Category: Small Business

JCI Nigeria, an esteemed affiliate of Junior Chamber International, says digitalisation has become crucial in our globalised world, and that it recognises the significance of staying ahead in the digital economy.

It is for this that it is discussing the issue at its Global Digital Economy Summit (GDES 3.0).

  In a statement, the group’s Southwest Director of Communication, Tobi Kuti, said the summit aims to upskill its participants in digital fields, while fostering resilience, sustainability, and inclusion in the ever-evolving digital space.

 The theme for the summit is: “The Future of Digital Economy: Building Resilience, Sustainability, and Inclusion.”

  The event will hold on June 17, at The Event Centre, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.

 Expected experts at the event include Director General/Chief Executive Officer, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi; Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria, Baobab, Kolawole Osinowo; Chief Operating Officer, ImaliPay, Oluwasanmi Akinmusire, and Group Managing Director, EdgePlus Capital Limited, Korede Adeyemi

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For the founder, Clintonel Innovation Centre (CIC), Tochukwu Clinton Chukwueke, accelerating  Nigeria’s industrialisation will require boosting the capacity of its professionals. He believes when the economy supports more industries, there will be more jobs, development and improved standard of living for the people.

 He said no nation develops without her engineers, and that the country needs specialists to turn raw materials into finished products.

To this end, he has been working with some tertiary institutions to see how research works and prototypes can be commercialised to promote entrepreneurship and support job creation.

  According to Chukwueke, “Nigeria needs competent engineers for industrial and economic development, to move from consumption to production. Hence the need for the genius”

Meanwhile, CIC is set to host the second Nigerian Genius, an engineering contest designed to bridge the engineering skills gap between the industry and academia. It will bring together the brightest minds to tackle Nigeria’s most complex engineering and manufacturing challenges. This campus edition will gather the most skilful engineering students from various tertiary institutions to learn and deploy advanced engineering skills in bringing solutions to Nigeria’s toughest problems.

The young  geniuses will undergo a two-week training at the Clintonel Advanced Engineering Centre in engineering and manufacturing.

Winners will get a prize of N1 million. In addition, their tertiary institution will be ranked no. one in engineering education.

The Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), a non-profit intergovernmental development and information organisation, has unveiled a report that highlights the challenges of agri-small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and how to tackle them. DANIEL ESSIETreports.

In sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, there is an estimated $160 billion demand for financing by 220,000 agricultural small- and medium-sized enterprises (agri-SMEs), according to the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA), a flagship programme of the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). CASA’s report is entitled: ‘The state of the agri-SME sector – bridging the finance gap’

Private Sector Engagement Officer and Engagement, Learning and Communication Lead, CASA, Alvaro Valverde, said: “The CASA State of the Sector report brings a new level of granularity to the market for agri-SME finance in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, highlighting the $106billion yearly financing gap. With almost all of these companies needing sub-commercial finance, and coordinated action across the agri-SME finance ecosystem.”

 But the UK-based Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), a non-profit intergovernmental development and information organisation, has done another work putting perspective on the peculiar challenges of women led agri-SMEs.

According to it, the smallest agri-SMEs in Africa owner-managed by women bore the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new research led by CABI scientists was published in the journal CABI Agriculture & Bioscience.

The researchers studied data from 119 agri-SMEs – ranging from sole proprietorships with one employee to those employing up to 100 people – across six various value chains in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Value chains that formed part of the survey included – in order of aforementioned countries – rice, oil palm and cocoa, groundnuts, maize, cocoa and rice, rice and sunflower and maize.

Scientists from CABI’s regional centre for Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, and its centre for West Africa in Accra, Ghana, found that while all agri-SMEs were negatively affected by COVID-19-associated restrictions, the size of the firm and gender of the owner-managers resulted in various impacts.

The smallest agri-SMEs, mainly owner-managed by women, were more likely to experience disruptions in marketing their goods and maintaining their labour supply.

Larger agri-SMEs, however, made changes to their business operations to comply with government guidelines during the pandemic and made investments to manage their labour supply – therefore, sustaining their business operations.

In terms of changes in business operations by agri-SMEs due to COVID-19 restrictions, 72 per cent were affected by changes to market access and nearly 70 per cent by health and safety changes. This included the wearing of face masks and hand washing. Labour supply changes affected 40 per cent while 22 per cent were impacted by financing and just over 10 per cent made changes to how they package their products.

