The Nation Newspaper

Tag: entrepreneurs

  • Entrepreneurs at the heart of digital publishing success

    With more than 50 million Nigerians online, some young entrepreneurs have seized the opportunity to establish thriving online publishing businesses, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The rise of affordable and accessible technology has transformed consumer behaviour. Online reading and conversations have become a common place across Nigeria, with digital business platforms emerging to transform the way people share information. The sector is growing into a multi-million industry with many Nigerians joining the move to provide digital publishing platforms and business services.

    One of those Nigerians is Chidi Nwaogu; a rare technology icon, who arrived the tech space with a bold vision. In 2006, at the age of 16, Chidi co-founded 9ja Boi Interactive, a video game development company, with his twin brother, Chika Nwaogu. They developed video games. Their first video game was “Save the Admiral”, a second space shooter that combined weak artificial intelligence (AI) and gamification to explain global warming to teenagers. Save The Admiral was first released in 2008, with further development in 2009.

    At the age of 19, Chidi co-founded, built and organically grew Ladies And Gentlemen book (LAG book) with his twin brother, Chika. LAG book grew from zero to over one million registered members in less than three years. It was initially created for students of the University of Lagos, but later expanded to include the youth between 18 to 30 across Africa. The social network was acquired by the Canadian technology company, Gulf Pearl Limited,  for $10,000 in January 2013. Since they moved,  Nwaogu  has established Publiseer, a digital publishing platform for African Creatives,  one of his most successful online businesses. Publiseer helps African writers and musicians from low-income communities to distribute and monetise their creative works across over 400 digital stores in 100 countries, with just a single click and at no charge.

    Nwaogu said Publiseer became profitable after eight months from inception. Last week, Publiseer was announced winner of the Startup World Cup Nigeria Regional Competition that took place in Lagos. After winning the regional competition, it will compete with other regional winners, including from Mauritius, Kenya, and South Africa at the Grand Finale competition that will take place in Silicon Valley, United States (US), on May 17, this year. At the regional competition, Publiseer won over the other nine startups, including Natterbase; Edupoint; Well New Me; Sabi.ai; Spleet; Afara Partner and FarmFunded. Publiseer won after being selected by a panel of judges, which included the Founder of Coven Works, Olusola Amusa; Emmanuel Adegboye, the Entrepreneurship Center Manager of Andela; the Associate Director of Novastar Ventures, Brian Odhiambo; and Principal Investment Officer at Microtraction, Dayo Koleowo.

    Nwaogu said: “We are humbled to emerge the winner of the regional competition, and we are excited to represent Nigeria at the grand finale in May. Every startup that competed are amazing and are making great impacts and giant strides in their various fields, and that’s why we’re humbled to come on top as the winner.” Publiseer helps low-income African writers and musicians to promote their works and make money through its platform. It  distributes their works to more than 400 digital stores in 100 countries for free. So far, Publiseer has received many recognitions and awards, including ‘The Most Needed in the Region’ award and  a finalist at Harvard Business School New Venture Competition.

  • Entrepreneurs seek improved auditing to boost SMEs

    Entrepreneurs have urged government agencies to embrace standard internal auditing to predict, indicate and curb sharp practices. This, they noted,  will boost the fight against corruption and promote the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    To them, government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), among others, should embrace internal auditing to enable the government diversify the economy.

    Speaking with The Nation in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, Adetowubo Group of Companies Chairman, Chief Ademola Adetowubo, said the Federal Government needs to empower internal auditors in its agencies to boost its revenue generation mechanism and assist the local industries to grow.

    Some tax and corporate lawyers also said the introduction and adoption of simple process of auditing guidelines, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), monitoring for compliance and punishment for defaulter will drastically reduce corruption in the country and boost SMEs’ capacity.

    One of the lawyers, Mr. Samson Agbalaya, said corruption is an unbridled propensity to amass wealth over and above the human need with attendant effect on the nation and its economy.

