The Nation Newspaper

Tag: enterprises

  • ‘Enterprises in fear of post-digitilisaton’

    Business enterprises are entering a new ‘post-digital’ era, where success will be based on an organisation’s ability to master a set of new technologies that can deliver personalised realities and experiences for customers, employees and business partners, according to Accenture Technology Vision 2019, a new report from Accenture has shown.

    Titled: The Post-Digital Era is Upon Us – Are You Ready for What’s Next?, enterprise is at a turning point. Digital technologies enable firms to understand customers with a new depth of granularity; give them more channels with which to reach those consumers; and enable them to expand ecosystems with new potential partners. But digital is no longer a differentiating advantage – it’s now the price of admission, the report said.

    Accenture Technology’s Managing Director, Niyi Tayo, said: “A post-digital world doesn’t mean that digital is over. On the contrary – we’re posing a new question: As all organisations develop their digital competency, what will set you apart?  In this era, simply doing digital isn’t enough. Our technology vision highlights the ways in which organisations must use powerful new technologies to innovate in their business models and personalise experiences for their customers. At the same time, leaders must recognise that human values, such as trust and responsibility, are not just buzzwords but critical enablers of their success.”

    The vision identified five emerging technology trends that firms must address to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.

    According to the report, first is understanding the DNA of DARQ. The technologies of distributed ledgers, artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality and quantum computing (DARQ) are catalysts for change, offering extraordinary new capabilities and enabling businesses to reimagine entire industries. “When asked to rank which of these will have the greatest impact on their organisation over the next three years, 41 per cent of executives ranked AI number one – more than twice the number of any other DARQ technology,” said the report.

    The second is to unlock unique consumers and unique opportunities. Technology-driven interactions are creating an expanding technology identity for every consumer. This  knowledge will be key to understanding the next generation of consumers and for delivering rich, individualised, experience based relationships. More than four in five executives (83 per cent) said digital demographics give their organisations a new way to identify market opportunities for unmet customer needs.

    It said as workforces become “human+” – with each individual worker empowered by skillsets and knowledge plus a new, growing set of capabilities made possible through technology – companies must support a new way of working in the post-digital age. More than two-thirds (71 per cent) of execs believe  employees are more digitally mature than organisation, resulting in a workforce “waiting” for the organisation to catch up.

    According to the report, enterprises are not victims, they’re vectors. While ecosystem-driven business depends on interconnectedness, those connections increase companies’ exposures to risks. “Leading businesses recognise that security must play a key role in their efforts as they collaborate with entire ecosystems to deliver best-in-class products, services and experiences. Only 29 per cent of executives said they know their ecosystem partners are working diligently to be compliant and resilient with regard to security,” it added.

    Technology, it said, is creating a world of intensely customised and on-demand experiences, and companies must reinvent their organisations to find and capture those opportunities. That means viewing each opportunity as if it’s an individual market-a momentary market.

    Six in seven executives (85 per cent) said the integration of customisation and real-time delivery is the next big wave of competitive advantage.

    According to the report, innovation for organisations in the post-digital era involves figuring out how to shape the world around people and pick the right time to offer their products and services. “They’re taking their first steps in a world that tailors itself to fit every moment – where products, services and even people’s surroundings are customised and where businesses cater to the individual in every aspect of their lives and jobs, shaping their realities,” it said.

    The report said one company taking individualisation and customisation to a new level is Zozotown, Japan’s biggest e-commerce company. Its skintight spandex Zozosuits pair with the Zozotown app to take customers’ exact measurements; custom-tailored pieces from the company’s in-house clothing line arrive in as few as 10 days. And it’s not just in the fashion industry where technology is enabling customisation previously not possible. United States retailer Sam’s Club developed an app that uses machine learning and data about customers’ past purchases to auto-fill their shopping lists; the company plans to add a navigation feature to show optimised routes through the store to each item on that list.

  • Ambode urges women accountants to translate career passion into enterprises

    Professional women accountants should translate their career passion into enterprise, to improve human experience and enhance financial independence for womenfolk, Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said yesterday.

