The Nation Newspaper

Tag: entrepreneurs

  • Fed Govt urges Nigerians in Diaspora to become entrepreneurs

    The Federal Government has urged young Nigerians in the Diaspora to enrol in the Government’s youth enterprise promotion initiatives as a means of deepening the administration’s job creation efforts.

    The Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, who stated this while speaking in Dubai at a town hall meeting with Nigerians resident in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), encouraged them to take advantage of the Jonathan Administration’s many enterprise promotion services designed to nurture and fund the viable initiatives of Nigeria’s young entrepreneurs.

    Assuring them that the Government was working hard to tackle the challenge of youth unemployment in the country, Yuguda stated that beyond creating the enabling atmosphere to encourage investments, the Jonathan Administration had initiated successful programmes for direct job creation.

    The Minister, who was Nigeria’s immediate past ambassador to the UAE said: “We see all of you who are based abroad as worthy partners in the business of developing our country. We know you are learning from the experience of your host nations. You are witnesses to what their youths are doing in terms of enterprise development.

    “This is part of the reason why the Jonathan Administration had designed various job creation initiatives especially the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment programme (SURE-P) which has so far created thousands of job opportunities for youths across the country with people like you in mind.”

    Speaking further, Yuguda said the enrolment process of YouWin  is online. “You don’t have to come home to file your initial application. We believe some of you may have some wonderful business ideas and proposals that require funding to come to fruition. Once you scale through the very transparent assessment process, Government would be willing to provide the funds to help you establish and employ other Nigerians,” he explained.

    The Minister reminded them that YouWin had already nurtured over 2,400 young entrepreneurs with over 22,000 jobs created in the first two rounds, while additional two rounds are envisioned.  According to Yuguda, the Government had also launched a $50 million Venture Capital Fund accessible by YouWin beneficiaries and other viable small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

    Yuguda told the audience that the Jonathan Administration has recorded substantial economic progress within a short time through successful reforms in many sectors including finance, agriculture, power, transportation and general infrastructural development as well as economic diversification accentuated by recent GDP rebasing.

    He assured them further that government’s commitment to good governance has deepened the democratic process by ensuring free and fair elections, adding that the 2015 general elections would hold as rescheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, who was also at the event, commended the people for being Nigeria’s good ambassadors and urged them to bring home lessons of Dubai’s rapid development and spirit of hardwork.

    The Consul-General of Nigerian Mission in Dubai Ambassador Mike Omotosho commended the Jonathan Administration for lessening the burden of Nigerians in the UAE by opening the mission to handle their consular needs. In conveying the feelings of Nigerians in country, the diplomat urged the Government to make it possible for Nigerians Diaspora to vote by conducting elections in foreign missions.

  • HarvestPlus partners centre on entrepreneurs

    HarvestPlus partners centre on entrepreneurs

    Agriculture remains the bastion of the economy, stakeholders have said.

    They spoke at an empowerment seminar by the Dominican Centre for Human Resources Development (DCHRD) for agricultural business men and women.

    They said agriculture contributes 47 percent to the rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs about 70 percent of our total population. It accounts for 10 percent of our export earnings. Nigeria’s foreign direct investment (FDI) stands at $6.1 billion and her GDP keeps growing at 7.7 percent, thus making the country one of the fastest growing economies in the world, they said.

    One of the key messages to the over 150 participants at the eventr was that Nigeria’s future rests on agriculture and those who undertake to invest in it.

    The speakers dissected the agricultural sector and proffered solutions.

    HarvestPlus Nigeria, in line with its objectives of promoting biofortified staple crops and foods to tackle hidden hunger, malnutrition and poverty as well as empowerment of Nigerians with requisite skills in Vitamin A cassava production, value addition and marketing, partnered the Dominican Centre to organise the three-day training for the church.

    The seminar held at St Dominic Catholic Church, Yaba. DCHRD, the arm of St Dominic Catholic Church responsible for grooming investors in agricultural business, tagged the three-day session as ‘Wealth creation through agriculture.’

