The Nation Newspaper

Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

  • TGNYES 2017: Nigerian Youths Enlighten on Innovation, Entrepreneurship

    TGNYES 2017: Nigerian Youths Enlighten on Innovation, Entrepreneurship

    Ten (10) tech startups with viable businesses will be enjoying business support services and 20 females  will be enjoying Free 6-month Information Communication Technology (ICT) training with some soft loans facilities for others, going into the new year, this,  The Generation Next Youth Empowerment Summit (TGNYES) has facilitated.

    The beneficiaries emerged from the 2017 edition of TGNYES held recently in Abuja Nigerian youths drawn from the six geopolitical Zones of the country.

    The Summit, an initiative of Elbativeni Foundation and Elbativeni Impressions and Consult had in attendance; angel investors, business developers, notable dignitaries with motivational speakers including, His Excellency, Ambassador Leopoldo Rovayo Verdesoto, of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of  Ecuador to Nigeria, and Nigerian Communications Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman’s (EVC) Senior representative, Ms Olawaiye Olasumbo.

    Others were: MD of Nanet group, Mr Ini Akpabio; Nigeria’s Former Minister of Information, Mr Frank Nweke Jnr.; CEO of Elbativeni Foundation and Elbativeni Impresions and Consult, Ms Destiny Ruth Obiakoeze; CEO of O&S Services, Mr Oba Boniface, CEO of Media Range Ltd, Mr Hassan Abdul; Flex NG’s Mr Kabir Bayo Shittu; Ocean Hill’s Mr Chinonso Opurum; Speaker Arnold Pms Arnold Ayomide Afolayan amongst others.

    The Project’s mission to build youth leaders and empower them with right resources, world class speakers, job opportunities, grants, loan facilities, entrepreneurship ideas and available physical gifts and tools to enhance their lives.

    According to the Nigeria’s former minister of information, Mr Frank Nweke Jr. who was ‘Success Icon’ for the forum appreciated the the organisers as partners in Nigeria’s development and emphasized that “I say this because more often than not, we find many people who believe that they have no role to play in national development. So when I meet young people like Destiny and her team who envision this kind of empowerment programmes and it has encouraged others on what must be  done; one must duff his hats, one must respect them. So I pay my due respect to them”.

    He spurred on participants to ask themselves hard questions and stressed on the need for passion and drive and the desire to push against all odds noting that he had faced challenges over the course of 7 years, implementing an idea that would employ over 15000 people.

    The Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to Nigeria, H.E Leopoldo R Verdesoto shared varied experiences both as a diplomat, professionally and personally.

    According to him, “I have served abroad in three different places, all of them nice from my point of view but they were considered not easy. One of the fact that I carry my career and I am very proud of it is some people didn’t want to go to the places that they had offered me to go but I say okay because for me, it’s a privilege to serve my country and I go! No Wahala on it”

    The Managing Director of Nanet Group and Nanet Hotels, Mr Ini Akpabio, success Icon of the maiden edition and patron of the Summit spoke on “The roles of youths in a united Nigeria”. He raised salient issues of unity stressing that Nigeria had lots of things threatening to divide her.

    Speaking on some of the take home for youths at the Summit Mr Ini Akpabio said “The Youths are very powerful so the first thing they must do is to recognize their power. The youths don’t know how powerful they are. In exercising their power, they will be able to make changes. The changes I have been advocating are those that can be embedded in our constitution. We should have a percentage set aside…maybe like 25%, and say that at all levels of governance, that 25% must go to the youths; defined as people between the ages of 15 to 35.

    Nigeria’s Former Minister of information, Mr Frank Nweke Jnr.; CEO of Elbativeni Foundation and Elbativeni Impresions and Consult, Ms Destiny Ruth Obiakoeze; CEO of O&S Services, Mr Oba Boniface, CEO of Media Range Ltd, Mr Hassan Abdul; Flex NG’s Mr Kabir Bayo Shittu; Ocean Hill’s Mr Chinonso Opurum; Speaker Arnold Pms Arnold Ayomide Afolayan.

    Earlier in her welcome address, the CEO of Elbativeni Foundation and Elbativeni Impressions And Consult the hosting organizations of the youth Summit, Ms Destiny Ruth Obiakoeze, explained that the youth Summit was to bring people of different sectors and proffer ideas and actions capable of helping the young people move forward.