    The governor, in his goodwill message to the annual seminar of Professional Women Accountants in the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (PROWAN), said the global economy was fast evolving with an increasing need for professionals to expand the frontiers of knowledge.

    The seminar, with the theme: “Economic Independence: A Catalyst for Financial Balloning-Nigerian Women on the Front Burner”, was held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Ikeja.

    Ambode, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Samuel Olukunle Ojo, said the imperative of innovation was premised on the dynamism of the global system, which was the language every up-and-coming entrepreneur must learn and understand to be a frontline player in the business world.

    PROWAN Chairman Princess Elemanya Ebilah said the seminar’s theme was chosen to ensure added value to the womenfolk.

    She stressed that when women have financial independence, they have choices.

    Ebilah said they must exhibit the highest level of professionalism, adding that the place of women in driving the economy was paramount, as they had shown commitment in the development of the economy.

    “The population of our women involved in Small Scale Medium Enterprises is very high. Hence there is need to come up with good financial strategy to ensure accountability, proper documentation and time management,” she said.

    Lagos State Accountant-General Mrs. Abimbola Shukurat Umar said financial independence should begin from homes, noting that women should strive to become active partners financially.

    “I know most of us do this already. We buy children’s lunch boxes and sometimes pay for after school lessons, buy dresses, etc. These can only be possible if we are financially independent. Purposeful entrepreneurial activities with diligence and discipline are contributory prerequisites in the quest for financial independence,” Umar, who is also the permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance, said.

    Head of Service Mrs. Folashade Adesoye said in order for economic independence to act as a catalyst for financial ballooning, individuals, especially women, irrespective of their income, must have access to financial services and products, which are beneficial to them and the economy.

    She assured participants that the government would be in the forefront of women development.

  • Creating productive youths through agro enterprises

    Youths are the livewire of any country. A productive youth will create a productive economy. In collaboration with the Michigan State University, Master Card Foundation has launched a programme for the empowerment of 15,000 youths in Nigeria and Tanzania. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    With unemployment on the rise, the youth can find opportunities in the agricultural sector as entrepreneurs.

    The Master Card Foundation and Michigan State University (MSU) Ag youth lab is designed with this in mind to assist the youth in employment and entrepreneurship in the agrifood system in Nigeria and Tanzania.

    Launched in Lagos, the Ag youth lab is intended to support 15,000 youths aged 18 and 24, by improving their abilities to find quality farming and agro-processing jobs, access finance, start and grow agro businesses, and expand opportunities.

    At the launch of the  lab in Lagos, the Special Assistant on Innovation & Entrepreneurship to the Acting President, Ife Adebayo, said job creation through agriculture remained a priority of the Buhari-led administration.

    He reiterated that the government was determined to invest in empowering the youth to build their entrepreneurial  and technical skills and spirit, so that they could help boost agricultural productivity.

    Adebayo said  youth participation along the value chain was vital to the growth of the  economy, from food production, storage and handling, to agro processing.

    He urged the youth to avail themselves of the opportunities in the sector.

    The Ag youth lab, he said, will  provide a vibrant space for youths development – supporting young people to play an active role in food production.

    John Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy, MSU, Adesoji Adelaja, said it is a five-year $13 million collaboration.

    The partnership, he explained, will  support the youth in major food sheds in Lagos and Dar es Salaam to access employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

    Nigeria, according to him, will have the lion’s share in the deal to help young people access employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in the fast-growing horticulture, aquaculture, poultry, cassava and oilseed sectors.

    He said the project is targeting 10,000 youths in Nigeria, adding that 75  per cent of the fund will be used to support them.

    He said the project could provide new jobs in agrifood systems, by identifying constraints affecting the capacity of youth to take up these economic opportunities.

    Adelaja explained that the project would pursue a mixed programme strategy to increase youth economic opportunities on and off-farm. The programmes will increase the knowledge, productivity and market engagement of youth who have the desire and ability to be good farmers.

