As Nigeria enters 2025 struggling with economic challenges, Prof Sunday Adebisi, the Mike Adenuga, Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Lagos, beckons with profound solutions. The New Enterprise Nigeria concept and framework results from intensive and extensive research over many years. Prof Adebisi, the first holder of the Adenuga Chair established in 2018, articulated his grand theoretical intervention for reviving the Nigerian economy at the second annual lecture on 5 December 2024.
Key elements central to Adebisi’s vision for a “New Enterprise Nigeria” draw from his research interests and postulations. They include:
• Entrepreneurship as the Engine of Growth: Adebisi strongly emphasises the role of entrepreneurship in driving economic development. His “New Enterprise Nigeria” prioritises creating an enabling environment for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This includes access to funding, mentorship, business development services, and a supportive regulatory framework.
• Innovation and Technology: A key part is fostering innovation and leveraging technology to drive productivity and competitiveness. This involves promoting research and development, supporting tech startups, and encouraging the adoption of new technologies across various sectors.
• Skills Development and Capacity Building: Adebisi’s model recognises the importance of human capital. It emphasises skills development and capacity-building programs to equip Nigerians with the skills needed to succeed in the modern economy. These include vocational training, entrepreneurship education, and programs that promote digital literacy.
• Sustainable and Inclusive Growth: His research on sustainable strategic management suggests that his vision for Nigeria would prioritise environmentally and socially sustainable economic growth. This would involve promoting responsible business practices, supporting green initiatives, and ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are shared broadly across society.
• Strategic Partnerships and Collaboration: Adebisi’s involvement in programs like REAP highlights the importance of collaboration and partnerships. His model emphasises building strong linkages between academia, industry, government, and international organisations to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. In “Navigating the present stormy Nigerian economy: The New Enterprise Nigeria as the anchorage”, the First-Class honours laureate outlined ten elements. They are fit-for-purpose infrastructural projects, integration of all ministries’ activities synchronised with Nigerian needs, a 25-year food security plan, an end to borrowing, a push for a debt-rescheduling plan, and digitisation of Bureau De Change transactions. Others are job creation through enterprises and start-ups, investment in innovation drivers, managing subsidy removal, youth reorientation and wealth creation opportunities.
Prof Adebisi identified nine storms and 14 potential solutions. He affirms, “Together, we can make Nigeria great again. The potential of this country is huge. We all need to do our part. I am also available to continue the conversations on many platforms that care to understand more on all we have to do as a nation to get out of these various storms.”
Professor Taiwo Osipitan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dr Adenuga Professorial Chair, said the institution would strive to hold the yearly lecture to educate and inform the public about entrepreneurship and its contributions to solving the nation’s economic problems and creating gainful employment.
The Mike Adenuga Professorial Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies was instituted in 2008 to ignite Entrepreneurship Research and open a new frontier for entrepreneurship knowledge, practice, and enterprise creation in the country.
Professor Adebisi’s “New Enterprise Nigeria” model prioritises entrepreneurship, innovation, skills development, and sustainable growth. It strongly emphasises creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
Professor Sunday Abayomi Adebisi was a trailblazer in his university days and graduated with the prestigious FIRST-CLASS HONOURS DIVISION and ranked as the overall best-graduated student of class 2001 in his Department as well as the Faculty and the 2nd Overall Best Graduating Student in the then University of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Professor Adebisi was recalled back as a mark of honour into his Department after his NYSC in Federal Polytechnic, Damaturu, Yobe State, to kick-start his career as an Academic (Graduate Assistant); a clarion call he honoured, rather than taking up a job in the then young Zenith Bank and other new generation banks who were chasing him.
Professor Adebisi proceeded to the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, to obtain his Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Business Administration. He ranked as the overall best of his set, automatically earning a Ph.D. Admission into the same Department. He finished his Doctoral program with flying colours, and the Department jointly nominated his thesis for a National Best PhD—Thesis Award to compete with other universities in Nigeria in 2010.
Professor Adebisi rose through the ranks from a Graduate Assistant in a career path that spanned more than twenty years and three universities (the University of Ado Ekiti, Lagos State University Ojo, and the University of Lagos) to the present status of becoming a double Professor: the Chair-Professor of Dr. Mike Adenuga (Jnr), the Professorial Chair of Entrepreneurial Studies, and the Professor of Entrepreneurship Hub and Strategic Management in the Department of Business Administration, University of Lagos.
A Unilag statement adds, “Professor Adebisi has more than 50 journal articles in revered academic journals across the world, and his research interests include Entrepreneurship Hub Management, Innovation and Startup Enablement, Sustainable Strategic Management and Comparative Strategy, and International Entrepreneurship. He was also the Lead Researcher (Rocket Data Star) of the Regional Entrepreneurship Accelerated Program (REAP), an Entrepreneurship programme the University of Lagos conducted in partnership with MIT, United States of America.
It adds, “Prof Adebisi runs a viable entrepreneurship laboratory at the University of Lagos. He has led the development of the University of Lagos Campus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, which is replicated today in many Nigerian universities. He has also been responsible for facilitating more than 40 different life-changing startup creation projects for the University.”
Professor Adebisi has been leveraging his entrepreneurial knowledge to design strategies that support the University of Lagos enterprise orientations on all fronts. He has been very instrumental in the development of the UNILAG 25 years Strategic Plan, the UNILAG Business School Business Plan, the JUPEB Business Plan, the Creation of the UNILAG Micro-Finance Bank, and the Rejuvenation of many of the University’s ailing enterprises (Water, Pharmacy, Press and Guest Houses) under the Administration of the then 12th Vice Chancellor Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, and all of these enterprises have been doing very well without any exception as at today.
According to Unilag, “Professor Adebisi’s passion is to ensure that Africa replicates the Silicon Valley of America to engender sporadic innovation and entrepreneurship development for poverty eradication and economic self-sufficiency for Africa. He is poised to make African youths gainfully engaged and productive by developing a changed mindset that is not ready to work for anyone or queuing for unavailable jobs. He is creating many business start-ups right from campus and growing them into decent jobs now and in the future. He is dedicated to creating business empires that will make Nigeria and African countries competitive. His passion has made him drive aggressive collaborations with the private sector and meaningful entrepreneurs to support the realisation of this dream for his University, Nigeria, and Africa.”
Adebisi is a member of many Professional and Academic bodies, including the Academy of International Business (AIB) in the USA, the Strategic Management Society (SMS) in the USA, the British Academy of Management (U.K.), the Academy of Management, Nigeria (TAMN), the Nigerian Society for Financial Research (NSFR), the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM Chartered), and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN).
The high-profile and high-impact lecture had very attentive participants. Mrs Ibukun Awosika, serial entrepreneur and founder of The Chair Centre, moderated proceedings as chair. Unilag’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, thanked Dr Mike Adeuga for setting up the Adenuga Chair to enhance the frontiers of entrepreneurial academic knowledge and skills acquisition. Other guests included His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Ondo State, Mr Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa Olayide Adelami, ably represented by His Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olayide Adelami; Ondo State Government, Prof. Toyin Ogundipe Oluwatoyin Ogundipe EMADEB CEO and ED Mr Olujimi and Mrs Olujimi Emadeb Energy, GMD and ED of DEES Travels Debola Olotu Hotel and Tour, Mr. Kola Adesina, MFR, FNSE, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji Iyinoluwa Aboyeji , Olowo of Owo, the University Community, Captains of Industry and the Press
Adebisi has the academic, entrepreneurial, and life experiences and exposure to advocate for New Enterprise Nigeria as a model for the country.
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