    Declaring the seminar open, Fr. Fortunatus Okeke, Director, DCHRD, welcomed the participants to a new era in the history of Nigeria and urged them to utilise the opportunities presented by the training to empower themselves economically. “The seminar is conceived to make a statement that despite the fact that Lagos doesn’t have much land space for agriculture, the state can become a hub for other opportunities in the agricultural value chain. Some of these opportunities include: job creation, poverty reduction, capacity building, and helping individual and corporations in creating profitable and successful businesses.”

    Okeke further said agriculture remains one of the most viable alternatives to oil and agricultural investors are the ones government looks up to in helping to solve the problems of hunger, unemployment and dwindling fortune of the economy.

    He urged the participants to learn from the experiences of the professionals from HarvestPlus Nigeria, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), The Dominican Centre, and the special guest of honour, Chief Audu Ogbeh, CEO, Efugo Farms, Makurdi, among others, who were at the training to inspire the investors.

    Delivering the keynote address, HarvestPlus Country Manager, Paul Ilona, described agriculture as an orphan sector because of years of neglect by relevant stakeholders. “Nigeria used to be the powerhouse of agriculture in the world; one of the biggest exporters of palm oil, groundnut and cocoa, among other crops. Agriculture benefitted most institutions in Nigeria and created jobs. But the story is no longer the same. The country has gradually become a net food importer,” Ilona said.

    He lauded the effort by the  government, institutions and individuals to revive the sector, urging a sustainable programme of action to ensure a speedy recovery of our lost years of agricultural glory.

    “Food has no substitute because man just has to eat; and agriculture is the only means through which food is produced. The advanced countries such as the United States, the Netherland, Australia, etc, began their journey to economic greatness with agriculture. In our country where the per capita income is a little above one dollar and over 100 million Nigerians live below a dollar per day, we have no choice but to turn towards agriculture as the only way out of poverty and economic doom,” Ilona further said.

    He advised the participants to cease seeing agriculture as a social set up but to regard it as a business and run it applying all known business principles so as to sustain their profit and remain in business for long. He also encouraged them to educate themselves in agricultural business and identify the appropriate agricultural value chain they would like to invest in before making the decision to become farmers.

    In his lecture titled: “Making agriculture a realistic enterprise in Nigeria,” Chief AuduOgbeh, said agriculture, as a business, must be protected against foreign competition. crops such as cassava, tomatoes, rice, cotton, maize, and cocoa as well as fish have been identified by the government as those for which local and global demands keep increasing. Investing in growing these agricultural produce will go a long way to enhance the country’s economy and empower the farmers to eradicate poverty and eliminate hunger. To achieve good and sustainable result, Ogbeh said, farmers need government’s help through sound economic policies and technical support. This will enable them to compete with their counterparts in other parts of the world and earn good profit from their investment. Our Government must be firm in their policy and decision making and must ensure that whatever we can produce, we do not import, Ogbeh said.

  • Rotary supports entrepreneurs

    Entrepreneurs and groups  are  benefitting from microfinance credit support, the Governor, Rotary International District 9110, Dr Dele Balogun  has said.

    Balogun, who spoke in Lagos,  said the  organisation at various club levels  identifies local needs, develops effective approaches, and structures training programmes to improve entrepreneurs’ business skills.

    In addition, he  said,  Rotary allows members to directly contribute their valuable expertise and skills to make meaningful contribution to poverty reduction.

    According to him, Rotary clubs have been serving communities worldwide for more than a century.

    The  District, according to him, has unveiled plans to explore the opportunities made available by the Rotary Foundation Year 2015 Dinner Dance Ball to raise at least $100,000, (about N16.8m) and use it to continue the District’s projects that impact on the socio-economic well being of the under-privileged in the country.

    Balogun, said the event was being organised as part of the yearly events of the District aimed at recognising and celebrating Rotarians and non- Rotarians, who have contributed to the Rotary Foundation course as Paul Harris Fellows as well as major donors.