    “Corruption distorts the market, increases terrorism and universal hate, results in lack of employment and kills the small scale industries,” the tax lawyer said, adding that internal audit helps to strengthen the control mechanism in organisations, corporate entities and the country at large.

    According to him, internal auditing remains a viable tool for efficient and effective risk management, internal control or compliance and governance processes, adding that it was designed to add value to organisations and help them accomplish their objectives.

    A corporate lawyer, Mr. Gbenga Ajisafe, however, lamented that the profession had been neglected in Nigeria both at the tertiary institutions and professional levels, including those in practice.

    He stressed that internal auditing remained the panacea to corruption and inefficiencies in government agencies.

    “Internal auditing is about immortalising good corporate governance, effective enterprise-wide risk management and internal controls, compliance and good reporting system in any organisation,” Ajisafe said.

    He said incorporating internal auditing in government agencies as done in developed countries would bring about innovations that would be acceptable as global best practices and assist in developing the local industries.

    He noted that the role of internal audit is to stamp out corruption, which, according to him, is one of the challenges Nigeria is facing in developing its industries and growing the economy.

    Ajisafe, however, stressed that internal auditors should leverage technology to predict trends and intercept issues before they snowball into more serious problems.

    “Robotic process automation saves time and allows the auditor to face other salient activities. There can also be block chain network of ledgers and data to eliminate intermediaries and boost efficiency.

    “It is not at the end of a fiscal year that the government needs to invite an external audit. By then, the crime had been committed and the damage control put in place by the government might not be as effective to assist our industries,” he said.

  • Centre grooms women as entrepreneurs

    Afterschool Centre for Career Development is a capacity development organisation committed to assisting aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. Esther Eshiet is one of the forerunners in the arena of women entrepreneurship. She is training women to venture into the business arena, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Nigerian women entrepreneurs are positioning themselves to break the glass ceiling. One of those who believe in this is Esther Eshiet. She is Faculty Lead, Afterschool Centre for Career Development (ACCD), a capacity development organisation committed to assisting entrepreneurs.

    ACCD  is a capacity development organisation committed to assisting young persons in transitional stages of their lives, set goals and walk them through the achievement of such goals. The centre provides growth opportunities as well as career development interventions for and with young people, enabling them to transit seamlessly from school to work.

    The  organisation works with  individuals  and firms  to enhance their productivity and with professionals to nurture their leadership capabilities.

    Saddened by the high burden of graduate unemployment in Nigeria, ACCD is providing undergraduates with workplace tools, services and social capital to become ‘strategic fits’ for the workplace. Beyond this, Miss Eshiet and her team are leading a movement for a change in the education and employment ecosystems in Africa through a career counselling model.

    For her, empowering    women is an important approach to alleviate rural poverty and promote sustainable development.

    Miss Eshiet is not only the owner of her own successful business but she also keeps herself busy by grooming other women to start their own businesses. She believes that when women are economically-empowered, money flows back into businesses and towards the health, education and well-being of families.

    She has participated in training programme for female business leaders. She then passed her learnings to other women entrepreneurs in her country, helping them to start their own businesses.

    In Cross River State and across Nigeria, she grows the skills of women entrepreneurs. She serves as a positive force for change.

    For her, women entrepreneurs have come far but they still have a long way to go.

    According to her, there are many issues that still need to be improved: access to finance, gender-responsive policies, family barriers and deconstructing stereotypes about women entrepreneurs.

    Others suffer from inadequate financial recourses and working capital.

    To address this, Miss Esther is ready to help women acquire skills, resources, and  offer  necessary support to grow and sustain their businesses.

    She is determined to see women in entrepreneurship contribute to job creation as the country reels under massive unemployment problem.

    She   is already collaborating with some other influential female entrepreneurs in the country to create a platform to encourage potential women entrepreneurs and to link them with their counterparts in other part of the country.

    As part of its objectives to proving learning and mentoring opportunities for young women in Nigeria,  ACCD and Vital Voices have  scheduled Global Mentoring Walk for March 9.

