Made in Nigeria
September - Made in Nigeria Edition
September - Made in Nigeria Edition
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
There was a time <strong>in</strong> my life when I did not know where to<br />
buy clothes, shoes and bags <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>. I literally always<br />
had to wait till summer to shop for the year, or ask a family<br />
member who was abroad to send necessary items to us<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> whenever we need them, but it’s different today. I just<br />
got back from my holiday and, I honestly did not f<strong>in</strong>d clothes that I<br />
liked on the shop floor <strong>in</strong> the United K<strong>in</strong>gdom and Dubai. I decided<br />
to reflect on this and realized this was happen<strong>in</strong>g because I could<br />
get most th<strong>in</strong>gs I needed <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> now and I could even customise<br />
to my exact taste with the designers now <strong>in</strong> Lagos. This doesn’t<br />
end with clothes.<br />
FROM<br />
OUR<br />
GUEST<br />
EDITOR<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>ns are go<strong>in</strong>g the extra mile to locally produce amaz<strong>in</strong>g<br />
goods and services that are compet<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> global markets. From<br />
clothes, to pa<strong>in</strong>ts, to lotion, to bags, to food, to chocolate and even<br />
furniture. It was such an honour to feature some amaz<strong>in</strong>g entrepreneurs<br />
who have amaz<strong>in</strong>g products and services that are <strong>Made</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>. As an entrepreneur who also has a brand with products<br />
made <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>, I totally understand all the challenges <strong>in</strong> the manufactur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
sector, so I applaud all the entrepreneurs who are fac<strong>in</strong>g<br />
all the odds to produce amaz<strong>in</strong>g goods and services despite the<br />
challenges <strong>in</strong> our system.<br />
In honour of <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s Independence, I’m excited to <strong>in</strong>troduce<br />
to you some of the best <strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> brands across different<br />
sectors who are consistently contribut<strong>in</strong>g to the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n economy<br />
through their products and services. I hope you not only enjoy this<br />
edition, but also patronise them and cont<strong>in</strong>ue the cycle to improve<br />
our economy because the entire value cha<strong>in</strong> depends on you, the<br />
consumer.<br />
Happy Read<strong>in</strong>g!<br />
Ifedayo Duros<strong>in</strong>mi-Etti<br />
Published By<br />
Executive Publisher<br />
Frank Aigbogun<br />
Publisher<br />
Ikenna Onuorah<br />
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Editor<br />
Sharon-Ann Adaigbe<br />
Head of Bus<strong>in</strong>ess & Growth<br />
Oghenevwoke Ighure<br />
Editor<br />
Patrick Atuanya<br />
Head of Operations<br />
Fabian Akagha<br />
Guest Editor<br />
Ifedayo Duros<strong>in</strong>mi-Etti<br />
Creative Director<br />
Segun Adekoye<br />
Art Director<br />
Kola Oshalusi<br />
ED, Strategy &<br />
Plann<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Bankole Jamgbadi<br />
Associate Editor<br />
Omoleye Omoruyi<br />
Contribut<strong>in</strong>g Editors<br />
Lucy Onuorah<br />
John Iyoha<br />
Design<br />
Adetunji Ekeade<br />
Growth and<br />
Strategy Team<br />
Ayishat Olanrewaju<br />
Chuka Emereuwaonu<br />
Production Team<br />
James Otihi<br />
Duru Azubuike<br />
Kelv<strong>in</strong> Omozua<br />
IT Team<br />
Andre Udegbe<br />
Michael Aworoghene<br />
Damilola Adebes<strong>in</strong><br />
Address:<br />
The Spark: Kairos Hub - The Ford Center,<br />
2nd Floor, Plot 2 Block 94, Providence<br />
Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lekki, Lagos State,<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
Enquiries:<br />
+2348123183458, +2347030951270,<br />
+2348182799268<br />
Email: <strong>in</strong>fo@thesparkng.com<br />
Website: www.thesparkng.com<br />
Social media: fli @thesparkng<br />
Copyright © 2019 The Spark. All rights reserved. No<br />
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored<br />
<strong>in</strong> a retrieval system or be transmitted <strong>in</strong> any form<br />
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without<br />
prior permission of The Spark.<br />
We do not endorse any products or services or<br />
op<strong>in</strong>ions mentioned <strong>in</strong> any of the articles and are<br />
not responsible for the outcome of us<strong>in</strong>g such<br />
products or services.
Contributors<br />
Bukky<br />
Aseh<strong>in</strong>de<br />
Lanre<br />
Olusola<br />
Ayo Moses<br />
Ogedengbe<br />
Kola<br />
Tubosun<br />
Popularly known as an ‘Afrocentric Marketer’,<br />
Bukky is a passionate young female <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
entrepreneur and founder of Bellafricana,<br />
a bus<strong>in</strong>ess focused on promot<strong>in</strong>g creative<br />
(<strong>Made</strong>-<strong>in</strong>-<strong>Nigeria</strong>) bus<strong>in</strong>ess development<br />
through a platform that bridges the gap<br />
between producers of quality creative/<strong>in</strong>digenous<br />
products <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> (Africa) and their<br />
consumers globally. She started her bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
<strong>in</strong> the hope of creat<strong>in</strong>g more jobs and to<br />
help develop talents <strong>in</strong> her area of creative<br />
expertise. This is underscored by the fact that<br />
she observed a vast <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the number of<br />
unique products made <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> (Africa) but<br />
noticed a huge gap between local producers<br />
and consumers. What better way than through<br />
the <strong>in</strong>ternet?<br />
Is popularly recognised as The Catalyst. He<br />
deploys Integrative Transformative Catalysis<br />
(ITC), provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dividuals, organisations,<br />
families, couples and groups of different<br />
sizes the platform to transition from where<br />
they are to where they desire and deserve to<br />
be. He is renowned for pioneer<strong>in</strong>g the Life<br />
Coach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> and creat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the first wholly coach<strong>in</strong>g academy – the<br />
Olusola Lanre Coach<strong>in</strong>g Academy - <strong>in</strong> West<br />
Africa.<br />
With 2 decades of coach<strong>in</strong>g experience, The<br />
Catalyst works with bus<strong>in</strong>ess executives and<br />
organizations like Ericsson, Unilever, Tigo,<br />
GE and many more across Africa and other<br />
parts of the world. Follow Read more about<br />
The Catalyst at www.thecatalystng.com or<br />
follow him on social media @lanreolusola.<br />
Is a Brand Story Strategist at BrandStory<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>. A Public Relations Practitioner with a<br />
post-charter experience of about a decade <strong>in</strong><br />
media management, brand strategy advisory<br />
and promotions, he worked <strong>in</strong> Telecoms and<br />
Corporate Communications sectors before start<strong>in</strong>g<br />
CLAD Projects- a Communications Advisory<br />
and Corporate Social <strong>in</strong>vestment firm, based <strong>in</strong><br />
Lagos. He has a background <strong>in</strong> communications<br />
and is a member of The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Institute of<br />
Public Relations (NIPR) and The Institute of<br />
Cultural Affairs (ICA).<br />
is a <strong>Nigeria</strong>n writer and l<strong>in</strong>guist. He has worked<br />
at Google, Oxford University Press, and as a high<br />
school teacher of English. He was awarded the<br />
Premio Ostana <strong>in</strong> 2016 for his work <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>digenous<br />
language advocacy. He is currently a Cheven<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Research Fellow at the British Library.<br />
Oluwatos<strong>in</strong><br />
Olase<strong>in</strong>de<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>we<br />
Greg-Egu<br />
Emmanuel<br />
Tarfa<br />
Uchenna<br />
Uzo<br />
Is a chartered accountant with over 9 years<br />
of experience spann<strong>in</strong>g across account<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
audit, f<strong>in</strong>ancial management and taxation.<br />
She is the Founder/CEO of Money Africa,<br />
a platform that enhances f<strong>in</strong>ancial literacy<br />
and wealth management coach<strong>in</strong>g. Prior to<br />
Money Africa, Oluwatos<strong>in</strong> was a commercial<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ance manager at British American Tobacco,<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g commercial & f<strong>in</strong>ancial advice on<br />
capital <strong>in</strong>vestment and manag<strong>in</strong>g market<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment budget <strong>in</strong> the 14 different markets<br />
across West Africa.<br />
Is an experienced Assistant Brand Manager<br />
with a demonstrated history of work<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> the food & beverages <strong>in</strong>dustry. Skilled<br />
<strong>in</strong> Strategic Negotiations, Analytical<br />
Skills, Quantitative Data, Organisational<br />
Leadership, and Market Research. Strong<br />
market<strong>in</strong>g professional with a Master of<br />
Science (MSc) focused <strong>in</strong> Management from<br />
London School of Economics and Political<br />
Science.<br />
has 10 Years Strategy Consult<strong>in</strong>g Experience<br />
with strong <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ation to: Strategic, Critical<br />
and Analytical Th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g, Problem Solv<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
Value Creation. He is currently a Partner at Enzo<br />
Krypton & Company, a Strategy Consult<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Firm based <strong>in</strong> Lagos <strong>Nigeria</strong>. He is Passionate<br />
about young people and job creation and has<br />
worked on some proprietary solutions that could<br />
be explored to create millions of jobs.<br />
is currently the Director of MBA programmes<br />
at the Lagos Bus<strong>in</strong>ess School and a member<br />
of the Management Board of the school. He<br />
received his B.Sc and M.Sc <strong>in</strong> Sociology from the<br />
University of Lagos, and his Masters of Research<br />
<strong>in</strong> Management as well as PhD <strong>in</strong> Management<br />
from the IESE Bus<strong>in</strong>ess School, Barcelona. He<br />
is a member and reviewer of the Academy of<br />
Management and also a Research fellow of the<br />
Scand<strong>in</strong>avian Consortium for Organizational Research<br />
(SCANCOR). He is also an active member<br />
of the European Group of Organizational Studies<br />
(EGOS) and the American Market<strong>in</strong>g Association.<br />
He also served as a visit<strong>in</strong>g research scholar to<br />
Stanford University, USA.<br />
Oyeyemi<br />
Immanuel<br />
Simisola<br />
Oladigbo<br />
Khadijah<br />
Okunnu-Lamidi<br />
Adenike<br />
Adeyemi<br />
Is a Senior Associate at lead<strong>in</strong>g law firm Templars.<br />
An advocate for the cause that is <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
she uses her practice as a commercial lawyer<br />
and several other platforms she is privileged<br />
to have, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g her column, The Young Bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
Lawyer, published <strong>in</strong> Bus<strong>in</strong>essDay, as a<br />
means to contribute her own quota to human<br />
resource development, skill enhancement,<br />
mentorship and policy.<br />
Is the founder of <strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> Brands, an<br />
onl<strong>in</strong>e platform where she curates locally<br />
made world-class products and services. A<br />
17-year veteran of the media <strong>in</strong>dustry, Simi<br />
has worked <strong>in</strong> television and radio, and<br />
currently runs TagTm, a media production<br />
company based <strong>in</strong> Lagos, <strong>Nigeria</strong>. She is a<br />
fellow of the Bloomberg Media Initiative<br />
Africa, and the Cherie Blair’s Road to<br />
Women’s Growth.<br />
Is a <strong>Nigeria</strong>n entrepreneur, lead<strong>in</strong>g media<br />
executive, bus<strong>in</strong>ess woman and a passionate<br />
philanthropist. She is the founder and CEO of<br />
‘SLICE MEDIA SOLUTIONS LTD.’, the lead<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Outdoor Advertis<strong>in</strong>g Agency <strong>in</strong> Lagos.<br />
Khadijah holds a Bachelor’s degree <strong>in</strong> Bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
Management and Human Resources Management<br />
from the University of Bolton and a Master’s<br />
Degree <strong>in</strong> Strategic Project Management<br />
(MSc) from Heriot-Watt University.<br />
Presently, her company dom<strong>in</strong>ates the Outdoor<br />
Advertis<strong>in</strong>g market <strong>in</strong> Lagos. With an <strong>in</strong>telligent<br />
and highly specialised team, Slice Media has become<br />
the critical essence of the outdoor space.<br />
Is the Executive Director, FATE Foundation, and is<br />
passionate about design<strong>in</strong>g and implement<strong>in</strong>g<br />
strategies, programmes and policies that foster<br />
entrepreneurship and high growth enterprises<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>. As the head of <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s foremost<br />
enterprise development non-profit, she leads<br />
the fulfillment of FATE Foundation’s mission to<br />
enable aspir<strong>in</strong>g and emerg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Nigeria</strong>n entrepreneurs<br />
start, grow and scale their bus<strong>in</strong>esses.
Contents<br />
MINORITY REPORT<br />
The MaIN State Of Affairs 6<br />
BOTTOM LINE<br />
Invest<strong>in</strong>g In <strong>Nigeria</strong> 7<br />
WIRED IN<br />
The Force Of F<strong>in</strong>Tech - Flutterwave 29<br />
The Social Supernova - NaijaBrandChick 31<br />
The Lord Of Luxury - Sapphire Scents 33<br />
The Creative Confectioner - Zoomabar 34<br />
BULLSEYE<br />
The MaIN Speak 35<br />
17<br />
Conduit For Culture 8<br />
PRO BONO<br />
CORPORATE CODE<br />
Generational Dynamics 36<br />
Ready For The Global Market? 9<br />
FEATURES<br />
VITAL SIGNS<br />
Have You Measured Your EQ? 10<br />
Start-up Support 37<br />
My Entrepreneurial Journey In <strong>Nigeria</strong> 38<br />
19<br />
GREENLIGHT<br />
Economic Independence 11<br />
START-UP<br />
Globalis<strong>in</strong>g Local Brands 39<br />
THE SPARK EFFECT<br />
The MaIN Brands 12<br />
The Bus<strong>in</strong>ess Bedrock - Enzo Krypton & Company 15<br />
The Events Empire - Eventecture 17<br />
The Deluxe Designer - Oak and Teak 19<br />
The Fearless Fitpreneur - Shredder Gang 22<br />
The Apex Of Audacity - LandWey 23<br />
The Grand Gymnasia - iFitness 24<br />
The Corporate Custodian - Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO 27<br />
BRAND SPARK<br />
On Patriotism And Patronage 40<br />
FREESTYLE<br />
The A.R.T In Nature 41<br />
SPOTLIGHT<br />
Bellafricana - On An Afrocentric Mission 42<br />
24<br />
31 29 23
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
MINORITY REPORT<br />
The MaIN<br />
State of<br />
Affairs<br />
There seems to be a high<br />
birth of startups across<br />
various <strong>in</strong>dustries <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
Emmanuel Tarfa<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to SMEDAN, <strong>in</strong> the past four<br />
(4) years, <strong>Nigeria</strong> has recorded a 12.3%<br />
<strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the number of exist<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises<br />
(MSMEs) – with Wholesale/Retail trade, Agriculture<br />
and Other services mak<strong>in</strong>g up 76.3% of<br />
microbus<strong>in</strong>esses. This <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the number of<br />
MSMEs may also be because of various policies<br />
implemented by the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Government, and<br />
<strong>in</strong>itiatives by Not-for-profit Organizations (such<br />
as the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the W-Initiative)<br />
amongst others, to support bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>. These policies <strong>in</strong>crease access to fund<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and provide mentorship and partnership<br />
platforms for MSMEs to thrive <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
environment despite the challenges faced by<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n bus<strong>in</strong>ess owners <strong>in</strong> terms of poor <strong>in</strong>frastructure,<br />
unstable <strong>in</strong>flation rates, <strong>in</strong>adequate<br />
capital etc. One sector that has benefited the<br />
most from these policies and <strong>in</strong>itiatives is the<br />
Agricultural sector.<br />
MSMEs National Survey<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g SMEDAN, The Agricultural sector<br />
witnessed an 11.98% <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the number<br />
of small bus<strong>in</strong>esses between 2013 and 2018 –<br />
with over n<strong>in</strong>e (9) million new SMEs. With the<br />
<strong>in</strong>troduction of modern technology, farm<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> has evolved from predom<strong>in</strong>antly consist<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of subsistence and smallholder farm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to large scale farm<strong>in</strong>g for commercial purposes.<br />
The sector has also become an attractive busi-<br />
ness venture. In 2013, Agriculture accounted<br />
for 8.92% of MSMEs <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>. This figure rose<br />
to 29.3% <strong>in</strong> 2018. Agriculture is currently the<br />
largest employer of labor and accounts for<br />
23.9% of total GDP. With the recent ban placed<br />
on staple food items such as frozen poultry,<br />
eggs etc. the market has created an opportunity<br />
for local farms to thrive and ga<strong>in</strong> a high<br />
percentage of the market share compet<strong>in</strong>g<br />
heads on with larger farms such as Obasanjo<br />
farms and Maizube farms while implement<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and adapt<strong>in</strong>g modern farm<strong>in</strong>g methods such<br />
as Greenhouse farm<strong>in</strong>g. In the case of Green<br />
House Farm<strong>in</strong>g, The peculiar glass/plastic walls<br />
and roofs serve as a safe haven for weather<br />
sensitive plants such as tomatoes, peppers, apples,<br />
berries etc. by regulat<strong>in</strong>g temperature and<br />
humidity hence protect<strong>in</strong>g them from external<br />
weather conditions. Two notable local farms<br />
were profiled to be leverag<strong>in</strong>g technology and<br />
ris<strong>in</strong>g as giants <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n agricultural sector:<br />
Forthworth Farms and HillCrest Agro-allied.<br />
Source- forthworthfarms.com<br />
Forthworth Farms is one of several locally<br />
owned farms currently leverag<strong>in</strong>g the Greenhouse<br />
farm<strong>in</strong>g technique and is scal<strong>in</strong>g rapidly<br />
to become a major player <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s agricultural<br />
sector. Founded <strong>in</strong> 2007, spurred by the<br />
founders’ love for passion and animals with just<br />
ten (10) birds <strong>in</strong> a flat apartment, the company<br />
has grown to <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a fully developed sixty<br />
(60) acre land with one hundred and twenty<br />
(120) employees and a total farm capacity of<br />
two hundred thousand (200,000) birds. In 2014,<br />
Forthworth diversified <strong>in</strong>to<br />
Greenhouse farm<strong>in</strong>g with<br />
five (5) Greenhouses and had<br />
grown to twenty (20) greenhouses<br />
at the end of July<br />
2017; produc<strong>in</strong>g vegetables<br />
such as Tomatoes, Onions,<br />
Peppers, Scotch Bonnet,<br />
amongst others. Forthworth<br />
adapts an <strong>in</strong>tegrated system<br />
of farm<strong>in</strong>g that ensures no<br />
part of their production<br />
process goes to waste, the<br />
manure/fertilizer used <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Greenhouses are sourced<br />
from poultry waste. This<br />
ensures m<strong>in</strong>imal exposure<br />
of vegetables to chemicals.<br />
Forthworth also runs an end-to-end production<br />
process and controls cultivation of products to<br />
f<strong>in</strong>al distribution. The company is position<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to be a one stop shop for the preparation of a<br />
pot of stew.<br />
Turn<strong>in</strong>g the chapter to Rice production,<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Gems4 Rice cluster report;<br />
the national demand for rice <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> was<br />
recorded as 7m tonnes <strong>in</strong> 2017 with an annual<br />
production rate of 5.7m tonnes. Government<br />
<strong>in</strong>tervention <strong>in</strong> rice production, by provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
improved seedl<strong>in</strong>gs and fertilizers to smallholder<br />
farmers, and go<strong>in</strong>g as far as grant<strong>in</strong>g<br />
land concessions as <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong>centives to<br />
large commercial farmers <strong>in</strong> some states has<br />
led to significant strides towards its goal of<br />
rice self-sufficiency. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
Government, <strong>Nigeria</strong> is now Rice sufficient. This<br />
is hard to determ<strong>in</strong>e because of the porous<br />
borders and exist<strong>in</strong>g smuggl<strong>in</strong>g of foreign rice,<br />
until the recent boarder closure. The demand<br />
for imported rice is not only based on a supply<br />
deficit but it can also be traced to the fact<br />
that urban consumers perceive imported rice<br />
to be of higher quality than locally produced<br />
rice. There has been a downward trend <strong>in</strong><br />
the demand for imported rice as a result of<br />
Government’s policies on import substitution<br />
– import tariffs and <strong>in</strong>clusion of rice <strong>in</strong> the list<br />
of forty-one (41) items <strong>in</strong>eligible for forex <strong>in</strong> the<br />
official market. This has led to an <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the<br />
number of local rice farms <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> adapt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
modern technological farm<strong>in</strong>g methods one of<br />
which is HillCrest Agro-allied <strong>in</strong>dustries limited,<br />
under the brand name Famous Rice – which<br />
boasts of proudly sourc<strong>in</strong>g its Paddy from local<br />
farmers.<br />
Source- Gems4 rice cluster report 2016<br />
HillCrest Agro-allied is an agricultural products<br />
process<strong>in</strong>g company <strong>in</strong> Kwara State. It started<br />
as a unit under Dayntee Farms limited and was<br />
<strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong> 2013. The company runs and<br />
operates an end-to-end fourteen (14) MT per<br />
hour (75,000MT per annum) rice process<strong>in</strong>g<br />
mill that produces par-boiled rice. Other notable<br />
local brands that have defied all the odds<br />
– serv<strong>in</strong>g as dom<strong>in</strong>ant <strong>in</strong>digenous producers<br />
<strong>in</strong>clude:<br />
- UMZA (75, 000 MT)<br />
- AA Ibrahim (120, 000 MT)<br />
- Labana (100, 000MT)<br />
The emergence of agro-bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
is proof that the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n economy is mov<strong>in</strong>g<br />
closer to a state of food sufficiency. We applaud<br />
all exist<strong>in</strong>g agro-bus<strong>in</strong>ess owners and<br />
encourage youths to take hold of the current<br />
opportunities <strong>in</strong> the agricultural value-cha<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Some analysts th<strong>in</strong>k Agriculture is <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s<br />
next Oil and Gas.<br />
With the <strong>in</strong>troduction of modern<br />
technology, farm<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
has evolved from predom<strong>in</strong>antly<br />
consist<strong>in</strong>g of subsistence and<br />
smallholder farm<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
6<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> will mark her<br />
59th Independence<br />
Day anniversary, so<br />
this makes the topic<br />
a somewhat fitt<strong>in</strong>g one. The<br />
questions are: Why should you<br />
<strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>? Is <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
worth <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>?<br />
Look from the <strong>in</strong>side<br />
It’s easy to be discouraged by<br />
the negative tales commonly<br />
attributed to the country:<br />
Insecurity <strong>in</strong> various regions,<br />
unscrupulous behaviour by a<br />
small m<strong>in</strong>ority and so on.<br />
The best way to take an objective<br />
view on decid<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>in</strong>vest<br />
<strong>in</strong> the country, is by pay<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
visit. If you happen to come <strong>in</strong><br />
through the International Airport<br />
located <strong>in</strong> Lagos, You will<br />
more likely than not run <strong>in</strong>to<br />
thousands of people bustl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with energy.<br />
BOTTOM LINE<br />
Invest<strong>in</strong>g In<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
Notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
challenges, there’s always a<br />
way <strong>in</strong> the market.<br />
Tos<strong>in</strong> Olase<strong>in</strong>de<br />
Almost every <strong>Nigeria</strong>n has<br />
a side hustle of some sort.<br />
There seems to be an almost<br />
never-end<strong>in</strong>g drive to do better<br />
each day. And <strong>Nigeria</strong> has<br />
a large youthful population<br />
