Empretec Annual Report 2011 - Unctad XI

03Success StoriesNO SUPRISES (EVENT ARCHITECTS)Funmi Victor-OkigboNo Surprises designs and stages events—dinners,presentations, ceremonies, and celebrations—forcorporations, the Nigerianentertainment industry, and non-profitorganizations. “I wanted a complete departurefrom the conservative approachto a more radically trendy approach,”Funmi explains. The company seeks toestablish a client’s “brand values”. “Wehave a team of experts with a refreshingapproach to event management. We setout to change the way people think andfeel about brands through creating uniqueexperiences.” After six years in business,No Surprises has grown from 2 to 10 permanentemployees, and it hires as many as 50 temporaryEstablished in 2005ETW taken in 2009workers depending on the size of the event being staged.After taking the Empretec training, Funmisaw a growing demand for professionalservices for weddings in Nigeria andfounded a second company called “TheWedding Company.”‘‘Through attending an Empretec trainingworkshop in 2009, Funmi says she learnedhow ‘to structure entrepreneurial competenciesand most especially opportunityseeking.’The workshop has also helped herto become much better at networking withother entrepreneurs.’’INTELLIGENCE GATES & CHETECH ALIANCE PLUSEkpa AniekanWhile waiting for a job offer, Ekpa Aniekan started tooffer tutorial services to about 20 studentsand sold chemical fragrances to Nigeriancompanies. After taking the ETW, Ekpastarted to see the opportunities his twosmall businesses held and he realized thatentrepreneurs were not born but theyhad to develop their competencies. Hecompletely changed the management ofhis two enterprises and he renamed them –Intelligence Gates and Chetech Aliance Plus.He set goals for both enterprises and wrote abusiness plan for each. Intelligence Gates nowemploys 20 tutors and serves 200 homes,while Chetech Aliance Plus significantly expanded its servicesand increased its turnover by 50 per cent.“Contrary to the myth that entrepreneursare born, I realized after taking the ETWthat, entrepreneurial competences can bedeveloped.”EMPRETEC ANNUAL REPORT 2011 55