The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Entrepreneur

  • ‘All an entrepreneur needs to succeed is stay focused’

    ‘All an entrepreneur needs to succeed is stay focused’

    Emeka Ikwuagwu is the Chief Executive Officer, Holmes Viu Properties Limited, with interest in property development, mortgage and brokers. Interestingly, he started the business about fifteen years ago from his living room with little resources. The road to success was very rough but with determination and perseverance he conquered poverty. Now, the most important thing on his mind is how to give back to the society and he wants to catch them young. He shared his vision and mission with Yetunde Oladeinde

    How did you start the business?

    The business started from my living room. Then, I did not have the resources to rent an office. The business is a service oriented business and the experience and connections that I had built was very crucial. Also it was at the point when mobile telephone came on board and it made things easy for me. I started small, made some profits and gradually the business began to grow.

    I was the only the only staff and I did virtually everything on my own. Today, I have about 40 people employed in the organization and I have not reached the limit, we are expanding all the time. It was also easy because I wasn’t married at that point and there was little or no pressure on my time and the little resources at my disposal. My house didn’t have much traffic and I had a lot of energy to pursue my clients, did the adverts and pushed the business from zero to something big and better. When we were getting bigger, we had to move out to get a better space.

    What motivated you to go into this line of business?

    I studied Estate Management and did my Youth service at the Ministry of Lands and Survey in Taraba state and from there, I got a contract job with Shell in Warri. I was there and learnt some things that I later found to be useful on the job. Interestingly, it had nothing to do with real estate. Like every young man when you get out of school you just want a job with good money. When I worked there, I saw the money but I was not inspired. Then I moved to Wokom Estates in Owerri, where I was able to put the things I learnt into Action. I also worked with Diya Fatimilehin and another company before setting up my own company.

    Like every other business, it has it challenges but you must be dedicated and have a focus. Property business is an entirely different ballgame and it is different from other types of business. The most important thing is the person behind the property business. I would say that the inspiration came when I was doing my Youth service in Taraba State, where we did some community service and we were involved in small competitions in school but on a very small scale.

    There are a lot of non professionals in this sector, how do you cope with them?

    When we started in this area, we had an association called (ERCAN) Estate Rents Agents Commission Association of Nigeria. The touts were on ground in other local government areas but in Ago Okota area, it was a dead zone for them. Then the founding fathers came together and made it more formal and I became the president of the organisation. That was about five years ago. We worked with the national body of the association and we got support from the police and other stakeholders in the area. Those who were not registered came on board and my regime brought a lot of changes and a lot of transformation was achieved.

    What advice would you give young people who want to start a business of their own?

    The advice I would give young people is that you must understand the nature of the course that you have chosen or studied. Then the next thing would be to know what is required to set up a business in that line. Of course, there are some businesses that you just cannot practice on your own after school without capital. Then there are others that like estate management which is service-oriented and would not require too much capital at the beginning. So it is important to know and understand the nature of the business that you are going into as well as how to make the best use of the resources available to excel. We all know that employment is difficult and so if you can have a focus, get serious and start planning early instead of using all the time writing applications here and there. If you have the opportunity to become an employer of labour, you must also be hardworking and consistent. It is the consistency that you show that would take you to the next level and make others to have confidence in what you can do or offer. The trying period at the beginning is just a temporary phase, never give up but always be determined. If you do this the sky would not even be you limit as you go on with your dream and passion.

    So how do you intend to give back to the community?

    Now, we have grown to become men and God helping us to assist the environment where we have grown in the past 15 years. So we are going to give back to the society as our social corporate responsibility. And of course, this is another way to help the government because the government cannot do it alone.

    The company has done a number of things for the community. But there is a project we are working on and it is powered by Holmes Viu Properties Limited. It is tagged: ‘Interschool competition’ and it has three categories which included educational, sports and culture. Under education, we have debates and essays. Under sports, we have football, high jump and table tennis, hundred meters dash and four by four hundred meters. Then we also further categorise it into male and female. It involves both the public and private schools, all within Isolo and Oshodi local government areas. The educational sector would also improve the reading culture which a lot of people have been talking about and trying to improve.

