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It was all smiles and excitement as CBN South-South Entrepreneurship Development Programme recently graduated 488 entrepreneurs. A breakdown of the entrepreneur’s business plan shows that 398 are into agricultural business entire value chain while the remaining 90 business plans are spread across Hospitality, ICT, Trading, Manufacturing, Services, and lifestyle. This shows a clear preference for agricultural sector due to demands; high returns on investments, low entry requirements, and numerous governments support, especially the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Declaring the event open, the SS-EDC program director, Gbenga Owolabi -represented by Sylvia Afia, charged the entrepreneurs to hit the road doggedly following through the plans they have articulated.
“We have worked out how to support each other, challenge set mindset, and break the bonds of waiting for solutions, understanding that with creative thinking, working as a team and accepting our differences, we are a dynamic force that can bring about the birth of a new Nigeria,” Owolabi said.
The CBN Branch Controller of Cross River State, Graham Kalio expressed delight at the harvest of seeds sown by Central Bank of Nigeria, and the fact that some of the graduating students have already started businesses and making profits. He reiterated that CBN operates in the consciousness that the country’s economy cannot move forward unless SMEs are supported to thrive and create jobs and that today’s event is a testimony to that position. He advised the entrepreneurs to always remain creative and that it is only through innovation that business owners can create an edge for their businesses.
Kalio further charged the graduating participants to adopt the right attitude towards business funds when made available ensuring maximum accountability. He condemned the prevalent undisciplined culture towards finance which makes beneficiaries spend loans on things that are irrelevant to the business like marriage, drinking and extravagant lifestyle, among others.
In his keynote address on ‘Entrepreneurship and the Value Mandate’, the founding pastor of The Brook Church OseImiemohon, stated that a man defined 21st Century entrepreneurship as jumping out of an aircraft without a parachute and having to build one mid-air to keep him from crashing.
According to him, “the ability to find opportunity in problems is what defines an entrepreneur as the world is becoming more competitive due to globalisation, and only outstanding entrepreneurs who are constantly coming up with innovation will survive.”
While testifying to the impact of SS-EDC programme in their lives and business, a rice farmer, Bassey Itu said he learnt the importance of product packaging which has helped his business tremendously and thanked SS-EDC and CBN for coming up with Anchor borrower’s scheme for rice farmers which has increased productivity and will soon lead to food sufficiency.
Ignatius Okon said he started a fish farming business due to the knowledge he acquired from SS-EDC programme and now produces three batches of fish annually. Another rice farmer, Akpanke Effiong said joyfully that he now farms three hectares of rice farm and humorously pointed out that he was itching to be at the farm due to the business ethics of dedication which he learned at SS-EDC.
The SS-EDC over the years has trained over 9,442 participants out of which 3,560 businesses has been created. The Centre has equally assisted 3,035 entrepreneurs to access over N1.6 billion naira ranging from N50,000 to N10 million.