Furthermore, modelling results show that financing prior to the pandemic, engaging in primary agricultural production and being further from urban centres, significantly influenced the likelihood of a firm incurring business losses.

Senior Researcher, Agribusiness, Dr Mariam Kadzamira, CABI, who is the lead author of the research, said: “Our findings necessitate engendered multi-faceted agri-SME support packages that are tailored for smaller-sized agri-SMEs.

“Any such support package should include support for agri-SMEs to develop sustainable marketing strategies and help them secure flexible financing that considers payment deferrals and debt moratorium during bona fide market shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The study highlighted that while sub-Saharan Africa has the highest female entrepreneurship rate globally, these women-led enterprises are more likely to be smaller, informal, and less profitable, with less growth potential than those operated by men.

A key recommendation from the research is that public and private sector entities facilitating entrepreneurship development should establish multi-faceted support packages that will cushion agri-SMEs in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to “bounce back.”

Author and Regional Representative, West Africa,CABI, Dr Victor Clottey,  said: “Support should be tailored for smaller-sized agri-SMEs as they are more vulnerable to shocks arising in the market.

“In addition, there is a need for innovative gendered support packages, as most enterprise owner-managed by women are likely to be smaller and hence more vulnerable.

“Any support package put in place should have a work package to support SMEs with developing sustainable marketing strategies and securing flexible financing that considers payment deferrals and debt moratorium for agri-SMEs in the event of a bona fide economic and/or market shock.”

The Federal Government has been urged to protect energy drinks by banning the products’ import.

The convener of the consumer rights protection group, Concerned Consumers (CC), Messrs Olufemi Odebunmi, Rufai Rimi, made the call in a statement.

They said over 300,000 Nigerians would have been fully employed if the market was allowed to develop.

In the statement entitled: ‘The Importation of Energy Drinks into Nigeria Despite the Proven Health Hazards and the Various Ban on Imported Juices, they said between 1,800 and 2,000 containers of energy drinks are imported yearly. With each container consisting of 2,600 cases, at the price of between N18,000 and N20,000 each, the country had  lost over N104 billion.

The CC officials said if the trend was unchecked, it would lead to closure of local industries and the attendant job losses, increase in the high rate of unemployment and scarcity of the foreign exchange, allowing the Naira to further depreciate.

They queried the continuous exclusion of imported energy drinks from Import Prohibition List (Trade), describing it as “a case of healthy and unhealthy drinks branded together.”

Odebunmi and Rimi added: “If fruit juice in retail packs are banned, then energy drinks ought to be banned, ought to have been banned and should be now be included not excluded from the Import Prohibition List as its exclusion is actually inimical to the local industry growth and to the health of the citizenry including financially with the engagement of scarce Dollars in the pursuit of such Importation.”

The CC officials stated that a circular by the Federal Ministry of Finance on March 20, 2015 entitled Import Prohibition List (Trade) Annex III, which states that goods and products whose importation into Nigeria are prohibited.

“Curiously, fruit juice in retail packs were banned along with water, mineral water, aerated water containing added sugar or sweetening matter flavoured, other non-alcoholic beverages and beer and stout and the only exception was energy or health drinks.

 “We are amazed that our health and regulatory and standard organisations are still allowing imported energy drinks into the country even after the debilitating nature of the damage to our health from these imported energy drinks and most importantly, why would it be exempt along with health drinks?

 “Part of the interest of import prohibition is to lead eventually to local production of same, which can be seen from the burgeoning fruit juice industry in Nigeria which has grown in leaps and bounds from 2015, following its import prohibition, whereas, there are actually a few multi-national companies in Nigeria who have now engaged in local production of energy drinks but alas, they are considered inferior and, therefore, suffer poor and very low patronage in comparison with the imported ones that leads one to ask when is Nigeria going to protect its territory and its citizenry?”

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Energy drinks fall into the category of ready-to-drink fruit juice, which import remains banned since 2003.

They called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Customs Service, the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Consumers Protection Council of Nigeria, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) “to be vigilant and discourage the unscrupulous importation of energy drinks into Nigeria which will jeopardise the interest of the local industries and sabotage the national interest of the country”.

 It would be recalled that for about 20 years, product HS Codes 2009.11.0012 – 2009.11.0013 – 2009.9000.99 have been on the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) list of prohibited products. 

The CC officials said more than 85 per cent of the market is dominated by imported energy drinks. The indigenous brands are struggling to match their imported counterparts as they are treated as inferior. Failure to enforce a ban on restricted products is a demonstration of the government’s lack of support for local industries. By not checkmating smuggled energy drinks, the government and its agencies have done a great disservice to local manufacturers of energy drinks.