    When we have interschool and intra school competitions, a lot of talents would be discovered. If you are a champion in your school, you get more skills, improve your level and get prepared for more competition. While the students are improving, the teachers’ skills are also enhanced because learning is a continuous process. Once you have been selected, you would also go through some training that would help to take them to the next level. We have cups, medals, plaques, certificates, financial rewards and it is going to be an annual event. When we do this successfully then we can replicate it in other local government areas as well as take it to other states like Abia where I come from.

    Who would you consider as your mentor or role model?

    My mentor would be very surprised. He is the CEO of Wokoma Associate. He has his head office in Port Harcourt and he gave my first job as a residence manager. I had no experience but he told me that he had known my record from school and he wanted me to manage his Owerri branch which had a contract with Shell. I was an inexperienced young man who was given a big portfolio and that opened my eyes to a lot of things. That was when computerization started and Shell was converting their manual library to electronic library. I worked with the company that got the contract and it opened my eyes to the opportunities available via internet.

    Apart from him, another great influence in my life is my wife. She always gives me the push when things look dull and discouraging. God is the father of all and He works through somebody, I am sure God is the one using her for me.

  • Entrepreneur praises Emefiele on reforms

    Entrepreneur praises Emefiele on reforms

    An Entrepreneur and auto dealer in Lagos, Adejare Adegbenro has commended the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele for his reforms in the apex bank.

    Adegbenro, who is the Managing Director/CEO of Balmoral International Limited, said in less than a month in office, the cashless policy became effective nationwide on June 30, though, spearheaded by his predecessor. He described his reforms as ‘having human face.’

    The cashless policy started in January 2012, in Lagos as a pilot exercise before moving to Rivers, Kano, Ogun, Abia, and Anambra States as well as FCT, Abuja.

    The businessman, who is also a grandson of the late elder statesman and frontline nationalist, Pa Alfred Rewane, was particularly happy with Emefiele’s achievements in redirecting the activities of the Bureau De Change (BDC) in line with his ongoing reforms. He said: “His record of success arguably remains unprecedented.”

    The current sanity in the operations of BDC in the country, according to him, is a welcome development from the unorganised system with the attendant leakages and impunity that has become the order of the day.

    He praised the CBN’s Governor’s courage and wisdom in the way he handled the initial protest and resistance that greeted his efforts at sanitising this sub-sector of the economy, adding that he supported Emefiele’s decision to block the leakages.

  • ‘One entrepreneur at a time’

    ‘One entrepreneur at a time’

    For four days, youths from some African countries gathered at the Wood Training Centre in Kumasi, Ghana for the 2015 Winter Liberty and Entrepreneurship Camp organised by the African Youths Peace Corps (AYPC). OLUWAFEMI OGUNJOBI (a participant) reports.

    The Cheetah generation is the generation of youths that will not wait for the government to do things for them; they are the ones on whose shoulders Africa’s salvation rests.” These words of George Ayittey, a Ghanaian professor of Economics in the United States, reverberated in their hearts.

    It was in a hall at the Wood Training Centre in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti region of Ghana. The youths who came from some African countries, gathered, last week, to spread the gospel of liberty and prosperity on the continent. They were camped in Accra, Kumasi, Aflao and Ejisu for the four-day event.

    The youths arrived with what they called “good news” for this year’s edition of Winter Liberty and Entrepreneurship Camp. The participants are members of the African Students For Liberty (ASFL), a group whose aim is to chart a course for peace, liberty and prosperity.

    The event with the theme: Building Africa, one entrepreneur at a time, was organised by African Youths Peace Corps (AYPC) and sponsored by Washington-based Atlas Economic Research Foundation (ATLAS) and International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL).

    The resource persons, charged the participants to take the gospel of liberty to all rural communities in Africa. When the people embraced the principle of libertarianism, only then would the continent be freed from the shackles of poverty and dependence, they said.

    Ajibola Adigun, an executive board member at Students For Liberty (SFL), who spoke on Libertarianism in Africa, said the priorities before African countries remained development and economic freedom. These, he said, could not be achieved if African leaders close their countries’ borders and curtail the rights of their citizens to freedom of choice.

    A free market system, he said would free the continent from want and acute poverty. He described as retrogressive an economic system where resources of the countries are shared among the citizens, stressing that this would encourage laziness and kill entrepreneurship spirit of the youth.

