Business leaders urge entrepreneurs to get creative to survive hardship

Leading entrepreneurs and business leaders have urged Nigerian entrepreneurs during the first Africa SMEs Excellence Conference organised by Small Business Insights in Lagos, to look both in the box and outside the box and get creative with their business solutions if they must survive the economic realities.

In his keynote speech, the Head of Personal and SME Banking at Unity Bank, Dr. Opeyemi Ojesina, said the current economic realities present opportunities for success for entrepreneurs who are able to work on their mindsets and assess the situation properly to find the opportunities. According to Ojesina, the success of any enterprise depends heavily on wisdom, common sense, and staying updated with facts.

He said entrepreneurs must not only be driven by passion but also by the profitability of their passion in the environment in which they operate. He also advised entrepreneurs to be disciplined, especially in their finance management, and to be able to separate their business income from their personal income.

Delivering a goodwill message at the conference, the Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Establishment, Mr. Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, represented by the Ministry’s Director of Partnership, Mrs. Olayinka Oyebamgbose, said Lagos State is set to empower not less than 10,000 people in a project to be launched soon by the Ministry. According to Oyebamgbose, the ministry is driven by the vision to empower Lagosians and offers support for entrepreneurs. She said the Empower Lagos project will provide mentorship, training, and funding for small businesses.

In his opening remarks, the Chief Operating Officer of Small Business Insights, Mr. Tobiloba Olusesi, said the Africa SMEs Excellence Conference was organised to empower Nigerian entrepreneurs who might find the period challenging for their businesses. According to him, mindset plays a key role in business success, and if it is not well aligned, the business will suffer. He expressed confidence that the conference would offer participants the needed knowledge to navigate their businesses in times such as this.

Olusesi added that Small Business Insights will continue to be a reliable source of information for SMEs by providing timely news on all issues around SME. The conference had in attendance leadership and members of various SME groups, including the Association of Micro Enterprises of Nigeria, the National Association of SMEs, and entrepreneurs.