The Nation Newspaper

Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

  • Creating entrepreneurs through technology incubation

    The establishment in 2005 of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), a Federal Government’s organisation charged with the responsibility of coordinating the government’s-owned Technology Incubation Centres (TICs), has helped to create new entrepreneurs. One of the TICs in Minna, Niger State, is giving entrepreneurs the tools and space to help turn their ideas into viable businesses. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    One of the success stories from the Technology Incubation Centre(TIC),  Minna, Niger State, is Mary John, a producer of groundnut chips (kuliKuli).

    A computer  graduate of Niger State Polytechnic, Mary, is a success story.  She was ruminating over a business idea when she realised  she could do  something  with food processing.

    She  wanted to prove  groundnut chips can be  produced  deliciously, healthily and tastfully at the same time.

    She knew nothing about food ­manufacturing, so she set out to get grips with everything from food labelling, marketing and sales.  She  started the business  a year  ago with N20,000. Today, the business is worth N500,000. It all began out of her passion and drive to  explore entrepreneurship. She spent  time learning how to process peanuts to perfection and the peanut business in general.

    She  heard about  the Technology Incubation Centre(TIC)  Minna, Niger State entrepreneurial support. She was taken in  along with several young entrepreneurs with technology and entrepreneurship support, mentorship and  space, to grow their innovative ideas into viable businesses.

    One   factor that  has brought her  success is her  commitment to offer, not just good quality products but the best that there is.  She has   strong adherence to cleanliness.  She  believes that when starting a business, success does not lie on the capital, but on hard work and patience.

    Mary Paul  has become  a small success story  of the Niger State’s start-up ecosystem. She  is a brainchild of the National Technology Incubation Centre, Minna,Niger State   now abuzz with young, creative minds.

    Co founder, Zealous production Company, Obetta Martins Chukwudi, is a  dynamic young entrepreneur. A chemical engineering  graduate, his entry into paint production has fetched him money. He looks forward to transiting from a small business to a big industry player.

    Dissatisfied with mediocre finish of modern paints, he began research into  cheap paint production formula.  Interestingly, the business has become self sustaining, producing different paint formula. Already, he is training corpers in Niger State  on  entrepreneurship.

    According to him, paint production business has been extremely rewarding as there are no barriers to entry. His philosophy is if one is ambitious and willing to learn the business and works hard, there are no limits to what one can accomplish.

    By way   of  expansion, Chukwudi  and Co partner, Zealous production Company, Stanley Okwuchukwu has  developed unique  cosmetic formulas, tested on who knows how important a healthy, attractive appearance is and how the professional products work.

    He plans and his partner creates safe, high performance and quality  cosmetics.

    Similarlly, Taiwo Shokunbi, an accounting  graduate, is  producing cassava flour from the centre. He packages cassava  flour in packets and sell them in the market.

    His  capital, came from his savings.

    Initially, there was the challenge of limited capital, which has hindered him from  expansion and hiring more sales persons to market the flour.

    According to him, cassava can also be an excellent industrial money-making crop for farmers and for the economy. Through cassava value addition, one can get glue, cassava chips, starch and flour.

    Shokunbi said he  wanted to become a full-fledged entrepreneur who creates jobs for others. The idea was from the agri-business point of view, because he  saw that there was a lot of opportunity in cassava processing  as a business and the best approach was to look at products that could have value added to make the farmers make more money. He  has found a market in people selling fufu at market or along roadsides.

    The  Centre  Manager, Zakeriah Tukura, said a lot of start-ups have come out of the hub. The building, according to him, provides infrastructure support in the form of space, power and internet connectivity.

    Tukura  said the centre is ready  to support  entrepreneurs to turn their business ideas into viable businesses.

    According to him, the centre was established in support of the government’s goal to increase employment opportunities through public private partnerships

    He explained that nurturing young entrepreneurs is particularly important given Nigeria’s high youth unemployment rate. The Centre Manager, Technology Incubation Centre, said new businesses are given free accommodation  at the Centre for three years. During this period, he said the businesses are exempted from taxation.

    At the centre, equipped with  fabrication and testing facilities, he  said, young tech entrepreneurs can be mentored. He said the centre is  committed to the continuous training of entrepreneurs.

    These centres,  he said, have produced small scale entrepreneurs who may emerge as a new class of businessmen.

