Need Funding For Your Business? Read This!

Lack of funds hinders business growth. And in Nigeria, it is almost always part of the usual suspects young entrepreneurs list when asked what challenges they face growing their business. However, the country has recently witnessed both the private and public sectors increasingly enlist support for young Nigerian entrepreneurs with special funds and business mentorship programs.

 

From Mara Mentor, Africa’s largest entrepreneurship network, connecting budding entrepreneurs to business leaders, to the YouWin! Project, the Tony Elumelu $100 million entrepreneurship fund and several others, both individuals and government have committed providing young Nigerians with opportunities to build up their capacity and access funds for their business ideas. In no respective order, this post lists 5 of such entrepreneurship funds specifically set up to support small business owners. So if you are a business owner or an aspiring entrepreneur, why not try access funds from one of the programs below

 

Dangote-BOI N5bn Fund for Small Businesses

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote recently partnered with the Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI) to set up a N5 billion small and medium scale enterprises fund to grant low interest loans to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Nigeria.  The fund is targeted at development of MSMEs across the nation with loans attracting only a 5 percent interest rate and a focused Bottom of the Pyramid Scheme to deepen access to the fund by entrepreneurs and micro enterprises. According to the Nigerian industrialist, “the funds are expected to impact directly on up to 13,000 registered groups in the country. Each group shall have an average of 20 entrepreneurs, this impacting the lives of up to 250,000 micro-entrepreneurs through job creation, spreading across all six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.”

 

Shell LiveWIRE

Since its inception in 2003, Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria has provided 2,748 young people with funding to start and grow their businesses, according to information on its website. This year, fifty young entrepreneurs from Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States were awarded funding of N300, 000 by Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria to enable them to start up, or grow, their own businesses.

 

Business Fund for Women

Another entrepreneurship support program under Nigeria’s Bank of Industry is the N90 million-Business Development Fund for Women (BUDFOW), which focuses on women in business. Set up on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (FMWASD), it provides soft loans to women entrepreneurs. So if you’re a young female entrepreneur why not access this funding opportunity?

 

YouWin!

The objective of the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN!) Programme is to generate jobs by encouraging and supporting aspiring entrepreneurial youth in Nigeria, its website reads. The program was set up to develop and execute business ideas of young Nigerians that will create jobs. It also provides aspiring youth with a platform to show case their business acumen, skills and aspirations to business leaders, investors and mentors in Nigeria.

 

Tony Elumelu Foundation’s $100m Entrepreneurship Fund

On the 1^st of December 2014, Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu announced the launch of a $100m Pan-African entrepreneurship initiative – The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme – a multi-year programme of training, funding, and mentoring, designed to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs.  “I am determined to ensure that Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs have the platform they need to turn their entrepreneurial aspirations into sustainable businesses that will drive economic growth and job creation across Africa,” says Tony Elumelu. Said to be the first initiative of its kind to be launched by an African philanthropic organisation, the fund is the largest African sourced philanthropic gift, targeting the entrepreneurial space.

 

The listed funding programs are by no means an exhaustive list of financial support programs in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship space.  Programs like Mara Mentor, an online entrepreneurship community that connects young aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners to leading entrepreneurs also helps bridge the gap knowledge and expertise needed to run sustainable businesses. But if you have information about other funding and entrepreneurship support programs, kindly share details in the comment box below.

 

Thanks.

How To Build A Multi Million Dollar Online Business In Nigeria

How did  a 30-year old Nigerian and a Ghanaian – Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Afaedor – grow their local e-commerce startup into a multimillion dollar company in less than year?

I was chatting with a colleague, as we drove to Jumia’s Lagos corporate office, when he asked rhetorically: “Why would JP Morgan be so interested in a 5 month old Nigerian start-up as to invest millions in it?”  Well, I was eager to know too.

 

Africa, home to six of the world’s fastest growing economies, has caught the entrepreneurial bug but an ubiquitous lack of funds has kept its entrepreneurs from marching. Minutes into meeting Jumia co-founder Tunde Kehinde, he would have me know having an amazing powerpoint business plan isn’t the key to investor funds.

 

“With the little crowd funding you can get, test your business concept and prove it makes money,” he tells me. “That way you become irresistible for investors.”

 

His partner, Raphael Afaedor chips in: “We had to quit our jobs and put all our effort in what we believed. Often, working 16 hours a day, sometimes more.”

 

Raphael was laid back, but spoke with rare speed. Spitting an average of 3 words per second, he would give Eminem a run for his money. His business-like countenance, tucked-in white office shirt and black trousers, made him look like the boss at the Jumia office. Tunde on the other hand, with the rest of the Jumia team appeared youthful and casual.

 

At the online retailer’s office, dozens of under-30 year olds carrying Jumia tags could be seen in jeans and sneakers or fashionable clothing. Self expression is uninhibited, ideas are encouraged. It’s the kind of place a millennial would love to work. It isn’t the conventional Nigerian work setting – for a second, I thought I was in some sort of Google workspace.

 

Hanging on the walls at the lobby are two aluminium frames. One reads: “Best People for the Best Team.” The other, a sort of guideline for interaction between the staff, reads: “Challenge ideas but Respect everyone.”

 

When Raphael and Tunde first conceived the idea of building an enduring online ‘shopping mall’ for the Nigerian market, they had never met. Raphael was Head of Marketing and Sales (West, Central & North Africa) with Notore Chemical Industries while Tunde Kehinde was in the UK assisting alcoholic beverage multinational Diageo, to acquire valuable African brands. Both had also studied at Harvard Business School (and Tunde had tried his hands on Bandeka.com, a dating site for young African professionals) so they had received some training for their impending entrepreneurial pursuit.

Word got around about two guys talking about e-commerce opportunities in Nigeria and by a stroke of fate they met through a mutual contact. 10 days later, the pair started building their first general merchandise store; only this time, the store was to be online. The name was Kasuwa. The strategy was simple – boycott difficulties associated with shopping at the mall – traffic, long queues, stress, time constraint – by providing a user friendly online store with competitive prices, thereby making shopping convenient.

 

“Why wait till weekend before going to the mall when you can shop at the press of a button and have your purchase delivered to your doorstep?” Tunde wore a wide grin as he made the statement. The business of delivering electronics, computers, fashionable items, et al across Nigeria’s 36 states is not an easy task. The boys had to quit their jobs and take a risk. Little did they know Rocket Internet, a german internet Venture Capital was seeking opportunities in Nigeria. Like the American billionaire Paul Getty who struck oil at an early age, the young men had struck gold. Rocket Internet, also owners of South Africa’s leading fashion online retailer Zando, met the duo and decided to invest in Kasuwa. June 2012, Kasuwa.com was officially launched.

 

“It’s not just getting money that matters,” Tunde explains. “Get smart money.” “Investors that can add value to you, open doors and help you network, will help you run faster against competition.”