    He told the participants to open their minds to the challenge of creating institutions that make laws work, urging them to challenge bad ideologies being practised by the leaders and emancipate the people out of poverty.

    Ajibola, who is also a writer, blamed the rot in Africa’s economic and political system on centralised authority and social entitlements. He said: “Our political institutions in Africa don’t respond well to changes. And it is unfortunate that many of us trust the government, whereas it (government) is robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

    He made a case for mutual respect among humans, adding that the more people value humans, the more it promotes peace and development. Adigun told the participants not to look up to the government for their survival, but to see their salvation in their creativity.

    Speaking on Free market environmentalism, AYPC President, Kofi Akosah,, said African countries must pull down obstructions at their borders set against free trade to achieve economic prosperity. He said when people enjoyed freedom to trade, values would be created and mutual respect would be earned. He said closed borders had closed opportunities for the young entrepreneurs to create wealth.

    “Why do we have so many trade borders connecting African countries, when trade in itself is peaceful? It is time governments handed off economic activities and allow people to express trade freely,” Akosah said.

    Gregory Diehl, a business consultant at Market Fit, who spoke on Meaningful business development, said as young entrepreneurs must understand the need of the market and calculate risks involved. He said business is for people who want to create values and reap personal rewards at the same time.

    He charged the participants to fashion workable business proposal that would increase their values and wealth.

    He said: “It is very difficult to be rich without creating a structure to leverage your efforts. With the right structure in place within the right setting, every action you take will lead to big financial returns.”

    Other speakers included Patrick White, Ken Van Doren, Susanne Tarkowski and Steve Horwitz, a professor of Economics.

    It was not all lectures; there was also a discussion, where participants were divided into groups to engage themselves in business plans.

    A participant, Olamide Ogunsanya, who recently graduated from Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) in Ogun State, said the event opened his mind to motivating ideology that could make his dream come true.

  • Paga chief wins entrepreneur award

    Paga chief wins entrepreneur award

    Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paga, Tayo Oviosu, has been announced as the “Entrepreneur of the Year” (West Africa) 2014. He was named winner at the CNBC Africa ll Africa Business Leaders Awards.

    The organisers recognised his dedication to changing the face of the Nigerian economy  by  founding what is now the country’s  largest and fastest growing mobile payments company.

    Nominated alongside other African game changers Arthur Zang of Cardiopad (Cameroon) and Paola Audrey Ndengue of Fashizblack (Ivory Coast); Oviosu started the company in 2009, due to his frustration of having to carry large amounts of cash around to deal with Nigeria’s unique payment challenges.

    “I simply believed there had to be a more efficient and secure way for anyone, anywhere, irrespective of whether they are banked or not, to pay and get paid. With the support of a great team and the belief of our investors, Paga has become that solution for over 1.9 million Nigerians across the country and that number is growing every day,” he said.

    Oviosu said he and his team strongly believed that efficient payment systems for both individuals and businesses were key to unlocking Nigeria’s latent economic potential.

  • Here comes a backpack entrepreneur

    Here comes a backpack entrepreneur

    A young Canadian-based has Nigerian carved a niche for himself, inscribing designs on backpacks. This has placed him in the league of teenage entrepreneurs, who are gradually seizing the future today, writes Daniel Essiet.

    Eighteen-year-old Canadian-based Nigerian, George Oni, is setting  the  art  world  on  fire. At the age of 17, and barely five months upon entry into the North American country the enterprising Nigerian progidy had  won  the  2013 Annual  Young  Entrepreneur Award of Make Your  Pitch Competition in Ontario, Canada.

    The competition shows the great creative and entrepreneurial strengths of Ontario’s young people.

    Oni is the founder of the  Kemies Supply Company, maker of the  world’s first premium interchangeable and  customizable backpacks. The company named Kemies, comes from the yoruba word, “kemi” which translates to “care for me” in English.

    True  to the  word, the company collaborates with illustrators and artists all over the world to make backpacks that stands out and tells a story.

    According to  him, each Kemies backpack features a stylish infinity sign logo which represents the past, present and future.

    He  said  users have the freedom to incorporate all three on their own personal interchangeable flap designs.

