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The BusinessDay CEO Magazine May 2017

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MARK<br />

ESSIEN<br />

LEADING<br />

MILLENNIALS<br />

ON<br />

ENTRE-<br />

PRENEURSHIP<br />

//<br />

LEADERSHIP-<br />

CONVERSATION<br />

WITH A<br />

TOP<br />

AFRICAN<br />

MONARCH<br />

AFRICA’S<br />

LORD OF<br />

E-COMMERCE<br />

eyo bassey<br />

PAYPORTE.COM’s <strong>CEO</strong> MAKES PROFIT IN RECESSION<br />

BY LEVERAGING ON A MILLENNIAL CENTRIC<br />

INVESTMENT<br />

THE MENTALITY OF WINNING (PART 1) BY AUSTIN OKERE<br />

MAY <strong>2017</strong>


CON<br />

ON TENT<br />

ENT CON<br />

TENT<br />

04<br />

17<br />

ENT<br />

32<br />

MEET<br />

MARK Essien<br />

EYO<br />

BASSEY<br />

23<br />

Design/Illustration: www.getupinc.com<br />

Content: <strong>BusinessDay</strong> & GetupInc<br />

07<br />

<strong>The</strong> Mentality<br />

of Winning (Part 1)<br />

the<br />

impostor<br />

Syndrome<br />

A DAY IN<br />

THE LIFE OF<br />

OMAWUNMMI<br />

Copyright, <strong>2017</strong><br />

CONTENT


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 03<br />

MEET<br />

MARK Essien<br />

Since establishing Hotels.ng in 2013, Mark has overseen the growth of hotel listings on<br />

the platform from just over 100 at launch to over 7,000 hotels in 21 regions of Nigeria.<br />

Hotels.ng had millions of transactions in 2014 alone.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 04<br />

MARK’s<br />

since<br />

2013.<br />

Hotels.Ng has carved a name for itself not only in the country but on the continent. Let us<br />

know your journey to Hotels.Ng?<br />

I started of as a software developer, looking for something I could build that would have a<br />

huge impact on the African continent. At the time, it was impossible to book hotels online, and<br />

I thought to myself - why? This exists all over the world, why don't we have it, in spite of all the<br />

hotels in the country? So I sat down and built it. And people liked it and started using it - we<br />

gained traction and were able to build a business out of the idea.<br />

You have a keen interest in startups and are known to give solicited/unsolicited advice<br />

especially on social media. Is this influenced by your experiences when you were building<br />

your business or do you have a knack for these things?<br />

I believe that startups and businesses built on technology are among the most important<br />

things we can do as humans - we push the boundaries of knowledge, while at the same time<br />

making things easier and more convenient for people. I'm very passionate about startups and<br />

see them as an important developmental tool for our country.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 05<br />

...once I<br />

accept that<br />

the entire<br />

journey will be<br />

challenging, I<br />

see every<br />

challenge as<br />

being an<br />

intrinsic part<br />

of the road,<br />

and thus not<br />

disturbing...<br />

Mark Essien<br />

Photo: Techpoint.ng


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 06<br />

In 2015, Mark made it<br />

to Forbes Africa’s 30<br />

under 30 rising stars<br />

to watch in Africa, as<br />

the company had<br />

thousands signed on<br />

the platform.<br />

In the course of your career, what has<br />

been the most challenging moment and<br />

how do you deal with those generally?<br />

I believe that in building a business, every<br />

moment is challenging. <strong>The</strong> challenging<br />

moment of today will seem like a small<br />

thing tomorrow - for that reason, I tend not<br />

pick any particular moment as being the<br />

one big challenge. <strong>The</strong> journey is<br />

challenging. This philosophy is what also<br />

helps me deal with it - once I accept that<br />

the entire journey will be challenging, I<br />

see every challenge as being an intrinsic<br />

part of the road, and thus not disturbing.<br />

Apart from Hotels.Ng, what else are you<br />

doing or looking to do?<br />

Hotels.ng remains my main focus. I believe<br />

it's best to focus one's energy in one thing<br />

at a time, because then one can have the<br />

highest impact possible.<br />

What one piece of advice would you give<br />

young entrepreneurs on the Tech scene.<br />

I'd say that they should launch fast, fail fast<br />

and move on to something new as quickly<br />

as possible. When something is going to<br />

fail, know as quickly as possible. When it's<br />

going to work, keep pushing and making<br />

it bigger.<br />

What are your top 3 tech must haves?<br />

A phone with a big screen, a kindle and an<br />

internet connection.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 07<br />

the<br />

impostor<br />

Syndrome<br />

-Olamide Olakunle-Jinadu<br />

Do you ever have that feeling that you<br />

don't deserve your successes? That<br />

you might be found out soon<br />

because you feel like you don't even<br />

know what you're doing?<br />

You might be suffering from what we<br />

know as the impostor syndrome. <strong>The</strong><br />

impostor syndrome is felt as a result<br />

of having to meet up with your<br />

accomplishments and the need to<br />

succeed constantly. A person<br />

suffering from impostor syndrome<br />

feels the need to be right at all times.<br />

This is common with young achievers<br />

especially in the era of social media<br />

and the arts. I can speak for myself as<br />

a content creator, who is seeking to<br />

build her own brand, I tend to have<br />

battles with myself concerning what I<br />

post on instagram ,that is, whether<br />

they are of value or aesthetically<br />

pleasing, and worse if anyone even<br />

cares.<br />

I've learnt how to deal with this impostor<br />

syndrome in three ways:<br />

1.Acknowledge that it's the impostor<br />

syndrome: the downside to the impostor<br />

syndrome is that it oscillates between sheer<br />

arrogance and the fear of being found a<br />

fraud, so it's important to find a balance<br />

between these two emotions where you can<br />

truthfully analyse yourself and your work.<br />

2. Run your own race: From experience, I<br />

have seen a number of people plus myself<br />

seeking to hasten their process in order to<br />

catch up with someone they admire or their<br />

peers who are succeeding in that same field,<br />

and this is how you actually become a fraud.<br />

You start doing the same things that they do,<br />

having the same conversations and in this you<br />

can miss the unique message you were meant<br />

to deliver. Stop comparing yourself to that<br />

other person, and focus on your own voice.<br />

3. Pause and reflect: Relax, then regard how<br />

far you've come and appreciate the fact that<br />

there was a time that you didn't know what<br />

you know now. Look back on projects you are<br />

proud of, and then look forward to doing<br />

more.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 08<br />

ACHIEVING THE<br />

IMPROBABLE<br />

THE BIG BROTHER PHENOMENON ENDED A FEW WEEKS AGO AND<br />

ONE OF THE GREATEST TALKING POINTS IS HOW A NIGERIAN START-<br />

UP FORCED ITS WAY INTO OUR COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS<br />