Not only does Rocket Internet funds Kasuwa, the group also shares with Raphael and Tunde its network, expertise and vast experience operating e-commerce, including a billion dollar business, in several continents.

 

An introduction of the German group on its website reads: “Rocket is much more than a venture capital firm or an incubator. We bring together all key elements required to create great companies: team, concept, technology, and capital.”

 

It’s one thing to have all that support though, it’s another to understand the market and rightly execute market entry strategy in a peculiar one like Nigeria. The first four months were really rough for Kasuwa. Just two months after launch, reports of a brand name change from Kasuwa to Jumia “due to legal issues” filled the online media. Subsequently in September, Jumia and Sabunta – a Nigerian online fashion store, also supported by Rocket Internet – downsized and merged, shedding off around 50 employees, some earning as much as 6.5 million naira ($41,000) per annum. Raphael says, “the name Kasuwa wasn’t catchy. We wanted a name that could sell, even in other African countries.”

 

And Jumia sold. With a workforce of less than a hundred, a 12,000 sqft warehouse, omnipresent Google ads, effective marketing campaigns, and countless overtimes, the new brand quickly gained wide acceptance, recording about 40,000 site visits daily – more than Amazon’s site visits from Nigeria – and receiving orders from every state in the country. “The early acceptance surpassed our expectations. We emerged 7th most trafficked site in Nigeria, the number one player in the country’s ecommerce space, and the business was profitable,” Raphael says with a hint of excitement.

 

It was only natural for J.P. Morgan Asset Management to grab some equity in the company. As hard as I pressed, Tunde wouldn’t disclose the amount of the JP Morgan investment but he was kind enough to tell the cash was “significant enough” for him to feel “very confident about growing the business to a really really large scalable platform for a long time.”

 

Analytics of top internet searches and inquiries (for products) from Nigeria informs the decision of which category and product is sold on Jumia. Now, the online store gets 70,000 visitors daily. A March statistics report by global web information company Alexa, says roughly 34 percent of visitors to the site are one page views. The remaining 66 percent of visitors spend an average of over 9 minutes per visit. If a-tenth of this group purchases an item (comprising mostly of electronics, mobile phones, fashion items) and Jumia makes a meagre $7 on each sale (the retailer receives products on wholesale), it is safe to assume the company generates $32,340 daily, approximately a million dollars per month.

 

“Our staff has grown to over 300 and we are expanding into a 66,000 sqft warehouse, only 4 months after we moved into our current 12,000 sqft warehouse,” Raphael discloses. With Nigeria’s middle class growing tremendously, and consumer buying on the rise, Jumia’s investors seems to have struck another goldmine of the Nigerian economy.

 

Tunde says: “We don’t want to just make profit. We don’t want to be here just a few years. We want to establish something enduring, help develop e-commerce in Nigeria and provide that talented fashion designer with no shop, a platform to sell across Nigeria.”

How To Find A Job You Love

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

While trying to find an anchor for today’s post, the above quote credited to Confucius, the great Chinese legend, came to my rescue.  I believe many of you would have come across the above quote at one time or the other and would continue to ask how true is the quote? Can you really choose a job or the job chooses you? On and on, you can go. The aim of this post is to attempt to answer the question – how can I find a job I love?

 

Permit me to start with myself. I have strong passion for knowledge and that drives most of my offline & online activities a great deal. I love engaging myself in intellectual activities per time; I simply love reading and sharing ideas and of all, I LOVE MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY! Can I make a career around my interests & passion? Yes, I can sure do! But, is that what I do on a full time basis now – partially yes!  Why, you would ask? Truth be told, I didn’t get to know all these about myself in time, I only started to discover myself when I was appointed as a program coordinator some years ago. Thanks to early career discovery; I’m close to doing a job I love! My citing all the details above is for a reason which reading till the end of this piece would justify.

 

Choosing what you love and making it your job, how true is that?  Can it really be achieved, irrespective of location & profession? I found a perfect answer, which I would be sharing with you in a moment.

 

According to James Citrin and Richard Smith in their book called “The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers” (the book was based on in-depth, original research and extensive experience of the authors), they proposed that there are three critical elements responsible for finding the right fit in a career i.e. find a job you love. These three elements are:

– Playing to your strengths

– Setting your passions free and

– Working with the right set of people

They believed that when “you find your strengths, passions, and cultural fit, you will be happier and more successful in your career. How simple indeed. However, from the thousands of professionals they surveyed ONLY 9 percent believed they are in jobs that fully leverage their strengths, performing activities that they are passionate about in an energizing environment and with people that they like and respect.”

 

After encountering the above research findings as presented in their book, I came to the understanding of why every employee/job holder is always on the move to change jobs! It is the quest to strike a balance between all three elements. I believe this would hold true for those that make ‘career fulfilment' their main goal and not ‘cash fulfilment’.

 

As an employee, ask yourself;

– Does my current job role play to my strength?

– Am I passionate about going to work each morning?

–Do I love to be with my colleagues at work or say your boss at work?

And as an employee planning to change employers, ask yourself;

– Will my new role play to my strength?

– Will I be passionate about my new role?

– Will I grow career wise with my new employer’s?

These are the main questions you need to ask and consider very deeply.

 

Finding a job you love is not a day’s job, it requires a lot of balancing act based on the three elements above – your strength, your passion and the people you work with! When the balance is right, you can make bold to say you are doing a job you love!

 

#KipSmiln'

Reasons Nigerians In Diaspora Don’t Want To Return Home

Recently New York Times published an article about the increase of U.S. immigrants going back to their native countries to start up their own businesses. It is safe to say over the past decade the countries grouped in the BRICS have been fortunate to receive a brain-gain, as many of their best and brightest have seen their own countries as land of opportunities.

 

On one of my social media networks I spotted a comment that said “By the time Africans get featured in an article like this the gold rush will be over.” Of course you can easily interpret this statement in several ways but it spoke volumes about how Africans tend to always be last in everything.

As a Nigerian in the Diaspora I would love to go back after I finish my education to pursue my own dreams but realistically we are faced with obstacles that cause many diasporas to become reluctant to return back to Africa to start up a business. Here are some reasons… 

The Political Climate

The political climate in Nigeria is one of the number top reasons why the Nigerian Diaspora refuse to go back to Nigeria. Despite a democratic society, the political system is still full of corruption and lack of transparency.

If we compare our political history to a developing country such as Malaysia you will see some similarity as both countries received independence two years apart from each other from British rule. Even in the 1960’s Nigeria was ahead of Malaysia economically wise and had vast more natural resources. If we compare both countries as of today, Malaysia has been able to pull ahead in terms of development. In Malaysia, a person can literally start a business in less of week versus Nigeria which is 30 plus days. Interestingly enough there is an increasing Nigerian base in Malaysia. In other countries hard work can actually turn into a successful business like Chris Aire who has created a jewellery empire or Kase Lawal a well known business man in the oil sector. In Nigeria there are many businesses thriving based off their own work, but as well just as many growing because of ties these companies have with the government. 