that’s global, yet connected to<br />
the culture and norms.<br />
Walk around some parts of Lagos, and you<br />
might come across someone with Apple ear<br />
pods rock<strong>in</strong>g to Burna Boy’s Ye, or a bunch of<br />
people disappo<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong> the limited <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
content on Netflix. And, <strong>in</strong> the remotest of<br />
regions, are supporters of various football clubs<br />
gathered <strong>in</strong> bars or view<strong>in</strong>g centres.<br />
It’s honestly a never-end<strong>in</strong>g busy environment.<br />
The challenges<br />
As bountiful as the opportunities for <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> are, they go hand <strong>in</strong> hand with the<br />
teeth<strong>in</strong>g problems of a develop<strong>in</strong>g nation.<br />
Infrastructure, <strong>in</strong> some places, is almost non-existent.<br />
Bureaucracy <strong>in</strong> some l<strong>in</strong>es of bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
can often be a dampener.<br />
Community restiveness will crop up from time<br />
to time if you run a large labour-<strong>in</strong>tensive<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess. All these add an extra layer to the cost<br />
of do<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> the country.<br />
From the macro angle, shocks occur from time<br />
to time: Foreign exchange volatility, a swift<br />
change <strong>in</strong> government policies and so on.<br />
It almost feels as if one has to build an ecosystem<br />
(to borrow a l<strong>in</strong>go made popular by the<br />
country’s tech community). But once you are<br />
able to surmount these issues, the returns on<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment more than compensate.<br />
There are not many countries <strong>in</strong> Africa, with a<br />
large population of over 150 million. And so,<br />
even if you decide to face a niche market with<br />
the right unit economics, one can and will<br />
make a decent profit.<br />
Where can one <strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong>?<br />
There are several sectors that are worth <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>. This article will take a few.<br />
The first is Agriculture. Agriculture accounts for<br />
a significant proportion of <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s Gross Domestic<br />
Product (GDP). Data from the National<br />
if you decide to face a<br />
niche market with the<br />
right unit economics,<br />
one can and will make a<br />
decent profit.<br />
Bureau of Statistics shows agriculture accounted<br />
for 22.82% or N7.4 trillion of <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s GDP <strong>in</strong><br />
the second quarter of 2019.<br />
A huge chunk of the agriculture practised <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> is by subsistence farmers. Crop farmers<br />
rely mostly on the ra<strong>in</strong> to farm, mak<strong>in</strong>g production<br />
seasonal. There is very little value addition<br />
go<strong>in</strong>g on, <strong>in</strong> terms of process<strong>in</strong>g. That’s an<br />
opportunity.<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>’s large population, also means there<br />
is a ready market for agro-allied products. The<br />
average <strong>Nigeria</strong>n tends to spend over 50% of<br />
their <strong>in</strong>come on food. The country also spends<br />
billions of dollars annually import<strong>in</strong>g various<br />
food items.<br />
Education<br />
A large proportion of <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s population is<br />
made up of young people. About 3.4 of the<br />
population are under the age of 35. The median<br />
age of <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s population is 18 years.<br />
The educational curriculum still has a few gaps<br />
<strong>in</strong> comparison with other countries across the<br />
world.<br />
Government schools, at all levels, can’t take<br />
every potential student. Informal education is<br />
largely neglected and yet is essential.<br />
You could decide to either run a school or an<br />
after school outfit, that polishes those that<br />
have already graduated. Many employers have<br />
to spend time retra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g new staff before they<br />
beg<strong>in</strong> work.<br />
Fashion<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>ns love fashion and are arguably one<br />
of the best dressed <strong>in</strong> the world. The vibrant<br />
owambe culture also provides a ready market<br />
for fashion designers. (an owambe, by the way,<br />
is a social event).<br />
Despite this, the market hasn’t been fully optimised.<br />
This is a clear <strong>in</strong>vestment opportunity.<br />
SME services<br />
A large proportion of bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong> the country<br />
are Small and Medium Scale. That is an <strong>in</strong>vestment<br />
opportunity wait<strong>in</strong>g to be tapped. Can<br />
you help them with their account<strong>in</strong>g and taxes,<br />
tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g staff, logistics or partner<strong>in</strong>g with them<br />
to access markets around the world? How can<br />
you support the SME <strong>in</strong>dustries to deliver?<br />
Go deep<br />
The biggest tip for thriv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> is to build<br />
a deep understand<strong>in</strong>g of how th<strong>in</strong>gs work.<br />
Work with local partners where you can. Have<br />
a clear understand<strong>in</strong>g of your market, and be<br />
nimble enough to adapt to the changes that<br />
occur. There will be many.<br />
Obey all rules and regulations, as archaic as<br />
they might seem. You can always reach out to<br />
the regulators <strong>in</strong>volved, for a review. Do not cut<br />
corners. It will come back to bite you.<br />
Watch or jump <strong>in</strong><br />
At the end of the day, a decision to <strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>, or watch from the sidel<strong>in</strong>es is purely<br />
up to you. A few have been burnt, no doubt.<br />
Yet others have found enormous success <strong>in</strong> the<br />
country, and cont<strong>in</strong>ue to do so. You can choose<br />
to see th<strong>in</strong>gs as half empty, or half full.<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
7
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
WIRED IN<br />
CONDUIT FOR CULTURE<br />
Technology is a blank canvas and we can use it to reflect our<br />
culture <strong>in</strong> diverse ways<br />
Kola Tubosun<br />
When the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n English<br />
Google Voice was<br />
launched a few months<br />
ago, the responses were<br />
mixed. It was expected.<br />
On one hand, there were people who<br />
were very happy that technology is beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to reflect us little by little, sound<br />
like us, and adapt to our peculiar outlook<br />
on society. On the other hand, there were<br />
those to whom the idea of a computer<br />
voice that sounds like a <strong>Nigeria</strong>n was<br />
abom<strong>in</strong>able. “Why?” Some asked, “does<br />
Google want to create a ‘local’ voice when<br />
we can cont<strong>in</strong>ue to use the ‘<strong>in</strong>ternational’<br />
one with its British or American accents<br />
(with its imperfections, wrong pronunciation<br />
of <strong>Nigeria</strong>n names, and often<br />
<strong>in</strong>scrutable accent)?”<br />
Passions rose on either side of the debate.<br />
From afar, it was fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g to observe,<br />
the argument between present<strong>in</strong>g our<br />
own selves to us through technology<br />
and aspir<strong>in</strong>g to what is said to be “global”<br />
arose. Those who are familiar with my<br />
work know where I stand on this matter.<br />
There is a strong need for technology to<br />
reflect the cultures under which it is used<br />
and deployed. But I have often wondered<br />
what the root causes of the resistance<br />
to change of this nature are, beyond the<br />
usual assumption that its perpetrators are<br />
just ashamed to look at themselves <strong>in</strong> the<br />
mirror.<br />
Computer technology, to much of the<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ent, is a relatively new phenomenon.<br />
I remember the first computer I<br />
ever touched, around 1994, to have been<br />
the only one <strong>in</strong> Àkóbọ̀, where I lived <strong>in</strong><br />
Ìbàdàn. I would not see or touch another<br />
one until about three years later. They<br />
were mostly used for games: Chess or<br />
Pr<strong>in</strong>ce of Persia. Their word process<strong>in</strong>g capabilities<br />
were quite rudimentary. The first<br />
personal computer I ever had — I bought<br />
second-hand — was <strong>in</strong> the early 2000s, by<br />
which time W<strong>in</strong>dows had improved a bit<br />
more, and Microsoft Word (and its other<br />
Office tools) had added a lot of advanced<br />
features. But they only worked <strong>in</strong> English.<br />
Maybe there were a few other European<br />
language capabilities on the device, but<br />
mostly it was a device set up <strong>in</strong> the image<br />
of its American <strong>in</strong>ventors.<br />
Technology has always been that way.<br />
When I was grow<strong>in</strong>g up, much of the electronic<br />
devices I saw had “<strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a”<br />
written on them. It conditioned the m<strong>in</strong>d<br />
of the child that electronic items were<br />
always Ch<strong>in</strong>ese, naturally. If not Ch<strong>in</strong>ese,<br />
they were Korean or Japanese. From cars<br />
to televisions to stereo sets. Many times,<br />
the manuals one had to read to understand<br />
how to operate these devices were<br />
written <strong>in</strong> those languages. So, from the<br />
receiv<strong>in</strong>g end <strong>in</strong> our <strong>Nigeria</strong>n homes,<br />
we naturally associated them with Asian<br />
cultures.<br />
When computers came, it was the same. It<br />
was a Western idea and so everyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> it<br />
had to be Western too. Whenever Microsoft<br />
Word underl<strong>in</strong>ed our names with the<br />
red wriggly l<strong>in</strong>e show<strong>in</strong>g that it thought<br />
of it as a typo, we just gr<strong>in</strong>ned and bore<br />
it without compla<strong>in</strong>t. It didn’t seem like<br />
a dealbreaker <strong>in</strong> a device that did a lot<br />
more th<strong>in</strong>gs for us, like let us connect with<br />
people from all over the world at the click<br />
of a button. And so the condition<strong>in</strong>g took<br />
place, little by little, over that time. We<br />
developed a tolerance for exclusion. After<br />
all, everywhere else we looked, we were<br />
surrounded by English. Our educational<br />
syllabus was based on the British English<br />
one. Our official language was English, as<br />
is the language of the courts, and governance.<br />
What was a little <strong>in</strong>convenience<br />
with computer technology that we could<br />
not bear?<br />
But what that did was cement an already<br />
precarious legacy of condition<strong>in</strong>g. Yorùbá,<br />
which had to be written with diacritics<br />
to be able to make sense, started los<strong>in</strong>g<br />
even more grounds to the Lat<strong>in</strong> script<br />
that allowed no such adornment. I’d be<br />
<strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> look<strong>in</strong>g at theses written<br />
between 1995 and 2005 <strong>in</strong> the African<br />
languages departments <strong>in</strong> our universities<br />
to see how faithful its writers were to<br />
the conventions of the languages <strong>in</strong> the<br />
absence of word process<strong>in</strong>g applications<br />
to properly pr<strong>in</strong>t them.<br />
We are <strong>in</strong> 2019 now, and th<strong>in</strong>gs have<br />
changed. Well, I should say that th<strong>in</strong>gs are<br />
chang<strong>in</strong>g. African language technology<br />
is now a field of <strong>in</strong>terest to many of us <strong>in</strong>terested<br />
<strong>in</strong> creat<strong>in</strong>g opportunities for our<br />
languages to thrive <strong>in</strong> the technological<br />
age. Believ<strong>in</strong>g that not be<strong>in</strong>g able to use<br />
them onl<strong>in</strong>e and <strong>in</strong> our computers and <strong>in</strong><br />
our mobile phones is as much an obstacle<br />
to language growth as not speak<strong>in</strong>g them<br />
to our children. There is a long road ahead,<br />
of course, but the journey has begun. The<br />
creation of the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n English Google<br />
voice is one step <strong>in</strong> that direction, and<br />
many would surely follow.<br />
Maybe a little child <strong>in</strong> a corner of the<br />
country will beg<strong>in</strong> to get used to the idea<br />
that technology itself is just a blank canvas,<br />
not peculiar to any culture. It is what<br />
we put on it, and <strong>in</strong> it, that determ<strong>in</strong>es the<br />
possibilities to which it can be used. And<br />
maybe one day, non-English-speak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n citizens can use their mobile<br />
phones <strong>in</strong> a <strong>Nigeria</strong>n language. Then we<br />
would have begun a journey <strong>in</strong>to real<br />
self-actualisation.<br />
African language technology is now a field of <strong>in</strong>terest to many of us<br />
<strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> creat<strong>in</strong>g opportunities for the languages to thrive <strong>in</strong><br />
the technological age.<br />
8<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
PRO BONO<br />
Ready for the<br />
global market?<br />
Your guide to penetrat<strong>in</strong>g other climes - the legal way<br />
Oyeyemi Immanuel<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> has a bloom<strong>in</strong>g community of<br />
Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises<br />
(SMEs) but the play of these SMEs <strong>in</strong><br />
the global commerce market rema<strong>in</strong>s<br />
very marg<strong>in</strong>al or non-existent. Over<br />
the past few years, the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
government and policy makers have<br />
actively <strong>in</strong>itiated, and supported projects<br />
seek<strong>in</strong>g to groom capacity and<br />
SMEs scale their operations. Accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Bureau of Statistics,<br />
the contribution of <strong>Nigeria</strong>n SMEs to<br />
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)<br />
<strong>in</strong>dex has been up to 48% <strong>in</strong> recent<br />
times, they account for about 50% of<br />
the <strong>in</strong>dustrial jobs locally and nearly<br />
90% of the manufactur<strong>in</strong>g sector.<br />
The global consumer is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly<br />
afro-centric; from fashion to music<br />
to food, African themed products are<br />
bidd<strong>in</strong>g global appeal. The demography<br />
of the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n market also<br />
gives <strong>Nigeria</strong> a specialised advantage<br />
as a conduit for vibrant global trade<br />
with<strong>in</strong> the cont<strong>in</strong>ent. As such, organic<br />
transition to a thriv<strong>in</strong>g export market<br />
can be achieved if these resources are<br />
properly harnessed.<br />
The vantage that technology has<br />
provided SMEs cannot be quantified.<br />
With the synergy of good product<br />
and technology, SMEs easily claw <strong>in</strong><br />
six figure revenue with<strong>in</strong> 1-5 years of<br />
operations without much and from<br />
a fiscal perspective, exports catalyse<br />
development. Given that <strong>Nigeria</strong> is yet<br />
to stake her bet <strong>in</strong> the global market,<br />
SMEs have been bandied as her out.<br />
There is no better time than now for<br />
SMEs to position to exploit the global<br />
export market!<br />
Switch<strong>in</strong>g up from local<br />
to global is not rocket<br />
science.<br />
fli @thesparkng<br />
The question, however, is “Are <strong>Nigeria</strong>n SMEs<br />
ready?” Export read<strong>in</strong>ess entails certa<strong>in</strong> critical<br />
<strong>in</strong>dices which are a mesh of legal and commercial<br />
considerations and they <strong>in</strong>clude:<br />
Governance and Compliance: For many SMEs,<br />
compliance is m<strong>in</strong>imal. Compliance must be<br />
cultural before an SME ventures globally. Where<br />
necessary, consultants are to be hired to handhold<br />
the SME through the legal and compliance<br />
process. Also, if the promoters are not well organised,<br />
there is no market strategy or bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
plan that can cure the local trouble that can<br />
ensue. Agreements have to be clear as to the<br />
parties, rights, obligations and entitlements and<br />
should be <strong>in</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
It is not enough to Scale, Is the bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
Susta<strong>in</strong>able? Locally, the focus may be scal<strong>in</strong>g<br />
operations and capacity to but, with exports,<br />
the play<strong>in</strong>g field changes, for <strong>in</strong>stance, risk is<br />
more significant. While scale is necessary, susta<strong>in</strong>ability<br />
is mandatory? The bus<strong>in</strong>ess strategy<br />
must clearly outl<strong>in</strong>e a path for sustenance.<br />
Product standardisation: The product get-up<br />
and brand ID must be uniform or at the very<br />
least, similar, across the various markets. If due<br />
to market compliance requirements there is a<br />
need to customise the product, then this must<br />
be properly factored <strong>in</strong>to the product concepts<br />
and the market<strong>in</strong>g strategy adopted by the<br />
SME.<br />
Understand<strong>in</strong>g of the global competitiveness<br />
landscape: Where are the opportunities<br />
and the deficiencies applicable to the markets?<br />
How significant is the impact of red-tape regulations?<br />
How does this impact local capacity?<br />
Who are the competitors? What is their market<br />
share? All these and more are the questions an<br />
SME seek<strong>in</strong>g to export must ask and answer.<br />
The success of entry <strong>in</strong>to and penetration of<br />
global markets is largely dependent on the<br />
application of the data derived from this review.<br />
Book-keep<strong>in</strong>g and F<strong>in</strong>ance: A lot of SMEs<br />
manage f<strong>in</strong>ancials like mom & pop shops. No<br />
processes are applied, and where applied,<br />
without the requisite sophistication. Optimism<br />
does not cure flawed calculations. Projections<br />
must be based on properly analysed data which<br />
hedge risks sufficiently.<br />
Leverage Technology: SMEs need to <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly<br />
leverage technology <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g media,<br />
tools and <strong>in</strong>frastructure. This will enable easier<br />
expansion and where optimised, the man-power<br />
required to monitor the performance of<br />
exports will not <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> such a way as to<br />
burden the SME with expansion costs. Digital<br />
disruption is reduc<strong>in</strong>g trade costs, <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g<br />
SME <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> trade and birth<strong>in</strong>g lots<br />
of local companies who have a “born-global”<br />
status i.e. they launch <strong>in</strong>to the global market<br />
from day zero.<br />
Connect with global organisations, clusters<br />
and bus<strong>in</strong>ess zones: Bus<strong>in</strong>ess hubs and clusters<br />
create capacity buffers. Also, relationships<br />
with <strong>in</strong>ternational organisations boost access.<br />
The current legal regime for economic free<br />
zones are not suited for SMEs as they are expensive.<br />
The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n SME community may consider<br />
sett<strong>in</strong>g up an economic free zone seek<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
harness export capacity for SMEs that has a low<br />
entry bar and sufficient <strong>in</strong>frastructure.<br />
Intellectual Property: the goodwill of the<br />
product, trademarks, doma<strong>in</strong> names, copyright,<br />
all these are critical <strong>in</strong>tangible assets that must<br />
be harnessed by the SME. In most cases, the<br />
protection for these assets is territorial (i.e.<br />
limited to each country or commercial bloc), as<br />
such, the SME must be proactive <strong>in</strong> register<strong>in</strong>g<br />
trademarks <strong>in</strong> the jurisdictions where it wants<br />
to play. A strategy for manag<strong>in</strong>g counterfeit<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and fraud must be developed.<br />
A quick look at policy<br />
The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Export Promotion Council (NEPC),<br />
the Central Bank of <strong>Nigeria</strong> (CBN), the M<strong>in</strong>istry<br />
of F<strong>in</strong>ance (MOF) and the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Customs Service<br />
(NCS) are key regulators with<strong>in</strong> the sector.<br />
While there is quite a lot of policy engagement<br />
which seek to advance development for SMEs,<br />
there is a critical need to harmonise policy<br />
both locally and across Africa (which is now a<br />
commercial bloc given <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s sign<strong>in</strong>g of the<br />
African Cont<strong>in</strong>ental Free Trade Area Agreement<br />
(ACFTAA). To encourage <strong>in</strong>creased lend<strong>in</strong>g<br />
by commercial banks to SMEs, central banks<br />
and designated f<strong>in</strong>ancial service regulators<br />
must play a proactive role and set out a policy<br />
framework for channell<strong>in</strong>g adequate funds to<br />
the SME sector.<br />
A snapshot of the export process.<br />
Where the export is of commercial scale, the<br />
process will entail:<br />
• Settl<strong>in</strong>g commercial terms with contracts<br />
at the dest<strong>in</strong>ation and procur<strong>in</strong>g relevant<br />
commercial papers;<br />
• Obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g registration from the NEPC;<br />
• Dispatch us<strong>in</strong>g commercial agents;<br />
• Process export proceeds from authorised<br />
banks.<br />
Registration with the NEPC can be completed<br />
with<strong>in</strong> one week. Some products prohibited<br />
from export <strong>in</strong>clude maize, timber (rough or<br />
sawn), scrap metals, artefacts, unprocessed<br />
rubber latex, wildlife and imported goods.<br />
On a f<strong>in</strong>al note, switch<strong>in</strong>g up from local to global<br />
is not rocket science and, where carefully considered,<br />
SMEs have an opportunity to bloom.<br />
9
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
“Only when you comb<strong>in</strong>e sound<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellect with emotional discipl<strong>in</strong>e do<br />
you get rational behavior”<br />
– Warren Buffett<br />
VITAL SIGNS<br />
HAVE YOU MEASURED<br />
YOUR EQ?<br />
Lanre Olusola<br />
EMOTIONS express themselves<br />
with<strong>in</strong> a spectrum.<br />
Do you know that a person’s<br />
emotions can affect his or her<br />
productivity level? Research suggests<br />
that Emotional & Spiritual<br />
Intelligence together, are responsible for<br />
as much as 85% of the success <strong>in</strong> our lives.<br />
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE is a phrase<br />
made up of two words put together to<br />
describe a narrative: The Intelligence humans<br />
display based on our understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
or lack of understand<strong>in</strong>g of our Emotions.<br />
To really capture the real mean<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
Emotional Intelligence, we first need to<br />
understand each word separately, then<br />
together. An emotion is a subjective,<br />
conscious experience characterised by<br />
psycho-physiological expressions, biological<br />
reactions and mental states.<br />
Our emotions are often characterised by<br />
our feel<strong>in</strong>gs which to a large extent reveal<br />
our thoughts, values and beliefs. Our emotions<br />
are responsible for our motivations,<br />
whether negative or positive.<br />
What is Intelligence?<br />
Intelligence is the ability to acquire and<br />
apply knowledge and skills. It is the ability<br />
to deal with new or try<strong>in</strong>g situations: It<br />
is the skilled use of reason. Intelligence is<br />
the collection and timely use of <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
of military, political or other values.<br />
So what is Emotional Intelligence? Accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to - Freedman et al, “Emotional<br />
Intelligence is a way of recognis<strong>in</strong>g, understand<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
and choos<strong>in</strong>g how we th<strong>in</strong>k,<br />
feel, and act. It shapes our <strong>in</strong>teractions<br />
with others and our understand<strong>in</strong>g of ourselves.<br />
It def<strong>in</strong>es how and what we learn;<br />
it allows us to set priorities; It determ<strong>in</strong>es<br />
the majority of our daily actions”.<br />
Emotional Intelligence is an essential<br />
part of a whole person. It is the ability to<br />
identify and manage your feel<strong>in</strong>gs and<br />
the emotional state of others. Emotions<br />
drive people, people drive performance. A<br />
person go<strong>in</strong>g through depression or stress<br />
will produce little or no output; this is why<br />
emotional <strong>in</strong>telligence is a necessity <strong>in</strong><br />
every work environment.<br />
For an <strong>in</strong>dividual to be able to produce<br />
great results, his or her emotions have a<br />
major role to play, <strong>in</strong> how they perform<br />
and get results. In fact, our conscious self<br />
does not participate, or even witness what<br />
<strong>in</strong> our m<strong>in</strong>d triggers an emotion at a particular<br />
moment. Most people are ignorant<br />
of the energy that flows from them. We do<br />
not have much control over what we become<br />
emotional about, but it is possible,<br />
though not easy, to make some changes<br />
<strong>in</strong> what triggers our feel<strong>in</strong>gs and how we<br />