    At the centres, access to experts across all engineering and management disciplines  is easy.

    According to him, it is fundamental to identify opportunities and the added value small enterprises can bring, by integrating their own skills and developing training programmes to improve enterprise performance, enhance profitability and growth, and offering technology and management support to small businesses and early movers to maximise the value of their ideas.

    Businesses in the incubator fall within some stages – conception, where a first-cut assessment of the strategic environment is made, to development, where feasibility and go-to-market strategies are  explored and, ultimately, commercialisation, where profitable market opportunities are exploited and the focus is on growing the venture.

    According to him, TICs ,  has become the key policy driver for turning unemployed youths into entrepreneurs and  business owners.

    He urged  entrepreneurs to take  advantage of the incubation centres provided them to work out a better future for themselves.

  • Creating entrepreneurs through technology incubation

    Creating entrepreneurs through technology incubation

    The establishment in 2005 of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), a Federal Government’s organisation charged with the responsibility of coordinating the government’s-owned Technology Incubation Centres (TICs), has helped to create new entrepreneurs. One of the TICs in Minna, Niger State, is giving entrepreneurs the tools and space to help turn their ideas into viable businesses. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    One of the success stories from the Technology Incubation Centre(TIC),  Minna, Niger State, is Mary John, a producer of groundnut chips (kuliKuli).

    A computer  graduate of Niger State Polytechnic, Mary, is a success story.  She was ruminating over a business idea when she realised  she could do  something  with food processing.

    She  wanted to prove  groundnut chips can be  produced  deliciously, healthily and tastfully at the same time.

    She knew nothing about food ­manufacturing, so she set out to get grips with everything from food labelling, marketing and sales.  She  started the business  a year  ago with N20,000. Today, the business is worth N500,000. It all began out of her passion and drive to  explore entrepreneurship. She spent  time learning how to process peanuts to perfection and the peanut business in general.

    She  heard about  the Technology Incubation Centre(TIC)  Minna, Niger State entrepreneurial support. She was taken in  along with several young entrepreneurs with technology and entrepreneurship support, mentorship and  space, to grow their innovative ideas into viable businesses.

    One   factor that  has brought her  success is her  commitment to offer, not just good quality products but the best that there is.  She has   strong adherence to cleanliness.  She  believes that when starting a business, success does not lie on the capital, but on hard work and patience.

    Mary Paul  has become  a small success story  of the Niger State’s start-up ecosystem. She  is a brainchild of the National Technology Incubation Centre, Minna,Niger State   now abuzz with young, creative minds.

    Co founder, Zealous production Company, Obetta Martins Chukwudi, is a  dynamic young entrepreneur. A chemical engineering  graduate, his entry into paint production has fetched him money. He looks forward to transiting from a small business to a big industry player.

    Dissatisfied with mediocre finish of modern paints, he began research into  cheap paint production formula.  Interestingly, the business has become self sustaining, producing different paint formula. Already, he is training corpers in Niger State  on  entrepreneurship.

    According to him, paint production business has been extremely rewarding as there are no barriers to entry. His philosophy is if one is ambitious and willing to learn the business and works hard, there are no limits to what one can accomplish.

    By way   of  expansion, Chukwudi  and Co partner, Zealous production Company, Stanley Okwuchukwu has  developed unique  cosmetic formulas, tested on who knows how important a healthy, attractive appearance is and how the professional products work.

    He plans and his partner creates safe, high performance and quality  cosmetics.

    Similarlly, Taiwo Shokunbi, an accounting  graduate, is  producing cassava flour from the centre. He packages cassava  flour in packets and sell them in the market.

    His  capital, came from his savings.

    Initially, there was the challenge of limited capital, which has hindered him from  expansion and hiring more sales persons to market the flour.

    According to him, cassava can also be an excellent industrial money-making crop for farmers and for the economy. Through cassava value addition, one can get glue, cassava chips, starch and flour.

    Shokunbi said he  wanted to become a full-fledged entrepreneur who creates jobs for others. The idea was from the agri-business point of view, because he  saw that there was a lot of opportunity in cassava processing  as a business and the best approach was to look at products that could have value added to make the farmers make more money. He  has found a market in people selling fufu at market or along roadsides.

