Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

Hollandia is deepening connection with northern Nigerians with Hollandia Evaporated Milk and Yoghurt.

Through television commercials, out-of-home boards, radio jingles, and activations in cities across the North, the brand is reiterating its value to consumers.

Many consumers in Jos, Plateau, and Wuse, Abuja said Hollandia Yoghurt and Hollandia Evaporated Milk had become more popular since the commercials began airing.

Some residents in Jos, where Hollandia Evaporated Milk is becoming popular with tea sellers, popularly known as Mai shai, lauded the brand.

Musa Bello, a marketing executive with Bestcom Ventures, stated: “Upon enquiry, I was told by Alhaji Idris, my favourite tea seller, that Hollandia Evaporated Milk was preferred. My guess is that the renewed campaigns by the brand to further connect with consumers is gaining traction.”

Also, Samson Gonsum, an Abuja resident, said: “Hollandia has done well in communicating its value to us the consumers in the north. We are glad about the brand’s ability to communicate and relate with our lifestyle here.”

Marketing Director, CHI Limited, Toyin Nnodi, said: “We are thrilled to continue to impact the lives of our consumers in Northern Nigeria, with whom we have developed a strong connection as a result of the role we play in their daily lives with the dairy nourishment our brands provide.”

She said the products were available at Chi Shoppe, departmental stores, markets, and neighbourhood kiosks across the nNorthern states, she added.

The Clintonel Innovation Centre (CIC) has inaugurated the N1 million Engineering Research Grant to bridge the engineering skills gap, facilitate industry-academia collaborations and drive industrialisation.

Its founder Tochukwu Chukwueke said the grant was to support engineering lecturers in tertiary institutions (uto develop solutions for industries.

In addition, he said, successful applicants would have access to experts and facilities at the Clintonel Advanced Engineering Centre (AEC), Aba for developing their solutions.

Chukwueke, an advocate of increased universities and industry collaboration, said this would enable Nigeria increase its share of the global engineering services market, expected to hit $1071.59 billion this year.

The market is expected to reach $1383.41 billion in 2026, according to Reportlinker.com.

The services market include civil, environmental, mechanical engineering.

CIC is Nigeria’s first Makerspace (Hardware hub) based in Aba, Abia State that is developing capacity technology development and manufacturing.

With a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skill shortage in various parts of the world, Chukwueke noted that the need for more engineering graduates was on the rise to fill these gaps.

Given this growing skills gap, he stressed, aspiring engineers must harness their skillsets, for employers.

Chukwueke said his goal is to get more students to explore job opportunities in civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, software and space engineering.

For this reason, he wants post-secondary infrastructure improved as part of the government’s plan to grow the economy and create jobs.

He canvassed investment in talent and skills, including helping more people get and create the jobs by expanding access to tertiary education.

An Information Technology (IT) start up, SkillPaddy, is set to roll out an online programme focused on training youths

In a statement, the company’s Opeyemi Adetomiwa, Chief Marketing Officer, quoted the founder/Chief Executive Officer of  SkillPaddy, Kunle Erinle, saying that the firm began working with young Nigerians after the COVID-19 pandemic to help them develop their skills in line with the global economy.

With the help of experts, he said, they commenced courses on their platform to train learners into a community for a three-month programme, supported by organisations.

‘’SkillPaddy will help participants gain on-the-job experience and expand their opportunities with their partners and sponsors, he added.

Erinle added that SkillPaddy aims to not only address unemployment, but also help in bridging the productivity gap which exists in many industries. He said: “The world is changing very fast. Today, eight out of 10 biggest companies in the world are in the tech industry. This translates to 10 million jobs in the digital technology space, with one million of these jobs open in Africa. Do you realise that most of these jobs remain open year after year, because people with the right skills are either not applying or non- existent? It is a real challenge for us as a continent, and that is why SkillPaddy exists.”

He said further that the platform would be rolling out its first batch of courses for roles that are in high demand in the job market such as graphic design, mobile app development, business analysis, product management, and software testing.

Erinle added:  ”To further help our learners, our partnerships extend to different fields, including the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Honeywell Group, Chocolate City Group and others to help them transition into most industries that are now driven by tech. Obviously, we are seeking more partnerships and hope to expand our array of courses and experts.”

Chief Executive, Kore Natural Honey, Oreofe Oluboba, is making a fortune from  beekeeping. She shares her story with TIMILEHIN BABATOPE.

