yne magaine 4th edition

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A Conversation With The Queen of Fabric; Banke Kuku Meet The 20 Year Old With A Business Valued @65 Million Naira Women Who Did Wonders For Their Husband’s Businesses How To Run A Business In School &Avoid Academic Failure| 7 Important Qualities Of Self made Millionaires| Amazing Business Story Inside... 4th Edition

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This is the fourth edition of the quarterly Young Naija Entrepreneurs' magazine

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: YNE Magaine 4th Edition

A Conversation With The Queen of Fabric; Banke Kuku

Meet The 20 Year Old With A Business Valued @65 Million Naira

Women Who Did Wonders For Their Husband’s Businesses

How To Run A Business In School &Avoid Academic Failure| 7 Important Qualities Of Self made Millionaires| Amazing Business Story

Inside...

4th Edition

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Young Naija Entrepreneurs|2

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Young Naija Entrepreneurs|4

Cover BiBi: Nigeria’s Leonardo Da Vinci

18

Features A Conversation With The Queen of Fabric; Banke Kuku

10

Learn How A 16 Year Old Dropout Built A $7b Fortune

14

Women Who Did Wonders For Their Husbands’ Businesses

26

Lamentations Of A Nigerian Student

28

How To Run A Business In School And Avoid Academic

32

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Young Naija Entrepreneurs|6

Never Too Young Or Old To Make An Impact

36

Meet The 20 Year Old Man With A Business Valued at 65 Million

38

7 Important Qualities Of Self-Made Millionaires

40

Amazing Business Story: Aliko Dangote

42

Columns Business Lessons From Amancio Ortega

34

It’s Time To Get Rid Of The Myth

37

Regulars Editorial Piece 8

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Editorial

Piece The need to be responsible

S ome days ago I was with a friend when her

landlord came back from a trip. The scrawny

looking man went into his apartment, and after

a few minutes of rummaging around the house

came out with a plastic bottle of water that was frozen

solid. The ice was so thick it was obvious the bottle had bro-

ken.

I was baffled.

“I thought you said the man travelled” I said to my friend.

“Yes he did” She replied.

“For how many days?” I asked.

“Five days”

“Then how come he still has block in his freezer after five

days?”

“He left the fridge on when he travelled; he also left his fan

and some other appliances on”

I was appalled. Who travels for five whole days and leaves

his appliances on!? I later discovered the man got his elec-

tricity supply directly from PHCN pole and not using the

new Pre-paid system.

Where I live, we use the Pre-paid system where we are

billed according to how much power we consume.

But for people who don’t use such system they get

billed a flat rate every month (most times peanuts)

regardless of how much power they consume.

So I understood why my friend’s landlord left his ap-

pliances running while he travelled for days. He didn’t

see the need to be responsible. If he was being billed

by how much power he consumes he won’t dare try

such absurdity. What is more painful is the fact that

many Nigerians also share the same mentality as this

man; they don’t see the need to be responsible, to be

accountable for the works of their hands. No wonder

there is so much antagonism towards the system.

In the developed world there is a high level of respon-

sibility, if you must own a jet then you must be re-

sponsible to it (pay taxes for it), if you must own five

cars then you have to do same. It cuts wastage and

theft, and encourage productivity and responsible-

ness.

If we must grow as a nation then we must know that

it is nonsensical to waste resources just because we

don’t pay for them.

God bless Nigeria.

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|8

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Yemzee’s Touch| Whatsapp: 07032648381, 08154485209 |Instagram: @yemzeestouch |Konga: www.konga.com/yemzeestouch|BB Pin: 7fed4e84 |

Email: [email protected]

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Banke Kuku

S he is one of the fastest rising young designers in Africa. Her designs are so peculiar, so breathtaking, they have been featured on sev-eral world renowned platforms as Vogue, Elle,

Times U.K, Arise Magazine, Financial Times, House and Garden etc. Her creativity is so genius she has de-signed fabrics for reputed fashion houses like Duro Olowu, Jewel by Lisa, Virgos Lounge and Lot78 that have been worn by the likes of Michelle Obama, Kelis and Catt Sadler.

She is the winner of Women in the Making 2014 and one of the top 10 finalist in the She Leads Africa Entre-preneurial Showcase. She has been interviewed on Bellanaija.com, thisdaylive.com, cdnetng.org among others.

She has enjoyed so much success in young life, and with the very many active years still ahead of her, we, at Young Naija Entrepreneurs, see her attaining or even surpassing the heights of fashion legends as Cal-vin Klein and Ralph Lauren.

Q. Can you tell us about yourself? Who is Banke Kuku?

I’m a textiles designer that is inspired by Africa. I grew up in Nigeria until I was 8 years old and then moved to England. I love art, food and music. I love travel and as you can imagine textiles is my passion.

Q. Can you tell us about yourself? Who is Banke Kuku?

I’m a textiles designer that is inspired by Africa. I grew up in Nigeria until I was 8 years old and then moved to England. I love art, food and music. I love travel and as you can imagine textiles is my passion.

Q. Where do you get inspiration for such lovely designs?

I’m inspired by Nigeria at the moment I’m inspired by the Niger Delta which has been a running theme in my resent collections.

‘The Delta’ collection was partly inspired by the work of the photographer George Oshodi, in his collection ‘Paradise Lost’ who like me has taken his subject matter from the Niger Delta region.

INTERVIEW: BANKE KUKU

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|10

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Banke K

uku

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I chose to explore, tangentially, the theme of the oil produc-tion and pollution in the Niger Delta, using bold patterns to bring to life an otherwise bleak theme.

The main print tries to capture the intensity of an oil spill in the Creeks, water reflecting into the sunlight. Tales by Moonlight, the secondary print, is inspired by the sight of the Delta at night: I was struck by the vision of multiple gas flares (gas wastefully is burnt or ‘flared’ by oil companies) erupting like little volcanoes against a backdrop of a pitch black Delta night-sky.

Q. There are several other talented young designers in Nige-ria who are struggling to make their voices heard, how do you think you and other established designers can help them achieve their dreams?

Mentorship is really important. Throughout my design career I have had several mentors. Mentors are there to guide you, you can learn from them and sometimes they open doors for you.