WITHOUT SPENDING INORDINATE AMOUNTS IN ADVERTISING.<br />

Payporte’s Clever Engagement Strategy<br />

You’ve heard it a million times and you’re going to hear it again; Digital transformation has<br />

radically altered the way customers perceive and consume brands. While Jumia and Konga<br />

invested a combined 800m naira in aggressive advertising campaigns between December 2016<br />

and March <strong>2017</strong>, Payporte bucked the trend and placed its bet on engaging its target market. <strong>The</strong><br />

company invested its marketing spend on “Big Brother Nigeria”, a controversial yet deeply<br />

engaging platform created to entertain a diverse section of the Nigerian audience.<br />

It turned out their bet was spot on; this past edition became the most watched, earning an<br />

average 9 million votes weekly for the 11 weeks the program ran.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 09<br />

“ within a few<br />

hours, the<br />

items had<br />

sold out!<br />

”<br />

<strong>The</strong> company exhibited<br />

its flagship fashion<br />

products using<br />

housemates as models,<br />

and offered promotion<br />

after promotion to<br />

ensure customers<br />

purchased their<br />

products.<br />

Over the course of the program, Payporte found interesting ways of integrating its brand and<br />

products into the show. From a purely brand building perspective, Payporte achieved as much<br />

recognition as Konga and Jumia, spending less than 250m in the same period. As fan interest<br />

and support for the program grew, awareness and affinity for Payporte increased, while<br />

Nigerians lived and breathed the Payporte brand through the lens of their favourite Big Brother<br />

Housemate.<br />

Connecting with Customers & Driving Consumption<br />

Today’s consumer is more connected than ever before and brands must continue to find<br />

seamless ways of joining those connections, rather than echo their messages in the spaces that<br />

surround them. Payporte’s somewhat disruptive approach to forcing itself into the<br />

consciousness of Nigerians evolved a new approach e-commerce companies need to consider<br />

to reach new markets.<br />

<strong>The</strong> company exhibited its flagship fashion products using housemates as models, and offered<br />

promotion after promotion to ensure customers purchased their products. By leveraging its<br />

deep understanding of its target market, customers were teased into making purchase after<br />

purchase in support of and solidarity with their favourite housemate.<br />

During one of the episodes of Big Brother, the brand launched a new line of “Ankara” clothing in<br />

its “1k Store”. Contestants on the Big Brother program were mandated to wear some items from<br />

this line. Interestingly, the items were priced above 1,000 naira. Payporte offered a clever<br />

discount and within a few hours, the items had sold out!


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 10<br />

Measure the Right Metrics<br />

Mark Jeffery, one of the foremost proponents of data-driven marketing was spot on when he<br />

suggested that the neo-narcissistic world we live in leads companies to measure the wrong<br />

metrics. CMO’s are fixated on how many Facebook followers they have or how many “likes” a<br />

tweet has garnered. It is common practice for marketers and “influencers” to purchase<br />

“followers” so that they can be perceived as famous.<br />

While these metrics are important and should be tracked, they should serve for indicative<br />

purposes only. Engagement brings “conversion”, so it’s important that brands keep apprised<br />

of their engagement numbers. What’s more important however, is the need to track the<br />

conversions that occur as a result of campaigns. Payporte correctly took stock of its<br />

engagement indicators but continued to adjust its activities to drive conversions. <strong>The</strong>ir<br />

Facebook, Instagram and twitter engagement figures tripled, while their website experienced<br />

unprecedented traffic. What mattered most however, was the number of conversions those<br />

engagements brought.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Results<br />

In focusing on conversions, Payporte grew its daily orders fourfold, from around 600 orders<br />

daily to over 2,500 orders. That’s an impressive 300% rise over three months. And it was not<br />

only the volume of those transactions that was impressive. <strong>The</strong> value increased significantly,<br />

with single orders averaging 6,500 naira per customer. Furthermore, their “1k store”<br />

consistently sold out on items and waiting lists had to be created for a few of their popular<br />

items. If the business continues on this track, Payporte might become the first e-commerce<br />

company to breakeven by December <strong>2017</strong>, which is no mean feat for a wholly indigenous,<br />

micro-funded start-up with a pea-sized marketing budget compared to its more buoyant<br />

peers who have benefitted from millions of dollars in foreign investment.<br />

This makes Payaporte our<br />

number 1 brand<br />

to<br />

watch in <strong>2017</strong>.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 11<br />

THESE BOOKS ARE THE TALK<br />

OF “LITERARY AFRICA” TOWN<br />

BY NMADIUTO UCHE<br />

Writing about, for, and from the continent has built a robust body of work we sometimes<br />

refer to as Contemporary African Literature. When writers are rewarded with prizes and<br />

prestigious nominations, it is exciting to see a celebration of these voices.<br />

Some of these writers are debut novelists and others are pen veterans. Here is a list of ten<br />

novels written by Africans making world literary headlines. <strong>The</strong>re are stories told anew,<br />

history given a contemporary feel, and delicious food writing. Which one of these will you be<br />

adding to your reading list this month?<br />

1. Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo<br />

This 29-year old author who is no stranger to the pen is sending ripples across the literary<br />

scene with her debut novel. Stay with Me features some of the strongest female characters a<br />

reader has come across on paper. It follows the story of Yejide, a woman who is scorned for<br />

being married and childless. When she finally conceives, her children are born with the pains<br />

and stigma associated with Sickle Cell disorder. A Sickle cell carrier herself, Ayobami has


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 12<br />

fused emotions with great storytelling in a novel that readers can empathize with. Stay with<br />

