SELF STARTERS NIGERIA

In the past, being in the Agro-business involves you owning and cultivating your own farm with hoes and cutlass. This has discouraged many young Nigerians from venturing into farming. They prefer to chase the limited white-collar jobs. However, with advancement in technology, this is no longer the case as you can now confidently be in the business of agriculture without necessarily getting into the farm. And the startup that is making this possible is Farmcrowdy. farmcrowdy.com , Nigeria’s first digital agriculture platform is offering a new way for Nigerians to participate in Agriculture using their online technology. Through Farmcrowdy, Nigerians across the world can commit an agreed sum to own a minimum farm space, start and complete a farming cycle. In doing so, the farm partner is able to sponsor a farmer in one farming cycle thereby empowering the farmer, expanding their farm operations, participating in the drive to end food scarcity and making use of 50 million hectares ...

At 9 years of age Babatunde Lawal started his journey into entrepreneurship selling female scarves with a startup of 4,000 Naira which came from his savings and gifts from relatives. With a mission to thrive and leave a mark in business, he has taken this early start in business and experience over the years to the agriculture sector, setting up Siyon-Jay Premium Company. Siyon-Jay Premium Company is an Agriculture enterprise focusing on production, processing and consultancy. With an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Economics and Extension Services, Babatunde set out to leverage on technology and innovation to improve agricultural practices, product yield and nutritional benefits of agriculture products. Over the years, his business which started out as a farm has grown into much more as the 2016 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur is setting up an ultra-modern cassava processing plant through which he will process cassava into several products including GARRIMAX (a nutritionally enhanced ...

An excerpt from an article written by Arinze Onebunne of Jovana Farms Mushroom farming is my passion; it connects me to my childhood. When I was young, I hunted mushroom as a source of protein for the family. Now I have turned that passion into a commercial enterprise. Nowadays, I cultivate mushroom in my backyard for profit. Beginning with few mushroom spawns, I’m using organic methods to produce mushroom for individuals and hotels. The farm has for sale large quantities of Mushroom seeds, fresh/dried mushroom ready for consumption, spraying equipment for mushroom cultivation, pure oyster shell and lime, polythene sheets, treated sawdust, sterilised compost and inoculated mushroom bags for farmers, etc. Many opportunities abound in the production of mushrooms as many hospitality industries in the country still import the product to add to their meals. Majority of big hotels in Nigeria have mushrooms in their daily menu, but this mushroom came from abroad; this means local produ...

A 23-year-old Nigerian entrepreneur, Chris Kwekowe turned down a job offer to work as a software engineer at Microsoft, owned by the richest man in the world, Bill Gates, in order to begin his own start-up in Lagos. The Lagos State University computer science graduate proudly revealed this to Bill Gates during a television interview for Africa’s brightest young entrepreneurs in August 2016. Kwekowe, who won the 2015 Anzisha Prize which came with a $25,000 cheque, said he rejected the offer to build up his own startup, Slatecube– a website aimed at helping other young Nigerians find jobs. “When I told him, Gates was intrigued and he smiled. After the programme, all the directors were like, ‘Dude, you mean you actually turned down a job at Microsoft and had the guts to tell Bill Gates?’ Kwekowe founded Slatecube with his brother Emerald, 20, in October 2014. The pair funded their efforts by freelancing as web designers and running a software solutions fir...

Nigerian entrepreneurs are worth admiring and see what could be possible if you look inward and see the numerous opportunities that exist in Nigeria. Why won’t you? After all the window of opportunities in Nigeria is still wide open for any strong willed Nigeria to write his/her name in gold with genuine business achievement in the country. Look at the following names of big time Nigerian entrepreneurs and see how possible it is to start and run good business in Nigeria. See the names of great Nigerian entrepreneurs who have done the same, proving that wealth truly exist in this country and can only be achieve when you cultivate the true entrepreneurship spirit today. List Of Some Nigerian Entrepreneurs These Nigerian entrepreneurs are some of the finest in country who have defied all odds to create wealth through resilience and entrepreneurship skills. These entrepreneurs are among the bests in their respective industry. 20. Obinna Ekezie – CEO, Wakanow.com (Travel And ...

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR WILSON’S LEMONADE Can you tell us briefly what Wilson’s lemonade is all about? •Wilson’s lemonade is about all-natural, never from concentrate goodness. We were tired of the fizzy, artificially flavored and from-concentrate stuff everyone was calling ‘juice’ here. We figured maybe other people were tired of that stuff too. So we set out to provide freshly squeezed, real fruit based drinks. We’ve been humbled by the response we’ve been receiving to date. What inspired you to start the company Wilson’s lemonade? •We started the business with the idea of providing a real juice alternative to the from-concentrate, artificially colored and flavored concoctions that were mostly available. We started with less than N2000—which was used to buy a plastic hand juicer and a bag of oranges. From fresh squeezed orange juice, to smoothies and then fresh squeezed lemonade, we were glad to be of service and ex...

Are You an Aspiring Entrepreneur? Register Now for Bank of Industry’s YES Programme to get Support of up to N5 Million to Start Your Business The Youth Entrepreneurship Support Programme (YES-Programme) organised by the Bank of Industry is now open for young aspiring entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 35. In a bid to address youth unemployment in Nigeria, the BOI has developed the YES Programme where youths with viable ideas can stand a chance to be empowered. This is the second round of the initiative, which comprises both online and classroom training programmes aimed at equipping successful participants withskills required for entrepreneurship and business management.To be eligible for the Competition you must satisfy the following criteria: 1. The applicant must be a Nigerian. 2. Must have a viable business idea within the 40 identified clusters that is operated, or will operate in Nigeria. Visit www.boi.ng /apply/register for clarifications. 3. Must be within the...

Small Scale Business ideas and Investment Opportunities in Nigeria 1. Livestock Farming Do you know that one of the fastest growing business opportunities in Nigeria is catfish farming? The primary reason I listed catfish farming as one of the fastest business opportunities in Nigeria is because it’s an emerging industry that hasn’t reached its peak or full potential. The major players in this business are usually regional players. What this means in essence is that each major player in the catfish farming industry is focused only on a particular business terrain within the geographical location of the farm. Now for those who don’t know, there is a bill being proposed now by the federal government of Nigeria to ban the importation of frozen fish. One this bill is passed into law by the national assembly, the local fish farmers will smile and you will be left behind. So why not position yourself now? With respect to poultry farming, the ban imposed by the federal go...

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, on Friday in Abuja said that the ministry would soon launch a nationwide to encourage Nigerians to patronise made-in Nigieria products. Abubakar stated this at the signing of a footwear production agreement between Global Smartfit Nigeria Ltd and Labora Shoes Ltd of South Africa in her office. The campaign is tagged, ” Patronise Naija Products’’. Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Aminu Bisala, the minister lauded the partnership deal aimed at boosting local manufacturing of leathers and other footwear products. “This venture is very commendable and there is no reason why it cannot be supported. ”Already, the ministry is furthering the campaign for made-in-Nigeria products, for us in Nigeria to consume what we produce and produce what we consume, and even go beyond that to export. “We have the people, we have the brain, we have the resources, ...