    The Vital Voices Global partnership envisions a community of empowered women living lives worthy of emulation and aims to inspire a new cadre of women leaders/entrepreneurs.

    According to her, the Global Mentoring Walk will connect Nigeria’s leading women business leaders with emerging business women around the country .

    She  explained that the  Walk will be bringing together 500 established women leaders and rising women professionals to walk together in 10 Nigerian cities including Calabar, Lagos, Ilorin ,Uyo, Kano, Port -Harcourt, Kaduna, Ibadan, Abeokuta and Abuja. Held on the same day in over 70 countries across the world, she noted Mentoring Walk unifies the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network fostering a global community of women to affirm their commitment to women’s leadership through mentoring. This year’s walk will be held Saturday, March 9 to celebrate International Women’s Day.

     

  • UNIDO to entrepreneurs: deploy right technologies for business growth

    The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has urged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt appropriate technologies in growing their businesses.

    Its National Project Coordinator  in Nigeria, Mr. Francis Okoh, made the call at the National Economic Dialogue organised by Business to Business (B2B) Nigeria in Abuja.

    The event, which held at the weekend, was themed “Digitising the Nigeria SMEs space for profitability’’.

    Okoh said some of the SMEs failed due to their inability to deploy the right technologies at the development stage.

    According to him, before setting up a business, it is important to think of the business idea and the technology to deploy at the initial stage because not all technologies can develop businesses.

    “For SMEs to make progress, we must mainstream technology in our operations. Businesses have continued to slow down due to manual way of operations.

    “Information is the life wire of any organisation, but unfortunately, some people use the phone only to make calls instead of exploring other features to grow their businesses,’’ Okoh said.

    He emphasised the need for increased sensitisation on the importance of enhancing businesses with the right technologies. He urged the private sector to pull resources to support SMEs in the country.

    Okoh said UNIDO was partnering 12 universities and 45 secondary schools across the country to engage students on practical ways of doing businesses with the right technologies.

    “Recently, we trained 1000 people in that regard in Nigeria, more so 74 million unemployed youths worldwide need access to educative resources,’’ he added.

    The UNIDO chief said the organisation was developing 30 interactive learning modules covering business and information technology skills needed to grow SMEs in Nigeria.

    Convener of the dialogue, Mr. Mustapha Popoola, said there was need to maximise the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure to facilitate the rapid growth of SMEs.

    He said Nigeria needed to digitise some of the information, and by so doing, generate more revenue for the government.

  • Start-ups and entrepreneurs to watch

    The start-up ecosystem will thrive this year. Some will not only stimulate innovation, but will also make an impact on the local communities across the country, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    some entrepreneurs and startups are     set to flood the country with innovative technologies, products and solutions that will make a positive impact on communities. They are:

     

    Tradebuza

    This is a cloud-based web and mobile platform for outgrowers, commodities aggregators, exporters and agricultural processors. It is a susbsidiary of Passion Incubator that was selected to take part in Lagos-based Itanna Accelerator, led by Honeywell Group.

    Tradebuza is an easy-to-use web and mobile platform, which monitors and tracks  outgrower schemes and aggregators from pre-production to harvest and trade. This allows them to plan, monitor and track sourcing and outgrowers in real-time.

    The web helps commodities’aggregators and outgrower schemes improve efficiency as well as provide visibility and transparency in commodities sourcing from smallholder farmers.

     

    Growsel

    Growsel is an  agricultural crowdfunding platform. It  connects underserved smallholder farmers with lenders across the globe. Since its debut in 2017, Growsel has connected more than 200 smallholder farmers with over 1,300 lenders, profiling and verifying about 1.2 million smallholder farmers available for crowdfunding through its field partners in remote communities, particularly in West Africa.

    In pursuit of its mission of changing lives, creating opportunities, connecting smallholder farmers with lenders to alleviate poverty, growsel also empowers smallholder farmers through agricultural crowdfunding in developing economies, using local field partners and trustees.