    He noted that agriculture is increasingly seen as offering a bright future for young people and a way to stimulate growth in the rural economy.

    Senior  Adviser to the Associate Provost and Dean, International Studies and Programmes at MSU, Dr Julie Howard, said the project will seek increased investment and policy change to support the scaling up of activities to boost  youth participation in agric employment and entrepreneurship.

    She said efforts would concentrate on green revolution technologies and supportive government policies that kick-started rural economic growth processes and pulling more youths into more productive jobs.

    She talked about unexploited opportunities: increasing youth employment and entrepreneurship in agriculture. These opportunities, according to her, relate to modernising traditional agriculture, and range from on-farm service provision (e.g. tractors for hire, input dealers) to food processing, marketing, and the expansion of food away from home products and services. Not creating more and better economic opportunities for young people, she warned, could threaten to stability.

    Managing Director/CEO, Venture Garden Group Nigeria,Bunmi Akinyemiju, said Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools would help modernise agriculture, make value chains more efficient, provide new employment opportunities, and attract more young people to the sector.

    Specifically, he said young farmers who apply ICT tools and skills to their farming businesses have higher yields, incomes and social status.

    According to him, facilitating access to ICTs and improving rural broadband connectivity are key to attracting young entrepreneurs to agriculture.

    He stressed that efforts in this field must go hand in hand with increased capacity building in ICT use, tailored towards agribusiness development.

    The Ag Youth Lab would emphasise policy research, data and analytics to develop a cost-effective, scalable model for youth training and facilitation, she added.

    “Our e-learning and monitoring and evaluation platforms will support the program by providing trainees and other stakeholders with the information needed to succeed,” Akinyemiju,  the lead partner responsible for data and information technology activities, said.

    Senior Programme Manager, Youth Livelihoods, The Master  Card Foundation, Alemayehu Koira, said the  youth programme would provide skills training for economically disadvantaged young people so they could find employment.

    The skills training will focuse on developing foundational skills, such as literacy and numeracy, and technical skills.

    He said agricultural production is central to young people’s livelihood. Youth participating in the programme, he noted, is given to enable them to venture into farming  and  food processing, value addition and sales.

    The vision of MasterCard Foundation, he reiterated, is to see youths transform agriculture into agri-businesses.

    One of the major goals of the project, Koira said, is a radical change in the way youths are taught agriculture and entrepreneurship. The skills required for a modern agriculture and food system, he explained, are of a higher order and need to be upgraded significantly.

    Provost, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology (OYSCA-TECH), Prof Gbemiga Adewale, said the project delivers a comprehensive package of services, including skills training, business development and mentoring to young people aimed to equip youth with the skills and knowledge necessary to capitalise on economic opportunities and increase their incomes, with the ripple effects benefiting thousands out there.

    Using a “train the trainers”approach, local colleges and their graduates would train community facilitators to expose youth to new opportunities and pass on skills using an experiential learning approach.

    “We will work together to establish an atmosphere where youth will be able to create jobs and become agents of food sufficiency as well as ambassadors of character,” Adewale said.

    Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Kenton Dashiell, said IITA would bring the lessons from its experience to help Ag Youth Lab tap the dynamism of Africa’s youth.

  • ARMTI partners communities to boost local food enterprises

    The Acting Executive Director, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State, Anthony  Njoku has reiterated the institute’s determination to help communities increase economic opportunities for local farmers and related businesses.

    Njoku, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the institute’s Training Workshop on Cassava Commodity Value Chain Development for participating communities in its Village Alive Development Initiative (VADI), said: “The Village Alive Development Initiative (VADI) is an action-research project of ARMTI to selected rural communities in our area of operation.

    “The initiative is aimed at creating a sustainable and self-reliant community-based organisation for rural dwellers to initiate and implement programmes, which will improve their standard of living and social status, by reducing their level of poverty. It also provides field practicum complement for ARMTI courses while also serving as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the institute.”