behave when we are emotional.<br />
The first step is to IDENTIFY the hot sensitive<br />
triggers that lead us to act <strong>in</strong> ways<br />
that we subsequently regret. By learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the triggers for each emotion, we may<br />
be able to lessen their impact, or at least<br />
learn why some emotional triggers are so<br />
powerful.<br />
Question: Can I <strong>in</strong>dependently measure<br />
my EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ)?<br />
Answer: YES you can if you have the right<br />
tools, and the right understand<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpretation of the results. At the Olusola<br />
Lanre Coach<strong>in</strong>g Academy, we have several<br />
EQ component measurement tools and<br />
tests such as:<br />
• The Emotional Intelligence Quotient<br />
Test<br />
• The SPEAR Test<br />
• The Social Competence Test<br />
• The Self Motivation and Inspiration<br />
Quotient Test<br />
• The Self-Regulation and Responsibility<br />
Quotient Test<br />
• The D.A. M.E Test for the Assessment<br />
of your Self Discovery; Awareness;<br />
Mastery; Expression Quotients<br />
You can take these tests from wherever you are at the Catalyst<br />
Tests platform, here your emotional state, determ<strong>in</strong>es the<br />
quality of your life. www.catalysttests.com.<br />
10<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
Yet, for too long the MSMEs have<br />
been left to fend for themselves<br />
– from poor <strong>in</strong>frastructure,<br />
to availability of qualified<br />
labour, and worst still, harsh regulatory<br />
environment and corruption. All of these<br />
have h<strong>in</strong>dered their optimal contribution<br />
to the economy.<br />
The success stories of economies we look<br />
up to – American, German, Japanese,<br />
and others – are a reflection of how their<br />
respective regulatory environments have<br />
enabled bus<strong>in</strong>esses to thrive and make<br />
optimal contributions needed to drive<br />
economic growth. When the Presidential<br />
Enabl<strong>in</strong>g Bus<strong>in</strong>ess Environment Council<br />
(PEBEC) was created <strong>in</strong> 2016, it was as a<br />
direct response to the need for reform<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>’s bus<strong>in</strong>ess environment <strong>in</strong><br />
a bid to make the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n economy<br />
competitive, and f<strong>in</strong>ally guarantee the<br />
diversification of the economy.<br />
The mandate of the PEBEC has always<br />
been straightforward – to remove<br />
critical bottlenecks and constra<strong>in</strong>ts to<br />
do<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> the country and make<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> a progressively easier place to<br />
do bus<strong>in</strong>ess and thrive – especially for<br />
homegrown bus<strong>in</strong>esses.<br />
One of the key <strong>in</strong>dicators of PEBEC’s success<br />
upon establishment was <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s<br />
performance on the World Bank’s Ease of<br />
Do<strong>in</strong>g Bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong>dicators, which provide<br />
a global snapshot of a country’s bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
environment <strong>in</strong> comparison to its peers.<br />
We held 170th place <strong>in</strong> 2015 and over<br />
the past three years, <strong>Nigeria</strong> has moved<br />
up <strong>in</strong> the World Bank Do<strong>in</strong>g Bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
rank<strong>in</strong>g by 24 places as of 2018 and we<br />
look forward to our cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g reforms<br />
mov<strong>in</strong>g us to sub-100 by 2020.<br />
PEBEC collaborates with M<strong>in</strong>istries,<br />
Departments and Agencies (MDAs)<br />
and other partners to activate friendly<br />
and supportive bus<strong>in</strong>ess environment<br />
across 10 major pillars of reform namely:<br />
start<strong>in</strong>g a bus<strong>in</strong>ess, entry and exit of<br />
people, trad<strong>in</strong>g across borders, access<strong>in</strong>g<br />
credit, deal<strong>in</strong>g with construction permits,<br />
register<strong>in</strong>g property, pay<strong>in</strong>g taxes,<br />
gett<strong>in</strong>g electricity, enforc<strong>in</strong>g contracts,<br />
and protect<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>ority <strong>in</strong>vestors. The<br />
impact of these reforms can be found at<br />
the Bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>Made</strong> Easy (BME).<br />
Thus far, we have achieved simplified<br />
24-hour bus<strong>in</strong>ess name reservation and<br />
registration process; automatic generation<br />
of Tax Identification Number (TIN)<br />
and onl<strong>in</strong>e payment of taxes; payment of<br />
customs duties onl<strong>in</strong>e; simplified Visa on<br />
Arrival process; reduction <strong>in</strong> the number<br />
of import/export documents required for<br />
trad<strong>in</strong>g across borders; creation of the<br />
National Collateral Registry to support<br />
the use of movable assets as collateral<br />
GREENLIGHT<br />
Economic<br />
Independence<br />
Ayokunnu Ojeniyi<br />
Lift<strong>in</strong>g millions of <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s economically downtrodden<br />
<strong>in</strong>to f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>in</strong>dependence requires the creation of<br />
the most bus<strong>in</strong>ess-friendly and <strong>in</strong>clusive environment<br />
to drive growth across sectors. <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s bus<strong>in</strong>ess landscape<br />
is propped up by the private sector, 90% of which<br />
comprises Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MS-<br />
MEs) who provide about 84% of jobs and contribute<br />
close to half of GDP to the economy .<br />
for loans; <strong>in</strong>troduction of credit scores<br />
to aid <strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> secur<strong>in</strong>g loans for<br />
purchases; improvement of <strong>in</strong>teractions<br />
between the public and MDAs through<br />
the PEBEC App; smoothen<strong>in</strong>g the process<br />
of gett<strong>in</strong>g build<strong>in</strong>g permits <strong>in</strong> Lagos<br />
and Kano; as well as the establishment<br />
of Small Claims Court <strong>in</strong> Lagos and Kano<br />
cheaper and faster enforcement of contracts<br />
<strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g claims up to N5,000,000.<br />
Recognis<strong>in</strong>g that private sector feedback<br />
is vital to measur<strong>in</strong>g transparency and<br />
efficiency <strong>in</strong> public service delivery, the<br />
EBES developed<br />
REPORT-<br />
GOV.<br />
NG, an<br />
<strong>in</strong>terface<br />
that<br />
affords<br />
citizens<br />
the<br />
opportunity<br />
to lodge<br />
compla<strong>in</strong>ts<br />
and provide feedback on services<br />
rendered by MDAs. Over the past 18<br />
months, REPORTGOV.NG gas successfully<br />
resolved over 1,500 compla<strong>in</strong>ts across<br />
18 participat<strong>in</strong>g MDAs, record<strong>in</strong>g 88%<br />
resolution rate for all compla<strong>in</strong>ts.<br />
These have all translated to improved<br />
economic performance for the country<br />
and more appreciation of homegrown<br />
products and services for <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns. We<br />
have seen fiscal and monetary policies<br />
lead to <strong>in</strong>flation’s steady decl<strong>in</strong>e. While<br />
there’s a clear need to attract more list<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the capital market, the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
Stock Exchange Equities market volume<br />
traded for 2018 <strong>in</strong>creased by +5.92%.<br />
We are witness<strong>in</strong>g more <strong>in</strong>novation-driven<br />
<strong>in</strong>itiatives across the country as a direct<br />
response to eas<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess practices.<br />
With the Fourth Industrial revolution,<br />
driven by digital technology, <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
has a great opportunity to adopt the<br />
technologies like the <strong>in</strong>ternet of th<strong>in</strong>gs,<br />
blockcha<strong>in</strong>, analytics, robotics, mach<strong>in</strong>e<br />
learn<strong>in</strong>g and artificial <strong>in</strong>telligence.<br />
With the promotion of enterprise across<br />
board, <strong>Nigeria</strong> is well on the road to<br />
reduc<strong>in</strong>g unemployment from 13.9<br />
percent as of Q3 2016 to 11.23 per cent<br />
by 2020.<br />
We are mov<strong>in</strong>g closer but we need to<br />
make more concerted efforts to help us<br />
achieve the desired economic goals. We<br />
have identified the areas where there is<br />
an urgent need for <strong>in</strong>creased engagement<br />
across board to ensure the susta<strong>in</strong>able<br />
delivery of bus<strong>in</strong>ess climate reforms<br />
for <strong>Nigeria</strong> over the next 15 quarters.<br />
We <strong>in</strong>tend to focus on specific levers<br />
that reflect consumption or <strong>in</strong>vestments<br />
especially <strong>in</strong> the agriculture, manufactur<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
construction and service sectors but provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
mechanisms to optimise their access to power, transportation<br />
networks (roads, ports and rails), and broadband,<br />
on the one hand, and cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong> social<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment and human capital development for them,<br />
driv<strong>in</strong>g anti-corruption measures, and legislative and<br />
judicial reforms that make bus<strong>in</strong>ess easy.<br />
In the com<strong>in</strong>g weeks, we will be engag<strong>in</strong>g the MSMEs,<br />
regulatory bodies, MDAs, and other key government<br />
stakeholders by listen<strong>in</strong>g to them and mapp<strong>in</strong>g out pa<strong>in</strong><br />
po<strong>in</strong>ts with a view to offer<strong>in</strong>g reforms that will cater to<br />
specific needs of bus<strong>in</strong>esses at subnational level. The<br />
roadmap that comes out of this exercise will <strong>in</strong>clude clear<br />
outputs and quarterly outcome targets critical to deepen<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and leverag<strong>in</strong>g the impact of the reforms done so<br />
far at national level <strong>in</strong> the country.<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
11
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
THE SPARK EFFECT<br />
The MaIN<br />
Brands<br />
<strong>Made</strong> In <strong>Nigeria</strong> Brands (MaIN Brands) is a<br />
community of Proudly <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Brands. We use<br />
onl<strong>in</strong>e social platforms to curate, showcase and<br />
promote product and service brands made <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>, as part of efforts aimed at stimulat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the growth of local <strong>in</strong>dustries, and the development<br />
of the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n economy at large.<br />
12 12<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
Depend<strong>in</strong>g on who<br />
one is try<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
appeal to, one must<br />
evolve with the population.<br />
MaIN Brands started<br />
three years ago with<br />
just five brands <strong>in</strong><br />
the community.<br />
Our motivation can be found <strong>in</strong><br />
the expression: “what good is a<br />
diamond nobody can see?”. We<br />
have a massive amount of faith<br />
<strong>in</strong> the capabilities and quality<br />
of the ‘<strong>Nigeria</strong>n Hustle’. And we<br />
believe that many great brands<br />
are be<strong>in</strong>g made by <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns<br />
everywhere you go. But the<br />
biggest challenge is both be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
known, and be<strong>in</strong>g known as<br />
‘good enough’. So, what do we<br />
do? How do we bridge the gap?<br />
That need to elevate the brands<br />
out of <strong>Nigeria</strong> led us to the<br />
creation of MaIN Brands. And<br />
with the democratic powers<br />
of the <strong>in</strong>ternet, we decided to<br />
leverage the digital space. We<br />
now have over 400 brands and<br />
still grow<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
In that same period, what we<br />
do for the brands <strong>in</strong> our Naija<br />
family have evolved overtime as<br />
we not only curate, we have also<br />
connected these brands with<br />
both local and global customers<br />
through our market<strong>in</strong>g channels<br />
across platforms. Thus, help<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their bottoml<strong>in</strong>es.<br />
The most impactful part of our<br />
contributions has been <strong>in</strong> the<br />
area of standardisation. We have<br />
helped our brands raise their<br />
bars <strong>in</strong> terms of quality and<br />
packag<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> order to compete<br />
favourably with their <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
counterparts. When we<br />
launched three years ago, we<br />
were receiv<strong>in</strong>g requests daily<br />
from home and abroad and we<br />
quickly realised the need to work<br />
with these brands <strong>in</strong> ensur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
they meet required global best<br />
standards. So, we work with<br />
them on their packag<strong>in</strong>g, label<br />
designs, photography, video<br />
market<strong>in</strong>g and more. Today<br />
some <strong>Nigeria</strong>n brands are sitt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
pretty on shelves <strong>in</strong> other African<br />
countries, United States of<br />
America, while some are sell<strong>in</strong>g<br />
on Amazon, one of the world’s<br />
largest e-commerce website.<br />
Just a few years ago, <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
could not boast of produc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
30% of what we consumed. But<br />
today, we have moved from<br />
totally rely<strong>in</strong>g on exports for<br />
sustenance to produc<strong>in</strong>g most of<br />
what we consume and provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
services tailored to our needs.<br />
We now produce a significant<br />
portion of our own foods and<br />
food derivatives, ready to wear<br />
fashion pieces, leather accessories<br />
and many other services. We<br />
had relied so much on importation<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> that we weren’t<br />
aware of the great th<strong>in</strong>gs we can<br />
do on our own.<br />
Brands made <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> are also<br />
enjoy<strong>in</strong>g a positive shift <strong>in</strong> perception<br />
from be<strong>in</strong>g seen as local<br />
and of <strong>in</strong>ferior quality to be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
embraced locally and globally.<br />
The number of people support<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and buy<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>digenous products<br />
is grow<strong>in</strong>g tremendously<br />
every day.<br />
The special feature of this edition<br />
celebrates some of these amaz<strong>in</strong>g<br />
brands and bus<strong>in</strong>esses and<br />
we hope that this will encourage<br />
more <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns to create<br />
more <strong>in</strong>digenous products and<br />
services. We hope to cont<strong>in</strong>ue<br />
gett<strong>in</strong>g more support from<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>ns at home and <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns<br />
<strong>in</strong> the diaspora by patroniz<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> products and<br />
services so that together we<br />
can grow <strong>Nigeria</strong>n bus<strong>in</strong>esses…<br />
grow the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n economy…<br />
and grow <strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
Simisola Oladigbo<br />
@thesparkng<br />
13<br />
fli
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
Background<br />
Did you know<br />
you could<br />
delegate duties<br />
even outside your<br />
organisation? Enzo<br />
Krypton and Company<br />
is a management<br />
consult<strong>in</strong>g practice -<br />
here to help you solve<br />
difficult problems.<br />
In other words, it is a<br />
professional services<br />
firm that specializes<br />
<strong>in</strong> provid<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
and f<strong>in</strong>ancial advisory<br />
services to corporates<br />
and bus<strong>in</strong>ess leaders.<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
THE BUSINESS BEDROCK<br />
Enzo Krypton & Company<br />
F<strong>in</strong>ancial advisory services is just as useful<br />
We had a chat with<br />
the partners - Deji<br />
Kurunmi and Emmanuel Tarfa - and this<br />
is what they had to say: “Currently, our<br />
core practice areas covers Management<br />
Consult<strong>in</strong>g, where we assist bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
leaders solve critical problems of susta<strong>in</strong>ability<br />
and growth; F<strong>in</strong>ancial Advisory,<br />
where we have assisted several bus<strong>in</strong>esses<br />
raise capital from VCs and Private Equity;<br />
and also Human Capital where we provide<br />
organisational development services,<br />
outsourc<strong>in</strong>g, recruitment and learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>terventions. Our learn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terventions<br />
are both for corporate organisations –<br />
usually as an outcome of a skills audit<br />
exercise and also critical employability<br />
skills where we impact our highly sort<br />
after doma<strong>in</strong> knowledge. Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, we<br />
saw companies who had problems and<br />
we sought to help solve them.”<br />
Deji and Emmanuel started the bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
believ<strong>in</strong>g that Africa has its part to play;<br />
and a role <strong>in</strong> the global economy. “That resolve<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s strong and our mission is to<br />
catalyze the growth of African bus<strong>in</strong>esses<br />
for global competitiveness.”<br />
Globalis<strong>in</strong>g But Stay<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
You can’t possibly argue that Prophets<br />
need to stay <strong>in</strong> their homelands to be<br />
respected. “We are proudly <strong>Nigeria</strong>n. We<br />
don’t try to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> our “<strong>Nigeria</strong>ness”,<br />
we belong to the class who represent the<br />
best of what the country has to offer the<br />
world: A truly <strong>Nigeria</strong>n spirit of hard work,<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectual acuity and <strong>in</strong>tegrity.<br />
Brand Values And Philosophies<br />
An important question <strong>in</strong>deed. Consumers<br />
no longer focus solely on the product<br />
or the service you are render<strong>in</strong>g, they also<br />
need to understand what <strong>in</strong>ternal (and<br />
external) values do they extrapolate?<br />
To answer this, the founders say, “We<br />
demonstrate a tremendous amount of<br />
faith <strong>in</strong> our clients and bend our backs<br />
over to produce excellent work that<br />
demonstrates thought leadership and<br />
competence. We believe discipl<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
conduct and a heart of reverence for<br />
the profession and client’s aspiration is<br />
critical as we by default become custodians<br />
of trust. All of these are governed by<br />
a culture of freedom and responsibility.<br />
Anyone who attended a public University<br />
will understand what freedom means.<br />
Responsibility is what will ensure you<br />
don’t end up wast<strong>in</strong>g your time there.<br />
At Enzo Krypton & Company, we do not<br />
have an official open<strong>in</strong>g time – neither is<br />
there a clos<strong>in</strong>g time. We don’t babysit nor<br />
micromanage. Performance is based on<br />
the quality of work produced as a result of<br />
diligence and <strong>in</strong>tellectual rigor undergirded<br />
by discipl<strong>in</strong>e.”<br />
Beat<strong>in</strong>g Competition<br />
“To be frank, we do not focus on competition.<br />
We focus on our mission. In the<br />
normal course of work <strong>in</strong> our <strong>in</strong>dustry, you<br />
get to see what other players are do<strong>in</strong>g<br />
but, <strong>in</strong> a develop<strong>in</strong>g clime like <strong>Nigeria</strong>,<br />
there are vast opportunities to stimulate<br />
change by th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g differently. Traditional<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g is what keeps you locked <strong>in</strong> a red<br />
ocean.”<br />
Enzo Krypton And The Economy<br />
“We would say this <strong>in</strong> one word – Human<br />
Capital. By now, it should be clear to<br />
Africa that our greatest resources are not<br />
beneath the earth. That mentality is what<br />
has created economic slavery. Prioritis<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the development of African bra<strong>in</strong>s above<br />
the m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g of natural resources is what<br />
will salvage us from underdevelopment.<br />
Natural resources should simply have<br />
given us a huge vantage position. How<br />
we deploy economic resources is proof<br />
of what we prioritise. At Enzo Krypton<br />
& Company, we are solv<strong>in</strong>g the human<br />
capital challenge by assist<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>esses<br />
with the <strong>in</strong>jection of much needed <strong>in</strong>tellectual<br />
capital for sound decision mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and a dedicated desk for result-oriented<br />
learn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terventions. We just created<br />
a solution called WQ which is designed<br />
to ensure that <strong>in</strong>vestments <strong>in</strong> learn<strong>in</strong>g/<br />
tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g has direct impact on organizational<br />
performance. This has been a big<br />
challenge <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry.”<br />
Leav<strong>in</strong>g A Legacy<br />
“We have done countless pro-bono work<br />
that impact on improv<strong>in</strong>g liv<strong>in</strong>g standards<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>. Our structured CSR currently is<br />
a partnership with Siloan Medical Centre<br />
through their foundation <strong>in</strong> provid<strong>in</strong>g free<br />
medical care <strong>in</strong> selected <strong>in</strong>digent communities<br />
and capacity build<strong>in</strong>g for medical<br />
workers.”<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
15
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
THE EVENTS EMPIRE<br />
- eventecture<br />
The events <strong>in</strong>dustry is just as important<br />
and Eventecture is on an electric tra<strong>in</strong><br />
Start<strong>in</strong>g And Brand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
How do you start, try<strong>in</strong>g to penetrate and lead <strong>in</strong> a market where you can’t determ<strong>in</strong>e<br />
what will happen the next day? How do you even scale when you hardly get<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestors <strong>in</strong> the local environment? Well, these are questions that would be answered<br />
some other time but, “Eventecture was birthed out of the need to solve problems <strong>in</strong> the<br />
event space <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> through design, thus the name Event Architecture – Eventecture. Established<br />
<strong>in</strong> 2010, Eventecture started out as an event and set design company. Understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that the event scene, though expand<strong>in</strong>g, was absent of <strong>in</strong>novation and that wow effect<br />
that would leave people gasp<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong> awe, Eventecture started to fill this gap one event at<br />
a time. Many years after, the company has evolved and expanded to br<strong>in</strong>g that extraord<strong>in</strong>ary<br />
touch to other related sectors.”<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
17
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
Play<strong>in</strong>g A Part In Progress<br />
As a bus<strong>in</strong>ess, you are def<strong>in</strong>itely a viable<br />
addition. Now imag<strong>in</strong>e when you are<br />
bigger than expected. You have more<br />
employees, bigger tax bags, service people<br />
- to ease their worries...you can say you<br />
become <strong>in</strong>dispensable at some po<strong>in</strong>t. I<br />
mean, you’re <strong>in</strong> there. For Eventecture, the<br />
belief is that “Everyone wants the extraord<strong>in</strong>ary!”<br />
So, be a part of that movement.<br />
The events expert, Oluwatoy<strong>in</strong> adds,<br />
“everyth<strong>in</strong>g is evolv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> geometric<br />
progression and the events space is not<br />
left out of that revolution. There’s also<br />
that <strong>in</strong>satiable demand for new, forward<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g solutions that will keep the target<br />
audience engaged and excited. This is true<br />
for both social and corporate events. This<br />
is where we come <strong>in</strong>. Our brand promise<br />
is <strong>in</strong>novation and differentiation. We have<br />
a meticulous system <strong>in</strong> place that starts<br />
from understand<strong>in</strong>g and distill<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
brief fully. Our world class design team<br />
then get to work to create m<strong>in</strong>d blow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpretations of what, most times, seem<br />
impossible. Once we have f<strong>in</strong>al alignment,<br />
the production is processed through a<br />
very pa<strong>in</strong>stak<strong>in</strong>g process to ensure that<br />
what we deliver is precise, dist<strong>in</strong>ct and<br />