“Concerned Consumers are perplexed by various developments in our polity, which do not augur well for the health of the citizens and which is also discouraging local production at the time when the country should be looking inward and saving its scarce foreign exchange,” the further added.

Organisations are establishing startup platforms and promoting partnership to boost entrepreneurship. This has led to self-employment in the agric business spaces. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Enabling youths to have job opportunities along the agricultural value chain is fundamental to their development.

Recently, innovation in the African agrifoodtech ecosystem has opened doors for jobs and business opportunities in agri fintech, marketplaces and old chain storage.

For this reason, organisations have focused on the youth with training support that can provide decent employment, living income and reasonable working conditions.

This year, many vocational trainings have been held to support rural youths to productively engage in agriculture or related activities along the value chain. One of the institutions driving this is the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), which has been promoting smart agriculture to raise agro entrepreneurs.

Its Chief Executive, Dr. Olufemi Oladunni, believes that pragmatic training in line with the national vision to transform agribusiness is the key to increasing the nation’s prosperity.

For him, rural youth need long-term training at the local level that enables them to own their agricultural businesses.

To improve youth options, ARMTI  is strengthening knowledge and skills of young agro entrepreneurs in promising agricultural products where markets are available.

The training involved practice in planning and running a micro-enterprise and included coaching from people who have business experience..

  Also, recently, Olam Agri partnered  Nanyang Technological University, a  global research college in Singapore, is strengthening Nigeria’s agriculture sector.

The Singapore Business Case Competition X African Challenge organised by the institution was meant to craft innovative, sustainable strategies targeted at raising the resilience level of the local food value chain.

‘‘The Singapore Business Case Competition is an innovative competition that is centred on Africa. It featured 34 teams comprising 135 undergraduates from over 11 universities which made presentations on climate-smart strategies to Olam Agri with a focus on how to improve Nigeria’s agriculture sector, tackle climate threats, and address the topographic and systemic challenges impeding the achievement of food security. The contest was launched on February 25, 2023, and concluded with team TPG Consulting emerging as the overall winner on March 11,’’ the statement read.

The Country Head for Olam Agri Nigeria, Ashish Pande,  said: “We are glad to have allowed the smart, young minds to come up with idea case studies that are capable of improving the resilience of our food supply chain, especially the ideas represent a huge lever for unlocking the potential of the aqua and poultry segments, and raising protein consumption on the continent.”

Co-founder, EnerScale, Saki Kobayashi, who served as a judge at the contest, was captivated by the performance of the contestants. She said: “The participating teams demonstrated outstanding performance during the SBCC X AC 2023. I was especially impressed to see their use of technology and creativity to solve crucial challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.”

Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) has been working with Start-Up Nation Central – a non-profit that promotes the Israeli innovation ecosystem to promote  agric entrepreneurship.

 Director of Entrepreneurship and Venturing, UM6P, Yassine Laghzioui, said: “The partnership between UM6P and Startup Nation Central was established to help both organisations leverage innovation and education to address common challenges such as Climate Change, Food Security and Digital Inclusion. Bridging the Israeli Startup up Ecosystem with its counterparts in Morocco and Africa may unleash huge potential and benefit both regions. During the week, the Joint team will focus on discussing multiple topics related to Innovation Ecosystem development such asTechnology Transfer and how to Instill Entrepreneurship skills and mindset among students and researchers.”

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Last month, Phospholutions was selected by agricultural industry leaders as the winner of the Africa AgTech Startup Showcase launched by the International Fertiliser Association (IFA) and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) to provide a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to connect with professionals, experts and investors from all over the world. Phospholutions beat seven other startups to secure the grand prize of 20,000 Euro, during a competitive, live finals judged by experts and with voting by Annual Conference delegates.

 Farmer Lifeline Technologies, which came second, was awarded a runner-up prize of 10,000 Euro. The contest, aimed at AgTech startups working on innovative solutions, can be adapted to the African context to ensure the sustainability and inclusivity of its agriculture. Other finalists were:Natura Crop Care, which offers innovative, patented climate-resilient solutions for sustainable soil health, reducing carbon footprint and doubling farmers’ income, Agri IOT, which is developing Croptune, a real-time mobile application that recognises nutritional deficiencies in crops and Foodlocker, a farming-as-a-service platform that connects African smallholder farmers with large buyers through market access and precision agriculture.