    Recalling the various socioeconomic intervention projects implemented by the District over the years, the Governor, in the past few years, the District has committed resources to the Polio Eradication Project, youth empowerment through entrepreneurship and skills acquisition projects, education support for indigent students in form of scholarships and job creation, amongst other interventions.

     

  • Technology incubators: A boost for entrepreneurs

    Technology incubators: A boost for entrepreneurs

    Technology incubation centres can play a major role in boosting entrepreneurship, writes DANIEL ESSIET.

    IN five years, experts said, the number of small tech firms will increase. These firms will rake in huge revenues.

    However, for this to materialise, the nation needs more technology incubation centres where entrepreneurs will be empowered to rent spaces and nurture their businesses until they can afford accommodation.

    The Centre Manager, Technology Incubation Centre, Agege, Lagos, Mrs Julie Momah said new businesses are given free accommodation  at the Lagos Centre for three years. During this period, she said the businesses are exempted from taxation.

    At the centre, equipped with  fabrication and testing facilities, Mrs   Momah said, young tech entrepreneurs can be mentored.

    So far, many young Nigerians have benefited from the centre, graduating in beads production, anti-bacterial hand wash, starch, multipurpose liquid soap, leather shoes, air fresheners, herbal bathing soap, and body cream making, among others.

    They are also ex-participants who are involved in the production of unripe plantain flour, bean flour, soya flour, spices, packaged pure honey and fruit juice production.

    She said the centre is  committed to the continuous training of entrepreneurs.

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

    Over the last 10 years, the Federal Government has been encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship through the National Board for Technology Incubation  (NBTI). It urged the Board to create more incubators across the country.

    Given the support system provided by the centre, the expectation is that companies stand a chance of reaching their goals.

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

    She said the centre has contributed to the promotion of awareness on the essential role of innovation, adding that its programme is helping Small and Medium Scale Entreprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs to be innovative.

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

    She  said  the centre supports entrepreneurs in building ventures to promote livelihoods, education, healthcare, agriculture, connectivity and financial inclusion.

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

    The National Board for Technology Incubation  Director-General, Dr Mohammed Jibrin, said the Federal Government would collaborate with state governments to establish incubation centres in the stes.

    He said the organisation thrives on technology-based and knowledge-driven programmes in fulfillment of its mandate to pursue the commercialisation of research  outcomes.

    It’s the aim of the Federal Government that each state gets a technology incubation centre.

    “We have been having very good success stories. For example, we have Spectra Industries, a graduate of the programme of the technology incubation centre, Lagos, which has been invited for listing by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    “It is into thermocool production, coolers, warmers, and undulated thermo-equipment using local raw materials.

    “We have a graduate from the technology incubation centre, Benin, Austin Laz Nig. Ltd, which is already in the NSE.

    “The company is into food products manufacturing using locally available materials.

    “We have others who have excelled. Sarah Specials has won an award for coming second in a recent entrepreneur’s competition,“ he said.

    Jibrin has expressed the need for the establishment of Technology Incubation Parks (TICs), in the 36 states.

    He said the states with TICs would not only take idle youths out of the streets but help in developing local technology and incubation. He also expressed the need for commercialisation and increment of essential oil and hydrosol production in an effort to scale up research and development in the country.

    As part of its efforts to fulfill its mandate, the NBTI boss said the Board had established new TICs in Nasarawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Gombe, Katsina, Jigawa and Kogi states in line with the Council’s resolutions of 2013.

    He noted that the respective state governments were to ensure best practices of the Technology Incubation Programme, TIP objectives the centres.

    He said the government will encourage the private sector to establish institutional based technology incubation centres to train more Nigerians on entrepreneurship.

    “The government is already embarking on the sensitisation of the interested members of the public so that they can establish private incubators that can be operated with very little or no support from government,” he said.

    He said about 800 research and development results have been incubated by the 27 centres, adding that 500 of them have been worked on.

    Acting Director of Commercialisation Department, National Board for Technology Incubation Mr Isa Yusuf said it generated more than N1.5 billion for the economy from 2005 to 2012.