     

    KoloPay

    KoloPay is a mobile and web application. Co-Founded by Ayoola Ogunlowo and Ifeoluwa Popoola, it helps individuals save over time and helps users achieve their targets at amazing discounts. It targets users who want to buy cars, home appliances, go on vacations, pay tuition fees, buy home furniture, among others.

    They get discounts on these items as soon as they meet their savings targets. People could also save on kolopay for targets like house and office rents, and business capital.

    Individuals enjoy up to six per cent interest  on every saving package. A user signs in using his a mobile phone number and a password. Users create their targets and save towards them.

    Kolopay allows users save from multiple bank accounts using details on their ATM cards.

    According to Ayoola, KoloPay is safe and secure and transactions encrypted.

     

    Paystack

    Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, Paystack was built to solve online payments in Africa. It developed multi-channel payment options for merchants across countries to enable them accept credit and debit card payments from customers around the world.

    The startup has raised $8 million in Series A funding from global financial leaders.

    Last year, Paystack, reached a major milestone when it processed over N10 billion ($27.5 million) worth of transactions monthly. It  took just a year and three months to hit this landmark.

    The startup hit over N1 billion monthly deals in July 2017, with the number of merchants using its platform increasing, rising from 3,742 live merchants last year to 23,523 live merchants.

     

    Flutterwave

    Flutterwave allows businesses to make and accept payments in Africa. Based in San Francisco with offices in Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, and Johannesburg, the firm has raised over $10 million in a series A funding.

    Flutterwave was co-founded by Iyin Aboyeji, who formed developer training company, Andela. It has processed $1.2 billion payments across 10 million transactions.

     

     

  • Keystone Bank supports entrepreneurs

    Keystone Bank Limited, Nigeria’s most innovative banking services provider has partnered with EbonyLife Films to premiere the movie, ‘Chief Daddy’.

    The event which held at the popular Oriental Hotel, Lagos on Sunday December 2, 2018 was graced by a long guest list of dignitaries, celebrities, members of the diplomatic corps, business heavyweights, socialites, politicians and lovers of arts.

    Speaking at the epoch-making event, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Keystone Bank Limited, Obeahon Ohiwerei said “the bank will explore every good platform to deepen its strength in the retail and youth segment. He reiterated that the bank’s sponsorship of the movie aligns with its corporate objectives of supporting SMEs and empowering enterprising entrepreneurs.

    “By partnering this movie, Keystone Bank is actively promoting the culture of personal fiscal responsibility by encouraging everyone, young and old to take advantage of the bank’s expertise to learn about and set up financial instruments that will give them and their loved ones an assurance while they are here and long after.” Ohiwerei stated.

    Ohiwerei further disclosed that Keystone Bank, which recently signed up popular Nollywood actor, Funke Akindele Bello, popularly known as ‘Jenifa’ as its official brand ambassador, prides itself in its ability to hand-hold different sectors of the economy in order to nurture them and help them to grow.

     

  • Envoy: why U.S. is supporting Nigeria entrepreneurs

    The United States (U.S.) government yesterday said it is supporting entrepreneurs in Nigeria and other African countries because it beleives the youths hold the future of the continent.

    Its Consul-General, John Bray, who spoke at the Conference for Emerging Entrepreneurs in Lagos, said the U.S beleives that the young people in the country represent the future of the country and the continent.

    Represented by the Public Affairs Officer, Russell Brooks, the U.S. envoy said the government beleives that Nigeria’s young people are its greatest resource.

    “They can produce a more prosperous future for Nigeria, one less dependent on a single commodity, instead one capable of inventing new products and services that will be attractive to markets around the world, producing the growth, jobs, and incomes that will enable Nigeria to take its rightful place among the leading nations of the world.

    “Yes, we believe in you and by aiding Field of Skills and Dreams, and other local organisations, we are demonstrating our confidence in what Nigerians can accomplish.”

