Experts have urged operators of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) in the country’s event industry to embrace innovation and creativity to scale their businesses post-Covid.
The experts who spoke at the third edition of The Event Xperience Africa (TEXA) conference held recently in Lagos called on entrepreneurs in the industry to hone their decorating skills to enable them to be well-positioned for success post-pandemic.
Tera Fela Durotoye, chief executive officer of House Tera International in her keynote address said that entrepreneurs must continue to be creative to sustain their businesses and grow.
“The importance of understanding is that you have the result. Think about the innovation that can help you grow,’’ she said.
According to Tara, entrepreneurs must keep up innovating as things in the industry are fast changing globally and as professionals, they must adapt.
“You must have a reason for doing it. Getting your reasons, you have to think about what is required. What are the things you need to do? design the things according to the requirement and also be resolute and resilient even if you have setbacks,” she said.
Funke Bucknor- Obruthe, the convener of TEXA, speaking on the theme of the conference said that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the industry has created the need for operators in the event industry to learn, innovate, engaged, and collaborate to drive growth.
“It been quite eventful over the years, with the coming of COVID 19 we saw the need of capacity building, coming together to renovate to remain in business, this led to the theme ‘Reset,’ she said.
The convener said that the third edition is different from the other editions held in the past, saying that despite the impact of the pandemic on the sector, the conference was able to bring players together again across the continent to reset the industry narrative.
Speaking also, Wisdom Obeng Nyarko, managing director of the Main School Catering and Logistic business, based in Accra, Ghana said the TEXA conference has continued to bring stakeholders across the continent together to drive partnerships across the continent.
Nyarko urged entrepreneurs to be intentional about their business modules and sustainability. “You have to be intentional on your business modules, and practices to suit the time.”
“You need to be motivated because if the business dies you don’t die alone but with others who are working with you and connected to the business’’ he said.
Wisdom also added that for young entrepreneurs in the inventory event to remain in business, they should not cast their ideas in stone, urging them to be innovative and leverage partnerships to build a sustainable business.
Read also: Young entrepreneurs to drive Nigeria’s economic growth in 2023 – Karim
Bisi Sotunde, the founder of BusyBee Group Event/Academy/Rentals, and a participant at the conference urged the government to engage key stakeholders in the event planning industry to develop policies that would drive the industry growth and contribution to GDP.
She called on other players in the industry who were unable to attend to leverage the opportunity for the next edition, noting that they are missing out on the capacity building that comes with attending the conference.
“Attending TEXA is never a waste but an investment. Is not like you wasted your money when you attend a training conference like TEXA because when you go back and implement what was learned you will see the positive result in your business.”
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