Q. People who read your biography and learn that you travelled abroad at an early age would as-sume you never had any challenges in business, can you share with us any challenge that you faced starting up?

Start up businesses face many challenges where ever they are based in the world. Some problems vary from country to country. As I trained as a crea-tive designer, I found it quite hard to structure my business when I first started. I took business courses, read lots of books and got a lot of advice from my mentors.

Q. If you were not a textile designer what would you be doing?

Honestly, I don’t know! Being a textiles designer is my definition of success and my only option is to succeed.

Banke Kuku during an interview with Bella naija

INTERVIEW: BANKE KUKU

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|12

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A mong the many stories of grass to grace, rags to riches, the story of Zhou Qunfei is perhaps the

most dramatic and most interesting. None of those who had worked with her as co-factory workers would have imagined that she would one day be the richest woman in the whole of China. Even if a soothsayer had whispered such monumental idea in Zhou’s ears she would most likely have regarded such talk as nonsense.

Zhou Qunfei was born in 1970 to a very poor family in a farm-ing village in Central China. Her father was blind, having suf-fered an accident in the 1960s. When she was five, her mother died. In order for Zhou to support the family she began to work in the farm. But when she turned 16 she had to quit schooling in order to take up another job that would help her-self and her blind father.

She first worked in a small family owned business that made watch parts. According to Zhou, the work was tough and the pay was too little. She was paid $1 per day and worked from 8am to 12am, and sometimes to 2am.

When the business Zhou worked with eventually folded, she left, and, under the advisement of her cousin started her own business of manufacturing glass lenses for watches. She had saved up HK$20,000 from her overtime. She was known to send her monthly sal-ary to her father. Her relatives (brother, sister and two cousins) also contributed financially to the start of Zhou Qunfei’s company in 1993.

In 2001, Zhou had a big break when she was contacted by a Chinese mobile phone giant asking if she was ready to retool her business for the production of screens for smart phones. She jumped at the opportunity, and that started her long fruitful journey into producing scratch-resistant screens for smart phones.

Having made good profit from the contract with the phone giant, Zhou Qunfei in 2003, launched Lens Tech-nology, a touch-screen manufacturing company. The knowledge and experience Zhou had gathered while she worked as a factory worker in her former job played an important role in the rapid rise of Lens Technology.

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Young Naija Entrepreneurs|14

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Here are some valuable keys to Her success…

1. She refused to accept less than she wanted.

Zhou did well in school, but she had little choice but to

set aside her dreams of becoming a fashion designer.

Instead, she dropped out at age 16, to go to work in a

factory, "making watch lenses for about $1 a day," ac-

cording to the Times. It was hard work:

I worked from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m., and sometimes until 2

a.m. There were no shifts, just a few dozen people, and

we all polished glass. I didn't enjoy it.

Despite the fact that she needed the work and that

there were many others lining up to replace her, Zhou

wrote to her boss after only three months, thanking him

for the opportunity but saying it wasn't enough for her.

Instead of letting her go, her boss promoted her. This

brave move turned out to be step one on her long road

to immense wealth.

2. She thoroughly understood her business.

Because she'd started on the factory floor and risen

through the ranks at her first employer, Zhou thoroughly

understood every step of the lens-manufacturing proc-

ess before she launched her own company. Even now,

with a work force reported at between 60,000 and

80,000 employees, she's known for walking through her

factories and paying close attention to process.

"She'll sometimes sit down and work as an operator to

see if there's anything wrong with the process," one of

her general managers told the Times. "That will put me

in a very awkward position. If there's a problem, she'll

say, 'Why didn't you see that?'"

INSIGHT

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|15

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3. She bet on herself again and again.

Zhou left her factory job to launch her own manufacturing firm

with a total of $3,000 that she and relatives had saved. This

was the first of 11 business she started, according to the SCMP,

most of which ultimately failed.

"Twice I had to sell my house to pay my employees' salary,"

she said.

In fact, it wasn't until 2003 that she had the opportunity to

really make her company successful, which leads us to--

4. She said yes to opportunity.

Zhou's expertise was in manufacturing glass lenses for

watches, but it was the rise of the newest generations of

smart phones that really enabled her success. In 2003, she was

contacted by executives from a major mobile phone company,

asking whether she'd be willing to retool her company to

make screens for phones.

(The timing on this is actually a little unclear; the Times says it

was Motorola in 2003; the SCMP says it was China's TCL Corpo-

ration in 2001. Regardless, Zhou jumped at the chance.)

"I got this call, and they said, 'Just answer yes or no, and if the

answer's yes, we'll help you set up the process,'"

the Times quoted her as saying. "I said yes."

5. She worked incredibly hard.

There's a saying in the Hunan dialect that describes

Zhou, her cousin (who serves on her company's

board) told the Times: ba de man. It means "a person

who dares to do what others are afraid to do."

Yet Zhou apparently demonstrates a rare combina-

tion of initiative and diligence. The Times described

her work habits as "lean[ing] toward the obsessive."

Her company's headquarters is at one of her manu-

facturing plants in Changsha. In her spacious office, a

door behind her desk opens into a small apartment,

ensuring she can roam the factory floor day or night.

6. She maintains balance and humility.

Despite her great fortune and success,

the Times described her as exuding both "charm and

humility," remaining silent during meetings, but com-

manding attention when she does speak up, and ad-

monishing a subordinate for failing to sit up straight

during one meeting.

"I'm not qualified to be a high-profile person," she

was quoted as saying in the SCMP. "I think it's impor-

tant not to get carried away when you are successful

--and not to let yourself feel gloomy when times are

bad."

INSIGHT

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The Negotiator

The Best Online Platform to Buy and Sell

Anything at the Best Prices...

BBM: 59026d8d|Whatsapp: 07039842222|IG: de_negotiator |Twitter: @De_Negotiator| Phone: 08081643462

Automobiles| Home Appliances| Clothes| Phones| Personal Computers|

Landed Properties| Electronics| You just name it!

