Bank of Industry (BoI) has urged Nigerian entrepreneurs to take advantage of globally available financial opportunities to expand their business.
Waheed Olagunju, acting managing director, BoI, said this at a panel discussion by Enactus Nigeria Innovation Summit, entitled, “The impact of entrepreneurship on the development and sustenance of an emerging economy,” in Lagos.
According to Olagunju, the global financing system has more funds in circulation than the demand for the local funds, as finance is one of the factors of production but not difficult to get because money will always go after good products.
“There are human needs that can be met in our environment and it takes innovative entrepreneurs to identify and tap into such opportunities for development. We are a country of about 180 million people, but technology opens up the global market as we have the whole world as a potential market,” he said.
The N2 billion Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) is a platform that could be explored, because it encourages young graduates with innovative ideas to become job creators rather than perpetual job seekers, he said.
He said students should view entrepreneurship as a career path and not an alternative because jobs were difficult to come by.
The population strength and natural resources endowment in the 774 local government areas of the country can be exploited for development purposes, he said, adding that the bank has demystified financing for SMEs by engaging the service of 122 Business Development Services Providers (BDSPs) to support and nurture small businesses to success.
Tonye Cole, managing director, Sahara Group, said the youth had to make the country either succeed or crash, pointing out that entrepreneurs were in a world of endless possibilities with the key to explore and make a difference in a dynamic world.
He said the BoI had an online platform targeted at mentoring 14 million youths and their ideas within the next two years.
Ayodeji Megbope, chief executive of No Leftover Limited, urged young entrepreneurs to package their products in a way that they would appeal to their target customers.
“Funding is not a problem because I started my business with a seed capital of N1,000. I chose to believe in myself regardless of the challenges around me. I have learnt that if you have a good product with right packaging, people will gravitate towards you. Be humble, start small and grow big and people will celebrate your success story,” Megbope said.
Peter Bankole, director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, said that there were several financing platforms available for youths to grow their businesses.
“There are various grants and scholarship opportunities that can be explored by youths as an alternative financing channel. There are angel investors that young entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas can explore.
“In the first quarter of this year, angel investors gave out N50 million to young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in Lagos, and another sum will soon be given out to beneficiaries in the second quarter,” he disclosed.
He urged parents to encourage and instil entrepreneurial skills in children from an early age.
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