    The  Centre  Manager, Zakeriah Tukura, said a lot of start-ups have come out of the hub. The building, according to him, provides infrastructure support in the form of space, power and internet connectivity.

    Tukura  said the centre is ready  to support  entrepreneurs to turn their business ideas into viable businesses.

    According to him, the centre was established in support of the government’s goal to increase employment opportunities through public private partnerships

    He explained that nurturing young entrepreneurs is particularly important given Nigeria’s high youth unemployment rate. The Centre Manager, Technology Incubation Centre, said new businesses are given free accommodation  at the Centre for three years. During this period, he said the businesses are exempted from taxation.

    At the centre, equipped with  fabrication and testing facilities, he  said, young tech entrepreneurs can be mentored. He said the centre is  committed to the continuous training of entrepreneurs.

    These centres,  he said, have produced small scale entrepreneurs who may emerge as a new class of businessmen.

    At the centres, access to experts across all engineering and management disciplines  is easy.

    According to him, it is fundamental to identify opportunities and the added value small enterprises can bring, by integrating their own skills and developing training programmes to improve enterprise performance, enhance profitability and growth, and offering technology and management support to small businesses and early movers to maximise the value of their ideas.

    Businesses in the incubator fall within some stages – conception, where a first-cut assessment of the strategic environment is made, to development, where feasibility and go-to-market strategies are  explored and, ultimately, commercialisation, where profitable market opportunities are exploited and the focus is on growing the venture.

    According to him, TICs ,  has become the key policy driver for turning unemployed youths into entrepreneurs and  business owners.

    He urged  entrepreneurs to take  advantage of the incubation centres provided them to work out a better future for themselves.

  • The power of starting small, being focused

    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.

  • Striving to achieve success amidst odds

    Striving to achieve success amidst odds

    Most entrepreneurs with success stories have a story or two to tell. They are either faced with immediate family issues or household problems marked with conflicts with little or no love. However, they work doggedly, not minding the hurdles before them, to build business successes and thrive, especially in the face of instability. One of them is Adeshola Adepoju, House of Kaffy Chief Executive. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Polygamous families, some believe, create great entrepreneurs. Whatever being used to verify this assertion is subject to analysis. However, the pivotal trait, which enables children from such background to achieve success is their resolve   to develop skills and resilience to become winning entrepreneur in the face of adversity.

    One of such entrepreneurs with such background, who became a success story is Lagos make-up artist, Adeshola Adepoju, who also combines fashion designing to make her story complete. Her current projects include an entrepreneurship skills school, clothing line and make up business.

    Adepoju, who studied business administration at Lagos State Polytechnic, Lagos State, passed through a lot of emotional trauma as a child, who grew up in a polygamous setting. She had to struggle through school because there was little emphasis on quality education.

    Her situation as a child, who grew up with no love and affection, however, did not deter her in acquiring education, after which she veered into make-up industry about six years ago. As a young girl, she was very fond of handicrafts, which kept her busy when parents were not there for her. She would arrange materials and turn them into something attractive. This ultimately made her venture into bead making and  fashion a natural path for her.

    She recalled starting the business with little or no capital. Today, the business has grown tremendously. Not only that, she has  additional hands to help her. Her philosophy of seeking knowledge has helped her a great deal. To her, there is no end to learning. What makes her work unique is her desire for beautiful beads with their natural matrixes.

    When she started, she  faced  challenges. One of which was finance. To overcome this, she had to offer her service almost free. At the end, she got referrals to make more money. She offered free  make-up training. She also showcased her works on Facebook  and Instagram.

    As determined as she was, she also was putting more efforts  to learn the craft. Along the line, she studied  how to make bags, slippers and sandals. One thing that has made her products and services successful is that they are affordable and attractive. She  also made significant strides in the makeup industry. While she works as a makeup artist, she did some businesses associated   with  beauty and fashion.

    As in any business, there is  competition. But she has identified  and discovered her niche. She has the belief that she will always succeed.

    On how she came into the business, Adepoju said she always loved fashion and makeup business. She had always loved makeup from a child and was always conscious of fashion and one looks. It was just a passion and a love.

    Adepoju is also optimistic about opportunities in the sector for young people and she is raising a lot of awareness about this.