    He  explained that  there are advantages in using a backpack, as opposed to clothing, in order to display these designs.

    This  is  because  a  backpack is highly visible and the designs stand out immediately.

    While the wearer gets recognised for one-of-a-kind style, the artist gets exposure for this work as well as financial support.  Although one may argue that their concept is not unique-there are plenty of companies selling customized backpacks with a social mission, his company   is building its way to the top.

    Oni totally in love with backpacks, and so he wears them also, inspiring people from all over the world.

    Most of their clients represented some of the top names in corporate world. As his company grew, these clients sought him out to create, props for promotional displays, etc.

    He  is  gradually  re-engineering   his   company based on market demand. To this  end,  the  company  has expanded into government agencies.  Like most businesses, there were tough times in the early years. Besides, there is extreme competition for clients. Even generating awareness and reaching potential clients is like hanging a small sign out in a sea of fog.

    The major obstacle, to him  is  competing in an industry that is already saturated. For this reason, Oni is aware that hardwork, networking, building  relationships that can endure over time are key ingredients needed to be at the top.

    Within one year, he was breaking through and  has learnt what makes a successful entrepreneur. The   business has provided  him with  an incredible quality of life and he is  on the  way to financial success empire. He has been able to achieve a fairly seamless transition from being a student in Canada to becoming a successful business owner.

    He is running the business fulltime. To him, it is a business like any other such as retail, aerospace, hospitality, etc.  So it requires dedication, flexibility and hard-work.

    Although Oni is still trying to grow his business, his philantrophy is laudable.

    For instance, he has pledged a donation of $1, 000 to  support Ebola treatment in West Africa. Besides, on  every kemies backpack sold worldwide, $1 will henceforth go as aid for the treatment of the Ebola Virus Disease.

    Oni has  been in  Canada for  two  years now. While it’s fair to say that he has had plenty of ups and downs, he feels like he made a great choice by taking a risk to travel to the other side of the world and try his hand at something different.

    His  goal  is  to change the backpack industry for kids and teens, to enable them express their unique individuality through their backpacks.

  • Woman entrepreneur’s hunger for success

    Despite growing unemployment and economic crisis, a lot of female entrepreneurs  are  joining  the wagon  of builders, innovators and risk takers  fervent in their resolve to transform the economy. They are solving critical socio-economic problems and creating job opportunities, reports, DANIEL ESSIET

    Mrs Nkiru Nsofor is a graduate of Plant Biology from  the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

    After her  fruitless search for job,  she  decided  to  go  into the  production of household cleaning  products. She started with N5000 in 2006.

    She conducted a thorough research and decided to produce something that would be acceptable in the market- a detergent for dish washing and floor cleaning.

    At the beginning, it was a challenge to build awareness for the product. Over time,it gained acceptabilityand  began to sell. At  a point, she had eight employees. They worked  side by side, manufacturing products, labeling, filling, loading, selling and nvoicing them.

    The   business boomed. But the happy days were shortlived long as she began to suffer police harassment. She was spending money to settle them at each encounter. This was because her products hadn’t the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) registration certificate.

    When the harassment was getting too much, she decided to reduce production volume in case they are confiscated so she would not suffer huge losses. This ultimately affected sales  and  profitability.

    Along the line,a saving grace came through the Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria(AMEN). Her joining the association has helped to reduce police harassment as it has assisted members to get NAFDAC registration for their  products. While the harassment   continued, Mrs Nsofor  was forced to reduce  her  staff strength  to two.  These were indeed bad times.  But  she   never  gave up.

    Thanks to all the entrepreneurial experiences  she had garnered advising her to fight with all vigour for success and get the best results. Today, Mrs.  Nsofor  is  happy  that  she  is one of  those  taking positive action to create an enterprising generation. The business though a micro enterprise is worth N400,000. Funding, however, has been her biggest obstacle. Though she has great idea and a business plan in place, not having sufficient funds is delaying the process.

    Since she couldn’t raise money, she had to start small. She still believes that the “shackles have been taken off” her growth because she has not been able to  strike a  relationship  with  a  company to finance her  production  for a small margin, giving her funding up front for expansion.