    He said returning to what participants, as an individuals, need to know and do in order to succeed in their businesses, “please remember this quote from Dave Thomas, the founder of the American fast-food chain called Wendy’s. He said: “What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.”

    He thanked the team at Field of Skills and Dreams for organising this two-day conference, adding that they did an incredible job in pulling the event together. This conference, he said, brought together 105 young, talented, ambitious young people who are looking to make their mark in the world of business.

    To aid them, Field of Skills and Dreams has assembled an outstanding group of mentors; these mentors, men and women who have accomplished great things in their business careers are taking time out of their busy schedules to share some of their wisdom and experience with young people. “They are excellent role models for these budding entrepreneurs and, again, we thank them for their contribution,” he said.

  • Good advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

    At the inauguration of a restaurant in Abuja, aspiring entrepreneur were advised to let their passion drive them, DELE ANOFI reports

    At the launch of her eatery Biobak Kitchen in highbrow Wuse 2, Abuja, Biodun Obakin, who is said to love treating people to some good food, had a wonderful opportunity to offer aspiring restaurateurs some tasty advice. But every budding entrepreneur may well take heed too.

    Senior Pastor Sarah Omaku gave the event a spiritual footing, saying, “I don’t normally come to events like this because I’m always concerned about the money behind the project because it is most necessary to get money the right way and I am convinced about this. Biobak sought God’s guidance which came through prayers. The idea came from God, we pray it through and theirs is a desire from God which He granted with the blessing of Abraham

    “She gathered her money kobo, kobo, this is not stolen money, it’s from kobo-kobo, gathering her money from her sweat, from her kitchens here and there.

    “I came here also because Biodun is a blessing to people. I advise you that everything done in this business is done right, no short course, don’t use rotten ingredients, don’t take customers, not even your regulars over the years for granted because there are choices of over a 1000 for them to pick from. What you do will make customers keep coming back or not. You are not doing them a favour.”

    Speaking with Abuja Review, Biobak urged Nigerians youths have been urged to shun violence and other crimes, noting that the pursuit of entrepreneurial passion is a recipe for unemployment in the country.

    According to her, rather than complaining of unemployment and going into crime and other vices, the Nigerian youth must endeavour to pursue the passion for the innate God-given talent as a means of livelihood.

    She said the state of the economy should not be allowed to stand in the way of starting a business, while adding that starting little appears to have been a major barrier for most unemployed Nigerian youths especially, the graduates.

    She said: “You have to discover your passion, everybody has a passion or if I may say talent, apart from going to school, getting the degree and doing all the academic pursuit, there is always a passion. A passion will allow you do what you love to do that is inborn in you, what you enjoy to do.  So, find out what you enjoy to do, do it like a child’s play, do it like a business. That was what happened to me. I am a scientist by profession, but over time, I know that I love to cook, over time I know that I like to clean and I have been doing this all along, so your talent and passion is very important. That is number one

    “Secondly, I want to tell our youths the act of starting small, the issue with our youth today is they don’t realise that you don’t have to become overnight in a day, getting to realize your dreams and be fulfilled  is a process of journey. So, let our youth understand that life is a journey and you have to start small, that is number one. I want to advice our youth that it is high time they learn to settle down, to start small, to do one thing or the other and build upon it, when you build upon it and you grow God will continue to improve you until it becomes the main thing”.

    On how it all started and made it this far, Biobak explained that concentrating on the challenges facing the business would discourage venturing into it, “What I am doing now is like a joke and there is an adage that says; Whatever you enjoy to do, make it your business, God has helped me to make this act of cooking, this act of hospitality the business of today. Of course, the challenges are enormous, but one thing is that once you have interest in doing it, the challenges will not overcome you.

    Finance is number one challenge. To start up or expand, many of us are fond of borrowing in the bank, we all know what happens when things are going according to plans. But from experience, it is not the time of to be borrowing in the bank when you start small, what you have, you have to be able to manage it, Don’t go beyond what you cannot cope with.