    She said she is determined to address growing youth unemployment, through capacity building and encouraging skill acquisition in areas such as professional  makeup and headtie (gele) tying training, determined to offer young people the chance to accelerate their capacity for success.

    Consequently,  she has taken it upon herself to train aspiring young designers, covering the entire value chain of garment making, bead making and make up business, training young girls in different skills to give them the tools and the confidence they need to create their own jobs.

    During her just concluded two-week entrepreneurship training programme,  Adepoju  gave young people the skills to identify and act on economic opportunities in their communities.

    The process was not without challenges. Some participants, who  could not afford the N4000  charged for the training were allowed to participate.

    During the training, they were attentive and motivated with some of them thinking of business ideas.

  • Young entrepreneurs change start-up scene

    It is amazing to see the growth of the local start-up as young people venture into entrepreneurship. One area attracting interest is financial technology, also known as fintech. There are success stories coming from this innovation. One of them is mTransfers.

    The fintech sector is booming. Start-up activities by young tech entrepreneurs are aiming to establish Lagos as their key global financial services ecosystem. This is being propelled by new technologies and platforms young people  are introducing to the economy to accelerate change, more supportive policy and regulatory environment for innovators by the Lagos State government.

    One start-up revolutionising the small business world is Amplify, a Lagos fintech outfit  helping African businesses accept and manage recurring payments from their customers, using their cards or directly from their bank accounts.

    Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Segun Adeyemi, said it is  a proprietary technology, which intelligently routes transactions to increase the success rate of transactions.

    He  said: “We serve consumer loan companies, internet and content service providers, hosting services, software as a service companies and other subscription type businesses.

    “Because Amplify has a unique focus on recurring type payments, the platform provides a subscription management system that helps businesses view, monitor, update, cancel and generally manage their customers’ payments and subscriptions. Amplify also provides other value added services that helps businesses grow.

    “These include deep insights and analytics that helps business managers make better decisions, engagement tools via email and SMS, loyalty programmes, amongst others.”

    According to him, the  payment company is  partnering some  banks and is set to launch the product  as a social banking solution that allows customers transfer funds and perform other banking services via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Blackberry Messenger, Twitter and other social messaging platforms, without having to leave the platform or switch apps.

    He said the banks with the solution, can now connect and engage a growing, younger customer base. Additionally, he  said it  will open up social channels and help banks position themselves as innovation leaders, while giving consumers another convenient avenue for instant, secure transactions.

    He said:“Social and messaging apps are six of the 10 most popular mobile applications across platforms in Africa. We believe that vibrant and digitally savvy consumers want financial services to meet them where they are, in the channels and platforms they use.

    “We have built mTransfers to empower banks and other financial institutions to blend their payment process into the everyday lives of their customers and provide an engaging user experience for them.”

    With mTransfers, customers enjoy instant banking services within already familiar mobile messaging applications without having to switch to a bank’s mobile app, or downloading additional applications. After an update to their already existing banking application, customers will be able to transfer funds, check balances and complete other basic transactions using a bank-branded keypad, available across social apps while maintaining military grade encryption, authentication and security models of the banks, thereby guaranteeing the security of all transactions.

    mTransfers is one of the portfolio start ups supported by Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a Lagos  Incubator and co-working space in Ikoyi.

    General Manager, MEST Lagos, Neku Atawodi-Edun, said the organisation is a training place, seed fund, incubator and hub for technology entrepreneurs in Africa, providing critical skills training in software development, business and communications to local start-ups.

    MEST brings entrepreneurs and investors together under in a move to promote investment.

    Its mission is to build global companies—and it pursues that goal by mentoring tenant start-ups, splicing innovation into enterprise partners, sowing the seeds of strategic partnerships and helping big ideas secure funding.

  • Vocational school holds orientation

    NO fewer than 150 pupils of Surulere Local Government, Lagos Vocational School have been admitted for the new session. The freshers were inducted at the council secretariat.

    The LG Chairman Tajudeen Ajide said he was sworn in, he had done best to improve facilities in the school. He listed the amenities he provided as hair dryers, deep freezers, refrigerators and a gas cylinder, promising to provide ceiling fans in the classrooms to make them conducive for learning. He advised the students to take their studies serious to enable them justify the trust the council reposed in them.

    The Head of Administration, Mr Akeem Adesanya said the students should count themselves lucky because many applied, but only few were admitted. He said the institution had done19 graduation with another coming up next month.