Page 18: YNE Magaine 4th Edition

Young naija EntrEprEnEurs

Editor Egbeyinka Segun

Beauty Editor Malomo Oluwatosin

Feature Writers Ime Ekpon John

Valentine Ogbamebor

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|18

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T here are so many young Nigerians spread across the globe who are doing marvelous things and painting Nigeria in very bright colors. In fact, that was why Young Naija Entrepreneurs was founded in the first place; to help publicize the works of these young Nigerians, so as to correct the wrongful notion that every young Nigerian is an internet fraudster.

Bibi is one of such Nigerians, who is literally painting Nigeria in wonderfully glowing colors. I came across her while researching for something unrelated and I am supremely glad I did. She is an autodidact with such wonderful spirit, and has a command of the brush synonymous to that of Da Vinci.

She was born in Nigeria and when she was 19, she traveled abroad and took two years off her studies just to paint. At 21, she held an exhibition in her house and sold every single painting. That was when she decided all she wanted to do was paint and since then she has never looked back.

Bibi currently resides in Dubia, UAE, and has exhibited in the US, UK, Europe and Africa.

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|19

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Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Bridget Oronya; BiBi

You are fast-raising talented young Nigerian painter, when did painting begin for you and how did you know painting was your calling?

I have always loved drawing and painting as a child, I started painting professionally after finishing high school in 2004. While waiting for my final result , I made the deci-sion to paint professionally because it was the only thing that kept me happy and satisfied with myself. I spent most of my time learning to paint and mixing colors. I took several art classes as well but most of all I learn bet-ter when I am alone and can think freely.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

My inspiration comes from all around me, my childhood memories, Exhibitions, traveling and visiting museums.

How would you describe your painting?

My style of painting is hard to describe, my work varies from traditional to modern African art, from semi abstract to abstract or symbolic, Most of all colorful and vibrant.

How long does it take you, on average, to complete a painting?

It takes from three weeks to six months or even up to a year to finish a painting. I like to take my time with each painting, chatting and drinking coffee looking at it every day till somewhere my brain decides it’s time to stop.

Why is ‘travelling’ a central theme for many of your paint-ings?

Traveling has always been a theme in my work, my fondest memories are the places and countries I visited with my mother as a child.

INTERVIEW: BIBI

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|20

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Many Nigerians consider artworks exorbitant and over-priced luxurious items so they don’t think to buy them, do you think artworks are sometimes too expensive?

Some paintings are over priced due to value and name of the artist behind it, the value of an art work goes up the minutes it gets into a gallery or a dealers hands. The gal-leries have their bills and expenses to pay, the art busi-ness is like any other business. There are affordable arts it all depends on what the buyer is looking for.

What are your fondest memories of Nigeria? What do you miss most about Nigeria?

My fondest memories are the markets and fresh food, I love walking through the art markets and finding little souvenirs to take back home.

You have exhibited in the UK, US and Europe, do you plan to do any major exhibition in Nigeria anytime soon?

I am always excited to go back home let see what the future brings.

What advice would you give to Nigerian parents, who have talented children like you, but prefer them to be doctors and lawyers rather than go into painting?

I believe every child is unique and different, we should learn to appreciate and nurture every talent. In other ways being creative and studying something com-pletely different has both benefits.

INTERVIEW: BIBI

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|21

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Young Naija Entrepreneurs|23

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T here is a saying that, behind every successful man there is a woman. There is hardly an as-

pect of life where this saying holds true as in the busi-ness arena. Below is a brief account of women who stood firmly by their husbands and contributed in no small measure to the success that their husbands eventually became.

Zheng Ying is Jack Ma’s wife. Jack Ma is the richest

man in China and the founder of Alibaba and all

other subsidiary companies under that name

(Aliexpress, Alipay etc). Zheng Ma was involved in

the early building of Alibaba; she served as the Gen-

eral Manager for their China headquarters. But the

busy schedule of the couple was having a very nega-

tive effect on their only son, who was sinking deeper

into online gaming and gambling. To save their son’s

sanity, Jack asked his wife to step down from her

Women who

did wonders for their

husband’s

businesses

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|26

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from her official position and become a full time house-

wife.

It was a difficult decision for Zheng, who was even more

educated than her husband. In the end she agreed. She

stayed at home with their son while Jack travelled for

weeks on business. She prepared food for business guests

and associates whenever they came to their house for

meeting, instead of being at the table also discussing

deals. In the end her sacrifice paid off. Jack Ma presently

has an estimated wealth of $23.9 billion and their son is an

undergrad student at the University of California. Jack Ma

attributes his success to the sacrifice and unflinching devo-

tion of his wife.

Helen Walton was Sam Walton’s wife. Sam Walton is the

founder of Walmart; the largest retailer in the world. Many

researchers believe that the idea of a store that sold every-

thing at a discounted price came from Helen Walton. Also,

it was by virtue of Sam’s marriage to Helen that he got a

$20,000 loan from Helen’s father to start his very first vari-

ety store. Just a few years after starting, Walton had prob-

lems with his landlord who refused to renew his rent and

consequently threw him out. Walton found another store,

but the store owner was not ready to give Walton the 99-

year lease he wanted, despite Walton meeting with the

store owner six different times. His father-in-law, by virtue

of Walton’s marriage to Helen, once again came to the res-

cue. He met the store owner in secret and paid him

$20,000 to finally secure the desired lease.

Henry Ford was known to be a stubborn and difficult-to-

convince fellow. He was also known for his dislike of Trade

unions. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, there were

Several bitter disputes between Ford and the Auto mo-

bile trade unions. Ford refused to recognize them de-

spite repeated appeals from many quarters. The crisis

got to its peak in 1941, when a sit-down strike was issued

by the United Auto Workers Union (UAW), causing

Ford’s plant to shut down. Ford announced that he

would rather break up the company than cooperate with

the union. He was about to destroy the company when

his wife stepped in. She threatened to leave him if he

dared destroy the company. Henry listened to his wife

and in June 1941 signed the most favorable UAW con-

tract that kept the Ford Motor Company in business,

even to this day.

