Understanding Entrepreneurship in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities

[Music] good morning students I welcome to this presentation

on enterpreneurship in Nigeria now

um enterpreneurship is about creating value taking risks and uh hoping to

benefit from that process the entrepreneur is a person who is able to

identify permissible and pursuable opportunities exploit those opportunities Gathering Resources by

gathering resources and taking the necessary steps to make them fible the point I want to start with is

that there's nothing different with entrepreneurship in Nigeria entrepreneurship in UK enterpreneurship

in Japan this is the same thing the only thing that differs in this intervention we're talking about is the

environment because the environment in Nigeria and environment elsewhere else is quite

different yes it has external and internal it gives you the SW strength weaknesses opportunities and

TRS but the way the environment operates and the impact of Entrepreneurship varies

with the particular geopolitical location the opportunities approach to enterpreneurship insists that

environment is a critical Factor because it is that environment that determines what you can do how you can do it even

when and where you can do it it creates the opportunity for you to exploit it also creates the challenges

for you to overcome so generally when you talk about environment like because we are

talking about the internal and external factors that inflence entrepreneurship political economic

technological natural legal and all those these are the external envir because internal enir

is with the control of the entrepreneur so it's not much of an issue now the environment of

Entrepreneurship has changed fundamentally 50 years ago some people make money by answering General

merchants or importer exporter now it's no longer possible you can no longer make money by just

offering generic values that anybody can offer you must get

distinct unique and inimitable value that will be associated with you as an

entrepreneur now like I said the environment has actually changed now the environment General

environment is characterized by the rampaging forces of globalization the world becomes

one the world becomes one one entity with companies who see everywhere as a market

and operating both at Global and the local level which is what we call gloal we have the quantum lives in

ICT ICT now determines How We Do Everything how we live how we die how we do business how we create value and even

how we assess value we are now in an in a knowledge economy an economy that cared by ideas

information and intelligence so these are some of the changes that have taken place in the

environment of late and which is why the entrepreneur himself or herself must change Beyond

globalization ICT and whatever and U and knowledge economy you find out that the world is getting

younger in Nigeria 60 or so% of the population cons of young people the customers are also getting

more at so you find that you have customers who are young who are actually aware who

are educated who are knowledgeable and who are enlightened so you can't treat them just

anyhow and of course if you cannot do business online you're as good as parking

on that's the general situation in environment but in terms of uh the economy in Nigerian environment you find

that we have serious challenges that you know that are impacting on Nigeria how do we there are many of them

which you aware of we are talking about inflation which was affected by the F

subsidy removal and the deration of the exchange rate now with the high cost of thing

the cost of living has become very high and the S of living has become very poor customers are now price

resistance and the most unfortunate is that both those who are selling and those who are buying are

complaining years back you will ask somebody for you will say it's 500 n you can say 300 n you can say 400 now he

will say 500 n and he said no argument that's where it is and you yourself you walk away the customer will the seller

will not agree to sell and you they buy just walk

away so when F Prices rose from 20 to 1,2 and the exchange rate R from 2 to 400 to

17 you know what it means in the value of your pocket so when you are creating value you have to be aware that those so

when you are creating value their economy has depreciated up to

80% the value of the money they have and therefore you have to think about what to do so as to you know get

it right with them we are talking about poverty the degree of poverty is high and in Nigeria is expected that about 60

to 70% of Nigeria are poor that means they can't conveniently afford the basics of

life so when you creating value for them you have to think about the kind of value that the poor ones can

buy recently I saw satchet rice rice in a satet just as you have milk in suchet B in such everything

I saw rice in you know that even the cing biscuit who to be a pack of how many pieces is now

in suchet they now make it five units which is sell 50

100 that is value creation and it's an Innovative value creation because people can no longer afford to buy a pack of

cabin biscuit they cannot conveniently afford to buy it all started when Cowell Cowell was

the first to start such milk in this country years ago and people were wondering now everything is

in such is that Innovative is value creation because you made it possible for those who cannot afford to now

afford before you wanted to drink you must be a big man you buy a tin of pig you buy a tin of bom you buy a pack of

sugar but now they made available to everybody in fact I know one ask what they call 3 in one it contains milk

sugar and Milo kind of thing so that is reaction of

enterpreneur to the environment of poverty now you also find out that the cost of doing business has also Arisen

has also gone up you know what it takes you to get transport to get pay for a shop to pay

for all the various taxes that are available to pay for your shop so when the cost of business is

getting high people are not willing to buy or they reluctant to buy or they cannot buy you find out the Gap is

widening of course data in Nigeria data is very scarce and

unfortunately unreliable so that if you get a data from Central Bank Minister of Finance uh