Lack of infrastructure

It is 2012 and Nigeria still does not have a stable power for companies to run businesses. Many companies in Nigeria use over 10% of their income to run power from day to Night. In other countries running power for the company is the least of one’s concern and normally amount to 1% to 2 %. Besides the power, roads are an eyesore and connectivity is still a problem among businesses. These issues have stifled Nigerians for decades who dream of building a business. Many Nigerians in the Diaspora have great ideas but are held back simply because Nigeria lacks the infrastructure to turn their idea into a viable business. 

Out of touch with Nigeria

Let’s face it some people in the diaspora are just simply out of touch. They have no clue what is taking place in Nigeria and some do not even want to know. Other countries do a great job of connecting their people in the diaspora to their home countries. In India a person from the Diaspora sits on parliament. Chinese have groups in the Diaspora that actually have influence in Chinese affairs. If we look in Liberia they allow they citizens in the Diaspora to vote in government elections. Yes, we can say we have “people” in the government who are suppose to handle Diaspora affairs, but what can we say they have done. We have groups in the Diaspora who are there to help Nigerian entrepreneurs invest back into Nigeria, but instead it becomes a power struggle of who will lead the group. In this area the Diaspora affairs must improve in order to create a better bridge between those in and out of Nigeria.

The comfort of being overseas

Time and time again I meet Nigerians who continue to say I want to back to Nigeria one day and it never becomes a reality. I remember jumping in a taxi cab on my way to a meeting and coincidentally the taxi driver was a Nigerian. He was telling me his journey from Nigeria and how he wishes to go back but he is just use to his routine in the US. Many people aspire to be entrepreneurs but some rather deal with the comfort of 9 to 5 rather than going back to Nigeria to deal with the headache. Nigerians who have left to go back to Nigeria get there to discover a pile of empty promises. People who said they will connect them with so and so end up being dead ends. Staying in the Diaspora may not be the ideal route, but to many Nigerians it is considered the safe route.

Despite all of these roadblocks to go back to Nigeria I am still moved by the vast opportunities to try my luck and move back to Nigeria. There are many Nigerians who have gone back and have made a successful name for themselves. Nigeria is growing by leaps and bounds ripe for development. It will be difficult to assimilate back into the country, but anything great is not easy to obtain. The challenges of Nigeria should not discourage people in the Diasporas; it should in fact encourage us to transfer our skills to build up Nigeria. As a wise man once told me, “Nigerians are walking on money; the opportunities are far too great to not see them”. I call on Nigerians in the Diaspora to migrate back to Nigeria to take advantage of these opportunities. Do not wait for the gold rush to be over tap into Nigeria’s potential.

Are you a Nigerian in the Diaspora? Are you willing and ready to return home? Or are you a newly returnee? How is your experience? Leave your comments below!

Three Things Business Owners Should Learn From, From Jumia’s Blank Black Friday

For close to a month, Jumia, one of Nigeria’s largest online retailers, sounded their Black Friday bonanza virtually through every available medium. But when Friday came, and Nigerians came en-masse to their platform as urged, they blanked out.

 

 Jumia’s  Black Friday was so disappointing, they will be wishing they never tweeted this

 

With Nigerians salivating for the advertised 50 percent discount on the Blackberry Passport, a 50 percent cheaper Samsung Galaxy S5, 30 percent price slash on the Play Station 4 game console and several other mouth-watering deals, Jumia’s website received shoppers too much to handle, and crashed.

 

Jumia’s Black Friday quickly turns blank

 

At first, the online platform tooted its horn about the record site visits and claimed sales were progressing tremendously, but the said buyers were already flooding their social media pages with frustration.  The complaints ranged from the inability to buy an item – any item – to the website not opening at all. It did not take long after that for Jumia’s PR stunts to switch to crisis management; at first they admitted they were struggling with “minor” glitches but soon after, admitted the Black Friday for that day has crashed.

 

To their credit however, Jumia had its site back up and running and extended their Black Friday sales to Sunday, but the mega deals that attracted Nigerians were no longer there, so too the previously attracted Nigerians. So what can we learn from Jumia’s Black Friday Blunder? Well, here are three lessons Jumia and every other platform out there must do to avoid this brand killing gaffe.

 

If you must copy, at least paste properly

Black Friday is originally an American tradition, coming up a day after the country’s most important holiday- Thanksgiving. While there is no harm in replicating such a nice idea, efficiency demands that at least it is done wisely – Jumia did not do that.

 

Perhaps in a bid to copy US e-commerce giant Amazon, the Nigerian online mall rushed into the bonanza, but did not do the necessary background planning, at least not intensively. For example, it did not sort out how it would handle the multiple buyers of just one product, or how the “fastest finger” model would work. The result of these unanswered questions were a public bashing about carts turning up empty after buyers had reached check out, or certified vouchers been labelled invalid.

 

Jumia copied, not bad. But failed to paste well, that’s bad

 

Jumia was not the only Black Friday blunderer in the world however; even renowned UK retailer  Tesco flunked their planning as police had to be called in after customers invaded stores for cut price TVs. Regardless of similar occurrences elsewhere, the Nigeria online retailer should have prepared better. The tons of apologies they have had to send out has taught them that it’s better to stressfully prepare than to painfully plead for forgiveness.

 

It is not just about attracting attention, but making use of it

Jumia broke customers’ hearts. Mending them won’t be easy

 

Jumia crashed under the attention it craved, and failed woefully to live up to the high expectation it had set for itself. It’s a brand killer to leave your customers hanging especially when you have done a lot to lure them in. A Friday that began on the back of a hugely successful publicity campaign quickly turned into a show of shame for one of Nigeria’s most reputable e-commerce site, all to the platform’s making. They realised the hard way that although gaining audience’s attention is critical, the real task is in making a positive use of it.

 

Don’t Promise what you cannot deliver 

Perhaps in the bid to be the pacesetter in Nigeria’s keenly contested e-commerce space, Jumia attempted the extraordinary. This is good. But never set the bar so high when you know you can’t jump, exactly what Jumia did. Regardless of the platform’s claim that the mega deals was delivered, many of their customers believe no one did, and nobody has come out to say he or she did.

 

Jumia claims Black Friday was a sell out, but customer allege nothing was on sale.

 

Personally, I would love to believe that a couple of people were lucky to buy the select discounts, but products, I think, were extremely few. You don’t promote such few products to a massive population and then tell them minutes after the sales began that the products are finished. Had Jumia disclosed the total number of each of their mega deals, the situation would have been better. They could have reduced the level of discount on their mega deals, and provided more of such items. But the platform intentionally, I believe, gave the public the impression that the items were many; that stunt has now backfired. Key lesson there, it’s better you didn’t promise, than you didn’t deliver.