Pauline Denyer is Paul Smith’s wife and partner for thirty

years, and in those three decades she was instrumental

to Paul Smith’s success and rise to iconic fame. Paul met

Pauline in 1969; then she was a Fashion student in the

Royal College of Arts. As of this time Paul never had any

formal training in fashion and design. Pauline greatly en-

couraged Paul and even provided him with her savings

so he could open his first shop in 1970; the shop was just

12ft in size. Times were difficult but she stood by him and

gave him the necessary motivation that he needed and

they grew together.

Today, Paul Smith’s products are wholesaled in seventy

five countries. He has seventeen shops in London and

over 200 in Japan. Other countries where his shops are

located include Paris, Milan, New York, Korea, and UAE;

all because of one woman.

In every of his interviews Paul Smith attribute his success

majorly to the support from his wife.

“a wise woman knows the importance of speaking life into

her man. If you love him; believe in him, encourage him

and be his peace” Denzel Washington

PRODUCTIVITY

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|27

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Y ou say that I am half-baked yet you gladly

watch as I waste several months at home,

year in year out, due to countless and meaningless strikes.

And when we are finally back in session I am bombarded

on every side, so much that I feel my head spin with confu-

sion, a 12-weeks semester is automatically shrunk to 6

weeks, and who is left to bear the brunt? Me! Yet you ac-

cuse me that I am half-baked, wanting me to feel guilty for

my state, to cover my face in shame for a crime that is not

mine. You stab me with your words like sharp arrows, mak-

ing me feel like I am inferior to my peers all around the

world yet you are the one responsible for what I have be-

come.

You accuse me of being half-baked yet I have no sim-

ple thermometer in my lab, the best I know of it I

learnt from the pages of my textbook. You say that I

am half-baked; have you seen the microscope in our

lab? It was purchased twenty years ago, some of its

knobs are already out and hardly can you use it to fo-

cus on a specimen. One mouse is to thirty students, yet

you say I am half-baked. You direct your abuses at me

like I am the one to blame; you say I have chosen not

to read, have you given me the books? You say I have

failed how much have you done to help me pass?

You accuse me of being half-baked yet my lecturers

read out notes to me that they compose ten years ago,

and had since been reading to students every year

without any modification. They act with impunity be-

cause there is no one to caution them, no one to ask

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|28

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questions. I am left at their mercy, so they request induce-

ment, tactfully or openly, so I can pass my exams. They

withhold my result so they can behold my pretty face in

private and share with me their lustful illicit intents; in my

hands are two things: my dignity and my success, I am left

to choose one and forgo the other. Yet you still say to me

that I am half-baked.

You claim that I am half-baked, yet three of my elder

brothers and two of my sisters are languishing at home

after years of hard schooling; they have no jobs and still no

hope. What motivation gladdens my heart? What do I have

to look up to? Those who were ahead studied real hard

still…nothing, and yet you finger me as someone with no

seriousness, that I have no drive nor burn with a fire to

learn…those pudgy fingers are most rightly directed at

you, for whatever attitude I display is as a result of your

failures.

You accuse me of being half-baked and that I am unem-

ployable, what have you done for my school? Oh! Pardon

my forgetfulness, your wards do not go to the same

schools that I do so you have never had any moral obliga-

tion to do much good for it. You couldn’t care less if I study

without seats to sit, or if I have to do my lab practical un-

der trees, as long your children are in the best ivy league

schools you are fine, yet you still turn around and accuse

me of being half-baked, when you are the one directly con-

trolling the oven. You have turned down the heat so low it

has become of no effect, no usefulness to my overall de-

velopment. Your words place a load on me like Atlas,

threatening to crush me to the very earth. You are respon-

sible for what I have become yet you push the blame to

me like I am the culprit.

This piece is to everyone who is, or was once, in the po-

sition to do something good in the educational sector

but yet withheld their hands from doing it. The evil that

you have cheerfully done will one day come around and

hunt you; you think those children of yours have be-

come successful, you just wait and see. There is no ref-

uge from the evil that you have done, the spirits of your

foolish deeds will continually haunt regardless of how

far you run.

Featured image is courtesy VOA Hausa. The image features Ayo Omolale, a 30 year old student of Political Science lament-ing the government’s inability to rescue the kidnapped school girls of Chibok.

It has been over a year since about 200 girls were kidnapped while sitting for their final secondary school exams. Since then the government has been unable to rescue them.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|29

Do you wish to be a featured entrepreneur on Young Naija Entrepreneurs? Then visit www.youngnaijaentrepreneurs.com/how-to-be-a-featured-entrepreneur-on-yne/ It’s FREE!

Page 30: YNE Magaine 4th Edition

“ One time we had designed a fabric for a Bride, from colors to Pattern and all, every-

thing was fine, she approved the design and all, then we placed the order with our

manufacturers, and told the bride to come pick up her fabric on a particular

Date.

The Fabric got into Nigeria 2 days before that date but NAHCO (Nigerian Avia-

tion Handling Company Plc) decided to go on strike, Oh my Goodness, you

cannot imagine all the strings we tried to pull before the pick-up date we had

given the Bride-to-be; unfortunately we were not able to get the fabrics out

until 2 weeks later. The Bride that had never met me before and had sent

such a substantial amount of money tried to be calm the first 3 days but after

that, she lost it completely, she was having major trust issues and was calling

me almost every hour for those 10 days, trust me it got to a point when I see her

number on my screen I just get weak and tearful {laughs}. It is not an experience I

would love to happen again. Luckily, when the fabrics came out she was so in love

with it that she wasn't too upset when I personally went to deliver it and apologized

for the delay. Oh, and yes, she still ordered more but this time we didn’t use Cargo

{smile}. ” Our challenge now is to get befitting premises, because where we are

presently is actually a mechanic workshop and it is hidden, that’s why we

do takeouts only. Most of our clients want to come, sit and relax. We also

have a major challenge with delivery. Any order outside Surulere goes via

public transport, as a matter of fact I’m in a bus right now heading to CMS

for a delivery, the traffic over here adds to the delay. Getting motorcycles

which are very flexible and can maneuver their way through any traffic is

what we are looking for.

” Ok, let me share my worst challenge so far, there was a

time I lost over a thousand birds and that was when I

started, it was as if I won't bounce back, but I refused to

give up.

Share Your Challenge Inspire others...