Mehas been shortlisted among 6 novels for the prestigious Bailey's Women Prize for Fiction<br />

formerly known as <strong>The</strong> Orange Prize.<br />

2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi<br />

If you would like to read a year of history in every page of a novel, you will be at home with<br />

Homegoing. This New York Times bestseller delves into 250 years' worth of history in 300<br />

pages. In a sweeping tale that involves two sisters separated by slavery and colonialism in<br />

18th Century Ghana, Yaa Gyasi lends readers a different pair of eyes. This much-talked about<br />

novel is Yaa Gyasi's debut novel and has carved her a spot in Contemporary African<br />

Literature. Readers have called it emotional, brilliant, and thought provoking. Homegoing was<br />

a finalist for the <strong>2017</strong> Pen/Robert W. Bingham $25,000 Prize for Debut Fiction.<br />

3. Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou<br />

This is the 11th novel of prolific writer and professor of African Literature at UCLA, Alain<br />

Mabanckou. A native of the People's Republic of Congo, Mabanckou has penned a comic tale<br />

of a young man's quest to right the wrongs in this country. <strong>The</strong> main character is reminiscent<br />

of Robin Hood and the backdrop is 1970s Congo on the brink of a revolution. Black Moses<br />

has been long listed for the $50,000 ManBooker International Prize for Literature. If it wins, the<br />

prize money will be split between the author and English translator, Helen Stevenson.<br />

4. Long Throat Memoirs by Yemisi Aribisala<br />

This collection of essays is a labor of love by Nigerian food connoisseur, Yemisi Aribisala.<br />

Written over the span of 8 years, Long Throat Memoirs seeks to satisfy an insatiable appetite<br />

of Nigerian food and storytelling. This is a great read not just for the Nigerian palate, but for<br />

anyone whose senses come alive by aromas and well-told stories. Published by indigenous<br />

press, Cassava Republic, Long Throat Memoirs was the <strong>2017</strong> recipient of the prestigious John<br />

Avery Award. This award puts Yemisi Aribisala among a list of winners that includes renowned<br />

chef, Jamie Oliver.<br />

5. <strong>The</strong> Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso<br />

Writer, Yewande Omotoso has a distinct way of weaving heavy weight subject matters into<br />

stories told calmly. In <strong>The</strong> Woman Next Door, readers meet two women, two races, and<br />

apartheid South Africa broken into two. <strong>The</strong> nuances of aging and how women relate to each<br />

other are explored in this novel that moves at its own pace. <strong>The</strong> Woman Next Door is<br />

Yewande Omotoso's second novel was long listed alongside 15 other novels for the <strong>2017</strong><br />

Bailey's Women Prize for Fiction.<br />

6. Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie<br />

Both Americanah and its author, Chimamanda Adichie need no introduction. Going on a<br />

journey that spans race, hair, and feminist politics with its protagonist Ifemelu has been<br />

likened to witnessing Adichie write unhindered. Americanah found its way to the New York<br />

Times bestselling list, was called the first great African novel of the new century, and was<br />

snatched up by the duo of Lupita Nyongo and Brad Pitt for a movie adaptation. Most recently,<br />

Americanah beat out powerhouse novels to win the inaugural One Book, One New York<br />

contest. This means that in addition to the over 500,000 copies this novel has sold,millions of<br />

New Yorkers will be reading and discussing this story told like no other.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 13<br />

7. What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi<br />

If you like a good short story collection, What is Not Yours is Not Yours should be in your<br />

library. For starters, the title is intriguing and the stories run along a cerebral stem. <strong>The</strong> mystics<br />

behind locks and keys are explored in unrelated settings and character mixes. Helen Oyeyemi<br />

is not your conventional writer and this collection is an eclectic display of the tales she is<br />

capable of constructing. <strong>The</strong>re is dark comedy embedded in tales of love as well as set<br />

boundaries around seemingly mundane things. What is Not Yours is Not Yours is Oyeyemi's<br />

first collection of short stories and has recently bagged her the $5,000 PEN Open Book<br />

Award.<br />

8. Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue<br />

When news hit the streets that this novel in manuscript form won a million-dollar book deal<br />

from publishing company, Penguin Random House, everyone went berserk with joy. Readers<br />

root both for the Cameroonian author, Imbolo and the Jonga family, a trio of Cameroonian<br />

emigrants whose struggle to get a Green Card in the United States will unite and rattle them<br />

simultaneously. <strong>The</strong> American dream is the subject theme explored in this well-told story. <strong>The</strong><br />

2008 recession fueled by the collapse of giant financial firms gives the plot more weight. This<br />

is the classic immigration story given a different plot and voice. This novel won the <strong>2017</strong><br />

PEN/Faulkner $15,000 Award, a first time win for an African author.<br />

9. And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile<br />

In a simple and often criticized structure, debut novelist Jowhor Ile's novel is set in Port-<br />

Harcourt, Nigeria during a tumultuous regime. A child goes missing and his family is<br />

shattered looking for him. <strong>The</strong> interwoven stories are free-floating, sometimes connected, and<br />

at other times not. This writing style has been compared by readers to life itself. This novel has<br />

been shortlisted for the £15,000 Etisalat Prize for Literature, which will be announced in <strong>May</strong>.<br />

10. Mr & Mrs. Doctor by Julie Iromuanya<br />

<strong>The</strong> pursuit of the American Dream is revisited in this novel that features a couple living a life<br />

of lies in pursuit of a Green card. <strong>The</strong> question, what happens if you wake up from the dream<br />

is explored. Julie succeeded in building shady characters that readers can still empathize<br />

with. This novel's mix of irony, satire, and great storytelling also won it a spot among the 3<br />

novels shortlisted for the Etisalat Prize for Literature.


Oga Condur<br />

by <strong>May</strong>owa Alabi Damilola


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 15


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 17<br />

EYO<br />

BASSEY<br />

O W N S A F R I CA’ S<br />

FA ST E ST G R O W I N G<br />

E - CO M M E R C E<br />

CO M PA N Y, W I T H<br />

M I L L E N N I A L S B E I N G<br />

H I S M A J O R<br />

C U STO M E R S !