perfect! We have over the years developed<br />
a reputation with<strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry – if you<br />
want the impossible delivered, call Eventecture<br />
and go to sleep!”<br />
Brand Values<br />
Too important not to be discussed. These<br />
days, people become loyalists when they<br />
see your company pays attention to that<br />
concept: added value. Interest<strong>in</strong>gly for<br />
Eventecture, they are “Excellence, Integrity,<br />
Organisational justice and Happ<strong>in</strong>ess!”<br />
Imag<strong>in</strong>e, just imag<strong>in</strong>e you experienced all<br />
of that one time!<br />
Oluwatoy<strong>in</strong> adds, “we focus on creat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g value and we’re passionate<br />
about challeng<strong>in</strong>g the status quo and<br />
upp<strong>in</strong>g the ante. The word “impossible” is<br />
not <strong>in</strong> our lexicon. Our immediate enemy<br />
is always our last achievement, and everyth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
we do is guided by imag<strong>in</strong>ation,<br />
precision and dist<strong>in</strong>ction. Integrity is very<br />
important to us, <strong>in</strong>ternally and externally.<br />
Our immediate enemy<br />
is always our last<br />
achievement, and<br />
everyth<strong>in</strong>g we do is<br />
guided by imag<strong>in</strong>ation,<br />
precision and<br />
dist<strong>in</strong>ction.<br />
This is what will guarantee our longevity.<br />
We ensure that every brief is a promise<br />
kept. Organisational justice, because our<br />
people are the most important asset we<br />
have. Happ<strong>in</strong>ess is what we create!<br />
They are not just words, we know that.<br />
Connect<strong>in</strong>g The Dots<br />
This is a conversation we will probably<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ue to have for many years after now.<br />
We can’t start throw<strong>in</strong>g blames all around,<br />
we can only try to salvage what has been<br />
destroyed. Indeed, <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns are <strong>in</strong>dustrious<br />
people, Eventecture is a typical<br />
example.<br />
More reason there’s a conscious attempt<br />
“to provide world class service, equivalent<br />
to what is obta<strong>in</strong>able anywhere <strong>in</strong> the<br />
world - talk about help<strong>in</strong>g to change that<br />
narrative.”<br />
Eventecture’s Sui Generis Nature<br />
How do you enter a market with the same<br />
ideas as those already <strong>in</strong> the market? Not<br />
true of Oluwatoy<strong>in</strong> and her team.<br />
She says, “We’re chang<strong>in</strong>g the narrative<br />
and show<strong>in</strong>g that though we’re young<br />
and proudly <strong>Nigeria</strong>n, we have the same<br />
and even better capacity to deliver.”<br />
No more ultimate preference for foreign<br />
experts or products.<br />
Sniff<strong>in</strong>g Eventecture’s Aura<br />
You can’t possibly want to enter and lead<br />
a market that has reliable experts like<br />
Eventecture - it means that as an entrepreneur,<br />
you should learn from market<br />
leaders when you can. Her words:<br />
“Be disruptive! If it’s not broken, break it!<br />
Then create someth<strong>in</strong>g new. We operate<br />
<strong>in</strong> a challeng<strong>in</strong>g environment. So, you<br />
should be motivated to not only th<strong>in</strong>k<br />
out of the box, but do away with the box<br />
totally.”<br />
BE DISRUPTIVE!<br />
Break<strong>in</strong>g Bounds<br />
Breakthroughs. Trailblaz<strong>in</strong>g. Chang<strong>in</strong>g<br />
narratives.<br />
The events entrepreneur has this to say,<br />
“There’s no one-size-fit solution as our<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry, though young, is very complex.<br />
The <strong>in</strong>dustry has come a very long way<br />
and there are so many trailblazers we<br />
should be grateful to, who opened doors<br />
and kicked them down where necessary.<br />
There are many players today do<strong>in</strong>g amaz<strong>in</strong>g<br />
th<strong>in</strong>gs and w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g awards locally and<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternationally. We all should just keep<br />
push<strong>in</strong>g the boundaries of possibility and<br />
we will get the <strong>in</strong>dustry and <strong>in</strong>deed, the<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> of our dreams.”<br />
Eventecture really matters for your events.<br />
They are the real deal. They give you the<br />
best.<br />
18<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Deluxe Designer<br />
oak and teak<br />
Beautiful spaces. Happy Memories. Qualified<br />
Professionals<br />
Muse<br />
When there’s an effect, there’s<br />
def<strong>in</strong>itely a cause – not<br />
arguable. So, when we asked<br />
Morenike Moleh<strong>in</strong> what <strong>in</strong>spired her<br />
charge <strong>in</strong>to the <strong>in</strong>terior design <strong>in</strong>dustry,<br />
we knew there had to be someth<strong>in</strong>g we<br />
didn’t know. She describes the question as<br />
an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g one say<strong>in</strong>g, “My mum was<br />
my <strong>in</strong>spiration.<br />
I grew up <strong>in</strong> a very beautiful space. At that<br />
time, I thought it was normal to live <strong>in</strong><br />
beautiful spaces until I got married and<br />
beautified our space. People will come<br />
around and ask ‘okay, who did your space?’<br />
I didn’t know that as I was grow<strong>in</strong>g up,<br />
seeds of beautiful spaces were already<br />
sown <strong>in</strong>to me.”<br />
Therefore, mov<strong>in</strong>g from a 9-5 job was a<br />
natural th<strong>in</strong>g for her – she already had the<br />
ideas. “I started do<strong>in</strong>g it on the side and…<br />
the rest is history.”<br />
Growth<br />
This is someth<strong>in</strong>g you always want to hear<br />
from companies who have braved the<br />
storm. I mean, you ask: how did you do it?<br />
Morenike says Oak and Teak grew organically<br />
– no <strong>in</strong>vestor fund<strong>in</strong>g or partnerships.<br />
This growth, she says, was enabled<br />
by a strict adherence to avoid<strong>in</strong>g waste<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
19
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
of f<strong>in</strong>ancial resources, like gett<strong>in</strong>g an<br />
office when it was really needed.<br />
To back this up, the <strong>in</strong>terior design<br />
enthusiast, and now expert/entrepreneur,<br />
says the company is focus<strong>in</strong>g on<br />
expansion. “We are go<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to construction<br />
and collaborat<strong>in</strong>g with brands<br />
<strong>in</strong> that <strong>in</strong>dustry. This means that <strong>in</strong><br />
another five years, we are go<strong>in</strong>g to have<br />
a construction arm of the company. We<br />
are also look<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to real estate.”<br />
The idea is to be “one of the top three<br />
<strong>in</strong>terior design companies <strong>in</strong> Africa.<br />
Honestly, I love the way we are grow<strong>in</strong>g.”<br />
Sell<strong>in</strong>g The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Story<br />
Understand<strong>in</strong>g what you want<br />
to do is ultimate – more important<br />
than money<br />
This is tricky, especially for the <strong>in</strong>terior<br />
design <strong>in</strong>dustry, but Morenike says<br />
collaborations with local manufacturers<br />
and artisans helps to tell the world that<br />
someth<strong>in</strong>g good can actually come out<br />
of <strong>Nigeria</strong> – no brood<strong>in</strong>g when negative<br />
stories need to be retold and no<br />
strict preference for ‘<strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a’.<br />
Nam<strong>in</strong>g And Brand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Did you know trees symbolised abstract<br />
qualities? Guess you didn’t. We<br />
hardly knew too. With excitement that<br />
she’s tell<strong>in</strong>g us someth<strong>in</strong>g relatively<br />
new, she says, “Oak stands for stability,<br />
endurance, success; it is a beautiful tree<br />
and the national tree for many countries<br />
<strong>in</strong> the world. So, because we knew<br />
we were go<strong>in</strong>g to serve the world we<br />
picked that. The Teak tree also stands<br />
for endurance. Susta<strong>in</strong>ability, success,<br />
endurance is a big deal for us. This adds<br />
to the fact that my best colour is brown<br />
and I love trees.”<br />
It only gets <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g at this po<strong>in</strong>t.<br />
Stand<strong>in</strong>g Out<br />
These days, you cannot make it if you<br />
cannot take it by the horn. You need to<br />
do it differently. You need to be <strong>in</strong>tentional<br />
with what you are giv<strong>in</strong>g out. For<br />
Oak and Teak, ‘excellence is the driver’.<br />
Morenike says, “You can only dist<strong>in</strong>guish<br />
yourself <strong>in</strong> this <strong>in</strong>dustry with the<br />
level of attention you pay to details.<br />
The other th<strong>in</strong>g that makes us unique is<br />
customer<br />
service –<br />
we try to<br />
manage<br />
every<br />
situation.<br />
We have<br />
done over<br />
80 projects<br />
and<br />
recorded<br />
a 95%<br />
success<br />
rate <strong>in</strong> all of them.”<br />
Without doubt, the design process at<br />
Oak and Teak is simple and smooth.<br />
Challenges<br />
You can only get better with challenges.<br />
Learn from them. Move on to a<br />
higher ground. We don’t know if Oak<br />
and Teak has other challenges it battles<br />
every other day, but Morenike tells us<br />
unusual <strong>in</strong>effective communication<br />
and unskilled labourers have be<strong>in</strong>g her<br />
greatest challenges.<br />
“I, sometimes, joke with my team,<br />
tell<strong>in</strong>g them that I can’t wait till the<br />
time when we work with only robots.<br />
Because we presently work with people<br />
that have different temperaments,<br />
ideologies, so communicat<strong>in</strong>g ideas to<br />
them is usually task<strong>in</strong>g. If anyth<strong>in</strong>g is<br />
go<strong>in</strong>g to go wrong, it comes from the<br />
artisans or lack of effective communication.<br />
Once communication is on po<strong>in</strong>t,<br />
we hardly have challenges, really.”<br />
Giv<strong>in</strong>g Back<br />
“Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, we organise an annual<br />
program for <strong>in</strong>terior designers that<br />
have started or are about to start and<br />
want to scale. This has run for three<br />
years and it is free; host<strong>in</strong>g over 200<br />
participants.”<br />
Most Excit<strong>in</strong>g Project<br />
When you have run over 80 projects,<br />
you might have lost track of which one<br />
ended excit<strong>in</strong>gly. What’s the yardstick<br />
for quantify<strong>in</strong>g? It’s not as easy as<br />
say<strong>in</strong>g my best day at the University<br />
was when I escaped graduat<strong>in</strong>g with a<br />
pass. Well, for the Creative Director of<br />
Oak and Teak, it is “our first job. Months<br />
after we started, I was just study<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
garner<strong>in</strong>g ideas. Then we got a client<br />
that asked us to do one bedroom but<br />
the client’s daughter asked us to do the<br />
entire house – from a brief of one master<br />
bedroom to a whole house. I got to<br />
know too that I was pregnant and so,<br />
all of those emotions came together to<br />
someth<strong>in</strong>g I would never forget.”<br />
For Startups<br />
“Understand<strong>in</strong>g what you want to do is<br />
ultimate – more important than money.<br />
When we first started, we had challenges<br />
gett<strong>in</strong>g customers but we kept at it.<br />
There are some bus<strong>in</strong>esses where you<br />
get your customers right on the first<br />
day but this is different. Also, when you<br />
start, be consistent.”<br />
20<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
The Muse<br />
You want to know why we gave that title.<br />
Bunmi George is, <strong>in</strong>deed, fierce. Her story<br />
will conv<strong>in</strong>ce you. Read on.<br />
She starts, “ShredderGang started dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
my personal struggle with obesity. From<br />
my adolescent years, I started to ga<strong>in</strong><br />
weight at a rapid pace. At age 16, I was<br />
100kg and by age 18, I was 130kg. A few<br />
months after I turned 18, I found out I<br />
was pre-diabetic, and s<strong>in</strong>ce diabetes was<br />
quite common <strong>in</strong> my extended family, I<br />
was determ<strong>in</strong>ed that this wouldn’t be my<br />
story.” She could only th<strong>in</strong>k about how to<br />
be fit and healthy.<br />
She adds that ShredderGang was never <strong>in</strong><br />
her plans as she wanted to be a certified<br />
cl<strong>in</strong>ical psychologist. But as she lost<br />
weight, she developed improved <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
<strong>in</strong> human nutrition and diet regulation.<br />
There’s always that Spark.<br />
“I wanted to be an expert <strong>in</strong> order to<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ue help<strong>in</strong>g myself. After I lost the<br />
weight, people wouldn’t stop call<strong>in</strong>g me<br />
to help them lose weight, they had seen<br />
my journey and it was <strong>in</strong>spir<strong>in</strong>g. It was out<br />
of this need that ShredderGang was born.”<br />
Chang<strong>in</strong>g Narratives<br />
Fitness has yet become a daily conversation<br />
<strong>in</strong> many homes <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>. There<br />
is a sole attention on ‘look<strong>in</strong>g to God’ to<br />
help heal<strong>in</strong>g processes and prevent ‘evil<br />
illnesses’. But Bunmi is here now to upturn<br />
such dispositions.<br />
The Fitness enthusiast turned entrepreneur<br />
says, “Back <strong>in</strong> 2013 when I first moved<br />
to <strong>Nigeria</strong> to pursue this as a passion and<br />
career, the <strong>in</strong>dustry was quite desolate.<br />
Though gyms were runn<strong>in</strong>g, there was no<br />
popular public op<strong>in</strong>ion on wellness and<br />
fitness. Most people mostly used pills,<br />
herbs, shakes, and not a lot of people had<br />
an active exercise regimen. What ShredderGang<br />
did was to leverage technology,<br />
especially s<strong>in</strong>ce almost every <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />
has a phone and access to the <strong>in</strong>ternet.<br />
Every s<strong>in</strong>gle day, we pushed mean<strong>in</strong>gful<br />
content out to the general public. We<br />
teach healthy liv<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n way with<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n foods, and how to navigate a<br />
susta<strong>in</strong>able healthy lifestyle even for those<br />
that live <strong>in</strong> busy metropolitan cities. The<br />
growth <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> the last six years<br />
has, <strong>in</strong>deed, been impressive.”<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Fearless Fitpreneur<br />
Shredder Gang<br />
Your perfect stop shop for a healthy lifestyle.<br />
Compar<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Brands To Global<br />
Standards<br />
We always talk about how best to sell ‘<strong>Nigeria</strong>n’<br />
<strong>in</strong> the global market. I mean, why<br />
not? Bunmi corroborates, “The <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />
has grown rapidly and exponentially <strong>in</strong> the<br />
last few years. And this has only happened<br />
because of the efforts of key players that<br />
lead the <strong>in</strong>dustry. Seven years ago, the<br />
chances that you f<strong>in</strong>d a smoothie bar <strong>in</strong> a<br />
2km kilometre radius was almost impossible<br />
but today, We have smoothie bars scattered<br />
around major cities. Take So Fresh<br />
Neighbourhood Market for <strong>in</strong>stance, this is<br />
a healthy food company which is open<strong>in</strong>g<br />
stores <strong>in</strong> almost every major area <strong>in</strong> the<br />
busiest Metropolitan cities of <strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
iFitness Centre is a fitness cha<strong>in</strong> that has<br />
gyms located at different locations around<br />
Lagos. Compared to global standards, we<br />
are still very much beh<strong>in</strong>d but not for too<br />
long. We are no longer crawl<strong>in</strong>g. The walk<br />
is on, I expect to see the <strong>in</strong>dustry run <strong>in</strong> no<br />
time. We should also expect to see <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns<br />
<strong>in</strong> the wellness and fitness space take<br />
their place globally <strong>in</strong> the next 2-5 years.”<br />
Change is ongo<strong>in</strong>g and it is rapid!<br />
Stay<strong>in</strong>g Focused In A Relatively Hostile<br />
Market<br />
“Knowledge is POWER! I believe <strong>in</strong> educat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividuals. They say “when you know<br />
better, you do better” The more educated<br />
you are on a subject matter, the more will<strong>in</strong>g<br />
you are to listen and adhere. However,<br />
Resilience is our watch word. We keep<br />
push<strong>in</strong>g no matter what, sooner rather<br />
than later, <strong>in</strong>dividuals will succumb.”<br />
The Future<br />
Can you determ<strong>in</strong>e the future? You will<br />
say: I can only try. Well, we are here to<br />
tell you that you can do better than try;<br />
you can plan ahead and make it work.<br />
ShredderGang is do<strong>in</strong>g just that. See<br />
how: “There is also much go<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>in</strong><br />
the pipel<strong>in</strong>e, but I don’t want to show<br />
our cards just yet, but I would share that<br />
ShredderGang has created Africa’s first nutrition,<br />
wellness and fitness app. The App<br />
provides nutritional <strong>in</strong>formation on over<br />
1500 African meals and over 550 exercises.<br />
There is so much <strong>in</strong>formation with just a<br />
click of a button. We have made it easy to<br />
keep track of your lifestyle, it is like your<br />
coach but <strong>in</strong> your hand. Individuals don’t<br />
need to look too far anymore.”<br />
Why Choose ShredderGang?<br />
“I don’t believe I have a side but I believe<br />
<strong>in</strong> a susta<strong>in</strong>able healthy lifestyle from birth<br />
to death. Eat<strong>in</strong>g the right amount of foods,<br />
exercis<strong>in</strong>g at an optimal level and limit<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the consumption of alcohol.”<br />
For Aspir<strong>in</strong>g Entrepreneurs<br />
“What will make you stand out as a Fitness<br />
entrepreneurs these days is your level of<br />
expertise. People aggravate towards those<br />
who are experts, who have knowledge.<br />
So if you need certification <strong>in</strong> a particular<br />
area, go for it. Never rest, always be a<br />
student of learn<strong>in</strong>g.”<br />
When you know better,<br />
you do better.<br />
22<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Apex of Audacity<br />
LandWey<br />
Go<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to a market with <strong>in</strong>novation<br />
br<strong>in</strong>gs the world to you<br />
Background<br />
I am Olawale Ayilara, MD Landwey<br />
Investment Limited, one of the<br />
real estate development companies<br />
<strong>in</strong> Lagos, at the forefront of the real<br />
estate bus<strong>in</strong>ess. Landwey develops residential<br />
properties and we also sell lands.<br />
Challenges<br />
We’ve done quite well by the grace of<br />
God. Our challenge, and I say this often,<br />
has to be <strong>in</strong>frastructure. When we launch<br />
projects, we have to start from scratch. I’m<br />
talk<strong>in</strong>g about road, electricity, water. This<br />
is a major challenge to the real estate sector<br />
generally, not just for us at Landwey.<br />
Competition/Unique Qualities<br />
Well, the level of competition <strong>in</strong> the real<br />
estate market <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> regularly <strong>in</strong>creases.<br />
The last three years has witnessed<br />
so much; especially <strong>in</strong>creased market<br />
entrants. A lot of people th<strong>in</strong>k it is a high<br />
transaction market, but it’s really not like<br />
that. What we’ve seen a lot of people<br />
come <strong>in</strong> and out of the market, because<br />
people can’t stand the the pr<strong>in</strong>ciples that<br />
make the bus<strong>in</strong>ess susta<strong>in</strong>able.<br />
Our goal is simple - to build a<br />
susta<strong>in</strong>able brand, driven by excellence,<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g us one of the top<br />
real estate leaders with the largest<br />
market share. So, this constantly<br />
drives us.<br />
What makes us different is what we<br />
br<strong>in</strong>g to the table - value. We don’t<br />
compete on price; we have never<br />
been known to compete on price.<br />
Value, <strong>in</strong> terms of understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
customers and giv<strong>in</strong>g them the<br />
best. We are customer centered<br />
and, empathy is someth<strong>in</strong>g we<br />
value.<br />
When we jo<strong>in</strong>ed the <strong>in</strong>dustry, we experienced<br />
huge growth, where a lot of<br />
competitors were able to benchmark their<br />
product, service, and company structure<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st Landwey’s standard. We <strong>in</strong>novate<br />
every now and then; which has ga<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
us a lot of traction <strong>in</strong> the last three years.<br />
Also, we consistently research the market<br />
and use data effectively.<br />
Recent Big Ideas<br />
We were the first real estate company to<br />
use VR (Virtual Reality) for site <strong>in</strong>spection.<br />
We are also strong on Google mapp<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
for all our projects, added to the fact that<br />
we are a very transparent company - ideas<br />
miss<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the market. Asides that, we<br />
have an <strong>in</strong>itiative designed for clients<br />
called Weymoney, where clients buy property<br />
from us, borrow 70 percent of that<br />
property value and pay for one year <strong>in</strong> a<br />
lump sum with no <strong>in</strong>terest rate. All these<br />
set us apart every time.<br />
Dott<strong>in</strong>g The i’s<br />
We have been able to represent our company<br />
as a global brand, or a lead<strong>in</strong>g brand<br />
<strong>in</strong> Africa. From 2020, team members will<br />
be able to work from home for a day <strong>in</strong> a<br />
week. But the workplace designed is such<br />
a way that the team, mostly millennials,<br />
will always want to come <strong>in</strong>.<br />
The Future<br />
I will share some of our plans. We’ve<br />
done land projects successfully and now<br />
are mov<strong>in</strong>g to residential development,<br />
which is what we’re do<strong>in</strong>g currently. We<br />
are still com<strong>in</strong>g up with a mall and a resort<br />
project. We are also currently work<strong>in</strong>g on a<br />
project proposed for Eko Atlantic, which is<br />
a mix use - commercial and residential.<br />
CSR Initiatives<br />
We want to be strong on CSR, as we love<br />
to give back. We are do<strong>in</strong>g well right now<br />
and give to several foundations, because<br />
we believe that our national development<br />
is key. We believe strongly <strong>in</strong> this, because<br />
the environment can’t thrive if we don’t<br />
give back.<br />
You will see more collaborations from<br />
Landwey, as we are talk<strong>in</strong>g to companies<br />
that are forward th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong> the same<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry. Indeed, you will see and hear big<br />
announcements from Landwey. A lot of<br />
th<strong>in</strong>gs we’re work<strong>in</strong>g on are still underground.<br />
I can boldly say that Landwey will be<br />
around for the next 50 years.<br />
If you have empathy, you<br />
will take it as your core<br />
to protect the client’s<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment.<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
23
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Grand Gymnasia<br />
i-fitness<br />
iFitness is one brand you can’t ignore if<br />
health is your wealth<br />
Inspiration<br />
Cause and effect - two words that matter, especially as they<br />
make you understand how one comes up with an idea and turns<br />
that idea <strong>in</strong>to reality. Sometimes, it is a need to solve a l<strong>in</strong>ger<strong>in</strong>g<br />
problem; there are other reasons. For Folusho Ogunwale, iFitness<br />
“was born out of the need to provide a solution to two problems:<br />
non-availability of convenient/decent fitness centres and the loss<br />
of a friend’s younger brother to a heart condition and diabetes.<br />
These two gave me a sense of mission.”<br />
He cont<strong>in</strong>ues: “You know, liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Lagos comes with its own dose<br />
of stress; the last th<strong>in</strong>g you want to do is to add to that daily dose<br />
of stress <strong>in</strong> the name of gett<strong>in</strong>g fit. While I pondered on solv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
this problem, I realised that creat<strong>in</strong>g a decent and convenient<br />
cha<strong>in</strong> of fitness centers spread around every city <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> would<br />
mean that we are solv<strong>in</strong>g a bigger problem - that is; improv<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
health and wellness of thousands and possibly millions of people<br />
through our centres.”<br />
Initial Challenges<br />
Tell us if you started on a smooth ride and cont<strong>in</strong>ued with a<br />
silver spoon, let’s understand if this happened <strong>in</strong> paradise or not.<br />
Folusho says <strong>in</strong>frastructure was his <strong>in</strong>itial challenge, but “fund<strong>in</strong>g<br />
for start ups weren’t new to me. It has become our reality around<br />
here to provide everyth<strong>in</strong>g for our bus<strong>in</strong>esses from boreholes,<br />
generators to even transformers to ensure steady power supply<br />
etc.”<br />