    During the three-month course, the Information Officer Lanre Babatunde, said  the students would be trained in dressmaking, cosmetology, computer and secretarial studies, events planning and baloon decoration, make up and gele styling, among others.

  • Lagos govt to support incubation hubs

    Lagos State government has reiterated its commitment to creating an enabling environment that will  lead to the creation of new incubators in a bid to see more successful start-ups emerge.

    Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Tunde Durosinmi-Etti, made this known during a visit to the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST),  Lagos  Incubator and co-working space in Ikoyi.

    MEST is a Pan-African training programme, seed fund, incubator and hub for technology entrepreneurs in Africa, providing critical skills training in software development, business and communications to local start-ups.

    The Commissioner said the government expects tech business incubators to partner with the state government to  increase innovation capacity by bringing communities of entrepreneurs together to increase the flow of local knowledge and foster collaboration.

    He  said  initiatives  such  as MEST Lagos Incubator  were vital as incubators get start-ups ready for funding.

    According to him, incubators are  vital part of any effective innovation ecosystem, helping high-potential startups realise their economic potential.

    During the visit, Durosinmi-Etti took time out to speak with MEST Lagos portfolio companies on what the ministry is doing to raise employment levels in the state.

    He  spent time  listening to each MEST start up founder on  the  problems their businesses  were  trying to solve and offered  answers on what opportunities state has provided for  them to take advantage of.

    One of the start-ups, DroQque, uses crisp candidate profiles, unassisted video interviews and artificial intelligence to help companies find talent faster. 

    DropQue is one of the nine companies that was recently sponsored by the Federal Government to showcase at GITEX in Dubai.

    Also in the meeting was Oncenout, an online marketplace for pre-owned fashion items, including high street, premium and luxury brands.

    Durosinmi-Etti was interested in learning more about how the work they were  doing  will boost  the  fashion industry.

    Incidentally,  Oncenout Co-Founder Innocent Udeogu was last month named as one of the 12 ‘2017 Yunus & Youth Fellows’

    The fellowship is awarded to people who are running enterprises, which, in addition to working towards a healthy bottom line, are addressing social issues around the globe.

     Other start-ups present at the meeting were Amplify, a fintech start-up that helps Nigerian businesses more easily accept and manage online payments ; Curacel Health, a startup that delivers productivity tools and IT infrastructure to healthcare stakeholders across Africa; and Tress, a social community mobile app where black women and hair professionals can discover and share hairstyle inspiration, information and tips .

  • Empowering artisans to spur economic growth

    The Lagos State government is retraining artisans to enable employers find tradesmen with advanced skills. With this, certified artisans are now listed in a compendium as well as online market place to sell their services. The state believes that given a level playing field, artisans and tradesmen can help grow the economy and build a better future. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    More than half of jobs and business opportunities in Lagos are said to be for skilled artisans. However, very few of the artisans have the required skills to fill those job vacancies.

    To address the imbalance,  the Lagos State government has commenced the training and re-training of 1500 artisans every year.

    The state government is empowering the artisans under a three- month training programme aimed at boosting their capacity to contribute to economic growth and development.

    One of the beneficiaries of the traing programme, Mr. Akindele Akinlola, a carpenter and furniture designer, told The Nation that  the programme was critical if artisans must step up their  game in their chosen vocation. Akinola spoke on the sideline  of  the 8th Tradesmen and Artisans Week and Graduation Ceremony for 1,500 re-trained artisans and traders organised by the state’s Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, at Ikeja.

    He said apart from helping artisans scale up, it was also  important that artisans are listed  on the virtual market place, which he described as “The future of the industry.”

    Alhaji Olowoopejo Sule, a member of Sand Dealers Association, Apapa, expressed optimism that the the retraining will open doors of opportinities for his career as a  sand dealer, adding that the government is supporting tradesmen to get all the training  needed to do their job and make a living.

    He said on the strength of the training  he can now evacuate sand while also using his hands to  tap his  phone  keyboard to upload pictures and information on the virtual market that lists more than 18,000 artisans in Lagos.

    Another benefiary of the training, Obamuyi Durojaiye,  from Okota, said vocational training in Lagos has taken a different shape. He said he worked his way up by earning certificates and later becoming computer literate to operate on the virtual market, courtesy of the Lagos State government.