    He disclosed that ARMTI has just acquired and installed two sets of cassava processing equipment in two of the participating communities. “Now we are conducting this four-day training workshop on cassava commodity value chain development for all our participating communities. Having identified our area of comparative advantage as a state, we are committed to provide all the support needed to achieve maximum leverage and dividends from it,” he said.

    The institute, he explained, has embarked on a different, locally-driven approach to help people access healthy local food and supports new businesses in the villages that need investment. With technical assistance through the scheme; he said participants are taking innovative approaches to common challenges, like launching business incubators to support food entrepreneurs.

    So far, more than N10 million has being spent on eight rural communities in Kwara State under VALDI. The money was distributed by a commercial bank to villagers, forming contributory groups under a revolving loan arrangement.

    During the during the kick-off of seed fund disbursement to seven participating communities under VADI in Ilorin, in  2014, the  Kwara State Governor,  Abdulfatah Ahmed canvassed that modern and affordable technologies be made available for the nation’s teeming farmers, while more robust policies should be formulated to sustain the interest of the overwhelming population in both agricultural and other business practices.

    He noted: “This project is timely and would complement the new initiatives of the Kwara State Government as well as the Federal Government to shift the focus of citizens as beneficiaries of an oil-based economy to proponents of an agro-driven economy.

    “Ironically, our strengths happen to lie in the vast agricultural resource potential of the state and the nation, and with the adoption of modern agro technology and agronomic practices that will be sustained for devoted farmers and coherent and stable development policies, we are certain that agricultural growth is a realisable objective in the not too distant future.”

  • ‘BPE paid N604b to ex-workers of privatised enterprises’

    ‘BPE paid N604b to ex-workers of privatised enterprises’

    The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Director-General, Mr. Benjamin Dikki,   says so far over N604 billion has been paid as entitlements to staff of privatised enterprises in line with the Federal Government-approved labour policy in August 2002.

    He made this known while receiving the Crown of Workers’ Prospect of the Year award by the Labour Writers’ Association of Nigeria (LAWAN) in Alausa, Lagos.

    He said: “Difficult as the mobilisation and integration of stakeholders in the privatisation programme is, especially where critical decisions of right-sizing staff of enterprises to be privatised are involved, the Federal Government has through the Labour Policy Framework (LPF) assumed the responsibility of paying staff liabilities (except where the sales purchase agreement dictates otherwise­). Thus, over N604billion has so far been paid as entitlements to staff of privatised enterprises.”

    He said the reform and privatisation were the best options to grow the economy.

    “The reforms of the telecommunications sector are shining examples. This sector now contributes more than 20 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP), and has created millions of jobs. It has equally grown from about 450, 000 lines in 2001 to 151,018,624 lines as at August 2015 with teledensity of 107.87, in recent report releases by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).”

    Acknowledging the role of the media on information dissemination, the director-general urged labour writers, as a member of the fourth estate of the realm, to partner the BPE as it did during the privatisation and reforms era.

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomole, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Patrick Obayagbon, urged governors to pay the N18, 000 minimum wage.

    He wondered why some governors were not effecting the payment of the wage, having agreed with labour organisations and stakeholders to do so.

    Earlier, Trade Union Congress (TUC) former President-General, Comrade Peter Esele, urged governors to cut costs.

    He further noted that all state governors have security votes “that are not accounted for” and urged the governors to “sew their coat, not according to their size, but according to their cloth”.

    He said David Cameron of the United Kingdom does not have a private jet, alleging that majority of the governors fly in private aircraft.

    According to him, while the last negotiations were on-going, some states made submissions based on what they could pay as minimum wage  above the N18, 000, adding that it was too late to deceive the  workers.

    He said: “Abia State’s submission was N42, 000; Nasarawa even went above N18, 000. All these states made submissions based on what they could pay and the majority of them came up with figures higher than N18, 000.”