Min of economic planning or whatever you find all of them saying different things of course

we are supposed to rely on the data from F of Statistics that's the official data in Nigeria

and even at times are wondering like the said that employment is 4% or so even lower than European union and

whatever and uh with our Common Sense we know that that is on the highly unbelievable

but Federal of statistics National of Statistics is a source of data we must use you don't have policy instability

and uncertainty policies are changed every day every now and then and it makes it

difficult for you to base on that policy to plan to make your plan you can go to the market square and you see how

policies are announced today and announced announced tomorrow even appointments are changed within one hour

there was a time the import Duty for exchange rate for imports it was changing every other day

was changing every other day and the government had plan to close the gap between official and the white Market

the one you call Black Market I call it White Market you find out that that Gap at times it gets wider and at times it

even gets better so policy in consistent is uncertain and

uh you know know the Fidelity is not there you also have price resistance we talked about that price stand by

customers we talk about energy poverty that means last absent poor energy quality and

availability and cost you pay and you can't get and what be tell you if you don't

have if you don't have uh prepaid at times the light you have cannot even charge your

phone we talk about data quality and [Music] cost we talk about because of repty we

talked about that's why they resistance people are more interested in their feeding clothing and Med

Care Now entrepreneural process is powered by some enteral skills and our entrepreneurs I've talked

about General entrepreneurship I talk about General environment I've talked about Nigerian environment and I'm now

going to about Nigerian entrepreneurs you see the other in which it is going so you find out that there are skills

that are required for enterpreneurship and we we talk about whether it is by nature or by

natur some of the things are natural if you are withdrawn by Nature that is it some of these things are learn and there

are some of the skills you can learn you can learn negotiation skills you can learn marketing

skills you can learn value creation skills but there are some that are natural you cannot learn so if you look

around at Nigerian entrepreneurs you find illiteracy is a key factor

and many of them do not even understand government policies they are weak in even ordinary WhatsApp some of them

cannot understand and when you send messages to people one week later two weeks later they've not even open the

message by that time what you wanted to do has gone they lack enterpreneur skills

and they don't have the enterpreneur spirit that inner force that drives your entrepreneur

um sorry that drives your entrepreneural the D enterpreneurial Pursuit the the ICT is

poor ICT knowledge networking these are things you need to do so as to be a very good intering even

intering alertness the ability to be alert to Opportunities is lacking even the

ability to read and understand the environment you have to read the

environment you have to understand the environment and if you don't get that you find out that you're already in very

serious problems now in the face of all these things you can see the way the

my my prison has been growing I that entrepreneurship is s everywhere but our environment difference I told the

changes in environment global environment effect enterpreneurship I talk about Nigerian

environment itself which is characterized by poverty

high cost energy poverty cost of being business low standard of living inflation caused by

Fel subsidy and all that I have now looked at the kind of polities that our entrepreneurs have or

the ones that they lack poor knowledge poor networking lack of entrepreneur skills lack of

entrepreneur alertness these are things that we push you on and whatever so with all

these and now say what do we do how do we make the Nigerian entrepreneur

to identify opportunities appraise them and acquire resources to exploit

them profitably you must aend to make on profit now so these are some of the

things that entrepreneur must do in this environment you must be globally aware Global savy and awareness you must

know what's happening across the globe you think it does not affect you but whatever affects everybody somebody else

affects you Trump has returned as the president of us and therefore we are now in Era of

trumpocracy you say you are in Nigeria do you it affects you he say it's going to throw away all people who are not

legally resident in us and whereas us has been ordinarily trying to pursue a

global global agenda Trump is in us first so what he does that some of these subsidies concessions are given to

countries like us will no longer be there so you must know what happens around the

world you must be able to read and understand the environment make out time listen to news

find out what happened in the knowledge environment you must acquire knowledge store it and

retrieve it you don't need to be a professor for a time you find the government making uh

find the government making uh having a a seminar for entrepreneurs you go and you can attend and you learn something and

even talking about government the Nigerian government has has a lot of programs for

entrepreneurs if you don't understand this these uh programs both you win uh farming and what if you don't understand

these programs you can't explore you can't benefit from them you must upgrade your

entrepreneural skills those skills that makes you an entrepreneur marketing selling

production networking they are all skills they still makeing negotiation you have to get these skills and upgrade

them you have to get ICT compliant you don't have to be uh an Val to be I complant

basic things starting from using your phone everything you require is in your phone you don't to have a laptop you can

sell through your laptop you can buy through your laptop through your phone you can

advertise people who have um Facebook or book phas or whatever you see them using their products as the

as a point of interface soad of putting their pictures they put their their passports there their products

here they go to the email and so these are that's why you must have basic knowledge of email it require you to

learn nobody's too old to learn yes they I learn out to use Facebook are not regular there I called

my youngest said boy come how do you people do this things he opened it I'm not regular but I have to learn it so

you must learn you say your things through Facebook and all these uh ICT

platforms you have to learn how to collaborate with others you have to learn how to manage

your finances particularly record keeping if you don't keep record we are finished you don't have to be an

accountant day one I bought one bag of rice that day one I sold 20 D at this level

that's that's that's enough one of rice 100,000 n 20 D at 1,000 that's 20,000 n when you give it to an account you will

produce an accounting this for you join Association of Manufacturers in area small scale

Industries SM small and Enterprises agency has enough of pack is for entrepreneurs but if you don't do that

if you don't get if you don't know what sman is I don't know what smedan does there's no way you can benefit from

smedan so that is where we are and that is what we have tried to discuss in this program

going down we find at number one that environment has changed fundamentally globalization Knowledge