    Durojaiye said based on the training, he  now sees his future as an artisan brighter than ever. He said his career is one that  doesn’t require a degree but requires specialised training.

    Beyomd the training, the Lagos State government launched a compendium of 20,000 registered tradesmen and artisans with unique identification numbers to improve the sector’s contribution to the state’s  socio-economic development.

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said the compendium would help to differentiate the authentic artisans from those operating illegally in the state.

    The governor said that henceforth, the state government will officially patronise the services of registered tradesmen and artisans in the areas needed.

    He said the state government had also opened an online portal designed to facilitate interaction amongst artisans, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), customers/end-users and other relevant stakeholders.

    Ambode said tthe primary goal of the portal was to make it easy and convenient for people in need of high quality services to meet reliable, trusted and verified service providers.”It is also aimed at enhancing the productivity, competitiveness, creativity and vitality of the sector,” he said.

    Ambode said the theme: “Technology and Innovation: A Catalyst for the Development of the Artisans and Tradesmen” was apt, as it would sensitise the artisans to the reality of global trends.

    “In this modern time, successful businesses are driven by technology and innovative ideas. It will be difficult for you to survive and stay ahead of your competitors if you continue to do things the old way and fail to key into the current reality.

    “There is no aspect of your trade or vocation that you cannot apply technology to improve on quality, efficiency and productivity,” the governor said.

    He said that his administration will  continue to implement policies and incentives aimed at improving the productive capacity of artisans and tradesmen. According to him, the growth and profitability of the sector remained a top priority.

    Ambode advised the retrained artisans to leverage on the endless opportunities the state had offered them.”Our state is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and it presents great opportunities that are waiting to be tapped and challenges which you are the solution provider.

    “Your training has been designed to address the skills mismatch and provide the right mix of skills needed to service the industrial needs of the state.

    “This administration has a clear focus on all our initiatives and beliefs  in the potential and innovative capacity of Lagos artisans,” he said.

    Ambode assured that his administration would continue to provide and maintain the required infrastructure and conducive environment for businesses to thrive.

    He recalled various initiatives designed to scale up the informal sector such as the N25billion Employment Trust Fund (ETF), among others, and assured traders and artisans in the state that government would continue to implement strategies and programmes to promote their businesses and create conducive environment for their operations.

    While expressing excitement over the fact that it was the tailors from the state that produced the academic gowns used for the graduation, the governor said moving forward, the state government will officially engage traders and artisans on jobs that would improve their livelihood.

    Speaking on specific requests made  by LACOSTA, the governor said: “As a start, we instruct the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment to see the capabilities and the opportunities that we can spread out from state jobs and contracts and give to our artisans.

    “I am very happy to note that we have graduates among you and also graduates who are also your children. So, we hereby create an immediate opportunity through your associations to be able to recruit into key areas in the public service where we can need your services. These are not political promises, we keep our promises and we will fulfil all our promises.”

    While congratulating the artisans and traders for successfully undergoing the training, the governor urged them to put all they have learnt to effective practice and leverage on the endless opportunities in  the state’s strategic position  as one of the fastest growing economies in the world to be solution providers.

    He assured that the state government would continue to provide and maintain the required infrastructure and conducive environment for businesses to thrive.

    Earlier, in his opening remarks, Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, said since the last edition of the event, Ambode, as requested by LACOSTA, had already approved N12million annual subvention to the association and increased the number of beneficiaries in 2017 to 1500 from the 500 that were trained last year.

    Durosinmi-Etti had earlier said the graduands underwent an eight-week intensive training programme in their areas of trade.

    He said the awards presented to them were expected to serve as morale booster and increase the drive in others to create a competitive business environment.

  • Why we helped LAUTECH students during ASUU strike – RoyalNiddle

    Why we helped LAUTECH students during ASUU strike – RoyalNiddle

    The words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The purpose of life is not just to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well,” perfectly describes Folayan Oluwaseun, and his wife, Folayan Adedoyin, both Directors at RoyalNiddle.

    Of course, the industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) that shut Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State is no more news to most Nigerians, however, what became news was when individuals and groups raised funding support for the students.