    “Another challenge is staff, you know our children of today, they don’t want to do hard work, you have to do hard work in this kind of business, you cannot just start a restaurant and decide to live it for somebody to do it for you, you have to be part of your system, you have to love it, you have to do it, when they see you as example to do it, they would have no doubt to join you in doing it”.

    Despite being the boss, she is still involved in the day-to-day preparation of the recipe and cooking “ Of course I do the cooking, you know it is what I love to do, I may not do everything but the basic ones, I buy my stuffs, ingredient, that’s where  good cooking starts. Whatever you buy is what you cook. So the act of buying right, buying the real thing, not buying rotten tomatoes, not rotten pepper, you have to go in and buy the healthy ones that is not spoilt ones and it would bring out a good taste at the end of the day. Quality of our standard is at stake and I’m not ready to compromise that. So, being involved in daily activities is not a big deal for me, I’ve been involved and it’s just a daily routine”.

    “It is for this and other reasons that we have made it a family business. Yes, among my own children, I have chattered accountant, I have doctor, I have an architect but because of the nature of what I do, they grew up loving, learning and knowing to do it. It has become a family business and it is what we want to do and leave it to generations to come”.

  • Tony Elumelu Foundation lifts 4,460 entrepreneurs with $20m

    • Unveils digital platform to connect entrepreneurs

    The Tony Elumelu     Foundation (TEF), Africa’s leading entrepreneurship focused philanthropy, yesterday said it has provided $20 million in seed to a total of 4, 460 entrepreneurs across Africa since it launched its TEF Entrepreneurship Programme four years ago.

    The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor, and fund 10, 000 entrepreneurs. Its goal was to invest in businesses that will generate at least 1, 000,000 new jobs and contribute at least $10 billion in new annual revenues across Africa.

    Speaking at the annual TEF Entrepreneurship Forum 2018, which held on Thursday in Lagos, Nigeria, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Foundation, Parminder Vir OBE, said the programme has so far provided $20 million of direct seed capital to 4, 460 entrepreneurs.

    She said 4, 000 of the beneficiary entrepreneurs were funded directly by the Foundation, while 460 were funded by strategic partners. She added that the Foundation has so far created 12, 000 jobs and invested $10 million in technology infrastructure.

    “We set out to create jobs, and we have created 12, 000 jobs. Sixty two per cent of the businesses are operational. We have defied convention. And the programme is only four years,” Parminder said, attributing the growth of TEF to strategic partnerships.

    The Forum, now in its fourth edition, was the largest gathering of entrepreneurs on the African continent. The event, which held at Federal Palace Hotel, connected over 5, 000 entrepreneurs with investors, corporates and developmental organisations.

    It also provided the platform for participants, drawn from budding entrepreneurs from across Africa, to come up with ideas and forge networks. The Forum also brought together policymakers and the private sector.

    The Director of Partnership and Evaluation, TEF, Ifeyinwa Ugochikwu, said the Foundation’s journey to raising Africa’s army of entrepreneurs started about eight years ago, when the TEF Founder, Tony Elumelu, made a commitment of $100 million into creating 10, 000 African entrepreneurs over the next 10 years.

     

    Ugochikwu, who pointed out that this meant creating 1, 000 entrepreneurs every year, however, said despite doubts over how the Foundation would achieve the set targets, it received 20, 000 applications from aspiring entrepreneurs across Africa in the first year 2015.

    She added that from 42, 000 applications in the second year, the Foundation received 151, 000 applications this year. According to her, this was proof that the Foundation’s model of raising entrepreneurs was a reliable and tested one.

    One of the highpoints of this year’s Forum was the launch of the TEFConnect, the world’s largest digital platform for African entrepreneurs, dedicated to connecting African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

    The TEFConnect, which is an open source platform, was designed to connect entrepreneurs – mentors, investors, accelerators and incubators – all over the world, enabling them to learn, network, leverage business tools and more.

    The platform connects entrepreneurs to three key things needed for success – money, market and business tools. The digital hub will convene the full entrepreneurial ecosystem across Africa and beyond including entrepreneurs, investors and the business community on one platform.