The market for honey is growing as the trend for healthy eating is on the rise. A youth, Oreofe Oluboba, has taken advantage of this to launch a business, which she converted from a hobby.  Now she supplies and trades in honey.

With the rising interest of entrepreneurs in bee farming, she sees a new future for the bee as well as for honey in the future.

On how, she started, she said: “I started the business last year. I was thinking about what to do to make money as a side hustle I was thinking about what to do to make money as a side hustle.”

Initially, she would buy a gallon for N28,000 and sell in bottles. She sold a 75cl bottle for N1,500 and made  little  profit. Today, a bottle goes for N2,500. Similarly, the gallon price has gone up. Now, she buys a gallon for between N36,000 and N37,000. This excludes payment for way bill. While she still makes profit, she lamented that it is not as rosy as before. Her words: “There has been an increase in purchase and also how I sell.  The price of things has gone up and the economy is harsh.”

A major challenge in the business, according to her, is sourcing good and unadulterated honey. “It is very difficult to get unadulterated honey. People will buy and trust you if they discover you are consistent in delivering quality honey,” she said.

So far, Oreofe is enjoyed her time in the business. “I am planning to expand the business. At present, I am not doing anything aside improving my fashion designing skills.

“I don’t really do anything than this honey I sell. I am gathering more gallons to start selling wholesale. People are looking for unadulterated honey to address many health issues. Since I have found the way out of getting unadulterated supply, I have since built a reputation and drawn patronage.

“I really want to go in big time. Definitely, I will expand the business.To excel in honey business, Oreofe said one should not sell unadulterated honey and learn to persuade the customers.

“Thus far, she has never had issues with her customers. She gets new customers by referrals. “It is by referrals. Once people try the honey and like it, they contact me. That’s how I have been getting new customers, mostly by referrals. I also tell people I sell honey. I get customers through marketing and persuasion”

Her advice: “If you want to go into honey business make sure your supplier sells unadulterated honey. You will make a lot of money if your honey is unadulterated. On the whole, build a good brand, connect with a good supplier and develop good marketing skills.”

She added: ”If you sell adulterated honey you will have issues with people who know good honey. People who know honey might not come back.”

For startups’ founders  in the idea-stage thinking of raising capital, London-based venture agency, Mustard, is  offering them a platform to scale and generate huge returns to investors, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

African-tech small businesses have been facing challenges of getting venture capital funding to scale.

This is going to be a thing of the past with  the London-based venture agency, Mustard, creating a platform to assist Idea stage businesses, with a cocktail of services, including funding, and business development.

It has launched its idea-stage investment vehicle to originate Africa-focused ventures capable of resonating with global audiences, which it says can yield ‘VC-type’ returns over five years.

Mustard believes that Africa’s future image will be shaped by the brands it is able to produce, and their ability to attract and move global audiences. Having recognised the continent’s absence of strong brands and its ecosystems’ limited faith in their power for over a decade, Mustard is launching a £4million investment vehicle to build narrative-led technology ventures from the very start, with like-minded founders and investors who believe.

Mustard’s idea-stage investment model plays the role of investor and builder from the earliest stage. It identifies visionary, veteran and influential individuals with ‘globalisable’ venture ideas, and provide the capital and expertise in engineering, design and storytelling to explore them before a company has even been incorporated. If the venture idea and founders are deemed viable, Mustard will invest further capital and expertise to take the venture through to launch and early customer traction, before seeking an exit in a Series A or B round.

This model is different from the typical 10-year returns’ approach of African VC firms, which invest in several companies during their growth stage, and take a hands-off, advisory role in their portfolio companies. Mustard will  be involved as a builder from the venture idea’s formulation, do so with far fewer companies (around three to four per year), and aim to provide its investors VC-type returns in half the time (five years).

For Mustard’s new venture agency model, its founder Ndubuisi Kejeh, has brought in renowned advisers in venture capital, growth, brand narratives and talent management. They are Parminder Vir, an award-winning film and TV producer and the former chief executive officer Tony Elumelu Foundation; Chris Williamson, Managing Director Mpesa at Vodacom, Eunice Chou, of the Africa VC firm EchoVC Partners, and Dudu Sarr, manager of Grammy-award winner Youssou N’dour, and TV producer.

Vir said: “Africa has many stories to tell, and over the last twenty years the story of its resilient youth seen through the growth of tech startups has been one of its most significant. Over the last four decades I have worked to bring stories from Africa and other cultures to the world through film and television, and I believe Mustard’s approach will help to do the same through the meaningful brand narratives it builds for tech ventures.”