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 18<br />

<strong>The</strong>re is still space to<br />

carry about 15 more big<br />

e-commerce companies<br />

in Nigeria<br />

Tell me about your background and your<br />

journey to Payporte?<br />

My name is Eyo Bassey. I come from a family<br />

of five and I lost my dad when I was 11. I<br />

studied Pure and Applied Physics. I’ve<br />

worked in a couple of places before now. I’ve<br />

always been IT inclined right from my<br />

university days. I served in Abuja during my<br />

youth service and I got into a company called<br />

Socket Works where I was employed as a<br />

Global System Administrator from where I<br />

w a s p ro m o t e d t o b e c o m e H ead o f<br />

Restructure Engineering and afterwards I<br />

branched off to set up my own company. <strong>The</strong><br />

company was spinning off to Ghana and they<br />

needed a couple of us to move to Ghana and<br />

I was interested in making that move. So I<br />

ended up setting a company called Rom Flex<br />

which is a Software and System Integration<br />

company and this gave birth to Payporte.<br />

In one of your past interviews, you said that<br />

t h e r e i s e n o u g h s p a c e f o r m o r e<br />

advancement in e-commerce in Nigeria. Do<br />

you still feel that way?<br />

I strongly feel that way; there is still space to<br />

carry about 15 more big e-commerce<br />

companies in Nigeria and the fact is simple. If<br />

you look at the numbers and statistics, there<br />

are three submarine cables terminating in<br />

Nigeria and this has helped internet<br />

penetration in the country. We also currently<br />

have 4G networks in Nigeria. We also have<br />

data solutions from the telecos’ which has<br />

greatly improved as well. What I’m saying in<br />

essence is that internet penetration has<br />

greatly improved and so we have 18 million<br />

people on the internet every week in Nigeria.<br />

<strong>The</strong> numbers also say that there are well over<br />

35 million people surfing the internet daily.<br />

This 35 million people are potential<br />

customers for e-commerce companies. So if<br />

we take just 10% of that number which is<br />

roughly 3.5 – 4 million people, to patronise e-<br />

commerce companies and speaking from a<br />

Payporte point of view, we can process up to<br />

100,000 orders a day and with the statics<br />

earlier given you will need not less than 35 e-<br />

commerce companies the size of Payporte to<br />

meet up with the demands of 3.5- 4 million<br />

Nigerians. That is why I maintain that Nigeria<br />

has the space to accommodate 15 more big e-<br />

commerce companies.<br />

With the rise in digital services in Africa, do<br />

you think it has made marketing your brand<br />

easier and if not what major challenges do you<br />

still face right now?<br />

Of course with the evolution of digital service,<br />

with respect to marketing, we have companies<br />

like Facebook, Google, Yahoo and we also<br />

have the other marketing companies that have<br />

to do with marketing on the internet, it has<br />

helped. However the challenge with that is that<br />

most of their services are priced in dollars.<br />

Google, Twitter, charges in dollars, Facebook<br />

only started charging Nigerians in naira. So<br />

yes, it has helped our brand but that is not our<br />

main core of marketing. We do not spend<br />

more than 30% of our spending budget on<br />

digital marketing. We use TV – this has been a<br />

very potent tool from time immemorial, and<br />

we look at other medium of marketing. So<br />

digital marketing is not our main stay. It hasn’t<br />

actually done so much for us when compared<br />

to other forms of marketing that we have<br />

adopted.<br />

That’s interesting because most of the time,<br />

people are encouraged to go digital as<br />

against the traditional marketing path?<br />

It depends, digital marketing still works. I’m<br />

not saying it doesn’t. But what has worked for<br />

us at Payporte has been other forms of<br />

marketing outside digital marketing. We run<br />

digital marketing campaigns on other<br />

platforms. When starting up, digital marketing<br />

of course, is the way to go. But at a certain<br />

point, you will need to combine digital<br />

marketing with other forms of marketing.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 19<br />

FOR ME,<br />

CONVICTION IS<br />

EVERYTHING.<br />

You clearly have an entrepreneurial spirit<br />

and I guess Payporte was not your first big<br />

idea. So if not Payporte, what would you<br />

have been involved in?<br />

If I wasn’t here, I probably would have been<br />

involved in two things. I would have been<br />

practicing as a civil engineer somewhere or I<br />

would have been doing the things I was<br />

doing at my first job – building IT<br />

infrastructure and building IT capabilities for<br />

companies. So these may have been<br />

alternatives for me outside of Payporte.<br />

As an entrepreneur and businessman, what<br />

is the one advice that you would tell any<br />

millennial that wants to start up a business?<br />

Be clear on what you want to do. Because<br />

once you are not clear on what you want to<br />

do, you are going to fail. So, clarity - that’s my<br />

own opinion. <strong>The</strong> challenges will come on<br />

your entrepreneurial journey. What will keep<br />

you going against all odds will be your personal<br />

conviction before you started up what you are<br />

doing. That has played out with me a lot. We are<br />

just trying to recover from the recession as a<br />

nation. How do you think a business like<br />

Payporte survived this period? It’s the<br />

conviction. We just had to keep moving against<br />

all odds. If it had just been guesswork, which is<br />

what happens with a lot of young people, we<br />

will not have survived till this moment. I find that<br />

a lot of young people come out of school with<br />

the mindset that the internet business is the inthing<br />

and look for one or another internet<br />

business to start up, some of them can write a<br />

few lines of code and believe they can start up a<br />

business without giving much thought to it, or<br />

follow the path of a friend without having a<br />

strong conviction of what it is they want. So for<br />

me, conviction is everything. It will help you<br />

weather the storms of business in an<br />

environment like ours.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 20<br />

