Experts have urged operators of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country’s baking and confectionery industry to embrace innovation and creativity to scale their businesses and remain relevant in the industry.
The experts spoke during the just-concluded two-day annual Naija Bakers Cake Exhibition (NBCE) and Hall of Fame Awards held in Lagos recently.
Oluwabukola Ajayi and @naijabakers, founder of Naija Bakers said the NBCE is the biggest free access cake exhibition in the West Africa region.
Ajayi who is also a social media influencer and convener of the event says the theme of the third edition of the exhibition, ‘The Future is Now: Think! Reflect! Innovate!’ is apt because things are fast changing globally in the industry and professionals must adapt.
According to her, the event provided a learning opportunity for participating bakers in Nigeria and other African countries that came to hone their decorating, baking, and cake-making skills to be well-positioned for success in their business pursuit
“This initiative has further helped to reduce unemployment and eradicate poverty in the society,” she said.
She also urged fellow cake professionals to innovative and be creative as well as leverage various social media platforms to scale their businesses while finding ways to drive government support for the industry.
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She stated that this year’s edition featured hands-on wedding cake project, a modified buttercream project, sugar flowers project as well as 11 demo baking and cake decorating classes among others, which she says has never been done before at any cake exhibition in Nigeria.
During the panel session issues that bother on company registration, business and management structure, building nano-small businesses with minimal capital, reinventing in order to stay relevant in a highly competitive market were discussed by experts from various industries such as manufacturing, event planning, and legal among others.
Also, awards were presented to10 inductees who were admitted to the Naija Bakers Hall of Fame which comprises legends in the Nigerian baking industry who inspire start-ups.