Founder BlackOps, Seni Sulyman, said: “Right from the first time I came across Mustard’s thesis and idea-stage investment approach, it sounded really powerful. I am keen to see what comes next from the Mustard team because I want to see African brands go global, which will not only mean massive changes for the continent, but also for its place in the world.”

Founder Brand Africa, Thebe Ikalafeng, said: “Africa has the culture, vibrancy and talent needed to make world-class brands, but over the years rhetoric and desire has not been matched by output. Mustard’s narrative-first philosophy, hands-on building and investing approach, and focus on influential founders, might be the change we need to shift the status quo.”

General Partner EchoVC Partners, Eghosa Omoigui added: “Mustard’s expertise in venture building at the earliest possible stage coupled with a strong philosophy on brands has resonated with us for quite a while African startups and their brands need to go out to the world for many reasons, among which include access to broader consumer markets. Mustard’s idea-stage investment approach is uniquely different, and highlights why a mixture of approaches is what a growing startup ecosystem needs.”

Fintech startups are providing innovative solutions to bridge the cash flow gap faced by small businesses. One of such is digital invoices finance solution, which is helping small businesses expand their services and create jobs, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Despite their crucial role, small businesses are facing the problem of lack of access to timely and reasonably priced credit products.

Without adequate credit, micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME)  aren’t prepared to tackle the challenges, supply chain shocks, or get what they need to grow.

To this end, Capsa Technology has built Africa’s premier digital invoice factoring platform that enables suppliers of credible organisations trade their invoices for cash in 48 hours. Financiers also have the opportunity to buy credible invoice on its platform at decent rates.

In the last 10 months, over N 5 billion worth of invoices have been traded on the platform and over N15 billion worth of payments processed within the same time period.

Co-founder/Chief Commercial Officer, Capsa, Mr Segun Dada, believes Nigeria was in dire need of a holistic technology platform that is mutually win-win for businesses, and financiers.

With this solution, the company has eliminated the need for cumbersome documentation, making the entire financing journey easier for small businesses.

Dada explained that Capsa does not give loans to businesses.  He said: “It facilitates the conversion of invoices and expected revenue to cash to enable businesses meet up their working capital requirements. With just a few clicks, businesses can unlock much-needed financing and convert their waiting time to cash.”

For financiers and investors, Capsa provides a low risk, short- term investment opportunity. Investors can purchase the claim to MSMEs’ verified invoices at a discounted rate and get their returns within 90 days.

Recently, Capsa Technology signed a deal with food and beverage giant UAC Foods Nigeria to open up more financing opportunities for suppliers under the UAC Foods network.

Applications have closed for ShEquity Business Accelerator (SHEBA), a 16-week programme that provides venture building and technical support to African female entrepreneurs across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, who are looking to grow their businesses and become investment ready.The entry opened last month.

Located in Accra, Ghana, SHEBA will offer venture building and technical support to African female entrepreneurs with impactful and scalable businesses viewed as potential ShEquity investment candidates in agribusiness, healthcare, technology (fintech, clean-tech, etc.), renewable energies, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Participants will get funding to structure their businesses.

ShEquity, in collaboration with MBC Africa, invited applications for SHEBA for African female founders and entrepreneurs, with the promise of finding for entrepreneurs with impactful and scalable businesses.

SHEBA plans to organise demo days where other investors have opportunities to access scalable female-led businesses. The programme is also designed to enhance leadership and soft skills needed to engage with key partners/customers.This includes inspiring teams to revamp and test their marketing strategy.

The International Trade Centre (ITC) has announced that 14 national trade promotion organisations have been shortlisted for the World Trade Promotion Organisation (WTPO) Awards.

ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The nominated organisations are from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Jamaica, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

They are competing in three categories: best use of a partnership; best use of information technology; and best initiative to ensure that trade is inclusive and sustainable.

The winners will be announced at the 13th WTPO Conference in Accra, Ghana on May 17.

The event is co-hosted by Ghana Export Promotion Authority.

The awards are open to trade promotion organisations. They recognise excellence in providing trade support to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to become competitive in international markets.

The awards jury is comprised national trade promotion leaders from the previous award winners and is chaired by ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton.

“At a time when small firms have been hit hard by supply chain disruptions, climate change crises and other socio-economic challenges, it is important to share inspiring models that connect small firms to trade opportunities that are inclusive and sustainable,” said Ms. Coke-Hamilton.