For a business that is this big, do you have external funding?<br />

When Payporte was about to start, I spoke to a friend of mine and<br />

told her I wanted to start an e-commerce company and was in<br />

need of partners who were willing to invest in the business. She<br />

asked how much I needed and I said I needed $250,000. So she<br />

promised to talk with some friends on my behalf. So I followed up<br />

with her and made some pitches. She was able to link me up with<br />

an investor who was willing to invest $100, 000 not for a stake in the<br />

business but to be repaid after one year of operations. So that was<br />

one. At some point, my mum had to use her house as third party<br />

collateral to a bank to help me raise N15 million for the business.<br />

So basically funding has been from friends and family which is<br />

what I encourage every young intending entrepreneur to do. If<br />

your friends and family cannot trust you for your business then no<br />

one else will. If they can’t give you the initial funding you need,<br />

throw some money at you out of trust, then you’ll find it very<br />

difficult. We have since repaid the $100,000 loan I received from<br />

my friend. Is that all that has grown the business? No. What we’ve<br />

had to do is to be very very prudent so far. Rom Flex, which is the<br />

parent company of Payporte, has been able to build a couple of<br />

other solutions which they have been able to vend and sell and put<br />

back proceeds to Payporte. We are also planning on going to the<br />

markets in September to raise $100 million for our expansion.<br />

That’s been our funding story. We’ve kept our business lean, and<br />

we have wonderful staff that understand and have bought into the<br />

vision. We’ve also got wonderful service providers that understand<br />

and agree to our payment terms and this has made our sustenance<br />

as a business a reality.<br />

EYO<br />

BASSEY<br />

<strong>CEO</strong> at<br />

PayPorte Global<br />

Systems<br />

Where do you see Payporte in the long term?<br />

I’ll start by sharing some of our short term goals. First of all, our<br />

immediate goal this year was to end cash on delivery operations<br />

which we have successfully done. <strong>The</strong>n the next is to make sure that<br />

we become a profitable venture by December <strong>2017</strong>, meaning that<br />

all of our funding must come out of the business. By July this year<br />

we also hope to expand physical operations into two countries;<br />

South Africa and Ghana.<br />

In three years, we want to be the most preferred e-commerce<br />

company in sub-Saharan Africa and that is clearly in sight for us. We<br />

want to make sure our coverage reaches the Horn of Africa that is in<br />

places like Uganda, Kenya, down to the Cape Coast and that axis.<br />

In five years, we want to be rated the top e-commerce company in<br />

the world. So these are our long term goals. A journey of a<br />

thousand miles begins with a step but these are some of our key<br />

goals. Of course, I’ll definitely love to retire early too (and become<br />

a missionary at 45).<br />

Interviewed by<br />

Olamide Olakunle-Jinadu


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, Mar <strong>2017</strong> | 35<br />

LEARN \ WORK\ ACCELERATE<br />

WWW.THEGRANARYNG.COM<br />

WWW.THEGRANARYNG.COM<br />

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT<br />

CHARLIE@THEGRANARYNG.COM<br />

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT<br />

CHARLIE@THEGRANARYNG.COM<br />

OR CALL 0818 578 8553<br />

OR CALL 0818 578 8553


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 23<br />

A DAY IN<br />

THE LIFE OF<br />

OMAWUNMMI<br />

A look at a<br />

typical day of<br />

one of the most<br />

influential and<br />

powerful people<br />

in Africa.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 24<br />

Omawumi<br />

Megbele:<br />

Music Video Director,<br />

Film maker<br />

& Television Director<br />

HOW DO 24 HOURS IN THE LIFE OF A<br />

POWER PLAYER UNFOLD? HERE'S WHAT THE<br />

DAY PLANNER FOR OMAWUMI MEGBELE<br />

LOOKED LIKE ON TUESDAY 2NDMAY, <strong>2017</strong><br />

6:00 – I woke up and said my morning<br />

prayers.<br />

7:00 – Prepared my kids and dropped them<br />

off at school.<br />

9:00 – Returned home to relax with a tall mug<br />

of black coffee and watch Law & Order<br />

(Criminal Intent), Tinsel and Zee world.<br />

11:00 – Headed to my office for a live studio<br />

rehearsal with my band.<br />

15:00 – Went to lunch with my husband.<br />

16:00 – Returned to my office to handle<br />

pending paperwork and brainstorm on new<br />

creative ideas for my brand.<br />

17:00 – Hopped on a business call with my<br />

elder brother who is my business partner in<br />

charge of our supply and logistics company.<br />

18:00 – Went to <strong>The</strong> Bridge, Lekki to meet<br />

with my team of executive producers for my<br />

upcoming movie.<br />

19:00 – Met briefly for drinks with Waje at<br />

Cocoon restaurant, Ikoyi.<br />

20:00 – Went home to prepare dinner for my<br />

family and afterwards I put my daughters to<br />

bed.<br />

22:00 – Retired to my work study to do some<br />

creative writing.<br />

Favorite Quote<br />

<strong>The</strong>re are two quotes I refer to a lot because<br />

of the truth in them and they are as follows;<br />

“What is obvious may not be real”<br />

“Comparison is the thief of joy”<br />

Business men and women I admire the<br />

most<br />

I admire Russell Simmons, Diddy and<br />

Beyonce for obvious reasons. <strong>The</strong>y started<br />

off in the music industry and have used the<br />

platform extensively in the business world.<br />

People you admire and why?<br />

I admire Mo Abudu because of how far she<br />

has gone in the media industry. I also<br />

admire Onyeka Owenu because her music<br />

is evergreen and finally Angelique Kidjo for<br />

staying true to her music and showcasing it<br />

to the world.<br />

If you could do anything else but what you<br />

do, what would that job be?<br />

I would be a Teacher because it is a<br />

purposeful occupation which helps crave a<br />

path for the younger generations.<br />

Doctor or Astronaut?<br />

Laughs, Doctor definitely.<br />

What does Africa mean to you in one<br />

sentence?<br />

Africa is my home and home is where the<br />

heart is… I love Africa.<br />

What could you not travel without aside<br />

from your cell phone?<br />

My clothes definitely because I can't be<br />

naked!