Ngozi Elendu : Ms. Asoebi

Akanimoh E. Etuk and Christiana Samali: Yummy Delight

David Caleb Usman: Galaxy Team

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|30

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Working with clients that are so difficult to satisfy. Operational

expenses; as it is a growing business makeup materials with high

quality are expensive. And then working at odd hours is another

challenge. You might be called for a job at 9pm and you will leave

by 12am due to delay by client.

…I had a bride, with so much spots on her face and she needed

glam. But she was like; I don’t want, my eyebrows are not so small,

my lips are not so loud and on and on, but thank God for His Spirit

and the gift of patience. After everything she called back to say

Oma thanks a lot.

” Owning any sort of small business in a struggling economy is diffi-

cult. But when your passion is beauty and fashion, getting off the

ground may be a hassle, but once that initial investment goes

through you’re off and running. Some of the challenges I faced was;

first and foremost, what course to register for and which school to

attend. Second; to excel in this business experience is requisite and

I had none so I decided to start with friends and family offering my

services at token fees. Now I have a strong database of

clientele mostly based on referrals.

The challenge of financing my dream wasn’t easy. Secondly, Nigerians

don’t believe in Nigerians. Most of these rich politicians like patronizing

foreigners, who would now take these jobs and outsource it to blacks, or

use blacks to execute it at peanuts prices. It is annoying, very annoying.

Currently, I am faced with financial constraint. I want to buy some ma-

chines that can increase my speed of work.

OHMA

Chioma Ndubuisi: OMA Beauty World

Emmanuel Ogar

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Starting a business in the university can be nerve-

racking. This is due to the fact that you now have to

combine two very time-demanding activities –

studying and doing business. So many people have

failed out of school because of the division of atten-

tion that starting a business can bring to a student.

However, there are several people, like myself, who

have successfully combined business and academ-

ics, even though it wasn't easy at the start. With a

combination of the following rules, I was able to

successfully run a business in school and end my

academic pursuit on a high.

1. DON’T START A BUSINESS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND:

Many people choose to go into certain businesses be-

cause they heard from somewhere that the business of-

fers huge profits. Many do not take the time to learn and

understand what it entails to run a business. As a college

student and an entrepreneur, you don’t have the time to

waste going into a business you don’t understand. Be-

fore starting my Cheapest Rate Enterprise on campus, I

took the pain to study how printing, photocopying and

scanning business works. Even though some may con-

sider this a trivial activity, it paid off for me. At least I

started out prepared and could set a very low price to

beat off my competitors. As the name of the business

implied, my price was the cheapest on campus.

How to run a business in school and avoid academic failure

SELF DEVELOPMENT

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2.DON’T START A BUSINESS YOU ARE NOT PASSIONATE

ABOUT:

Before you even try to understand the type of business

you want to go into, you must be sure you have a passion

for it. Because when the going gets tough, and you begin

to get bouts of discouragement, it’s your passion for the

business that will keep you motivated and help you suc-

cessfully combine it with your school work.

3.BE FOCUSED:

When you decide to start a business on campus, you have

brought in another activity to compete for space in your

daily allocation of twenty four hours, which has already

being dwarfed by your academic activities. You need to be

highly focused on these two activities, and your energy

must be channeled towards these activities. This way, you

will achieve both business and academic success. All other

activities should be avoided as much as possible.

4.SET PRIORITIES:

After adjusting your focus to be on the two most impor-

tant parts of your life for now, you must set priorities.

Streamline all of your daily activities and eliminate those

ones that do not contribute to your overall goal of busi-

ness and academic success. Don’t waste your time to so-

cialize around your room or with friends. This is one of the

mistakes I made when I started CRE. If you are a night

reader, make good use of your day time and rest enough

once you have closed your business for the day, so that

you can have enough energy for night reading and doing

other academic assignments.

5.PICK NEW AND DROP YOUR OLD UNSERIOUS

FRIENDS:

With limited time on your side, you know that you

must pick your friends and not let them pick you. And

you must have the courage to break away from unse-

rious ones. Sometimes, you begin to have a lean circle

of friend like I experienced, don’t kick yourself, it’s

only natural due to your new commitments and focus.

Also, try to pick new friends. These should be indi-

viduals who are serious with their academics so that

they can help you meet up and make up for lost times

and missed classes that may be required. Dropping

your friends may sound harsh, however, cutting off

the influence of your unserious friends will only make

you a better student and successful entrepreneur.

6.BE DISCIPLINED:

Discipline here involves doing what is required of you

whether you feel like doing it or not. You have to fol-

low your priorities strictly and routinely, and work

from a list. Create daily to-do lists and discipline your-

self to follow through on every item on the list. I

started to effectively use my time for academic and

business purpose, when I started to write down my

priorities and follow them strictly. Don’t allow your-

self to do the things that are not contributing to your

overall well-being as a student and an entrepreneur.

7. SET YOUR BUSINESS TIME:

Regardless of the kind of business you are engaged

in, set time for it. You can do this either daily or to

favor of your school time table. If you don’t set your

business time, you will most likely find yourself spend-

ing most of your time chasing after money.

SELF DEVELOPMENT

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The unfortunate result of this is that you will have less time for

your academic activities which could lead to academic failure.

8.DON’T ENGAGE IN MULTIPLE BUSINESSES:

I know there are people who would want to counter this

thought. However, this will not change its truth based on my

experience. I tried adding a computer repair business to my

printing business while in school; the result was something I

was largely unprepared for. This choked me of my time, even

though I had done my research right. The key is to focus on

one business at one time.

9.BE GENEROUS:

By being generous, I don’t mean taking all your profits and giv-

ing it away to a charity. What I mean is to be considerate while

dealing with your customers, who are mostly students like

you. We know for a fact that all fingers are not equal. There

will be instances where people will come to use your services

and offer to pay later or even just say they don’t have money

but need your help, always consider this people. It may be

risky because some may never pay you back, but you will

surely reap goodness someday.

10.PAY YOUR TITHE:

If you are not religious, you can still benefit from this act by

giving away 10% of your income to a charity or a cause you sup-

port. For the religious ones like me, it is very important to pay

tithe off your income. I must admit that when I defaulted in

following through on my tithing, my income and business pa-

tronage plummeted and I just knew that it was my unfaithful-

ness towards God was the cause. When I restarted, things

changed for good. Not forgetting the fact that it takes favor

for someone to skip your competitor and decide to patronize

you.