But he tells us that he encountered a bigger challenge: “the fitness<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry is young, <strong>in</strong> fact, non-existent about 10 years back.” Then<br />
the question arose as to if <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns were ready to add ‘fitness’<br />
<strong>in</strong>to their daily rout<strong>in</strong>es. “Were people go<strong>in</strong>g to embrace fitness<br />
if we start-off our fitness cha<strong>in</strong>? Was the market deep enough<br />
for the <strong>in</strong>vestment we were mak<strong>in</strong>g? Where would we get skilled<br />
24<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
human capital? How easy would it be to raise<br />
funds with a young bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> an untested<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry? Where do we learn the operations<br />
to support the scale at which we wanted to<br />
grow? What if we failed altogether?”<br />
He adds that a lot still needs to be done and<br />
“we have to keep rais<strong>in</strong>g the bar and challeng<strong>in</strong>g<br />
ourselves to do better always. That’s<br />
the only way we can attract and reta<strong>in</strong> our<br />
members and by so do<strong>in</strong>g, we are bridg<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the gap <strong>in</strong> health and wellness.”<br />
Play<strong>in</strong>g A Part In A Grow<strong>in</strong>g Industry<br />
Important one <strong>in</strong>deed. He entered a relatively<br />
uncharted market and stayed on through<br />
now that fitness has become a daily conversation,<br />
so how has iFitness played its role?<br />
First, he admits that the <strong>in</strong>dustry has <strong>in</strong>deed<br />
grown. “It’s amaz<strong>in</strong>g!” he says, then cont<strong>in</strong>ues,<br />
“The culture has grown significantly <strong>in</strong><br />
the last 4 years, especially <strong>in</strong> the big cities.<br />
There are 3 contribut<strong>in</strong>g factors: presence of<br />
more fitness centers/fitness studios, better<br />
health consciousness, and a strong social<br />
factor, which is: the pressure (especially on<br />
millennials) to look good.”<br />
Brand Values And Philosophies<br />
We can actually deduce all that from what<br />
Folusho has said earlier but he says he will<br />
shorten iFitness’ values to: “Convenience,<br />
Fun, Service, Community. These philosophies<br />
all po<strong>in</strong>t to our mission - provid<strong>in</strong>g a fun,<br />
youthful and functional fitness experience<br />
that promotes a culture of health and<br />
wellness. Our expansion is not <strong>in</strong> itself just a<br />
spread of branches.”<br />
The fitness enthusiast and entrepreneur<br />
adds, “We want fitness to be an <strong>in</strong>tegral part<br />
of the urban lifestyle; not just an option that<br />
you pick and drop at every slight excuse. I<br />
always ask myself a lot of questions which<br />
then turn out to help us <strong>in</strong> daily operational<br />
decision mak<strong>in</strong>g. How can we be more<br />
youthful <strong>in</strong> terms of our look and feel,<br />
remember<strong>in</strong>g that our membership base<br />
is largely the upwardly mobile people? In<br />
plant<strong>in</strong>g our branches, can we ensure that<br />
our network is brilliantly laid out to provide<br />
convenience for our members? This means<br />
that we, <strong>in</strong>tentionally, locate our branches<br />
<strong>in</strong> places that are either densely commercial<br />
spots (work places) or highly residential<br />
spots (close to homes). How do we get<br />
reactions, feedback from our customers on<br />
key areas of our services so we make quick<br />
adjustments? When a member is unhappy,<br />
how swift are we to resolve and <strong>in</strong>stitutionalize<br />
the changes we need to make?”<br />
Particular Focus<br />
“First and most importantly, especially <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e<br />
with our bus<strong>in</strong>ess model, is the expansion<br />
of our branch network. The bigger it is, the<br />
more people we attract and reta<strong>in</strong>. This is<br />
crucial. Without <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g our footpr<strong>in</strong>t,<br />
especially <strong>in</strong> urban communities, then we<br />
will compromise on reach<strong>in</strong>g potentially<br />
thousands of <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns.<br />
“Secondly, we will simultaneously back the<br />
expansion up with a good experience. Recall<br />
that many <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns are still not fitness<br />
aware and many more who are aware are not<br />
motivated or will<strong>in</strong>g to commit to liv<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
healthier lifestyle. Therefore, we have to unlock<br />
the market by provid<strong>in</strong>g an experience<br />
(a fun experience) <strong>in</strong> each of these centers<br />
to <strong>in</strong>spire our members <strong>in</strong>to embrac<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
lifestyle and tak<strong>in</strong>g charge of their health.<br />
“Thirdly, improv<strong>in</strong>g the skill base of our<br />
team, and by extension educat<strong>in</strong>g people<br />
(members and non- members) through our<br />
onl<strong>in</strong>e channels and even with<strong>in</strong> the branches<br />
will go a long way to help.<br />
“There will also be strategic partnerships<br />
with other organisations with<strong>in</strong> the health<br />
and wellness space to provide services<br />
(some are free), and events to enable the entrenchment<br />
of fitness especially <strong>in</strong> the urban<br />
communities of <strong>Nigeria</strong>.”<br />
Stay<strong>in</strong>g Consistent<br />
If you want to scale, then you need to pay<br />
particular attention to consistency - no<br />
argument. Folusho says, “iFitness is totally<br />
different. Most of our members come to<br />
the gym nearly every day. iFitness for a lot<br />
of people has become the “3rd place” after<br />
work and home. We are <strong>in</strong>deed humbled,<br />
grateful and equally excited about this! For<br />
this reason, there’s a lot of pressure on us to<br />
always th<strong>in</strong>k ahead. We th<strong>in</strong>k of convenience<br />
to members, the functionality of our gym<br />
spaces, <strong>in</strong> each center, etc. and how all these<br />
translate to good customer experience to<br />
our members.”<br />
The Future<br />
“We are work<strong>in</strong>g to see iFitness becom<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the preferred fitness dest<strong>in</strong>ation for the average<br />
urban youth; that is, we want to be the<br />
preferred neighborhood gym for the average<br />
urban dweller. We will be touch<strong>in</strong>g thousands<br />
and millions of lives by God’s grace.<br />
In l<strong>in</strong>e with our vision; we will be <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s<br />
preferred fitness dest<strong>in</strong>ation.”<br />
We want to keep touch<strong>in</strong>g<br />
lives. This gives us a sense of<br />
mission; to be <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s preferred<br />
fitness dest<strong>in</strong>ation.<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
25
Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
The Beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
A dedicated IT professional and project manager,<br />
Omotola starts, <strong>in</strong>troduc<strong>in</strong>g himself, like the<br />
gentleman he is and tell<strong>in</strong>g us that Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO<br />
was founded “to provide <strong>in</strong>novative technology<br />
solutions.” He adds that it was “set up <strong>in</strong> 2009 to<br />
provide decentralised document management<br />
solution to Fidelity Bank.”<br />
In case you didn’t know, Omotola Okunfolami<br />
is a manag<strong>in</strong>g partner at Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
applications limited - a technology Solutions<br />
Company. “We produce/<strong>in</strong>vent <strong>in</strong>novative solutions,<br />
we’ve been at the forefront of creat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
uncommon solutions, because it is the way to<br />
go and it was on that basis we were set up.”<br />
There’s someth<strong>in</strong>g you don’t know yet. Read on.<br />
“There was this idea that we worked on, and it<br />
became an idea that we do differently, so we<br />
took a deep dive and came up with a solution.<br />
That was how we started Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO. Fortunately<br />
for us we got a bank that was <strong>in</strong>terested<br />
<strong>in</strong> the solution and it became a big th<strong>in</strong>g from<br />
there.”<br />
From humble beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs to do<strong>in</strong>g it differently,<br />
to aim<strong>in</strong>g for the skies... What is that idea still<br />
do<strong>in</strong>g ONLY <strong>in</strong> your head?<br />
Values And Philosophies<br />
How important are values? To be honest, you<br />
can say values are <strong>in</strong>dispensable, because our<br />
values <strong>in</strong>form our thoughts, words and actions.<br />
Our values are important because they help us<br />
grow and develop.<br />
On the other end, your philosophy of bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
could be an unwritten attitude or a specifically-written<br />
philosophy that def<strong>in</strong>es how your<br />
team will act and <strong>in</strong>teract with each other and<br />
the general public. Omotola tells not to have<br />
worries as Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO is “customer obsessed.”<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>g. He adds, “that’s one of the th<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
I tell my team, the customer is key, whatever<br />
you do. We don’t joke with our customers, we<br />
put a lot of time <strong>in</strong>to R&D to come up with new<br />
solutions. We primarily operate around the EFT<br />
space. We have a couple of the solutions that<br />
have been deployed not just <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> but all<br />
over the world, we are the pioneers of this.”<br />
Added to this is operational excellence and a<br />
passion for <strong>in</strong>novation - you know, like how it<br />
all started.<br />
Recent Innovative Solutions<br />
This sounded simple to Omotola: “ATM Biometric<br />
cardless cash withdrawal.”<br />
Push<strong>in</strong>g The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Story<br />
He was excited about this question, comb<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
the fact that Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO is “a fully owned<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n entity” and the company has begun<br />
to engage more with the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n culture and<br />
to change its workspace. He adds, “It’s always<br />
been there that we want to become a global<br />
entity and to become a global entity, you don’t<br />
want to be lost, you want to identify loudly as<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n, while try<strong>in</strong>g to achieve our global<br />
aspirations.”<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Corporate<br />
Custodian - Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO<br />
...Innovative technology solutions just<br />
when you need them<br />
Brand Tones And Youth Incl<strong>in</strong>ations<br />
“Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO is a subtle tech brand, passionate<br />
about the delivery of topnotch<br />
technical products and services. We are not<br />
afraid to challenge the status quo whilst<br />
assist<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>esses achieve success and improved<br />
productivity by harness<strong>in</strong>g the wealth<br />
of opportunities <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation technology,<br />
particularly software and e-bus<strong>in</strong>ess solutions.<br />
We take our product seriously, deliver<strong>in</strong>g<br />
solutions that organisations need to positively<br />
impact bus<strong>in</strong>ess outcomes, from develop<strong>in</strong>g<br />
an IT strategy to solutions for optimis<strong>in</strong>g the IT<br />
<strong>in</strong>frastructure and applications; And we help<br />
clients put a premium on the improvements<br />
that will have the most impact. Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO<br />
believes that empower<strong>in</strong>g the youth is very key<br />
to current and future successes, which is why<br />
we focus more on youth employment <strong>in</strong> our<br />
<strong>in</strong>-house recruitment process.<br />
“We recently started a cod<strong>in</strong>g club where<br />
we br<strong>in</strong>g teenagers <strong>in</strong> and, we get a few of<br />
our programmers to mentor them, teach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
them how to code. We th<strong>in</strong>k it’s what should<br />
be happen<strong>in</strong>g right now, we are able to catch<br />
them young and get them to embrace the idea<br />
of cod<strong>in</strong>g. When they are <strong>in</strong> their early 20s, they<br />
are already grounded developers and they can<br />
impact on others so that <strong>Nigeria</strong> can be a major<br />
player <strong>in</strong> the tech global ecosystem.”<br />
CSR Initiatives<br />
Well, added to the fact the Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO started<br />
a cod<strong>in</strong>g club for teenagers, Omotola says there<br />
are plans “to engage a couple of entities, we<br />
feel like it’s the right th<strong>in</strong>g to do. We would do<br />
as much we can to give back to the community.<br />
It would start <strong>in</strong> a couple of months, and we<br />
would engage them for years to come.”<br />
Future of F<strong>in</strong>tech <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> - And Sterl<strong>in</strong>g-<br />
PRO<br />
“We see <strong>Nigeria</strong> play<strong>in</strong>g big on simplified technologies<br />
<strong>in</strong> the bank<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dustry and the world<br />
at large, compet<strong>in</strong>g with technologies <strong>in</strong> the<br />
U.S and other parts of Africa, cutt<strong>in</strong>g across the<br />
rural areas where we have some semi-illiterate<br />
citizens; mak<strong>in</strong>g it very easy and conducive for<br />
them to blend <strong>in</strong> today’s changes without any<br />
challenges.<br />
“We also see ourselves as a part of this change,<br />
with one of our newly <strong>in</strong>novated products: ATM<br />
Biometric cardless cash withdrawal solution<br />
where customers don’t need to bother about<br />
not mov<strong>in</strong>g around with their debit cards,<br />
as this solution enables all account holders<br />
perform transactions on the ATMS us<strong>in</strong>g their<br />
f<strong>in</strong>gerpr<strong>in</strong>t as one of the primary authentication<br />
for these transactions.<br />
“I th<strong>in</strong>k the tech space has become really big <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>. We’ve got a population of close to 200<br />
million and that’s a viable market. We have lots<br />
of <strong>in</strong>novations which are look<strong>in</strong>g to push with<strong>in</strong><br />
the next quarter and this would position us as<br />
one of the lead<strong>in</strong>g tech companies <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>, <strong>in</strong><br />
Africa and globally eventually.”<br />
Five-Year Vision<br />
Learn from this. You need it.<br />
“Sterl<strong>in</strong>gPRO, <strong>in</strong> the next five years, wants to be<br />
a global brand. One of the top global brands<br />
and I believe we have the capacity to do this.<br />
Like I said earlier, we have a few solutions which<br />
are novel, th<strong>in</strong>gs that don’t exist anywhere <strong>in</strong><br />
the world. One of the th<strong>in</strong>gs we do is to do a<br />
lot of research, we have the capacity to play<br />
globally. And then what we’ve done over the<br />
last year, set up shop <strong>in</strong> South Africa, we are<br />
look<strong>in</strong>g to go to the U.S., set up shop there as<br />
well and compete globally. We feel we have the<br />
manpower. If you have a good brand and you<br />
believe <strong>in</strong> it then give it visibility.<br />
“I th<strong>in</strong>k it’s becom<strong>in</strong>g common knowledge now<br />
that the tech <strong>in</strong>dustry would eat up virtually<br />
anyth<strong>in</strong>g. If you f<strong>in</strong>d a young person who has<br />
a knack or desire or passion for tech, you’ll get<br />
hired quickly.”<br />
We are not afraid to challenge<br />
the status quo whilst assist<strong>in</strong>g<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>esses achieve success and<br />
improved productivity.<br />
@thesparkng<br />
27<br />
fli
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
Inspiration<br />
F<strong>in</strong>ancial Technology is not new. As long<br />
as f<strong>in</strong>ancial services have been, so also<br />
has F<strong>in</strong>Tech been - <strong>in</strong> one form or another.<br />
F<strong>in</strong>Tech has evolved and disrupted - or<br />
attempted - and revolutionised payments,<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestments, asset management, commerce<br />
etc. One of such platforms that has led this<br />
revolution from <strong>Nigeria</strong> to the global scene<br />
is Flutterwave - unarguably. We sat down<br />
with the Co-Founder and Chief Executive<br />
Officer, Olugbenga Agboola who tells us his<br />
<strong>in</strong>spiration stems from the knowledge that<br />
Flutterwave facilitates secure and seamless<br />
payments across the cont<strong>in</strong>ent that, <strong>in</strong> turn,<br />
connects the African cont<strong>in</strong>ent to the global<br />
economy. He gives us a list:<br />
• Sports and the drive and tenacity<br />
of athletes to see beyond the other<br />
competitors and their goal on the f<strong>in</strong>ish<br />
l<strong>in</strong>e. The teamwork of sports such as<br />
Formula 1 <strong>in</strong>spires me. It goes without<br />
say<strong>in</strong>g how important this is with<strong>in</strong><br />
a company, your team has to value a<br />
culture of togetherness <strong>in</strong> order to see<br />
great results.<br />
• Community <strong>in</strong>spires me. We<br />
just organised a job fair for<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n software developers<br />
and I heard a few whispers on<br />
the reason for it but the pure<br />
reason was community. Very<br />
few people know how much<br />
community means to me.<br />
We’re noth<strong>in</strong>g without each<br />
other. Flutterwave can only do<br />
so much but as a community<br />
we’re formidable. A strong<br />
community works for all of us.<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Force of F<strong>in</strong>Tech<br />
Flutterwave<br />
Organis<strong>in</strong>g your f<strong>in</strong>ances will only get better...<br />
Unique Sell<strong>in</strong>g Po<strong>in</strong>t<br />
Without hesitation, he says, “We build what<br />
the market needs. When we took a look at<br />
the most popular money transfer method<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> which is onl<strong>in</strong>e bank transfers,<br />
we knew we had to give our merchants<br />
the opportunity to take advantage. Now,<br />
Flutterwave merchants are experienc<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
payment method which has a phenomenal<br />
success rate. Similarly, we’re creat<strong>in</strong>g stronger<br />
economic ties with Ch<strong>in</strong>a via our Alipay<br />
<strong>in</strong>tegration. Right now, we’re go<strong>in</strong>g ahead to<br />
build the trust needed to grow ecommerce<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> via a web page that helps identify<br />
Core Pr<strong>in</strong>ciples And Values<br />
The F<strong>in</strong>Tech expert says Flutterwave’s five<br />
core values are: “We’re customer-focused. We<br />
build trust capital. We’re loyal to one another.<br />
We communicate respectfully. We create and<br />
<strong>in</strong>novate.”<br />
He adds that people would usually pick<br />
respectful communication as the sole pr<strong>in</strong>ciple<br />
- someth<strong>in</strong>g he strictly disagrees with.<br />
“I th<strong>in</strong>k it’s all five. For <strong>in</strong>stance, as Africans,<br />
we’re very creative. There’s not a day that<br />
goes by that I don’t see creations on social<br />
media by young Africans that doesn’t make<br />
me marvel. Listen to our music,<br />
see how creative we are. We’re<br />
amaz<strong>in</strong>g.”<br />
The Future<br />
“In the next five years, we should<br />
expect the year to be 2024. I’m<br />
kidd<strong>in</strong>g though. I th<strong>in</strong>k there’s a lot<br />
the future holds for us and we’re<br />
just gett<strong>in</strong>g started. five years is an<br />
especially long time for the k<strong>in</strong>d of<br />
<strong>in</strong>novation we have planned so I’ll<br />
say just watch out.”<br />
The Transformation<br />
Change is constant, and when a<br />
visionary leader assumes a major<br />
role <strong>in</strong> a disruptive organisation, you<br />
def<strong>in</strong>itely expect someth<strong>in</strong>g big.<br />
With confidence, Olugbenga tells us that “<strong>in</strong><br />
2018, we processed $1bn USD <strong>in</strong> transaction<br />
value for over 25,000 bus<strong>in</strong>esses us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
our platform. By April of this year, we had<br />
processed the same $1bn USD and as at July,<br />
we had processed $2bn USD. Our company<br />
has also noted remarkable strides <strong>in</strong> the last<br />
year: Partner<strong>in</strong>g with banks to provide Pay<br />
with Bank Transfer to our payment stack;<br />
signed a partnership with Alipay of Ch<strong>in</strong>a;<br />
launched Instant Settlement for our <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
merchants.”<br />
Lessons From The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Market<br />
If you are a <strong>Nigeria</strong>n - or not an alien - you<br />
know you learn from everyth<strong>in</strong>g every<br />
other day; the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n market is a vessel<br />
of knowledge, <strong>in</strong>deed. For Olugbenga, it is<br />
“opportunities of f<strong>in</strong>ancial <strong>in</strong>clusion and<br />
the “opportunity to grow ecommerce exists<br />
and f<strong>in</strong>tech holds the key to unlock<strong>in</strong>g it by<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g trust.”<br />
and resolve any debit alert issues with<strong>in</strong> 48<br />
hours. It’s www.flutterwave.com/why. You<br />
should check it out.”<br />
Hmm...don’t take what people already have<br />
to the market, create someth<strong>in</strong>g out of a<br />
need.<br />
Stay<strong>in</strong>g Strong - In Fierce Competition<br />
This is someth<strong>in</strong>g you want to hear from<br />
a platform that has competition at every<br />
junction - home and abroad. Olugbenga<br />
starts, tell<strong>in</strong>g us ‘focus’ is paramount. It is the<br />
mission. He adds: “Our mission is beyond<br />
us as a people or a collective. Our mission<br />
to grow <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s economy and to a larger<br />
extent, Africa’s economy is mak<strong>in</strong>g the difference.<br />
We’re connect<strong>in</strong>g Africa faster than<br />
anyone else, such that if you want to expand<br />
your bus<strong>in</strong>ess this m<strong>in</strong>ute to Kenya, by be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
our merchant, you don’t need any licenses<br />
or anyth<strong>in</strong>g. Just go to Kenya and accept<br />
payments and it’s bus<strong>in</strong>ess as usual. We’re<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g payment collection seamless.”<br />
For Young Entrepreneurs<br />
It’s about that time where we learn<br />
from the grand master himself. Or,<br />
at least, a master of the F<strong>in</strong>Tech<br />
market. Read on.<br />
“Focus. Tune out the noise. You need to get<br />
your head <strong>in</strong> the right place first. When your<br />
head is <strong>in</strong> the right place, you can carefully<br />
evaluate you and your situation and see the<br />
t<strong>in</strong>y advantages you have. The advantages<br />
are there but they’re not always obvious.<br />
F<strong>in</strong>d them and harness them. Tune out the<br />
noise and listen to your customers only,<br />
they’re the ones that matter. Tune out the<br />
noise and believe <strong>in</strong> yourself and your journey.<br />
Aga<strong>in</strong>, tune out the noise.”<br />
You noticed the repetition too?<br />
The opportunity to grow ecommerce<br />
exists and f<strong>in</strong>tech holds<br />
the key to unlock<strong>in</strong>g it by build<strong>in</strong>g<br />
trust.<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
29
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Social Supernova<br />
NaijaBrandChick<br />
Have you heard of Naijabrandchick? That’s<br />
the plug you’ve been look<strong>in</strong>g for.<br />
Solv<strong>in</strong>g A Need<br />
While some people penetrate the<br />
market to have fun, or to make<br />
money, the founder of Nellies<br />
Healthy Snacks and Meals, Nelly Agbogu<br />
saw someth<strong>in</strong>g many other people didn’t.<br />
She says, “I was on a weight loss journey<br />
and most of the recommended meals<br />
bored me, coupled with the fact that I<br />
became a mother to a son who was gluten<br />
<strong>in</strong>tolerant. My search for Gluten-free meals<br />
were expensive and gett<strong>in</strong>g the meals was<br />
almost impossible. This drove me to try<br />
my hands at different th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> gett<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
suitable option from my kids and, realis<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that there were other people who were<br />
gluten <strong>in</strong>tolerant and conscious about<br />
liv<strong>in</strong>g a healthy life, birthed Nellies.”<br />
In other words, Nellies’ “goal is to change<br />
the narrative regard<strong>in</strong>g healthy eat<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
demonstrate that healthy food can be just<br />
as tasty and appetis<strong>in</strong>g.”<br />
You probably thought eat<strong>in</strong>g healthy was<br />
expensive and less tasty. Well, Nellies is<br />
say<strong>in</strong>g this isn’t true.<br />
Start<strong>in</strong>g NaijaBrandChick<br />
Bus<strong>in</strong>ess ideas most likely runs through<br />