Despite their blunder however, the Jumia team still deserve some respite, at least for their management of the crisis. Admitting their blooper was the first thing they did right, followed by the unending stream of apologies that they flooded out to the disgruntled customers. Although extending the Black Friday sales to Sunday did not have any significant impact in appeasing or attracting shoppers, it showed the brand’s will to stick to its promise of discounts.

 

 

That said, no amount of crisis management schemes will undo Jumia’s Black Friday blunder, except perhaps doing a Black Week of free shopping. The best action for the e-commerce giant now is to ensure that such gaffe never re-occurs and that all promotions are well thought out before they are embarked upon. It’s always better safe than sorry.

What Powers Earning Potential?

A quick online search for “habits of millionaires” reveals plenty of tips, most of which you will surely have heard many times before. There are numerous books on Amazon that promise to enlighten with the inside secrets to attaining and maintaining wealth. Attempting to reinterpret these age-old secrets would be uninspiring. The similarities across successful individuals, however helpful, present the lowest common denominator for financial success. Embodying these traits will, at best, make you average. I’m interested in the approaches that not only differentiate top performers from average performers in business, but also the ingredients that can catapult one to achieving extraordinary financial success – this defined as investable assets of over a million dollars.

 

According to a recent HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) report, approximately 18,000 Britons currently earn more than £1 million ($1.5 million) a year. Another report revealed that London is the city of choice for ultra-high net worth individuals – people with a net worth of more than $30 million. With over 4,000 such individuals centred in an urban metropolis of approximately 8,300 square kilometres, this is certainly the best city in which to conduct research on these individuals’ approach to business and management, and all that goes along with financial prosperity.

 

I have found that not one of the wealthy or successful people with whom I have interacted has been like another, particularly in terms of their approach to business or their management style. It is my firm belief that the real secret to extraordinary achievement – and hopefully wealth – lies in carefully blending these lowest-common-denominator traits with the wonderful spice that is individuality.

 

Unfortunately, very little is taught about the power of individuality in the corporate world. Rather, corporations seem to encourage sameness, urging employees to find a mentor, emulate that person, and follow the core values of their organisation. Core values almost always encourage “team players” and laud attributes such as commitment, empowerment and community. We celebrate these values with accolades, awards and prizes required to foster the right behaviours. But let us not be fooled, this push towards conformity often encourages employees to strive for mediocrity. Business tycoon, investor and philanthropist, Carlos Slim, famously said, “When you live for others’ opinions, you are dead.” Unfortunately, the very essence of recognition in an organisation is about others’ opinions.

All of the exceptionally wealthy people I have interacted with and know about have gone against the grain of convention. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg rank among the world’s wealthiest people, though both famously dropped out of Harvard – not exactly the preferred path to extraordinary success. Similarly, the exceptionally wealthy embody a confidence in their unique qualities and talents. One wealthy associate of mine lives by the mantra that God gave her an amazing talent no one else has: being herself. Most of us ignore this talent, instead choosing to model ourselves on others and blend into the corporate culture of acceptable norms.

 

The more I think about the business or management style and habits of the wealthy, the more I am convinced that it is impossible to draw any real conclusions. Ordinary folk who are able to identify their unique skill set and cultivate a personal philosophy individuality are those individuals best placed to end up on the rich list. The most successful people I know have spent their whole lives mastering this formula. Here’s hoping it works for you.

Diary Of An Under 30 CEO

My entrepreneurship adventure in Lagos has been one wild journey. My team and I have worked hard to grow a scalable and financially sustainable vocational education model to screen and train unemployed West African youths based on their innate strengths and to place them in entry-level jobs in high-growth industries. Choosing to follow the people and the jobs, we set up shop in Lagos, Nigeria and focused on the hospitality and retail industries. We eventually plan to expand to other West African countries and other sectors.

So what did a handful of West African Harvard students with MBAs and degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education know about hospitality and retail? Not much to be honest but we knew that there are over 43 million “unemployable” youths in West Africa – people just like us who never had access to the opportunities we were given. Their reality is chronic unemployment, disillusioned poverty and a loss of dignity that leads to growing levels of frustration across the continent. We also knew that hospitality and retail jobs are on the rise across the continent and yet the service industry across West Africa lags behind in both standards and people development. Having spent a significant part of our lives in both West Africa and “the West”, my colleagues and I knew what global service standards should be and yet we all found that we settle for less when it comes to customer service at home, resigning ourselves to the “This Is Africa” (TIA) excuse.

This is how we came up with our business, West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE). With seed funding awarded by Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition, we launched a pilot training programme in August of 2013 where we tested the major assumptions behind our business model – our value proposition (accessibility, affordability, quality, relevance and convenience) and willingness- to-pay among the unemployed and their potential employers after training. We are now in the midst of our second training cycle with early success stories from our trainees, many of whom have been placed in entry-level jobs in hotels, restaurants and retail stores.
It has been an interesting journey thus far with a number of surprises, three of which I will list below.

A Tale of Two "Lagoses"
Though no stranger to the realities of the opportunity divide in Nigeria and across Africa, I have been struck by the breadth of the economic spectrum in a place like Lagos. Some of our trainees request to pay the $60 training fee in instalments because they cannot afford that amount in one go. This is an amount that I can spend on one networking dinner – at a restaurant with sub-standard service to boot! Working to train a new generation of service providers has made me demand more value for money spent on services in the city. It is quite emotionally rewarding to now be able to justify my rants about appalling service because I can at least say that I am part of the solution.

Location, Location, Location
The importance of location in a place like Lagos, where transportation systems are still a long way from supporting the teeming masses, cannot be overestimated. Location affects everything from our rental costs to the real cost our trainees pay to attend our programme. Even though we set our sticker price for training at a significant but affordable $60 training fee, transportation costs can inflate the price of attendance by up to 80 percent, depending on the specifics of a trainee’s commute. It even affects which trainees get called for interviews upon completion of the course, as potential employers are reluctant to hire people who live “too far away” to avoid future gripes about commuting challenges.

The Inadequate Education System
I am no stranger to the adverse impact of Nigeria’s broken educational system but now that I am in the driver’s seat of an institution with a mission to remould, reverse and change mindsets, I realise just how deep in trouble we are. Our institutions churn out young people who have not been taught to think. Their training in basic grammar and literacy is substandard, while their problem-solving skills are almost non-existent. Certainly, no one has taught them how to take initiative.
The implications for me as an entrepreneur are huge. This affects our vocational model as it means our training must focus 80 percent on “how to think” and 20 percent on “how to do”. It affects our business development and it impacts recruiting – we have to walk the WAVE talk and “hire for attitude, train for skill”. I have hired people based primarily on their interest, willingness to learn and basic grammar skills, and trained them in everything else on the job only. I have seen first-hand that there are millions of young people willing and ready to learn who just need access to affordable training and internship models that leverage their innate strengths and interests and take into account the needs of employers.