    He said the amount was generated from its soft loans and grants to entrepreneurs during the period under review.

    Yusuf said the grants and soft loans coordinated by NBTI were invested and that they achieved so much for the economy as well as created job opportunities.

    He said: “Most of the grants are from our Presidential Standing Committee on Inventions and Innovations (PSCII) and, then, some of the soft loans that NBTI coordinated with the Bank of Industry and National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND).

    “But the funds are being utilised to the best of ability and the repayment is encouraging with little problems here and there because of economic problems in the country and the high cost of production really affecting some of the entrepreneurs in their day-to-day businesses.

    “I can tell you as at now, the net worth generated is more than N1. 5 billion ploughed into the economy. Because of the encouragement and support these entrepreneurs got, the turnover is really encouraging; a lot of people have got employment.

    “In fact, more than N1.5 billion has been ploughed into the economy since the board was established in 2005 to date.”

    He said the agency was making  efforts to ensure that products made by the entrepreneurs who benefited from the agency’s funding and training schemes hit the market.

    Yusuf said many of the products were already in the market, adding that the agency would ensure that those interested in distributing and selling them were given the opportunity to be part of it.

     

  • A summit to grow women entrepreneurs

    A summit to grow women entrepreneurs

    Eager to get a foothold in entrepreneurship, women from the regional states gathered in Aba, Abia State’s commercial hub, to learn basic facts in management, reports SUNNY NWANKWO

    It was as much to gain new ideas as it was to correct old misconceptions. Interacting with other women who have made their mark in business boosted their confidence. Many left the summit saying they too can succeed and be an asset to their families, even the society. The women, over 500 of them, were told that money is not necessarily all you need to thrive in business. In this regard, love and passion trumps cash. How about information? The women learned, too, that knowing about their chosen business, especially the latest trends, is just as imperative as your cash and passion.

    The summit was organised by Diamond Bank to get women to own and manage their businesses and tap into the N200 billion Micro-, Small- and Medium-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) loan cash provided by the Central Bank. But two years after its introduction, majority of women are yet to key into the MSMEs facility.

    That was why the management of Diamond Bank Plc started touring the country to educate, motivate and empower women on it. The aim, the bank said, is to help them become owners and managers of their own business and add value to the economy of their states and the country.

    Aba took its turn, hosting at Binez Hotel, Aba, the women who came from every state in the region to be lectured by financial experts and inspired by some successful women business owners who shared the story of how they started with little or nothing.

    Some women entrepreneurs mostly drawn from the private sector, including Pastor Mrs. Patience Goddy Okafor, narrated how they started with low capital and rose to become the success they are through prudent management.

    According to them, love and passion remains the key elements every entrepreneur needs to stay in business especially during adversity.

    Mrs. Okafor underscored the importance of information, noting that business is dynamic and that for a woman to prosper in it, she must be properly informed on its ethics and also adapt to new trends.

    The guest speaker who is also a preacher, reminded women of their role in the family, saying they must not allow their families to suffer because of their businesses.

    Mr. Charles Oguibe, a business manager in Diamond Bank, who represented the Regional Manager, Michael Agbara, said the programme was organised to sensitise their female customers on the need to key into the CBN financial empowerment programme for women entrepreneurs.

    Oguibe said, “This session is for Diamond Women (the bank’s account holders). We realised that women can actually contribute a lot to the economy of the country, but they do not have the financial wherewithal in terms of financing and knowledge…what we are doing here today is to give the knowledge and to let them know how they will be able to access the finances to support their businesses and whatever that they are doing. This is the third session of the empowerment programme. We held one at Ibadan, Benin and Aba.

    The most important thing about this programme is information because you need the right information to do better in business. This programme is a critical step towards helping women to be financially empowered. No commercial bank likes taking equities. We like them to start their business and we can come in to support them in whatever that they are doing. Ten per cent of the N200 billion fund floated by the Central Bank for MSMEs can actually be accessed by them. We also advice that they start their business, perhaps when they run their business for some months, we can come in and support what they are doing.