    On the part of RoyalNiddle, the amount of concern got many asking if there are Nigerians who still care this much for others as the fashion institution made a public call on the students to receive free training during the recently concluded non-academic activities that lasted about two years.

    This question is imperative because most corporate individuals think of ‘me, I and myself’ before undertaking any activity. Same goes for corporate organisations whose Marketing departments carefully plan the strategy before announcing promos. The attitude is: “What is in it for me?”

    Students at RoyalNiddles fashion school
    Students at RoyalNiddles fashion school

    It is quite different in the case of RoyalNiddle as the Executive Directors helped to provide succour for students instead of wasting the entire period doing nothing or things that might further impede the abilities to complete their education.

    Speaking on his motivation in engaging the students, Oluwaseun, a 1998 Computer Science graduate of the institution told The Nation that “the free training is my own way of giving back to the society. It’s a call to service.

    “When I heard that these students have been home for about 2 years and fund-LAUTECH came up with the appeal for fund, I taught of how best to help out, because as a social entrepreneur, impacting life has always been my greatest joy.

    “So, being an alumnus of the institution, the first thing I did was to reach out to a few friends and fellow alumni to discuss how best to help the students in terms of the financing while I also plan a programme on how best to empower them.

    Oluwaseun recounted how he usually tells his dad and friends that he was not going to work for any employer anymore at age 30. He said: “I used to discuss it with my dad and he will say, ‘my dear, when you get to 30, that is when the pay becomes so sweet that you won’t want to quit’, so when I clocked 30, the pay was truly too good for me to quit.

    “Then I said maybe it was just a youthful thought, let me gather some money and at a point, I just kept doing it till 31, 32 and on. It kept going, but then I discovered that I kept getting tired of what I was doing, not because of the pay, but I was not getting so much excitement anymore, I quit my job.”

    Adedoyin training Students in one of the classes

    The Professional Fashion Designer, who has worked with several companies including Stabilini Visinoni before venturing into Fashion for the past few years, further said: “It was now too much. I’ll have meetings from morning until evening, and then I will leave office late and run off to work very early the next morning. Everything was becoming so so much on my head, I was not having time for my family, most times I get home, I’ll be so stressed that I’ll just tell my wife “sorry, we can’t talk about anything again.

    “Along the line, I just called my wife and said: ‘my dear, I’m resigning today’, it was the riskiest decision I had ever taken in my life. We did not discuss it at home, she just asked me if I’m sure it was the right decision and I said yes.”

    For Adedoyin, who had just delivered a baby at the time, the decision caught her unaware but since she trusts her husband’s decisions, there was no need for argument. “When he came back from work that day and told me he was quitting his job tomorrow, I was alarmed and I asked what happened?

    “There were too many training I still needed to go for. So, I was wondering where to get funding from. Then, something came to my mind that night to just let him follow his heart. Although, within me, I was not happy, because I had lots of things running through my head but I let him follow his mind. I said OK fine, no problem. We will cut down our expenses and some other things. I just had to agree,” she said.

    Speaking about her fashion journey, Adedoyin, also a Computer Science graduate noted that one couldn’t just say: “because you went to a fashion school, you will now sit down and start doing just anything. Fashion is something that changes every day.

    Sample of work done by RoyalNiddle
    Sample of work done by RoyalNiddle

    “My husband paid 250k for me to take the training alone. We spent over a million naira in all. The fashion school I attended was unisex. I have been to some places and they’ll tell me 120k. People would tell me to come and learn shoe and bags 180k. English trouser alone is 80k. Crafting alone is 150k and many others,” Adedoyin said.

    Thanking the couple for their gesture, some of the beneficiaries who obliged to speak with The Nation expressed their profound gratitude for the opportunities provided for them to acquire new skills which they could continue to build on.

    Bakare Temitope, a 500L Agricultural Extension and Rural Development student noted that the training gave her more insights as regards entrepreneurship.

    Temitope, who is currently an entrepreneur – producing Office and casual Shoes in Italian format, said: “My training at RoyalNiddle has made my zeal and flare for business increase even more. I now see it from a more productive angle. The training is very much relevant to what I presently do as an entrepreneur and I am ready to take things to the next level. Thank you so much, RoyalNiddle.”

    Similarly, Igbayiloye Aderonke, a graduate Nurse and Midwife, who was awaiting National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation since 2015 observed that they were not treated poorly from the regular students who paid largely for the training.