    Nigerian Communication Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) who was represented by the Principal Manager in the public affairs department, Ms Olasumbo Olawaiye said that since the youths make up a huge percentage of the telecom consumers ‘the Generation Next Youth Empowerment Summit’ was indeed a great platform to enlighten them on the various telecom issues.

    The Commission had earlier in March 2017 flagged off the ‘year of the Telecom Consumer Campaign’ focused on the needs and satisfaction of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer of which part of its purpose is to inform and educate the consumer with the sole intent of protecting and empowering them to make the right decisions and from unfair practices of network operators.

    In a session on Brand Power, the CEO of Media Range Ltd, Mr Hassan Abdul taught that there were series of things that were important to becoming more marketable as personal and business brands and it is indeed important to increase performances in them. Attributes that differentiate individuals and business in the industry must be developed and improved.

    According Mr Hassan Abdul, Personal branding can accelerate communications strategy, ease career transitions, increases long term career and business objectives as well as expected outcomes.

    He spoke on the essence of communications and branding to individuals and business and how to leverage its capacities in life and business.

    Mr. Peter Oluka, IT Correspondent with the Nigerian Communications Week  coordinated the ‘opportunities Panel‘  with CEO of MicroFlex,-Mr  Kabil Shittu; CoFounder of Ocean Hill, Mr Nonso Oprum; Representative of Elbativeni Foundation, Ms Biodun Ogundipe where opportunities for soft loans, Business support services and ICT Training for women were offered participants.

    The last session was the Google Digital Skills for Africa session facilitated by the CEO of the hosting company and foundation- Elbativeni Impressions and Consult and Elbativeni Foundation., Ms Destiny Ruth Obiakoeze.

    Some of the other success stories from the forum was free admission for participants at the summit, exposure to world class resources, facilitators and renowned motivational speakers.

  • ‘Tackling youth unemployment key to improving our economy’

    ‘Tackling youth unemployment key to improving our economy’

    Lagos State is set to undertake new investments to boost youth employment. In this interview with Daniel Essiet, Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, gives an insight into government’s programmes aimed at reducing unemployment.

    How is Lagos tackling  youth unemployment?

    As you are aware, rapid urbanisation comes with its attendant problem of high youth unemployment. This is expected, Lagos being the commercial and economic nerve centre of Nigeria.  While the Lagos boasts of high potential for growth of small businesses, it battles the negative effect of development which is high youth unemployment.

    Bearing this in mind, Governor Akinwumi Ambode on assumption of office, decided to set up the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, first of its kind in the entire federation that will address these issues.

    He reasoned that if the state is to grow small businesses, it must create an enabling environment for them to operate, with access to finance and market . When they grow, they will be able to employ more people.

    On the other hand, a lot of youths have problems of employability skills. We have lots of unemployed graduates.

    The question is, are they unemployed because there are not jobs? We need to look at the causes of under employment, to find out whether  the situation is structural, or are there jobs the people cannot fill?

    What strategy have you adopted to address the problem?

    Lots of government programmes have been created in the past to address this challenge. Right from Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), these were all run by the government.

    Taking a realistic view, we believe that government does not create jobs. Only the private sector can create jobs.

    Consequently, we decided that the best strategy was to put in place an initiative to enable small businesses.

    How did we do this?

    The state government decided to set up the Employment Trust Fund.  The government allocated N6.25 billion every year to small and micro businesses as small loans. The loans range from N250, 000 to N5milion. The fund is easy to access but at the same time, there are eligibility criteria.

    In the past, such funds were run by government. In this case, we are dealing with tax payers. In line with Governor Ambode policy of inclusion, the government decided that all the stakeholders affected in the ecosystem, the young entrepreneurs, the civil society organisations, gender groups, young people should be part of the machinery that will set the criteria and methodologies on how to  run the fund to get to the right people. Today, the fund is managed by nine people, out of them, only two of them are government officials, my self and the Commissioner for Finance.

    The trust fund is being run independently by this group of eminent citizens of Lagos and Nigeria. That is why the programme is a success.

    How about employability challenges?

    We examined three layers of those that are unemployed.  In our study of the factors that have led to low employability skills, we discovered  that there are jobs that our youths lack the orientation to contest for them.