    “Diamond is the only bank that can give loans of up to N3million without any collateral. The mistake that banks make is that they look at collateral and at the end of the day the loan you are giving cannot support the business. What we are looking at is to check what they are doing can support the payment. If we are okay with that, we will go ahead and give out the loan.

    “But basically, this event is to prepare them for the CBN loan which they would use to support their businesses. The condition that they need to meet is that they need to open account with us for like three months and after the three months, they can be qualified for the SMEs loans. It is not about how much one have in account, but how well the person runs the account; how much that goes in and out of the account.

    “The responses from women in the other states we have been and today is so wonderful. We expect that at the end of this programme, women in Aba and others neighbouring states that attended this programme would have been empowered. We also expect that they should be bold to come out and access fund where they are qualified to do so. You know a man can take spontaneous decision, but women do not take decisions easily, their decisions are based on what they have been told.

    “What we are doing is to enable them cut that gap; once they come forward to tell us what they want, we can support them. We are encouraged with the level of their turnout,” Oguibe stated.

    Some of the participants including Mrs. Chidinma Aisedion described the programme as motivating and inspiring, adding that she was already thinking on how best she can improve on her business skills, having heard from the resource persons on how they  have gone ahead to make it in life after they started on a smaller scale.

    Mrs. Aisedion full of optimism on the impact of the programme said “It doesn’t matter how you started with, no matter how little you may start, tomorrow can be better. For now, I am actually selling jewellery in a small scale, but gradually, I know I will still grow and for me to grow, I need to have the finance to do the business. I know I can do much better if I should have more funds with me.

    “Despite having the flair, passion or anxiety for a particular business or trade, funding remains a key factor. When you have more money, you will expand your business. If there is a way they (Diamond) can grant me loan, I wouldn’t mind because I want to expand my business because the market is vast and I really want to go higher.

    “It was my husband that gave the money I am using to do my business at present but I feel like that I need to source for more funds to do my business, not from my husband this time, may from my bank if they wouldn’t mind granting me credit facility.”

  • The rise of digital entrepreneurs

    The rise of digital entrepreneurs

    The growth of technology has enabled the rise of entrepreneurship. The last five years have seen a rise in the number of young entrepreneurs. Technology hubs, business incubation centres have sprouted in the city and have become a habitat for many young entrepreneurs,  DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The parade of new technologies and scientific breakthroughs is unfolding on many fronts. One of the areas benefitting from this trend is mobile technology, which influence is stimulating the creation and growth of the digital economy. The emergence of digital system is helping so many entrepreneurs to develop mobile enabled services that are transforming lives, communities and institutions.

    Adebola Adeola, co founder, Topup Genie, a Lagos-based online airtime retail outlet, is one of those that has keyed into this technology regime. Adeola is capitalising  on high penetration of mobile phones to  launch mobile airtime business  to meet the airtime requirement of phone  users.

    For this 2003 graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, his inability to secure work permit in the UK after his education, forced him back to his home country. He got back  and participated in the  National Youth Service  Corps (NYSC) camp in Iseyin, Oyo State, in February 2009. There, Debola met his  partner, Lanre Oyedotun.

    After a few months, they began to draw plans that eventually led them to starting  a venture.

    Debola served at a company called CA Consultants. He was with the firm during the service year which ended in February 2010.

    After  the youth service, he  started working on building an e-bay clone with Oyedotun.

    This  drove Oyedotun to quit his job seeing potential  in the  startup.

    Some time into the venture, they realised they needed an online payment processor – a relatively unknown system  in the country as at 2009. They tried partnering with a technology company and made significant progress with ‘U-Paid’. The idea was that the company would provide the payment technology, while  they would handle the business development.

    Eventually, they met with MTN and GTBank and were gathering some momentum. It turned out the solution they were trying to assemble was a form of mobile payment solution.

    In line, the Central Bank of  Nigeria(CBN) had a framework  for it but  it required them  to have N500 million to do  it in Nigeria. It was an herculean task raising  that  kind of money.