   Albo Climate, which offers a remote and accurate solution for quantifying, mapping, and monitoring carbon sequestered in ecosystems worldwide and Agricolleges International, which is a cloud-based online learning institution that provides affordable, accessible and industry-relevant education and training in agriculture and related agri-industries and Safi Organics, which envisions a world where rural underserved communities are self-sufficient in their crop production and consumption of agricultural inputs and commodities through decentralised fertiliser production.

Chief Executive Phospholutions,Hunter Swisher, said: “Being recognised by the IFA/UM6P Africa AgTech Startup Showcase is a tremendous honor. This recognition is a testament to the hard work of our team and will further our mission of creating sustainable agriculture solutions for Africa and beyond. I look forward to partnering with the fertiliser industry to further develop our solution and bring it to the market at scale.”

Founder and Managing Director, Farmer Lifeline Technologies, Esther Kimanik, said: “Participating in the IFA/UM6P Africa AgTech Startup Showcase has been an amazing experience for us, and we are humbled to have been selected as runner-up. Our solution is designed to address critical challenges facing African agriculture, and this recognition shows that we are on the right track. We are grateful for the opportunity to connect with other leaders in the industry and look forward to continuing our mission to create positive change in African agriculture.”

The showcase was sponsored by OCP and IRM, two global fertiliser suppliers, to provide a platform for entrepreneurs to connect experts and key players in the industry and promote the development of innovative and sustainable solutions adapted to the African agricultural context.

In today’s world, where technology has penetrated every aspect of our lives, advanced smart locks have become increasingly important for homeowners and businesses alike. These locks use encryption technology to enhance security and convenience, giving users peace of mind that their properties and assets are secure.

Vin Global Technologies Limited spearheaded by Mr Onyeka Onwuka is set to eradicate the insecurity issues with key locks that cannot be picked or broken by intruders with their newly advanced “OVO Smart Lock”

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According to Onwuka, “One of the biggest advantages of these advanced smart locks is that they can be controlled remotely through a smartphone app. This means that users can lock and unlock their doors with just a few taps on their phones, making it easier than ever to manage access to their property. For businesses, this means they can grant access to employees or contractors without the need for physical keys, which can easily be lost or duplicated.

“OVO Smart locks also come with a range of advanced security features, such as alarm systems and sensors that can detect if someone is trying to force entry. The OVO Smart Locks even have facial recognition technology, which can identify individuals and grant access only to authorized personnel.

“Another key benefit of having these smart locks is that they can be integrated into a broader smart home or business system, allowing users to monitor and control various other features. For example, users can use their smartphone to adjust the thermostat, turn lights on or off, or monitor security cameras from anywhere in the world.”

An innovative training themed ‘Project I2M’ implemented by the University of Lagos, in partnership with the RISA Fund and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), is set to spark innovation and entrepreneurship among youths. DANIEL ESSIET reports

To encourage more youths to be involved in innovation projects, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), UKAID’s Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) and Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have launched Project I2M.

UNILAG Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, said through innovation, young innovators would be able to provide the economy with better services and products.

She said the Project I2M was one of the first of the university’s Innovation and Technology Management Office (ITMO)  that got funding  from RISA through a competition.

She said the project comes in line with the university’s efforts to improve innovation opportunities and inspire people to make a difference in Nigerians.

Through the project, she said, the institution looked forward to working together with other organisations to spark a culture of innovation among youths, unlock entrepreneurship and enhance job creation and growth.

UNILAG Vice-Chancellor Folasade Ogunsola said I2M was aimed at addressing the challenges of innovations and translation of research works in Nigeria.

She said: “Despite the abundance of brilliant ideas, many innovators face significant hurdles when it comes to turning their concepts into viable commercial ventures. And that is where Project Innovation to Market steps in. This initiative recognises the challenges that exist and also recognises the immense potential of groundbreaking ideas and we seek to bridge that gap between innovation and commercialisation.”

She said the primary objective of I2M is to provide innovators and researchers with the resources, mentorship, and support to transform their ideas into market trading products and services, “and will help them early to identify buyers.”

She said the project is a pioneering initiative funded by the UKAID’s RISA to bridge the knowledge gap in Nigeria by providing resources on how to innovate and translate research outputs into the market.

She said the university has received support to unlock entrepreneurial ambition in students .

According to her, there were facilities to support students and programmes focused on encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset.

