Call it a weekend of learning simplified business scaling dimensions and you will be right as the Steven Akintayo Foundation (SAF), organised a Business Growth Conference themed: ‘Principle of Scaling Your Business to 10 Figures’ in order to help entrepreneurs in Nigeria to scale and grow their businesses locally and internationally .
The event which took place at the Eko Hotel & Suites last weekend brought together young and old business owners from every nook and cranny of Nigeria who were tutored by internationally renowned business tycoons including the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Wakanow, Bayo Adedeji amongst others.
Speaking at the conference, the convener, Dr. Steven Akintayo who is the founder of SAF and Chairman, Gtext Holdings said,: “we realised that a lot more businesses are dying in Nigeria, some data says 90% in two/three years. So as entrepreneurs, we felt the need to contribute our quota in developing this nation by helping other entrepreneurs scale and expand internationally. Imagine Nigeria having one million businesses doing a billion each in turnover that will practically end unemployment because of course each of these businesses would have over 50 employees. So for us this conference is a business revolution that has started and we look forward to this happening every year and helping businesses. The idea is for us as a nation to learn to build a culture of investing in ourselves, investing in knowledge, investing in training and investing in entrepreneurship.”
Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) Wakanow, Bayo Adedeji who spoke on how to save a dying business and the principles of saving a business said: “First, is to focus on the customers and understand them – you can’t build the best product in the world if the customer is not willing to accept the method of buying from you or doing business with you. Secondly, understanding the business itself – you cannot save something you don’t understand, and I think oftentimes business owners think they understand their business until they actually become a student of their business. Find out why your business is failing. These two are the most critical.”
Adedeji however advised young entrepreneurs trying to start a business of their own to get a job first. He said: “Go get a job – this will help you understand the fundamentals of running a business, what it takes to build a business. I like the apprenticeship programme that the Igbos do, it is required for you to learn and understand the scope of doing business. So before you start a business, I advise that you either get a mentor or go learn. You can never discount the knowledge that you get from working in a structured environment.”