    Nobody would give two unproven graduates that amount of money to experiment with, so thwey wentback to the drawing board.

    While working on the payment solution, they had obtained Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) licence and decided they would do what they  call an MVP (minimum viable product). They decided to build an airtime-vending platform for mobile phones.The MVP was ready  around January/February 2011. It took about 18 months to connect to the mobile networks, so they manually scratched a lot of recharge cards during that time. They have a company that sells airtime to mobile phone customers. They incorporated the business under the name iThena Logic Ltd, and the  service was hosted at: www.topupgenie.com. They initially bought and scratched thousands of recharge cards which they uploaded manually unto their MVP to prove the concept and later raised funds to build a more robust platform.

    They launched the second version in July 2012 and grew revenue at an impressive rate of about 23 per cent   monthly, mainly through word of mouth. They were really excited but it was shortlived because in November, last year, GTBank introduced the One Time Password (OTP) to improve security. However, the initial implementation was poor and caused  sales to dip by 90 per cent  in one day. Then, there  was the issue of fraud. The  financial industry had to confront cases of  fraudsters using stolen banks’ Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card details to purchase airtime. The  cases were rising rapidly so they implemented customer verification checks. This was effective but it had a negative impact on their businesses due to the ‘stress’ involved with verification checks.  The other   challenge was the absence of a robust  payment infrastructure. Sometimes, operators experienced   incomplete transactions and errors across all channels. These were too frequent and affected faith in e-commerce generally. These channels include POS, ATMs, online payments, etc.

    While more people  are  getting  online now  and there is  improved payment infrastructure, Adeola’s   concern  is that  major  telecoms  service  providers  are  now  involved in air time credit  lending  for  individual subscribers.

    Rather  than  wait  to  see more of their market share taken, he told The Nation, the company is focusing on organisations because the market for individuals is well catered for. The approach is to help companies manage the distribution of airtime to their staff to which there are numerous benefits.

  • Why women entrepreneurs need mentors

    No fewer than 30 women at the weekend held a mentoring walk in Gbagada, Lagos.

    Organised by Ideas Builders Initiative, the event is held on November 16 yearly worldwide as a platform for women who are established in their careers and young women who are aspiring to make it.  During the walk, the women talked on issues of empowerment and their problems. They also discussed the importance of women’s leadership, and the impact of women leaders through mentoring.

    According to the group’s Executive Director, Lucy Kanu, mentoring is critical to women empowerment to enable them build their potential and succeed. She said those mentored were likely to succeed compared to those who were not.

    She said: “Mentoring corresponds with strengths that are often associated with women; building personal relationships, caring and nurturing of others. It is an effective support system for meeting challenges that women face in common or that affect women in particular. For instance, the glass ceiling or the obstacles to career growth that women commonly face in corporate and professional environments.’’

    She said mentoring helps to draw the potential from women, noting that successful women could share their experiences with their younger ones and guide them into success, adding that such guidance helped to overcome any obstacle on their ways.

    On the merits of mentoring, she said they include helping the mentees to reach their goals in life. “These same mentees often become mentors, paying it forward by empowering even more women to be successful leaders,” she said.

    She described mentoring as flexible, adding that it is different from coaching and professional development programmes,”which often take place only in a professional setting and have a set schedule with a beginning and end; a mentoring relationship is more organic – growing and changing as a relationship progresses’’.

    A guest speaker and Health Consultant to Nestle Nigeria PLC, Dr. Eno Attah, said one’s altitude determines his attitude, urging women to always aim high. She also urged women to stay fine despite the stress they face.  She listed good food, healthy living, and regular exercises, among others as panacea for good living.

  • Group to address women entrepreneurs’ challenge

    The Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), is set to hold its 13th annual conference aimed at examining the possibilities and opportunities in Nigeria while providing insights on the roles of citizens, particularly women, in achieving the identified prospects.