Management ICT younger people and all that in Nigeria the economic environment is

Harsh inflation which is caused by the Fel and foreign exchange issues difficulty in

transportation infrastructural deficiency things of roads and whatever High Cost of doing

business Poverty of the people which make them to become resistant to the charges you

make you also find out that the entrepreneurs themselves have not

opt the an terms of the skills that they require so as to do their business marketing skill negotiation

skill I skill s making skills these are things you need so as to become uh an entrepreneur we now concluded by saying

that for you to make it in this environment that you need need to take certain

steps you need to be globally servy know what happens in the environment because whatever happens in environment anywhere

will affect you UK has increased the cost of residency I said well I'm not going over

it doesn't it to affect you most of our doctors have Jack they've run away you say it doesn't affect you

when you have headache you know it will affect you so you must make out time to know what happens in both the local and

the global environment so that you are informed because if you're not informed you're

already deformed that's where you know the opport that are available that's where you know the new things that the

World Market requires that's how you know that some somebody was selling

Parts in a research I did entrepreneurship he was selling TVs SP Parts the parts of

TV they one day the market suddenly ceased one week he didn't sell two weeks he didn't sell three weeks one month he

didn't sell one one one item he let his shop and went to somebody else selling the same in a

different environment you said what is happening I've not sold for the past one month what is

happening and he said ah people no longer buy TV parts they now buy whole TV the environment had changed I I don't

even see people repairing the TV when the TV is not functional people go and buy another

one the man I'm talking to you about has ped and gone back to the Village he didn't start early he didn't know early

and that's how the developments in the market passing by there's another person that time I

don't know how old you there was a time we were using uh what is it when they were using

[Music] um video cassettes the one that looks like a box a small CLE

there's an entrepreneur who imported containers

containers luck enough he has a house so he pked it in his own warehous but before he did

that we have g into the area of diss ordinary discs so

the usual cassette the one the cassette in I bought is

packed now use flash drive they use uh all these small things to do it they had to destroy had to pay money

to destroy those items because he didn't know what was happening in the market you must know what was happening

in the market [Music] are you selling

produce you will know that rather than selling Palm knots that you make money by selling palm

oil rather than selling a basket of casava you will make more money if you were able to process it and turn it into

powder which you use as Alo instead of selling cokoyam you can turn it into a and charge people

whatever you want so you must learn how to create value you must learn how to acquire

knowledge and how to use that knowledge in service of your Enterprise you must study

ICT you must learn government programs I know the ones that benefit you you must also know when the market

you're operating in has changed people in my Village People sell palm oil they stud they store they store

it they buy it and store now some of them will not know when the price has risen to the

AP and when starts coming down I was discussing with somebody who is a who runs A P Meal he said that what

he does is to as prices are rising rather than selling all the oil he has he will sell

some and keep some I said why I said well if the price eventually Falls I not have lost if it eventually Rises I will

not have lost I will sell the remaining ones the new price so you must

know you must know how to create new new products you know what new product is not where you bring something

new anything you bring from a go away and send it too and they've not seen Ino before is a new

product therefore you have to know what when the market is right for what you have processing is always

better so these are some of things you need to do to survive in this environment acquiring new knowledge

being conscious of the environment being conscious of ICT government policies and when the government makes a policy do

not say call me it doesn't concern me you must first of all try to find out how that policy will affect you if not

today then tomorrow of course policies have lag whether positive or negative policies they have lag that one that's

POS negative to you it will take time so what do you do you start taking action and taking steps so that before that

policy starts get getting momentum we have been able to you know sort out what you will do

so I thank you for listening and to summarize there's no entrepreneurship

there's no between entrepreneur in Nigeria and Entrepreneurship elsewhere it's

enterpreneurship identify appra acquire resources and exploit

opportunities the differ between interpr here in Japan is environment the educational system

government support technological and and infrastructural environment these are what are the different

things and therefore the best thing you can do to understand about enterpreneurship in Nigeria is to study

Nigerian environment which gives you the opportunities which you can explo

exploit and the challenges which you must overcome what's your understand the

Nigerian environment and and uh once you can identify the opportunities through

the environment you take steps to exploit appraise a market plan financial requirements structure and whatever and

you survey the market for it to do that successfully you must Le government M you must learn

the ICT the knowledgeable not be an expert but knowled enough to get by you must know what is needed in which

Market what you can get here and what you can get there because each market has a different

whatever and you must keep Good Records if you don't keep record you are finished as an entreprene record keeping

is very essential I wish you well as you continue study entrepreneur ship hoping that you become

entrepreneurs when we in school we get job for going to school nowadays you've gone to school so as to enable you take

meaningful decision understand environment and take that will see you through and if you have a skill while

you are studying that's the best for you try and get some skill don't let anybody Force you get any

skill last week I saw a student in my class and she's a chef I've asked her to produce some

Elders changing for me the one that Ed us to eat no sugar and all that provider it doesn't distract her

studies she's studying to learn how and it will improve in her business as time goes on so I thank you for attention and

uh God bless as you continue to strive to improve for your educational Pursuit thank you

[Music]