    From my experience, some of the youths don’t know where the jobs are. Then, there is the issue of  cognitive skills’ building institutions.

    The challenge is that the youths are not exploring those institutions that can help them build their cognitive skills. We are talking about groups and social institutions, such a Boys Scout, Girls Guild, Red Cross andDebating societies.

    All these groups are vital in building employability skills. These days ,we don’t have active extra curriculum activities in schools. These  activities go a long way in helpling youths to build  employability skills.

    We discovered also among youths that the spirit of volunteerism is no longer there. When you volunteer, you are learning something.

    A young graduate lawyer will leave school with the mindset of getting a job with an established law firm. With the situation in the economy, he might stay home for three years without getting his dream job.

    Rather than stay home without a job, it will pay him to volunteer with a legal firm. If he continues to stay home, he will become rusty.

    If he decides to volunteer with a legal firm, he will not only learn something, he will be considered when there is a vacancy within the firm. He may not earn a salary, but he gains experience.

    We are trying to reorient our youths about volunteerism, to go out and volunteer if they want to get jobs.

     What about school leavers?

    We also have school leavers who couldn’t advance because of family financial difficulties.

    How do we address it?

    There are two things we are trying to achieve through the school system. While in school, we want the system to produce students who can be employed or can become entrepreneurs.

    They can come out to work for people or set up their businesses. We are going back to schools to   campaign to inculcate entrepreneurship skills in students.

    That is why we are working with Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) to create youth entrepreneurs clubs in technical and vocational colleges in the state.

    How do they get  the jobs they are trained for ?

    That is why we are reaching out to private organisations that  know the industry skills’ needs. We have reached out to companies such as General Electric, Sterling Bank and quite a number of others.

    We sat down with them and say, let us work together and solve the problem because it affects all of us.The responses have been good and gradual. Of course we are expecting more. The important thing is that we are involving the private sector.

    The private sector knows the kind of skills they need.

    We have also reached out to international development partners ,such as Ford Foundation, Mercy Corps and the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP). We work with them on our problems. We know our problems. We seek for areas of synergy.

    What about the informal sector?

    At  the informal sector, we have artisans and trade associations. We have welders, mechanics, painters and others. All these are jobs. They are part of small businesses.They can also access the ETF and grow their businesses.

    We keep saying that Togolese and artisans from neighbouring countries are stealing our jobs. Do we know our artisans are now doing better. To address this, we have  created a compendium of registered artisans and tradesmen. The compendium provides details on 20,000 registered  artisans.

    Every artisan on the compendium has a unique identification number, and an identity card. Apart from these, the artisan will be given a unique ATM card that is linked with Ibile Micro Finance Bank for loans. The other benefits is access to the state’s health insurance scheme.Those on compendium will be listed on the market place  where they can advertise their businesses.

  • ‘How young innovators can grow’

    ‘How young innovators can grow’

    Leaders of startups and business incubation movements gathered in Lagos to discuss ways of using accelerators to boost youth-led enterprises’growth, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The conference attracted incubation managers and startup growth coaches.

    The business incubators and accelerators stakeholders forum on growing youth enterprises, which held in Lagos, addressed gaps inhibiting growth and development and proffered ways to  create job opportunities.

    Passion Incubator founder, Olufunbi Falayi, said business incubators are platforms for economic development.He said his organisation is determined to provide a functional incubator that would boost entrepreneurship.

    He said most entrepreneurs need help through fundraisers, or business pitching, while successful enterprises require infrastructural support, saying the challenge for most incubators is how to attract the right  enterprises to their programmes.

    Falayi said the incubator must continually strive to produce more and more successful entrepreneurs, pointing out that this will require that they have a good pre-incubation set of support and robust selection.

    He stressed the need for incubators and accelerators to adopt better approaches to increasing the numbers of new businesses.

    West Africa Regional Chapter Coordinator at Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), Olatunji Ajani, said the   meeting was meant to provide specific insights into how incubators and accelerators are responding respond to youth enterprise development.

    He said the network is interested on how the incubators and accelerators can support youth enterprise development, youth center development, accelerator and incubator processes for supporting innovation and business.

    He stressed the need to build the eco system to help young people seek their knowledge and services to learn how to set up successful businesses.

