ECHOES FROM TREK AFRICA ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONFERENCE 2019
By Yomi Oyelami
Trek Africa Entrepreneurship Conference TAEC2019 Keynote Guest Speaker, Mr Chris Agbede, MD/CEO, Smithcrown Nigeria Limited
Having been regarded as the poverty capital of the world by the report of foremost global institution, Brookings Institution in 2018 with nearly 50% of her population living below the poverty line of US$1.9 per day, Nigeria has only one way and that way is up!
It is important for the country to climb out of the doldrums of economic privation and instability, hence the title which formed the backdrop of discussion at the just concluded Trek Africa Entrepreneurship Conference 2019 held in Lagos.
In his welcome address, Mr. Oki Samson, publisher of Trek Africa Newspapers which bankroll the yearly entrepreneurship discourse tagged: “From Poverty Capital To Prosperity Capital: Entrepreneurship And Innovation As Key Drivers Of Economic Transformation” stated that the conference ‘will provide insightful solutions on how to move Nigeria from the famed poverty capital to the revered prosperity centre of the world’.”
THE KEYNOTE
The keynote address of the day was delivered by Mr Chris Agbede, MD/CEO, Smithcrown Group. In his speech, Mr. Agbede opened up on the ‘zero to hero’ story of his life, how he practically moved from being a messenger in a one-man business to becoming an accountant and then, being the helmsman in a leading multinational engineering and construction firm.
The keynote, which also set the tone for the panel session, established that Nigeria has found herself in the abyss of economic misfortune largely because of her mono-economy model, ‘the economy has become a single product country where everything is imported and only one product (oil) is being exported to earn foreign exchange. The impact of green renewable energy on the dwindling fortunes of oil globally is not also in favour of our balance of payment, which is the bane of poverty.’
The business tycoon believes that investment in human capital should be a priority in order to move towards economic recovery. ‘Our youth must be able to do simple things that would substitute for some of the foreign products being imported into the country. Legislation to protect local production should be enacted on the part of the government. Power sector should play its catalytic role through provision of power supply for at least 16hours a day throughout the country to get the welders and the likes back to their shops from being okada riders’.
L-R: Chief Technical Officer, Medallion Communications, Dr. Krish Ranganath; MD/CEO DC Engineering Ltd, Otunba Adesegun Alowonle; Public Affairs analyst, Mr. Victor Okhai, and Lagos Mainland Chairmanship aspirant, Hon. Oluseye Olofin being members of panelists at the 4th edition, Trek Africa Entrepreneurship Conference at Ikeja, Lagos organized by Trek Africa Newspaper
THE PANEL SESSION
The highly intellectual and interactive panel session had Dr. Krish Ranganath, Chief Technical Officer, Medallion Communications, Otunba Adesegun Alowonle, MD/CEO DC Engineering Ltd., Mr. Victor Okhai, Public Affairs analyst, and Hon. Oluseye Olofin, Lagos Mainland Chairmanship aspirant as members of the panel.
The duo of Tomisin Ojo, media personality and Abayomi Oyelami, Editor Trek Africa Newspapers moderated the session while over 100 enterprising youths followed the conversation with keen attention and engaged the panel in a ‘no-holds-barred’ format.
Dr. Ranganath posited ‘A Nigerian youth need a mindset change and the skill set to become an entrepreneur’. He also observed that while Nigeria is equally multicultural, multiethnic and multi-religious like India, the Asian country has the edge because ethnicity and religion take the backseat when it comes to policy formulation and execution, ‘India is India, ethnicity and religion show up in every Nigerian sector, the blame game should stop’.
On his part, Otunba Adesegun Alowonle stated: ‘we need government to improve local content’ so that entrepreneurship can go occur in a grand scale across the country. He believes strongly that Nigerian government need to support Nigerian businesses so that they can thrive and be a huge competitor in the global marketplace.
Hon. Oluseye Olofin established that youth hold the key to Nigeria’s economic transformation and should engage in entrepreneurship no matter how small saying ‘your salary is a bribe, they want you to forget your dreams and passions’. He also considers that when youths engage in partnerships, it will go a long way in helping their entrepreneurial initiatives succeed because no one can do it alone.
On his part, Mr Victor Okhai advised youths ‘to grow and not to blow’ as against pop culture pervading among them. He also charged them to value their abilities and skills, ‘if you do not appreciate what you have, you won’t see value in it and you can’t exploit it.’ He believes Nigeria can adopt the German system of education that has two career paths – academic and craftsmanship – so that entrepreneurship can be properly inculcated and structured into education to boost human capital development.
President, Trek Africa Entrepreneurship Conference (TAEC), Mr. Oki Samson delivering his welcome address at the TAEC2019
PRESENTATION OF AWARDS AND CERTIFICATES
At the end of the conference, every member of the audience were presented certificates of participation for taking part actively and constructively through the duration of the conference.
Special awards were also presented to revered personalities for their input in various spheres of human endeavor. Personally present at the conference to receive their awards include Folasade Kadiri, Chief Press Secretary to the First Lady, Lagos State, Wofai Samuel, Sunday Aikulola and Tomisin Ojo.
Corporate organizations also bagged awards for their giant strides in the business world. They are: Smithcrown Nigeria Limited as Best Construction Brand Company of the Year, Medallion Communications, Technological Brand Company of the Year and Eagle Paints as Paint Brand Company of the Year.