  • MTN bridges divide between enterprises, informal merchants

    MTN bridges divide between enterprises, informal merchants

    Multinational Corporations, particularly in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, as well as informal merchants, will soon benefit from reduced costs, increased security and greater efficiencies around payments. This follows a partnership agreement between MTN Business and Switching House, on a cashless payment solution that bridges the divide between large enterprises and the cash-based informal merchants.

    “This solution is aligned with MTN’s efforts to deliver digital services to our multinational clientele, while at the same time serving the underserved. We estimate that around 70% of informal merchants in Africa are not able to make and receive electronic payments, and therefore recognise the value of inclusive payment solutions. This switching payment solution will enable MTN to increase the economic participation of informal cash only merchants in Africa while allowing users to safely transact in a digital space, to benefit both FMCGs and Consumers,” says Debbie Minnaar, General Manager: Products and Services, Group Enterprise Business Unit, MTN.

    Leveraging off of MTN Mobile Money, the solution will enable informal merchants and traders to pay for goods using their mobile device and without the need for a formal bank account. Multinationals benefit from transactions occurring in real-time, and the elimination of the risks and administrative overheads associated with cash transactions, as well as a reduction in costs associated with formal banking.

     

     

     

  • ‘Creativity, innovation key to sustainable enterprises’

    ‘Creativity, innovation key to sustainable enterprises’

    Without creativity and innovation, business enterprises will stagnate and the much-need sustainable economic growth and development will not be achieved, the newly elected President/Chairman of Council, The Institute of Business Development (IBD), Prof Ifeanyi Achumba, has said.

    Delivering a paper titled “Survival is not enough” during his investiture/induction of members and Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Achumba said innovation is key to sustainable success in an increasing competitive world.

    Insisting that enterprises must rapidly and repeatedly re-invent themselves to survive competition, he said the economic environment requires renewed dynamism in approach, adding that creativity and innovation are the new tonic or name of the game.

    According to him, only discerning organisations can manage the inherent changes in the new environment.

    Achumba, who stated that the on-going reforms of the Federal Government should be reinvigorated to achieve the desired objective of being less-dependent on imported goods, materials, services and technology, however, added that: “Our success, therefore, will depend on the seriousness with which enterprises undertake creative and innovative activities in terms of indigenising inputs, sourcing and developing new indigenous products.”

    He said the society would benefit tremendously from individual enterprises undertaking innovative and creative activities, hence, they  should not be left to government agencies to execute.

    “It therefore, becomes imperative for an enterprise to continuously challenge itself to finding new and better ways of doing the old thing or in fact, create new ways of doing new things,” he stated.

    Promising to bring his wealth of experience to bear on his new position, he made a case for an inward-looking strategy to move the country forward.

    The highpoint of the event was the induction of four members made up of three associates and one fellow.

    The Registrar/CEO, IBD, Mr. Paul Ikele, said the induction was an aspect of the institute’s continued professional development to ensure that members acquire new knowledge to develop themselves and grow the institute. He said the fellows were expected to bring the knowledge from their various organisations to bear on it.

    Ikele said the institute’s plan is to continuously innovate and be pro-active and creative, as well as think deeper on how to turn around the economic fortunes of Nigeria so it  can compete with other developed countries. “We want to build that edge to ensure we key in,” he told The Nation, on the sideline of the induction.

    IBD’s immediate past President/Chairman of Council Mr. Ifeanyi Obibuzor agreed with him, noting that there is a need to make the institute more visible. “We have to be more aggressive and reach out to the media. We also need to take our institutional problems and begin to solve them. We must look into the challenges of the small and medium businesses that have survived under this environment,” he said.

    Giving his scorecard as the third president, Obibuzor said the institute under his watch acquired a befitting office. He also said the its membership drive led to an improvement in membership.

    He charged the new president to build on the achievements of his administration, saying, “We need to look at long term planning as an Institute and as a nation and then access what we have done, the gaps and how to bridge them.”

  • Promoting rural enterprises

    Promoting rural enterprises

    The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) Nigeria is offering those in agro business technical training to process their produce and make a living. The support is aimed at creating jobs and business opportunities for residents where such businesses are located, reports DANIEL ESSIET.