    He said the event was sponsored by Oxfam Nigeria and supported by Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI). ‘’It is focused on how the incubators and accelerators in Nigeria are supporting youth own enterprises. The findings from the meeting and other desk research would be used to develop knowledge brief for the ecosystem and how youth can make the best of incubators and accelerators,’’ he added.

    Executive Director, MindtheGap, Tayo Olosunde, said his organisation is running programmes to transform the youth from job seekers to job creators, and make them more relevant to the development of the medium and small enterprises.

    He said incubators and accelerators are  an important component of the startup eco-system infrastructure that supports new business formation and growth. This type of infrastructure, he added, can advance business formation, create and retain jobs, commercialise technologies, and accelerate the delivery of new products and services to the marketplace.

    Wennovation Hub co-founder,  Oluwole Odetayo,  said business incubators help to reduce the incidences of failure in early stage companies and this  results in the financial viability and growth of firms that it supports.

    He said there are also evolving models of business incubators, offering services to entrepreneurs. This, according to him,   is particularly important as they have impact on economic growth through innovation and entrepreneurship.

    He said accelerators offer impact enterprises support across their spectrum of needs as they seek to scale.

    He said the economy needs incubators that can engage with early-stage businesses and help to turn startups into success stories. On the other hand, high-growth businesses are those that have a scalable business model and achieve significant short-term revenues and employment growth.

  • Promoting campus entrepreneurship, jobs through piggery

    Promoting campus entrepreneurship, jobs through piggery

    Piggery has continued to expand, creating new products and providing opportunities for people. There is, however, a move by stakeholders to encourage students explore such opportunities and promote campus entrepreneurship, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Biggery is expanding, creating new products for end-users and providing numerous economic opportunities. This is being driven by growing consumer awareness of the nutritional value of pork and increased income.

    Piggery offers an opportunity for high quality meat and products. There are also vast work opportunities on and off the farm, which increase means of livelihoods for numerous people.

    Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of The Porkies Family Hangout, which held in Lagos, Jotess Agro Chief Executive, Dr. Dapo Onadipe, said pig business has an immense growth potential and young Nigerians stand to benefit a great deal from participating in the pork market.

    According to him, he has done much to promote piggery as a sustainable entrepreneurship through various means.

    Some of the ways he has done this, is by encouraging students’ participation in piggery business, saying student-owned piggeries  have the potential to becoming game-changers for both the students and the public.

    With pork meat being used  for  confectionaries and snacks, the stakeholders are ready to turn students pig farmers to job-creators, who can establish distribution channels thereby providing livelihoods and empower them to make money.

    One of the co-ordinators of the Pork Show, Mr Femi Malomo, said pork business is gaining ground in the country. Pork meat, he said, is the most consumed animal protein around the globe. As the population increases with disposable income,  the competition to supply Nigerians with wholesome, safe pork, according to him, increases.

    According to him, about N3 billion worth of pigs are exported from the country yearly.

    Pig business, he said, is one of the highly valued and high-revenue generating business. With good and practical training, Malomo said small-scale farmers can adopt best practices that will guarantee good returns on investment.

    To succeed in the business, he said new entrants need training on areas such as breeds; breeding; management; shed design; weather management; vaccination protocols; diseases and their prevention; value addition of pork; mycotoxins and economics of the business, among others.

    Another pig farmer, Kola Osunsanmi, said Nigerian pork meat is produced to the very best standards of welfare, quality and safety and the sector is creating more jobs and opportunities for premium pork producers, who can guarantee quality from farm to fork.

    He explained that piggery is a promising and stable source of generating income than poultry. According to him, the piggery business changed his socio-economic status within a short period. But it was not a smooth ride for him when he started managing the animals.

    He started attending training programmes and was in regular touch with animal experts.

    Apart from selling live piglets, he also supplies dressed pork for various social functions. At present, he is involved in the breeding of quality piglets.

    He said since the piglets reared in his farm are improved ones, the demand is obviously high and orders are from different parties.

    According to him, the maintaining piggery reqiures high skill and it’s labour intensive, noting that only farmers with good entrepreneurial skills can succeed in it.

    According to him, would be farmers need training to acquire skills in farm management and entrepreneurship.

    A member of the organising committee of the pork show, Mr Eniola Bamgbelu, said the  growing demand for pork has prompted farmers to go in for pig farming in a big way.

    He explained that pig farming is a lucrative proposition for small and marginal farmers. According to him, there is tremendous potential for pig farmers, because the demand is huge.