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 25<br />

I’m increasingly weary of the notion that life is about the endless pursuit of<br />

passion as if we were created only to experience its pleasures. It’s acutely<br />

palpable when I meet with young entrepreneurs, particularly the creative<br />

ones. Millennial’s are incessantly encouraged to “live the life they dream<br />

of,” wholeheartedly following their passions, reinforced by social media<br />

quotes extolling the virtues of entrepreneurship. Putting entrepreneurship<br />

in perspective, I have observed that many enthusiastic founders, having<br />

found their passion, have no clue that they actually need to understand key<br />

business principles in order to flourish. Businesses need to be nurtured,<br />

staffed, structured, driven, funded, and scaled. It’s all fun and games until<br />

he work begins.<br />

Each time I meet a <strong>CEO</strong> of an SME I go into question mode attempting to<br />

unpack their courage to push beyond fear, create a unique<br />

product/service, and meet the needs of a market. When I probe about cost<br />

structure, unit economics, price/volume mix, cash burn rate, gross margins,<br />

supply chain, UX and the feedback loop, many eyes quickly begin to glaze<br />

over. A few get into it and they grasp that with passion comes purpose and<br />

with purpose comes responsibility. If you want to be the <strong>CEO</strong> of a<br />

company, you need to deeply understand everything about it otherwise<br />

you are engaged in a hobby funded by family (hopefully not third party<br />

investors) with a likely fantastic social media presence. To my surprise, a<br />

number of entrepreneurs don't have a well defined business model and/or<br />

they are poor at communicating it. Entrepreneurship isn’t for the fainthearted<br />

and it’s not for the unprepared either. <strong>The</strong> skills you need to<br />

succeed include grit, tenacity, focus, hunger, knowledge of your space, and<br />

humility. From that humility is where the fallacies of passion end. It’s all well<br />

and good to be passionate about being an artist, photographer, coder,<br />

web series content creator, womenswear fashion designer but<br />

products/services generally don’t tend to sell themselves.<br />

Have you identified your target customer base and do you have a plan to<br />

generate sales? Who/Where is your addressable market and why do they<br />

want/need your product? How do you reach them in the most cost effective<br />

manner? Do you have a handle on production and how quickly can you<br />

scale? Someone competent has to care about this stuff. What’s your<br />

differentiation strategy vs. the competition and how will you make certain<br />

that you stay ahead of innovation? <strong>The</strong> more I ask, the less I hear. Some<br />

people, young and not so young, are following their passions because it’s<br />

exciting. Penetrating a market with a unique value proposition, building a<br />

sustainable business, and making a difference are assumed entitlements<br />

and not strategic goals.<br />

My advice to “young” entrepreneurs: If you are pursuing your passion bu<br />

despise the business aspects of your endeavor, find a suitable co-founder<br />

who loves it. Together you will soar. Owning 50% of something is far<br />

superior to owning 100% of nothing. If the latter is what you aspire to, I<br />

wish you well with your hobby.<br />

THE FALLACIES OF PASSION<br />

By Aishetu Fatima Dozie


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 26<br />

6<br />

on<br />

six tips<br />

How to<br />

Be PRODUCTIVE<br />

-Modupe Sowunmi<br />

“Being busy and being productive are two different things, focus on the latter”<br />

As someone who likes to dedicate my time to people and things that are<br />

important to me, I'm always looking for ways to be more productive so I can get<br />

more things done and waste less time, so today I'm sharing tips for getting lots<br />

of stuff done.<br />

1. MAKE YOUR MORNING ROUTINE NON-NEGOTIABLE:<br />

I hear morning routines are a great way to set yourself up for success! I've not always been a<br />

morning person...well lately, I spend some time in the morning basically chilling before work -<br />

Yup CHILLING!. Besides my morning devotion, I try to think through my activities for the day<br />

or the week, sometimes I work out or just stretch, do some chores, listen to upbeat music and<br />

mentally prepare to have a great day. It actually depends on my mood that morning.<br />

Sometimes I spend the entire morning on Instagram and then find myself rushing off to work,<br />

other times It's my make up that takes the better part of my morning. But either way, a healthy<br />

morning routine is a great way to stay productive.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 27<br />