    The past decade has been challenging for young people and farmers seeking to start agro business. But the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) Nigeria supported projects are improving farming techniques, increasing access to processing  machines  and reviving the commodities sector. All of these have helped villagers and young people rebuild their lives and pursue a more prosperous future.

    An example is  Abia State  where  communities are working with WAAPP Nigeria to  form groups and determine their own business  needs.

    •Kalu
    •Kalu

    According  to  the  Chairman, Cassava Value Chain Innovation Platform, Abia State, Kalu Iche Kalu, small agro business owners are learning important skills to manage hectares of  farmland involving  cassava production  that has expanded to meet rapidly, rising demand for  livestock feeds, starch, chips and garri.

    In Abia State, he said,  cassava business  is booming and is linked  to increasing local processing of the crop into wet and dry starch, which is  transformed into higher value food and industrial products – from noodles, glucose, and maltose to textiles, pharmaceuticals, among  others.

    According to Kalu, a lot of investors are  making  money through wet starch extraction.

    He said small-scale operators handle one to 10 tonnes of roots daily, while there are  medium-sized processors handling   10 to 100 tonnes.

    He said several   new cassava varieties have come from collaborative breeding efforts supported by WAAPP and   improved varieties resulting from such works have doubled average crop yields.

    Kalu said the impact is great, yielding enormous returns for agro businesses

    Consequently, he said,  cassava is one of the most dynamic sub sectors in the  state, helping to drive industrial development while delivering higher incomes to investors.

    To boost more activities, he  said,  the platform also engaged farmers, processors, and investors through meetings to scale out successful technologies and practices.

    Villagers, according to him, are coming from various zones for the  platform to train them as  they see  bigger fruits and harvests.

    Small scale cassava producers working with the platforms, he  said, are proud of having helped to transform the value chain, making it inclusive and efficient.

    Under the WAAPP Nigeria Programme,  the mandate, he said, is root and tuber, specifically yam and cassava. The platforms are in nine states and have given small holder farmers support on farm inputs such as fertiliser and the top five cassava varieties, including the pro-vitamin A  umu-cass 36,37 and 38.

    Under the WAAPP assisted project,  he said the  target in the first phase is to reach out to 300,000 farmers, which they have reached  167,000.  “This year we are providing seven processing centres across seven states  of which two of these processing centres are almost completed.  Our target is to complete these processing centers before the end of May next year.

    The processing centres are at Umuaka Okigwe, Imo State and Bende in Abia State.”

    The  programme is to transform subsistence farmers into commercial farmers, promote investment in the cassava processing industries and develop the capacity of local governments to drive economic development.

    WAAPP Nigeria National Coordinator, Prof  Damian Chikwendu,  said  the  idea behind the innovative  platforms  is  to  support  small-scale operations to manufacture products, which  are not very easy for budding entrepreneurs.

    Following the establishment of such groups, Chikwendu said local small scale farmers  now  have places to process products to be sold commercially.

    The equipment helps local producers to slice and dice large quantities of vegetables, blend ingredients, produce dry fruits and vegetables, process products in metal cans, pasteurise juices and perform other tasks.

    With the recent downturn in the economy coupled with the popularity of farmers’ markets and the concept of local foods, he said, many people are interested in developing food processing companies.

    With the support of WAAPP working  through  partners, he  said  a lot of  people  have been   helped to translate  their   food ideas into  finished  products.

    Products included veggie chips, sauce, and plantain and cassava chips.

    The plan of the programme, he said, is to help   diversify and develop the agribusiness sector, improve processing, mainly by providing training and grant support to set up drying tunnels. With  better  packaging, he  said  entrepreneurs  have not only   improved the products, but  helped  farmers  to  increase  shelf-life of products, reduce losses and improve access to the market.  The results in places such as Enugu and Abia have been startling.

    He said some successful entrepreneurs are building on their achievements to add more value to the fruit they produce.