  • Creating jobs for artisans, tradesmen in construction

    Creating jobs for artisans, tradesmen in construction

    The growth in infrastructure development in the Middle East has resulted in a construction boom. The boom has catalysed in increased demand for artisans. Hiring artisans with the right skills and experience has been a challenge. There is a training programme to recruit Nigerians to work in the region and other parts of the world, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Construction sector is one of the most important sectors in the economy. It generates about 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and positively influences the growth of employment in other related economic activities.

    However, contractors need good and skilled artisans to effectvely deliver projects of high quality. But there is a level of professionalism required for construction work as an artisan, or tradesman. This covers competence in building plans and specifications, methods of construction and materials management. But only a few local artisans possess this. This has had negative impact on the industry.

    To address this challenge, the Universal Learn Direct Academia Limited (ULDA), a consortium of professionals that facilitate skills training in vocations, such as carpentry; plumbing; electrical installation; brickwork; plastering; tiling and site engineering, among others, is training secondary school leavers, polytechnic and university graduates, as well as unemployed youths for the building and construction industry.

    Its  President, Gasper Olawumi, expressed dismay over the skills gap among polytechnics and university graduates, adding that with their partnership with those in the industry, they can engage the trainees, who would in turn help in strengthening  capacities across the sector.

    He noted that lack of skills among the lower cadres of workers is chiefly responsible for problems dogging the construction industry. Such problems, he noted, include structurally unsound buildings, which end up collapsing.

    Gasper, who is a partner and   former Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), said the institute is making the industry more attractive to school-leavers and graduates by equipping them to work in the construction industry, while incentives for employers will also help encourage more youths into apprenticeships.

    The organisation is now focusing on the Middle East with the much-anticipated pick-up in construction activity in Dubai. The company is opening an international office in Dubai to enable it export trained artisans, who can work abroad. The organisation equips youths with skills in masonry, carpentry, formwork, plumbing, tiling, scaffolding and plastering within a year.

    “The young graduates will be trained on all aspects of carpentry, block-laying, plumbing and electrical on site. We are taking off with hands-on skills. That is why engineering is a key programme to us and we are ready to ensure that Nigerian graduates hone their skills early enough so that job opportunity will be available for them,”Gasper said, adding that training leads to quality workmanship, which means fewer lives are likely to be lost as a result of building collapse.

    Gasper, a former Lagos Polytechnic rector, said that is why training is important because it imparts skills and positive behaviour. “For instance, when artisans are conversant with their roles on the construction site, they need minimal supervision, but will do a substantial amount of work.

    “So, since training equips artisans with the requisite work ethics, the contractor will not have to worry about workers reporting to work late, materials disappearing from the site, or workers skipping work after being paid,” he said.

    The project visioner and co-ordinator, Mr.  Gbola Oba said the construction industry is replenishing the housing stock, building new infrastructure and helping to restore the economy, but there are challenges whether it is to attract and retain a forward-looking workforce output.

    Oba stressed the need for a dynamic industry that is alive to global market opportunities, international relations and the exporting of skills.

    He said the company sees prospects in training artisans under global standard best practices and exporting them across the world.

    According to him, such artisans must be trained to a level where they can work in places, such as Dubai with stringent key performance indicators and design-savvy occupiers, where  issues of efficiency and performance are  put into acute focus.

    In terms of addressing poor public perceptions of construction workers, Oba stressed that it is high time  things were taken to the next stage by inculcating performance ethos that will promote the industry’s positive image.

    To stand any chance of plugging the existing skills gaps, diversifying the workforce and securing a talent pipeline for the future, he said more young people need to be persuaded to pursue careers in construction industry.

     

    With opening abroad, he said his organisation is broadening the appeal of construction to those who may never have considered it as a career.

    A partner, Alhaji Lukman Guru said the group is still looking for young Nigerians which they will train to work at foreign construction sites.

  • Creating jobs for artisans, tradesmen in construction

    The growth in infrastructure development in the Middle East has resulted in a construction boom. The boom has catalysed in increased demand for artisans. Hiring artisans with the right skills and experience has been a challenge. There is a training programme to recruit Nigerians to work in the region and other parts of the world, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Construction sector is one of the most important sectors in the economy. It generates about 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and positively influences the growth of employment in other related economic activities.