    With  increasing  customers  base, Mrs  Nsofor said  the company requires extra financial firepower so that it can increase its production volume and  employ  more  hands   to   sell her  products  to the market. Her   goal is to develop a company that will grow into a major enterprise

    She envisions a company that it will become a household name.

  • Entrepreneur finds success in herbal products

    Entrepreneur finds success in herbal products

    Despite challenges faced by micro entrepreneurs, producers of herbal products are developing strong businesses that are benefitting the economy, Daniel Essiet reports.

     

    The herbal   industry  has  offered  a lot  of Nigerians   an opportunity to make their dreams come true.

    This  is  evidenced by the successes  recorded by many including Ayo Adekiyesi, Chief  Executive, Chavan Cosmetics Limited, a firm producing  herbal soap.

    When he started the business in 2006, he lacked the required  money for a big  business. He started  with  N2,500 after he left  his  job at  PZ  industries. However, he took it as a challenge and built the business solely on his marketing skills and hard work.

    Then,  he  was  living  in  a room with  his  wife. He used part of  it  for living  apartment and the  other   for  production. When his idea blossomed, he then moved  to a  self-contained room.

    Along the line, he took a loan of   N350,000 from a bank  on  yearly  interest rate of  six percent. After the milling production   machines began running, revenue began  to grow.  The  turnover   helped them move  out of poverty. The business   has grown from a home-based start up to a fully fledged factory endeavour.  The   goal, thereafter was  to market  the  products  to large traders – sending them   to the shelves of the large  stalls  and shops, responding to a growing demand among consumers.

    After  few  years  of   operation, Adekiyesi is recording  significant earnings annually.

    He  is  however  reinvesting the  earnings. They are creating more storage, buying  equipment  to  improve  the   quality of  the  products. The good news is that  he  is almost liquidating  the  loan he  took from  the bank. This is because his products are doing well in the market.

    While  his  customers  base  has  increased,  this  is  attributed  to  word of mouth publicity following personal use. His hard work has paid off and its successful presence is felt across  the  industry.

    Adekiyesi attributes his success to his wife who motivates him and is  involved and helpful in every aspect of the  business. No wonder, success comes easily to him.

    Today, he   has 14 employees and the business is worth N2million.  The company is thriving with  two  major  products. From the proceeds, he has been able to build his personal house. The business provides employment and is helping to stimulate the economy.

    He established  the company around the belief that regardless of background, there is a market for   a good product.

    He had an idea that with more personal attention and a customised approach, the statistics could be better.

    According to him, an entrepreneur must have a goal in mind. He believes in what he is  doing and follow  the goal with great determination. These qualities have  helped him to forge ahead and make a mark.

    His  success story is merely one example of how a worker with a dream of a better future and a willingness to improve his life, led him to   became a prosperous micro business-owner.

    He is a living testament to his   personal credo of maximising productivity and assuring “meaningful work, paid or unpaid, through the last breath.”

    He   wants to create something that instead of assuring jobs and stability would assure jobs and security for the low-income families.

    Adekiyesi  knows what it is  to fail and fail hard . He never allowed failure puncture his entrepreneurial ambition .

    To start from the bottom means to actually come from nothing.  He is forever grateful to his friends and family who supported him then and continue to do so now.

    So  far, he  has been  able  to  spread positive messages of self-esteem and hard work to encourage all people to perform  to their full potential.

    People like Adekiyesi are proof that despite many challenges the economy  is  facing , entrepreneurs can, and are, developing strong businesses that benefit people and the economy

  • How a blind entrepreneur walked the path to success

    How a blind entrepreneur walked the path to success

    Upright Wonders is the Minister and Proprietress of Eastern Star Care   Foundation, Lagos. Although she is blind, the entrepreneur has found a way to become a success and is working   to help others do the same. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Evangelist Upright Wonders, a visually challenged Minister and Proprietress of Eastern Star Care   Foundation, Lagos,  wasn’t born blind. She went to primary, secondary and high schools, with her sight intact. She lost her sight at a time she was preparing to proceed to the university to further her studies.

    She was then working with the then Cross River State Television, now known as Channel 45 Uyo.

    She had worked with them for two years and was about going into the university when the problem started. She  lost her sight in mysterious circumstances that defied medical explanation.