     

  • Promoting rural enterprises

    Promoting rural enterprises

    The last two decades have been challenging for the people living in the villages with growing unemployment and dearth of business opportunities. But  social  entrepreneurs  are  emerging to help young  people  to  return  to the rural settings  and  establish  village enterprises, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    In some surrounding towns, Southwest of the country, young people are now involved in agro businesses and  farms reclaimed from the forests. Towns around Lala, Idiroko in Ogun state and Ogbomosho in Oyo State are welcoming village enterprises promoting cultivation of cucumbers, tomatoes and  watermelon.

    The young entrepreneurs  are  getting better prices for their produce and more control over value chains as they  move them  through  trucks  to Lagos. As  the  waste farmland roads are   changing fast,the creation of rural agro business  growth networks is  helping   rural areas overcome barriers to growth as  more rural business are   starting up, giving a boost to local communities and unlocking the economic potential of rural areas.

    The rugged lowlands are now  taken  over  by  agro enterprises  and plantations  as  businesses  are scrambling for land to invest in large agro-enterprises.  While there seems to be a positive effect  as   local businesses investing in these areas, building infrastructure or buying processing equipment, the  outcome, however is  that some young entrepreneurs are smiling  to banks with a lot of youths now determined to pursue agricultural business instead of a plush job posting.   One  of those  rallying  youths  to go  rural and establish  thriving agro  ventures is  Chief  Executive, X-Ray Farms Consulting, Akinoluwa Abayomi Mogaji,  popularly known as African farmer.

    To  a number  of  youths  scrambling for farmlands  to do  business, Mogaji is a thought-leader in promoting and facilitating economic participation.  Through his mentorship, the nation is  witnessing the explosion of   youth  empowered  agribusinesses. Speaking  with  The Nation,  Mogaji said  he  has  a  divine  mandate  to rid  the streets of  unemployed youths  and  turn  them  into agro entrepreneurs.This is in line with national growth and industrial objectives which aim to increase competitiveness and support for co- operatives and small businesses. His main investment areas are information and communication technology and media, and food and agro-processing.   His  strategic project is focused on increasing the inclusion of young people in early-stage projects. While some crops are identified as important drivers of growth, each project will be judged on economic merit and ability to deliver on the development mandate. The impact is not driven only by financial terms, but by the empowerment dividend.

    One  of the cardinal  programmes of his organisation is  to support   young entrepreneurs wishing to start new businesses access rural lands  to  establish  commercially viable projects that  will  benefit communities in rural areas. He  acknowledged  that many farmers and aspiring ones  contend with high cost of capital such as lands and machineries. However, he  has   discovered  a way youths, workers and retirees  can  explore  government land option  wasting  across  the country. He urged  people not to consider their obstacles to be greater than their dreams.  Mogaji, who started farming about two decades ago while still an undergraduate,  said  he  has  plans to  assist aspiring agro entrepreneurs access cheap land and  affordable  tractors.

    Besides this, he conducts  an x-ray of the proposed farming business, identifying what needs to be done for the business to be productive or more profitable. The x-ray can even be done before the person commits any funds into the business.

    For example, watermelon farming can make  farmers comfortable. This is happening in  areas such as Oyo and Ogun States where  he  has gotten  a number   of  youths     to start  ventures with precision farming, irrigation system and improved varieties  that  help them to attain economic gain. The farmers are  getting almost seven times of what they invested in cultivation practices.

    Years ago, he   faced  many challenges. Today, he has discovered a solution  that is  helping   him produce maize all year round using irrigation; watermelon, leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers and cassava. He started commercial farming in 1996.

     

     

  • Kudos to small scale enterprises

    The recent revival of support by the federal government for small scale entrepreneurs through a 220 billion naira intervention fund referred to as the micro, small and medium enterprise development fund (MSMEDF) deserves all the encouragement. To further this cause to entrench the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), well beyond the current efforts, the federal government should as a matter of priority establish a Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, to galvanize and concentrate enough bureaucratic efforts to grow this important segment of our economy.