SELF DEVELOPMENT Business Lessons from Amancio Ortega

The benefits of Privacy:

I have heard many celebrities say they wish they could ex-change their fame for a little bit of privacy. They yearn for those times when they could walk on the street without be-ing harassed by paparazzi; they wished they could still take their families out to the park without being accosted by overly enthusiastic fans who want to take photos or want to have a chat.

The price celebrities pay in return for their fame is enormous, sometimes eating so deep into their private lives that it al-most turns them mad. Their personal or family matters be-come juicy headlines in tabloids.

But people like Amancio Ortega need no fear such mutilation of character by these newshounds. He has successfully man-aged to keep his private life private and so he has little to worry about as regards the paparazzi.

If only celebrities and societal figures would try to emulate Ortega, and strive to keep their private lives private, rather than uploading every photo of their lives on social networks, they would live much happier and longer lives, and divorce a little less than what is obtainable.

Cutting out the middlemen:

I run a business too, and my great priority is to strategize a means of cutting out the middlemen and selling directly to my customers. I did the Maths and I discovered my profit is being cut by as much as one third or even half by my selling to middlemen instead of consumers.

Amancio Ortega recognized this fact quite quickly so he de-veloped a business model where he could deliver directly to the customers rather than passing through middlemen. So not only was he producing, he was also selling to people who walked into his stores, hence maximizing profits.

Giving customers what they wanted as fast as they wanted it:

There is an old adage that says “customer is king”, whoever fails to treat his customer as king no sooner would be out of business. From the onset Ortega treated his customers as kings; he purchases quality but affordable fabrics, makes nice outfits with them and sells them to customers at pocket friendly prices. He was able to take designs from the runway and make them available in his stores for prices that the ordi-nary man can afford. For Ortega, it was all about satisfying the customers, and in the end it paid off.

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|35

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Never Too Young or

Old to Make an Impact Elon Musk was 12 years old when he wrote the

computer code for his own video game called

Blaster which he sold for

$500. At 24, he founded his

first company, Zip2, and at

28, the company was sold

to Compaq for $307 million

making Elon a multimillion-

aire. Today, Elon is the co-

founder of Tesla motors, Paypal and SolarCity.

Carlos Slim Helu had a father that

valued business education very much

and taught his children the basic prin-

ciples of saving and investment. At

the tender age of 12, Carlos Slim

bought his first shares in a Mexican

bank, and at the age of 25 started

laying the foundation for his holding

company, Grupo Carso. Carlos Slim

Helu is currently the second richest man in the world,

with a net worth of $82.2 billion dollars.

Harland Sanders was 40 years old when he began to

cook for hungry travelers

and serve them from his

dining table. He was 62

when he finally succeeded

in franchising his recipe

to one of the largest res-

taurant in the city, and

when the name Kentucky

Fried Chicken (KFC) was

born. As of December

2013, there were 18,875 KFC outlets in 118 countries

making revenue of $23 billion. The likeness of

Harland Sanders appears on

every KFC post sign and meal

bucket worldwide.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

began composing from the

tender age of 5. He was so

talented that his father had to give up composing and

allowed his son to do all the song

composition. At the age of 17, he

was employed as a court musician by

the ruler of Salzburg. Mozart today

is remembered as one of the greatest

composers of all time.

Ray Kroc didn’t open his first Mac-

Donald’s restaurant until he was 52.

He was 59 when he finally had com-

plete ownership over the Mac-

Donald brand. Barely two years after he took full own-

MOTIVATION

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|36

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ownership, Ray sold three billion burgers and

opened his 500th store. Presently,

there are more than 25,000

McDonalds in operation worldwide.

Nick D’Aloisio was 15 when he cre-

ated the application Trimit, which

later became Summly. In March 2013,

Summly was sold to Yahoo! for $30

million making D’Aloisio one of the

youngest self-made millionaires

ever.

What were you doing when you

were 12? Building sand castles

around your feet. What are some

people doing at 25? Wearing

their trousers below their but-

tocks and claiming to be the

‘don’ on their street. It is time to

wake up.

Are you 40 or 45 and you think all is lost? Take a

lesson from Harland Sanders and

Ray Kroc, and make an impact in

this world.

IT’S TIME TO GET RID OF THE MYTH

T here are a great many myths

about self-made millionaires. If

you want to become a self-made

millionaire yourself, you must dis-

pel these myths from your own mind. Remem-

ber, as the humorist Josh Billings once said,

“It’s not what a man knows that hurts him, it’s

what he knows that isn’t true”.

Many people have fixed ideas about them-

selves and money that are holding

them back. These ideas may be com-

pletely untrue, but they will cut off

your chances of success nonethe-

less. You must get over them. To

achieve something you have never

achieved before, you will have to

think in ways you have never

thought before.

One myth is that you have to have great education to become

rich. Another myth is that you have to

start off with a lot of money. Some peo-

ple are convinced that financial success

depends on getting a lucky break of

some kind, like picking a hot stock in

the stock market.

None of these myths are true, in fact, a

survey of members of the Forbes 400, the 400 richest men and

women in the united states, found that high school dropouts in

the group who made it to the list were worth, on average $300

million more than university graduates on the list.

MOTIVATION

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W hen he first contacted us on one of

our social media platforms, I was

tempted to ignore him. He told me he

was 20 years old and he was in the

Agric business, I thought he was a joker or just somebody

who wanted attention. But for some reasons, I decided to

hear him out. Fifteen minutes into our conversation I was

gamed. I pushed aside everything I was doing and concen-

trated completely on him. His business story is by far one

of the most impressive stories that we have had on this

platform. I was completely blown away by what I learnt

from him.

Looking back, I am glad I exercised that little dose of pa-

tience to hear him out.

Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?

I am David Caleb Usman, I am 20 years old, I am a Yoruba

but born and brought up in North Central, Nasarawa

state, I am a farmer.

Why did you choose to go into farming?