    In her words: “After all the diagnosis, the doctors were not really  able to point at anything as the cause of the challenge. When the challenge came, I had to leave the media industry and enrolled in a school for the blind because I didn’t just want to live my life as a beggar.”

    She worked to change things around, but she eventually became totally blind. And it was a terrifying time for her. She began to contemplate what she could do. Constant engagement with the divine being helped her pondered over life’s burning questions and finding answers to them.

    During the agonising period, she had a divine inspiration to go into production of home care products. How would she go about it? There was no money. She  eventually  got    about  N10,000  from her  fellowship  at  Winners’  Chapel  in 2010 to  start her  first  production but four years on the business has grown to over N100,000. She said that as her business started to grow, she   decided to take it seriously and put herself into it, which she noted was not an easy task.  She   specialised in the production of personal care items such as liquid  wash but she has now expanded the business to include,  insecticides, germicides  and  other  cleaning   products.

    Initially,  she  was  finding  it  hard  to  break  into  the  market. This is  because , people  didn’t  believe  something  good  can come out of the  hands  of  a physically  challenged  person, she added.

    Many of her relatives and  friends started using the products and the feedback was quite positive and the patronage continued to expand.

    From  her   own assessment based on the results she received, she  knew that the  products are tremendously getting acceptance, and with some modifications and high-quality packaging,  she  was   sure they would be big sellers.  She  has   two employees, and presently exploring the procedure for securing National Agency for Food ,Drug Administration and Control( NAFDAC )registration  for  her  products.

    “The market is not wide yet because we don’t have NAFDAC registration number and as a result, we cannot push it into the larger market. This is where we need NAFDAC to assist us by reducing the registration fee for us. I have not really got the official registration fee, but someone told me that it is between N120, 000 and N150, 000. The day I went to NAFDAC office at Oshodi, the gateman did not allow me to enter. He said I should go to their office at Yaba. When I went to Yaba, they asked me to go back to Oshodi. After a fruitless effort to get the official registration fee, I gave up and went back to my house. They frustrated my efforts,” she said.

    She  told The Nation she  cannot  afford  the  cost of  registration, describing  it as too high for  start-ups  to  afford.

    Notwithstanding, she  has a story  to tell  that  has  an impact on people. As  a believer in God, she   believes it was God’s blessings through her  church that brought her thus far.

    Right now, she  has  created a group coaching session for  physically  challenged  persons who want  to  learn  small  business production  skills.  She created the platform to help them overcome joblessness and not live by begging.

    “We train the physically challenged ones in adire, beads making, and also have the products section where we train them on how to make home care products like liquid wash , izal and perfume. What we want to do is to discourage each and everyone of them from begging and get them to be gainfully employed because they are not challenged mentally. The gifts of God are still in their mind; as long as their minds are still functional. They can still do something with their lives,” she said.

    Looking back at the number of lives she has touched, she said: “There are so many of the people that we have trained that are doing quite well today. I have one that is producing izal and dettol. She has customers in the hospitals and has been supplying them these products. I have so many of them that are doing well and we thank God for that.

    “Some of them have not been doing as much as they are supposed to because of funds and this is where the need for support from individuals and corporate bodies comes in. These trainings are quite expensive because the cost of the materials we use in doing them continues to go up everyday and we don’t collect money to train them. We do train them free of charge.

    “After the training, we try as much as we can to empower them, rent shops for them and help them in marketing their products because so many people take the products from them to sell without giving them the money. We are trying to make sure that they are not exploited by dubious people. We have set up a team that would be monitoring such sales, and we devote a good part of our time to this and do it professionally.

    “Apart from the challenge of funds, our people also have the problem of marketing their goods as it should be because the products are not registered with NAFDAC. I can’t do it alone. I need the support of kind-hearted Nigerians, especially now that we want to establish a skill acquisition and talent centre with a bible school and music school attached to it. ”

    Speaking on how she acquired the skill she has been imparting into others, she said: “I acquired the skill on how to make these products by going for training. It was after I completed my training that I started making the products to sell. The money I get from the ones that I market for the foundation is what I use for training those under the foundation.