    Positioned as the “Facebook for African Entrepreneurs”, the TEFConnect is a contemporary, intuitive, informative, user-friendly one-stop digital home for entrepreneurship ecosystem players.

    It allows African entrepreneurs to transact across countries and regions in Africa’s largest digital marketplace, with traffic reaching millions of consumers.

    It also allows access to the Foundation’s entrepreneurship programme application form, enterprise toolkit and business mentoring by global business leaders.

    Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as Bauchi State Governor Muhammed Abukakar were among those who joined TEF Founder Tony Elumelu for the launch of TEFConnect, which Parminder said was simply about empowering African entrepreneurs.

    At an interactive session moderated Elumelu, Akufo-Addo said the promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in every African country remained critical to the growth and development of the continent.

    The Ghanaian leader said he was opposed to Africa begging for alms and aids from other countries. “We should be giving aids to other countries,” he maintained.

    In his earlier remarks, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said the bank cherishes and loves entrepreneurship. He said the bank’s presence in about 20 countries olaced it in a vantage position meet the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs in the continent.

    The UBA chief, however charged entrepreneurs to be innovative. “The largest room in the world is the room for innovation,” he said, urging them to continuously deepen their entrepreneurial ideas as people copy what they (entrepreneurs) already have.

    Also speaking, Bauchi State Governor Abukakar said over 50 per cent of Africa’s population are youths. He, therefore, said the public and private sector must join hands to nurture Africa’s youth entrepreneurs.

    Other key highlights of this year’s Forum include the Alumni/Mentors’ Award and a Pitch Competition that allowed five entrepreneurs across Africa to present their business ideas to a panel of judges.

     

     

     

  • EDOFEST to grow tourist traffic, entrepreneurs

    About N500m has been earmarked by the Edo State Government  for this year’s Edo State Festival of Arts and Culture (EDOFEST).

    The event will hold between  December 17 and 22 at various venues in Benin City, the state capital. After its successful debut last year, the festival, which has as theme: Harnessing Arts and Culture for Sustainable Economic Development, will put the rich cultural heritage of the state on the world stage while empowering local entrepreneurs.

    Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Mr. Osaze Osemwegie-Ero, who disclosed this at a briefing in Lagos at the weekend to announce plans for the 2018 edition of EDOFEST, said the state has approached many corporate bodies and well-meaning Nigerians for support and sponsorship. He noted that the festival will provide ample opportunities for sponsors to get returns on their investments, adding that the state plans to leverage investors’ confidence in the state to grow tourist traffic, using the repackaged EDOFEST.

    According to Osemwegie-Ero, one of the highpoints of the festival will be a photograph exhibition, featuring no fewer than 1000 pieces of stolen Benin artefacts housed in various museums and private galleries across the globe. The exhibition, he said, is to generate effective advocacy for the restitution of the stolen objects.

    The photo exhibition, according to him, will hold at the Oba of Benin Palace. He added that the collection is courtesy of a German photographer, who will curate the exhibition that will be declared open by the Benin Monarch.

    “Edo State is deeply rooted in culture. The arts of Benin Kingdom are a global brand. Benin artefacts are among the most exquisite and coveted in the world history and represent the earliest civilisation among blacks, especially Africans,” he added.

    The commissioner listed activities lined up for the 2018 EDOFEST as carnival parade, theatre show, food and fashion exhibition and gala/awards night.

    Assuring that this year’s outing will build on last year’s success, he said Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration places high premium on the culture and tourism sector.

    According to him, a tourism master-plan being developed by the state government will spell out the roles of stakeholders in the development of the sector to unleash the socio-economic benefits, which the sector holds.

    He noted that several tourist sites have been identified across the state and discussions with investors are ongoing to develop the sites and take advantage of the prevailing investors-friendly climate in the state.

    Apart from the Oba of Benin Palace, Ring Road and Ramat Park are other venues for the festival, which will run till December 22.