The path I have chosen is a battle at times but stories like Mary Ibe’s give me strength. Ibe was one of our trainees who, within one month of starting a post- WAVE training job as a trainee chef in the mid-sized hotel where we placed her, was promoted to Food and Beverage Lead in charge of a staff of 10. Over 100 hours of training helped to develop Ibe’s problem-solving, critical-thinking, communication, customer service and teamwork skills.

There are over 43 million people like her in Nigeria and I intend to find them, train them and place them in jobs that can transform their income and livelihoods. With faith, the support of family and friends, a fantastic team and of course, funding, we will get there!

When The Student Becomes The Teacher

The first time Joyce Mbaya stood to speak to a gathering of professionals and business executives, she instantly knew she had found her calling. Soon after that first experience, she curtain-raised for Robin Sharma, the renowned international speaker, when he visited Nairobi in 2011. She had just launched her coaching company, GIBÉBÉ, after walking out of a lucrative job at the age of 27. “I was so nervous to stand in front of so many people. More so, being a young person addressing an audience of senior executives,” says Mbaya. As the opening speaker for a famous coach and author, she felt pressure to deliver an outstanding performance, and was relieved to get very positive feedback after the event. She has never looked back.

 

GIBÉBÉ – from the Swahili word jibebe, meaning uplift yourself – has trained and coached staff at a number of multinational and domestic companies in Kenya. The company also offers consultancy services in strategy, branding, innovation, project management, product development and information technology. Mbaya is a motivational speaker and has been featured at major events across the continent. Her first inspirational book, which is titled after her company, motivates people to reach their potential by sharing her own story of personal success. “I emphasise that to win, you must have a good strategy and execute it well,” she says. Strategic thinking and a high level of self-awareness helped Mbaya win the Apprentice Africa ticket in 2008. The experience became a turning point in her life. “You need to know your strengths and understand yourself well enough to know how to communicate your unique selling point against so many who are also talented and smart,” she says.

 

For Mbaya, a computer science and mathematics graduate of the University of Central Missouri in the US, coaching is more of a passion than a commercial venture. GIBÉBÉ is also shorthand for the company’s coaching model: ImaGIne, BElieve, BEcome. Mbaya encourages her clients to identify their goals, believe they can achieve those goals through positive thinking, and then use success skills to make them a reality. “We deliver our coaching in the form of classes that run over a period of time, depending on the coaching area,” she says.

 

GIBÉBÉ’s flagship product, “Awaken Your Potential,” an intensive eight-week coaching programme, has been running since 2010. The coaching classes incorporate interactive and fun presentations, videos, activities, creative ideas and the arts to make the experience fun. “What we do is intensive and life changing but it does not have to be depressing, and we make it our mission to deliver innovatively,” says Mbaya.

 

Coaching is a developmental strategy that enables people and businesses to realise their visions and goals. It is less directive and more informal than training and takes a long term and continuous approach of empowerment. “Having a coach is like having a personal referee, someone to cheer you on and guide you towards your greatest achievement,” she says. As Mbaya tells it, people who want to accomplish great things often get stuck along the way, and coaching helps “un- stick” them. “It gives you a different perspective and direction that you may not be aware of but could be the missing link for you to make your aspirations a reality,” she says. “When people in an organisation are empowered through coaching, it leads to a more result-oriented culture. People believe in their capability to achieve and understand the greater cause they are working for.”

 

Mbaya’s life changed when she was selected from a pool of 50,000 applicants for Apprentice Africa. People she met wanted to know how she managed to clinch a spot on the prestigious show at just 25 years old. She answered their questions but soon realised that many of her interlocutors really needed a coach to guide them through the obstacles of life.

 

Ever the risk-taker, she left a fast-rising career as a value-added services project manager at a major telecommunications company – where she led the development of new mobile services – and went into business as a coach, speaker and consultant. “To start a business you not only have to have a great idea but your great idea must ‘bother’ you to the point where you have no choice but to do something about it,” she says. “I had a dream to write my book and create this framework that can empower many others and make a difference in their lives. Unfortunately, my corporate work schedule was too intensive for me to pursue both at the same time. I knew that in order to realise this goal, I must make the tough decision to follow it through full time. Fortunately, I’m still able to successfully offer consultancy services in my technical line of work.” Her friends thought she had lost her mind, she recalls, and found coaching particularly puzzling as a choice of business. Their reaction did nothing to deter her.

 

In many ways Mbaya’s book is a demonstration of how to overcome obstacles to success. “When I finished writing the book, I did not have the funds to publish and launch it, but I was determined to get it out. So I decided to launch it in digital format. I used my IT skills to set up the digital book,” she says. She was among the first Kenyans to launch an e-book. Available on Kindle reader, in two years it had helped raise funds for a hard copy. The print book, published in early 2013, not only tells the inspiring story of Mbaya’s own experiences but borrows heavily from her coaching classes to give readers a road map to their own success.

 

Mbaya says the inspiration to reach her dreams comes from her grandfather, and she incorporated in her book the story of her extraordinary relationship with him, including a particularly powerful anecdote of a conversation the two had not long before he passed away over a decade ago. Her grandfather urged Mbaya to go out and achieve her full potential by exploiting her special talents. “He truly inspired me to believe in myself and I want to do more with my life in order to create a positive impact,” she says.

 

Mbaya interacts with people in need of career, business or general life guidance. She is happiest when meeting someone whose life has been transformed by her classes. “The truth is, all those I’ve coached are memorable to me. I really take my work to heart and connect with the people I empower,” she says. “They all inspire me when I hear their stories and see their courage in working to learn and apply the strategies we teach. What I love most about my work is that I also get deeply inspired every time I coach others. Like Albert Einstein, she believes “it takes a different kind of thinking to solve a problem than the kind of thinking that produced the problem. “I urge people to use what they have to get to where they want to go. It is not about how much money you have but being innovative,” she says. ” She says coaching can also benefit organisations, motivating staff to achieve corporate goals.

 

Today, Mbaya’s star keeps rising. Using lessons she learnt at her telecoms job as well as the experiences she gained through Apprentice Africa, Mbaya is building a successful enterprise in an area from which many entrepreneurs have shied away.

 

But the ride has not been altogether smooth and Mbaya says it can be difficult getting people to appreciate why they should pay a coach. Coaching, she says, is an industry, like other service industries. “There is work involved in developing quality products and programmes and delivering them effectively,” she says. “Successful coaches often joke that when they meet people who became millionaires after they were empowered by their programmes, they are tempted to ask themselves if they should not have charged more for the services!”

Tips For Combining Career & Passion

 

In January, the job search websites go crazy as people start the New Year resolved to find work that’s more satisfying. “While thousands of people are dealing with the tragedy of unemployment, many others are looking for jobs that are more fulfilling than the ones they have,” says attorney and author Pamela Samuels Young whose newest novel, “Anybody’s Daughter,” is one of five nominees for NAACP Image Awards’ Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction.