    WIMBIZ, whose objectives among others, are to educate and challenge women to maximise their potential, is also tilted towards elevating the attraction and retention of women in workplace. Themed: Nigeria Rising, Accelerating Transformation, the two-day conference, which is expected to attract over 800 women, will hold next week in Lagos.

    The Chairperson, WIMBIZ, Mrs Osayi Alile, said the conference will touch on education and agriculture, and as well seek new ways of creating jobs and wealth for women and young people and fast-forward their thinking to grow the nation.

    “This conference aims to make women more conscious of their potentials and to position them to become more global, by equipping them with skills and tools needed to harness and take advantage of the opportunities in the new Nigeria”, Mrs. Alile said.

    The keynote speaker at the conference is the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, while the Chairperson is Mrs. Leila Fowler, Founder, Top Grade Secondary School and Proprietress, Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls.

    Speakers include, Mrs. Alero Otobo, CEO, Incubator Africa Ltd; Ms. Yewande Sadiku, Executive Producer, Half of a Yellow Sun; Mr. Mezuo Nwuneli, MD, Sahel Capital; and Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, MD, Bank of Industry, among others.

  • ‘How entrepreneurs can grow their businesses’

    ‘How entrepreneurs can grow their businesses’

    All an entrepreneur requires to make a success of his business is the hunger for success. As simple as this statement sounds, the irony, however, is that not many people who venture into startups are motivated enough to make a success out of their business.

    This is the major challenge for many startups in sub-Sahara Africa. But in the view of Vusi Thembekwayo, a South African entrepreneur and business speaker, a lot of businesses can record success stories once they are able to apply themselves well.

    Thembekwayo popularly referred to as Vusi was in Nigeria recently as the lead resource person at the maiden edition of the annual Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership series. Judging by his antecedent, the packed audience looked forward to Vusi to provide insight and learning at the Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership Series.

    Apparently no stranger to such gatherings and certainly not to Stanbic IBTC, his proficiency, oratory, and delivery style, laced with humour kept the audience captive.

    Speaking at the Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership series, conceived to provide new and fresh insights, challenge the norm, and help build deeper connections among businesses and business leaders, Vusi shared useful suggestions among entrepreneurs interested in taking their businesses to the next level.

    Few weeks ago, on his Instagram page, Vusi posted a signpost with the inscription: “If you’re the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.”

    The wisecrack aptly embodies Vusi and speaks to his thirst for excellence, pursuit of knowledge, and constant self-improvement.

    Little wonder at 17, he was considered Africa’s best motivational speaker when he won the Audience Favourite Speaker Prize at the Public Speaking World Championship organised by English Speaking Union.  He speaks to over 250,000 people yearly in more than 13 countries.

    Vusi who is few years shy away from 30, is rated “one of the best motivational and keynote speakers alive today” by the Who’s Who in Southern Africa, a website dedicated to the leading lights in that region of Africa.

    The bubbly fellow is not only a business speaker but also empowers his audience with new knowledge, research findings and tools that they can immediately apply in their businesses or careers to achieve “step-change” results.

    The choice of Vusi as a resource person for such a high calibre initiative by one of the respected financial institutions in the country is quite obvious, going by Vusi’s formidable credentials, which read like a page out of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

    Of importance is the fact that Vusi shares some of Stanbic IBTC’s underlying business virtues such as professionalism, hard work, intelligence, integrity, leadership, and confidence. Shell South Africa described him as exhuming “intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage and sternness.” And “he understands sales, management and leadership,” declared MTN Business.

    Vusi studied at Witwatersrand University, South Africa, and has certifications from Wits Business School, where he graduated Cum Laude, Graduate Institute of Business Science (GIB), and INSEAD.

    He has worked as a salesperson and later as a business unit executive in some of the well-known organizations in South Africa. As Director of New Markets & Structured Income at Metcash between 2007 and 2010, aged 22, he led the growth of New Markets business from R16 million (about $1.4m) to R298 million (about $26.6m), built the Structured Income business unit from nothing to R187 million (about $16.7m) and achieved the highest EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization) within the group for two years.