    Interestingly under this fund, the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria is working to eliminate gender disparity in the MSME sub-sector. So at the lunch of the MSMEDF on August, 15, 2013, the Central Bank of Nigeria, earmarked 60% of the 220 billion naira seed capital for women, while 40% is for men. The program defined a woman enterprise as one that is at least 75% owned or operated by female Nigerians. The fund has two main objectives. First is the social/development object and grants which account for 10% of the fund. The second objective is commercial which accounts for 90% of the fund. Also it provides that 80% of the monies in the commercial component of the fund will be allocated to micro enterprises and 20% to small and medium enterprises.

    The guidelines defined micro enterprises as one with less than 10% employees with a total asset of less that 5million, excluding land and building, and operated by sole proprietor. Small and medium enterprises are defined as entities with asset base of more than 5 million and not more than 500 million, excluding land and buildings, with employees of between 11 and 200. The businesses covered by the fund are listed as agricultural value chain activities, trade and general commerce, cottage industries, artisans, services: hotels, schools, restaurants, laundry, etc, and other income generating projects as may be prescribed by the managing agent.

    The channel for distribution of the fund is from the CBN to the participatory financial institution (PFI) and then to the MSMEs. PFIs include micro fiancé institutions (NGOs and financial cooperatives) and finance companies that meet the criteria. Quite a number of banks have keyed into the program and have designed gender related funding programs to tap into the CBNs plan of action. The interest in female, while seeking to engender gender parity in business ownership, may actually be tapping into to the well heeled notion that women are more trustworthy than men, in this case as borrowers. After all, according to Petrokis and Kostis (2012); while empirical results indicate that inter personal trust dose not affect the number of SMEs, trust becomes widespread in a society when the number of SMEs is greater.

    As I had posited at the beginning of this piece, there is the need to create a ministry for MSMEs, which will be charged to push for the institutional reforms that will help the sub-sector to make the needed impact in the economy. This is the case in other developing economies, where institutional support is developed, to make similar fund more effective. Some of the support includes organized cluster based approach to lending, which the minister of finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has pushed for among some industry operatives. A cluster based approach has been shown to be more beneficial in dealing with well define and recognized groups, the availability of appropriate information for risk assessment, monitoring by the lending institution and reduction in costs for borrowers.

    Another institutional help to the MSMEs will be the creation Credit Guarantee Fund Trust, as a counter poise to lending without collateral. Under such scheme, the lender concentrates effort on project viability, and so the security is secured purely on the primary security of the asset financed. As practiced in other jurisdiction, the Credit Guarantee Trust Fund is structured to minimize the risk of the lender and assure him that in the event of failure by the borrower to meet his obligation, the Fund will step in to ameliorate the loss incurred by the lender. In turn the Fund is paid guarantee and annual service charge by the MSMEs.

    Another institutional help to maximize the benefits of MSMEs is the use of credit ratings in risk assessment. Where there is a reliable credit rating for the MSMEs, the lending institutions find it easier to make their decisions, especially when lending without collateral. Credit rating may also be useful in determining the interest rate for both the lender and the borrower, as MSMEs with favourable ratings may likely get better lending rates than those with poor ratings. Associated with credit rating will be a credit bureau which the Central Bank and the financial institutions are already building, which will keep the data on the borrowing characteristics of companies and individuals, which ordinarily is a sine qua non to the very survival of the lending institutions themselves.

    A further bulwark to protect the new national wave for MSMEDF will be the establishment of laws to protect the MSMEs from their customers, with respect to payment for supplies and for services. Such laws will impute into contracts, where there are no provisions, mandatory payments for services and goods on the due date, and for penalties to accrue to the benefit of the supplier or service provider, after a named date. In some cases the banks will be under legal obligation to pay the supplier or service provider from monies of the benefiting companies in their custody. This will save the MSMEs from the debilitating legal challenge to recover monies due to them from the courts. Also the laws can provide for arbitration and mediation, where there is a dispute in place of litigation. No doubt, the benefits of a viable MSMEs sub-sector are indeed innumerable.