 

In January 2013, job search website Indeed.com had a record 17.3 million unique visitors—a 24-percent jump, and January 2015 will likely see a similar increase. Many of those job seekers won’t be looking for just a job, but one they’re passionate about.

 

“It’s great if your day job is your passion,” Young says. “But if it’s not, you don’t have to give up a position that pays the bills in order to pursue your dream. You can do both.”

 

Since 2006, Young has pursued her passion—writing legal thrillers—as well as her day job as Managing Counsel for Labour and Employment Law for Toyota Motors Sales, U.S.A., Inc. One reviewer described her as “John Grisham with a sister’s twist.”

 

“I enjoy practicing law and I didn’t want to leave Toyota, nor could I afford to. But I also had a burning desire to write mystery novels,” says Young. “I’ve always believed that if you have a dream, you should formulate a plan and make it happen. So that’s what I did.” Young’s plan included rising at 4 a.m. to squeeze in some writing time before heading off to work, and turning weekends and vacation time into creation time.

 

“Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I’ve published six novels, while still practicing law,” she says. “The hard work and commitment have definitely paid off.” Young offers these tips for busy professionals itching to pursue their own passions.

 

• Schedule time to devote to your passion

“On my calendar, you’ll find a few hours or full days blocked out as ‘Writing Time’ every week,” Young says. “You have to schedule time for your passion. If you don’t, the day-to-day demands of life will get in the way.”

 

• Put “passion” time ahead of “pleasure” time

If you’re working full-time and pursuing another “job,” you won’t have a lot of free time. “You’ll have to cut back on watching television, socializing with friends and even family time,” Young says. “Explain your goals to friends and family. People who have your best interests at heart will support you. “But do take an occasional break to relax.  Otherwise, you’ll burn yourself out by working around the clock.”

• Learn from others

Surround yourself with people who share your passion. Sign up for newsletters, read books and join communities of other like-minded people, Young says. “There are tons of professional groups whose sole function is to help their members develop their creative talents and business goals.” Young is a diehard member of Sisters in Crime, an organization that promotes the advancement of women mystery writers. “Not only will you get energy and inspiration from networking with others, you’ll grow.”

• Don’t put your day job on the backburner

Young says it’s important to give your day job 100 percent. “I never want my co-workers to think I’m phoning it in because I also have a writing career.” That attitude has paid off. “I have a strong support system at work. My co-workers read my books, critique my manuscripts and come to book signings.” Many of the people Young thanks in the Acknowledgements in each of her books are co-workers. Her fourth novel is even dedicated to another Toyota attorney.

 

“Don’t just dream about pursuing your passion,” Young says, “make it happen!”

Top 10 Real Estate Locations In Nigeria

     “If you’re not going to put money in real estate, where else?,” quips Samir Tapir who invested most of his money in New York real estate in the 1990s and subsequently became a billionaire in 2002.

 

Over the years, real estate investment has proven to be one of the most profitable investments globally (read Uganda’s Sudhir Ruparelia’s real estate success story). According to a forecast by wealth intelligence firm, Wealth-X, The number of High Net Worth Individuals – people with more than $30 million in investable assets – will rise by 95,000 over the next decade. This means every year, there will be more people who want and can afford luxury properties.

    

Like in several real estate markets of the world where economic growth is shooting up or at least stable, demand for luxury real estate is rising in Nigeria, so also are prices.

 

According to a report by property portal, PrivateProperty.com.ng, luxury rental property is the most popular and lucrative property category in highbrow areas in Nigeria. The report stressed that most residents cannot afford properties in these areas; they are mainly demanded by expatriates and non-residents who are interested in running their business activities in Nigeria.

 

Using data gathered by PrivateProperty.com.ng, Nigeria’s largest property portal, the most expensive real estate locations in Nigeria was identified. There are more locations with expensive properties in Lagos than any other place in Nigeria, according to the report. Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja followed Lagos’ 4 locations with 3. Ibadan, Abeokuta and Port Harcourt are other Nigerian cities with some of the most expensive properties in the country.

 

1. Banana Island in Lagos (Lagos State) – N450Million ($2.81Million)

     A 3-bedroom apartment typically sells for N100Million ($625,000) here and N450Million ($2.81Million) for a 5-bedroom house. Apparently due to the cost of acquiring properties, rental properties are very popular, with rent for a 3-bedroom apartment even going as high as N10Million ($63,000) per annum.

     A man-made island in Lagos State, Nigeria that is slightly curved in shape – like a banana, Banana Island is located in the Lagos Lagoon. It has one of the highest density of millionaires within its boundaries, with billionaire Globacom Chairman Mike Adenuga, daughter of a former president of Nigeria, Iyabo Obasanjo are proud owners of property on the island. Son of late MKO Abiola, Kola Abiola and Saayu Dantata – Son of late Alhassan Dantata are other notable residents of the Island.

 

2. Maitama in Abuja (Federal Capital) – N430Million/$2,687,500

     Property in Maitama costs close to $2.7 million or more. An area occupied by embassies and high commissions, as well as the crème de la crème of the society, Maitama sure deserves its second place on this list.

 

3. Asokoro in Abuja (Federal Capital) – N418Million/$2,612,500

     One of the major districts in Abuja, Asokoro is a high class area; home to state house, Aso Rock, secretariat of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) office, among others. Property ‘understandably’ cost a fortune in this area.

 

4. Jabi in Abuja (Federal Capital) – N400Million/$2,500,000

     Nigeria’s capital city comes in at number 4 with property at Jabi costing at least $2.5 million. Many Nigerian politicians have interests in this area.

 

5. Nicon Town in Lekki (Lagos State) – N320Million/$2,000,000

      Nicon Town in Lekki is one of the budding real estate markets in Lagos now, with property in excess of $2 million.

 

6. Ikeja GRA, in Ikeja (Lagos State) – N250Million/$1,562,500

     Many wealthy Nigerians who love the quiet life the GRA offers crave property in this area and don’t mind they have to part with money in the excess of $1.5 million to get the comfort they want. You’d find several expats here too.

 

7. GRA Phase 2 in Port Harcourt (Rivers State) – N145Million/$906,250

     Port Harcourt is home to a lot of expatriates, many of who work for oil companies in the oil-rich city. If there are people who can afford property close to a million dollars, they sure can. Many South-South billionaires who just don’t want their money out of their region also spend so much on property at the city.

 

8. Lekki Scheme I, Lekki (Lagos State) – N140Million/$875,000

    With $875,000, you can get a property in Lekki. The Island has been home to some of the most expensive property in Lagos in recent times, but demand for more luxury has pushed it down to eight on this list.

 

9. Alalubosa GRA in Ibadan (Oyo State) – N100Million/$625,000

     Ibadan, Africa’s second largest city has been regarded by some as the most under-developed city in the world, but the city has started living to its potentials in the past few years, little wonder it made it to this list.