I have a passion for farming, right from a tender age, I

love keeping animals, and there's a saying that the se-

cret to a man's success is his interest.

Very true, so how long have you started your farm?

Exactly 4 years 11 months now

INTERVIEW: DAVID CALEB USMAN

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Okay. Which means you were

about 16 when you started,

were you not afraid going into

business at such early age?

I was very bold, and the passion

was there, I was willing to take

any risk for success, because it's

more risky not to take a risk

Hmm. I like that. At such early

age what was the source of your

capital? Where did you get the

money to start?

Nice question. It keeps amazing

people how I started, especially

those who knew when I was in the womb, the truth is that

even my parents don't know how I

sourced money to start but I will

tell you.

I kept exotic dogs where I stay, and

it's a developing town, I was the

only one keeping such kind of dogs

then, so when the dogs litter I sold

the puppies and made 300,000

from it, which I used to purchase 2

hectares of land in a village. I col-

lected 500,000 from my mum and

raised 200,000 from my personal

savings. Then I started. I come

from an average family.

Very interesting. I am impressed.

Not many young people would

have thought of something like

that. Well done.

Thank you!

You mentioned to me earlier

that you started with 1,000 Lay-

ers, what is the present status of

your farm now? How many birds

do you have?

To the glory of God I now have

21,000 birds. My business was

valued at about 62 million Naira

last year by my bank valuers.

They wanted me to take loan but

I didn’t oblige.

Impressive. Do you deal only

with Layers or do you breed

other type of birds?

No, I deal only with layers.

Focus is very important in this

kind of business. I once kept

boilers and I had little chal-

lenge, but that's not why I

stopped keeping them just that

I wanted to achieve my aim be-

fore thinking of going into an-

other part of the business. You

know agriculture is very broad.

My aim is to be the largest pro-

ducer of eggs, and I see it com-

ing. We produce about 450

INTERVIEW: DAVID CALEB USMAN

Young Naija Entrepreneurs|39

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crates of eggs daily now.

Do you have people working for you?

And how many?

Sure I do, 15 of them. They were 20 be-

fore but because I have begun to mecha-

nize the farm I had to reduce them.

Can you share with us some of the

challenges you have faced so far?

Ok, let me share my worst challenge so

far, there was a time I lost over a thou-

sand birds and that was around the time I

started, it was as if I won't bounce back,

but I refused to give up

That's inspiring. What is the great-

est need of your business right now?

What do you need most?

What I need now, to be honest, is the

spirit of focus. That's what my business

needs. These days I am getting dis-

tracted and that's not good for the

business, because money is not the

problem.

Okay. Where is your farm located?

At Akwanga, Nasarawa

state

Finally, Mr. Caleb

where do you see this

business in the next 5-

10 years?

Wow, going nationwide.

You are surprised I am

not saying international,

right? I want to take

over the market in the

north, then move to the

east, south and west. If I

can conquer Nigeria, I

have the world.

That's wonderful.

Thank you Mr. Caleb

for agreeing to speak

to us. We wish you

the very best in

achieving your

dreams.

Thank you sir, God

bless you!

INTERVIEW: DAVID CALEB USMAN

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7 Important Qualities of Self Made Millionaires

I f you want to learn to cook, you study cooking. If

you want to be a lawyer, you study law. If you want

to be an engineer or an architect, you study engi-

neering or architecture. And if you want to be finan-

cially successful, you study others who have become finan-

cially successful before you. You find out what they did,

and you do the same things, over and over, until you get

the same results.

Below are seven qualities of self made millionaires that

you can learn and could place you on the track to becom-

ing one of them.

Honesty:

This is the number 1 quality of self made millionaires, and it

is one quality that can make you belong to their class.

How? Because, when you have a reputation for honesty,

people will find it easier to lend you money when you run

out resources for your business. People will find it easy to

refer you to people who can help you out of difficulties.

People will find it easier and they would be more comfort-

able to do business with you.

Ask yourself this question; who would you rather do busi-

ness with, a honest man who is plain and simple or a dis-

or a dishonest man who calls white blue?

Honesty, they say, is the best policy.

Self discipline:

Self discipline is not only essential if you want to be a

self made millionaire but it is also vital if you want to

live a meaningful life. Saving is one of cardinal pillars

of financial success. A man who lacks discipline can-

not save. A man who lacks discipline cannot plough

back the profits of a business deal to get greater

profit. An indiscipline man would always complain

about how little he is earning, and blame it for his in-

ability to save or invest.

Self made millionaires are reputed for their dogged

self discipline.

Good interpersonal relationship:

It is popularly said that your network equals your net

worth. The number of people you know, and have

good relationship with, will determine how successful

you would be in business. This point is most visible in

the Nigerian environment, whereby contracts and

juicy appointments are distributed not purely on mer-

DISCOVERY

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but according to ‘who know who’.

Majority of the billionaires we have in Nigeria attained that

status by virtue of their relationship with different govern-

ments in power. As it happens in Nigeria so it does in other

parts of the world.

Supportive spouse:

Socrates once said, “a happy man is always a productive

man”, If you want to destabilize a man use his wife against

him. If you want a man to fail, use his wife against him. This

happens both ways, male and female. Once a person cannot

find joy in his home then it becomes difficult to achieve any-

thing meaningful.

A supportive spouse would also give encouragement, verbal

and material, they would give warnings about any possible

pitfalls, the ones you may be too blind to see.

Wives of men like Sam Walton, Henry Ford, Jack Ma played

very vital roles in the success that their husbands eventually

became. And Mary Kay Ash’s husband, before he died, also

contributed in no small measure to her company.

Hard work:

Self made millionaires are known to be hard workers. They

work hard and stay long hours. They know that there are no

tricks around being successful, so instead of looking for

short cuts, they exert their energies into what they believe

in. Thomas Edison, the most prolific inventor of all time, was

said to work so hard he sometimes forgot to eat. Jason

Njoku of iRoko tv once worked so hard during a week he

was on the brink of a breakdown.

We do not advice that you do harm to yourself while trying

to make wealth, because you need your health to enjoy your

wealth, but you have to work if you want a financially suc-

cessful life.