everyone’s m<strong>in</strong>d. You look at different<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustries and potential competitors and<br />
those who lead that <strong>in</strong>dustry. You give<br />
up or turn the idea <strong>in</strong>to reality especially<br />
when you understand that your idea is<br />
relevant. Nelly Agbogu wouldn’t have<br />
given up, not when she thought about<br />
help<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>esses scale through social<br />
media visibility.<br />
She’s excited to tell us what keeps her<br />
motivated: “The joy that bus<strong>in</strong>ess owners<br />
experience when they have breakthroughs<br />
through sell<strong>in</strong>g on social media.<br />
Some people who have a monthly <strong>in</strong>come<br />
of less than $100 monthly, now make that<br />
<strong>in</strong> a week, to say the least.”<br />
Play<strong>in</strong>g A Part In The Entrepreneurial<br />
Space<br />
No stress on this one. Nelly knows her<br />
onions. She focused. She gives us a list:<br />
• The visibility of bus<strong>in</strong>esses both on<br />
and off social media<br />
• Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g people on how to sell on<br />
Social Media<br />
• Help<strong>in</strong>g create structures and show<strong>in</strong>g<br />
how it can be implemented.<br />
What Could Be Better?<br />
“I wish bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> could be<br />
trans-generational, structures created<br />
that would outlive the founder and be<br />
<strong>in</strong>dependent of the founder. The Legal<br />
System could protect a bus<strong>in</strong>ess’ creativity.<br />
If a fashion designer knows that her<br />
designs can not be recreated without<br />
consent, there would be raised concentration<br />
on creat<strong>in</strong>g more designs know<strong>in</strong>g<br />
her <strong>in</strong>vestment (creativity) is protected.<br />
The fear of someone tak<strong>in</strong>g her design to<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a and do<strong>in</strong>g mass production will not<br />
be a problem at all.”<br />
She tasks the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n government to<br />
“give the first three years as tax-free, to<br />
help bus<strong>in</strong>esses susta<strong>in</strong> structures at no<br />
additional cost. This would enable them<br />
to create more streams of <strong>in</strong>come for their<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>esses.”<br />
Success Rate<br />
“We are just start<strong>in</strong>g, there is still a lot to<br />
give.”<br />
Don’t worry, we know there’s already a<br />
high success rate.<br />
Lessons For Young Entrepreneurs<br />
“Putt<strong>in</strong>g God at the helm of your bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
affairs. You really can’t achieve a lot without<br />
Him. Secondly, structures! One can<br />
never over-emphasize this.”<br />
Unique Sell<strong>in</strong>g Po<strong>in</strong>t<br />
It’s simple: “Nellies is <strong>in</strong> a class of her own,<br />
No one company has the same vision<br />
or mission. We are here to make healthy<br />
liv<strong>in</strong>g appetis<strong>in</strong>g, easy and tasty.”<br />
Repair<strong>in</strong>g The Past<br />
“Really, noth<strong>in</strong>g. All th<strong>in</strong>gs have worked<br />
just as planned. I do not see what I could<br />
have done differently. I live life unapologetically.”<br />
The Future<br />
“Take people out of poverty by us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
social media.”<br />
I wish bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
could be trans-generational,<br />
structures created that<br />
would outlive the founder<br />
and be <strong>in</strong>dependent of the<br />
founder.<br />
@thesparkng<br />
31<br />
fli
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
The Beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Understand<strong>in</strong>g how Sapphire Scents has come<br />
to lead <strong>in</strong> the market requires you to understand<br />
what was done differently and how it<br />
all started. You know how we sit to listen to<br />
people tell<strong>in</strong>g us <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g stories? Adewale<br />
Aladejana does this with us, he starts: “Sapphire<br />
Group started out of the need for extra <strong>in</strong>come.<br />
We started out with 30,000 naira <strong>in</strong> 2015,<br />
when I would buy perfumes at Wuse market <strong>in</strong><br />
Abuja, advertise on social media and sell. I sold<br />
perfumes every other day. In 3 months, I had<br />
turned over one million naira and on August<br />
24, 2015, my mentor gave me another one<br />
million naira and encouraged me to travel to<br />
Dubai. I started buy<strong>in</strong>g the perfumes <strong>in</strong> bulk,<br />
and <strong>in</strong> time we evolved from sell<strong>in</strong>g branded<br />
perfumes to creat<strong>in</strong>g ours.”<br />
Now there are 25 fragrances under Sapphire<br />
Scents! Oh my! That’s some number. But that’s<br />
not all, Adewale tells us the company is diversify<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
mov<strong>in</strong>g to produce “watches known as<br />
Sapphire Time, bracelets and tie p<strong>in</strong>s known<br />
as Sapphire Jewels, eyewear known as Oju by<br />
Sapphire, a cloth<strong>in</strong>g l<strong>in</strong>e known as Sapphire<br />
Apparel and, by December we are launch<strong>in</strong>g<br />
our earphones known as Sapphire Music.”<br />
Solv<strong>in</strong>g A Need<br />
You cannot be talk<strong>in</strong>g about penetrat<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
market without see<strong>in</strong>g a need. Oya tell us why<br />
we should be patronis<strong>in</strong>g you when we do not<br />
need you. For Adewale, he realised there were<br />
no fragrances specifically tailored for Africans.<br />
Before now, he says, “we simply bought what<br />
the western world sold to us.” For <strong>in</strong>stance, the<br />
highest concentration of fragrances <strong>in</strong> the western<br />
world is usually around 20% oil and 80%<br />
ethanol. This works for westerners because their<br />
weather is warm but, for Africans the concentration<br />
has to be stronger because our weather<br />
is hotter. Another major gap was <strong>in</strong> terms of<br />
pric<strong>in</strong>g. $100 is not a lot of money but that is<br />
₦35,700 naira. So, we decided to tailor products<br />
for Africans by Africans at a price Africans can<br />
afford. We call it the Affordable Luxury strategy.<br />
You can only want to see what Sapphire Scents<br />
has got to offer at this po<strong>in</strong>t - and stay loyal.<br />
Lead<strong>in</strong>g The Market<br />
Goals. Objectives. Mission.<br />
As an entrepreneur, you are not someone who<br />
just wants to eat and move on with their lives.<br />
You def<strong>in</strong>itely want to make a statement, you<br />
want to build and leave a legacy for generations<br />
to come. Sapphire Scents boasts that they<br />
are “the market leader <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n perfume<br />
market right now by the grace of God. We are<br />
the preferred choice, consumers would rather<br />
buy Sapphire Scents or noth<strong>in</strong>g. Major stores<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> now stock our products while our<br />
competitors don’t want us to be <strong>in</strong> the same<br />
malls or shopp<strong>in</strong>g centres they sell.” Any objections?<br />
Of course not. The name, Sapphire would<br />
soon become a household name when you<br />
consider that we have additions to the brand:<br />
accessories.<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The Lord of Luxury<br />
sapphire scents<br />
We have come to lead the market and we<br />
are already on this path<br />
The Journey<br />
Ups and downs, but stay w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g. Aim<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
eventually rubb<strong>in</strong>g shoulders with perfume<br />
brands who have been <strong>in</strong> the market for years<br />
will def<strong>in</strong>itely not be a walk <strong>in</strong> the park. It will<br />
take a lot of effort and consistency. The Versatile-M<strong>in</strong>ded<br />
Entrepreneur says, “It’s been a very<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g journey with a lot of challenges but<br />
I have no regrets because its been reward<strong>in</strong>g<br />
both f<strong>in</strong>ancially and <strong>in</strong> terms of the acceptance<br />
<strong>in</strong> the market.” I will never get over people walk<strong>in</strong>g<br />
up to me and say<strong>in</strong>g ‘I love your products.’<br />
Unique Sell<strong>in</strong>g Po<strong>in</strong>t<br />
What makes you stand out? For Adewale, it is<br />
that Sapphire Scents “are the only perfumes<br />
<strong>in</strong> the world with 40% oil and 60% ethanol.<br />
We sell the highest concentrates you will ever<br />
f<strong>in</strong>d and the most affordable fragrances too for<br />
that concentrate. That is someth<strong>in</strong>g you should<br />
consider.”<br />
Small touches make a big difference; Adewale<br />
has made big touches and is stepp<strong>in</strong>g on solid<br />
rocks.<br />
Lessons<br />
Learn<strong>in</strong>g along the way is someth<strong>in</strong>g you<br />
should consider. Do not ever forget this. The<br />
visionary entrepreneur says, “Do not give up<br />
and do not die before you enjoy the fruit of all<br />
your struggles. Your hardwork will eventually<br />
pay off! If you start and give up at the slightest<br />
challenge, it means you never started. It means<br />
you never wanted your idea to blossom.<br />
Challenges only make you stronger - we should<br />
always remember that. Challenges teach you<br />
lessons you won’t learn from someone else.”<br />
What Should Change?<br />
The <strong>in</strong>dustry and the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n market has<br />
still had its best yet. Obstacles, sell<strong>in</strong>g to the<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n consumer, upturn<strong>in</strong>g preferences for<br />
foreign brands and so on. Then, bus<strong>in</strong>esses<br />
need enabl<strong>in</strong>g environments, this is why the<br />
“government should pay attention, especially<br />
to SMEs. Moreso, when we remember that they<br />
contribute a great deal to the GDP of the country<br />
and help reduce unemployment.”<br />
The Future<br />
“We are look<strong>in</strong>g at a time <strong>in</strong> the near future<br />
where you will not be able to sleep, eat, walk or<br />
look good without a Sapphire product. This is<br />
our dream and we are work<strong>in</strong>g towards it. We<br />
are already on that path. We are also look<strong>in</strong>g at<br />
help<strong>in</strong>g to tell the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n story to the world.<br />
We are <strong>in</strong>dispensable additions to the global<br />
economy and unless the world sees that, we<br />
have not started.”<br />
@thesparkng<br />
33<br />
fli
www.thesparkng.com<br />
How would you react when you see a<br />
brand, assume it is <strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>, then<br />
confirm it when you read the details on<br />
the pack?<br />
SPECIAL FEATURE<br />
The CREATIVE<br />
Confectioner<br />
ZOOMABAR<br />
The Beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Rubb<strong>in</strong>g shoulders with brands who have<br />
led a market for years might be a Herculean<br />
- add that to the fact that <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns<br />
mostly prefer ‘assorted’. Scratch that,<br />
Zoomabar is here to fill a gap they saw <strong>in</strong><br />
the market. Imag<strong>in</strong>e go<strong>in</strong>g to the market<br />
to look for Ijebu Hair. The idea-driven<br />
entrepreneur, Y<strong>in</strong>ka Obagun says, “I was<br />
look<strong>in</strong>g for a granola bar with no added<br />
sugar and no preservatives and I couldn’t<br />
f<strong>in</strong>d anyth<strong>in</strong>g. This gap birthed Zoomabar.<br />
Today we are the first <strong>Nigeria</strong>n NAFDAC<br />
registered bar that has no added sugar<br />
and no preservatives. It’s made with only<br />
organic <strong>in</strong>gredients like Almond Butter,<br />
Fresh Shredded Coconut, Flaxseed,<br />
Chiaseed, Pure local honey, Organic<br />
Oats, Organic Sunflower Seeds and Dried<br />
Blueberries.”<br />
Compet<strong>in</strong>g Favourably<br />
We don’t really like monopoly. Not especially<br />
when we weigh the benefits alongside<br />
the demerits. And s<strong>in</strong>ce we know that<br />
Zoomabar has strong competition, we<br />
wanted to know how she pushes through<br />
to the consumers. Y<strong>in</strong>ka replied, tell<strong>in</strong>g us<br />
how “fierce” the granola bar market is and<br />
how the ma<strong>in</strong> competition is with foreign<br />
brands. However, she says those brands<br />
are not <strong>in</strong> the same league with Zoombar.<br />
Yes, we want to boast.<br />
“They add a lot of sugar and use a lot of<br />
preservatives. Also we only use organic<br />
products. To correct this we try to educate<br />
potential customers on the benefits Zoomabar<br />
has. It is fresh and has no added<br />
sugar and no preservatives. We do not cut<br />
corners and we br<strong>in</strong>g only the best.”<br />
The best it is...a trial will conv<strong>in</strong>ce you or<br />
how do they say it aga<strong>in</strong>?<br />
Zoomabar, Sell<strong>in</strong>g The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Identity<br />
Do you know that companies <strong>in</strong> the US<br />
pay particular attention to brand<strong>in</strong>g - to<br />
sell the American story? Well, it is important.<br />
Y<strong>in</strong>ka agrees. She says, “I th<strong>in</strong>k it’s very<br />
important to show where you are com<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from, especially if you have dreams of<br />
export<strong>in</strong>g your product. It’s one of the<br />
ways you can positively tell your country’s<br />
story. At Zoomabar, all our packag<strong>in</strong>g is<br />
made <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>. From our wrappers to<br />
our Po<strong>in</strong>t of Sale boxes. Also, our colour<br />
choice represents <strong>Nigeria</strong> as well but also<br />
<strong>in</strong>dicates health and wellness - Green:<br />
synonymous to health (as the brand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
experts say). A lot of the products we use<br />
are also sourced locally from farmers <strong>in</strong><br />
various parts of <strong>Nigeria</strong>.”<br />
Never underestimate<br />
yourself and don’t lose<br />
focus on why you started.<br />
Aim<strong>in</strong>g High<br />
“I started last year and wanted to be<br />
everywhere. For a product that has a short<br />
shelf life and was relatively unknown... this<br />
was the biggest challenge. We realised as<br />
much as we would have liked to, we can’t<br />
be everywhere and so we concentrated<br />
on strategic locations that were profitable<br />
for us. We are also work<strong>in</strong>g on another<br />
product.”<br />
Lesson: focus.<br />
Motivation<br />
Let’s ask you, what keeps you motivated?<br />
Okay, you can’t answer here but, for Y<strong>in</strong>ka,<br />
it is “The fact that what I do is actually<br />
enrich<strong>in</strong>g lives for the better. So when I<br />
feel like giv<strong>in</strong>g up at times, I get a random<br />
message encourag<strong>in</strong>g me or someone<br />
order<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> bulk. God always sends you<br />
light that encourages you not to give up.<br />
For Zoomabar I truly believe the best is yet<br />
to come but I am so thankful to God for<br />
where we are.”<br />
Challenges<br />
Stepp<strong>in</strong>g over challenges and do<strong>in</strong>g it<br />
better is pert<strong>in</strong>ent. You might not know it<br />
all, and s<strong>in</strong>ce it is said that ‘no knowledge<br />
is a waste’, take this from this experienced<br />
entrepreneur: “One of the biggest<br />
challenges is gett<strong>in</strong>g suppliers who<br />
actually deliver the right product on time<br />
and with<strong>in</strong> the budget. You have a lot of<br />
suppliers who try to cut corners. Once we<br />
f<strong>in</strong>d out, we give you 2 more chances and<br />
if noth<strong>in</strong>g changes we move on. We are<br />
try<strong>in</strong>g to build a brand that is synonymous<br />
with quality. This cannot be achieved with<br />
sub standard products.”<br />
For Young Entrepreneurs<br />
“Understand your market. Is there a gap<br />
you are try<strong>in</strong>g to fill? What exactly are you<br />
try<strong>in</strong>g to sell and to who? This will <strong>in</strong>form<br />
your price po<strong>in</strong>t. A younger demographic<br />
will not want to spend a lot of money on<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> th<strong>in</strong>gs. Are you mass market or<br />
niche? Do you have plans to export? Once<br />
you have addressed all these questions<br />
and more <strong>in</strong> your bus<strong>in</strong>ess plan and<br />
you feel you are ready to start your own<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess. Please pray and have a strong<br />
network. Never underestimate yourself<br />
and don’t lose focus on why you started.”<br />
34<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
To start off, let us get the basics out<br />
of the way with a few def<strong>in</strong>itions.<br />
The Oxford dictionary def<strong>in</strong>es<br />
communication as “the impart<strong>in</strong>g<br />
or exchang<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>in</strong>formation…” through<br />
a particular medium(s) which could be<br />
traditional (TV, Radio, Newspapers, etc.) or<br />
non- traditional (mostly digital/ unconventional)<br />
media. Oxford also def<strong>in</strong>es Market<strong>in</strong>g<br />
as the action or bus<strong>in</strong>ess of promot<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and sell<strong>in</strong>g products or services, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
market research and advertis<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
BULLSEYE<br />
The MaIN Speak<br />
In a society like <strong>Nigeria</strong>, peculiar challenges exist <strong>in</strong><br />
transferr<strong>in</strong>g brand messages across various demographics,<br />
see how the <strong>in</strong>dustry can stay ahead<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>we Greg Egu<br />
When communicat<strong>in</strong>g, it is, however,<br />
important to ensure that you are not just<br />
communicat<strong>in</strong>g, but do<strong>in</strong>g so effectively.<br />
Effective communication occurs when “the<br />
<strong>in</strong>tended message is delivered, received<br />
and understood”. Market<strong>in</strong>g, however, is<br />
largely dependent on effective communication<br />
as it <strong>in</strong>volves pass<strong>in</strong>g the right<br />
message around goods and/or services,<br />
delivered at the most accurate connection<br />
moments thus ensur<strong>in</strong>g receptiveness and<br />
understand<strong>in</strong>g by your desired audience.<br />
Therefore to market successfully, communication<br />
must be effective.<br />
As with any country or audience, communicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
effectively with<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> requires<br />
at m<strong>in</strong>imum, a basic understand<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
Who you are talk<strong>in</strong>g to, What appeals to<br />
them and Where the most suitable place<br />
to expose your message is. I will briefly<br />
touch on the regional peculiarities of<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> which serves as a guide on how to<br />
craft your message and the evolution of<br />
the population make up which guides you<br />
on where to expose this message. <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
is broadly divided <strong>in</strong>to three parts: The<br />
West, The North and The East. Understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the regional peculiarities is paramount<br />
to ensur<strong>in</strong>g that communication is crafted<br />
<strong>in</strong> a manner that ensures relevance and<br />
resonance.<br />
The West is characterised by a large<br />
number of urban cities and is the most<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternationally oriented region with cities<br />
such as Lagos. This means that communication<br />
and market<strong>in</strong>g with<strong>in</strong> this region<br />
should ideally comprise of <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
cues be<strong>in</strong>g that this is what appeals to the<br />
people with<strong>in</strong> this area.<br />
The North be<strong>in</strong>g more conservative due to<br />
the high concentration of Muslims means<br />
that communication with<strong>in</strong> this area<br />
cannot be perceived as “risqué” as it could<br />
be <strong>in</strong> other regions. One must ensure that<br />
religious sensitivities are taken <strong>in</strong>to cognisance<br />
as that could make or break a brand.<br />
The exception, <strong>in</strong> this case, is Abuja which<br />
has more similarities to the Western cities<br />
than the rest of its Northern counterparts.<br />
Last but not least, the Eastern zone of<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>. This region is home to the Igbos,<br />
who at their very core value their heritage.<br />
Leverag<strong>in</strong>g the importance of local pride<br />
<strong>in</strong> communication and market<strong>in</strong>g is key to<br />
unlock<strong>in</strong>g relevance and resonance with<strong>in</strong><br />
this region.<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>ns are generally proud of where<br />
they come from but understand<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
largely fragmented nature of what appeals<br />
to the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n audience could be the difference<br />
between achiev<strong>in</strong>g your communication<br />
and market<strong>in</strong>g objectives or not.<br />
In a country of over one hundred and<br />
fifty million people, <strong>Nigeria</strong> has a healthy<br />
spread across the different age categories.<br />
The evolution of the population makeup<br />
makes it necessary for the communication<br />
source to understand the lifestyle<br />
of its <strong>in</strong>tended audience. Depend<strong>in</strong>g on<br />
who one is try<strong>in</strong>g to appeal to, one must<br />
evolve with the population. For example,<br />
choos<strong>in</strong>g a brand based on its communication<br />
style <strong>in</strong> my teenage years as a<br />
student is subject to change <strong>in</strong> my more<br />
adult years as a young professional or even<br />
as a mother. It is important for market<strong>in</strong>g<br />
professionals to understand the lifestyle<br />
of the people to whom they are try<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to communicate with. While the <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />
is grow<strong>in</strong>g older and go<strong>in</strong>g through<br />
changes, a brand which has the objective<br />
of appeal<strong>in</strong>g to teenagers must ensure<br />
that it also evolves to suit the preference of<br />
the new generation of teenagers — what<br />
appealed to teenagers <strong>in</strong> the ’80s is very<br />
different from what appeals to teenagers<br />
today. However, the brand must reta<strong>in</strong> its<br />
appeal to its chosen TA and this can be<br />
done through communicat<strong>in</strong>g effectively.<br />
A second leg to understand<strong>in</strong>g the generational<br />
makeup when communicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> is determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the medium<br />
through which one decides to expose<br />
their communication. It is not enough to<br />
develop effective communication material<br />
without ensur<strong>in</strong>g that it reaches your<br />
desired audience. Depend<strong>in</strong>g on who you<br />
are try<strong>in</strong>g to reach, there will be a preference<br />
for Traditional Media or Non-Traditional<br />
Media. If you are try<strong>in</strong>g to reach<br />
the millennials who are always on the go,<br />
Non- Traditional media forms will be most<br />
appropriate e.g. Digital, Social Media, etc.<br />
Communication <strong>in</strong>tended to reach a significantly<br />
more mature audience (65 and<br />
above) will, for the most part, do better<br />
on Traditional Media platforms. This is an<br />
extra layer to consider <strong>in</strong> addition to the<br />
regional peculiarities when communicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and market<strong>in</strong>g to the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n audience.<br />
Much like an onion, there are many<br />
layers to consider when communicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and market<strong>in</strong>g to the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n audience<br />
and, the more you uncover and analyse,<br />
the more effective your communication<br />
and market<strong>in</strong>g are.<br />
In conclusion, as market<strong>in</strong>g professionals,<br />
we must acknowledge the importance of<br />
understand<strong>in</strong>g the fundamental pr<strong>in</strong>ciples<br />
that guide communication and market<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
However, with<strong>in</strong> the beautifully complex<br />
and fragmented context of <strong>Nigeria</strong>, one<br />
must apply layers of considerations to<br />
successfully communicate.<br />
Depend<strong>in</strong>g on who one is<br />
try<strong>in</strong>g to appeal to, one must<br />
evolve with the population.<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
35
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
CORPORATE CODE<br />
Generational Dynamics<br />
The future at this po<strong>in</strong>t isn’t technology anymore as a concept<br />
Eizu Uwaoma<br />
Scientifically, a generation is an average<br />
of 25.5 years. So <strong>in</strong> a century<br />
of a 100 years, the world is known<br />
to resets itself, and the direct effect<br />
of that is a shift <strong>in</strong> bus<strong>in</strong>ess models, career<br />
paths and the human capital pattern. In<br />
just one century, we’ve moved from the<br />
mechanicals to electrical and electronics<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>, with the last 25 years see<strong>in</strong>g more<br />
of <strong>in</strong>ternet and programm<strong>in</strong>g be<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
major career paths for young people.<br />
Locally, no one saw Interswitch, Flutterwave,<br />
IrokoTV, Jobberman or even Andela<br />