    Before then, between 2004 and 2007, he co-founded Uciko Capital & Advisory Ltd where he co-managed the Advisory business unit. He developed a sales system that equipped the sales team with higher closure ratio skills and was able to deliver 82per cent growth in net operating profit less adjusted taxes in 18 months.

    He is currently the managing director of MOTIV8, a specialist consulting and services business he set up. Premium business magazine named Vusi “an entrepreneur extraordinaire.”

    Thembekwayo holds several board appointments and directorships and influences R4.32 billion (about $384.5m) through these appointments in deals. One of such appointments is as a director in a listed company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the youngest such director in South Africa. He is a member of the National Speakers Association, New York.

    Visu says he is “an ordinary guy, with a simple background.” Simple background, yes, but he is certainly not an ordinary guy. There are not very many under-30s who have achieved so much professional success.

    He belongs to an exclusive class that boasts of Lucy Baldwin, the 29-year-old managing director of Goldman Sachs, Lucas Duplan, the 22-year-old founder of rave making Clinkle, a mobile payment start-up company, David Karp, 27-year-old founder of Tumblr, the microblogging platform and social networking website, and Uzoamaka Maduka (26) co-founder, The American Reader, a well received literary magazine.

    On what drives him, Visu says, “As young people, we need to move beyond being successful; we need to be significant.” Indeed, the very energetic Vusi is constantly in motion in search of the next challenge. This ties in nicely with Stanbic IBTC’s pay-off line ‘Moving Forward.’

    The financial institution, leveraging on the rich heritage of the Standard Bank Group, to which it belongs, is always willing to push the envelope in product and service innovation and delivery. CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Sola David-Borha, talks about an “unrelenting commitment to deliver innovative solutions and very credible performances across all business segments.”

    “His humour is the glue that binds some of his most diverse audiences in the world. His motivational speaking style is rich with jokes,” wrote a columnist about his deliveries. In 2013, Vusi delivered 209 presentations across four continents.

    Some of his clients include Standard Bank, World Bank, Shell, MTN, Ernst & Young, RBA Homes, Australian Houses of Parliament, British House of Commons, and many others.

    A former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, was so impressed by Vusi’s presentation that he described him as the ‘Rock Star of Public Speaking’, in reference to the huge, almost godlike, devotion to and followership commanded by Rock ‘n Roll stars. And like a Rock star, the speaker from Madiba country leaves his audiences swooning and asking for more.

    Feedbacks from clients suggest Vusi is adroit at what he does, which is to motivate people to go beyond “success to significance”.

  • SMEDAN, UNDP train women entrepreneurs

    SMEDAN, UNDP train women entrepreneurs

    •Target CBN’s 220b MSME funds

    The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have concluded the second phase of their economic empowerment programme for women-owned Cooperative Societies in Enugu, Enugu State.

    The programme drew from select states with hopes on leveraging the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) fund recently launched in Abuja by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Over 60 women, representing various Cooperative Societies from the North and South of the country, benefitted from entrepreneurship training.

    Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Director-General, SMEDAN, Alhaji Bature Umar Masari, who was represented on  by the Director of Enterprise Development and Promotion, Mrs Justina David, said the agency would explore the possibility of securing funding for the women-owned cooperative societies from the N220b CBN intervention fund.

    Commending the women for their commitment throughout the training, he noted that the women are now in a better position to access the CBN’s MSME Fund, as well as other soft loans from the federal government-owned development finance institutions. The institutions, he said, include the Bank of Industry (BOI) and Bank of Agriculture (BOA).

    Bature urged them to ensure that knowledge acquired in the course of the training reflect in their daily business activities. He called on the women to serve as examples and a shining light to other women entrepreneurs in their various communities.

    He commended the UNDP in Nigeria for their commitment to enhancing the capacity and development of women and making the training a reality.

    The UNDP Country Director, Dr Pa Lamin Beyai, urged women to share their knowledge with other members of their respective cooperative societies, noting that most African countries have similar demographic pattern where women form up to 50 per cent or more of the population.