    After many ups and downs, she   has many people to thank, including the Lord for helping her   overcome the trials and tribulations of her life.  She mentioned  the  President  of  Winner Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo  and  Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria(AMEN).

    The experience has made her able to communicate with other people and help others figure out how to live out their dreams despite any struggle. Her  story  is an amazing one  of triumph of human  over a disability.   Notwithstanding her feat, she  is  not   impressed that   the  national   programme  on  self-employment  is  not helping   the   visually challenged to be gainfully self-employed and lead a purposeful, fulfilling and economically independent life.

    According  to her ,  the   government   is   taking   its   responsibility seriously enough and go out of their way to employ the visually challenged in large numbers and make enabling provisions or facilities for them to contribute, using their strengths and ignoring their disability.

    She  was recently invited to   Akwa Ibom State  to  train  100   physically  challenged  persons   and  to   deliver a talk  on  entrepreneurship. She slowly unravels to the stunned audience the freak accident that she landed herself in, her fight for sight, and her burning desire to see the world again.

    She   incubates new ideas and needs  God ‘s  support  to  translate  them  into  products.

    Today, her vision and her unwavering sprit continue to bring more and more physically  challenged  person  to achieve successful life in their own term. Also, her accomplishments in people management left the indelible mark in the business world.

    She felt her achievement has not been rewarded just because she is physically challenged.

    She was able to see much of her  inner self rather than the exterior world that helped her soar to heights  she wouldn’t have imagined.

    Among the entrepreneurial traits, she   embodies perseverance and grit, and looking at life positively despite an acquired disability that was testing her   ability even to see again. Today, she has redefined herself.

    She  is a person with no   sight but unlimited vision. She walks tall with her   ideas having been turned into successful products.   She   said the lack of positive support for successful disabled entrepreneurs was ironic given the “humungous” level of unemployed disabled people and that they are “very naturally entrepreneurial about their lives, very good pragmatists and so make natural business people”. She had the option of depending on others for her living, but she chose not to do that. Her choice has paid off today as many people, both able-bodied and physically challenged, now look up to her to make meaning out of life.

    She is consumed by the passion of liberating other physically challenged in the society from the world of abandonment, despair and poverty; a feat which even the privileged able-bodied people shy away from. She carries on with her activities without any sign of having problem with her sight.

    As the proprietress of the foundation, she trains the physically challenged apprentices in her care on how to make handcrafts and home use products, thus empowering them to be self-employed instead of resorting to begging to earn a living.

  • Behind every great entrepreneur lies a great comeback story

    Behind every great entrepreneur lies a great comeback story

    The most successful people have had some of the greatest failures-and then, bounced back. Olaniyi Oluwole Michael, a Lagos- based entrepreneur is one of them. Daniel Essiet reports.

    Olaniyi Oluwole Michael looks every inch the fly-guy at his micro fashion company in Mushin, Lagos. He didn’t  start  as  a fashion  designer. He started as an optical dispenser after training in a private hospital, way back  in 1990.

    In 1996, with determination, he was able to raise N3000 which he used to acquire his first show glass to display his frames. It was initially a success. The business expanded as he   sold glasses, lens, and sunglasses.

    He had introduced the idea of offering lens at the end of routine eye examinations. As a result, patients that never realised they were suitable for lenses, were very happy to have a curative option.

    At the same time, he was also keeping an eye on how to expand the market. Over the years, his confidence grew in the business. He became   more comfortable with problems. His enthusiasm for success grew. The result was a very busy appointment book and a strong following of patients and referrals, who regularly continued to refer customers to him. Notwithstanding, he kept trying and keeping up with everything that’s new-technology, techniques and products and offers that appeal  to his  consumers.

    With more  efforts, the  business was growing in leaps and bounds.

    From the money he made, Michael was able to see himself through the university and bagged a degree in International Relations.

    Like dispensing drugs, eye-care products have stringent controls and failure to follow the guidelines can be very costly, a challenge that was just lurking at the corner for Michael.

    Some of the greatest challenges that he faced at inception of the  business were economic. He started it with very small capital . He was ignorant of  how he could  build a successful business, but he was  determined to do it. He remained confident that  the business would flourish, moreso  as he gave his all- talent, energy, money and time. Over the next few years, he had to  wade through very difficult and painful  time which nearly   wrecked him financially.