revolutionise their <strong>in</strong>dustries. Globally,<br />
who ever thought the biggest companies<br />
<strong>in</strong> the world would come out of nowhere<br />
<strong>in</strong> just ten years and take over companies<br />
that have been <strong>in</strong> existence for centuries.<br />
The Likes of Apple, Amazon, Google and<br />
Facebook are already amongst the first<br />
trillion-dollar companies the world has<br />
ever seen.<br />
Other than politics, <strong>in</strong>dividuals who control<br />
every generation economically usually<br />
come from those who leverage on the <strong>in</strong>dustrial<br />
dynamics of that generation. This<br />
is directly reflective on the current Forbes<br />
list as we have more tech billionaires <strong>in</strong><br />
it than ever. It’s just the days we are <strong>in</strong>.<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Pareto’s 80:20 Pr<strong>in</strong>ciples,<br />
80 percent of the wealth and power of any<br />
generation will always be owned by less<br />
than 20 percent of that generation. The<br />
rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g 80 percent will work for and<br />
be controlled by the m<strong>in</strong>ority 20 percent.<br />
The good news is, the people and trend<br />
are reshuffled every 25.5 years. Now more<br />
than ever, <strong>Nigeria</strong> hasn’t been left out of<br />
that trend.<br />
From CcHUB to Flutterwave, to Interswitch<br />
to Andela, we see how these fast ris<strong>in</strong>g<br />
firms all come from the same trend. But, as<br />
that rush comes, just like every other rush<br />
and torrent, it bursts its channel. It’s sort<br />
of a quadratic curve of the law of dim<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
returns. The need rises, and then<br />
there is a supply, then an oversupply that<br />
crashes the market almost suddenly too.<br />
The most practical example of this is what<br />
is lead<strong>in</strong>g to the shr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g of the Andela<br />
workforce <strong>in</strong> recently. The market seems<br />
to, all of a sudden, be go<strong>in</strong>g through an<br />
oversupply of tech talents, both locally<br />
and <strong>in</strong>ternationally.<br />
A direct manifestation of this law of dim<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
returns on skill oversupply has been<br />
seen <strong>in</strong> the past weeks through the draw<br />
back on the Andela Bus<strong>in</strong>ess Model. In the<br />
five years s<strong>in</strong>ce it was founded, Andela’s<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess model of tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and outsourc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
junior developers to global companies<br />
around the world saw it become a<br />
champion for local computer eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g<br />
talent across. And now they are lay<strong>in</strong>g off<br />
staff as they cant f<strong>in</strong>d enough placement<br />
for all of them. In the words of the chief<br />
executive Jeremy Johnson. “We haven’t<br />
been able to scale remote, junior placements,<br />
<strong>in</strong> part because boot camps and<br />
CS programs have grown rapidly over the<br />
past years”. My advice is that they ask how<br />
can they satisfy the taste for efficiency on<br />
those that they supply talents to.<br />
Now to the students and professionals of<br />
the tech space ma<strong>in</strong>ly made up of millennials,<br />
there is someth<strong>in</strong>g that the current<br />
millennial, learn<strong>in</strong>g how to code as a buzz<br />
career path, is miss<strong>in</strong>g out. And that is the<br />
ability to solve problems <strong>in</strong> isolation with<br />
the skills they have. This current generation<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ly of centennials and millennials<br />
are the ones that took a deep dive <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
Internet. They literally live there. But they<br />
really don’t understand systems, th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g<br />
enough to apply that skill of programm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
or even social media engagements,<br />
to solv<strong>in</strong>g social problems without a big<br />
organisational based framework. If there<br />
is anyth<strong>in</strong>g miss<strong>in</strong>g right now <strong>in</strong> our<br />
local ecosystems, it will be that. What the<br />
market is ask<strong>in</strong>g for are not just those with<br />
programm<strong>in</strong>g skills, but social disruption<br />
and revolutionary application of that skill.<br />
The future at this po<strong>in</strong>t isn’t technology<br />
anymore as a concept. It belongs only to<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>esses set up to revolutionise their <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />
us<strong>in</strong>g technology as an application.<br />
In a world where most basic <strong>in</strong>ventions<br />
have been achieved, Disruptive Innovation<br />
is the concept to study, especially <strong>in</strong><br />
relation to technology. The future isn’t<br />
for sophisticated technology, so simplify<br />
yours. In this emerg<strong>in</strong>g generation, people<br />
don’t have time and don’t want to be<br />
bothered to do critical th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g, especially<br />
millennials and digital natives. Use data to<br />
know where your market and data will be.<br />
The two drawbacks to technology-driven<br />
career paths would be its over supply.<br />
Another would be it not be<strong>in</strong>g efficient<br />
enough for small bus<strong>in</strong>esses (which<br />
make up a large chunk of Africa and even<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>) to hire. Also simplicity is another<br />
challenge. Technology, user experiences<br />
and <strong>in</strong>formation immunity from the syndrome<br />
of <strong>in</strong>formation overload is a side<br />
effect of this generation’s consumption<br />
of technology and data. Naturally, every<br />
customer gets edgier, lazier and more<br />
price conscious with time. The antidote<br />
will be convenience and cost sav<strong>in</strong>g for<br />
him. Andela hasn’t been able to crack that<br />
code with how they supply the market.<br />
The market needs a cheaper alternative<br />
to tech labour. And they’d get it. Whoever<br />
can’t supply that will be on a decl<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
This concept is <strong>in</strong> the heart of Disruptive<br />
Innovation. Stay<strong>in</strong>g relevant means be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
disruptively <strong>in</strong>novative. There are different<br />
types of <strong>in</strong>novations, but there is one that<br />
cuts cycle time and cost for the customer.<br />
That’s what Prof Clayton of the Harvard<br />
Bus<strong>in</strong>ess School def<strong>in</strong>es as Disruptive<br />
Innovation.<br />
Disruptive Innovation is when a company<br />
(most times startups) produces and eventually<br />
masters the market<strong>in</strong>g of products<br />
that seems to be simpler, superior and<br />
more affordable than the prior products <strong>in</strong><br />
the marketplace, thereby creat<strong>in</strong>g a new<br />
value network. It’s mostly by the newcomers.<br />
At this po<strong>in</strong>t, this underdogs take a<br />
neglected marketplace that the <strong>in</strong>cumbent<br />
leader isn’t <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> because<br />
its focus is to make better products at a<br />
better price for profit. While they are it, the<br />
underdog sneaks up and takes them out.<br />
Disruptive Innovation is a strategy game<br />
of the underdog. And the current tech<br />
space market is <strong>in</strong> hunger for this.<br />
Disruptive Innovation is a strategy<br />
game of the underdog. And<br />
the current tech space market is<br />
<strong>in</strong> hunger for this.<br />
36<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
Enabl<strong>in</strong>g small and grow<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong><br />
Lagos State is an essential pivot for local<br />
and national economic transformation.<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the recently released 2017<br />
survey by the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Bureau of Statistics<br />
(NBS) and the Small and Medium Enterprise<br />
Development Agency of <strong>Nigeria</strong> (SMEDAN),<br />
Lagos State is home to 11% of <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s small<br />
and medium scale enterprises.<br />
Aspir<strong>in</strong>g entrepreneurs require<br />
deep and practical exposure to<br />
entrepreneurship and bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
management skills.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce our found<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 2000, FATE Foundation<br />
has provided pre-<strong>in</strong>cubation, <strong>in</strong>cubation and<br />
accelerator support to over 5,300 aspir<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and emerg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Nigeria</strong>n entrepreneurs. About<br />
70% of these entrepreneurs are Lagos State<br />
based, and they lead start-ups ma<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong> growth<br />
sectors such as agri-bus<strong>in</strong>ess, creatives, food<br />
and dr<strong>in</strong>ks, manufactur<strong>in</strong>g, education and<br />
technology.<br />
The <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g growth <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>cubators, work<br />
spaces and start-up programmes from local<br />
and <strong>in</strong>ternational enterprise support providers<br />
show the potential that is seen <strong>in</strong> the state.<br />
The Global Start-up Ecosystem Report<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
Rank<strong>in</strong>g for 2017 released by Start-up Genome<br />
noted Lagos State to be “the most valuable<br />
start-up ecosystem” on the African cont<strong>in</strong>ent<br />
worth US$2billion and second after Cape Town<br />
with respect to the number of start-ups.<br />
Conduct<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> Lagos State as with<br />
any part of <strong>Nigeria</strong> undoubtedly comes with its<br />
set of unique challenges such as lack of power,<br />
poor <strong>in</strong>frastructure, limited fund<strong>in</strong>g and a bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
environment that is often lack<strong>in</strong>g the right<br />
policy framework to effectively enable and<br />
harness our entrepreneurship potential. As with<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n entrepreneurs, Lagos State founders<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ue to prove their resilience, focus and<br />
perseverance to the world, despite the odds.<br />
In this Spark Magaz<strong>in</strong>e edition, I share the follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
5 strategies to further enable the state’s<br />
entrepreneurship potential.<br />
The Knowledge Foundation: One th<strong>in</strong>g Lagos<br />
State (unlike most other states) does not lack<br />
is start-up capacity-build<strong>in</strong>g programmes<br />
and <strong>in</strong>itiatives. On any given week, a number<br />
of <strong>in</strong>cubation programmes, start-up competitions,<br />
hackathons and enterprise tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
programmes are be<strong>in</strong>g conducted. Despite<br />
the availability of these programmes, there<br />
are significant gaps <strong>in</strong> the depth of enterprise<br />
and bus<strong>in</strong>ess management knowledge really<br />
required to grow a bus<strong>in</strong>ess. As a result, many<br />
entrepreneurs often acquire the barest m<strong>in</strong>imum<br />
level of knowledge to run a bus<strong>in</strong>ess at<br />
the detriment of build<strong>in</strong>g deep skills that will<br />
empower them to develop <strong>in</strong>novative solutions.<br />
One of the ways to address this is at the<br />
foundational stage <strong>in</strong> secondary and tertiary <strong>in</strong>stitutions<br />
through the educational curriculum.<br />
It is important to note that this is different from<br />
technical and vocational skills that are usually<br />
taught as entrepreneurship programmes. Aspir<strong>in</strong>g<br />
entrepreneurs require deep and practical<br />
exposure to entrepreneurship and bus<strong>in</strong>ess<br />
management skills particularly, f<strong>in</strong>ancial literacy<br />
and market strategy through project based<br />
learn<strong>in</strong>g and practical/experiential learn<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
FEATURES<br />
Start-up<br />
Support<br />
Indeed, Lagos is a large market but, are<br />
you tak<strong>in</strong>g up this opportunity?<br />
Industry-Academia L<strong>in</strong>kages: The second<br />
way to address the knowledge foundation<br />
highlighted <strong>in</strong> the first po<strong>in</strong>t above is by<br />
creat<strong>in</strong>g effective l<strong>in</strong>kages between academia<br />
and <strong>in</strong>dustry. As the commercial nerve center<br />
of <strong>Nigeria</strong>, Lagos State is home to a number of<br />
the country’s lead<strong>in</strong>g private sector <strong>in</strong>stitutions.<br />
There are apparent dissociations between<br />
the academia and the private sector, thereby<br />
impact<strong>in</strong>g the provision of <strong>in</strong>novative solutions<br />
that are economically valuable and viable and<br />
will lead to the development of high impact enterprises.<br />
For example, it would be great to see<br />
endeavours between Yaba College of Technology<br />
and private sector companies <strong>in</strong> the creative<br />
space that lead to product solutions <strong>in</strong> the state<br />
us<strong>in</strong>g technology and design. This approach is<br />
feasible if on the academia/tertiary <strong>in</strong>stitution<br />
side, the curriculum is market aligned; focused<br />
on nurtur<strong>in</strong>g talent pipel<strong>in</strong>e with the required<br />
technical skills and competencies; and clearly<br />
understands the market gap. Private sector will<br />
also need to provide support <strong>in</strong> terms of <strong>in</strong>frastructure<br />
and fund<strong>in</strong>g; have w<strong>in</strong>-w<strong>in</strong> strategies<br />
that enable Intellectual Property and technology<br />
transfer; and also provide placement opportunities<br />
for both students and researchers.<br />
Sector focused Infrastructural Support:<br />
Apart from general <strong>in</strong>frastructural challenges<br />
around energy and <strong>in</strong>ternet, most <strong>in</strong>frastructural<br />
challenges are usually sector related.<br />
Creat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>frastructural plug and play platforms<br />
will help to enhance economies of scale, pool<br />
<strong>in</strong> relevant resources, enhance access to market<br />
and aggregate sectoral policy <strong>in</strong>terventions<br />
which will help improve overall conditions for<br />
do<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess. A few of these platforms exist<br />
through technology <strong>in</strong>cubation centers and<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustrial parks, however capacity is significantly<br />
limited to address the demand and the<br />
design of the locations and operat<strong>in</strong>g processes<br />
require significant optimisation and technology<br />
adaptation.<br />
Enablers for Access to Capital: The Lagos<br />
State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) has<br />
Adenike Adeyemi<br />
shown what can be possible with a focused attempt<br />
at provid<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>anc<strong>in</strong>g for entrepreneurs.<br />
The LSETF <strong>in</strong>itially established with a $25 billion<br />
fund by the Lagos State Government provides<br />
up to about N5 million fund<strong>in</strong>g of 5% <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
per annum for Lagos based entrepreneurs. The<br />
LSETF model has shown what is possible with<br />
private and public sector support for start-up<br />
fund<strong>in</strong>g and is a model that can be adapted to<br />
address the significant fund<strong>in</strong>g gap for growth<br />
focused fund<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Data is critical: Without data, we will not<br />
be able to have a view on entrepreneurship<br />
growth and impact <strong>in</strong> the state. Just as we tell<br />
entrepreneurs the importance of understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and mak<strong>in</strong>g decisions with data, so should<br />
those <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> foster<strong>in</strong>g entrepreneurship<br />
be clear about their use of data <strong>in</strong> programme<br />
design, monitor<strong>in</strong>g, evaluation and outcome<br />
assessment.<br />
Transition<strong>in</strong>g from Startups to Scale-Ups:<br />
While start-up support is very important, scaleup<br />
support should be the key driver of entrepreneurial<br />
focus <strong>in</strong> the state. The NBS SMEDAN<br />
survey earlier mentioned <strong>in</strong>dicates that over<br />
99% of enterprises <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> are micro bus<strong>in</strong>esses.<br />
These are not the type of bus<strong>in</strong>esses<br />
that will grow the economy <strong>in</strong> the long term.<br />
There are negative socio-economic effects of<br />
focus<strong>in</strong>g on just creat<strong>in</strong>g start-ups/new bus<strong>in</strong>esses<br />
without the commitment to <strong>in</strong>itiatives<br />
that focus on grow<strong>in</strong>g and scal<strong>in</strong>g the high<br />
potential/impact ventures. To create viable entrepreneurship<br />
ecosystems, policy programmes<br />
and <strong>in</strong>itiatives should support the creation of<br />
an enabl<strong>in</strong>g environment which fosters the<br />
susta<strong>in</strong>ability of bus<strong>in</strong>esses that grow and scale.<br />
These enterprises will be the ones that can<br />
drive demand across their value cha<strong>in</strong>s,<br />
create employment, spur <strong>in</strong>novation, improve<br />
competition and positively impact<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>come<br />
distribution.<br />
References: SMEDAN/NBS MSME Survey Summary Report – 2013/2017 | EFINA Access to F<strong>in</strong>ancial Services Survey – 2018 | CGAP Smaller Household Survey - 2017 | Gems4 Rice Cluster Mapp<strong>in</strong>g Report - 2016<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
37
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
FEATURES<br />
My entrepreneurial journey <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
Khadijah Mobolanle Okunnu-Lamidi<br />
I<br />
still remember quite vividly the<br />
thought and anxieties that went <strong>in</strong>to<br />
draft<strong>in</strong>g my resignation letter, dated<br />
March 14, 2016 - it was my ticket to<br />
board the entrepreneurship tra<strong>in</strong>.<br />
My foray <strong>in</strong>to the world of brand consultancy<br />
and advertis<strong>in</strong>g was driven by an<br />
<strong>in</strong>nate passion to be a part of the rebrand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of <strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
I had worked <strong>in</strong> varied capacities with<strong>in</strong><br />
the Lagos State government and recognised<br />
the obvious truth that what <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
requires for genu<strong>in</strong>e and susta<strong>in</strong>able<br />
growth is a stronger private sector driven<br />
economy.<br />
It is the role of government to regulate<br />
economic activity <strong>in</strong> the public <strong>in</strong>terest,<br />
however, while the strong systems,<br />
checks and balances ensure stability,<br />
these bureaucracies tend to rise to<br />
a sometimes obst<strong>in</strong>ate state which<br />
disrupts and impedes genu<strong>in</strong>e economic<br />
activity.<br />
The entrepreneurial journey, however,<br />
disallows for the atta<strong>in</strong>ment of any such<br />
state. It is fuelled strictly by reputation and<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess strategy. The ability to translate<br />
these two elements gives your brand its<br />
value. Work<strong>in</strong>g towards a desired reputation<br />
while cont<strong>in</strong>ually adapt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> strategy<br />
is the key to survival <strong>in</strong> this constant<br />
dynamic global economy.<br />
The brand essence of SLICE MEDIA is<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n <strong>in</strong>novation and patriotism.<br />
Belief <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>genuity of our bus<strong>in</strong>esses<br />
and the global value of our own brands<br />
compels us to struggle for autonomy, and<br />
to empower others on a similar <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
journey. This l<strong>in</strong>e of thought negates any<br />
sort of reliance on government for the<br />
sustenance and survival of economic<br />
development.<br />
As we have found at SLICE MEDIA, the<br />
currency for survival of our citizens lies <strong>in</strong><br />
harness<strong>in</strong>g our core talents, celebrat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
them and hon<strong>in</strong>g our <strong>in</strong>tangible skills.<br />
In this lies our differentiation strategy. It<br />
never wavered, even when our brand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and advertisement strategy did.<br />
With a yearn<strong>in</strong>g passion, amplified by a<br />
l<strong>in</strong>eage of patriotic empaths; the sanctity<br />
of the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n state is a very natural ideal<br />
to be pursued ardently. An autobiography<br />
by my father Olufemi Okunnu (S.A.N, CON)<br />
titled ‘In the Service of the Nation’ is an<br />
<strong>in</strong>-depth narration of his lifelong contribution<br />
to the National discourse <strong>in</strong> The<br />
Federal Republic of <strong>Nigeria</strong> with an <strong>in</strong>sight<br />
to solutions proffered <strong>in</strong> servitude. This <strong>in</strong>tangible<br />
asset of his, has fuelled my <strong>in</strong>nate<br />
drive towards<br />
f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g progres-<br />
sive<br />
solu-<br />
tions<br />
for all<br />
issues<br />
especially <strong>in</strong> the context of my beloved<br />
country.<br />
To thrive, amidst the serial disruptions of<br />
the Fourth Industrial Revolution, <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
must <strong>in</strong>vest more <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>tangible assets, like<br />
design, brand<strong>in</strong>g, and software; than <strong>in</strong>tangible<br />
assets, like mach<strong>in</strong>ery, build<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
which are be<strong>in</strong>g rendered redundant with<br />
each new technological disruption.<br />
As with any bus<strong>in</strong>ess, the ability to deploy<br />
assets that one can neither see nor touch<br />
is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly the ma<strong>in</strong> source of longterm<br />
success. One of the reasons we have<br />
been experienc<strong>in</strong>g economic <strong>in</strong>equality<br />
and stagnation <strong>in</strong> production is because<br />
we are constantly try<strong>in</strong>g to import expertise<br />
otherwise known as ‘<strong>in</strong>tangible assets’<br />
when we have it <strong>in</strong> abundance.<br />
Unfortunately, the unusual economic<br />
characteristics of <strong>in</strong>tangible <strong>in</strong>vestments<br />
ensures that fundamentally, the expertise<br />
cannot be replicated but can only be<br />
exploited to the benefit of the expert.<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> is rich <strong>in</strong> Arts and Culture beyond<br />
comprehension. It is the fabric design of<br />
our country. As we must and should know,<br />
these forms of Art are peculiar to our<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>ation and cannot be replicated.<br />
We also have a population lean<strong>in</strong>g<br />
towards 200 million with over half be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a dynamic youth population, we must<br />
understand that we have reached our<br />
prime as a Nation. These numbers ensure<br />
that we have billable data at our disposal,<br />
software <strong>in</strong>vestment is key to harness<strong>in</strong>g<br />
this value.<br />
As the creative lead of Slice Media, my<br />
goal is to highlight how brand<strong>in</strong>g across<br />
a diverse spectrum of <strong>in</strong>dustries, from<br />
start-ups to super-star brands, to niche<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>esses and non-profits can enlist<br />
the characteristics of an <strong>in</strong>tangible age<br />
fused with <strong>in</strong>novation to drive contextually<br />
pert<strong>in</strong>ent communication.<br />
Our services strive to bridge the awareness<br />
gap <strong>in</strong> any given <strong>in</strong>dustry and<br />
expand the opportunities provided by this<br />
medium.<br />
As an Advertis<strong>in</strong>g Consult<strong>in</strong>g Firm, we are<br />
consistently enlisted <strong>in</strong>to strategic committees<br />
with roles primarily to advise and<br />
assist <strong>in</strong> the development of mass media<br />
activities for our Clients. We are a team<br />
of highly skilled campaign communicators<br />
and offer unique access to markets<br />
throughout <strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
Our experience, buy<strong>in</strong>g power and unbridled<br />
creativity helps us deliver exceptional<br />
value to match clients look<strong>in</strong>g to solve<br />
their long-term Brand visibility needs.<br />
As the Lead<strong>in</strong>g Traditional Media Practitioners<br />
<strong>in</strong> Lagos; also known as Outdoor<br />
Advertis<strong>in</strong>g, we provide High Impact<br />
Brand Awareness for clients look<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
navigate this dynamic media space. We<br />
know what works, and deploy this knowledge<br />
and experience to effectively tailor<br />
client needs.<br />
38<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
START-UP<br />
<strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> brands are literally<br />
catch<strong>in</strong>g on and displac<strong>in</strong>g foreign<br />
brands <strong>in</strong> the m<strong>in</strong>ds of <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