    “They have been very nice, tolerant and open with us. I always believed entrepreneurship required having good capital to start any type of business but now, I have a different perception. Now, it is doing what you are best at for the purpose of impacting lives even if you are going to be making money.

    “After this training, I aspire to become an outstanding Nurse and a fashion designer. I will not allow the skills acquired at RoyalNiddle to go like that. I already have a mini-fashion business where I produce bow-ties. I made the bow-tie Senator Ben Murray-Bruce wore for his 70th birthday which held at Eko Hotels and Suite in Lagos in 2016.

    “I am grateful to God and the Directors of RoyalNiddle for this one in a lifetime opportunity. I could not have afforded it if this opportunity didn’t come up or if I had missed it.

    Consequently, Oluwaseun who praised the attention and learning abilities of the students said: “I didn’t know they will catch up this fast. Well done guys. Generally, I just believe if we all come together to do our own part, things will be a lot easier for the lads.”

  • How they did it

    They are young entrepreneurs, who have been inspired to start their businesses, turning their ideas into reality. They are participants in the just concluded Junior Chamber International (JCI) Lagos Metropolitan Chapter Young Entrepreneurs fair held at Alausa, Lagos State, writes DANIEL ESSIET.

    Shade Odu and Ayodele Emabaye are crafts entrepreneurs. They are both graduates and partners in a thriving crafts making business.  One thing they have in common is that  they realised early in life that they have to work hard to make it.

    During the Academic Staff Union of Universities                     ( ASUU)  strike in 2012, Shade decided to explore business opportunity in crafts. Eventually, she underwent training on how to produce handmade bags. This gave birth to an enterprise that deals in handicrafts, including African attire, bags, pottery objects, and many other locally-made gifts.

    They started with N40, 000 and today, the business is worth N100,000. They were at the just concluded Junior Chamber International (JCI) Lagos Metropolitan Chapter young entrepreneurs fair held at Alausa, to display their wares .

    Speaking with The Nation, Shade said she and her partner have come a long way and been through challenges. Starting was rough with the challenges they faced in marketing their products.

    Initially, she said they had a challenge of getting market because people prefer leather bags.

    According to her, many Nigerians do not appreciate and value Made-in-Nigeria products, meaning  the business sometimes has to depend on a handful of clients. Sooner, the products started getting good publicity in her locality and today, she is happy with the returns.

    Gradually, they are now being known for their exquisite craftsmanship. They have  mastered the art of turning their designs and business into a reflection of their  own passions and priorities.

    She said some of their customers are based in Ibadan,Oyo State, adding that  residents are slowly embracing the culture of buying fabrics, made crafts and gifts, especially the locally-made pieces.

    Ambitious to see the business flourish in the long-term, Shade is hoping  to expand the business into key emerging markets, using  different  outlets. Many think the ultimate achievement of any business person is accumulation of huge sums of money. Shade, however, said  their greatest achievement is the experience they have got from running the business and the opportunities it has presented to network with people. They have created more bags and handicrafts to sell. The demand for their products has increased.

    With hard work, determination and resilience, many Nigerians  have been  able to build their dreams of success. Another participant, Favour Ozuonim Ashien,   owner  and  Chief Executive Officer  of  Fanim 18 Enterprises,  said she started  her  business  selling smoked fish.  She studied chemical engineering at Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Delta  State.     In 2015, she got a small loan under the  Bank of Industry (BoI) Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF). The BoI special N2 billion empowerment programme is serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).  She was given a loan after she presented    a  bankable business plan.   Today, under the brand name eatrite, she packages smoked fish, cray fish, hot chili pepper, pepper soup spices. She has also packaged shrimps. She has a factory at Ikorodu. She acknowledged that she  has many challenges, which include penetrating the market since it was a new product.    However, things are slowly changing.

    JCI  Lagos Metropolitan Chapter President, Mrs Yetunde Doyin-Ishola, said the organisation is focused at developing young people in the business environment. According to her, the young entrepreneurs fair is part of the 60 years celebration of the organisation. She believes the future of nation’s best and brightest small and medium sized businesses will in turn determine that economic health. The fair showcased a variety of handicraft items made by young entrepreneurs. A variety of products, ranging from food items to footwear were exhibited.