 

10. Ibara in Abeokuta (Ogun State) – N80Million/$500,000

     Abeokuta’s real estate market is growing fast as people look to outlying locations outside Lagos, as high prices are forcing many out of the real estate space in Lagos.

 

In an article published by CNBC in 2013, multimedia producer Bianca Schlotterbeck, who’s now Photo Editor at AP, said the biggest threat to property markets is their own popularity, as the lack of local affordability can become a political issue, prompting governments to impose cooling measures. This may never be so for Banana Island as it was developed for the rich by the government itself.

Weak Currencies Are The New Cool

     Strong currencies are not “cool” any more. The economic system as we know it is dissolving into a new world and economic order right before our eyes. While politicians are using the term “change” as their trump card, change has always been the once consistent. Emerging economics is the new fashion of the global financial system.

     When a Country A’s currency is worth more than that of Country B, not necessarily does it mean that Country A’s economy is stronger than that of B’s. For example, Japan’s economy is regarded as the world’s strongest, yet a single Japanese yen exchanges for less than $1. Cyprus’ economy is considerably smaller than that of the US, but their currency, the pound exchanges for almost double that of the US dollar.

     So what constitutes the power of a currency? Is this even a relevant question in today’s financial system?

     Something we ought to consider, the causes of poverty. These are critical to economic development, and undermine not necessarily the strength of a currency, but takes away some of the stability that lends towards sustained economic trade.

     Let’s face it Africa is a rich poor continent. Africa is rich in resources and potential, but very poor in redistribution and commitment to her people. I recently read last year’s report published by Health Poverty Action, “Honest Accounts? The true story of Africa’s billion dollar losses”, on how development aid to Africa serves as a mere “smokescreen to cover up illicit financial flows, unfair trade policies and costs of adapting to climate change that drain the continent of its resources.”

     These are the causes of Africa not progressing, not to gain a stronger currency, but neglecting to redistribute through efficient, ethical and constitutional obligations, the proceeds for developing Africa. We have to lay out these hindrances to Africa’s progress. If we are experiencing growth phenomenal growth in Africa with such enormous illegal activity by governments, our sustainable projections should be superior to any other continent, if my calculations are anything to go by.

     It is funny how things change with time and a dose of irresponsible leadership. South Africa once hailed by far the most economically successful country in Africa has now slipped down the ranks and struggling to resurrect itself. South Africa at one stage accounted for 40% of the total GDP of the 48 countries south of the Sahara, and Nigeria, three times more populous, staggered behind in second place at 14 percent.

    To prove the point of currency strength as not being a real indicator, the strongest currencies in Africa are Libya, Tunisia, Ghana, Sudan and Egypt. Look at their economies, and they a lagging behind considerably. “South Africa ranks 132nd out of 144 countries for its primary education and 143rd in science and maths. The unemployment rate, officially 25 percent, is probably nearer 40 percent; half of South Africans under 24 looking for work have none. Of those who have jobs, a third earn less than $2 a day.”

“Conventional wisdom has it that globalization is a win-win but that is increasingly looking like a pope dream. There is no escaping the concerns that workers in high-wage countries have.” – Stephen Roach 

     In Africa as an emerging market this is the ideal platform for going global. These markets have all the attractions for investment and sustainable development. Are new government priorities and an enthusiasm for unconventional monetary policies changing the way the currency markets work? They most certainly are!

     Looking back at most of the world’s economic history, most countries pursued a strong currency—or a stable one. During the gold standard and the Bretton Woods system periods, governments exerted great efforts to maintain exchange-rate pegs, even if interest rates stimulated economic downturns. Only in exceptional economic eras of the 1930s and 1970s, were they deemed too painful and abandoned the pegs.

     As the world exited the tail-end of the global financial crisis, we realised that strong and stable are out of fashion. Many countries, especially emerging markets and even the stronger countries seem content for their currencies to depreciate. “It helps their exporters gain market share and loosens monetary conditions. Rather than taking pleasure from a rise in their currency as a sign of market confidence in their economic policies, countries now react with alarm. A strong currency can not only drive exporters bankrupt—a bourn from which the subsequent lowering of rates can offer no return—it can also, by forcing down import prices, create deflation at home. Falling incomes are bad news in a debt crisis.”

“A weak currency is the sign of a weak economy, and a weak economy leads to a weak nation.” – Ross Perot

     We know that weak currencies are symptomatic of weak economies and weak nations. However, the 2008 financial crisis changed this completely. Emerging economies no have more leverage to attract investment for resources, job creation, skills development, health improvement and education. These are the main ingredients for emerging economies going forward.

     Not only has times changed, but the game has changed itself. No more can there be significant currency wars because of the current structure of currency debt and previous currency trading. For instance, China holds a significant amount of US dollar debt and trading this off at a lower cost impacts negatively on all currencies. This may not prevent, but it certainly does stagnate currency wars. In turn this is good for emerging markets and the stability of their currencies.

     It may not be the strongest currency on the continent but South Africa’s Rand is certainly one of the more consistent and stable emerging market currencies in the world. Over the last 20 years since the democratisation of South Africa, the Rand has performed considerably well.

     Investors and fund managers trading in Sub-Saharan Africa consider the Rand “Real Money”. It is the most traded currency in Africa on a daily and monthly basis. Stephen Gallo, European Head of FX Strategy with BMO Capital Markets explains that, “The rand can also tend to lead other currencies on the decline and on the advance, because of its liquidity and the aforementioned reasons.”

    All in all, emerging markets should be looking at their own sister currencies to determine how they need to perform on the global front.

Developing An Entrepreneurial Mindset

     When does the mind set of an entrepreneur start to develop?  In the world of information technology there are many thirteen-year olds who are creating amazing apps and other technologically advanced systems from the seclusion of their bedrooms.

     Yet I am of the opinion that it is not the person that develops a certain mind set, but the circumstances around the individual that shapes such.

     When I was around 13, my mother encouraged me to stay busy during school holidays and subsequently gave me a packet filled with sweets with the instruction to “go and sell the sweets”.  Soon I became known as the sweet guy by the children at school.  Because I were not particularly fond of this new nick name I started looking for a better way of selling the sweets; I encouraged one of my friends to start selling the sweets for me.  In return I offered him 10 percent of the profit.  It did not take long before I moved from sweet selling to sweet management with about 20 friends as part of my sales force.

     It was this change from sales to management that defines the moment I started the journey as an entrepreneur.

 

But how does one develop the entrepreneurial spirit? 

     There is a common misperception that entrepreneurs are those people who make things happen by acting on impulse.  It might look to the average person as if Sir Richard Branson is one crazy business man, but in fact everything he does is born out of careful planning with an objective in mind.  Taking calculated risks are part of an entrepreneur’s make up.  Yes, entrepreneurs generally have a bigger risk appetite; they know when to take a risk and when not to.