Love for what they do:

It is almost intimidating when you are advised to work

hard!, but there a trick to it; Love what you do. A famous

billionaire and inventor once said, ‘I have never worked

in my life, I just found what I love doing and I kept doing

it with all my strength”.

Linda Ikeji confessed that she had blogged every single

day for the past nine years, every single day!” the reason

she was able to do that is because she loved what she

was doing. Nine years is an awfully long time to be doing

one particular thing, but she did it.

You can only work as hard as is needed if you love what

you do.

Ability to sell their product or service:

Have you ever found yourself buying a product or pa-

tronizing a service not because you really need it but be-

cause of the salesperson? We have all being there. Ac-

cording to Brian Tracy 10% of all self made millionaires

are salespeople. They would never have been able to

achieve that feat if they didn’t have the special skill to

successfully sell their products.

Ability to sell product is a skill, it is learnable. Most self

made millionaires have leant that utter mostly important

skill of selling their products, service or even themselves.

The business world is becoming more and more competi-

tive. There is hardly a business niches that is not occu-

pied by three or four individuals, hence, to be successful,

you have to learn how to sell.

DISCOVERY

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T he Dangote Group, a mighty con-

glomerate of companies owned by

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has interest in

virtually every sector of the Nigerian

economy, from oil and gas to building materials,

from textiles to commodities like sugar, flour,

spaghetti, etc. The conglomerate recorded reve-

nue of $2.6 billion dollars in 2012.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote was born in Kano state, Nigeria on the

10th of April, 1957 to the families of Mohammad Dangote

and Hajiya Mariya Sanusi Dantata. Although Dangote was

born into a very wealthy family he was not deceived by his

families’ wealth so as to be lazy and spoilt, instead, Dan-

gote, while still in primary school was known to buy boxes

of sweet and then sell it to his mates. From his very early

age he had showed an inclination for business.

Dangote studied Business at the Al-Azhar University in

Cairo, Egypt and thereafter returned to Nigeria to start

his own business.

In 1976, Aliko Dangote started his business, trading in com-

modities and building materials. His initial capital was pro-

vided by his grandfather and wealthy business mogul, Al-

haji Sanusi Dantata who had taken him in after the un-

timely death of his father. Dangote was given a loan of

500,000 to start his business which he was to pay back

anytime he felt like. This sum was a huge amount back

then; to get an idea of the sum, a Mercedes Benz car then

was sold for 5,000 and Volkswagen Beetle went for 900-

1,000. In June of 1977, Dangote moved to Lagos to con-

continue his business in building materials and com-

modities.

Having received exceptional business tutoring from

an astute businessman as Dantata, no wonder every-

thing Dangote touched instantly turned to gold. Dan-

gote’s trading business enjoyed tremendous success

and in 1981, he incorporated two companies. Since

then, his business has been growing in leaps and

bonds. Part of what has made Dangote so successful

is his ingenious ability to network and form strategic

alliance. For many years his businesses enjoyed exclu-

sive support from the government owing to his ability

to build relevant connections.

His flagship business, Dangote cement, is Nigeria’s

leading cement manufacturer with a market capitali-

zation of $20 billion (as of 2014). It has subsidiaries in

Benin, Cameroon, South Africa and Zambia. The Oba-

jana plant is the largest cement plant in Sub-Saharan

Africa.

Dangote is the leading producer of sugar in Africa, his

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sugar refinery in Apapa port is the largest in Africa and

has an annual capacity of 800,000 metric tonnes of sugar.

The company also has another 100,000 tonnes sugar mill

in Jigawa state. The company supplies 70% of the total

market demand of sugar.

Dangote’s textile company, Dangote Textiles, produces

120,000 meters of finished textiles daily.

Dangote Group is also a major importer of rice, fish,

pasta, and fertilizer and it exports cotton, cocoa, cashew

nuts, sesame seed, ginger and gum Arabic to several

countries. It also has major investment in real estate, with

luxury flats and high rise complexes in Ikoyi, Victoria Is-

land, Abuja and Kano.

The conglomerate employs over 11,000 people across its

varying companies.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, just like many billionaires around the

world, has reached out to assist people with his wealth.

The Dangote Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the

group and has generously given out millions of dollars for

worthy causes both within Nigeria and outside. In 2014,

the Nigerian government said Dangote donated 150 mil-

lion Naira (US$750,000) to halt the spread of Ebola. Also,

during the 2012/2013 flood, Dangote donated millions to

displaced victims. Dangote foundation also donated $1

million to Nepal to relief victims of an earthquake disas-

ter.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote is listed as having three children;

Halima, Fatima and Sadia, although some accounts states

he has fifteen. He is currently the richest man in Africa

with a net worth of $17.7 billion.

BUSINESS LESSONS FROM ALIKO DANGOTE

1. The power of connection:

For many years Dangote enjoyed a monopolistic right to

import certain very essential commodities into the country.

This was made possible by his connection in government to

the people who mattered. It is popularly said, ‘your net-

work determines your net worth’. It took Dangote three

decades to earn a billion dollars, during this period he had

dealings with virtually all the governments in power, start-

ing from the Shagari regime.

Many people criticize the business mogul for his style of

business, but the truth remains, you need to network with

the people that matter, or else, you may remain a mediocre

player the rest of your business career.

2. Manufacture, don’t trade:

Dangote once said, “manufacture, and don’t just trade.

There is money in manufacturing even though it is capital

intensive. To achieve a big breakthrough, I had to start

manufacturing the same product I was trading on. I am an

advocate of manufacturing because it does not only im-

prove your business status, it also helps you give back to

your community and country; with respect to job creation

and economic development.”

Start up with trading in order to boast your confidence and

gather capital, and then later, move straight to manufactur-

ing. As a manufacturer you are directly in the driver’s seat,

you call the shots! A trader can never go higher than a

manufacturer, a manufacturer can get as high as he ever

wants to.

In whatever business you are engaged in keep ruminating

and strategizing on how you can begin to manufacture

rather than just being a trader.

AMAZING BUSINESS STORY: ALIKO DANGOTE

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Aliko Dangote at the World Economic Forum

AMAZING BUSINESS STORY: ALIKO DANGOTE

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