T
|
he 2015 edition of the
Global entrepreneurship Week (GEW) tagged The Celebration of Enterprise and Entrepreneurial
People was held in about 125 countries across the world including Nigeria from
the 16th – 21st November, 2015.
According to a document
released for the GEW, the week-long event is reported to be the largest
celebration of innovators and job creators who launch startups; bring ideas to
life; drive economic growth and expand human welfare.
However, Speakpreneur
Concepts, one of the partner members of the GEW in Nigeria participated in the
entrepreneurship festival. Fourteen (14) delegates participated in the GEW
events as members of the Speakpreneur Concept team.
As the program
kick-started on Monday, delegates of the Speakpreneur, in line with the theme
of this year’s GEW, paid a visit to Forthright Group of Companies in Ikeja for
an interactive session with the Group Chairman, Mr. Johnson Teniola Faromoju and the Managing Director,
Mr. Bode Ashogbon primarily to celebrate them as successful entrepreneurs as
well as to glean from their success story.
During the session with
Mr. Faromoju, he clearly stated that "knowing one’s purpose for existence
as well as constantly seeking information is an important factor for being a
successful entrepreneur". He told the Speakpreneur delegates' that ignorance is the basic problem with the
average Nigerian youth, stating that "Whatever is difficult for an
individual is what he has limited knowledge about". Also, whatever an
individual needs to succeed is around him, and all he has to do is to see a
potential in everything around”, he expressed.
Mr. Ashogbon on the
other stresses the need for clear vision and integrity as strong success
factors in life's aspirations. According to him, “the most important capital
for any entrepreneur is INTEGRITY CAPITAL", once that is lost then all is
lost too”, he said. He also stressed the need for reading and seeking
knowledge. He said "instead of
using drugs to enhance boldness, use a book" a man that has knowledge, has
power.
On Wednesday which was
the 3rd day of the GEW and day 2 for the Speakpreneur Team, the
delegates were at ASBON (Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria) in
Ikeja where they met with the President, Dr. Femi Egbesola and other top
ranking officials of the association. Dr. Egbesola exposed the Speakpreneur
Team to all their activities and prospects. He stated that the association
focuses on the development of SME's in
the areas of finance, marketing, branding, and access to the international market.
A hand of partnership was also extended
by ASBON’s President to Speakpreneur Concept which entails skill acquisition
and capacity building.
At day 4 which was
Thursday of the GEW, the Speakpreneur Team took the celebration to the Island
at Topnotch properties Limited where the CEO, Prince Mogaji Albashir Bola was
on hand to receive them. He led them through the nitty-gritty of the property
aspect of business and entrepreneurship. He stated that the business of
property is the most lucrative business and anyone can invest in it no matter
how small. He also stated that most Nigerian youths live false lives and are
not ready to start small and grow with their ideas.
For the Speakpreneur
team, day 6 which was also the grand finale of the Global Entrepreneurship Week
was full of merriment and an inspiring time-out with Mr.
Johnson Abbaly, one of the Speakpreneur faculty members in his Ikorodu
residence.
Mr. Abbaly in his
address on the Power of SMEs in a Developing Economy spoke extensively on the
areas of entrepreneurship, youth capacity building and public speaking.
According to him, “entrepreneurship is a journey, not a destination. In this
journey you don’t fail, you only discover new things”, he also gave a clear
distinction between entrepreneurship and small business. He said" an
entrepreneur focuses on solving problems and the more problems he solves, the
more money he makes but the small business man focuses on the money and can cut
corners for it". He stated that why business fail in Nigeria is because
the average Nigerian business man does business like he is in New York. He
therefore stated the need to study the environment of business before starting.
No comments:
Post a Comment