     One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs worldwide, but particularly in developing countries such as South Africa, is financial support.  The tech environment is a prime example of the chicken-and-egg situation. An investor will not fund an idea which has not worked, but an entrepreneur needs money to make the idea work. Thus the key lies in the entrepreneurial mind set where one would need to find a midpoint.  The entrepreneur dedicates time and takes basic steps to make an idea happen to reduce the risk associated with investments.  This action can be a simple thing such as building a user base for whatever the idea might be, showing progress and market adoption rates.  Once one has established this user base it will be easier to find a partner who would be willing to invest in one’s business.

     Not only are entrepreneurs great risk managers, they are also visionaries. A successful entrepreneur is not motivated by money, but by seeing the vision come together.  Take Mark Zuckerberg as an example.  He had a vision of connecting his peers who were all students at the same university.  As his social media network expanded outside of the university it did not immediately turn into a business.  Facebook only started offering advertising when it reached a certain amount of users worldwide.  This famous social media network recently  bought Whatsapp for $19 billion; a prime example of money follows passion.

     I am a firm believer that the entrepreneurial mind is also a creative mind.  When an entrepreneur faces a challenge the solution is more often than not a creative one.  Steve Jobs once said that one should stop trying to make your product better than that of your competitors; focus on making your product different.  Imagine the surprise when someone told Henry Ford they wish they could have faster horses and he presented them with an automobile; it is yet another primary case of entrepreneurship.

     As a CEO of an advertising agency I have to admit that managing creativity in our environment sometimes feels a bit like herding cats, being creative is not an easy thing because of the abstract and outside the box thinking that is required. However, when entrepreneurs are exposed to environments outside their own, their mindsets start changing and that’s when creative ideas start flowing to solve complex problems.

     Lastly, entrepreneurs realise that having perspective is more important than being smart. Perspective depends not on independence, but is interdependent on other people; other people make the entrepreneur a better thinker.

     Do you have what it takes to develop an entrepreneurial mindset?  Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, develop a mutually supporting business relationship and watch your business grow

Why Customers Are Still Your Greatest Asset In 2015

     A new year comes with a lot of refocused and streamlined efforts as business owners make new resolutions geared at making their enterprises better; more profitable and more efficient. It is useful to note, however, that customers should never be streamlined away, in fact, more businesses should strive to develop what is now called “Customer Centricity.”

    According to the University of Pennsylvania, customer centricity is a strategy that aligns a company’s development and service delivery around the current and future needs of a select set of customers in order to maximize their long term financial value to the firm. It requires that the company is willing and able to change its organizational design, performance metrics and incentive structures to focus on long-term value creation for customers.

     This is a shift from the product-centric approach where firms focus on performance superiority or operational excellence to maximize shareholder value. While this approach may still work in certain contexts, there are very salient reasons why every forward thinking firm should go customer-centric, at least to a degree.

     First off, products moves faster through their life cycle today than ever before – this is a direct result of technology. The end result is that products stay relevant for a very short period of time, meaning the monopoly of being able to produce something that no one else can is quickly wearing away. It now pays to focus on the customer, understanding their unique contexts and being the first to come up with tailored solutions.

     Furthermore, today’s customers are smarter, and, well, why wouldn’t they be when the bulk of them use smartphones and other smart devices? Customers may have been passive in the past, taking whatever is thrown at them but today, they are aware of options, whether or not the options are readily available. Social media gives each customer a voice and they usually do not hesitate to make it heard when the occasion demands for such.

     Also, distribution technology brings almost everything everywhere in a matter of days. This means that customers are not only aware of options, but they can also readily access these options. Globalization can, therefore, be a plus or a threat depending on what side of the customer-centricity divide your business lies.

     What the smartest companies today have done is to fully leverage data driven business models to understand consumer behavior. These companies embrace customer intimacy and are able to draw enormous insights from just interacting with their customers at a deeper level, these insights can be synthesized into end products or tweaks to existing services and place them way ahead of the competition.

     As the world gets smarter, smart businesses understand what really brings rewards: creating enormous value for the end customer.

Happy New Year!! From me to your

I was driving in my car today and had my iPod on shuffle. I have thousands of songs but this one brought tears to my eyes. It's so appropriate for the new year. Read the lyrics and buy this song if you can. It's powerful.

"Dear God" by Smokie Norful

[Verse 1:]
It feels so good to make it this far
And I didn't think I could take it so long
There were days I wanted to quit
I said surely this is it
But I held on
And I watched as so called friends turn and walk away
It hurt so much I didn't have words to say
But even when my day turns to night and nothing seems just right
Lord I thank you for, for my life

[Chorus:]
For my life, Lord I thank you
For every victory in you I've seen
And all the moments I know it was you who kept me
So I thank you for, for my life

[Verse 2:]
And I watched you take my family from there to here
And when times were a lil rough God I know you were near
And the moments I thought I failed I was reminded of your nails
So I held on
And if I never live to see another day
There is nothing I would change or take away
I've had so many ups
That they far out way my downs
Lord I thank you for my life
[back to chorus]

[Verse 3:]
I realized some didn't make it...
I could've been one of the ones who lost my way
And there were times Lord I know I almost went crazy
But I'm still here, with my life
[back to chorus]
It may not be all that I'd hoped for
And every dream has not yet been realized
But to see your face one day God
I know it's all gonna be worth it

[Verse 4:]
So I thank you
Thank you for every mountain every valley
God every thing you brought me through
Thank you!
I know I know it was you
Just wanna take the time to say thank you Jesus for my life

"THE SECRET" WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL 05-01-2015.

 

 

           It's a new year and a lot of things are probably going through our minds. Things like gratitude to God for the last year, reflection on things that we achieved and those we couldn't and high ...expectations for this year.
           THE SECRET for this week is a promise that this year will be a greater one full of unimaginable exploits, just as it reveals to us in Isaiah 43:18-19, "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old; Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert".
      This is a great promise for us to start a new year. Two major things do amaze me in this verse, "I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert". These sounds very difficult or almost impossible considering the abandoned and uncultivated nature of a wilderness and the extreme dryness of a desert, but God is using this to tell us the nature of things he has in store for us. He has unfathomable gifts for us in 2015 even in places we don't expect.
      But also remember this, "Remember ye not the former things...". Forget all past worries, grudges, problem, disappointments, failures and even achievement. Set a new goal for yourself, focus on achieving greater things, forgive and forget past grudges. Still living in the past will keep causing a set back for you. Shed it off and you will definitely experience great turn around in your life this year. This year will definitely be a great year for us all. God's going to give us new stories and we are going to experience extraordinary mercy, grace and favour.
      Know THE SECRET, believe/have faith in IT and work towards IT whole heartedly and IT will surely work for you this week and forever.
Have a fulfilling 2015. Happy New Year.

#KipSmiln'
www.kipsmiln.blogspot.com