    It happened around 2005. This followed the government and the Non-Governmental Organisations’ (NGOs) campaign of free eye examination and lens to adults. Though the measure made it possible for many Nigerians to acquire glasses, it nearly led to the collapse of optical dispensing businesses. Businesses lost customers and the   impact was devastating financially. It   was the biggest challenge for him as an entrepreneur. Nevertheless, he didn’t allow the situation to wear him down. He started thinking about his next steps. At some point, the idea of industrial cloth production came to him.

    Immediately, he enrolled himself for training and later brought a few machines. Straight away, he started producing  shirts, polos, bags and other items.

    Today, he smiles, glances back towards his ready-to-show collection.

    Although the business is still small, he has been able to provide jobs for eight people. Michael told The Nation, he could employ more people and reduce unemployment rate  if the government supports him to acquire machines to provide the finishes found on ready-made dresses. He has big plans ahead for his fashion business. He wants to design unique products, things that are unexpected.

  • An entrepreneur with a difference

    An entrepreneur with a difference

    The massive success of  Mrs. Folake Oyemade,  founder  of  Sam & Sara and  a  designer line that carries IMPRESZA, is a result of her predisposition to follow her instincts.

    Like most successful entrepreneurs, Mrs. Folake Oyemade, founder and creative force of fashion outfit, Sam & Sara.com , is an innovator with passion.

    The  evidence   is  her   own line . She   started business operations in 1987 as Bijoux Unisex Collections and has grown to become a well-known garment manufacturing outfit in Nigeria. Their flagship brand, IMPRESZA, has become a household name in the areas of corporate wears, promotional wears, school uniforms, hospitality uniforms, paramilitary/security uniforms, professional wears, robes and academic gowns.

    Really, she  didn’t  want  to be  a fashion designer. It was the desire of her mother.

    She   declined because she didn‘t want to sew. But her  mother  was not  deterred. She wanted  her  daughter  to  pursue  fashion designing  which  she  saw  as the  business of the  future.

    Consequently, she   even gave her the initial capital she   used to start her   first business; unfortunately, the business didn‘t succeed because she refused compromise. She has   taken the opportunity to learn more about the fashion business from fabric sourcing to sales. When the government lifted the ban on clothes, she opened Bijoux Unisex Collection which later became a name in fashion retailing in those days. During the dark days of the Abacha junta, she had to close all her outlets because the business environment was asphyxiating and travelled to America. When she came back in 1999, she  floated Bijoux again.

    However, the business no longer held any attraction to her, so   the idea of manufacturing high-quality uniforms started to take shape. That was what led to the birth of Sam & Sara.

    According to her, God inspired the vision and inspiration to set up the business as  making uniforms is an untapped area in  the country.

    The biggest challenge, she noted, was getting fabrics following the   ban on importation of fabrics. This  has   made   it  difficult  for them  to  source   produce  quality  materials  to produce  uniforms.

    While some are doing well, she said most local manufacturers aren‘t in terms of quality and delivery; and this is having a crippling effect on the business.

    Despite this, she said  the quality of her  products is the reason the  company  is  the preferred choice for organisations that care about the  appearance of their  personnel. Repeat businesses and referrals from satisfied clients are testimonies of the ever-present quality associated with the Impresza brand.

    She  has taken  the business beyond  Lagos. She opened Omoluabi Garment factory in Osun State. This  followed  the  decision of the  state  government  to partner with the private  sector to  produce  quality uniform for pupils.

    Strategic partnerships, however,  have  helped the business grew by leap and bounds.

    Right now,  she has big plans for her fashion business. She wants to design unique products, things that are unexpected. She likes to be a trendsetter, not necessarily to follow the current trends.  She   wants to be viewed as a designer who is always thinking outside the box, a designer who is not afraid to try something different. She   combines her vast knowledge of visual arts with her business acumen in knowing where the industry is going and what the market wants.

    Mrs  Oyemade believes that the appearance of staff and personnel plays a major role in conveying a positive image of an organisation. That is why they operate a customer centric business model that makes the client the focal point of the organisation’s entire operations. They go beyond the role of garment producer, but, provide end-to-end services.