Patrick Utomi, erudite scholar and a professor of political economy, will be the keynote speaker at the Catholic Brothers United (CBU) annual lecture scheduled to take place on April 26, 2020, at the McGovern hall of St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, Lagos.
The event is poised to congregate key business leaders and thought-leaders and is aimed at equipping business owners and potential entrepreneurs with critical skills necessary for the 21st-century marketplace. It has as its theme, ‘Entrepreneurship: A Tool For Mitigating Unemployment For National Growth.’
The select panel of discussants which will feature at the event includ Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, a seasoned administrator and the managing director of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF); Chukwuemeka Agbata, co-founder, GoDoHub.org and director, Founder Institute; Ndidi Nwuneli, founder, LEAD Africa, and managing partner, Sahel Consulting. The session would be moderated by George Ehusani, director of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation—a well-known religious cleric of the Catholic faith, writer and life coach.
Commenting on the annual lecture, Gabriel Akumhegie, chairman of the organising committee, said the event will offer business owners, entrepreneurs and executives opportunities to gain insights and practical knowledge from established industry experts, to further enable them to make balanced and informed decisions in their respective roles.
According to Akumhegie, available data can help improve business decisions in so many ways, one of which is efficiency gains. These gains are valuable because they can improve not only individual businesses but entire markets and society as a whole.
“The annual lecture will be uncovering key leadership principles, innovation possibilities and leveraging available data that have the potential to positively impact businesses, individuals and the Nigerian economy at large,” Akumhegie added.
On the choice of the topic, Akumhegie explained that because entrepreneurship is a tool for people pursuing careers in business creation and other related fields, it has become an interested topic given the level of unemployment in the country and the new policy direction of government to equip the youth to take up careers that will help them develop their talents and contribute to economic growth of the country.
“For instance, the 2017 report of Global Entrepreneurship Index shows that the first 10 well-performing nations in terms of entrepreneurship are developed nations,” Akumhegie said.
He further opined that policies made and implemented by the government can help promote development in rural environments, thereby ensuring equity in the forms of development experienced in an entire nation.