Acting Director, ITMO, UNILAG, Dr Abiodun Gbenga-Ilori, said the university was ready to help companies become more competitive in local and international markets, by  supporting  innovation aspirations.

She said project I2M’s objective is to identify ideas and innovations that could drive inclusive economic development and promote systemic change.

 She said  the project  will help the beneficiaries grow and scale their ideas  and enhance their capacities to reach out to foreign investment and international markets.

 Mrs Gbenga-Ilori said the project aims to nurture innovations at various stages, by providing training, incubation, mentorship, advisory, funding, patenting, and company and tax registrations.

   “The Project I2M is an initiative for Nigerian innovators, not limited to the UNILAG community, and we will be collaborating with research institutions nationwide. We also have industry experts we plan to collaborate with to serve as mentors to our participants across the country,” she said.

Speaking on the expected outcome and sustainability plan of the, the project team lead said within the first year, the initiative would see to the formation of a working consortium.

Mrs Gbenga-Ilori said other expected outcomes include the creation of iBank software platform, on boarding and training of 800-innovators,100 innovations licensed to the industry, 20 incubated startups and a co-working space to be used by innovators.

She noted that 600 of the 800 innovators have been onboarded, adding that 225 supported Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) have been created, and that it will ensure the provision of a minimum of 80 IP protection request fields.

The Country Manager , RISA, Alice Omisore, said the objective is to bridge the gap “between research institutions and innovators through funding and technical support for many organisations that are focused on providing capacity building for the research and innovation ecosystem”.

West Africa Research and Innovation Team Lead, FCDO, Leane Jones, said: “The project is exciting as it brings together key stakeholders from a vast range of organisations critical to support innovation across the nation, including universities, polytechnics research institutions, innovation hubs, industry, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, pooling ideas and resources.”

It was also an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators to learn from highly successful tech entrepreneurs and leaders.This featured the founder Future Africa, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji; the Executive Director, Fate Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi; Country Director of Google Nigeria, Juliet Ehimuan; and Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Teju Abisoye

Participants gained better understanding of  how to harness skills, technologies and financing approaches to establish viable  tech businesses.

Efforts are on to make training more accessible for working adults with commitments. Chief Executive, Emerald Business Support Services Limited (Emerald Zone), Oladapo Akinloye is helping many mid-career workers get more training, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Helping  workers stay relevant and competitive is one of the challenges that organisations face. To address this, the government and the private sector have been engaging in efforts to support workers in upskilling continually.

Chief Executive, Emerald Business Support Services Limited (Emerald Zone), Oladapo Akinloye, is a career coach. His goal is to trigger increased productivity in the firms. For him, this would lead to higher profits that can be later reinvested in form of higher wages or more jobs. He has been driving a campaign for  investment in job retention and creation, and workforce reskilling programmes for business continuity and growth.

For him, improvement would help to raise productivity and increase the potential for business growth. He has offered services to high-potential employees, the retrenched or unemployed.

 Emerald Business Support Services Limited (Emerald Zone) offers solutions to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and large scale organisations, including multinationals, to see them thrive better and scale up for more profitability.  Its Fast-track Leadership & Management Academy (FLM Academy) prepares young people to develop the skills to be either employable or to start out as an entrepreneur.

The academy launched the Graduate Development Programme( GDP) initiative targeting young graduates to is to help them develop employability and entrepreneurial skills.

He explained: “Since most firms over time because of a low budget and the economic downturn, can no longer afford to take the time to train young people for free.The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was designed to close that gap. Our GDP initiative has partnered the career development centre (CDC) of the Lagos State University (LASU), and other institutions and recently, with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC),  to prepare about 1000 new graduates and has run several open cohorts, drawing participants across the country.

  “Solving business problems and looking out for improvement opportunities is a lifelong passion for me. Even while in paid employment, my eyes are running across the organisation looking for effectiveness and process efficiencies.”

He indicated that there was the need for more industry, private sector and government partnerships to solve human capital issues, especially youth development and SMEs empowerment, as a catalyst for national development. His words: “We also need more entrepreneurs. There’s a need for concerted efforts with more entrepreneurs in the field and intrapreneurs within organisations who are dedicated to deliver creative solutions in growing our country in all sectors.”

To provide employees with better employment and earning prospects, the firm has  introduced job-skills working with industry, training and employment facilitation partners to optimise training and job replacement.

For him, the contemporary training plan provides equal chances and opportunities at all stages to develop their skills. He focuses on developing capacities for organisations  facing deficits in productivity.