    However, contractors need good and skilled artisans to effectvely deliver projects of high quality. But there is a level of professionalism required for construction work as an artisan, or tradesman. This covers competence in building plans and specifications, methods of construction and materials management. But only a few local artisans possess this. This has had negative impact on the industry.

    To address this challenge, the Universal Learn Direct Academia Limited (ULDA), a consortium of professionals that facilitate skills training in vocations, such as carpentry; plumbing; electrical installation; brickwork; plastering; tiling and site engineering, among others, is training secondary school leavers, polytechnic and university graduates, as well as unemployed youths for the building and construction industry.

    Its  President, Gasper Olawumi, expressed dismay over the skills gap among polytechnics and university graduates, adding that with their partnership with those in the industry, they can engage the trainees, who would in turn help in strengthening  capacities across the sector.

    He noted that lack of skills among the lower cadres of workers is chiefly responsible for problems dogging the construction industry. Such problems, he noted, include structurally unsound buildings, which end up collapsing.

    Gasper, who is a partner and   former Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), said the institute is making the industry more attractive to school-leavers and graduates by equipping them to work in the construction industry, while incentives for employers will also help encourage more youths into apprenticeships.

    The organisation is now focusing on the Middle East with the much-anticipated pick-up in construction activity in Dubai. The company is opening an international office in Dubai to enable it export trained artisans, who can work abroad. The organisation equips youths with skills in masonry, carpentry, formwork, plumbing, tiling, scaffolding and plastering within a year.

    “The young graduates will be trained on all aspects of carpentry, block-laying, plumbing and electrical on site. We are taking off with hands-on skills. That is why engineering is a key programme to us and we are ready to ensure that Nigerian graduates hone their skills early enough so that job opportunity will be available for them,”Gasper said, adding that training leads to quality workmanship, which means fewer lives are likely to be lost as a result of building collapse.

    Gasper, a former Lagos Polytechnic rector, said that is why training is important because it imparts skills and positive behaviour. “For instance, when artisans are conversant with their roles on the construction site, they need minimal supervision, but will do a substantial amount of work.

    “So, since training equips artisans with the requisite work ethics, the contractor will not have to worry about workers reporting to work late, materials disappearing from the site, or workers skipping work after being paid,” he said.

    The project visioner and co-ordinator, Mr.  Gbola Oba said the construction industry is replenishing the housing stock, building new infrastructure and helping to restore the economy, but there are challenges whether it is to attract and retain a forward-looking workforce output.

    Oba stressed the need for a dynamic industry that is alive to global market opportunities, international relations and the exporting of skills.

    He said the company sees prospects in training artisans under global standard best practices and exporting them across the world.

    According to him, such artisans must be trained to a level where they can work in places, such as Dubai with stringent key performance indicators and design-savvy occupiers, where  issues of efficiency and performance are  put into acute focus.

    In terms of addressing poor public perceptions of construction workers, Oba stressed that it is high time  things were taken to the next stage by inculcating performance ethos that will promote the industry’s positive image.

    To stand any chance of plugging the existing skills gaps, diversifying the workforce and securing a talent pipeline for the future, he said more young people need to be persuaded to pursue careers in construction industry.

  • ‘Cut interest rates to assist skilled graduates’

    An All Progressives Congress (APC) member in Lagos and a House of Representatives aspirant has advised governments and banks  to support graduates of skills empowerment institutions by reducing loans’ interest rates for them.

    Martins Owodunni Iwonlanwe, who gave the advice at 120 trainees’ graduation at TREM City, Wilmer, Lagos, said it is the only way beneficiaries of such programmes could be supported since many of them have no money to start off. He scored the empowerment training, which he sponsored, high and praised the graduates for their attendance and comportment during their training.

    The trainer and Managing Director of Spotless World Skills Acquisition, Agim Immacualate, also praised the graduates saying: “I will score them 100 per cent. The trainees performed more than expected. You can’t train a person to make a cake or a pair of shoes in three days. But with this set of trainees, we did. They did marvelously well. They should keep it up. They should start something, no matter how small, even if it is N1000 they have, they should take off with.”

