Abayomi Awobokun, Chief Executive Officer of Enyo Retail and Supply shared insights on the recently completed Enyo Open Ideas Competition and the company’s efforts towards promoting innovation in this interview with Businessday’s Endurance Okafor & Bunmi Bailey
Can you tell us about the company, Enyo Retail and Supply?
Enyo Retail and Supply is a customer- focused, technology-driven fuels retailing company in Nigeria. Enyo was established in 2017 and we have expanded quickly with over 100 stations across 19 states nationwide. Currently, we entertain over a thousand customers daily and cater to 2% of Nigeria’s local demands.
At Enyo, our operations are designed to use technology to improve the relationship between fuel retailers like ourselves and customers to generally change the narrative of the downstream industry in Nigeria.
You recently announced the winners of the pilot edition of the Enyo Open Ideas Competition (EOIC). Tell us about the competition?
The Enyo Open Ideas Competition began in February 2020 and this maiden edition was designed as an innovative contest intended to create ideas for sustainable design of our service stations. The competition tasked participants such as architects, creatives and innovative individuals to develop the ‘service station of the future’ using the example of existing ENYO service stations. Over 350 entries were received and with the help of our judges who are prominent & renowned professionals in the architecture space design in Nigeria, we narrowed down to a very welldeserving winning entry.
What was the motive behind this competition?
Simply put, the motive was an innovation. As an organization, one of our core values is constant innovation to keep exceeding the expectations of our customers. We believe that beyond our company’s professionals, there are thousands of individuals who may have ideas that are in line with our core business goals. We saw the burgeoning need to develop a competition to access those people and reward the best for their innovation.
Our objective is to continue accessing innovations both within the employment of the company and also collaborating with people outside the wall of the company who may have ideas that will continue to give us a competitive edge.
What informed the lection of the winners?
As mentioned earlier, we engaged prominent and renowned professionals from the Nigerian architecture industry to select the best entry. The chairman of the Lagos chapter of Nigerian Institute of Architects, Fitzgerald Umah, Tosin Oshinowo, Director, Cmdesign Atelier and other renowned architects went through all the designs submitted and selected the best three designs. These finalists were selected based on innovation and relevance, aesthetics, technical quality, clarity and comprehension as well as the functionality of the design concept.
The winners of the competition were announced after a rigorous review process. Based on the ethos of the design, including the competency of the architectural work, use of space and buildability of the design, our judges announced the winning team comprising Tobiloba Babalola, Ifeoluwa Akande and Olumide Owoyele.
How were the winners awarded?
The winning team was awarded a total sum of one million naira (N1,000,000.00) in prize money while the second and third place winners were awarded N500,000.00 and N250,000.00 respectively. Asides the cash price awarded to the winners, we will continue to work with them for our future designs and refurbishments. Certainly, the winners and ourselves are on a path towards a longlasting mutually beneficial relationship as they are now in our ecosystem.
Will the winning design be constructed?
The idea is not to entirely build any of the winning designs but to rather take bits and pieces to infuse in future projects. The goal of the Open Ideas Competition is to fuel innovation and creativity in various spheres through healthy competition.
Other than the designs that made it into the finals, were they any other designs you found interesting for the entry?
We received over 350 designs and at least 50 were interesting. I was pleased with most of the designs and thankful for the great work done by all participants. However, in every competition, there are things that distinguish every other entry from the winning entry.
What plans do you have in place for the continuity of EOIC?
The second edition of the EOIC begins in September 2020, and we are currently at the final stage of deciding the focus of the next edition. We could decide to go with designs, sustainability, solar and the environmental aspect of our business. The possibilities are endless and the focus will be announced in September.
How does this program fit into ENYO retail and supply’s overall goals and objectives?
Our objective at Enyo is to pioneer the technology revolution in the downstream to see what additional value can be created to support the massive industry. This program fits perfectly with our overall goals and objectives as technology and innovation go hand in hand, and we constantly seek ways to promote innovation and creativity.