62. USE A PLANNER.<br />

seriously don't Know what I'll<br />

do without my planner.I've<br />

discovered that planning<br />

t a s k s a h e a d o f t i m e i s<br />

essential for getting things<br />

done and also maintaining<br />

my sanity. Whether you<br />

choose to use a digital<br />

planner on your phone or a<br />

book, scheduling things out<br />

is super important! While<br />

everyone uses planners<br />

differently, I like to get indepth<br />

with mine. A few things<br />

I do are:<br />

- W e e k l y & m o n t h l y<br />

overviews. At the beginning<br />

of each month I'll write down<br />

goals for that month then I'll<br />

break those goals down into<br />

action steps over the weeks.<br />

It's super satisfying and it is<br />

important in making sure that<br />

you're taking the necessary<br />

steps to getting what you<br />

want accomplished!<br />

- Daily to-do lists. You know<br />

how I break down my monthly<br />

goals into weekly actionable<br />

tasks? Well, I always make a<br />

to-do list for the next day<br />

before bed. It helps me to<br />

sleep better with a clear head<br />

and then I feel like I'm ready<br />

to take over the next day!<br />

Planning specific tasks and<br />

action steps ahead of time<br />

helps avoid stress and the<br />

feeling of having endless<br />

tasks!<br />

3. GET YOUR SWEAT<br />

ON!<br />

Working-out boosts your<br />

mood, brain and ability to<br />

focus.It also relieves stress<br />

and is a nice break from the<br />

daily grind! AND it boosts<br />

confidence. In fact, there's a<br />

million reasons why you<br />

should incorporate at least 30<br />

minutes of exercise into your<br />

daily routine and boosting<br />

your productivity is one of<br />

them. So just DO IT!!! You can<br />

at least start with frequent<br />

walks in the morning or<br />

evening. Basically, aim to stay<br />

active.<br />

4. HAVE A CLEAN,<br />

ORGANIZED ROOM/<br />

W O R K S P A C E /<br />

ENVIRONMENT.<br />

Keeping my room tidy makes<br />

me feel productive already.<br />

Trying to get work done in a<br />

s c a t t e r e d e n v i r o n m e n t<br />

stresses me out. A clean,<br />

simplified workspace really<br />

helps you focus!<br />

Cheers<br />

to getting<br />

lots of things<br />

done this<br />

year!<br />

5. SCHEDULE LESS,<br />

SAY "NO" MORE.<br />

Constantly scheduling more<br />

than I can handle makes me<br />

feel rushed and behind. And<br />

then when I DON'T get<br />

everything done? Sigh! I feel<br />

Super unproductive (even if<br />

I've achieved some things).<br />

Schedule LESS and get<br />

MORE done. Also, learn to<br />

say "no." If you're not setting<br />

boundaries then eventually<br />

your sanity will go out the<br />

window!<br />

6 . F I N A L LY, YO U<br />

HAVE TO RESPECT<br />

YOUR TIME, YOUR<br />

GOALS AND YOUR<br />

WORK.<br />

I g n o re i n v i t ations a n d<br />

interruptions and take your<br />

own work and deadlines<br />

seriously! You're worth it.<br />

Your work is worth it. Your<br />

goals are worth it. Hopefully<br />

you find some of these tips<br />

helpful! I know that being<br />

consistent at these things will<br />

really help me and everyone<br />

e l s e reading t h i s s t a y<br />

productive.<br />

see more on<br />

www.gingerlie.com


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 28<br />

Smart-up<br />

for start ups<br />

THE START UP SMARTIES!<br />

Growing up, we all loved and still love<br />

smarties, the muiticolour pebble like mini<br />

chocolates that gives us so much joy<br />

recession fades away!<br />

Bringing that joy and thrill to<br />

entrepreneurship, here are the start up<br />

smarties every entrepreneur must consider<br />

carefully and adopt!<br />

S- Solve a problem! What's business that is<br />

not meeting a need? Is that one business? It is<br />

very important for your business to solve a<br />

problem and meet a need. Meeting a need is<br />

one of the biggest steps towards<br />

sustainability!<br />

M- Manage your time wisely! You don't want<br />

to waste too much time on an idea that is not<br />

meeting a need or an idea that has failed<br />

consistently. You must find a way to be<br />

flexible and adopt changes which emanate<br />

from your feedback actively. Time<br />

management is key in business.<br />

A- Attention to details: As you start off your<br />

work you must be open to feedback from<br />

your customers and consumers. You must pay<br />

attention to feedback and the details that<br />

come with them.<br />

R- Read and research: Read books about your<br />

line of business and intervention. Take online<br />

courses as well as other things and activities<br />

that can build your capacity in preparation for<br />

the work you will do. Market research is also<br />

key to every entrepreneur's success.<br />

T- Tenacity: Tenacity or determination is an<br />

essential quality of a start up entrepreneur.<br />

Challenges will definitely come. <strong>The</strong>re will<br />

be days you will ask yourself if all you are<br />

doing is worth it at all. On days like that,<br />

take the tenacity smarties and keep<br />

pushing.<br />

I- Invest your own resources: Investing<br />

your own resources indicates seriousness<br />

and commitment to the cause you are<br />

pursing. It also encourages investors to<br />

open their wallet and invest in you and<br />

your business.<br />

E- Go the Extra mile: Extra represents the<br />

innovation angle to the service or product<br />

you are offering. Do something extra!<br />

Anything to make you stand out and<br />

separate you in a very saturated market.<br />

S- Start small: And when you have done<br />

all the above, don't forget to never<br />

despise the days of little beginning.<br />

START SMALL! DREAM BIG!!<br />

WORK HARD!!!<br />

TILL NEXT TIME, KEEP<br />

PUSHING!<br />

-Adepeju Jaiyeoba


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 29<br />

KINGS<br />

in Africa creating<br />

meeting times for<br />

millennials.<br />

AN EXPERIENCE FROM GETUPINC’S<br />

CREATIVE DIRECTOR- TOMI WALE, MEETING<br />

THE OONI OF IFE:<br />

HRH<br />

Oba Adéyeyè Eniìtàn Ògúnwùsì<br />

Ooni Ojaja II<br />

I got a call that one of the country’s very top royal fathers heard about me and called<br />

to see me to have a conversation on some of my thoughts. So Ife happened within a<br />

24 hour period!<br />

<strong>The</strong> conversation was beyond what’s normally expected from Kings in Africa.<br />

Above the beautiful protocols that made me feel closer to the source, <strong>The</strong> Ooni of<br />

Ife is the kind of leader we should have at this time.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 30<br />

Tomi with<br />

the Ooni of Ife<br />

“His attention to<br />

details and<br />

systems<br />

thinking<br />

abilities would<br />

be good for<br />

academics and<br />

boy, he<br />

understands<br />

and is creating<br />

the characters<br />

that should<br />

aggregate the<br />

future of<br />

”<br />

AFRICA.


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 31<br />

I found his fusion of old tradition and contemporary sense of<br />

innovation very fascinating. A lot of beautiful things are going<br />

on.<br />

About four sentences into answering the first question he<br />

threw at me, he paused and said “I like you, you are such a<br />

futuristic guy”, I smiled and told him Thank You ‘Kabiyesi’<br />

(meaning Your Majesty). He allowed me continue and the<br />

ways he landed my sentences, nodded and shook his feet in<br />

acknowledgment made me know some people actually get<br />

my ‘seemingly weird thoughts’.<br />

<strong>The</strong>se are some things you’ll find out about him:<br />

1. He is very hard-working.<br />

2. He spots mediocrity within seconds.<br />

3. He has an outstanding global & authentic approach to<br />

thoughts.<br />

4. He respects order.<br />

5. He listens and takes words seriously!<br />

After some hours, the conversation finished around 12am and<br />

I was happy about the future of Nigeria.<br />

You know, keep the thoughts going. I was<br />

really encouraged that evening that there<br />

are some people in strategic positions who<br />

want to listen to us and fast track things!<br />

AFRICAN MILLENNIALS, LET’S KEEP OUR<br />

THOUGHTS GOING!<br />

-Tomi Wale<br />

Crative Director, GetUpinc


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 32<br />

<strong>The</strong> Mentality<br />

of Winning (Part 1)<br />

by Austin Okere<br />

Founder, CWG Plc & Entrepreneur in Residence,<br />

Columbia Business School, New York.<br />

<strong>The</strong> thing about winning and losing is that they are both self-reinforcing.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Gunners as a metaphor<br />

As an Arsenal football club fan, how do I convince anybody that the team is good or that<br />

coach Arsene Wenger is doing a good job, given the long spate of trophy draught and<br />

inexplicable losses in the current season both in the English Premier league and the<br />

Champions league?


