BIC, a producer of stationeries, lighters, and shavers, has in partnership with Enactus, an experiential education platform, carried out a mentorship workshop for Nigerian students on building business skills
The workshop tagged ‘Mentor Me programme,’ exposes participants including 15 students from the University of Lagos; Bayero University in Kano; and the University of Port Harcourt to the inner workings of BIC’s operations and also taught them how to achieve personal and professional success.
Guillaume Groues, general manager of BIC Nigeria, said the programme is a beneficial practical exercise that complements the Enactus National and World Cup events, aimed at giving students a taste of the real business world.
Groues said the programme was part of BIC’s commitment to improving learning conditions for 250 million students by the year 2025, adding it allows students to think outside the box and find creative solutions to societal challenges facing their communities.
According to him, the students shadowed BIC team members, as they took part in tasks including product innovation, negotiation, branding, as well as sales and marketing campaign planning.
Michael Ajayi, country director of Enactus Nigeria, said that for Nigeria to grow economically and eliminate the social crisis, the government must make deliberate investments in developing the entrepreneurial mindset of youths through mentorship.
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“It is by making such deliberate and altruistic efforts that we encourage the youth to make meaningful contributions to the process of resolving the socio-economic challenges faced in our society. Working with organisations, such as BIC to mentor, grow, and develop skill sets of the future generation, through practical work and real-life implementation is essential,” Ajayi said.
The workshop ended with the Enactus Nigeria students sharing their experiences and recommending ways to further enhance the pricing and profitability of BIC products.
Ajayi however announced that this year’s Enactus Nigeria National Competition has kicked off with the opening and semi-final rounds completed.
The competition, he said, provided the opportunity for the competing Enactus Nigeria teams to present their impactful and revenue-generating community projects to a panel of judges, including those from BIC and other Enactus Nigeria partners.
During the competition, a total of 16 out of 35 Enactus teams in Nigeria qualified for the opening round. The four finalist teams will take part in the final round of judging on the 30th of August in Lagos, Nigeria.
The winning national team is expected to represent Nigeria in the Enactus World Cup scheduled to take place in Puerto Rico in October.
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