    Wife of resident pastor TREM City of Joy, Olodi-Apapa, Princess Favour Nkere, advised the graduates on the need to go for further training. She said:“You have acquired knowledge, go for further training. Register a company, do complementary cards to sell yourself to enable people buy your products.’’ Her husband, Rev Chinedu Nkere, prayed for them, urging them to be God-fearing in their businesses.

    A graduate of the training, Mrs Husainat Ibrahim, expressed delight with the sponsor and the trainer, saying she applied for the training and was picked without any hurdles. She promised to deploy her training in her fashion business.

  • ‘Cut interest rates to assist skilled graduates’

    An All Progressives Congress (APC) member in Lagos and a House of Representatives aspirant has advised governments and banks  to support graduates of skills empowerment institutions by reducing loans’ interest rates for them.

    Martins Owodunni Iwonlanwe, who gave the advice at 120 trainees’ graduation at TREM City, Wilmer, Lagos, said it is the only way beneficiaries of such programmes could be supported since many of them have no money to start off. He scored the empowerment training, which he sponsored, high and praised the graduates for their attendance and comportment during their training.

    The trainer and Managing Director of Spotless World Skills Acquisition, Agim Immacualate, also praised the graduates saying: “I will score them 100 per cent. The trainees performed more than expected. You can’t train a person to make a cake or a pair of shoes in three days. But with this set of trainees, we did. They did marvelously well. They should keep it up. They should start something, no matter how small, even if it is N1000 they have, they should take off with.”

    Wife of resident pastor TREM City of Joy, Olodi-Apapa, Princess Favour Nkere, advised the graduates on the need to go for further training. She said:“You have acquired knowledge, go for further training. Register a company, do complementary cards to sell yourself to enable people buy your products.’’ Her husband, Rev Chinedu Nkere, prayed for them, urging them to be God-fearing in their businesses.

    A graduate of the training, Mrs Husainat Ibrahim, expressed delight with the sponsor and the trainer, saying she applied for the training and was picked without any hurdles. She promised to deploy her training in her fashion business.

  • Promoting campus entrepreneurship, jobs through piggery

    Piggery has continued to expand, creating new products and providing opportunities for people. There is, however, a move by stakeholders to encourage students explore such opportunities and  promote campus entrepreneurship, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Piggery is expanding, creating new products for end-users and providing numerous economic opportunities. This is being driven by growing consumer awareness of the nutritional value of pork and increased income.

    Piggery offers an opportunity for high quality meat and products. There are also vast work opportunities on and off the farm, which increase means of livelihoods for numerous people.

    Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of The Porkies Family Hangout, which held in Lagos, Jotess Agro Chief Executive, Dr. Dapo Onadipe, said pig business has an immense growth potential and young Nigerians stand to benefit a great deal from participating in the pork market.

    According to him, he has done much to promote piggery as a sustainable entrepreneurship through various means.

    Some of the ways he has done this, is by encouraging students’ participation in piggery business, saying student-owned piggeries  have the potential to becoming game-changers for both the students and the public.

    With pork meat being used  for  confectionaries and snacks, the stakeholders are ready to turn students pig farmers to job-creators, who can establish distribution channels thereby providing livelihoods and empower them to make money.

    One of the co-ordinators of the Pork Show, Mr Femi Malomo, said pork business is gaining ground in the country. Pork meat, he said, is the most consumed animal protein around the globe. As the population increases with disposable income,  the competition to supply Nigerians with wholesome, safe pork, according to him, increases.

    According to him, about N3 billion worth of pigs are exported from the country yearly.

    Pig business, he said, is one of the highly valued and high-revenue generating business. With good and practical training, Malomo said small-scale farmers can adopt best practices that will guarantee good returns on investment.

    To succeed in the business, he said new entrants need training on areas such as breeds; breeding; management; shed design; weather management; vaccination protocols; diseases and their prevention; value addition of pork; mycotoxins and economics of the business, among others.

    Another pig farmer, Kola Osunsanmi, said Nigerian pork meat is produced to the very best standards of welfare, quality and safety and the sector is creating more jobs and opportunities for premium pork producers, who can guarantee quality from farm to fork.

    He explained that piggery is a promising and stable source of generating income than poultry. According to him, the piggery business changed his socio-economic status within a short period. But it was not a smooth ride for him when he started managing the animals.

    He started attending training programmes and was in regular touch with animal experts.

    Apart from selling live piglets, he also supplies dressed pork for various social functions. At present, he is involved in the breeding of quality piglets.