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 33<br />

TAKING THE STEPS REQUIRED TO REVERSE<br />

YOUR LOSING SPREE AND SHIFTING INTO A<br />

WINNING MENTALITY RESTORES YOUR LOST<br />

<strong>The</strong> mentality of winning and losing – the Tyson<br />

effect<br />

Winning reinforces your self-confidence and<br />

instils an inherent mythical fear in your<br />

opponents. <strong>The</strong> whole team is energized and<br />

ready for the next win. Losing on the other hand,<br />

engenders a loss of confidence and a<br />

significant level of demystification, inviting all<br />

manner of opponents to fancy their chances at<br />

you, as happened when the erstwhile<br />

unbeatable heavyweight boxing champion,<br />

Mike Tyson lost to a lowly challenger, Buster<br />

Douglas in 1990 in Tokyo, Japan. This was<br />

followed by a string of losses leading to a less<br />

glorious retirement, highlighted by his biting off<br />

the ear of an opponent, Evander Holyfield,<br />

during a boxing match. Thus, was dimmed a<br />

golden opportunity of going down in history as<br />

one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.<br />

Reversing the pattern – Leicester City FC finds<br />

her magic<br />

Taking the steps required to reverse your<br />

losing spree and shifting into a winning<br />

mentality restores your lost glory, seemingly<br />

obliterating the past string of losses e.g.<br />

Leicester City Football Club; after parting ways<br />

with coach Claudio Ranieri (ironically the same<br />

coach that propelled them to the dizzying<br />

heights of winning the English Premier League<br />

title last year) have suddenly become<br />

unstoppable again; beating the better rated<br />

Spanish side, Sevilla FC for a place in the<br />

Quarter Finals of the UEFA Champions<br />

League. Even as first timers, they are the only<br />

English team still flying the British flag where<br />

great teams such as Manchester City and<br />

Arsenal have crashed out.<br />

Winning is 'In spite of'; Losing is 'because of' -<br />

the Usain Bolt determination<br />

A loser's mentality is strongly underpinned by<br />

a culture of excuses; finding 'very good'<br />

reasons why you didn't make it, or why you<br />

lost; as if this will magically convert the loss<br />

into a win. An earful of balderdash at best.<br />

A winner's mentality on the other hand, is<br />

centred on 'making it' in spite of all odds. A<br />

very good example being Usain Bolt, who not<br />

only holds the world record for the fastest<br />

human dead or alive, but also winning three<br />

gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4X100m<br />

races in three consecutive Olympics; Beijing<br />

(2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016) – Now,<br />

that is a winner with a strong winning<br />

mentality.<br />

Believe me, it is never a walk in the park. He<br />

knew what he had to do when overconfidence<br />

brought an embarrassing loss to his training<br />

partner and competitor Johan Blake. Blake<br />

beat Bolt to second place in both the 100m<br />

and 200m at the 2012 Olympic trials in<br />

Jamaica, and this was just about a month to<br />

the London Olympics.<br />

Just imagine the pressure that Bolt would<br />

have felt. In the beginning he resorted to<br />

excuses; he blamed the 100m loss on a poor<br />

start, and the 200m on a poor bend. Realizing<br />

that a golden dream was evaporating before<br />

his eyes, he quickly faced reality in his<br />

following statement capturing his renewed<br />

attitude “it's all about work and just needing to<br />

get my things together and get it right. I've got<br />

to get in the work and figure out what I did<br />

wrong”. And with that he got himself in shape<br />

in time to win both events at the London<br />

Olympics. He did work very hard and<br />

deserved the results and his place in history<br />

(watch the documentary on him titled 'I am<br />

Bolt').


<strong>The</strong> <strong>BusinessDay</strong> <strong>CEO</strong>, <strong>May</strong> <strong>2017</strong> | 34<br />

Realizing that a golden dream<br />

was evaporating before his<br />

eyes, he quickly faced reality in<br />

his following statement<br />

capturing his renewed attitude<br />

“it's all about work and just<br />

needing to get my things<br />

together and get it right. I've got<br />

to get in the work and figure out<br />

what I did wrong”. And with that<br />

he got himself in shape.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Nigerian Super Eagles – Our 'Invincible' of old<br />

I remember with nostalgia when all the immigration officers in the countries that I visited in the<br />

1990's became very friendly upon sighting my Nigerian Passport, reeling the names of our<br />

Super Eagle players and asking me if I knew them; Jay-Jay, Kanu, Amuneke, Keshi,<br />

Okewchukwu, Taribo, Oliseh, Rufia, Amokachie, Yekini, Siasia, Ikpeba and the host of others .<br />

<strong>The</strong>se were the glory days of Nigerian soccer, where other teams' reverence of our players<br />

conferred on us very deep respect as a country. Not so these days; we have managed to get<br />

ourselves stuck in a losers' mentality to the extent that 'the giant of Africa' did not even qualify for<br />

the last edition of the African Nations Cup in Gabon this year.<br />

We managed to win the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, but who remembers, after the<br />

unbelievable story of our players being stranded in America and arriving only hours before their<br />

opening match; what manner of organization? <strong>The</strong> headlines in the global media were enough<br />

to make every Nigerian bow their heads in shame. <strong>The</strong> Mirror succinctly captured it thus<br />

“Nigerian Olympic football team stranded in Atlanta hours before first game after unpaid flight<br />

bill”.<br />

You did not need to read the body of the copy to see how shoddy our organization could be.<br />

How can we aspire to Gold with this attitude?<br />

ITCHING TO FINISH THIS BUT ENSURE YOU LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT EDITION TO SEE<br />

HOW THIS ENDS.


Female leaders<br />

are rated more<br />

highly than men<br />

in the category of<br />

establishing<br />

stretch goals.<br />

INCLUDE WOMEN.<br />

www.getupinc.com


Keke Hustle<br />

by Martin Ekwe<br />

FOR ADVERT PLACEMENTS & OTHER ENQUIRIES<br />

Linda@businessdayonline.com<br />

lynda4real@yahoo.com<br />

08026011296

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