What I gained from the Venture in Management Programme

I was one of the 50 fortunate participants selected to attend the 2017 edition of Venture in Management Programme (VIMP).

I graduated seeing the world from a single viewpoint, that of an accountant. Accounting is indispensable in any business organisation. Profit and loss, capital and cash-flow are some lingo of business. What I lacked was the perspective of a manager or an entrepreneur, although I took some courses in management. I was narrow-minded. The way we were taught partly contributed to this.

For most of us, if not all, who participated in the mini-MBA sessions of the VIMP at the Lagos Business School (LBS), this had been our experience. We were unused to learning by brainstorming. We were unfamiliar with the practice of people from varied fields of study, with varied characters and different levels of exposure contributing to solving managerial problems. During the six days of the programme our group discussions were simulations of what really happens in organisations.

Simi Nwogugu, founder and executive director of Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), chose investment banking as a career after attending a one week mini-MBA programme during an internship at McKinsey. She fell in love with business. And when she graduated from Mount Holyoke College in the US she joined the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs. In July 1999, she quit her job and relocated to Nigeria to start JAN.

Two things led her to make this career change. The first was her encounter with Junior Achievement while volunteering as part of a Goldman Sachs Community Teamwork. The second was a personal quest to bring Junior Achievement to Nigeria. Prior to resigning from her plush job, a brief visit to Nigeria in March 1999 gave her a first-hand experience of the poor state of education in Nigeria. The educational system at the various levels was in ruins. She felt the need to give a helping hand and so moved back home in July 1999.

Out of her zeal to introduce young people to financial literacy, business management and entrepreneurship, JAN designed programmes for youths. The Venture in Management Programme – similar to the mini-MBA sessions Simi Nwogugu attended in the US – is for students fresh from youth corps service.

JAN has come to solve a social problem and correct a widespread mentality. Nigerian businesses give little thought to the role of a manager, her responsibilities and attributes. Unfortunately, for some business owners their ambition doesn’t go beyond being recognised as the boss. All they want is to be known as the chairman, managing director. They start their business without thinking of what problems the business must solve. They don’t focus on the consumers’ satisfaction. Sometimes they are entrepreneurial but get carried away by other interests.

For one intensive week at the LBS I and my colleagues were introduced to the different facets of managing a business and developing management skills. The LBS, whose MBA programme was accredited internationally last year, has been partnering with JAN since 2000. How happy we were to be the first VIMP participants after the accreditation.

Every session was rigorous. Before each session, we studied and discussed the cases we were given in groups. Each group brought its view of the case into the classroom and this gave life to the sessions.

The LBS facilitators taught with gusto. They helped those of us who were using the case method for the first time. They taught us to analyse business problems from several angles: social, economic, political and ethical. We were inspired to see opportunities in problems, for instance, to find recession-proof solutions to problems. The faculty and staff of the LBS must have sacrificed a lot to make the programme a success. We enjoyed every single thing especially the catering services. The caterers repeatedly urged us to “enjoy it”.

One of the interesting packages of the programme was the Corporate Social Responsibility activity. While it is similar to the community development service we do as corps members, it had a different flavour. We went in groups to private and public primary schools and a secondary school. At the primary schools, we ran ‘JA More than Money’ sessions, and for the secondary school we organised a ‘JA It’s my business’ session. While exchanging experiences, we noticed the difference in levels of exposure between the public and private school students but a single thread ran through both: the fervour to learn. This is the only requirement to grasp what is taught.

The more exposed private school students already had bank accounts with some savings. They engaged us intelligently and asked us the most unexpected questions. Only a few of the public school students had bank accounts. But they were already involved in petty trading. Their zeal to learn was evident in their questions. It was fun being with them. For most of us, it was an eye-opener: we saw in those children hidden talents just like the protagonists of ‘Hidden Figures’, a movie we saw towards the end of VIMP.

Another interesting aspect of the programme was meeting Simi Nwogugu and the VIMP alumni. We had heard about Mrs. Nwogugu but she was not at any of our lectures. She turned up one day in all simplicity. We also got to meet VIMP alumni. Interacting with them we learned what they had been up to after VIMP. We were inspired they were all trying to make a meaningful impact in society. Most of them were quite young. Some already have started businesses. The older ones, the few who came, are already doing great things. Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi, the Executive Director of Fate Foundation, spoke to us. The mission of Fate Foundation is to foster wealth creation by promoting business and entrepreneurial development among Nigerians. Others were Gbenga Sesan, the Director of Paradigm Initiative and Tunji Eleso, the Director of Strategy Co-Creation Hub.

I came away from VIMP convinced that JAN has thrived not just because of its ideals but also because of the dedication of those who manage it. Their aspiration is to see that there are always people to solve the social and economic problems of society. To achieve this they devote their resources. Those who share this aspiration volunteer to help educate students. Some volunteer to raise funds for the various JAN activities. Corporate supporters of JAN include Accenture – Niyi Yusuf, the chief executive, gave an inspiring lecture during the programme – the African Capital Alliance Foundation and Channels Television.

On the final day, during our one of our classroom sessions, a participant wondered why VIMP isn’t being broadcasted to reach more people to teach them about business rather than spending time on Big Brother Africa. Simi Nwogugu noted that most times TV stations lure viewers with programmes that appeal to their base tendencies. To promote programmes such as VIMP on TV, viewers must learn to give less attention to what debases us and develop interests in entertaining educative programmes.

Participating in VIMP 2017 broadened my view, inspired me to think and dream big, and work toward to a brighter future.

 

Chukwuemeka Onyendi

Onyendi is a graduate of the University of Nigeria