    He said since the piglets reared in his farm are improved ones, the demand is obviously high and orders are from different parties.

    According to him, the maintaining piggery reqiures high skill and it’s labour intensive, noting that only farmers with good entrepreneurial skills can succeed in it.

    According to him, would be farmers need training to acquire skills in farm management and entrepreneurship.

    A member of the organising committee of the pork show, Mr Eniola Bamgbelu, said the  growing demand for pork has prompted farmers to go in for pig farming in a big way.

    He explained that pig farming is a lucrative proposition for small and marginal farmers. According to him, there is tremendous potential for pig farmers, because the demand is huge.

  • The power of starting small, being focused

    At a youthpreneur business summit in Lagos, experts examine the major challenges businesses face in today’s
    tech-orientated world. DANIEL ESSIET reports

    Founder and CEO, eTranzact; Valentine Obi , said self belief  gave him the confidence to start a software company that has taken the world by storm.

    Addressing the second youthpreneur business summit which held  in Lagos, Obi said he  was not hesitant in producing a software for sending  messages  when  there were few network operators in Nigeria. While it was a fantastic idea, Obi  said there were no  positive response from people towards his idea but he decided to go for it.  He devoted  his time  to producing the product.

    Obi,  a serial innovator, persisted at it for long years without any monetary support or recognition.

    He was in his 30s and had a family to look after, yet he decided to take the risk, something that all entrepreneurs do. But, it is not risk just for the sake of it. He took a calculated one. It was a good idea, but what separated Obi from the rest of idea chasers was that he made it happen. And in the process went laughing all the way to the bank. He  said the company’s  product was born from a desire to build a payments product that people could easily use; be it a bank, trader trying to set up a website, or as a direct consumer.  He said the  company wanted to use the platform to eliminate the need to use cards, hardware tokens or a visit to the bank by allowing customers to access their bank accounts  through  BankIT-powered platforms. In 2003, he launched the company and started operations as a pay outlet to Econet Wireless (now Airtel) and Lagos State Water Corporation.With technological advancement and customer sophistication in the advent of GSM technology, the need arose for convenient methods of processing transactions and making payments.

    Obi saw the need to deploy his mobile payment solutions to banks and non-bank financial institutions and to optimise telecommunication services to provide a robust package to customers. This led to the introduction of his company’s award winning, multi application electronic payment platform to pioneer the electronic commerce in Nigeria. This provides the enabling technology for bank customers to make banking transactions on mobile phones.

    Today, he is one of the indigenous tech entrepreneurs producing mobile payment systems.  He  told the forum that there are opportunities for young people to change the face of  technology business. Etranzact International has evolved into a brand with a global reach,offering products that cut across virtually all aspects of the e-payment space – ATM, internet connectivity, POS, and mobile money. It has acquired extensive knowledge of switching and transaction processing systems from online remittances to e-dividend payment to web payments.The company currently has operations in five other African countries and the United Kingdom.It is still expanding operations to other countries in the world.

    According to him, young  people can explore  opportunities  to produce  applications that can solve  problems from finance and farming to education and healthcare.

    Participants had the  opportunity to  listen to young entrepreneurs share their experiences starting and running their own businesses.

    The Founder, Youthpreneur Business Development Network (YBDN),Mrs Abimola Oligbinde, said the organisation decided to bring successful, young entrepreneurs who founded their own companies to relate to their stories.

    For her, young people  have new and innovative ideas, but they just need someone to show them how to take their big idea to the next level.

    She said YBDN is a non-profit organisation established in 2016 to empower youth-owned businesses for accelerated growth.  She said YBDN was established to enhance the contribution of youths to economic development.

    The  Speaker,Lagos  State House of Assembly,Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, urged youths to use technology to connect other parts of the world for the advancement of their future.

    He said that the youth ought to identify their talents in their daily usages of technological gadgets to develop the country and fend for themselves. Representaed by Hon. Tunde Braimah a member of Lagos House of Assembly representing the good people of Kosefe Constituency 2, Obasa said technologies can used as  be sources of inspiration and development  as the success stories the young entrepreneurs shared.The maiden edition of Youthpreneur Business Summit held on August 16, 2016 with the theme: Passion to Wealth: Road to Economic Diversification. Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf was the Keynote Speaker.