consumers. A cursory glance at<br />
trends <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s creative <strong>in</strong>dustry justifies this<br />
reality. <strong>Nigeria</strong> is currently the second-largest<br />
producer of movies <strong>in</strong> the world. <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
music is also <strong>in</strong>credibly popular with<strong>in</strong> the<br />
country, <strong>in</strong> most parts of Africa and <strong>in</strong> the Caribbean.<br />
The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n art market is fast becom<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a premium market for art lovers <strong>in</strong> the world.<br />
Put together, these trends suggest that <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
has the potential to build, project and export<br />
strong <strong>in</strong>digenous brands.<br />
However, it is puzzl<strong>in</strong>g to note that none of<br />
Africa’s <strong>in</strong>digenous brands made it to Africa’s<br />
top ten lists of consumer brands <strong>in</strong> 2018.<br />
Another excit<strong>in</strong>g puzzle is that no <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
brand or personality made it to the top three<br />
most searched celebrities <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> on Google<br />
<strong>in</strong> 2018. Instead, Alexis Sanchez, a famous<br />
football star, was the most searched personality<br />
on Google <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> last year. These puzzl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
trends demonstrate that <strong>Nigeria</strong> has a mostly<br />
young demographic audience that is enthused<br />
by global sports, music and fashion brands.<br />
The excit<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>sight that one could draw from<br />
this reality is that <strong>in</strong>digenous and foreign<br />
brands are compet<strong>in</strong>g for a share of the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
consumer’s m<strong>in</strong>d. <strong>Nigeria</strong>n consumers want<br />
brands that offer value for money, whether<br />
local or <strong>in</strong>ternational. The implication is that<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g domestic is not enough to w<strong>in</strong> a share of<br />
the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n consumer’s wallet. A lot of effort<br />
needs to go <strong>in</strong>to build<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>digenous brands<br />
that can stand the test of time <strong>in</strong> the m<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>n consumers.<br />
A few tips would help local brand builders to<br />
grow stronger made <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> brands. First,<br />
builders of <strong>in</strong>digenous brands must th<strong>in</strong>k<br />
global when creat<strong>in</strong>g local brands. In other<br />
words, it is essential from the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to aim<br />
towards build<strong>in</strong>g a brand that will have a universal<br />
appeal. The way to achieve this objective<br />
is to carefully select brand values that appeal<br />
across cultures rather than one region. Local<br />
brands that are limited to project<strong>in</strong>g narrow<br />
cultural values of a particular area run the risk<br />
of stagnat<strong>in</strong>g rather<br />
than grow<strong>in</strong>g. For<br />
example, the makers<br />
of a famous noodles<br />
brand <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> found<br />
that the brand could<br />
not <strong>in</strong>crease market<br />
penetration <strong>in</strong> Northern<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>. The situation<br />
was mostly because the<br />
brand projected values<br />
that were acceptable<br />
<strong>in</strong> Southern <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
but not acceptable<br />
<strong>in</strong> Northern <strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
Th<strong>in</strong>gs changed when<br />
the company decided<br />
to reposition the message<br />
of the brand to<br />
have a broader appeal.<br />
Indigenous brands can also acquire robust<br />
appeal when the brand values l<strong>in</strong>k up with the<br />
values of subcultures. Subcultures are groups of<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividuals that share a common <strong>in</strong>terest that<br />
they express through social media activities.<br />
Examples of such groups <strong>in</strong>clude cheese lovers<br />
groups, music enthusiasts, food recipe groups,<br />
etc. Brands that associate their values with the<br />
positive values of subcultures re<strong>in</strong>force their<br />
presence <strong>in</strong> consumer’s m<strong>in</strong>ds. An <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g<br />
example is the case of Onga season<strong>in</strong>g, an<br />
<strong>in</strong>digenous food season<strong>in</strong>g brand. This brand<br />
made a strong come back to the market by<br />
craft<strong>in</strong>g its brand campaign around a social<br />
media celebrity that appealed to the recipe<br />
subculture.<br />
Indigenous brands will only grow to have a universal<br />
appeal if they are credible and consistent.<br />
Brands must walk the talk. There is noth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
more deceitful to a consumer than f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g that<br />
a brand does not live up to its promise. The<br />
experience of patronis<strong>in</strong>g a brand must match<br />
up to the campaign messages that support that<br />
brand. Several times, <strong>Nigeria</strong>n consumers get<br />
disappo<strong>in</strong>ted with local brands because of <strong>in</strong>ferior<br />
product and service quality. Attempts to<br />
address these problems would offer a massive<br />
advantage to <strong>in</strong>digenous brands.<br />
Globalis<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Local Brands<br />
When foreign brands are easily<br />
accessible, local brands must do<br />
more work<br />
F<strong>in</strong>ally, <strong>in</strong>digenous brands can acquire a<br />
stronger local and global appeal when there is<br />
substantial <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g the brands<br />
available and accessible. Consumers remember<br />
what they see and hear frequently. The<br />
implication is that local brand builders must be<br />
ready to <strong>in</strong>vest <strong>in</strong> build<strong>in</strong>g a robust distribution<br />
channel to support the efforts of advertis<strong>in</strong>g<br />
campaigns.<br />
As <strong>Nigeria</strong> prepares to celebrate 59 years of<br />
democracy, it is an ideal time for brand builders<br />
to reflect on what it would take to globalise<br />
their brands. Be<strong>in</strong>g local alone would not<br />
susta<strong>in</strong>ably attract <strong>Nigeria</strong>n consumers. More<br />
work is required to secure a larger share of the<br />
consumers’ m<strong>in</strong>ds when foreign brands are<br />
easily accessible.<br />
The experience of patronis<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a brand must<br />
match up to the campaign<br />
messages that support<br />
that brand.<br />
Uchenna Uzo<br />
fli<br />
@thesparkng<br />
39
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
BRAND SPARK<br />
On Patriotism and Patronage<br />
The battle between buy<strong>in</strong>g local and supposedly<br />
better foreign brands<br />
Ayo Moses<br />
On September 6, 2019, I had an<br />
experience unique to locals as I went<br />
to get groceries for my family at a<br />
supermarket.<br />
After buy<strong>in</strong>g most of the th<strong>in</strong>gs I wanted, I<br />
spotted a mouthwash - a <strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
product. Sitt<strong>in</strong>g next to it was a Colgate mouthwash<br />
that had a price tag <strong>in</strong> American dollars.<br />
The <strong>Nigeria</strong>n brand was N750 while the foreign<br />
one, Colgate, had $1.99 confidently written on<br />
it. Then the dilemma “<strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>” Versus<br />
“<strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> USA” came up with<strong>in</strong> me.<br />
It was a serious moral battle for me, especially<br />
as I remembered the fact that I had only recently<br />
designed a Patriotic Buy<strong>in</strong>g Campaign and<br />
driven it to some measure of public knowledge.<br />
It was a battle between my responsibility as a<br />
citizen and the general negative perception of<br />
most th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
My thoughts were overwhelmed with a<br />
dialogue that can best be captured by the<br />
exchanges below:<br />
Patriotic Buy<strong>in</strong>g Ayo Moses: How can you buy<br />
that foreign brand when you can see a <strong>Made</strong> In<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> product?<br />
Brand Conscious Ayo Moses: Colgate is a<br />
reputable brand that has grown tremendous<br />
economies of scale to manufacture the best<br />
mouthwash <strong>in</strong> the world.<br />
Patriotic Buy<strong>in</strong>g Ayo Moses: But this <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
Brand must start somewhere too and needs<br />
your patronage to fight this foreign brand.<br />
Ladies and gentlemen, it is with sadness that<br />
I announce that Colgate Mouthwash won the<br />
battle. I mean, before I could conclude the<br />
mental dialogue, the well packaged bottle was<br />
<strong>in</strong> the cart.<br />
Upon gett<strong>in</strong>g home, I didn’t open the bottle.<br />
I spent about ten m<strong>in</strong>utes look<strong>in</strong>g at the product<br />
packag<strong>in</strong>g and read<strong>in</strong>g everyth<strong>in</strong>g written<br />
on it.<br />
Then I got to the po<strong>in</strong>t where I saw the boldly<br />
written price of $ 1.99. I looked at it for about<br />
one m<strong>in</strong>ute, question<strong>in</strong>g the rationale for leav<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the dollar price tag <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n market.<br />
Eureka!<br />
I found what they used to help defeat my patriotic<br />
buy<strong>in</strong>g sentiment. The product promoters<br />
def<strong>in</strong>itely know the power of leav<strong>in</strong>g the dollar<br />
price tag on the bottle.<br />
What does the American dollar represent?<br />
It represents everyth<strong>in</strong>g America, as a<br />
Nation-state Brand, projects. Narratives like<br />
Freedom, Innovation and Orig<strong>in</strong>ality naturally<br />
comes to m<strong>in</strong>d upon sight<strong>in</strong>g a product backed<br />
by the American dollar.<br />
Talk<strong>in</strong>g about the story of <strong>Nigeria</strong> as a panacea,<br />
we must look at how people get to trust their<br />
fellow citizens and governments, before tak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that trust outside to w<strong>in</strong> by ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the respect<br />
of foreigners.<br />
The best nation state, when it comes to<br />
brand<strong>in</strong>g, is the United States of America. The<br />
American Story is one that has been used to<br />
position the country as the greatest <strong>in</strong> the<br />
world to Americans and the rest of the world,<br />
and I believe that the same th<strong>in</strong>g is what we<br />
need to do for <strong>Nigeria</strong>, leverag<strong>in</strong>g on the power<br />
of Nollywood.<br />
The American movie <strong>in</strong>dustry, by deliberate<br />
commission and structure, plays a critical role<br />
<strong>in</strong> sell<strong>in</strong>g MADE IN AMERICA to the world and<br />
Nollywood can be used for that purpose as well<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
In tell<strong>in</strong>g the stories of anyth<strong>in</strong>g American, all<br />
efforts are made to ensure that the country is<br />
projected <strong>in</strong> a positive light. They don’t leave<br />
that to chance at all and there are countless<br />
movies sponsored by the governments of the<br />
United States for strategic image and reputation<br />
shap<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
For <strong>Nigeria</strong>, I believe very strongly that the various<br />
story elements at our very socio-political<br />
and economic crossroads br<strong>in</strong>gs a rare opportunity<br />
that we have not fully and deliberately<br />
utilised to position our country right, at home<br />
and abroad.<br />
The real problem before “<strong>Made</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>” is the<br />
image and perception-challenges that the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
nomenclature presents. The issue is that<br />
we have not def<strong>in</strong>ed who we truly are, and are<br />
yet to raise the characters among us that best<br />
typifies that dream personality for celebration<br />
and elevation.<br />
Just as it is for product, idea or service brands<br />
that have not been def<strong>in</strong>ed for a clear personality,<br />
so it is for nation state brands. Indeed, it<br />
is when a brand has a valuable personality that<br />
its story can beg<strong>in</strong> to make sense and catch<br />
attention.<br />
What can the government do?<br />
• Redesign the Mandate of the National<br />
Film Videos and Censors board to project<br />
a Greater <strong>Nigeria</strong>.<br />
• Redesign the Policy for National<br />
Education and citizen Indoctr<strong>in</strong>ation to<br />
<strong>in</strong>tegrate every aspect of <strong>Nigeria</strong>n history<br />
with the strategic <strong>in</strong>tent to project New<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong> and relegate tribal and ethnic<br />
elements to the federat<strong>in</strong>g units<br />
• Incentivise the production and promotion<br />
of great stories that position <strong>Nigeria</strong> as<br />
the hope of Africa by Nollywood.<br />
• All stories and movies that do not put <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
on the narrative path for the desired<br />
<strong>in</strong>tent and purpose must be commercially<br />
and economically stifled.<br />
• Develop a policy on child education and<br />
orientation that functions on the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
story, gett<strong>in</strong>g all our people to have a<br />
common shared vision and <strong>in</strong>terest.<br />
• Develop a digital channel that will cover<br />
all epochs and carry <strong>Nigeria</strong>’s many victories<br />
and get all state public and private<br />
entities to connect for expeditious and<br />
susta<strong>in</strong>able dissem<strong>in</strong>ation of the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n<br />
story.<br />
• Above all, public purchases and consumption<br />
must prioritise <strong>Made</strong> In <strong>Nigeria</strong> and<br />
only buy from outside where we have no<br />
immediate capacity.<br />
I believe that the many troubles of enterprise<br />
development <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> and its attendant desire<br />
for foreign and ostentatious consumption<br />
is a sign of a deep-rooted zero knowledge of<br />
self among <strong>Nigeria</strong>ns.<br />
Any society where people cannot trust themselves<br />
is bound for perpetual poverty. The<br />
key to ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g trust can only be unlocked by<br />
an effective and strategic story approach for<br />
national rebirth, rebrand<strong>in</strong>g and reposition<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
It is when a brand has a<br />
personality that its story<br />
can beg<strong>in</strong> to make sense<br />
and catch attention.<br />
40<br />
fli @thesparkng
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
What Art Means To Coll<strong>in</strong>s<br />
Art to me has always been the fundamental<br />
language through which I express<br />
my thoughts, beliefs and experiences.<br />
It is a tangible and visual language of<br />
self expression. It gives flesh to creative<br />
expressions.<br />
Art is also an opportunity <strong>in</strong> time to question<br />
and proffer answers to situations and<br />
experiences. As an artist, when you miss<br />
this opportunity to be part of a universal<br />
system and be unified with the elements<br />
which contribute to what makes life what<br />
it is, life becomes void.<br />
Expressions<br />
The concept of tradition and heritage connote<br />
the transition of customs and beliefs<br />
from generation to another generation.<br />
The artist, just like every other person <strong>in</strong> a<br />
society, is traditionally, a part of that society<br />
and is, therefore, directly or <strong>in</strong>directly<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluenced by that society.<br />
I constantly, through my work, document<br />
my experiences and thoughts and hope<br />
that future generations will be able to<br />
share my views about my time <strong>in</strong> my<br />
generation. This is one reason I try to keep<br />
my work contemporary so it reflects the<br />
time I am exist<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> and will become<br />
useful and resourceful materials for future<br />
generations.<br />
Coll<strong>in</strong>s ụdị<br />
My works highly seek to unify repurposed<br />
materials, recycl<strong>in</strong>g and contemporary<br />
ideas. I regularly aim to transform both<br />
functional and discarded materials and<br />
ref<strong>in</strong>e them to express ideas and experiences<br />
that can be put <strong>in</strong> spaces that<br />
people can connect with. My sculptures<br />
mostly explore birds, animals and human<br />
forms as subject and, I use these subjects<br />
as muse to highlight my thoughts,<br />
experience and op<strong>in</strong>ion about my society.<br />
Spoons, forks and cha<strong>in</strong>s are mediums<br />
that I have worked with <strong>in</strong> my practice as<br />
an artist. These are also materials I will be<br />
show<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> my forthcom<strong>in</strong>g solo exhibition<br />
tagged RAPTURE.<br />
Rapture, <strong>in</strong> the context of the body that I<br />
will be exhibit<strong>in</strong>g between 26 October to<br />
25 November, 2019, encompasses human<br />
struggle to be free and atta<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>f<strong>in</strong>ite desire.<br />
All around are news of war, poverty,<br />
FREESTYLE<br />
The A.R.T <strong>in</strong><br />
Nature<br />
Ab<strong>in</strong>oro Akporede Coll<strong>in</strong>s<br />
oppression, slavery, political sabotage<br />
of humanity, self identity and human<br />
right struggle, climate crisis, natural and<br />
man made disaster. The exhibition hopes<br />
to ignite the conversation that answers<br />
questions to the endless struggles of man<br />
lies with.<br />
Muse<br />
My greatest <strong>in</strong>spiration is the society I live<br />
<strong>in</strong> and been able to connect with human<br />
experiences. My journey as a human be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and the realisation that we’re all a part<br />
of a universal network and that the more<br />
we reach out, the stronger we’ll become.<br />
Resources/Journey So Far<br />
My journey as an artist began as early as<br />
when I ga<strong>in</strong>ed knowledge of my special<br />
gift as a child. I went ahead to study art<br />
from the Auchi School of Art, Auchi Polytechnic,<br />
and graduated with a dist<strong>in</strong>ction<br />
<strong>in</strong> 2012, measur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> sculpture. My first<br />
spoon sculpture was created <strong>in</strong> 2012,<br />
<strong>in</strong>spired by a challenge by one of our lecturers,<br />
who wanted us to create sculptures<br />
us<strong>in</strong>g non-conventional materials. The<br />
handle of spoons helped me with just the<br />
feathers of birds. I have been work<strong>in</strong>g on a<br />
research on birds as a symbol of freedom<br />
and self expression. Coupled with the<br />
fact that, at that po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> my life I was<br />
search<strong>in</strong>g for ways to discover my part as<br />
an artist and express who I am. I started<br />
full time studio practice after mov<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to<br />
Lagos <strong>in</strong> 2015. And it has been a great<br />
experience mak<strong>in</strong>g powerful sculptures<br />
from repurposed materials.<br />
@thesparkng<br />
41<br />
fli
The Spark | Ignite / Connect / Achieve<br />
www.thesparkng.com<br />
SME SPOTLIGHT<br />
Bellafricana - On<br />
An Afrocentric<br />
Mission<br />
There has been a rise <strong>in</strong> the number<br />
of creative <strong>in</strong>digenous (made <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>, Africa) brands that have<br />
great quality with little or no f<strong>in</strong>anc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from either the government or larger<br />
<strong>in</strong>stitutions. We are on the list of brands who<br />
do not sit out wait<strong>in</strong>g on the government to<br />
fix every hole <strong>in</strong> the economy. We believe <strong>in</strong><br />
creat<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong>novat<strong>in</strong>g ideas to make our<br />
economy a better place.<br />
Bukky Aseh<strong>in</strong>de aims to help creative Afrocentric/Indigenous<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong> Africa<br />
connect to their local and global consumers.<br />
As part of her mission to bridge the gap between<br />
creative producers of <strong>Made</strong>-<strong>in</strong>-<strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
non-oil creative products and their consumers,<br />
Bellafricana, a company owned by Bukky,<br />
launched an onl<strong>in</strong>e platform <strong>in</strong> April 2016,<br />
showcas<strong>in</strong>g unique bus<strong>in</strong>esses of products<br />
and services made <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> (Africa).<br />
The onl<strong>in</strong>e platform (www.bellafricana.com)<br />
was launched to empower, promote and<br />
celebrate creative <strong>in</strong>digenous brands <strong>in</strong><br />
Africa. Start<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>Nigeria</strong> her home-land,<br />
the goal is to take it one African Country at<br />
a time.<br />
Expansively, Bellafricana is an <strong>in</strong>itiative with<br />
a focus on <strong>Made</strong>-<strong>in</strong>-<strong>Nigeria</strong> non-oil product<br />
development, where customers and<br />
suppliers engage and<br />
transact to bridge the<br />
buyer-seller gap and<br />
create a wider outreach<br />
for <strong>Nigeria</strong>n products<br />
locally and globally.<br />
Bukky created a platform<br />
to enable creative<br />
MSMEs thrive, whilst do<strong>in</strong>g all it takes to<br />
br<strong>in</strong>g the quality products to the forefront.<br />
She believes that a support group/community<br />
for these bus<strong>in</strong>esses will enhance the<br />
non-oil export <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n economy.<br />
Bukky wondered –“Why should we wait on<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial back<strong>in</strong>g from the government and<br />
big <strong>in</strong>stitutions to help this <strong>in</strong>dustry, when<br />
we can create a platform to connect these<br />
<strong>in</strong>digenous bus<strong>in</strong>esses, maximise raw materials<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong>, provid<strong>in</strong>g employment for<br />
local talents with<strong>in</strong> the country and create<br />
wealth for the nation?”<br />
After conduct<strong>in</strong>g her own research, she soon<br />
realised, however, that the major challenge<br />
these bus<strong>in</strong>esses are fac<strong>in</strong>g majorly has to<br />
do with market<strong>in</strong>g and understand<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
trade, which<br />
is the heart of any bus<strong>in</strong>ess.<br />
“Without market<strong>in</strong>g, a brand will not be<br />
visible.”<br />
Bellafricana strives to connect <strong>in</strong>digenous<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>esses to the consumers. They push<br />
these small bus<strong>in</strong>esses with effective market<strong>in</strong>g<br />
which would <strong>in</strong>crease sales, help hire and<br />
tra<strong>in</strong> more local talents jo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the companies,<br />
which will, <strong>in</strong> turn, contribute to the<br />
growth of the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n economy and also<br />
help decrease the unemployment rate.<br />
In her quest to br<strong>in</strong>g as many quality<br />
<strong>Made</strong>-<strong>in</strong>-<strong>Nigeria</strong> (Africa) brands to the forefront,<br />
Bukky has put together an <strong>in</strong>itiative to<br />
Celebrate Small Creative Bus<strong>in</strong>esses with the<br />
aim of encourag<strong>in</strong>g more talents <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong><br />
to look <strong>in</strong>wards, be orig<strong>in</strong>al and create<br />
more globally acceptable brands.<br />
An <strong>in</strong>itiative called African Creative Exhibition<br />
and Awards (termed ACE Awards),<br />
backed by the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Export Promotion<br />
Council (NEPC) and endorsed by the Lagos<br />
State Government, M<strong>in</strong>istry of Tourism,<br />
Arts and Culture, <strong>Nigeria</strong>n-British Chamber<br />
of Commerce (NBCC), <strong>Nigeria</strong>n-American<br />
Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Lagos Chamber<br />
of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and<br />
<strong>Nigeria</strong>-Brita<strong>in</strong> Association.<br />
The ACE Awards is the first of its k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong> Africa,<br />
launched on April 17, 2017. The second<br />
edition was successfully held on April 28,<br />
2018; which was a 3 phase event - Conference,<br />
Exhibition and Awards D<strong>in</strong>ner.<br />
With the support of the <strong>Nigeria</strong>n Export Promotional<br />
Council, Bellafricana has positively<br />
supported some <strong>in</strong>digenous bus<strong>in</strong>esses with<br />
over 5 million naira, and is directly impact<strong>in</strong>g<br />
over 1000 bus<strong>in</strong>esses <strong>in</strong> <strong>Nigeria</strong> and gradually<br />
Africa.<br />
Some of the creative bus<strong>in</strong>esses on Bellafricana<br />
<strong>in</strong>clude; Organic Life Plus, Ethnik by<br />
Tunde Owolabi, Ile Ila, Ty-Tys Design, Modara<br />
Naturals, MitiMeth, Mimiremi Textiles, Adire<br />
Lounge and so much more.<br />
42<br />
fli @thesparkng