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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 &amp; 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

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