers who spend about N10, 000 monthly or more on their energy bills. There are plans to target other customer segments.

    So far, it has a target of 12,000 homes or businesses with clean solar energy.

    OneWattSolar systems comprise solar panels, internet-enabled meter system and inverter battery technology. The system components are being custom-designed specifically to meet the needs of its customers as against buying ready-made solar panels and equipment. OneWattSolar pays for, installs, owns and operates the Solar Residential Energy Unit (SHS). OneWattSolar is working with independent solar installers within GoSolar Africa’s network.

    OneWattSolar was founded by GoSolar Africana renewable energy startup also based in Lagos that provides clean energy to households, businesses, schools, non-profits and government organisations.

    GoSolar Africa is led by Femi Oye who founded the company in 2010.

    Another firm is AllOn, an impact investing firm established to stimulate the development of collaborative partnerships for innovative solutions that facilitate increased access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy sources in Nigeria.

    AllOn CEO, Dr. Wiebe Boer Boer said: “The energy gap in Nigeria is the foundation for so many of the country’s economic and social development problems.”

    He said power distribution is a major stumbling block to development with firms seldom making it beyond big cities due to high costs of installation.

    He said the huge energy access gap in the country means the opportunities to address the gap were also considerable.

    With limited grid coverage, the Allon chief noted that many Nigerians relied on electricity generators.

    He stated that with Nigeria’s increasing energy requirements to achieve its developmental goals, there was the need to find and support clean energy innovators to build successful and sustainable businesses around their solutions.

    He said many small scale firms and startups have ventured into the sector and can explore its vast amount renewable energy potential.

    Boer explained that many entrepreneurs were rising to the challenge of leveraging the off-grid power revolution to provide electricity for millions of people in parts of the country through innovative and adaptive technologies and business models borrowed from outside.

    One area that offers sustainable investment opportunities for entrepreneurs, he said, is solar energy due to advances in technologies.

    Boer said the mini-grids and solar home systems that will save Nigerians billions yearly.

    He said the company focuses on energy efficiency and renewable energy and aims to help startups develop practical solutions, test-bed the solutions in actual projects, and build their track record.

    He said his organisation is ready to support startups to bring lighting solutions to off-grid communities who live in informal settlements and rural areas across the country.

    According to him, there are opportunities for small businesses to invest in solar cells, earn income  and help bring electricity to areas in need.

    He said startups could provide low-cost, environmentally-friendly power sources for lighting, cooking, among others.

    Boer said the company would invest in entrepreneurs that could provide electricity to households without going through the complexities of building a big generation and transmission infrastructure.

    He said funders were searching for innovators in the sector, to expand off-grid energy access for underserved markets, through solar, wind and biogas technologies.

  • Success in cleaning products

    A Lagos State University (LASU) Biochemistry graduate, Bunmi Savage, has come up with solutions to tackle mosquitoes and insects, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Lagos State University (LASU) Biochemistry graduate Bunmi Savage had thought she would work as a scientist.

    She searched for a job to no end.  Then she realised that rather than waste her time and energy looking for a job, she could deploy her knowledge of science to tackle the menace of mosquitoes and insects.This led to the establishment of Savage Purity Products, which manufactures  repellants and cleaners, among  others.

    She started the business with N2, 500 in 2014. Now she has two employees.

    She is happy that her dream of self-employment has come true.

    She explained that her training   gives her an edge in the business.

    But being an entrepreneur has its share of challenges, she said. There’s a payroll.

    Yet she is undaunted with the support from her family and the motivation to succeed.

    Despite the competition in the market, Bunmi is focused.

    For her, there is large market for household cleaning detergents. In addition, there is high demand for personal care products.These trends indicate that the future looks bright as more women entrepreneurs go into the renewable energy sector.

  • Honeywell, LSETF partner on talent development

    • Pilot phase of Lagos Innovates Talent Development Programme coming

    Honeywell Group Limited is partnering the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) to help youths acquire skills needed in the global market.

    The Talent Development Programme, which will be run under LSETF’s Lagos Innovates Programme, will provide student loans for about 80 per cent of the training cost for beneficiaries, who are to be trained by any LSETF training partner for three months.

    LSETF said some of the courses  are stack web development with JavaScript (JS) -React JS, NodeJs, Express and Mongo DB + API Development, among others.

    For the first phase, Honeywell Group has provided N10 million, to be matched by LSETF to provide  N20 million.

    Head Innovation & Sustainability of Honeywell Group, Tomi Otudeko, said:  “We are pleased to partner LSETF on this strategic and exemplary initiative that will impact positively on the lives of young people in Lagos State. We are impressed by the work LSETF is doing, and our investment in technology training is borne, first, out of our stated mission to “use enterprise to make our world better” and, secondly, out of our conviction that to innovate and thrive in the new economy, young people need to build tech skills.

    “We have also seen how well LSETF, through its Lagos Innovates Programme, has made its mark in progressing the Lagos-based tech ecosystem. The decision to work with LSETF was therefore an easy one. Together, we are poised to help build a pipeline of the next level of innovators who would develop disruptive technologies that will provide solutions to some of the critical social challenges facing the country.”

    Also, the LSETF Acting Executive Secretary/CEO Teju Abisoye said: “We are glad to work with Honeywell Group to build a talent pool of globally competitive professionals, whilst actualising one of the most important mandates of the LSETF, which is to improve the skills and employability of the young people in the state. Both the LSETF and Honeywell Group are committed to ensuring that young people are equipped to support the growing start-up ecosystem in Nigeria, in addition to positioning themselves for a growing global freelance market. I hope more organisations will emulate Honeywell Group and partner with us on our various programmes.”

    LSETF advised interested applicants to apply for their preferred course.The application will close on July 12.